Fairfield’s men’s basketball team has represented a comedy of errors at some times this season. Whether flubbing games by fouling up an in-bounds play or gifting other teams with last second wins, the Stags have clearly displayed an inability to put games away when it counts, and resemblances to the Keystone Cops and the gang who couldn’t shoot straight abound. Their problems are made all the more disappointing given the immense amount of talent available on the team which is seemingly going untapped.
As Fairfield once again faces the prospect of playing in the dreaded “play-in” game in the upcoming MAAC tournament, one might think that it would be time for the administration to seriously reconsider its relationship with head coach Tim O’Toole. However, I do not think that this should be the case at all, for a number of reasons.
Some people here and in the local press are of the opinion that it is time for O’Toole’s tenure at Fairfield to come to an end. Why? Because he has not produced a winning program? Because he has not lived up to the potential that he came to Fairfield with?
Let’s tackle these arguments in a somewhat objective fashion. First, what is “winning” anyway, but a state of the mind? In the 1988 winter olympics, the Jamaican bobsled team crashed to disastrous results in their final run, but did they not score an unforgettable moral victory, later immortalized in the classic film Cool Runnings?
Think of this as it relates to Fairfield athletics: despite waning student interest and a skeptical move to the new Arena at Harbor Yard, O’Toole’ Stags drew almost 5,000 fans to the arena in their last game against Manhattan. Why? The answer is simple: Fairfield men’s basketball, winning or losing, is still entertaining regardless. Even when they lose, the Stags still put on quite a display; O’Toole’s globetrotting recruitment methods have brought athletes of the highest calibre to Fairfield, and in my opinion, it is only a matter of time until they gel into one of the MAAC’s most succesful teams.
Already they are feared throughout the conference, exemplified by Manhattan coach Bobby Gonzalez’s post-game remarks after his team’s narrow win over Fairfield last Saturday. “Who wants to play Fairfield in the MAAC tournament? Nobody,” he said.
Nobody indeed. And despite the increasing pressure on coach Tim O’Toole, athletics director Gene Doris could only make the situation worse by giving into it. O’Toole brought the program to where it is; his recruits are now the core of this team, and he deserves a real chance to guide them to glory.
Leave a Reply