Spring Break
The Daily OrangeThe payoff: Seton Hall gave Bobby Gonzalez a hefty contract extension. Now he has to prove he's worth the price.
By Tony Olivero
Posted: 11/4/09, 8:19 PM EST Section: BASKETBALL SEASON PREVIEW
In Bobby Gonzalez's mind there is "bad pressure," and then there is "good pressure" when it comes to coaching basketball.
"Bad pressure" is when a coach is on the hot seat and in desperate need of a winning team. "Good pressure" accompanies a coach whose team is expected to perform well because of previous accomplishments.
Heading into his fourth season as the head coach at Seton Hall, Gonzalez realizes that there is, in fact, pressure on him. He did, after all, receive a contract extension before practice began on Sept. 10.
He just wants to make it clear that the pressure he's feeling is the "good pressure" he speaks of.
He is not on the hot seat.
"I'm not going to get fired, and if we don't win 20 games this season, I still won't be bought out or fired," Gonzalez said at Big East media day at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 21. "I'm going to be back at Seton Hall next year."
Gonzalez has been faced with questions about his job security for much of his tenure with the Pirates, following his appointment on April 7, 2006. Even with the contract extension through the 2014-15 season, he still is battling the critics who still believe his role as the head of the Pirates bench is far from secure.
But with one look at Gonzalez, it's hard to tell that there is any pressure squarely on his shoulders to produce this season. With his sanguine strut and genial smile, Gonzalez appears assured he is with the Pirates for at least a handful of years to come.
More importantly, though, Gonzalez also has come to realize that instead of this being a make-or-break year for his job security, it is a make-or-break year for the future of the program, as Seton Hall appears to be on the verge of breaking out in the Big East.
"We are trying to turn the corner," Gonzalez said. "I got my extension, so now we are trying to separate from the other teams, and in order to do that, we have to put our money where our mouth is. We have got to get into the NCAA (Tournament)."
"Bad pressure" is when a coach is on the hot seat and in desperate need of a winning team. "Good pressure" accompanies a coach whose team is expected to perform well because of previous accomplishments.
Heading into his fourth season as the head coach at Seton Hall, Gonzalez realizes that there is, in fact, pressure on him. He did, after all, receive a contract extension before practice began on Sept. 10.
He just wants to make it clear that the pressure he's feeling is the "good pressure" he speaks of.
He is not on the hot seat.
"I'm not going to get fired, and if we don't win 20 games this season, I still won't be bought out or fired," Gonzalez said at Big East media day at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 21. "I'm going to be back at Seton Hall next year."
Gonzalez has been faced with questions about his job security for much of his tenure with the Pirates, following his appointment on April 7, 2006. Even with the contract extension through the 2014-15 season, he still is battling the critics who still believe his role as the head of the Pirates bench is far from secure.
But with one look at Gonzalez, it's hard to tell that there is any pressure squarely on his shoulders to produce this season. With his sanguine strut and genial smile, Gonzalez appears assured he is with the Pirates for at least a handful of years to come.
More importantly, though, Gonzalez also has come to realize that instead of this being a make-or-break year for his job security, it is a make-or-break year for the future of the program, as Seton Hall appears to be on the verge of breaking out in the Big East.
"We are trying to turn the corner," Gonzalez said. "I got my extension, so now we are trying to separate from the other teams, and in order to do that, we have to put our money where our mouth is. We have got to get into the NCAA (Tournament)."
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