Get to know more about Marshall basketball coach Tom Herrion, Part II

This is part two of our two part, get to know more about Marshall basketball coach Tom Herrion interviews.

Rich Jablonsk co-authored three books on basketball strategy with legendary College of Charleston coach John Kresse (http://www.flipkart.com/author/richard-jablonski/). Kevin Haborak of http://www.cofcfans.com/ was kind enough to forward the questions I sent him to Jablonsk who’s answers are below.

*Editors Note – Please understand that the purpose of these interviews is only to gain more information about Tom Herrion’s tenure at the College of Charleston. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect those of the Marshall Thundering Blog. Personally, I hope that Herrion wins more games than Cam Henderson and we re-name the arena after him.

Rich Jablonsk Q & A on Tom Herrion, answers are italicized:

1. What was the prevailing feeling among College of Charleston fans when Tom Herrion was named as the replacement for legendary Jon Kresse?

People were generally split into two camps; i.e., encouraged about hiring an ACC assistant; or discouraged that neither Gregg Marshall (none), Jim Yarbrough (none), nor Ben Betts (minimum) drew any genuine interest. What scared me was the "quality" of the process. It flat stunk.

2. What kind of offensive and defensive system did Herrion run at C of C?

Herrion's "system," such as it was, was largely up-tempo, with some limited sets and lots of faux motion on offense. The defense was mostly man, that decreased in quality as Kresse-trained holdovers left. The result was decreasing win totals from Years 2-4 of the Herrion Era.

3. What is Herrion's on court demeanor like?

On-court, Herrion was blustery, and not particularly inspiring. He shouted "Move!" a lot. He drew a few techs, and was censured by the league after a nasty post-game episode at Georgia Southern, where he chased and berated refs after a loss.

4. What did you like about Herrion while he was your head coach?

Not much. In my estimation, he simply wasn't ready AT THAT TIME to be a head coach. He did win games, especially early. But his players and teams were undisciplined. Now, whether he's ready now ... we'll see.

5. What did you dis-like about Herrion during his tenure in Charleston?

See above. In general, he dragged the program's good name through the mud by recruiting too many bad kids and putting us in APR jeopardy, WITHOUT WINNING A SINGLE SoCON TITLE.

6. What was the first sign of trouble during Herrion's tenure at C of C?

To me, when he immediately recruited/signed Zeke Johnson as a transfer. The kid was pure poison, but lasted long enough to help Herrion/CofC win the Great Alaska Shootout. Shortly thereafter, he was dismissed.

7. Around what time did the possibility of Herrion's dismissal from C of C begin to surface?

Took me about 2 weeks. For most of the rest, I'd say during his third season, when academic and disciplinary problems surfaced and wins decreased.

8. If you had to pick one reason why Herrion is no longer Charleston's head basketball coach what would it be?

Just a bad fit. He was hired by an egotistical, Little Napoleon of a president, who rigged a generally lame selection committee. The "finalists" were: Herrion (UVa ties); Dave Dickerson (failed at Tulane); Paul Biancardi (run out of coaching after revelations of the crap he pulled at Ohio State); Ed DeChellis (from ETSU) and Betts (a token interview for a Kresse holdover). Tells you something about the process, eh

9. Considering your arena is named after John Kresse do you think any one could have been a successful replacement? In other words, you never want to follow "the man" but following the guy after "the man" typically works out better.

No doubt, that hurt Herrion. But CofC fans would have rallied around Marshall, Betts or Yarbrough, I'm sure. Herrion was BOTH the wrong guy, and the wrong time.

10. Would you consider Herrion a good recruiter?

Herrion recruited one great player, several solid players, several mediocre players and a bunch of first-rate boneheads to CofC. I mean, Zeke Johnson, Tavon Nelson, J.R. Hairston, etc., etc., etc. EVERYONE knew these guys were thugs and malcontents.