D1 Coaching Changes

[quote="Mike Zaun" post=277623][quote="newsman13" post=277616][quote="Mike Zaun" post=277607]I'm just sick of watching other programs make the right hires and our choices never work out. We passed up Danny Hurley for Mullin. Same with Piekell who will end up being better. Now we will have to watch as Hurley brings them back thinking what could have been. It reminds me of the Jets' QB situation. They make tons of QB choices and they never pan out, yet we have to watch the other teams draft QB's we could've had and of course they go on to torture us with what could have been. We need to put the program before any 1 person even Mullin. Just because he was the best player ever here doesn't mean we need to watch the house burn another few years. If something is not working, you make a change. If we have another dud year next year, consider the experiment over. Some tend to think that if Mullin doesn't work it never will. I disagree. If we make a smart hire for once we will have success here. We may be irrelevant now, but no one else can replicate NYC, MSG, and the tradition here plus the TV exposure and conference.[/quote]
Who did URI beat? If we had URI's schedule we might still be dancing. Enough with the overrated coaches already.[/quote]

Why do I still watch? I guess I'm a glutton for punishment. I'm numb after the Mets, Jets, Isles, Knicks...what's another team like that added to the mix? There's always that bit of hope however fleeting it may be.

Newsman13, not sure what you mean...are you saying that Hurley and Brown are overrated or coaches in general are? Either way, I'd disagree on both counts. I'd be willing to bet significant money on Hurley bringing UConn back to a regular tourney team likely in the Top 25 most years. Do I want that? No. But wherever he goes he succeeds and now he has way more resources in a college basketball town. Will Brown has been so consistently good at Albany. Look at their seasons the past 5 years or so. Not only does Albany do very well in the regular season, they also do very well in the conference tourney. Like I've said...I used to be in the camp where people say coaching doesn't matter, it's all players. But the more I watch college hoops, the more I realize coaching is very important unless you get top 10 guys every year. Guys like Cooley...you just see the team improve, blend, and win consistently. Not seeing that with our program with all the player turnover and very poor record in Mullin's tenure overall. Of course we all gave him a pass early on, but it's not early anymore. Year 3 is complete and year 4 will tell us if it will ever work whether or not he is fired or leaves. No need to avoid the elephant in the room. It's either working or not working and right now it's clearly not.[/quote]

Dear Kettle,

You're black.

Respectfully, The Pot.
 
One of the biggest issues for SJU I think has been what Paultz alludes to - gap between what SJU hoops is perceived to be based primarily on historical achievements vs. what it is currently.

This program hasn't won an NCAA Tournament game in almost two decades. SJU is clearly a stepping stone job, and would frankly do well to be a program that is only one step away for a coach from one of the few final stop jobs in college hoops, as opposed to two steps away. For one of those schools to consider an SJU coach the program would have to be drastically more successful than it's been on balance for the last going on 20 years.

And there is nothing wrong with that as others have noted. Xavier is the extreme example but how has 30+ years of being a feeder school for elite coaching positions impacted them? That would be a massive improvement for SJU as program is not remotely close to that right now.

Still rooting for CM and staff obviously, but if it doesn't work out wouldn't have any issue with SJU going to a coach/staff that have had proven success with less at their current program and for which the SJU job is a career defining opportunity. College coaching is a grind to begin with, and seems like infrastructural challenges at SJU make it that much more difficult to win here. A coach that has a track record of winning with less might be less impeded by challenges specific to SJU, and if trajectory of that coach's career is going to be determined largely by performance at SJU then there is just that much riding on it.

Did not necessarily prefer him to CM (thought both were good candidates), but Danny Hurley winning at Wagner is the type of thing that should absolutely jump off the page in a candidate for SJU job going forward. If a coach can figure a way to win at Wagner then may be well-positioned to figure a way to win at SJU. Understand that may have been almost unfathomable even 10 years ago, but may be realistic now.

Doesn't guarantee success, but Cooley came from Fairfield, Jordan came from Milwaukee, Holtmann had spent time as HC at Gardner Webb, even Willard had been at Iona. Recipe seems to be there for broadly similarly situated programs in our conference, if CM doesn't work (and I really hope it does), SJU may want to consider following this blueprint.
 
[quote="Beast of the East" post=277625][quote="Mike Zaun" post=277623][quote="newsman13" post=277616][quote="Mike Zaun" post=277607]I'm just sick of watching other programs make the right hires and our choices never work out. We passed up Danny Hurley for Mullin. Same with Piekell who will end up being better. Now we will have to watch as Hurley brings them back thinking what could have been. It reminds me of the Jets' QB situation. They make tons of QB choices and they never pan out, yet we have to watch the other teams draft QB's we could've had and of course they go on to torture us with what could have been. We need to put the program before any 1 person even Mullin. Just because he was the best player ever here doesn't mean we need to watch the house burn another few years. If something is not working, you make a change. If we have another dud year next year, consider the experiment over. Some tend to think that if Mullin doesn't work it never will. I disagree. If we make a smart hire for once we will have success here. We may be irrelevant now, but no one else can replicate NYC, MSG, and the tradition here plus the TV exposure and conference.[/quote]
Who did URI beat? If we had URI's schedule we might still be dancing. Enough with the overrated coaches already.[/quote]

Why do I still watch? I guess I'm a glutton for punishment. I'm numb after the Mets, Jets, Isles, Knicks...what's another team like that added to the mix? There's always that bit of hope however fleeting it may be.

