By Steve DiMiceli
By typing this, I truly hope I'm not jinxing Duquesne's chances to land Long Island coach Jim Ferry. There is a strong possibility that I am. As I've learned more about Ferry, I've come realize he's more a coaching innovation for the Dukes rather than a reinvention. He simply sounds like Ron Everhart with all the kinks worked out as if he is a second generation Apple product in an already popular line enhanced to achieve better end user experience and ultimately squeeze the competition a little bit more. By hiring Ferry, I believe Greg Amodio hopes to build on the past successes under Ron Everhart, improve the teams chances for success all while not revolutionizing the perception of what it means to play Duquesne basketball.
Honestly, I think Greg Amodio would do well to try to match the hype Apple generates by staging a Steve Jobs style launch to announce the hiring of Jim Ferry. Greg should start by dressing down and rolling out a giant slide presentation. He should ask a series of hypothetical questions that are all answered with "this problem is solved with Ferry." What if Duquesne had a coach who played up tempo, but also had a clue in the half court offense? What if Duquesne had a coach willing to put two players 6'7'' or taller on the floor at the same time? What if Duquesne had a coach who would call a timeout exactly when his team needs one in a close game? What if Duquesne had a coach who could keep and develop players? All the questions are a swipe at the coach while pointing us firmly in the direction that we must get fully behind the new one without even addressing the solution by name. After the build, Amodio finally says "I present to you, Jim" and Ferry is raised through a trap door in the middle of the stage.
Apple is known for characteristics strongly associated with its brand like intuitive user interfaces and high performance. Hiring Jim Ferry would fully establish a number of characteristics Ron Everhart originally brought to the program as part of the Duquesne brand. For one, the Dukes are going to go hard for 40 minutes and play very up tempo. Ferry may even step the game speed up a notch. Everhart and Ferry's offenses both seem to be designed around sharing the ball, and moving it quickly. As with Everhart, Ferry seems to emphasize athleticism over inherent skill.
Should Ferry be hired , these shared philosophies speed, passing, and athleticism will define Duquesne's brand nationally and ultimately could take recruiting, fan experience and the program in total forward. Hopefully, he'll be able to shed the NCAA wallflower part of the brand Everhart upheld during his tenure.
