Duke Coach Sean McNally Resigns

Will that be the 5th head coach in 15 years?

I may have lost count.

I remember OF Thompson at Terpville in early 1990's.

Coach Mac just was not able to make Duke competitive in the ACC. He is a tough guy to play for, but he had my son's respect.

Rob...I sent you an email yesterday and will send a PM to you.

It was announced yesterday that Appalachian State's successful head coach, Chris Pollard, has been named the new head coach at Duke.

Duke's Announcement

Duke is a very tough environment to coach in. You need smart, wealthy good players. But not so good that the kid thinks he can play at a top program and be drafted.

quote:

But not so good that the kid thinks he can play at a top program and be drafted.

Bludevil_bk- I'm not completely following you to be honest.

quote:

Originally posted by Bludevil_bk:
Duke is a very tough environment to coach in. You need smart, wealthy good players. But not so good that the kid thinks he can play at a top program and be drafted.

What would be the difference in the player Duke would be recruiting as opposed to Vanderbilt or Stanford?

quote:

Originally posted by RJM:

quote:

Originally posted by Bludevil_bk:
Duke is a very tough environment to coach in. You need smart, wealthy good players. But not so good that the kid thinks he can play at a top program and be drafted.

What would be the difference in the player Duke would be recruiting as opposed to Vanderbilt or Stanford?

I think two things make a great program in almost every case:

1. A great coach.
2. The university's commitment to a great program.

Of the two, a great coach is the tougher to find.

I do not know a lot about the Duke program today. I know some great players who have played there, and I know it is very tough to sustain excellence in the ACC. Duke has not been at the top, but if it were to happen, I would not be surprised.

The new guys at Duke are extremely serious and have had success at other schools in NC. It will be interesting to follow them as they have to reach out nationally to find players. The places they coached in the past pulled more locally than nationally.

Bluedevil_bk is correct that it is a difficult place to recruit. It is an expensive school for baseball. Many local kids go to very inexpensive NC public schools. Chapel Hill is a pain in their butt, because it offers a great education 8 miles away. If a kid is on the MLB bubble, they are likely to get Omaha Syndrome and want to play at school with a history of post-season play. The toughest part is to intrigue kids to come there to help lift the program. I think their only option is to sell playing time and the education. If they start to over-recruit like many of the bigger programs and some of their neighbors, they may lose that edge.

Again, it will be fun to watch!

Any thoughts thus far on Duke and the staff?

Ask Rob Kremer. I believe his son was still there this past spring.

My son had some contact with recruiting coordinator as did someone else on his hs team.  It appears that they  want to word this correctly-top D! kids whose focus will not be distracted by serious academic rigors.   My son is a very serious student and wouldn't let baseball get in the way of that so lost interest in the program (not that he could've played for them).  However, his hs teammate visited and talked to one of the coaches and the kid said he wanted to major in engineering.  he coach said something to like engineering and baseball don't mix and this kid is solid d1.  Now, my son is still going to apply because he loved the school and loves the academics he just wouldn't play baseball.  The new regime looks like they want to be in the mix of the ACC and I can't blame them as they should be able to.  This is just my take.  The staff seems top notch facilities not so much.

My son who attended an ACC program was also discouraged from taking engineering. Yet there were one or two others that took engineering but played less of a part on the team.
Its not uncommon.  I think a lot depends on the individual.

The only D1 program(s) that my son found who would tolerate engineering and baseball were Stanford, UC Davis and the Ivy's. I am sure there are others but that is what we found at the time and coming from the West Coast. He is happy at high level DIII and is doing both. (how I don't know but he is making it work) 

seaver41,

 

My hat is off to you and your son to recognize the educational limitations that go along with top shelf D1 baseball.  You clearly get it, and you've done your homework.  Also,  Duke should get a lot of credit for being up front with its recruits about expectations and time commitment.   These aren't easy decisions for either side. 

 

Best of luck to you, and your son's friend should he decide on college baseball and engineering at any level.

 

 

Cant hurt that Duke plays the vast majority of its games at Triple-A Bull Durham's Park relegating Duke's on-campus Jack Coombs Field for mostly a practice facility.

 

Descent light turf field with a good hitting facility (just redone) that I BELIEVE is or will be upgraded with video analysis equipment & a Pro-Batter virtual hitter.

 

IMO...Duke's about mid-pack on ACC facilities. Not gonna edge the big boy's Miami, FSU, and Virginia but the facilities situation is much like Wake Forest & on-par with Pitt, V-Tech, NC State, Notre Dame, Maryland, & BC.

 

Personally, I like the mix of a young already proven staff (App St), ACC baseball exposure, US News has Duke tied at #7 with M.I.T among U.S. colleges & solid ACC facilities. 2x Top-25 recruiting (14' & 15') classes coming in as well.

 

IMO...not a bad combo if the offer is right & you think you can mix it up early. A mid-pack ACC program on the upswing? I'm sure some of the guys w/kids playing in the ACC can add a more educated perspective than mine.

Thanks Fenway.  You' and this website have helped tremendously.

FWIW regarding facilities...

1) They will be building an 18000 sq ft strength and conditioning center to open in 2016. I think I got that sq ft number correct. For all sports excluding basketball and football. Of course, state of the art with digital.

2) The Durham Bull's facility is under significant renovation right now, preparing for the season, and will include a dedicated Duke clubhouse.

3) Jack Coombs Field is a tremendous practice field, and steps away from the Coack K Academic Center, making life a bit easier for the player.

4) And that Academic Center is as you would expect: top notch.

5) The University is investing in the development of all sports. The relatively new President came over from Notre Dame, and clearly has a vision for Duke Athletics.

 

Admissions provides Baseball with 35 slots, and an allocated slot is contingent upon the HS commit attaining 1200-1250 in SATs, min 3.4 unweighted GPA that includes 1-2 AP courses during Junior and Senior years.

I believe Coach Pollard is the right guy at the right time for this program.  

 

Everyone knows about the academics.  And its easy to use that as an excuse for losing.  Did anyone happen to see how their football team did this year?

 

Duke is on our NC College Bus Tour and will host our 2nd workout (WF will host the 1st).  I saw Coach Pollard 2 weeks ago and he is really excited to be involved.  He is proud of what they have and want to show it off!

 

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com/bus_tour

Thanks for the updates, they are much appreciated.  We are scheduled for a visit to Duke and to meet the coaches in a couple of weeks.  Looking forward to it.