https://www.timesunion.com/sports/article/UAlbany-s-lacrosse-Scott-Marr-meets-mentor-in-12916413.php
UAlbany lacrosse's Scott Marr meets mentor in NCAA Tournament
Great Danes face Denver's Bill Tierney, who has seven national championships
Updated 3:02 pm, Tuesday, May 15, 2018
Scott Marr babysat Bill Tierney’s kids 30 years ago, long before Marr built the University at Albany into a national lacrosse power and Tierney became a Hall of Fame coaching icon.
Marr was just a young Johns Hopkins player then and Tierney was a Blue Jays assistant who had recruited him there.
“He survived,’’ Tierney recalled today. “We had four little ones running around, and they didn’t poison him or tie him up, so he survived and did a good job.”
Marr and Tierney won a national championship together at Johns Hopkins in 1987 before Tierney left to take over his own program over at Princeton.
Tierney won six national championships with the Tigers and then moved on the University of Denver, where he’s constructed a powerhouse near the Rockies in what’s always been an Eastern sport. He took the Pioneers to their first national championship in 2015.
They’ll meet again on Saturday when Marr leads the second-seeded Great Danes (15-2) against Tierney and unseeded Denver (13-3) in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals at Hofstra.
Marr is 49 years old now, but admitted he still has to guard against being too reverent as he faces his former teacher.
“I think the biggest thing for me is not to be in awe of him for that two hours, as much as I am,’’ he said. “He gave me my start. I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for him. He recruited me. He was the only Hopkins coach who saw me play. He gave me that opportunity to go to Hopkins. I’ll be forever grateful for that, for sure, but I have to kind of block that out and not be like, ‘Wow, I’m playing against my mentor and playing against my guy, the guy who gave me my start.' So hopefully, I can do that.”
Marr joked he wouldn’t state his record against Tierney because “it’s not good.” He’s 1-5 against his former coach with four of those losses coming in the NCAA Tournament.
When Marr served as a Maryland assistant, the Terrapins lost to Princeton in the 1997 and 1998 national title games and the 2000 quarterfinals, Marr’s final game with the Terrapins.
When Marr led UAlbany to its first NCAA Tournament 2003, it ended with a 16-10 first-round loss at Princeton.
Marr finally broke through against Tierney when UAlbany dominated Princeton 10-2 at John Fallon Field in 2008, but then the Tigers returned the favor with an 18-11 victory at Princeton a year later.
The one-sidedness of their personal rivalry hasn’t diminished Tierney’s admiration for Marr.
“I’m just very proud of what he’s done, not only with the Albany program, that’s the premier thing, but with his family, with his success in the game, just the kind of man he’s become,’’ Tierney said. “He’s a guy his players love and when I see that in a coach, I know he’s done something special.”
Their coaching styles are very different with Marr’s contemporary approach a departure from Tierney’s old-school methods. While some UAlbany players have long hair and beards, Denver's are clean-shaven.
“He treats his kids hard and tough, but it’s tough love,’’ Marr said. “When you play for him, you respond to him. He’s going to kick you in the butt but then he’s going to put his arm around you and tell you he loves you. So kids love playing for him.”
Tierney said his assistants have convinced him to soften his approach the past several years but his style differs from Marr's, though they’re both very effective.
“I think (it’s) more a controlled, disciplined, use your skills within a system, as opposed to (Marr’s), where it’s more of, they build a system around your skills and the system is for you to play the best you can in a way that makes you most comfortable,’’ Tierney said. “I give him a lot of credit for that.”
Tierney acknowledged it’s tough standing between Marr and his first Final Four appearance as a head coach, but it’s nothing Tierney hasn’t been through before with other former pupils.
“As Scotty and I texted each other yesterday, we know we’ve got to compete for those two hours,’’ Tierney said. “It’s hard, but what you know is, the most important thing at the end of it is that you’ll still have great feelings for one another and you’re happy for that other person, even though you might be sad about your team losing.”
msingelais@timesunion.com ■ 518-454-5509 ■ @MarkSingelais
