Great article. Patton seems to be not interested in the recruiting aspect of college ball. He seems very errogant.
Watch the PMA folks chime in now and say that the article was too negative and should have painted a positive picture of Patton's recruiting. After all, it's not who we get that's important, it is watching and dissecting the beauty of the recruiting process.
Interesting read.. and not a good sign for Patton. This is the second pretty negative article (although this one was clearly a bit classier about it) in the last few weeks.. Things are kind of falling apart here.
Don't necessarily assume that (all the PMA posters saying that). I do think with some effort they could find some high school and AAU coaches that do feel they have a relationship with NIU if they wanted that angle. However, I also think we need to find a way to get some of the top Chicago area players that are instead going to other mid-majors. I think losing Coach Gates set us back some. Coach Townsend, was a Chicago talent that was and is popular and might be able to create some relationships. But it definitely takes an effort to get out there and shake hands and court the players and coaches. I would think that the Chicago area kids and coaches would want to send their kids somewhere close if that close school acted like they really wanted them. I think that our staff probably does the right things with the individual players and coaches that they go after, but maybe needs to do it with any and all coaches to build a positive feeling about NIU overall.
“There’s no way I can have a relationship with every AAU program in the brief time I’ve been here,” Patton said in response to Simpkins’ comment. “But I’ll tell you this: if there’s a player out there that is interested in Northern Illinois that we believe can help us, just tell those guys to call me. We’ll certainly reach out to them.”
WOW.
That article made Patton look foolish and Patton's responses just made it worse. Did Patton really say that if a player is interested in NIU, he should call him up and talk? If that's the case, maybe NIU could save some cash by cutting Patton's recruiting budget down to the price of an incoming phone line. Patton is turning out to be another bad hire for NIU. We need to cut his ass today.
NIU is not North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky, and UCLA of the past. Like football, you have to work your Arse off recruiting. Patton does not seem to want to put the time in to recruit.
If it was accurate, that article was pretty damning.
When he was hired, I will say that I was cautiously happy, if that makes sense. The tide is turning for me, like other people I think.
I heard something a while back that I mentally filed away, hoping it was not representative. Someone we know talked about how they ran into one of our recent graduates from the team, a player who spanned Jud and Patton. He had very, very bad things to say about Patton. They hardly saw him at practices. Always had a cell phone to his ear. The player said that if he knew how Patton was going to be, he would not have returned for his senior season.
It could just be a typical case of a player and a coach being out of sync.
But, as time goes on, it "feels" like it has more validity.
Wow! Did you see this:
Henricksen isn’t alone when saying Patton and his staff, minus Townsend, have been less noticeable than other universities.
A high school basketball coach in the Chicago area, who asked to remain anonymous and who has two D-I prospects in his program, said Patton is the only coach in the state who hasn’t inquired about his players.
“All the other mid-major programs in the state have been in contact with us in some way or another, whether they come into an open gym to check out [our two prospects] or touch base with us by coming to a practice,” he said. “A lot of schools will send out e-mail newsletters after a big win or before a big game just to reach out a little and generate some interest. But NIU doesn’t do any of that.”
Establishing relationships with high school coaches and AAU coaches is a big component of recruiting. But Dickey Simpkins, former Chicago Bull and founder of the AAU program Team NLP, said he has no relationship with NIU.
I initially liked Patton (not that I thought he was the best hire, but that being a done deal) because he seemed to be allocating playing time based on results. If a guy did poorly, he tried someone else. Recently, that has no longer been happening. That has caused me some concern. And, although I will continue to support the players on his roster, and will continue to support Huskie basketball, this information is very very concerning. At the very least, Coach Patton needs to answer some questions immediately, and our AD better be asking them. Is this true? Who is recruiting for NIU, just one guy? Why don't we send e-mails, etc, like other programs? Why don't we have a relationship with every school and AAU program in the state? Is Patton willing to make the commitment to making these contacts PERSONALLY? If not, he should go. He always seemed to me to be of the Bob Knight mold. Nothing wrong with that as an x's and o's coach, but without the legendary winning reputation, and without Indiana or Texas Tech behind you, that act probably is not going to do it.
Bottom line, we should get some answers to questions raised here ASAP. If the answers are not what they should be, then the search should start ASAP, IMHO.
(02-16-2010 12:40 PM)chihuskie Wrote: [ -> ]Bottom line, we should get some answers to questions raised here ASAP. If the answers are not what they should be, then the search should start ASAP, IMHO.
+1. This is a pretty sad situation. Pretty damning when HS coaches are saying that the only program that isn't working the Chicago communtiy is NIU. Looks like Patton can pretty easily take down "Most Overpaid Basketball Coach" in the MAC.
On the side of recruiting, I don't get why we don't offer some players that have fallen under the radar from an injury. Like perfect example is DeAndre McCamey, yes thats DeMetri McCameys brother from the Illini and it would get our foot in the door at St. Joes who consistently produces good basketball players. O yea and hes a point guard, something we desperately need.
Curious, does anyone know how many AAU programs there are around the state?
