Breschi will get his share of the star players, and he'll develop the right team chemistry. As a Tar Heels player, he learned under Willie Scroggs, one of the best coaches in college lacrosse history. Breschi preached the family-and-team concept at Ohio State, and that philosophy won't change at North Carolina.
"I don't think Joe will have a problem getting his players to play hard for him," Maryland coach Dave Cottle said.
The only real question is whether Breschi can match X's & O's with Starsia, Dave Pietramala and John Desko. He'll get the pure athletic talent to pass up the Cornells, Georgetowns and possibly even Maryland.
At Ohio State, Breschi was 92-63. He shared the Great Western League title in 1999, 2003 and 2008 and won it outright in 2004. The Buckeyes made the NCAA tournament three times, winning a first-round game against Cornell in 2008.
But it will be different at Carolina. The Tar Heels are expected to, and should, challenge for the NCAA title every season.
Breschi said his style won't change, though. He will still play run-and-gun on offense and play pressure defense where he hopes to force turnovers and push the ball upfield. It's a style that fits programs such as Virginia and Syracuse, which have tremendous athletes.
Virginia and Syracuse, though, are the proven big boys. Carolina is trying to get back on top, trying to establish a new dominating era. From 1980 to 1993, Carolina made 12 Final Four appearances. Breschi was a big part of that run, first as a player and later as an assistant coach.
Now, he's the head man.
"We're in the toughest conference in the country, and we're a new staff with a new system with new faces," Breschi said. "I have told our kids they will be prepared to play every game, but right now we're going to take it one game at a time. And then we'll go from there. As of right now, I like the direction in which we're headed."
