Up Close With Gonzo
I was just going through my tape recorder from my extensive interview recently with Bobby Gonzalez for the Christmas story I wrote on him, and came across a few more nuggets of interest.
ON WHY PEOPLE DISLIKE HIM
"I have asked people through the years, 'Why do so many people hate me that don't even know me?' There's people who have never met me and they hate me. And I've gotten two responses. One is a lot of people are jealous of my success and they fear me because I don't apologize and I'm fearless and they think that I'm cocky and arrogant and I have a chip on my shoulder and that bothers them the way my personality is.
"I've also got the response that because I'm such an extreme competitor and the way I've competed, they've taken it like I haven't been respectful. In other words, I'm an extreme competitor. When I coach I go to war, I'm trying to win, that's all that matters to me.
"And if I'm your coach, they tend to like me. The team that I coach for, they like me once they get me because they feel this guy's single-minded, all he cares about is winning. But the other fans, and the other people I coach against, they hate me."
ON GETTING 9 TECHNICALS LAST YEAR
"(It came from) not wanting to lose, struggling, not having success. I got used to winning at Manhattan, I had four 20-win seasons and then all of a sudden last year I took over Seton Hall, we were picked 15th, and I'm losing games and I'm fighting for my life. And every call is life or death and I just couldn't handle it. I could not handle losing. I'm not a good loser. I don't keep it close it to me."
ON LIFE BEFORE TRACY AND MARRIAGE
"(I was living) like a total obsessed maniac, never slept, never ate. (Lived in) apartments, townhouses, condos. I ate out all the time. I never wanted anything getting in the way of my career."
ON HIS REGRETS
"I have some regrets, I made some mistakes, definitely. But they're the reason why I became who I became who I am.
"If I could go back and do some things differently, I would. But on the other hand, the mistakes you make and the things you go through are what make you who you are today.
"And what I went through at Manhattan, and what I went through with the media, and what I went through with not getting St. John's and Miami, and what I went through with certain people not liking me, and what I've gone through now with certain controversial stuff that I sort of have to live with....that has really motivated me more than anything because I'm one of those refuse to lose, refuse to quit type guys. I got a lot of pride, I'm very competitive."
RU gets a solid win (without Chandler, and with Hamady in early foul trouble), the other young guys looked pretty sharp again, and GONZO is your headline post today?
Posted by: RUrising | December 30, 2007 at 05:38 PM
RU gets a solid win (without Chandler, and with Hamady in early foul trouble), the other young guys looked pretty sharp again, and GONZO is your headline post today?
Posted by: RUrising | December 30, 2007 at 05:38 PM
..what the heck..double-post unintentional
Posted by: RUrising | December 30, 2007 at 06:02 PM
RUrising -
With all due respect, do you honestly think that Rutgers (Big East) beating Manhattan (MAAC) AT HOME is really worthy of a headline post? You SHOULD be winning those games, my friend. Sadly, you lost to Rider at home last week - but get real.
Zags: thanks for the extra info on Gonzo... As a counseling psychologist, I truly love the insight into this interesting man.
Love him or hate him, you have to respect the fact that he refuses to let up.
Posted by: Hall Ball | December 30, 2007 at 06:28 PM
Come on, get real Hall Ball, every 1, 2 or 3 pt. O.T. win by Seton Hall over every tiny school they've played this year gets a headline here. And who isn't tired of hearing Gonzo take all the credit for a 1st round upset of FLA kids team before the FLA men's champs even shaved; the FLA champs were frosh when Manhattan won that year. No credit to his players of course, yet your coach is quick to take shots at your team re:"..I got used to winning at Manhattan, I had four 20-win seasons and then all of a sudden last year I took over Seton Hall, we were picked 15th, and I'm losing games and I'm fighting for my life." That's a shot at your team even if you can't figure it out.
