A10 Coaching Carousel

[KAOriginal]

Wasn't that the story with all of them? I agree with your assessment - but there is a record of coaches with relationships to the vcu program using it as a stepping stone. Again - Agree vcu was fortunate to land Rhoades quickly --- but we are building in assumptions at this point.

No Rhoades and his family spent 20+years in Richmond. He is more than happy to be back and stay.

The word is he only left becuase he was going to have to "branch out" to show flexibility if and when the right situation came up.

And so it did.

 

[Mason Addict]

UNCW just lost their coach, I doubt it's going to happen. But even if it does, long-term the A-10's multi-bid history and future potential is much higher than the CAA.

I certainly hope so but records have shown A10 is trending down the last 2-3 years since the loss of Xavier, Temple, Butler and etc. And who know what's gonna happen to Dayton and vcu in the near term?!?!?!

The point is, the next couple of years will be crucial for the future of A10, we need teams other than vcu and Dayton to step up and consistently make the NCAA tourney.

 

[Mason Addict]

So what if they do?

If they do??? How do you feel when you paid a heavy fine to transfer your restricted funds from one stock to anther only to realize a couple of years later that the old stock could also get you the same rate of return??? I would be pretty bummed out as a true fan.

But like most of you, I have strong confidence in Paulsen to take us to the promised land again soon!

 

[GMUgemini]

If they do??? How do you feel when you paid a heavy fine to transfer your restricted funds from one stock to anther only to realize a couple of years later that the old stock could also get you the same rate of return??? I would be pretty bummed out as a true fan.

But like most of you, I have strong confidence in Paulsen to take us to the promised land again soon!

Um, the NCAA pays out a rolling 6 year basis. So, which conference would you rather be a part of, one that has accumulated 42 units over the last 6 years, or one that has accumulated 7?

Also, the A-10 has consistently been either in the top 7 or 8 conferences over the last 10 years even after Xavier and Temple left. The only reason why we didn't stay above the AAC this year is because St. Joe's got depleted and lost to Penn halfway through the season and that dropped us below them.

 

[Mason Addict]

Sure, the size of the pie in A10 is dramatically larger than CAA and I'm not saying we shouldn't have jumped ship, all I'm saying is how much has Mason gained vs left behind? But again, we wouldn't be having this conversation if Mason was successful under Paul II.

 

[GreenLantern]

I never doubted the wisdom of moving to the A 10. I only doubted the wisdom of hiring the Virus in the first place. We would not have fallen so far had we been more patient with our hire after Coach L left.

 

[masonjoe]

If they do??? How do you feel when you paid a heavy fine to transfer your restricted funds from one stock to anther only to realize a couple of years later that the old stock could also get you the same rate of return??? I would be pretty bummed out as a true fan.

But like most of you, I have strong confidence in Paulsen to take us to the promised land again soon!

Let's go back to the CAA because next year they might have 2 bids to the tournament? Yeah forget those TV deals and actually playing against high-level competition!

 

[Jack Strop]

I never doubted the wisdom of moving to the A 10. I only doubted the wisdom of hiring the Virus in the first place. We would not have fallen so far had we been more patient with our hire after Coach L left.

Or, in vcu's case over their past three hires, if Mason was quicker. It seems that vcu was proactively on the ball and knew exactly who they wanted when coaching vacancies opened up. Granted, no one foresaw OCM leaving before acquiring the Virus, and perhaps vcu had advanced notice of their impending coaching vacancies, but vcu hasn't missed a step in their last four hires.

 

[GMUgemini]

Or, in vcu's case over their past three hires, if Mason was quicker. It seems that vcu was proactively on the ball and knew exactly who they wanted when coaching vacancies opened up. Granted, no one foresaw OCM leaving before acquiring the Virus, and perhaps vcu had advanced notice of their impending coaching vacancies, but vcu hasn't missed a step in their last four hires.

