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Always in the national title conversation - virtually always top ten. Plus sent tons of talent to the NBA on an annual basis. Got lazy in the 80s, sporadic recruiting, conference ascendancy and the rise of the Big East killed the catholic school pipeline. For all his talent I believe he underperformed with just one final four. 79 loss in elite eight to Magic and MSU hurt, but sweet 16 loss the next year to BYU and Danny Ainge on a coast to coast layup was devastating. Brey has actually over performed I believe from his lackluster recruiting, and offensively always puts up numbers but defensive and rebounding focus has been lacking. That said I never saw ACC tournament title or elite 8s back to back coming - I had gotten way too used to early tournament exits even when high seeds. And I must say Matts play at point guard this season has shocked me - he really has to be the surprise of the season for the country. I way misjudged the way this season would go so far - I saw the team as ACC bottom feeders. I have always wondered what would of happened had Doherty not left for UNC after one season - before his ego got the best of him I really thought he could succeed huge at ND. I liked his fiery attitude and thought he would do great at recruiting.
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Link: http://kentsterling.com/2014/04/08/digger-phelps-out-at-espn-addition-by-subtraction-in-bristol/
Brey's teams have performed well with talent that has ranged from average to better than average.
Digger's teams were loaded with talent and won only when they could overcome the millstone of Digger's coaching that they had hanging around their necks. At some point, Digger seemed to have convinced himself that he and his carnation were the show, and his players were merely the pawns he used to express his own brilliance. In my opinion, no coach I've ever seen in any sport sabotaged his own players to the extent that Digger did.
Plus, Brey really does come across on TV as a genuine kind of guy, while Digger always seemed to me to be a major league asshole, although I realize that personality (as perceived through mass media) is irrelevant to the point under consideration.
good coach but doesn't translate to recruiting -especially athletic big men
...recruiting restrictions the admin has placed on his successors, including Brey. Brey and his assistants aren't allowed to attend the summer AAU circuit for recruiting, just as a for-instance. We still recruit the old-fashioned way, through the high school coaches, who have far less influence than they did formerly on the top HS players, many of whom have AAU coaches who act as de-facto agents.
No coach ever accomplished less with the kind of talent that Digger had at his disposal. The year we lost to Ark-Fayetteville in the first round of the tournament, Digger had a roster larded with future 10-year NBA veterans.
Digger was all hat, and no cattle, in my opinion.
Not just lost but blown out. 1986. I believed we were ranked 10 nationally and a number 3 seed losing to a 14 by ten plus points.
But you must agree, the players on that team would have been better served by having no coach at all...or maybe one who only could speak Chinese...rather than than the carnation-wearing albatross taking up space on our bench.
Was never a great bench coach in my opinionand really Failed to utilize what was an enormous amount of NBA level talent. I believe between the 1979 and 1980 teams he had many players who had lengthy NBA careers includinG Laimbeer, Woolridge, Jackson, Paxson, Hanczlik, Tripucka. 81-84 he had one good recruiting class (82) and occasional stars Rivers, Royal, Ellis but had a really slacked off on recruiting elite players. I I think he got very lazy and full of himself by this point. At the end before the plug was pulled he was down to recruiting the likes of the Ross twins. I think a great coach in the 70s could've had us in the final 4 lots of years instead of just 1978
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I don't usually get overwrought over coaches, but Digger was a bum.
Did you ever read the Vonnegut short story, "Harrison Bergeron?" Digger was our Handicapper General.
is they're not triplets" --Al Mcguire (on the air, while watching Jon and Joe perform)
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...and had developed a reputation as an arrogant prick. (Again,IMO.)
And lo and behold ESPN came calling. Bit he was pretty lazy and phoning it in there too until they finally canned him. I agree that he got way full of himself and thought he was far bigger and more talented than he actually was.
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Both have similar win percentages:
Digger 393-197 (.666 oooh) over 20 seasons; 14 NCAA appearances; one final four in his 5th season
Brey 370-179 (.674) over 17 seasons; two elite eights in 15th and 16th season
Digger ran into the fact that NBA money became way more enticing for the top players vs getting a ND degree and a regular career. Wasn't the case in the early 70s.
Brey has really surprised me. I was down on him 4-5 years ago. Now, he has become a much better bench coach; players seem to love to play for him, ND hoops is fun. Trend UP.
I think they showed a graphic that Brey has exceeded Digger in Tournament wins. Of course, there are more teams more rounds than in Digger's heyday. Then again, that may make us adjust how we look at Digger's Final Four/Elite Eight and Sweet Sixteen appearances. But Digger strung together three straight Sweet Sixteen appearances early in his tenure, then had a Final Four a couple years later and an Elite Eight a couple years after that. And within that time, Digger's teams beat three #1 teams, including UCLA in the midst of an 88-game winning streak, San Francisco and one of Al McGuire's Marquette teams. He shares the NCAA record with Gary Williams for most wins over #1 teams. Digger was a phenomenal "big game coach." That's the best run in ND basketball history. He did not sustain the same level in the 1980s and then he bottomed out at the end. Brey has had more sustained success and has gotten better as he's gone along.
One area where Digger clearly topped Brey was recruiting. Brey consistently finds those lesser-known gems like Bonzie Colson or Luke Harangody, but he hasn't gotten nearly the blue-chippers that Digger got.
Nothing will ever top UCLA-ND game. The upstart Irish beating that miserable bastard Wooden and flake Walton. When Digger and his wife started having issues with the admin., he stopped caring and the program went into the tank. Both coaches have ups and downs and losses to Ark-LR(Digger) and Winthrop(Brey) were the low points.
I will say both coaches represent the university nicely on television but their personal lives suggest something else.