Typical Gonzo, everything good is owing to him, if things are tough, not his fault. “..my team was picked 15th, boo-hoo…” Can’t wait to hear who he blames for the botched recruitings of Glover and Smith.
By the way, congrats Zags on a cream puff interview with him. For example, how about a follow-up to his stupid answer on why all the Big East coaches hate and mock him? Yeh, Calhoun, Pitino, Boeheim, Huggins, Jay Wright, etc., etc., they're all jealous of Gonzo, of course they are. And how does he feel about the recruiting mistakes with Smith and Glover? He doesn’t need to be fed anymore cupcakes Zags.
Posted by: RUrising | December 30, 2007 at 07:03 PM
Hey Adam, we heard that John Thompson III went running to his daddy when he heard that Gonzo was down the street and coming to knock on a recruit's door that JTIII was interviewing. Any truth to that?
Posted by: ShuPid | December 30, 2007 at 09:21 PM
Good point SHUpid.
I can see why Georgetown coach JT III would be scared, GONZO is FEARLESS. Too bad he can't scare his star PG into playing any defense. What a tool this Gonzo is.
Please Adam, your article is about as hard-hitting as Katie Couric interviewing Ellen Degeneres. Why let this buffoon GONZO embarrass our school more and more Adam? Please get this warrior to really stand-up and not try to hide behind his clumsy wordsmithing of pinning his delusional self-serving rationale on "people he's asking" for the mockery and hate that he so easily engenders.
Posted by: SHUtin | December 30, 2007 at 10:53 PM
Guys,
It was a feature story on the impact of his sister and father's death on his life as he celebrated parenthood. It wasn't meant to be a hard-hitting "60 Minutes" style expose.
My wife says, 'Lighten up you cranky bast--ds.' And have a Happy New Year.
Posted by: Adam Zagoria | December 31, 2007 at 12:53 AM
Well that explains your light approach to the story, but once again GONZO exploited your gentle take to blather platitudes all about himself and blame the Seton Hall team he agreed to coach for his 4-12 Big East season last year, which as a Seton Hall fan I find insulting.
Next time you can interview him, find out (1) why HE thinks he's so hated and mocked, (2) what responsible HE has in the botched recruiting of Glover and Smith, (3) what HE's doing to slow down RU's Fred Hill from running circles around him in recruiting, (4) does HE really think that the upset of the baby FLA team had anything to do with the effort of his players at Manhattan, (5) does HE really think his former Manhattan team wouldn't get blown-off the court by FLA's team when the championship guys were full-time starters as Soph’s and Jr's, (6) does HE care at all about the academic progress of recruits here at Seton Hall?
And happy New Year to you and your wife, but the foul-mouth comment is not really necessary.
Posted by: ShuPid | December 31, 2007 at 11:33 AM
Great follow-up SHUpid. I gueass Adam was feeling the peace and love of the season in his interview with Gonzo, but in typical classless Gonzo style, the focus turned to how great he was as a MAAC coach and how terrible and unfair it was for him to have to rebuild here in the Big East at Seton Hall. He is just pathetic, about the worst face for Seton Hall ball we could imagine.
Posted by: SHUtin | December 31, 2007 at 11:47 AM
One of the most embarrassing interview ever printed In layman's terms, a person who behaves in this fashion, is a FIRST CLASS NUT! Pity any captured audience that would be exposed to such possible rantings, ultra ego, severe paranoia, constant tirades, and delusions of grandeur. If this occurs, it would demand (immediate) corrective action by those in authority. This has all the elements of a disaster waiting to happen!
Posted by: Rock4SHU | January 01, 2008 at 10:18 AM
Wonder if the Seton Hall Bd of Trustees is 2nd-guessing the Bobby G. hire at this point. He certainly has fallen behind RU's Hill in recruiting and can't keep from sticking his foot in his mouth publicly. And he doesn't seem to understand we are a university here at Seton Hall and student-athlete academics need to be addressed along with winning. Still waiting to hear him mention that in all his tirades about being a warrior for winning.
