Mike Raimbault acknowledged two years ago it would be "something special" to coach against his hometown Brandon Bobcats. He'll get that opportunity quite a bit.
Raimbault has reportedly been hired to lead the Winnipeg Wesmen out of the doldrums after winning the CCAA national championship and being national college coach of the year this season with the UNBC Timberwolves. People will no doubt read this as a burn on Brandon. Raimbault went 31-8 (20-2 in league play) as interim coach in 2007-08, but the university hired Keith Vassell. Vassell resigned two weeks ago, which is the punchline on the school.
It will be a long rebuild at Winnipeg, so here's wishing Raimbault well.
Is there a hole big enough for Brandon's AD to crawl into?
ReplyDeleteAfter what was by any standards an excellent year under Raimbault Brandon let's him walk!
Keith Vassell was a great player and I'm sure a good man but compared
to Mike Raimbault had no proven experience at the CIS coaching level.
After two frustrating years at Brandon, Vassell throws in the towel while
Raimbault has nothing but success at UNBC.
Of course, BU is all of a sudden interested in Raimbault again and of course, by now, it was far too late.
I have everyconfidence Raimbault will whip Winnipeg's moribund
program into shape and probably sooner than expected.
Meanwhile, BU finds itself without a coach...again.
Men's basketball under Jerry Hemmings was basically Brandon's one claim to fame, athletically at least.
Now the program faces the distinct possibility of slipping into
mediocrity, perhaps permanently.
If it does come to pass, than Brandon has no one to blame than themselves.
The claims leading to Hemmings ultimate departure at BU were and are rampant everywhere in the CIS. U of W and U of M are not innocent in their methods. Neither is Hillis at U of R, who played an ineligible player from the US. It is unfortunate that Jerry had no allies at BU.
ReplyDeleteRaimbault is a great hire, and I'm surprised the U of W would be able to get him. He should have the best recruiting contacts of any UW coach in the longest time in basketball. Crook was awful at recruiting and missed out on a lot of great players from Winnipeg. Keeping the best guys from Winnipeg and not relying on 2nd tier guys will be the key, then supplement them with guys from east, west and south. Schepp at the U of M can run a program, they'll be turned around quickly, so the U of W needs this hire to be a home run.
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