A little Houston Fancher love ...
From SI.com's Mid-Major report.
I gotta tell you, about a four years ago, back when I was on the UNCG beat, you were much more likely to talk about giving Fancher a little sympathy, or even pity. He'd replaced a very successful, personable coach in Buzz Peterson and, as Bill Trocchi recounts, had a ton of personnel losses in his first season. He also - and still does - looked like he was about 18. As the losses mounted, it seemed like Fancher was having a hard time gaining the respect of his players. I thought if it he didn't turn things around in his third season (2002-03) he'd probably get canned. I didn't think that was likely - and neither did many other SoCon observers. We picked App to finish last in the North Division.
Instead, the Mountaineers won 19 games that season. Granted a reprieve, and a little more time to make the App program his own, Fancher is now flourishing. There may be a lesson in there somewhere.
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