Newsman13, not sure what you mean...are you saying that Hurley and Brown are overrated or coaches in general are? Either way, I'd disagree on both counts. I'd be willing to bet significant money on Hurley bringing UConn back to a regular tourney team likely in the Top 25 most years. Do I want that? No. But wherever he goes he succeeds and now he has way more resources in a college basketball town. Will Brown has been so consistently good at Albany. Look at their seasons the past 5 years or so. Not only does Albany do very well in the regular season, they also do very well in the conference tourney. Like I've said...I used to be in the camp where people say coaching doesn't matter, it's all players. But the more I watch college hoops, the more I realize coaching is very important unless you get top 10 guys every year. Guys like Cooley...you just see the team improve, blend, and win consistently. Not seeing that with our program with all the player turnover and very poor record in Mullin's tenure overall. Of course we all gave him a pass early on, but it's not early anymore. Year 3 is complete and year 4 will tell us if it will ever work whether or not he is fired or leaves. No need to avoid the elephant in the room. It's either working or not working and right now it's clearly not.[/quote]

Dear Kettle,

You're black.

Respectfully, The Pot.[/quote]

Not sure how that applies here...what am I accusing anyone of that I also exhibit?
 
[quote="Room112" post=277594]
..........The AAC is a temporary stop for UConn as we all know. .......[/quote]

No we all don’t believe this will be a “temporary stop” for Yukon.

My understanding of the Grant of Media Rights and other contractual agreements provide little incentive for the ACC to add Yukon before 2026, if then. The Big Ten has greater flexibility to add teams if it desires to expand but like the ACC has passed over Yukon numerous times.

Please explain why you believe Yukon and the AAC are temporary and what conference you believe Yukon will end up in. Thanks
 
[quote="Mean Gene" post=277675]Anfernee Hardaway to coach at is alma mater Memphis.[/quote]

Worst-kept secret for about three years. He was always going to end up there. It was just a matter of when.
 
[quote="otis" post=277642][quote="Room112" post=277594]
..........The AAC is a temporary stop for UConn as we all know. .......[/quote]

No we all don’t believe this will be a “temporary stop” for Yukon.

My understanding of the Grant of Media Rights and other contractual agreements provide little incentive for the ACC to add Yukon before 2026, if then. The Big Ten has greater flexibility to add teams if it desires to expand but like the ACC has passed over Yukon numerous times.

Please explain why you believe Yukon and the AAC are temporary and what conference you believe Yukon will end up in. Thanks[/quote]

The only place Yukon has to go is the Big East and I sure hope the conference has no intentions of extending an invitation at least until after I'm dead.
 
Per Rothstein
Pitt has offered Dan Hurley a multi-year deal in excess of $3 million dollars annually to be its next head basketball coach, per multiple sources. UConn and URI still in
 
[quote="Paultzman" post=277681]Per Rothstein
Pitt has offered Dan Hurley a multi-year deal in excess of $3 million dollars annually to be its next head basketball coach, per multiple sources. UConn and URI still in[/quote]

Everyone has been going on about Yukon but despite the awful record Pitt is a better option for Hurley in that it's in a real conference, strong athletic department overall, will still have the tools and budget needed. Not as sexy as Yukon historically but I can find URI on TV more thane Yukon these days.
 
[quote="Paultzman" post=277681]Per Rothstein
Pitt has offered Dan Hurley a multi-year deal in excess of $3 million dollars annually to be its next head basketball coach, per multiple sources. UConn and URI still in[/quote]

I've been waiting for them to join the party. I think Pitt can be the better job, but what do I know?

*I guess I don't need to know, because austour spelled it out pretty clearly.
 
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[quote="austour" post=277683][quote="Paultzman" post=277681]Per Rothstein
Pitt has offered Dan Hurley a multi-year deal in excess of $3 million dollars annually to be its next head basketball coach, per multiple sources. UConn and URI still in[/quote]

Everyone has been going on about Yukon but despite the awful record Pitt is a better option for Hurley in that it's in a real conference, strong athletic department overall, will still have the tools and budget needed. Not as sexy as Yukon historically but I can find URI on TV more thane Yukon these days.[/quote]0
Hmm. Did Slice like living in Pittsburgh?
 
[quote="redken" post=277687]Did Slice like living in Pittsburgh?[/quote]

He did have a good relationship with Bob Sr.
 
