Seton Hall's Herb Pope sends Texas Tech's Darko Cohadarevic to the floor twice with shots below the belt during Tuesday night's National Invitation Tournament game in Newark. The Red Raiders won, 87-69. On Wednesday, Seton Hall fired coach Bobby Gonzalez.
Gonzalez made more enemies than friends in four years as Pirate coach and recruited several players with questionable character. George Vecsey of the New York Times wrote of the departed coach:
"Gonzalez’s tense demeanor was not the worst thing about his tenure at Seton Hall. Ultimately, he was booted for the high-risk recruits he kept attracting. The latest disgrace was the revelation Wednesday that Robert Mitchell, a player Gonzalez tossed from the team only last weekend, had been arrested and charged in an armed robbery of eight people.
"Gonzalez also recruited Keon Lawrence, a transfer from Missouri who was charged with drinking and driving the wrong way on the Garden State Parkway.
"Another of Gonzalez's recruits, Herb Pope, a transfer from New Mexico State, came into public attention Tuesday night in the National Invitation Tournament when he punched an opponent in the groin and was ejected from the game. Gonzalez received his seventh technical foul of the season in the game.
"None of Tuesday's low points cost Gonzalez his job. On Monday, Sheeran had called for a meeting Wednesday at midday, undoubtedly anticipating that Seton Hall would lose, which it did to Texas Tech, 87-69."
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