[alabama24]

I believe he means he will attend 10 or more games next season.

<whisper mode on> I know <whisper mode off>

[SuperJon]

The more and more I see reaction to this, the more and more I'm glad we didn't hire Jason Allison. I liked the guy and think he can coach, but some of the comments tied to his circle have shown it wasn't worth the baggage.

I don't know much about Jason, other than watching him play a little while attending Liberty, but why do you think he can coach?

I think he can coach because he's been a Division I assistant for ten years. You don't do that without bringing something to the table. I don't know if or when he'll be a head coach, but you have to give him credit for being a Division I assistant.

If Meyer would've been hired, it could've made sense to hire Jason as an assistant here. Giving him the coach in waiting title would've been stupid and never would've happened.

The beat the hell out of Liberty comment, his wife's comment on Facebook about Ritchie quitting on the team, along with the the things posted here by people in his circle make me think it'll be a while before he's back on the mountain by invitation.

I like Jason. He's never been anything but absolutely, 100% polite and friendly to me. At the end of the day, I'm loyal to Liberty, not a person. I'm glad he was able to get an interview because it shows our administration cares about the past, but I'm happy with the hire of Ritchie and I'm excited to see where he can take us.

[R i]

Wait, SJ. are you talking Eaker or Allison ? Because Allison is a head coach now.

[SuperJon]

Allison.

[R i]

Wait, SJ. are you talking Eaker or Allison ? Because Allison is a head coach now.

Edited.

[olldflame]

Wait, SJ. are you talking Eaker or Allison ? Because Allison is a head coach now.

Breaking news? Last I heard, he was still an assistant at App State. he may or may not have had an interview for the VMI job.

[SuperJon]

Wait, SJ. are you talking Eaker or Allison ? Because Allison is a head coach now.

Edited.

If he got a head gig then awesome. I'm ecstatic for him. He's earned it and deserves his shot.

[R i]

My bad, hes not the head coach. sorry. All the talk of him having a sweet gig and not wanting to leave to be an assistant at LU, had my mind thinking he was a head coach.

[TIMSCAR20]

Wait, SJ. are you talking Eaker or Allison ? Because Allison is a head coach now.

Edited.

If he got a head gig then awesome. I'm ecstatic for him. He's earned it and deserves his shot.

When did THIS happen? Seems like I would have been one of the 1st to know since I talk to the guy on the phone and text a few times per week. As for his reaction to the news, it is no secret that Jason isn't a Ritchie McKay fan and for those of us that know him well know that he is as fiery as they come and sometimes that energy isn't channeled in the most positive manner. I haven't really had a conversation since the news but I pretty much know how he feels about this situation.

[belcherboy]

The more and more I see reaction to this, the more and more I'm glad we didn't hire Jason Allison. I liked the guy and think he can coach, but some of the comments tied to his circle have shown it wasn't worth the baggage.

I don't know much about Jason, other than watching him play a little while attending Liberty, but why do you think he can coach?

I think he can coach because he's been a Division I assistant for ten years. You don't do that without bringing something to the table. I don't know if or when he'll be a head coach, but you have to give him credit for being a Division I assistant.

If Meyer would've been hired, it could've made sense to hire Jason as an assistant here. Giving him the coach in waiting title would've been stupid and never would've happened.

The beat the hell out of Liberty comment, his wife's comment on Facebook about Ritchie quitting on the team, along with the the things posted here by people in his circle make me think it'll be a while before he's back on the mountain by invitation.

I like Jason. He's never been anything but absolutely, 100% polite and friendly to me. At the end of the day, I'm loyal to Liberty, not a person. I'm glad he was able to get an interview because it shows our administration cares about the past, but I'm happy with the hire of Ritchie and I'm excited to see where he can take us.

Just my two cents, but what do you really bring to the table when you are an assistant coach for 10 seasons at VMI. While there, he had 4 seasons above .500 ('08-'09, '10-''11, '11-'12, '13-'14), not too bad as they were winning more games towards the end of his time there. But they never made it to the NCAA tournament in his 10 seasons. Then he goes to App State. Is App St. really a better program than VMI?

