Winthrop's Pat Kelsey is an interesting fellow with a bright future. He fascinates me because of how emotional and tightly wound and competitive he is. He is not introverted or restrained like some coaches we know.
Kelsey graduated cum laude from Xavier and is a clever coach who genuinely cares about how his student-athletes perform in the classroom. He did a dumb thing though and is now defined for his having "pulled a Bobby Cremins." (The fair-haired tech coach accepted then embarrassingly backed out of the job at South Cackalacky, his alma mater.)
Kelsey accepted the U Massachusetts job last March and signed a memorandum of agreement calling for a million dollar buyout if he left. He was formally introduced to the team, ate dinner with his players, posed for publicity photos with the AD, then pulled out of the job 30 minutes before the scheduled press conference and left them waiting at the wedding altar.
Leaving abruptly immediately after accepting a job is somewhat of a tradition at Winthrop as Gregg Marshall also did the same after his news conference to announce his becoming the new coach at College of Charleston in 2006. Marshall put Winthrop on the map, but things fell apart under his successor, Randy Peele. Winthrop under Peele finished with a losing record in three of his last four seasons before Kelsey took over. So Kelsey deserves credit for taking a team that had a brief run of success almost a decade before and brought them back to the top of their league.
Pat Kelsey is passionate about people and issues.
Kelsey graduated cum laude from Xavier and is a clever coach who genuinely cares about how his student-athletes perform in the classroom. He did a dumb thing though and is now defined for his having "pulled a Bobby Cremins." (The fair-haired tech coach accepted then embarrassingly backed out of the job at South Cackalacky, his alma mater.)
Kelsey accepted the U Massachusetts job last March and signed a memorandum of agreement calling for a million dollar buyout if he left. He was formally introduced to the team, ate dinner with his players, posed for publicity photos with the AD, then pulled out of the job 30 minutes before the scheduled press conference and left them waiting at the wedding altar.
Leaving abruptly immediately after accepting a job is somewhat of a tradition at Winthrop as Gregg Marshall also did the same after his news conference to announce his becoming the new coach at College of Charleston in 2006. Marshall put Winthrop on the map, but things fell apart under his successor, Randy Peele. Winthrop under Peele finished with a losing record in three of his last four seasons before Kelsey took over. So Kelsey deserves credit for taking a team that had a brief run of success almost a decade before and brought them back to the top of their league.
Pat Kelsey is passionate about people and issues.
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