More from Jerry
- Thread starter Halldan
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This part in the middle of Sha talking about declining the Crown tournament last season says a lot. (Emphasis mine)
“I was looking forward to it (the Crown) for a couple of reasons,” he said. “One, for our seniors. Two, because these guys love money so much, they had an opportunity to win some money; like everybody they’re in love with money so much. And three, these guys had an opportunity to play and showcase their talent on a different platform against different opponents. So I was disappointed in that, that the guys chose not to play.”
“I was looking forward to it (the Crown) for a couple of reasons,” he said. “One, for our seniors. Two, because these guys love money so much, they had an opportunity to win some money; like everybody they’re in love with money so much. And three, these guys had an opportunity to play and showcase their talent on a different platform against different opponents. So I was disappointed in that, that the guys chose not to play.”
I thought that shone poorly on the players who voted no. I know the season is long. But a competitor never wants to miss games.
Still, I agree with Holloway. Leave it up to the players because if you force them to do what they don't want to do the effort will be embarrassing.
Still, I agree with Holloway. Leave it up to the players because if you force them to do what they don't want to do the effort will be embarrassing.
Aug. 4: A busy day of Pirate news
For starters, I reported on a couple of notable scheduling wrinkles -- a fundraiser exhibition at Monmouth and a regular-season doubleheader at the iconic Palestra in Philly. Both excellent ideas. Plenty of Hall donors in Monmouth County and the Palestra should be in every hoop-heads bucket list.So the Pirates' non-conference schedule is close to done: at Alabama and Rutgers, Kansas State at home, two games in the Bahamas vs. either Wisconsin, N.C. State or a team to be announced; an American Athletic Conference foe (probably Charlotte) at the Palestra, UNC Greensboro (at Walsh), Saint Peter's, NJIT, and Wagner.
Plus an exhibition against Monmouth and closed-door scrimmages against VCU and Boston College.
Then Shaheen Holloway spoke with a handful of reporters for 30 minutes and discussed the state of the roster and the sport at length. Here are my 5 takeaways along with his related quotes.
From a reporter's standpoint, Holloway can be difficult to access, but when you do get him, he tends to be very good -- you get real insights, not BS. This was a good example of that. He encouraged questions about anything and everything except for his contract extension (the university never publicly acknowledges contracts).
Speaking of the university, in early July I requested an interview with Seton Hall's president, Msgr. Joseph Reilly, about athletics (now that he has been cleared of wrongdoing in his prior handling of the seminary). The response has been radio silence. Not even an acknowledgement of a request.
Reilly has been president for two years and to my knowledge has not done an interview outside of with student media (good job by them). All I can do is ask. I can't force my way into an interview. But to not even have my emailed request so much as acknowledged in return is disheartening.
Newspapers are important. The APP is a part of my life, was even a paperboy lol. So that is one fee I pay.
Pretty disappointing that the Monsignor didn't even acknowledge Jerry's request. You couldn't ask for a safer interview than one from Jerry. Very sad that the University President is going to operate in an ivory tower. It surely has its root causes in the whole Seminary/McCarrick thing. Pretty sad that an apparently good man has to stay so aloof.
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But he is a great supporter of basketball and sports we are told…
You're misreading what Jerry is saying. He is not in contact with the monsignor. He is dealing with a person who is in charge of media relations. That is who he is upset with.
I doubt the monsignor is even aware of Jerry's complaint.
Is there any inside info on how close the vote actually was to not accept the invitation to participate in the crown? Be interesting to know whether it came down to a vote or two.
I guess we'll know, in the future, if the team elects not to participate in a post season tournament that we can almost certainly expect a mass exodus.....although that seems to be the norm now anyway.
I guess we'll know, in the future, if the team elects not to participate in a post season tournament that we can almost certainly expect a mass exodus.....although that seems to be the norm now anyway.
There is not much room for excuses from the public relations team on why they have not responded to Jerry, especially when you consider the piece is likely to be highly complementary and the fact that they ignored repeated outreach from me when trying to break a story in the not-so-distant past.
With the media/public relations teams’ unresponsiveness continuing to be an issue for the university, it falls on Monsignor Reilly to improve as he is tasked with overseeing the school and its operations.
In my opinion, the unresponsiveness is a direct reflection that he does not have the real pulse on the university’s actions/inactions and is not up to the task of stewarding the institution forward.