The guy may be nice, but I still don't understand why people think he should even be in a conversation as a head coach at any Division I school with his resume, especially talk of him leading Liberty. There are 346 D-I basketball teams out there. Being an assistant coach to a team that is probably in the bottom 15%-20% of all D-1 schools isn't much of a resume builder. I'm not so sure he didn't take a step back going to App St. The Sun Belt is probably a better conference, so maybe it was a step up.

[bluejacket]

Is App St. really a better program than VMI?

Yes.

[TIMSCAR20]

App State is a WAY better job than VMI. Plus I believe he is higher on the totem pole at App as he was the second Asst behind Daniel Willis at VMI. The Sunbelt is better than the Southern Conference in hoops. People have made the tournament at App. VMI is one of the hardest jobs in America. They don't spend a ton of money on Athletics, the hoop stars are treated just like everyone else in the population for the most part and they have high admission standards.

In short getting good players there is awfully difficult. Jason mad that look easy. He got players to VMI that allowed them to make 3 Big South Tournament Finals in 10 years. Unfortunately for them all 3 games were played on the other team's home court. They took a good Winthrop team down to the last shot in the Big South Championship. They lost to the Asheville team that had one of the best backcourts in Big South history in Primm and Dickey, and they lost to Radford in 2009 when they had a team full of Seniors and Art Parakhouski, one of the most prolific big men in Conference history.

App is also a better job because he gets to work with Jimmy Fox who is an up and comer in the coaching world. It is difficult for those outside of the coaching world sometimes to gauge one job over another but this one to me is clear.

[belcherboy]

App State is a WAY better job than VMI. Plus I believe he is higher on the totem pole at App as he was the second Asst behind Daniel Willis at VMI. The Sunbelt is better than the Southern Conference in hoops. People have made the tournament at App. VMI is one of the hardest jobs in America. They don't spend a ton of money on Athletics, the hoop stars are treated just like everyone else in the population for the most part and they have high admission standards.

In short getting good players there is awfully difficult. Jason mad that look easy. He got players to VMI that allowed them to make 3 Big South Tournament Finals in 10 years. Unfortunately for them all 3 games were played on the other team's home court. They took a good Winthrop team down to the last shot in the Big South Championship. They lost to the Asheville team that had one of the best backcourts in Big South history in Primm and Dickey, and they lost to Radford in 2009 when they had a team full of Seniors and Art Parakhouski, one of the most prolific big men in Conference history.

App is also a better job because he gets to work with Jimmy Fox who is an up and comer in the coaching world. It is difficult for those outside of the coaching world sometimes to gauge one job over another but this one to me is clear.

Ok. I was just looking at their results the past few years and noticed they haven't had a winning record in 5 seasons. It made me wonder what kind of an opportunity it really was compared to VMI. The Sun Belt definitely seems like a better conference, and it looks like they actually did pretty well with it being their first year there.

[olldflame]

Obviously you know Jason Personally SCAR, but I'm not so sure about him being the #2 assistant at VMI. If his profile on the the App State website is to be believed, his title at VMI was "Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator". That's a title you usually give out when you want to give your top guy recognition and a raise and have maxed out on salary for an assistant coaching position. I've never heard of it going to a #2 assistant.

[TIMSCAR20]

Obviously you know Jason Personally SCAR, but I'm not so sure about him being the #2 assistant at VMI. If his profile on the the App State website is to be believed, his title at VMI was "Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator". That's a title you usually give out when you want to give your top guy recognition and a raise and have maxed out on salary for an assistant coaching position. I've never heard of it going to a #2 assistant.

I know Duggar and Daniel Willis pretty well too. I don't usually get into the hierarchy thing with coaches but I know Daniel has been with Duggar since before VMI so I just deduced it.

[youngflamer]

After thinking about it some more.................... why not Meyer? One thing that is clear is he wanted badly to come back to the mountain. He is accustomed to the role of assistant coach, albeit at a higher level. We could offer him associate HC, and match what he is making at Michigan. He's well paid, but it's not crazy money. $185,000 plus bonuses.

