Don Donoher's kids?

Falcon7 · #1 01-28-2010, 04:11 PM

Did one of Don's Boys pass away a while back?
I know that Brian is the current AD at Fairmont.

Gem City · #2 01-29-2010, 03:33 PM

Yes, one of Donoher's boys did pass away. He died almost 20 years ago now. It all happened a year or two before UD let Donoher go.

It was a very sad story. I believe it was Brian Donoher's older brother. He kept his illness hidden from his family, so it was a big shock to the Donoher family. It really hit Coach Donoher hard. In fact some felt it really hurt the program, because Don Donoher wasn't able to give it his best. That's just one of the reasons many people were very angry when they let Donoher go. (Coach Knight for one.)

UACFlyer · #3 01-29-2010, 04:03 PM

Often there is reference to "the way the University handled DD's dismissal'. Certainly, the matter was not handled well. But "the university" didn't handle the matter,....AD Tom Frericks did. The university didn't handle JOB's departure, Ted Kissel did.

Surely the AD informs the president in advance of acting; but that is more along the lines of a courtesy.

Also, it should be remembered that TF was a dying man himself at the time. For anyone, including Knight of all people, to blame UD for its treatment of DD is simply unfair.

The real bungling came with the hiring of a replacement having no Div 1 coaching experience of any kind. Good grief! The UD job was plenty attractive at the time....there were plenty of BG-type top assistants around then as there are now. Ill or not, I cannot imagine what Mr. Frericks could have been thinking.

Gem City · #4 01-29-2010, 04:19 PM

Jim Paxson Sr. was big driving force behind the Jim O'Brien hire.

jumpin' joe · #5 01-29-2010, 07:07 PM

Originally Posted by UACFlyer

Often there is reference to "the way the University handled DD's dismissal'. Certainly, the matter was not handled well. But "the university" didn't handle the matter,....AD Tom Frericks did. The university didn't handle JOB's departure, Ted Kissel did.

Surely the AD informs the president in advance of acting; but that is more along the lines of a courtesy.

Also, it should be remembered that TF was a dying man himself at the time. For anyone, including Knight of all people, to blame UD for its treatment of DD is simply unfair.

The real bungling came with the hiring of a replacement having no Div 1 coaching experience of any kind. Good grief! The UD job was plenty attractive at the time....there were plenty of BG-type top assistants around then as there are now. Ill or not, I cannot imagine what Mr. Frericks could have been thinking.

Just to clear up a few things...
Tom Frericks refused to fire Don Donoher. He wanted Don to fire the assistants and stay on the job. Donoher, being the classy and loyal man he is/was, refused. Brother Fitz was the one the actually handled the firing with the urging of Jesse Phillips (Chair of the Board of Trustees).
Tom Frericks was not a dying man at the time of Donoher's firing. He was diagnosed with cancer more than two years after Don was terminated.
I agree, the hiring of JOB was badly handled. The job was not as attractive as you would think since the college coaching fraternity (who loved and respected Donoher) pretty much told all coaches to stay away from Dayton.

Chris R · #6 01-30-2010, 01:15 AM

Gerry Faust told Bob Huggins to stay away. We know that.

UACFlyer · #7 01-30-2010, 11:15 AM

What's done is done. And...it's understandable that an AD might seek or at least listen to the advice of someone like Paxson. However, that does not explain one's suspending good sense and judgment.

Anyone and everyone who knows anything about college BB understands the importance of recruiting, i.e., "knowing how to do it", local and regional contacts, etc.,...as well as the importance of experience coaching at the Div 1 level. JOB had neither. Top assistants (like BG) have both and always are plentiful, as are head coaches that have been successful at Div 1 and want to move up a notch.

That JOB knew BB is a certainty....professionally the best thing that could have happened to him was failure at Dayton. The rest of his career has been highly successful and he's a wealthy man. All of which proves the critical importance of the Div 1 college coaching experience that he lacked.

The vital importance of such experience is so obvious that I will never understand how it could have been ignored by TF and anyone who may have advised him at the time. We paid a very high price for what happened. Indeed, it can be argued that UD is still in the process of recovery.

UDEE79 · #8 02-01-2010, 01:46 PM

I think DD went through a very dark period after his son died and he was fired. My father saw him out in public during this time and was shocked at his appearance.

moville · #9 02-08-2010, 03:57 PM

I may have my facts wrong on Huggins (not the first time mind you), but my understanding of the Huggins-Faust relationship goes like this:

Bobby, then the Akron coach, asked Jerry, then the Zips football coach after the ND disaster, if he would recommend him for the Dayton job.

Faust, either I read or heard from a reliable source (probably some drunk at Kramer's) told Bobby to his face: "Bob, I like you as a person and consider you a friend and a terrific basketball coach . . . but I've seen how you treat young men and I can't, in good conscience, recommend you for the job at my alma mater."

Or something like that. If I'm way off, sorry.