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BG getting boatraced by a bad UC Irvine team. I’m thinking the Chmiel experiment might be a failure. Seemed like a truly great hire on paper, but this is a bad team in year 3.

BillyLP wrote: ↑Fri Nov 21, 2025 10:41 pm BG getting boatraced by a bad UC Irvine team. I’m thinking the Chmiel experiment might be a failure. Seemed like a truly great hire on paper, but this is a bad team in year 3.

Saw the box score and scoring only three points in a quarter is unacceptable. Agree that the Chmiel hire is starting to look like a bust.

I wish I could say I disagreed, but I can't. That was a horrible loss. I have very little confidence in this staff's ability to recruit. Kohler is really the only Chmiel 'recruit' of any consequence at this point, and she sort of fell into their lap.

I have liked my interactions with Chmiel. I do not think he really wants to be here. He has tried numerous times to jump ship applying for better jobs. He does not recruit very well. If you think about his great players, they were either Robyn Fralick recruits or players that needed a home late (Kohler and Porter).

Last night was a pretty bad effort. The conference is down this year so he might be able to squeak out another .500 effort on the year to keep him alive. I think DVDM leaves before Chmiel is fired and Chmiel can ride out the rest of his contract.

The smoke and mirrors athletics strategy eventually reveals a burning dumpster. In this case Derek’s dumpster fire. Time for a team pet.

I've said it before here and I will say it again. I have Jennifer Roos vibes from this hire. Do well with the former recruits from the very successful predecessor and then crash and burn on your own. Coach Fred is still living a little bit off the past as Donahue and Gerken were original Fralick recruits that Chmeil did get to stay but what has he done since on his own. Get a home grown player like Kohler to come back to Ohio after a Buffalo change in coaches and added Porter for two years of solid play. The remainder of his recruits are underperforming or gone. Kate Achter was the hire that should have been made and now it is likely too late for that in the future. All his years as a successful asst coach at SC have proved for naught particularly in recruiting.

bghkyfan74 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 22, 2025 7:45 am I have liked my interactions with Chmiel. I do not think he really wants to be here. He has tried numerous times to jump ship applying for better jobs. He does not recruit very well. If you think about his great players, they were either Robyn Fralick recruits or players that needed a home late (Kohler and Porter).

Last night was a pretty bad effort. The conference is down this year so he might be able to squeak out another .500 effort on the year to keep him alive. I think DVDM leaves before Chmiel is fired and Chmiel can ride out the rest of his contract.

Do you think DVDM is in demand? I don't.

fredthefalcon wrote: ↑Sat Nov 22, 2025 8:40 am I've said it before here and I will say it again. I have Jennifer Roos vibes from this hire. Do well with the former recruits from the very successful predecessor and then crash and burn on your own. Coach Fred is still living a little bit off the past as Donahue and Gerken were original Fralick recruits that Chmeil did get to stay but what has he done since on his own. Get a home grown player like Kohler to come back to Ohio after a Buffalo change in coaches and added Porter for two years of solid play. The remainder of his recruits are underperforming or gone. Kate Achter was the hire that should have been made and now it is likely too late for that in the future. All his years as a successful asst coach at SC have proved for naught particularly in recruiting.

I'm not necessarily ready to blame van de Merwe just yet. I'm sure it's difficult to know how a long-time assistant coach will work out as a head coach. Chmiel certainly had the pedigree in terms of success at all of his previous stops. Curt Miller had never been a head coach before coming to BG, and he did OK here. Roos on the other hand did not, and I certainly don't love the way the Chmiel era is trending.

When Fralick left, I wanted them to hire Achter, partially because she's a great person who I thought would be a good fit for this program, but also because of her proven record as a head coach. She has had a habit of taking over dumpster-fire programs and leading them back to respectability. Loyola Chicago was insane to get rid of her.

As for Chmiel ... like I said, I need to see something that shows me he knows what he's doing, recruiting-wise. He might be a great X's and O's coach, I honestly don't know. But after watching the first five games this season, I haven't seen anything about this year's newcomers that makes me think we will be anything more than a middle of the pack MAC team at best this year.

If you want to see some of the worst coaching go back and rewatch the 4th quarter of the Buffalo tournament game last season. Coaching malpractice. He doesn't recruit well and his assistants seem to do very little throughout the game. I'm ready to blame DVDM because it was a bad hire. The book is already out. Trust your eyes. DVDM loves smoke and mirrors and that is all this hire was.

I don’t think this is a middle of the MAC team. Likely bottom three. They are struggling with a D2 team, and their one win (Louisiana) turned around and lost to a D2 team the next game. A lot has to change in a short period.

I still think DVDM is a solid AD, who also happens to be great at marketing. So far Chmiel is the only hire that looks like a straight failure at this point. Too early on George, Simon is solid, Williams is going to be good.

I would agree on Williams to a degree, but expectation has to be to win the CCHA at some point. The results thus far are mixed. Simon can find players, but I'm not sure how long he will be in BG. That job is a serious uphill climb with Akron and Kent as invested as they are in a sport where players are getting way more than they should at this level in a one bid and get blasted in the NCAA Tournament league. If Campbell is getting six figures, what are the Akron guys getting in NIL? Good luck keeping up with that. You could tell Chmiel couldn't coach the first year with talent. That was more obvious last year, and this year so far is just bad. George will need to have more talent than the rest of league to actually win here because he isn't out scheming many. If it was 2010 that might be possible, but it's a boring style that makes losing so much worse. He likely won't be here long either. DVDM can market nothing, BGSU is really great at that. Just look at the cat. Eventually people see through the smoke though. The smoke is starting to fade.

Pudge > guest44

Winning games > the cat

I have a close source to the team that has provided me with some intel over the past 6 or so years.
To the point made about the assistants doing very little in the game… they really aren’t “allowed” to.
To the point on Achter which my source has reiterated many times… that roster requested that Achter not be selected as they had horror stories from players that played for her.
Rumors suggest that Donehue is leaving after this year. I am sure that won’t be the only one.

bghkyfan74 wrote: ↑Sun Nov 23, 2025 1:16 pm I have a close source to the team that has provided me with some intel over the past 6 or so years.
To the point made about the assistants doing very little in the game… they really aren’t “allowed” to.
To the point on Achter which my source has reiterated many times… that roster requested that Achter not be selected as they had horror stories from players that played for her.
Rumors suggest that Donehue is leaving after this year. I am sure that won’t be the only one.

So Achter was not considered because of hearsay. And other than our transfer from Chicago Loyola who else would have had first hand knowledge of that?