Coach Brian Gregory: an Appreciation

[Old South Stands]

A commentary that appeared recently in MyAJC about Coach Brian Gregory. Personally, I think he earned the opportunity to come back and coach another year...

The personal qualities Coach Gregory brought to Tech will be missed, and I think his absence will be felt for a number of seasons to come. (BeFree111's comment in the Reader Comments section is worth reading).

http://www.myajc.com/news/sports/college/brian-gregory-appreciation/nqwHp/

 

[KeystoneJacket]

While he turned out to be a good representative (which I was unsure of after the London Warren fiasco) and got the team's academic affairs back in good standing the fact is he didn't cut it on the court or on the recruiting trail. The comment you pointed out says he deserved another year, but honestly it was probably the best for both parties to part now. Gregory looks a lot better as a potential candidate this offseason then he would next year.

 

[lv20gt]

Earned another year? He was already given an extra year that he didn't earn already. We finished tied for 11th in conference and missed the NCAAT again in the high water mark of his tenure here. The only thing he earned this year was a spot in the unemployment line which is what he got. He didn't earn a year 6. He didn't earn a year 5. Hell, he didn't earn a year 1. Glad he's gone, and he can take his mercenary transfers with him. Glad they're gone too.

 

[Nook Su Kow]

Earned another year? He was already given an extra year that he didn't earn already. We finished tied for 11th in conference and missed the NCAAT again in the high water mark of his tenure here. The only thing he earned this year was a spot in the unemployment line which is what he got. He didn't earn a year 6. He didn't earn a year 5. Hell, he didn't earn a year 1. Glad he's gone, and he can take his mercenary transfers with him. Glad they're gone too.

Tell us how you really feel.

 

[Bennett]

I'm not crying for CBG. I wish I could get fired and still make more than a million dollars

 

[ATL1]

 

[bke1984]

I'm not crying for CBG. I wish I could get fired and still make more than a million dollars

Yeah, this is a point I always come back to when people feel sorry for coaches losing their jobs. Money isn't everything, but the kind of money these guys make these days seems like it would sure make something like that pretty easy to deal with.

I was proud of the way the team bounced back after January, but this team should have made the NCAAT. If they had done that he'd still be here. The lineup took way too long to solidify, when it was pretty clear to anyone watching that Marcus, Brandon, Adam, and Charles were the four best players on the team and should rarely see the bench.

Gregory is as classy a guy as you'll find, and boy did he inherit a mess, but eventually all that fades and you have to start winning. Unfortunately it took until the last month of his fifth season to do so, and by that time it seems our AD had already made the decision.

I think the law run put a lot of folks back in his corner. I know I even started to pull for him in the middle of that run, going 180 from earlier comments I had made in this board. I wonder how the empathizers would feel if the season had ended at the end of January when we were 12-9 (2-6)?

 

[AE 87]

Fwiw, I got the feeling that CBG may have felt a catch 22 of needing success and needing to show progress in program development. The first required riding the seniors while the required showing underclass depth.

 

[hwdgeplague]

I enjoyed the last year. It was painful to see all the close losses, but it was clear the team never quit and eventually their percerverance paid off. CBG was steady through out.

 

[mstranahan]

Ultimately, Gregory's inability to land recruits was his downfall. In five years he brought in two meaningful recruits (Georges-Hunt & Carter), both in his first recruiting year. Since then, we've seen a steady flow of transfers and done-and-one grad transfers. It's incredibly hard to build a competitive team in the ACC based on that model. I don't know if his recruiting failures were due to admissions not working with him or his own. No matter the cause, he simply didn't have a roster that allowed him to win.
If you look at what we have coming back for next year, you see the issue pretty plainly. Our projected starting lineup would be Jorgensen, Hayward, Heath, Stephens and Lammers wit Romello White as sixth man. Assuming White opts to enroll and not look elsewhere, we still need three or four kids to add depth and skill. I think 2016-17 will be a train wreck, regardless of coach. Will be lucky to win 3 games in conference.