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11/09/2007 3:09 PM ET
Pirates coach embraces Blackbeard image
Bobby Gonzalez builds programs, burns bridges
By Brendon Desrochers
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SNY.tv
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| On his courtside demeanor, Gonzalez asks the Star-Ledger's Steve Politi, "What the hell do people want me to do?" (AP) |
The Newark Star-Ledger's Steve Politi wrote an entertaining piece about Bobby Gonzalez in relation to the NCAA and Big East's stricter standards for coaching decorum. The Seton Hall head coach is at the center of the storm because of his nine technicals last season, including a spirited ejection in the season finale in Louisville last March.
The article is full of juicy quotes from Gonzo, like this:
| I've been a head coach for eight years. I've been in the NCAA Tournament. I beat Billy Donovan in the NCAA Tournament. I have postseason wins. I'm not in my first job like Norm Roberts or Freddie Hill -- I'm not knocking them -- but I was at Manhattan for seven years.
I felt like they weren't giving me any respect, either. So what do you expect me to do? Back down to those guys because of who they are? I'm not that way. I'm coming into the game, I'm going to war, I'm trying to win. |
And this:
| I think it's inevitable we're going to move up. People are going to say, 'He's being cocky, he's being controversial, he's predicting things, he's talking like Ali, he's boasting.' I'm not trying to give people bulletin-board material, but at the same time, I'm being straight up and honest. |
Bobby Gonzalez is not in the business of making friends, just winning basketball games, which brings us to a moment of full disclosure.
A couple of months ago in this space, I wrote a generally optimistic preview of Seton Hall, but I began the post with a rather harsh judgment of the Pirates coach.
| I believe in Bobby Gonzalez. That's not to say I'm a fan of him. I think he's a slick cat, a shyster with a talent for recruiting and molding a team in his own image, but not someone with whom I would want my theoretical son to spend four of his formative years. But I'm not ranking teams based on my perception of the character of their coaches but on the strength of their programs for the upcoming season. And Seton Hall is an intriguing team this year if you can recognize their talent among the trees. |
Was what I wrote a cheap shot? Yes. Was it fair? Perhaps not. Was it accurate? I based my opinion on what I'd term "dependable hearsay" surrounding a series of incidents and perceptions from people who know him and have worked with him. Should a sports news journalist base an opinion on mere hearsay? No, but in the format of a blog that is clearly intended to be taken as my opinion, what I said was acceptable, and I stand behind it.
A couple weeks passed during which I received several e-mails from Seton Hall fans discussing various aspects of the post, including what I wrote about Gonzalez. I found it strange that none of the responses attempted to rebut or refute what I wrote. Seton Hall fans know what they had when they brought Gonzalez in, and his first season at SHU did nothing to change any of the standing opinions on him. Gonzalez remains a supremely talented coach, one who can recruit players and build a program, and that's more important to Pirates fans than their coach being perceived as a good guy. Seton Hall is on its way up the Big East charts in no small part because of Gonzo, and I am probably more bullish on the program's outlook than the average follower of the Big East.
Coach Gonzalez, though, was very upset with what I wrote and told me so. About two weeks after I wrote the post, I received a phone call from the former head man at Manhattan and assistant at Virginia and Providence. I knew it was him from his first words, as Gonzo has that unique New York drawl and cadence that is unmistakable, very similar to one of his mentor's, Pete Gillen. Much of what Gonzo said to me is unprintable, but he basically wanted me to know that he was upset about what I wrote, especially since he had spent such a large chunk of his life serving inner-city kids. His pregnant wife was also unhappy with my article. Gonzo feared that my comments could hurt him in recruiting, although, if any high school juniors with unique basketball talents are making college choices based on my blog, I don't know what to say to them.
Mainly, though, Gonzalez wanted to know if I had an agenda: What was my background? Did someone put me up to this? He was specifically curious about whether Louisville head coach Rick Pitino had gotten me to write what I wrote, since he had heard on the Internet that I was from Florida (kinda false) and was friends with Pitino (utterly false though somewhat flattering). Pitino, along with Providence head coach Tim Welsh, are notable in their distaste for Gonzalez's style, but I would need only point Coach Gonzalez to two subsequent posts about Louisville and Providence that showed my willingness to be critical about their coaches (despite my long-time support of the Friars, including when Gonzalez coached there). I could also have pointed out that people have hardly needed to have a vendetta or agenda against Gonzalez to dislike him. Pitino, in fact, once mentored a young Gonzalez, but Gonzo's actions on Senior Day have strained their relationship to the point that he wonders whether his old friend is employing media mouthpieces to bash him.
Over the course of our conversation, Gonzalez hinted at a slander suit, which would have had no foundation (I took sports law at St. Thomas University — Go Bobcats!). He also threatened to "have my a**" if I ever took another cheap shot at him. As a first endeavor into journalist-coach spats, it was pretty exciting, though I'm glad to still maintain ownership of my own backside, at least for now.
But it's not my brief brush with big-time coaching ire that is the teaching point of this incident. The more important lesson from this experience is what we can learn from Gonzalez. 1) For all of his talk about not caring what others think about him, Gonzalez is exceptionally protective of his image — you might say he's insecure — even when the slighter is a simple blogger and not a Daily News or Post columnist. 2) He reaffirmed himself as someone who will not back down to anyone.
A brief digression to enhance the point: Herb Sendek took over at North Carolina State in 1996-97 after the Wolfpack suffered five consecutive sub-.500 seasons. In his 10 seasons, he led the Wolfpack to nine postseason appearances, including five NCAA tournaments in his final five seasons. But he had zero personality — he lacked the flair of a Jim Valvano or even a Rick Barnes, coaches who refused to bow at the feet of Dean Smith or Mike Krzyzewski. The fans never embraced Sendek because of that, basically forced him out after 2006-07 despite his on-court success because they wanted something more than a bland coach with a bland style, regardless of the score after 40 minutes. Similarly, Louis Orr had led Seton Hall to the NCAA Tournament in two of his last three seasons, including an against-all-odds campaign in 2005-06 — the Pirates were picked 15th in the Big East that year. But Orr was still fired, something that Gonzalez mentioned in his phone call to me — basically a refashioning of "nice guys finish last."
Seton Hall wanted someone who was going to look straight into the eyes of the top coaches in the Big East and not blink, whether on the recruiting trail or on the sidelines. If someone's going to get their feelings hurt because of the way he recruits or because he is so animated in the coaching box, well, then that's just tough. He's never going to get fired because he's too bland and boring. Bobby Gonzalez isn't about deference or reverence, he's not about making friends. He's about winning basketball games, and I can respect that. But a lot of people don't like him and will continue to dislike because of the way he comports himself, and he has to respect that.
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