Al Skinner to…the unemployment line?
By Joe Micik
Updated to include Andy Katz’s new article link
We’ve all been hearing the chatter going on these last few days with regards to Coach Al Skinner’s future at the helm of our men’s basketball team. As I think most of us expected, Skinner is not St. John’s prime target and I personally still don’t think that’s where he’ll end up. It appears, however, that some of the stuff we were reading today online may come true, as the Globe reports that Skinner may be out either way.
Now this, in my opinion, could happen, since I am seeing shades of GDF vs. Jags last year. All we can do, aside from reading that article and needling our friends at BC Athletics, is speculate. Giving a cursory glance to all of what has gone on these last few days, however, one would probably conclude that our Athletic Director and Head Basketball Coach ain’t exactly singing Kumbaya and holding hands outside Conte Forum. None of us knows what is going to happen when the dust settles, but the possibility that Skinner will not be the coach next year is, again in my opinion, much more real now than it was even 72 hours ago.
I still won’t answer the question “Well, if it’s not Al, then who?” since Skinner is still our coach. The Blaudschun article above dropped a few names, but for now, it’s still not time to explore that just yet. One thing must be made perfectly clear, however, and it’s not breaking news: Boston College will almost certainly not replace Al Skinner with a big-name coach. There is a better chance of Shelley Winters coming back from the dead tomorrow than there is of BC going after a heavy-hitter. I have had my many disagreements with Mr. Skinner this year, but I am legitimately hesitant about the answer to the “Who’s next?” question, because it might not be one all of us like. There are a few different ways GDF could go with that: I would be alright with some of the names I’ve heard floated, but not others.
Be honest, who saw all of this unfolding a week ago?