MLax: Welcome (I Guess) to Duke, Coach DeLuca

[burnspbesq]

This is wierd.

You may recall that when Duke played Cornell in the national semifinals last Memorial Day weekend, the head coach of the Big Red was one Ben DeLuca.

Well, as of this week, that very same Ben DeLuca is the volunteer assistant coach at Duke.

Something--and as far as I know, nobody outside the Cornell administration, athletic department, or men's lacrosse program know what that something is or was--happened at Cornell at the beginning of fall semester. Whatever it was, it was serious enough that the administration shut down all fall-semester off-campus activities for the team (no scrimmages, etc.), and after some sort of additional review, dismissed the head coach in November.

Coach DeLuca's coaching ability is beyond dispute. Also beyond dispute is that he is walking around under a cloud.

I assume until proven otherwise that Coach Dano and Mr. White vetted this every way it could be vetted, and are satisfied that none of what happened (whatever it was) was properly attributable to Coach DeLuca. Because otherwise, he shouldn't be here.

http://www.insidelacrosse.com/news/2014/02/05/ben-deluca-join-duke-staff-volunteer-assistant

[bob blue devil]

Quite odd. Maybe this is the administration's way of balancing its karma with lax coaches caught in scandal.

Presumably, the man was dismissed from his job for a reason (Cornell likely has better info than Duke). Why would Duke of all places take a chance on a lacrosse coach with baggage? I guess we won't know what went down until people start spilling the beans (it sounds like there are way too many people involved to keep a lid on this). Does Duke owe its stakeholders an explanation here? If I were a trustee I might have an interest.

[killerleft]

I'll hazard a guess that John Danowski made his decision based on a solid knowledge of the situation, just because Danowski seems to be a fine father, man, and coach. I can't see any reason for anyone to think otherwise. Duke does have a history that tells us that when it is not about the truth anymore, excellent people are 'sacrificed' for less than perfect reasons. In what world would Danowski not be very sensitive about the possible ramifications?

If DeLuca had known about the hazing, surely he'd have been kicked out in a nanosecond. That he lasted for a while would indicate that campus politics MAY be the driving force in his ouster. I'm giving the guy the benefit of the doubt.

[MCFinARL]

I'll hazard a guess that John Danowski made his decision based on a solid knowledge of the situation, just because Danowski seems to be a fine father, man, and coach. I can't see any reason for anyone to think otherwise. Duke does have a history that tells us that when it is not about the truth anymore, excellent people are 'sacrificed' for less than perfect reasons. In what world would Danowski not be very sensitive about the possible ramifications?

If DeLuca had known about the hazing, surely he'd have been kicked out in a nanosecond. That he lasted for a while would indicate that campus politics MAY be the driving force in his ouster. I'm giving the guy the benefit of the doubt.

This makes sense to me. Based on a very quick read of Inside Lacrosse coverage, it looks like the hazing incident itself may have been overblown, with inside (admittedly unnamed) sources (http://www.insidelacrosse.com/news/2013/09/20/details-emerge-cornell-hazing-investigation)describing it as, essentially, an underage drinking party with no forced consumption of alcohol, no abuse of new team members, and no resulting injuries or arrests. And there was a groundswell of support for DeLuca from many alums including 2013 grad and star Rob Pannell. Comments on the article reporting DeLuca's firing (http://www.insidelacrosse.com/news/2013/11/14/breaking-cornell-dismisses-coach-ben-deluca-matt-kerwick-named-interim-head) (admittedly an almost completely unreliable source) point to a possible bad relationship between DeLuca and the athletic director as a motivating factor here.

Either way, as a volunteer assistant coach, DeLuca offers excellent lacrosse knowledge with little downside, since he presumably will not be in charge of setting the rules or behavioral tone for the program. He gets an opportunity to rehab his (possibly unfairly damaged) reputation and stay active in coaching until a new head or assistant coaching position opens up next season; Duke gets an opportunity to benefit from the skills and insights of one of the better defensive minds in lacrosse coaching.

And, like you, I trust Coach Danowski to use good judgment here--if it's okay with him, it's okay with me.

[greybeard]

This can't bode well for Cornell LAX in the next couple of years. I'm sure that Richie Moran, Hall of Fame Cornell LAX legend, lobbied hard for DeLuca, but will still be all in for Cornell, and a big recruiting draw, especially on LI where Moran is from and now lives. Nevertheless, DeLuca probably had next year's class pretty much locked up, and a good shot with others. I'm sure that recruits for 2015 also were lined up. Who knows what happens, but if acorns start falling, it couldn't hurt Duke that Danowski is doing DeLuca this large.

On the other hand, DeLuca had been handed an already formed national contender when he took over, and who knows how much a force he was in recruiting.

Moran and Danowski must be good friends Danowski's days at Hofstra; almost certain that Moran recruited D. Jr. to go to Cornell--damn, would we have been something.

Interesting intersections, none of which make me happy for Cornell LAX in the near, near. That said, there is something raw about having an annual party where 17-19 year old freshman are expected to get plastered; stupid gets what stupid is. I'm not mad about making DeLuca gone.

[MCFinARL]

This can't bode well for Cornell LAX in the next couple of years. I'm sure that Richie Moran, Hall of Fame Cornell LAX legend, lobbied hard for DeLuca, and will still be a big recruiting draw, especially on LI where Moran is from and now lives. Nevertheless, DeLuca probably had next year's class pretty much locked up, and others with a decent shot, maybe as far down as to 2015. Who knows what happens, but if acorns start falling, it couldn't hurt Duke that Danowski is doing DeLuca this large.

On the other hand, DeLuca had been handed an already formed national contender when he took over, and who knows how much a force he was in recruiting talent.

Moran and Danowski must be good friends Danowski's days at Hofstra; almost certain that Moran recruited D. Jr. to go to Cornell--damn, would we have been something.

There is something raw about having an annual party where 17-19 year old freshman are expected to get plastered; stupid is what stupid gets.

Raw, but alas, not unusual; alcohol abuse is so widespread on college campuses these days that I'm not sure I would fire a coach over something like this unless there was clear evidence that he turned a blind eye or made no effort to set sensible expectations for behavior. At some point, the students have to take responsibility for their own choices and live with the consequences.

[greybeard]

Raw, but alas, not unusual; alcohol abuse is so widespread on college campuses these days that I'm not sure I would fire a coach over something like this unless there was clear evidence that he turned a blind eye or made no effort to set sensible expectations for behavior. At some point, the students have to take responsibility for their own choices and live with the consequences.

I'm reasonably certain he knew; how could it have been otherwise. What, this was the first such initiation ritual went on. These guys were freshman and they had to have been expected to go beyond simply getting plastered, it had to have been a real macho test. But even if DeLuca somehow didn't know, he still had to take the fall.

I doubt that Cornell administrators and trustees are pleased about where "big" time college LAX is going, a Fall LAX season, really? I do not think that DeLuca did anything sinfully wrong, but he did have to go, even Moran couldn't save him.

I do not think that Duke University compromises itself in the least by giving DeLuca an unpaid job working with the LAX program. To the contrary, giving DeLuca a second chance in this fashion was not only righteous in its own right, but it also can only serve to help heal any lingering wounds. That, to me, is a good thing. I have a feeling that even the guys who made DeLuca gone think so.