I've read Flamefans for many years and I think this only my fifth post. I started posting because I know Meyer better than many who have posted thousands of times here. Our son was a manager on the team when Jeff was HC and Randy Dunton was his assistant. He told me many times when he would talk about the team that the coach who should be HC was Dunton because he was such a great teacher and he was an awesome recruiter. But just ONE more time can I remind oldflame, Meyer quit the team 2 weeks before the season began leaving the team without a coach. I'm not excited about the rehire of McKay, but I sure am glad Meyer didn't come back.

[BJWilliams]

Its like I said youngflamer, there are two reasons in play when it comes to hiring a coach, and neither of them is in order to make message board guys happy, regardless of their prior context. If an AD uses that as even a small motivation for hiring someone, they should be fired immediately. As long as coach McKay does the two things I mentioned before, I think we will cope if he isnt the guy some people on here didn't like.

[winningestcoach]

After thinking about it some more.................... why not Meyer? One thing that is clear is he wanted badly to come back to the mountain. He is accustomed to the role of assistant coach, albeit at a higher level. We could offer him associate HC, and match what he is making at Michigan. He's well paid, but it's not crazy money. $185,000 plus bonuses.

I've read Flamefans for many years and I think this only my fifth post. I started posting because I know Meyer better than many who have posted thousands of times here. Our son was a manager on the team when Jeff was HC and Randy Dunton was his assistant. He told me many times when he would talk about the team that the coach who should be HC was Dunton because he was such a great teacher and he was an awesome recruiter. But just ONE more time can I remind oldflame, Meyer quit the team 2 weeks before the season began leaving the team without a coach. I'm not excited about the rehire of McKay, but I sure am glad Meyer didn't come back.

Long time reader, first time poster. Your assertion that Meyer quit the team is a complete and utter falsehood. You were not there and your son the manager was not privy to the inner workings and what was going on behind the scenes during that difficult time. No disrespect intended, but I would also caution against giving any credibility to the opinion of a manager as to who should be the head coach. Both men are talented coaches with their own unique strengths. They actually balanced each other quite well. Its just too bad they couldn't sustain a good working relationship, because their combined efforts led to the greatest period of sustained success in LU Basketball history. I just wish the haters would go away once and for all and we could celebrate Liberty's past while coming together to build for the future. This is what is needed now!

[TDDance234]

Let's keep this on topic about our current coach. I know it's difficult any time Meyer and Dunton get brought up - but let's leave the past there, please.

[Purple Haize]

After thinking about it some more.................... why not Meyer? One thing that is clear is he wanted badly to come back to the mountain. He is accustomed to the role of assistant coach, albeit at a higher level. We could offer him associate HC, and match what he is making at Michigan. He's well paid, but it's not crazy money. $185,000 plus bonuses.

I've read Flamefans for many years and I think this only my fifth post. I started posting because I know Meyer better than many who have posted thousands of times here. Our son was a manager on the team when Jeff was HC and Randy Dunton was his assistant. He told me many times when he would talk about the team that the coach who should be HC was Dunton because he was such a great teacher and he was an awesome recruiter. But just ONE more time can I remind oldflame, Meyer quit the team 2 weeks before the season began leaving the team without a coach. I'm not about the rehire of McKay, but I sure am glad Meyer didn't come back.

It's posts like this one that caused implementation of The Rule

JEFF MEYER. And DALE GIBSON for good measure.

[Purple Haize]

After thinking about it some more.................... why not Meyer? One thing that is clear is he wanted badly to come back to the mountain. He is accustomed to the role of assistant coach, albeit at a higher level. We could offer him associate HC, and match what he is making at Michigan. He's well paid, but it's not crazy money. $185,000 plus bonuses.

