OK coach who should have been able to make UMass BBall relavant again. He hasnt and that knocks him down a Star. Villanova failings is odd as well, as he had talent and Paul Hewitt of Ga. tech now, was on his staff. Could even drop a star upon further review.

Why UMASS would hire this man, I do not know. In 9 years at Villanova he proved himself to be a very good recruiter, a nice man, and a guy who cares if his players graduate. Unfortunately, however, his teams consistently played sloppy, stupid basketball, they had little toughness, and rarely played defense. When you consider the talent that Lappas attracted to that program (Tim Thomas, Michael Bradley, Kerry Kittles, Alvin Williams, John Celestand, etc.), the Wildcats have to be considered underachievers. This decision by UMASS reminds me of the Packers decision to hire Ray Rhodes after a decimated the Eagles' progam - what could they be thinking?