In hindsight, it really seems like TOC let his emotions get in the way and wanted to stick it to OCM by hiring a "name" coach, instead of going out and finding someone who would be a good fit.

Even without Luke, we had a stacked roster. And a halfway competent coach probably could have won the CAA that year.

 

[EXpatriot13]

In hindsight, it really seems like TOC let his emotions get in the way and wanted to stick it to OCM by hiring a "name" coach, instead of going out and finding someone who would be a good fit.

Even without Luke, we had a stacked roster. And a halfway competent coach probably could have won the CAA that year.

1000000%.

 

[Mason Addict]

Let's go back to the CAA because next year they might have 2 bids to the tournament? Yeah forget those TV deals and actually playing against high-level competition!

Great idea! That's exactly what I meant and wanted for this program.

 

[Quentin Daniels]

If they do??? How do you feel when you paid a heavy fine to transfer your restricted funds from one stock to anther only to realize a couple of years later that the old stock could also get you the same rate of return???

Well....using that analogy.....

I guess I would recognize that as an investor stocks fluctuate. And if I'm owning these funds over several years, the simple fact that my old funds in high-performance year equaled my new funds in a low-performance year wasn't really that big a deal.

When the CAA consistently gets in multiple at-larges the way the A-10 does, then I guess I'll care. This year they only got their auto-bid (and that program lost its coach) plus one more in the NIT.

4 > 2

 

[Quentin Daniels]

In hindsight, it really seems like TOC let his emotions get in the way and wanted to stick it to OCM by hiring a "name" coach, instead of going out and finding someone who would be a good fit.

Even without Luke, we had a stacked roster. And a halfway competent coach probably could have won the CAA that year.

Why don't you quit being a hater and support the team??? Luke Hancock has set the program back decades and no coach can be expected to win that the current roster!!!


(Sorry, had a flashback to 2012. Yeah, what you said.)

 

[GSII]

Sure, the size of the pie in A10 is dramatically larger than CAA and I'm not saying we shouldn't have jumped ship, all I'm saying is how much has Mason gained vs left behind? But again, we wouldn't be having this conversation if Mason was successful under Paul II.

Here is what we gained by joining the A10. 400k per yr in TV money. Thats probably enough to justify our move even if we lose every game forever.

 

[Walter]

Plus, I would rather play twice a year UR, GW, DC and vcu. Now that we play JMU, I don't miss playing any CAA team. The old CAA is gone and it will never return.

 

[GMUgemini]

Plus, I would rather play twice a year UR, GW, DC and vcu. Now that we play JMU, I don't miss playing any CAA team. The old CAA is gone and it will never return.

I wouldn't mind the occasional series with UNCW.

 

[patriot2000]

Haven't been on the boards in a while because this is a busy time of year for me and the last loss left a bad taste in my mouth... Went all in in spring training baseball and the NCAA tournament.

So I just read this entire thread all at once. I have so much to say and am slightly drunk so I want to ramble, but I'm going to just say a couple of things...

Hiring from the Shaka tree is extremely important. The reason we all are envious of vcu basketball, whether we admit it or not, is branding. Havoc sells right now. No one cares that havoc is a gimmick that leads to NCAAT losses. It gets them there and it's exciting. But more importantly, it's a brand. We have NOTHING. Under L and Paulsen we have good basketball... How many butts has that put in the seats? Without butts, you lose both revenue and a significant portion of home court advantage. Final four was our brand, briefly, and it put butts in the seats. Briefly. But we didn't go back. Not even to a Sweet 16. So that brand died. Havoc hasn't died. We need to stop blaming DC vs Richmond and blame brand vs no brand.

None of this matters if Dave sticks around long enough to make us CONSISTENTLY successful at the NATIONAL level. But until then, branding matters. In my time as a Mason fan, we've had two spectacular coaches and two absimal coaches. But along the way, what we've always had is a meh athletic department. Can Brad change that? We'll see.

