Coaching Carousel 2025

Walter

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Oh, crap again.

I just read that A&M has Ole Miss’s Chris Beard at the top of its wish list. And, I have on good authority, when Tony was an assistant at Louisiana Tech, he was driving to a recruit’s home one night, got lost on a backroad, and drove into Mississippi. He stopped at a gas station to get directions. The cute girl who was working there mistook him for an old classmate and said, “Welcome Home.” It felt good to Tony.

May not mean anything, but I got a bad feeling about this.

Can we proactively increase his salary another $1M? Get it done Mason.
 

GMU79

Hall of Famer
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GIVING DAY 2023
Oh, crap again.

I just read that A&M has Ole Miss’s Chris Beard at the top of its wish list. And, I have on good authority, when Tony was an assistant at Louisiana Tech, he was driving to a recruit’s home one night, got lost on a backroad, and drove into Mississippi. He stopped at a gas station to get directions. The cute girl who was working there mistook him for an old classmate and said, “Welcome Home.” It felt good to Tony.

May not mean anything, but I got a bad feeling about this.

Can we proactively increase his salary another $1M? Get it done Mason.
Don't tell Falco
 

Falco

Hall of Famer
GIVING DAY 2023
Don't tell Falco
Y’all are acting like I’m crazy. Every reputable college basketball insider said Skinn interviewed this past weekend, and it came down to him and Buzz. Simpkins was ruled out early, and Luke Murray was the dark horse.

I still can’t believe UMD passed on Skinn, but I’m glad they did!
 

mkaufman1

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GIVING DAY 2023
Y’all are acting like I’m crazy. Every reputable college basketball insider said Skinn interviewed this past weekend, and it came down to him and Buzz. Simpkins was ruled out early, and Luke Murray was the dark horse.

I still can’t believe UMD passed on Skinn, but I’m glad they did!
Without divulging too much, it was much more of UMD flirting with Tony than vice versa.

They had their guy from the get go, but they definitely spooked me and probably others. They did their diligence much like we had diligence done with other candidates other than Tony. However Tony was the obvious choice for us.

It honestly doesnt matter at this juncture. Tony may have been runner up, but he wasnt as close as it seemed or others made it seem. At least thats my .02. Take it fwiw.
 
Do you think the goal needs to or should be to secure 3 million to squirrel away so we can match/counter an offer if and when the day comes? Where do we stand on outreach/building relationships with the Fortune 500 companies in the region?
 

psyclone

Hall of Famer
Do you think the goal needs to or should be to secure 3 million to squirrel away so we can match/counter an offer if and when the day comes? Where do we stand on outreach/building relationships with the Fortune 500 companies in the region?
Here's a list from 2-3 years ago:

The District:

  • No. 33: Fannie Mae, $101.5 billion
  • No. 118: Danaher Corp, $29.5 billion
  • No. 398: The Carlyle Group, $8.8 billion
Suburban Maryland:

  • No. 55: Lockheed Martin (Bethesda), $67 billion
  • No. 270: Marriott International (Bethesda), $13.9 billion

Northern Virginia:

  • No. 56: Freddie Mac (McLean), $65.9 billion
  • No. 94: General Dynamics (Reston), $38.5 billion
  • No. 101: Northrop Grumman (Falls Church), $33.7 billion
  • No. 108: Capital One Financial (Tysons), $32 billion
  • No. 207: DXC Technology (Ashburn), $17.7 billion
  • No. 274: Leidos (Reston), $13.7 billion
  • No. 333: AES Corp. (Arlington), $11.1 billion
  • No. 359: NVR (Reston), $8.9 billion
  • No. 436: Booz Allen Hamilton (McLean), $7.9 billion
  • No. 456: SAIC (Reston), $7.4 billion
  • No. 478: Beacon Hill Roofing Supply (Herndon), $6.8 billion
 
OP
Pablo

Pablo

Hall of Famer
Interesting statement from Texas A&M - https://texags.com/s/66293/buzz-williams-set-to-leave-texas-am-for-marylands-head-coaching-job/7

"Further, Williams becomes the second A&M men’s basketball coach to ditch College Station for College Park, mirroring a move made by Mark Turgeon in 2011.

Despite three consecutive trips to the Big Dance with A&M, Williams and the Aggies never reached the second weekend of March Madness."

"However, after a first-round win over Yale, Williams and the Aggies were eliminated by No. 5 seed Michigan in the Round of 32 on March 22. As the No. 4 seed in the South Region, A&M blew a 10-point second-half lead in a 91-79 loss to the Wolverines."

"Originally introduced to the 12th Man on April 4, 2019, Williams arrived after a five-year stint at Virginia Tech, where he took the Hokies to the Sweet 16 in 2019.

That kind of postseason success did not follow him to Aggieland despite being a top-20 paid coach in college basketball.

Williams finishes his Texas A&M tenure with a 120-73 record. His Aggies were 2-3 in the NCAA Tournament."
 

Falco

Hall of Famer
GIVING DAY 2023
Without divulging too much, it was much more of UMD flirting with Tony than vice versa.

They had their guy from the get go, but they definitely spooked me and probably others. They did their diligence much like we had diligence done with other candidates other than Tony. However Tony was the obvious choice for us.

It honestly doesnt matter at this juncture. Tony may have been runner up, but he wasnt as close as it seemed or others made it seem. At least thats my .02. Take it fwiw.
My read on the situation, UMD wanted Buzz, and Buzz wanted UMD. But Maryland needed a Plan B in case the two sides couldn’t come to terms.
 
