New UB Coach in No-Win Role Since it is Reggie Witherspoon’s Team

March 27, 2013 · No Comments

DON’T GET ME STARTED waited to see who new Athletic Director Dan White would bring in to replace the popular former UB basketball coach, Reggie Witherspoon.

It turns out that he went to Rhode Island and plucked an associate coach and brought him to Buffalo. He is former Duke University great Bobby Hurley who is in his early 40s and previously coached at Wagner College. He was outstanding as a player at Duke University where he played on championship teams.

Naturally, everyone from the Duke Coach to his former team-mates are praising the decision of Dan White to name Hurley the new head coach of the University at Buffalo. Everyone has great things to say about Hurley.

HOWEVER, many are also saying that this coming year’s UB basketball team is talent laden since it has many returning veterans to the squad that began finding its legs late in the season past. They are saying that U.B. will be a contender for the MAC Championship. If that happens, here comes the NCAA Tournament – something that escaped Witherspoon in his college coaching career.

So why is it a no-win situation for Hurley? If the team does well, many will be saying that Reggie Witherspoon built the winning attitude with his players and they begin jelling as a team. After all, Witherspoon did have a couple of 20-win seasons recently and had a very exciting trip to the MAC championship series, falling just short of advancing to the championship round.

So, if UB (as many predict) has a great season, many will say it’s because this was Reggie Witherspoon’s team. BUT – if the team falters and fails to live up to many expectations – Bobby Hurley will be targeted by critics who say that he inherited many good players and failed to have them produce.

If the latter is true, then the AD may be joining the ranks of Darcy Regier and Buddy Nix as guys who couldn’t get the job done. In any event, fans hope that the basketball team will get 20 plus wins. Thanks will go to Reggie Witherspoon for grooming those players and congratulations to the new coach for nurturing that talent. Next year……..2014-2015……it will become Bobby Hurley’s team on Don’t Get Me Started.

Filed under: Don't Get Me Started, Local Headlines