Oft mentioned FW grad Joe Dooley has been tweeted as Enfield's replacement at FGCU 

 That's GW grad and Kansas assistant

Wow.  Surprising that he would go for that job given where he is at.

I agree with Realist. I'd have thought Joe was earning more at Kansas than FGC could pay, too. Maybe the folks at Kansas made it clear that Self has another 30 years on the job, before Joe had a hair's chance at it.

Well, maybe now we get to travel to Florida every other year for a two game swing, with Alum Joe's school, and another great Florida team.

 So the awful lie that he would never stoop to his alma mater can now be put to rest. A damn shame and another swing and a miss for GW.

Let's see how Dooley does at FLGC before declaring a "swing and miss", Mentz.

lots of luck to FGC with that jerk Dooley.

Let's see how Dooley does at FLGC before declaring a "swing and miss", Mentz.

For whatever it's worth - Mentz, I don't think GW ever really considered anyone other than ML two years ago. I know that GW interviewed Dooley, but that was likely only pro forma or unless a deal couldn't be reached with ML.

 Interesting move.   Dooley probably has to re- prove himself as a head coach before he can get a big job (since he did not succeed at ECU, albeit a while back).  Even if its less money, this could be a great gamble for him. 

 Imagine a Final Four of GW, Nortre Dame, FGCU and some (obviously lesser) school. That would be awesome-- c'mon a guy can dream, right?

 Imagine a Final Four of GW, Nortre Dame, FGCU and some (obviously lesser) school. That would be awesome-- c'mon a guy can dream, right?

bobo +1

Actually FQ, I don't know what your definition of "success" is, but Dooley had a winning record at ECU.

Whether he succeeds at FGCU is irrelevant to whether he should have been gven the opportunity to coach at his alma mater. He could do well at FGCU and not at GW, and vice versa. Different time (was FGCU even a school two years ago?), different animal altogether, especially since that is a program on the rise.

Things are going so great with the Colonials, though, so it was the correct choice to not get Dooley, who would have obviously failed here.

He's only helped coach two (Division I) national titles. How's Mike Brey doing?

Actually he didn't really fail at ECU. A new AD came in and wanted his own guy. A few years later ECU recognized their mistake and tried to get Dooley to come back and coach the team again - he declined.

 Yeah he didn't fail at all. I thought he would have done great things here but the past is the past. Best of luck to him down there. 

No need to hold grudges or continue to revisit dead issues.  Let's hope both Lonergan and Dooley do well at their respective programs. 

This one bugs me because I was hoping he would stay at Kansas where we could keep him "in pocket" in case ML doesn't work out. 

 I second bobo.

I thought I read in the paper that McCain voted for this bill?  It appears not? 

 There was a bill about Dooley going to FGCU? Weird.

Wait a second: 

1) Mentz, I agree that how he does at FGCU should not affect whether he was given a shot. i thought ML was the right hire for us at the time because in the post-Washington Post article recruiting flops we were transitioning away from trying to build around a guy who was known as a recruiter first.  There had also been some reports of a temper-filled blow-up at Kanas, which I imagine gave GW some pause after Hobbs'  screaming at a Hatchet reporter, chastising fans, etc.  But I would have been perfectly happy with Dooley, too.

2) On Dooley having a winning record and being fired only because of a new AD, that may be true, but he was 17-11 his first year (presumably with the previous coach's players ) and in his 3rd and 4th years he was 10-17 and 13-14.  No idea what kind of OOC schedule he played, but he was 29-35 in a mediocre-at-best Colonial Athletic Associationover his 4 years).

3) My definition of "not succeeding" is inheriting a winning team and then putting up a losing record in years 3 and 4 before geting fired.  I'm not arguing that there weren't extenuating circumstances that weren't his fault or that things wouldn't have turned around with more time, but can anyone really call it succeeding when your team has a losing record in years 3 and 4 and you get fired? 

4) I don't have a grudge against Dooley (even if it looks that way because I'm providing facts and data) and I don't wish him ill will. I hope he succeeds at FGCU and I also believe that after a decade of recruiting at Kansas, that he might be ready now to  be a big time successful head coach. He's a Colonial and i am rooting for him.

Great article from Naples newspaper with quotes from former Colonial Ken Barer and Mr. GW, Ed McKee. Best of luck to former Colonial and Gimelstob antagonist, Joe Dooley

Good for Joe. I hope he is enormously succesful in Florida, and gets the job of his dreams.

 What an outrageous article, poog. While Dooley may be tough and Orange, NJ, might not be Shangri-la, the racial make-up of Orange does nothing to prove either of those things (unless one views a community's racial mix as the indicator of "good" and "bad"). Hard to believe this was published in 2013... And while mentioned, I don't see Ed McKee quoted.

McKee wasn't quoted directly but his comments about Dooley were referenced twice in the article. As for the racial make-up of Orange/Newark, I'm not sure where you're gettting the good/bad dichotomy, GWAA. But having grown up in Gary, Indiana, I can assure you that one's school and playground surroundings shapes attitudes about people and life. Nothing pejorative about that, just experiences that shape the view of the world. Maybe overplayed a tad, but don't quite see where this article went off track in describing the background of the same hard-nosed kid we watched play at GW and who left us with the enduring Gimelstob encounter.