Here's a list from 2-3 years ago:

The District:

  • No. 33: Fannie Mae, $101.5 billion
  • No. 118: Danaher Corp, $29.5 billion
  • No. 398: The Carlyle Group, $8.8 billion
Suburban Maryland:

  • No. 55: Lockheed Martin (Bethesda), $67 billion
  • No. 270: Marriott International (Bethesda), $13.9 billion

Northern Virginia:

  • No. 56: Freddie Mac (McLean), $65.9 billion
  • No. 94: General Dynamics (Reston), $38.5 billion
  • No. 101: Northrop Grumman (Falls Church), $33.7 billion
  • No. 108: Capital One Financial (Tysons), $32 billion
  • No. 207: DXC Technology (Ashburn), $17.7 billion
  • No. 274: Leidos (Reston), $13.7 billion
  • No. 333: AES Corp. (Arlington), $11.1 billion
  • No. 359: NVR (Reston), $8.9 billion
  • No. 436: Booz Allen Hamilton (McLean), $7.9 billion
  • No. 456: SAIC (Reston), $7.4 billion
  • No. 478: Beacon Hill Roofing Supply (Herndon), $6.8 billion
That’s a great list. It only makes my point stand even more: we need to raise earmark 3 million for the point of being able to aggressively match an offer from a P5.
 
Assistant Options:
1 - Curran - (assuming Tony wouldn't hypothetically take him with Him to UMD)

2 - Luke Murray from UConn

3 - Brad Calipari - why not swoop him up and give him his first big shot? That family has NBA ties and recruiting ties. He's 29 and would give us a jolt. He should be one of our top targets.


Head Coach Options:

1 - Bashir Mason - Saint Peter's - Solid record at both Wagner and Saint Peter's which is even more impressive considering that He doesn't have much to work with in the way of facilities at SPU. A grind it out defensive focused coach with strong NYC and NJ recruiting ties to high schools.

2. Jeff Van Gundy or Mark Jackson - Both are excellent coaches. Coaching Mason could provide them the path back to being a Head Coach. It would also give Mason Athletics a jolt of national buzz.

3. Brian Wardle - Bradley - 4 postseasons so far in his time at Bradley. His team looked very crisp with it's shooting against us.

4. Speedy Claxton - Hofstra

5. Bucky McMillan - Samford

6. David Blatt - took the Cavaliers to the 2015 NBA Finals. Currently with Tel Aviv.

7. Duane - American U


Former Player Options:

1. Lamar Butler

2. Eric Maynor - current OKC Thunder Assistant
I’m sorry I’m now just getting back to this- Mark Jackson? Van Gundy??? Dave Blatt?????????

You were kidding with those suggestions right?
 

mkaufman1

Administrator
Staff member
⭐️ Donor ⭐️
GIVING DAY 2023
My read on the situation, UMD wanted Buzz, and Buzz wanted UMD. But Maryland needed a Plan B in case the two sides couldn’t come to terms.
Yeah thats a fair assumption. But its not even clear if he was plan B or plan C. Buzz was probably over 50 percent into the process before an alternate even was evaluated.
 

GMU79

Hall of Famer
⭐️ Donor ⭐️
GIVING DAY 2023
Interesting statement from Texas A&M - https://texags.com/s/66293/buzz-williams-set-to-leave-texas-am-for-marylands-head-coaching-job/7

"Further, Williams becomes the second A&M men’s basketball coach to ditch College Station for College Park, mirroring a move made by Mark Turgeon in 2011.

Despite three consecutive trips to the Big Dance with A&M, Williams and the Aggies never reached the second weekend of March Madness."

"However, after a first-round win over Yale, Williams and the Aggies were eliminated by No. 5 seed Michigan in the Round of 32 on March 22. As the No. 4 seed in the South Region, A&M blew a 10-point second-half lead in a 91-79 loss to the Wolverines."

"Originally introduced to the 12th Man on April 4, 2019, Williams arrived after a five-year stint at Virginia Tech, where he took the Hokies to the Sweet 16 in 2019.

That kind of postseason success did not follow him to Aggieland despite being a top-20 paid coach in college basketball.

Williams finishes his Texas A&M tenure with a 120-73 record. His Aggies were 2-3 in the NCAA Tournament."
Looks like they are a bit bitter.

Y’all are acting like I’m crazy. Every reputable college basketball insider said Skinn interviewed this past weekend, and it came down to him and Buzz. Simpkins was ruled out early, and Luke Murray was the dark horse.

I still can’t believe UMD passed on Skinn, but I’m glad they did!
I don't know about the other guys, but I was joking with you, not poking fun at you.
 
OP
Pablo

Pablo

Hall of Famer



"Story Summary
  • Bryant University is expected to hire Jamion Christian as their new men's basketball coach.
  • Christian previously coached at Mount St. Mary's, Siena, and George Washington, reaching the NCAA tournament twice.
  • Christian will look to build on Bryant's recent success, as they won the America East regular season and tournament championships in 2024-25."
"A source told The Journal earlier in the week that Christian had emerged as a potential candidate for the job. He most recently served as head coach for Pallacanestro Trieste, a Lega Basket Serie A club in Italy."
 
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Mark Jackson or JVG would give us a jolt of national buzz. Recruits would instantly know GMU because they watch nba countdown. In regards to Blatt? Iona hired an international coach in Pitino. Why not us also?
You recognize that Iona got to hire Pitino because he was still dealing with the scandal that got him canned at Louisville right?

Also, Jackson hasn't coached in a decade, and JVG hasn't been a head coach in nearly two. Not only would they not want to come here, but I have no doubt they'd be disaster hires at this level.

A more legitimate list would've been guys like Rob Jones, Luke Murray, etc.
 
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