Posted by: 1oldshu | January 01, 2008 at 07:50 PM
I don't know where the posters from Rutgers get this stuff. Just lets see what happens on the court. Board of Trustees, You have got to be kidding me. The guy is hyper, he has an ego, he has a exciting personality which is needed to rally some people who don't always pour their emotions out. He has one T this year and it was a Team T, had little to do with him. I think before you people start talking trash, maybe you should prove something first. When was the last time Hill was in the post season? When was the last time Rutgers was in the post season? Please, give us all a break and just shut up already.
Posted by: ironlung75 | January 02, 2008 at 02:03 AM
ironlung75....Wake up and get your head out of the sand. This interview has many of the symptoms of a very disturbed man....he certainly doesn't seem happy. If he expresses himself in such a manner in public......one could only imagine how he would interact with his team in closed sessions. Some would consider similar deportment as discernible psychotic behavior. The Board of Trustees as well as the Board Of Regents should investigate his demeanor beyond any doubt. They owe it to the athletic program. Many are concerned for the well-being of our players!! Don't blame this on Rutgers. Sadly, SHU fans like you don't help the situation....you support a coach, who in his owns words says: "I'm not a good loser". Is he a good role model we want for our kids? Not being a good loser is the same as being a BAD SPORT!
Posted by: Rock4SHU | January 02, 2008 at 03:04 PM
ironlung-
You do miss the point here. GONZO seems so out-of-control and universally mocked that we will not keep up with recruiting to compete in the Big East. Look at our potential roster next season without Laing, it's pathetic.
Get over the past, we haven't been a real NCAA threat since the Amaker era; getting blown out in 1st-rounds doesn't count in my book. RU's Hill is cleaning GONZO's clock with recruiting. I know RU has a weak history in hoops, but they were probably worse in football. The RU A.D. and Admin. are making the right moves to turnaround both programs. We at Seton Hall keep slipping.
Posted by: ShuPid | January 02, 2008 at 03:37 PM
Great point SHUpid.
We at Seton Hall are looking real likely to be the next Syracuse football in Big East basketball.
Posted by: SHUtin | January 02, 2008 at 03:51 PM
Where are SHUtin and SHUpid after last nights Rutgers vs. USF game?
Whoever that ONE person is should class it up a bit... her comments are simply absurd; "RU's Hill is cleaning GONZO's clock with recruiting" -- wow...
Posted by: Hall Ball | January 03, 2008 at 02:27 PM
Greetings Hall Ball-
I'm right here, how's it going? I think that you're still missing the point. I don't expect much from RU while Hill rebuilds from a team of players that wouldn't start on ANY other BE team (except maybe-just maybe, JR Inman on some similar lower-tier BE teams), but Gonzo inherited a better team and he managed just one more BE win last season than Hill.
Check out rankings of Hill's recruits this year (Chandler, Coburn) and the incoming guys compared to what GONZO's bringing in for us. Gotta like Hazell for us, but what else has GONZO done in the recruiting war with Hill since they both became head coaches here in BE? Just an opinion my friend.
Posted by: ShuPid | January 04, 2008 at 01:50 PM
I hear you SHUpid--and good to see you asking about me HallBall.
The experts' opinions on Hill's recruiting classes vs. Gonzo's don't look good at all for us at Seton Hall. Such a shame Gonzo screwed-up the Glover and Smith recruiting so badly, they would’ve been nice additions to the decent team he inherited. Remember how we did sneak into the NCAA’s the year before Gonzo? Sure we got blown-out right away, but how pathetic that Gonzo drove us right down to the gutter in his first year. And we have nobody to replace Laing next year. Theodore will spell Harvey, but that’s asking a lot of a 3-star frosh PG in this league. Maybe Gonzo will go for another JUCO guy or Rutgers reject like Mike Davis again.
Posted by: SHUtin | January 04, 2008 at 05:56 PM