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Still Puzzled

PaddyWF

PaddyWF

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Prior to Buzz, I think it's fair to say that many Wake fans thought Ron Wellman was an excellent AD. Wellman oversaw success, at times historic, in multiple sports. He hired coaches that went on to win national championships. He hired Grobe, who built up a poor football team to a conference championship and a BCS bowl. We also improved our football facilities tremendously during his time here.

But then... everything went off the rails due to a series of decisions that lack basic sense.

Wellman claimed that Dino was fired due to a lack of postseason success, yet hires a man who has no history of postseason success. In fact, he has no record of sustained regular season success.

Not only did Buzz have a poor coaching record, the hire raised some eyebrows due to their relationship at Northwestern. It seemed that Wellman hired a friend, not the best candidate for Wake Forest basketball.

Here is what I don't understand: Why would a well-respected AD put his entire professional career on the line for a coach that has no history of success? Why would he sacrifice many positive steps for Wake sports made over his tenure, to hire someone that many fans thought would fail before he even got on campus?

It is one of the weirdest sequences of events I think I have seen in college sports. The downfall of Wellman over the past few years is remarkable and sad... but above all us, just makes no sense to me.

Wellman will be known as the athletic director who destructed a top college basketball program, nothing else. He didn't choose Buzz because of his coaching prowess... so why did he? Was it hubris? I still think there must have been something dramatic happening behind the scenes that led to his hiring, otherwise it just doesn't make any sense for an athletic director to rest his entire career on this coach.

This is the one aspect of this whole debacle that I don't get, and I would love to see what other people think.
 
Wellman is Keith Hernandez (or at least thought he was after we went to the Orange Bowl).
 
If a coach with Bz's record was the best we could get, we probably shouldn't be in the ACC. I think we could have done far better.
 
Agreed it was a total head scratcher. There was a post recently about how RW became infatuated with [Redacted] after Air Force beat the piss out of us. Just take that fwiw.
 
[Redacted] has incriminating photos of Wellman. It's really the only scenario that makes sense.
 
Ball State Deac said:
Agreed it was a total head scratcher. There was a post recently about how RW became infatuated with [Redacted] after Air Force beat the piss out of us. Just take that fwiw.
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If that is the case, I can only imagine how many coaches from other schools that RW is infatuated with now (given how many times we have had the shit, piss, snot, and numerous other bodily fluids beaten out of us in the past 2 1/2 seasons.)
 
Good post. The weird part is the hire was unnecessary. Dino wasn't a program-building CEO that would set the foundation for a 25 year dynasty, but he wasn't turrible either. I could understand if a "name-hire" floated interest in the "Well, if your job came open, I'd take it" and RW struck on a target of opportunity.

Coaching changes of choice should be great fits. That's why you would choose them. This situation is about as far from that as you can get.
 
Wellman has plenty of bad hires. Gentleman Jim says hello. Grobe and Skip stand out.
 
He had built up a lot of capital around the NCAA, so I'm not sure he ever thought he was staking his reputation on this one hire. There probably is more to it behind the scenes. Perhaps dino treated people like shit. Perhaps he did whatever with a co-ed. perhaps wellman just didnt like his face. We will never know exactly. He straight up sucked as an in-game coach, fwiw.

But for whatever reason, actively trying to build a top bball program just does not seem to be a priority right now for this ath dept., administration, school. And by actively, I mean not settling for historical lows.

Those of us who actually care are just left to squirm.
 
TwentyONE said:
He had built up a lot of capital around the NCAA, so I'm not sure he ever thought he was staking his reputation on this one hire. There probably is more to it behind the scenes. Perhaps dino treated people like shit. Perhaps he did whatever with a co-ed. perhaps wellman just didnt like his face. We will never know exactly. He straight up sucked as an in-game coach, fwiw.

But for whatever reason, actively trying to build a top bball program just does not seem to be a priority right now for this ath dept., administration, school. And by actively, I mean not settling for historical lows.

Those of us who actually care are just left to squirm.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think this is a good point and fits into the picture. Every hire is a risk, and I'm sure even with questions about Buzz he never thought it could get this bad. He is part of the selection committee, so clearly he has high standing among his peers.

This also plays well into the "I'm Keith Hernandez" idea, but I find it hard to believe that was the sole reason for the Buzz hire, as you point out in the rest of your post.
 
PaddyWF said:
Yeah, I think this is a good point and fits into the picture. Every hire is a risk, and I'm sure even with questions about Buzz he never thought it could get this bad. He is part of the selection committee, so clearly he has high standing among his peers.

This also plays well into the "I'm Keith Hernandez" idea, but I find it hard to believe that was the sole reason for the Buzz hire, as you point out in the rest of your post.
Click to expand...

He must have done something after he was hired, or he would have never been hired. My guess is the girl in the tournament with Clarke. This might have been the final straw. Major liability, and it was very shortly after the Duke fiasco with Lacrosse.
 
Atlanta Deacon said:
Wellman has plenty of bad hires. Gentleman Jim says hello. Grobe and Skip stand out.
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Yep. Before 2001, Wellman was clowned as the guy who let Caldwell hang on too long and fiddled while basketball lost all momentum from the Rogers/Childress/Duncan era. Oh yeah, and hired Charlene Curtis.
 
We've had a perfect coach?
 
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