Better Know a BC Coach? Pat Skerry

Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

Jeff Goodman, a Boston native who does a great job covering college basketball for ESPN has an on-going article that monitors that coaching searches for all the nation’s top openings. His section on Boston College leaves me troubled to say the least. First off, he mentions that Bates tried and failed to lure Amaker to Chestnut Hill. There are rumblings that he was offended BC did not offer him the job automatically and wanted to vet him as part of an ongoing process. Ya know, like you do when you apply for most jobs. But anyways, if true, Amaker comes off like a jerk. You coach Harvard, not Duke. Let’s maybe ease back the ego a little until we get back into a power conference, Tommy.

Goodman then gives his short list of potential candidates which looks like a list better suited for Boston University than Boston College. No offense, but other than Mike Hopkins, the resumes of those listed leave a lot to be desired.

But since Jeff is usually on the money, we are going to profile them all in the next 2 days (hopefully), starting with current Towson (yes, Towson) Head Coach Pat Skerry.

Coaching History:

Why Is He Available?

He coaches Towson.

Why Should BC hire him?

Skerry has actually orchestrated a remarkable turnaround ability with his Towson squad. His first year, the team finished an astonishing 1-31 (a record that would even make Steve Donahue blush). This year they finished 25-10, good enough for 2nd place in the vaunted Colonial Athletic Conference. Unfortunately, they fell 75-71 in a heart breaker to William & Mary in the CAA Semis. Regardless, a 24 win turnaround in 2 years is pretty remarkable. If BC is looking for someone with a history of turning around programs while also having coached at a big time school (he was an assistant at Pitt) Skerry could be the guy.

Why Shouldn’t BC hire him?

Did I mention he coaches at Towson? Towson? We talking about Towson? Not Harvard. Towson.

Frankly, the Towson to BC jump seems like a lofty one to me. He does have experience at a power conference school but not enough to instill in me the confidence I need to feel good about this move. If BC is looking for someone that has a history of bringing in a prolific recruiting class, I do not imagine Skerry fits that mold.

Chances He is the Next Head Coach at Boston College?

Other than Hopkins, he seems like the most likely candidate at this point, which as fan, troubles me. I know I said I’d give Bates the benefit of the doubt because of Addazio, but he was different. He was the coordinator for a national champion! Skerry does not carry 1/4th of Addazio’s pedigree. Nevertheless, every school he has coached at has seen some level of success while he was there. And he is definitely someone Bates can try to build a program with if there are small, initial successes.

Pat Skerry is not the coach Boston College needs, but at this point, he might be the one we deserve.