(02-16-2010 01:36 PM)HuskiePride12 Wrote: [ -> ]On the side of recruiting, I don't get why we don't offer some players that have fallen under the radar from an injury. Like perfect example is DeAndre McCamey, yes thats DeMetri McCameys brother from the Illini and it would get our foot in the door at St. Joes who consistently produces good basketball players. O yea and hes a point guard, something we desperately need.
he probably has 2 yrs remaining on his contract and in this economy there is no way we can absorb that. If the article is true, it is disappointing and does not bode well for the future. Even with Nate Ricker next yr, Anderson, Silas and Kowal are srs, where is the backfill
In Patton's defense, he really can't follow every AAU team. Also not every D-1 program is going to be going after a player just because everyone else is. Although I thought this was an interesting article, you have to look into how Brennan got his sources here. It's pretty clear this article stemmed from that thread on the ChicagoHoops.com message board. I'd hazard a guess that Brennan went on ChicagoHoops and PM'ed a couple of the more vocal posters that had negative things to say about Patton/NIU and got quotes from them which could make things look worse than reality.
Before I get attacked for my view, trust me, I'm not happy about the way things are. I'll be the first to admit that somethings rotten in the state of NIU hoops, has been for many years. But just because Patton isn't in on a few recruits in Chicago doesn't make me immediately discredit Patton as a recruiter. His coaching record is doing that by itself!
Kind of what I think too NIURB.. his record would suggest he's done a horrible job, but cherry picking a few quotes from a couple people doesn't do much for an argument. I'm sure there is an AAU coach or high school coach that would say the exact opposit about Patton.
Our team is not good, but I just think something like this using just a few guys quotes can be very misleading is all. I'm not suggesting in any way things are going well here either, just that I agree with NIURB that this article should be taken with a grain of salt.
(02-16-2010 10:47 AM)High On NIU Hoops Wrote: [ -> ]Don't necessarily assume that (all the PMA posters saying that). I do think with some effort they could find some high school and AAU coaches that do feel they have a relationship with NIU if they wanted that angle. However, I also think we need to find a way to get some of the top Chicago area players that are instead going to other mid-majors. I think losing Coach Gates set us back some. Coach Townsend, was a Chicago talent that was and is popular and might be able to create some relationships. But it definitely takes an effort to get out there and shake hands and court the players and coaches. I would think that the Chicago area kids and coaches would want to send their kids somewhere close if that close school acted like they really wanted them. I think that our staff probably does the right things with the individual players and coaches that they go after, but maybe needs to do it with any and all coaches to build a positive feeling about NIU overall.
I inclined to think that Gates was the problem...arent some of these his recruits?
(02-16-2010 02:01 PM)NIURedBlack Wrote: [ -> ]In Patton's defense, he really can't follow every AAU team. Also not every D-1 program is going to be going after a player just because everyone else is. Although I thought this was an interesting article, you have to look into how Brennan got his sources here. It's pretty clear this article stemmed from that thread on the ChicagoHoops.com message board. I'd hazard a guess that Brennan went on ChicagoHoops and PM'ed a couple of the more vocal posters that had negative things to say about Patton/NIU and got quotes from them which could make things look worse than reality.
Before I get attacked for my view, trust me, I'm not happy about the way things are. I'll be the first to admit that somethings rotten in the state of NIU hoops, has been for many years. But just because Patton isn't in on a few recruits in Chicago doesn't make me immediately discredit Patton as a recruiter. His coaching record is doing that by itself!
When you are NIU, you have to out work your competition. Its your backyard and you have to dig hard for every recruit. There is no excuse for NIU to ever have someone suggest that we are not present in the chicagoland high schools. Usually in the 3rd year of losing, things begin to come out. This was true of Judson when out of the blue he had problems with Marcus Smallwood, a player who handled himself exemplary in his carrer and all of a sudden he is a problem? This article is not good.
(02-16-2010 02:07 PM)HuskieFan84 Wrote: [ -> ]Kind of what I think too NIURB.. his record would suggest he's done a horrible job, but cherry picking a few quotes from a couple people doesn't do much for an argument. I'm sure there is an AAU coach or high school coach that would say the exact opposit about Patton.
Our team is not good, but I just think something like this using just a few guys quotes can be very misleading is all. I'm not suggesting in any way things are going well here either, just that I agree with NIURB that this article should be taken with a grain of salt.
Thank you NiuRedBlack & HuskieFan84....I will be the first to admit that "NIU should" and I know "NIU will be" recruiting from the Chicago/Illinois circuit much more this summer and in the future. As for this article, I want everyone to know...that no matter how thin a pancake is, it will always have two sides to it. "AKA" there is always two sides to a story!!!!
I know for sure that Coach Patton and his staff have been recruiting in the Chicago/Illinois area because I read Chicagohoops.com often and I have seen articles regarding Patton offering kids scholarships and I know several high school coaches personally who have told me that Patton & his staff have been out to their high schools trying to recruit players. Also, do know that the young man who wrote this article for the Northern Star is only a Senior in College!!!!
Chicago Orr, Gwendolyn Brooks, Seton Academy, Hyde Park and several other high schools have been on the radar of NIU. I'm sure no one knows this either...Coach Patton and his assistant coaches were at UIC Pavilion "all day yesterday" for the Chicago Public League Playoffs, watching and trying to check out prospects/recruits for NIU....amazing how that didn't get mentioned in the Northern Star article!!!!
Last but not least, The Moody Summer Camp that NIU held last year was a "HUGE" success and just about every "MAJOR" High School from the City Of Chicago participated in it last year and I "personally" read articles regarding how well put together it was and that Coach Patton ran a very "Class Act" camp for the week and represented NIU very well....The NIU Coaching staff did "MAJOR" recruiting/scouting there also!!!! So once again as I have said before and will say again...Everyone has a right to their own opinion but that doesn't necessarily make it the truth!!!!!! GO HUSKIES!!!!