I know I make bad analogies and my mind wanders on here (sorry for essays), but just a passing thought. There's no way that we can know more than the coaches...right? I mean that with 100% sincerity. Do they actually know OSNA bigs are too raw? Do they actually know that we should be recruiting more skilled meaty bigs and poach some from mid majors? Do they actually know that they have to hire another recruiter? Do they know they have to hire an assistant X's and O's veteran to help Mullin? Does the SJ administration know that we should stop making the sexy hire and for once make the right hire i.e. younger, hungry, proven mid major guy instead of retreads or HOF players who never coached?

Now, of course most will laugh and say "of course they do, are you drunk?". But to be honest, I'm not so sure they realize how badly we need the above. And that's very scary. If they really did put the emphasis on those things that we do, wouldn't you expect some of them to happen?
 
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[quote="Mike Zaun" post=277737]I know I make bad analogies and my mind wanders on here (sorry for essays), but just a passing thought. There's no way that we can know more than the coaches...right? I mean that with 100% sincerity. Do they actually know OSNA bigs are too raw? Do they actually know that we should be recruiting more skilled meaty bigs and poach some from mid majors? Do they actually know that they have to hire another recruiter? Do they know they have to hire an assistant X's and O's veteran to help Mullin? Does the SJ administration know that we should stop making the sexy hire and for once make the right hire i.e. younger, hungry, proven mid major guy instead of retreads or HOF players who never coached?

Now, of course most will laugh and say "of course they do, are you drunk?". But to be honest, I'm not so sure they realize how badly we need the above. And that's very scary. If they really did put the emphasis on those things that we do, wouldn't you expect some of them to happen?[/quote]

“Passing thought”

[attachment=51]55957B5D-94B8-4D5F-9861-D97DBAFF2D6E.jpeg[/attachment]
 
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[quote="Mike Zaun" post=277737]I know I make bad analogies and my mind wanders on here (sorry for essays), but just a passing thought. There's no way that we can know more than the coaches...right? I mean that with 100% sincerity. Do they actually know OSNA bigs are too raw? Do they actually know that we should be recruiting more skilled meaty bigs and poach some from mid majors? Do they actually know that they have to hire another recruiter? Do they know they have to hire an assistant X's and O's veteran to help Mullin? Does the SJ administration know that we should stop making the sexy hire and for once make the right hire i.e. younger, hungry, proven mid major guy instead of retreads or HOF players who never coached?

Now, of course most will laugh and say "of course they do, are you drunk?". But to be honest, I'm not so sure they realize how badly we need the above. And that's very scary. If they really did put the emphasis on those things that we do, wouldn't you expect some of them to happen?[/quote]

Trust me, if it's been posted on a message board, it's been thought of by the coaching staff/administration. There's a difference between knowing and actually doing.
 
Expected responses lol Paultz that actually made me laugh. Ok, so if that's the case then it goes one step further. Why is it not happening? Because they keep recruiting the same types of bigs. Diakate is coming in. This after Obekpa and Yakwe were duds other than shot blocking. The only explanation could be that they had no other options and had to settle for them, to which begs another question, why? I feel like I'd be able to sit a kid down from the MAAC or A-10 or some other mid major conference and convince them to come to SJ. I'm not a professional. I have literally seen D-II basketball players who would be more effective or just effective as most of our bigs have been. Do they also not have interest in us?
 
Just to prove my point, I literally went to a random MAAC team: Fairfield. I looked up their roster at their bigs. Sure enough, Jonathan Kasibabu at 6'8 240 lbs was one of their bigs. He would instantly be our best big. Also had good stats. This was a 2 star recruit and I don't see anyone else who offered except Fairfield. This is exactly my point guys. I just found who would instantly be our best big in the MAAC and he was a 2*.
 
Are schools permitted to bring in specialists to help with player development? Like someone to work with bigs.
 
[quote="otis" post=277642][quote="Room112" post=277594]
..........The AAC is a temporary stop for UConn as we all know. .......[/quote]

No we all don’t believe this will be a “temporary stop” for Yukon.

My understanding of the Grant of Media Rights and other contractual agreements provide little incentive for the ACC to add Yukon before 2026, if then. The Big Ten has greater flexibility to add teams if it desires to expand but like the ACC has passed over Yukon numerous times.

Please explain why you believe Yukon and the AAC are temporary and what conference you believe Yukon will end up in. Thanks[/quote]

Next round of Big East or Big 12 expansion.
 
[quote="Knight" post=277751]Are schools permitted to bring in specialists to help with player development? Like someone to work with bigs.[/quote]

Zendon worked with STJ bigs for a couple of years, unpaid I believe. Special Assistants like Keady and Mitch in his old role were allowed to work with players one on one on skill development, just not run team practices. I don't think Mitch is running any team practices nor does he seem to be recruiting very much so maybe he should go back to that role and spend 12 hours a day trying to improve Justin's outside shot. That would go a long way if Justin could shoot like Mitch. ;)
 
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