I've read Flamefans for many years and I think this only my fifth post. I started posting because I know Meyer better than many who have posted thousands of times here. Our son was a manager on the team when Jeff was HC and Randy Dunton was his assistant. He told me many times when he would talk about the team that the coach who should be HC was Dunton because he was such a great teacher and he was an awesome recruiter. But just ONE more time can I remind oldflame, Meyer quit the team 2 weeks before the season began leaving the team without a coach. I'm not excited about the rehire of McKay, but I sure am glad Meyer didn't come back.

Long time reader, first time poster. Your assertion that Meyer quit the team is a complete and utter falsehood. You were not there and your son the manager was not privy to the inner workings and what was going on behind the scenes during that difficult time. No disrespect intended, but I would also caution against giving any credibility to the opinion of a manager as to who should be the head coach. Both men are talented coaches with their own unique strengths. They actually balanced each other quite well. Its just too bad they couldn't sustain a good working relationship, because their combined efforts led to the greatest period of sustained success in LU Basketball history. I just wish the haters would go away once and for all and we could celebrate Liberty's past while coming together to build for the future. This is what is needed now!

This is also an example but no rule violation

[Sly Fox]

Well put, winningestcoach. Especially these lines: "Both men are talented coaches with their own unique strengths. They actually balanced each other quite well. Its just too bad they couldn't sustain a good working relationship, because their combined efforts led to the greatest period of sustained success in LU Basketball history." Word.

I appreciate the efforts of all the head coaches that have served our program since my days on campus in the '80s. Taking shots at any of them is bad form IMHO ... even the two whose results were clearly subpar by their own standards. I am anxious to see our program back on an upward direction and the excitement return to the Vines Center.

[Purple Haize]

Well put, winningestcoach. Especially these lines: "Both men are talented coaches with their own unique strengths. They actually balanced each other quite well. Its just too bad they couldn't sustain a good working relationship, because their combined efforts led to the greatest period of sustained success in LU Basketball history." Word.

I appreciate the efforts of all the head coaches that have served our program since my days on campus in the '80s. Taking shots at any of them is bad form IMHO ... even the two whose results were clearly subpar by their own standards. I am anxious to see our program back on an upward direction and the excitement return to the Vines Center.

I've never coached at that level but the talent isn't very good. Plus, I don't think most of those kids are old enough to be eligible

[TIMSCAR20]

Winningestcoach that was well said. I have been amazed at how people have such strong feelings against Randy Dunton and Jeff Meyer. Both guys did great things for Liberty Basketball and both have good strengths and some weaknesses. As a person that got to see them up close as a player for them and later as a guy who sat in the office with them working long hours, I can say that they didn't always get along, both had strong opinions, and personalities but both guys are REALLY GOOD COACHES.

Both guys have grown and learned a lot since their time together. I for one hope that Randy gets another coaching job soon. I would have loved it if Jeff Meyer got to come back to coach at Liberty too. I think there is room in this world to support both guys and to have a relationship with both guys and to acknowledge the good that BOTH guys have done for the program.

RD gave me opportunities as a player, improved me as a player and taught me about work ethic and desire, commitment to excellence and passion for what you do. Jeff Meyer has been a father figure in my life since 1986. I feel awful that their relationship hasn't been a good one all these years later. I have never taken sides, nor will I because I think both guys have their role in everything that transpired and both guys genuinely care about ME as a person and value my contribution to the program and their careers. I have had some very deep conversations with both of them in the past few weeks. It just makes me think of how good the program would have remained if they would have been able to co-exist.

I agree 100000000% with WinningestCoach that we need to get behind Ritchie McKay, get over the past and move this program forward. I am going to talk to Ritchie about bridging the past, healing relationships and embracing former players going back as far as Ed Gomes' time to Larry Blair and beyond.

It is time for this program to live up to its potential. I for 1 am excited about the future of Liberty Hoops going forward. WELCOME BACK RITCHIE MCKAY!!!!!!

[R i]

I agree Scar. Its too bad these coaches dont agree with your sentiment.

GMTM had the scoop on all this, I want to give him props for giving us so much info in the final hours , in our desperate state of determining who our coach was.