 Paragraph number 3-- offers the first proof of his non-luxurious upbringing by citing the 2010 census data on Newark's racial demographic (nevemind that he left the area almost 20 years earlier). Paragraph 4 continues the arguement by noting the "white flight" from the area in the 1960's (around the time he was born). Paragraph 5 quotes someone as saying Dooley "knows what it is to be a minority". Paragraph 6 notes some 1996 (over a decade after he first arrived at GW) report from some magazine that bemoaned Newark's safety. Paragraph 7 again quotes the same person talking about how the area is "predominately kids of color." I do not see any references to Dooley's household situation, the socioeconomic indicators at the time of his upbringing or anything else to indicate hardship, but hey, there were lots of different ethnicities around so it MUST have been hardscarbble, right?

I still think Dooley was right in his assessment of GG and wish him luck, I just don't think that the mere fact of having grown up in a racially diverse community means his childhood was any harder or easier.

GWAA makes some valid points. don't see what the references to 1996 and 2010 have to do with Dooley.  i guess they didn't have stats in the 1960-1980s. Orange, NJ was incorporated as a township in 1806 more than 200 years ago. great reporting.

I'd quiz mrs. zik on which GW players had lived in the area when we used to take road trips. Almost invariably, she'd answer "I don't know? Bob Tallent?" Of course, we never, ever drove close to Kentucky. But, she'd met Bob and her boss had some sort of business interest with him, and except for another player who used to ask her out, I think he's the only name she's ever remembered consistenly

Different/same story with ziik, jr. No matter where, he'd answer Mike Brown or Joe Dooley. 

I thought the Oranges looked sort of nice.

Still, I see GWAA's point. The writer took a mighty big detour to make his point, which wasn;t really much of a point. It did seem a bit bigotted. Maybe he's new to the basketball beat, maybe he's just new. He's got a lot to learn. 

Let me preface this by saying I'm happy for Joe Dooley.  I think he's a great hire for FGCU.  But...

I went to elementary school with Joe.  We were in the same grade and in the same class in multiple years.  He eventually went to private catholic school, I believe, at some point before middle school...but I can tell you that his roots were in West Orange...not Orange. 

I'm sure he understands the diversity of Orange and/or Newark, although I'm not sure that makes him more likely to be a good basketball coach...but that is the premise of its inclusion in the article.

But I can tell you that at Gregory Elementary School in West Orange...we didn't have anything like the population he might have encountered later on.  The playground was a safe environment. 

Why is this relavent?  Maybe it's not...but it kind of bothers me that it says he grew up in this "hard life" atmosphere.  Maybe he did...but West Orange was a very pleasant place (I moved away from there myself after 8th grade).  I sense the writer jumped on his environment later on and extrapolated to say he grew up in a tough place all along.  And maybe his family had it tough, even in the homogenous (sp?) West Orange. 

Seems like this is a case of the media making the news.  Which is not suprising in today's day and age.

Good luck to Joe in any case.  Great to see him doing well.  Thought I'd just throw a little clarification into the discussion.

and this clarification: quality GW alums need not apply for the top spot in Foggy Bottom

I've read that neither GW AD, Patrick Nero, or GW President, Stephen Knapp, are GW alumnis either.  I'm sure there were qualified GW alumnus for those positions as well.  Outrageous!!!

 Dooley’s home town of West Orange is “high rent”.  Orange is the polar opposite. So much for journalistic integrity.

• The Orange crime index is 83% higher than the New Jersey average and and the New Jersey crime index is 19% lower than the National average.
• The Orange violent crime rate is 403% higher than the New Jersey average and and the New Jersey violent crime rate is 29% lower than the National average.
• The Orange property crime rate is 53% higher than the New Jersey average and and the New Jersey property crime rate is 18% lower than the National average.

• The West Orange crime index is 25% lower than the New Jersey average and and the New Jersey crime index is 19% lower than the National average.
• The West Orange violent crime rate is 22% lower than the New Jersey average and and the New Jersey violent crime rate is 29% lower than the National average.
• The West Orange property crime rate is 25% lower than the New Jersey average and and the New Jersey property crime rate is 18% lower than the National average.

BGF obviously has the last word on this since he lived there and went to school with Joe Dooley.

 I grew up in the Garden State and now that it's mentioned, it would be an Orange/ West Orange divide.

Believe the Manor, a well-known posh-type restaurant known for its lobster buffet, is in West Orange. Also some very fancy catering establishment.

Again, I'm not saying he didn't live in Orange or Newark...only that I went to elementary school with him in West Orange.  Also not saying anything negative about Joe...I couldn't be happier for him.  Just saying that the writer appears to have taken a step away from the facts.

Appreciated BGF's report and reiteration..

And now, I keep thinking about the lobster buffet at The Manor which I haven't seen in 30-plus years. All because of Joe Dooley.

To provide a little context, that article comes from a Naples paper so they're using 1950s code to make sure the readers understand. 

Just for sh*ts and giggles, 2nd grade photo...Joe in the back right corner, next to the teacher.  I'm the dorky looking kid with the girlish haircut 2 seats in front of him.  What were we thinking????