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But that’s the problem, Dan. We can only judge by what we see and what deficiencies and gaps exist when you compare us to our peers.
He has been virtually invisible and inaccessible.
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If we had a monsignor that would embrace an hour long conversation/interview with a favorable member of the press then we wouldnt be having this debate.
I have a great understanding of what the role takes and what he has done as I have covered higher education for well over a decade now. Reilly can do all he wants behind closed doors, which is great and can be advantageous but only to a certain extent because that is not going to change the public or private perception of the university or his tenure.
If, and it feels like a big IF, he wants to advance the university and athletics forward, then he there has to embrace being more public-facing and pass that down and enforce it with the likes of the public relations team and athletics department. Until that changes he will continue to be at least a day late and a dollar short.
I have a great understanding of what the role takes and what he has done as I have covered higher education for well over a decade now. Reilly can do all he wants behind closed doors, which is great and can be advantageous but only to a certain extent because that is not going to change the public or private perception of the university or his tenure.
If, and it feels like a big IF, he wants to advance the university and athletics forward, then he there has to embrace being more public-facing and pass that down and enforce it with the likes of the public relations team and athletics department. Until that changes he will continue to be at least a day late and a dollar short.
I agree wholeheartedly that eventually in good faith that the Monsignor does more than the one interview with the students. However, the issue with Jerry was with the sports relation guy not the monsignor.
That said I feel Reilly has to be more open with what went down and obviously Jerry would be the best person to conduct said interview. But my point was not to degrade a person who in his two years here has done amazing things for the school based on just this one topic.
That said I feel Reilly has to be more open with what went down and obviously Jerry would be the best person to conduct said interview. But my point was not to degrade a person who in his two years here has done amazing things for the school based on just this one topic.
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What metric makes this the best freshman class in school history?
What major donations? And what are they going for?
I think everyone is missing the big picture with this one …. SHU seems to be taking its lead from the Archdiocese, which is a VERY insular organization. The Archdiocese doesn’t really care about PR, and in making its higher-ups public figures. It’s just not their philosophy. Unfortunately, SHU seems to have to follow along.
The question then becomes, how/when does the diocese change/shift that stance when enrollement/financial/etc pressure mounts and the school/diocese face more dire situations?
They never will.
A motto that always stuck with me from my days of Basic Catholicism class: God Is Not A Democracy.
They operate under a different standard that’s all their own.
It‘s really not his fault for the reasons mentioned elsewhere. If SHU were run by a religious order, I’d say maybe. But when we’re talking about SHU being Archdiocesan-run, not so much. Bureaucracy in action!
Never say never. Who knows how that operating standard would change if they were hemmoraging money while their backstop of resources deteriorated
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13 N.J. colleges earn four stars or higher on Money’s Best Colleges in America list | ROI-NJ
Twelve New Jersey colleges and universities earned spots on Money magazine’s Best Colleges in America list by garnering at least four stars.
www.roi-nj.com
Spoiler alert: Seton Hall isn’t on it.
Dan, I think you hit on an important point in your next to last sentence..."...obviously Jerry would be the best person to conduct said interview." in the context of addressing the 800 pound gorilla in the room.
It will have to be done...and of course more than once...but, why not have the first public comments come with a "friendly" doing the interview...Jerry's not going to be looking for a "gotcha" moment, and will let him tell his side of the story, virtually unscathed.
A missed opportunity as I see it....for now at least.
I like the Monsignor and feel he is doing good job, but Dan what you list above his all part of his standard job description, noting particularly special or unique from my perspective.
I had a history prof who has a lot of influence in the American Catholic higher education world always tell me: "The Catholic Church will do what the Catholic Church wants to do at the time it wants to do it, and no one can change any of that."
Yes, but how successful you are is the important thing. And the school is thrilled with the results to date.
The media relations person would consult/advise with the president. He would be counseled but the decision is his. I worked in this capacity for years.
I know the Monsignor. He would never ghost a writer. If he didn't want to do the interview he would have said so and the message would have been relayed to Jerry.
Again, that said Reilly absolutely should do an interview beyond just the one he did with the students. If not with Jerry then another professional writer. He has nothing to hide but his inactions project differently.
Again, that said Reilly absolutely should do an interview beyond just the one he did with the students. If not with Jerry then another professional writer. He has nothing to hide but his inactions project differently.
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