12/20 Game Thread at Northern Illinois

[valpotx]

Funny, I never would have pictured you as the type to take advantage of your position to meet girls, Paul.  Always seemed like a guy on the up and up, not the deceitful type 

[valpopal]

Actually, it is Jody Oehler, and he hosts an ESPN radio program in Tucson called "Happy Hour." Website with photos and video of Jody:

http://www.espntucson.com/jody

[Pgmado]

I hope I gave everyone a good Holiday chuckle with that one.

[vu72]

Hysterical!!

[valporun]

Pgmado, I just looked back to see who the West Virginia coach was at that time. It was Gale Catlett. Sarcastically, I hope you weren't thinking Gale Catlett was a female?

[Valpo89]

Pgmado, I just looked back to see who the West Virginia coach was at that time. It was Gale Catlett. Sarcastically, I hope you weren't thinking Gale Catlett was a female?

No wonder he was bitter and mean to me. A man named Gale.
All of you guys have a lot better memories than I do. I didn't see the Arizona Republic story referring to me as a student. I would have been 34 at the time.

[historyman]

Pgmado, I just looked back to see who the West Virginia coach was at that time. It was Gale Catlett. Sarcastically, I hope you weren't thinking Gale Catlett was a female?

Somewhat interesting facts about Gale Catlett:

In late 2005 he publicly stated that he was considering running in the 2006 Republican primary in order to challenge incumbent Democratic Senator Robert Byrd. He later declined to run.

In 1978 he took over the head coaching job at WVU. Over the next 24 years, he posted a 439-276 record, and a career 565-320 record. Catlett's West Virginia teams won an average of 19 games a season and made eight trips to the NCAA tournament, including a 1998 Sweet 16 appearance. (same as Valpo)

Catlett played for West Virginia from 1959 to 1963. During his tenure playing there, he helped the Mountaineers to two NCAA tournament berths. After he graduated in 1963, he began his coaching career. He started out with assistant coaching jobs at Richmond, Davidson, Kansas, and Kentucky.

That means Gale Catlett played one season with Jerry West at West Virginia for the Mountaineers. West played at WVU from 1956 to 1960.

[StlVUFan]

Didn't Dakich take the job out there, temporarily, but realized how bad it was and bailed?

Yes, Dakich took the job, found some recruiting or other violations, and called back to Bowling Green to see if he could get his job back.  I think Belein (sp?, now coach at Michigan) took the WVU job, and Pittsnogled a few teams in the NCAA tournament.

Dakich is on the radio here in Indy and has many times said that giving up the WVU job was his biggest mistake in coaching.  I think he heard some bad things and got cold feet. 

Just found a long story about the eye of that particular storm, in which Dakich tells of why he changed his mind, but the story is a really sad and depressing one with hopefully an upside coming soon.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/sports/basketball/basketball-star-jonathon-hargetts-story-is-a-cautionary-tale.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&ref=sports&adxnnlx=1345316479-NYstwylR/6VWUJVzncWalw

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Great story, and thanks--perhaps the link you meant to post is this one?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/sports/ncaabasketball/landing-in-west-virginia-dan-dakich-checked-the-exits.html?ref=basketball

[chef]

WVU was 7-2 when they played Valpo and the Crusaders blew them right out of Tucson. Jonathan Hargett's line in the game (no pun intended) 1/11 FG, 0/8 3PT, and 9 turnovers.

[StlVUFan]

Great story, and thanks--perhaps the link you meant to post is this one?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/sports/ncaabasketball/landing-in-west-virginia-dan-dakich-checked-the-exits.html?ref=basketball

No, but that link is interesting too.  The eye of the storm was not Dakich, but Hargett.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Oh, agreed.  I was just confused by your talking about Dakich, when the other article was the one dealing explicitly with him, not Hargett.

So let me get this right:  after all that, Dakich says that leaving WVU, not going to, was his greatest mistake??!?

[StlVUFan]

Oh, agreed.  I was just confused by your talking about Dakich, when the other article was the one dealing explicitly with him, not Hargett.

So let me get this right:  after all that, Dakich says that leaving WVU, not going to, was his greatest mistake??!?

I lost track of where he said that.  I assume he thinks going to was his greatest mistake.

Of course, I could be wrong because again, he's not the story to me.  Hargett is.