Mckeown resigns, accepts position at Northwestern - This was a move that shocked many in the GW community. It probably shouldn't have. In 19 seasons, Joe Mckeown became the face of both Atlantic-10 women's basketball as well as GW women's basketball taking a program mired in mediocrity and leaving it as a perennial top 25 women's team. He had done everything he possibly could to take a mid-major and turn it into a dominant program and there was very little left for Mckeown to accomplish.
You can argue whether or not Joe should have stayed to reach the final four with GW but the opportunity to coach in a BCS league will give his ability and talent more exposure and a chance to do for Northwestern, what he has done for GW.
Mckeown, as most know, was deeply involved in the GW community. Most notable was his involvement with Autism Awareness as Mckeown attended fundraisers and rallies to support the cause. Mckeown also wore the Autism lapel on his jacket to every game as a show of support for his son Joey who is an autistic child. As a family man, Mckeown was always concerned that the "coaching" lifestyle took away from his family time and never forgot to give a shout out to any number of his family members during a WRGW postgame interview.
I personally will miss Joe Mckeown because of the way he treated the media. I will cherish the moment he told me to stay with him after a press-conference this year and gave me a 30-minute interview while enlightening me on some of the great people and stories he had come across during his coaching career. I also will remember my conversation with him on the Smith Center floor literally minutes before his team departed to Greensboro. He stayed with me and answered any final question I had to put up a preview before his team left, and his dedication towards making everyone around him feel welcomed is a character trait I will sorely miss.
Basketball coaches, by nature, can often times take out frustration and tireless work on the media after games, yet Mckeown always acted with grace and sincere kindness regardless of his team's play.
Everyone who ever knew Joe Mckeown will miss him dearly here in the nation's capital.
Bozeman hired as Mckeown's Successor - This was the most logical decision the athletic department could have made. In addition to being as qualified as the other two candidates, Bozeman has a good rapport with the current roster and is a recruiting boon in the D.C. area. By staying in-house, all incoming recruits have stayed on-board at GW and the University is in good hands "recruiting wise," in the D.C./MD/VA area for years to come.
Bozeman has a winning pedigree as a basketball coach and I expect there to be very little drop-off with him as the coach of this roster.
Now that we have got those two items out of the way, I wanted to post the tentative games we have so far for the men's team on the schedule this year. With conference schedules trickling out bit-by-bit, this is what we know so far:
Definite GW home-games:
URI
UMBC (ooc)
Binghamton (ooc)
Harvard (ooc) - The arrival of Cem Dinc to the Smith Center
American (ooc) - The second-tier inter-city rivalry
Very Questionable question marks:
Providence? (ooc) - Probably will not happen this year
Virginia Tech? (ooc)
Alabama? (ooc) - Probably a long-shot
Pathetic question marks:
Longwood/UMES? (ooc) - Can be sure at least one, if not both, are on the 2008-09 schedule
Definite GW Road games:
Xavier
Duquesne
UMass
Definite GW Neutral site games:
Rainbow Classic (Clemson, Colorado, Coppin St., Colorado St., Pepperdine, Vermont)
Maryland (BB&T)
A couple other quick notes:
Bozeman names three on staff - GW names Kristeena Alexander, Katie Rokus and Richard Moore assistant coaches for GW women's team.
Kenner League update - The Kenner league begins in the next week and the schedule is out. Here it is
I will keep the blog updated, but enjoy the summer and get ready for another exciting season
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