Next topic. CAA vs A10. Just plain stupid. CAA is a true mid major that will always be up and down because of recruiting cycles. A10 is a low-high-major that will survive recruiting cycles with "disappointing" 2 or 3 bid years. Loved loved loved the CAA. Do not for a second regret leaving. When there are 2 years in a row, or even 2 out of 5, where CAA matches A10's NCAA bid total, we can revisit this.

Luke Hancock was so much more a part of this program than some of you want to admit. Him back in 11-12, even with the Virus, translates to Sweet 16. And that's everything. We have been surpassed by Wichita and vcu, among a couple others, because we didn't make it 3 seasons in a row. Of course, that could have kept Hewitt around which would have been the end of us. Nevermind. Forget all that. Just focus on the fact that someone on this thread underestimated Luke Hancock's potential contribution to that 2012 team.

There's more but I'm more drunk than I thought. Bye.

 

[Falco]

Or, in vcu's case over their past three hires, if Mason was quicker. It seems that vcu was proactively on the ball and knew exactly who they wanted when coaching vacancies opened up. Granted, no one foresaw OCM leaving before acquiring the Virus, and perhaps vcu had advanced notice of their impending coaching vacancies, but vcu hasn't missed a step in their last four hires.

As much as laranega won't admit it, there was some real bad blood between him
and the former AD Tom O Connor. Coach L wanted raises for his staff he didn't recieve, he wanted a practice facility, he wanted the same salary as Shaka.

Once coach L left, O'connor wanted nothing to do with the staff.

I hate o'Connor even more then I do Hewitt.

God please forbid Paulsen from ever leaving but if he does please hire Dane Fisher.

 

[gmujim92]

Haven't been on the boards in a while because this is a busy time of year for me and the last loss left a bad taste in my mouth... Went all in in spring training baseball and the NCAA tournament.

So I just read this entire thread all at once. I have so much to say and am slightly drunk so I want to ramble, but I'm going to just say a couple of things...

Hiring from the Shaka tree is extremely important. The reason we all are envious of vcu basketball, whether we admit it or not, is branding. Havoc sells right now. No one cares that havoc is a gimmick that leads to NCAAT losses. It gets them there and it's exciting. But more importantly, it's a brand. We have NOTHING. Under L and Paulsen we have good basketball... How many butts has that put in the seats? Without butts, you lose both revenue and a significant portion of home court advantage. Final four was our brand, briefly, and it put butts in the seats. Briefly. But we didn't go back. Not even to a Sweet 16. So that brand died. Havoc hasn't died. We need to stop blaming DC vs Richmond and blame brand vs no brand.

None of this matters if Dave sticks around long enough to make us CONSISTENTLY successful at the NATIONAL level. But until then, branding matters. In my time as a Mason fan, we've had two spectacular coaches and two absimal coaches. But along the way, what we've always had is a meh athletic department. Can Brad change that? We'll see.

Next topic. CAA vs A10. Just plain stupid. CAA is a true mid major that will always be up and down because of recruiting cycles. A10 is a low-high-major that will survive recruiting cycles with "disappointing" 2 or 3 bid years. Loved loved loved the CAA. Do not for a second regret leaving. When there are 2 years in a row, or even 2 out of 5, where CAA matches A10's NCAA bid total, we can revisit this.

Luke Hancock was so much more a part of this program than some of you want to admit. Him back in 11-12, even with the Virus, translates to Sweet 16. And that's everything. We have been surpassed by Wichita and vcu, among a couple others, because we didn't make it 3 seasons in a row. Of course, that could have kept Hewitt around which would have been the end of us. Nevermind. Forget all that. Just focus on the fact that someone on this thread underestimated Luke Hancock's potential contribution to that 2012 team.

There's more but I'm more drunk than I thought. Bye.

vcu's investment in program infrastructure and ability to maintain continuity from one coach to the next has been a much greater factor in its success than the HAVOC brand.

They have been consistently successful enough that quality players and coaches want to be there. When one leaves another takes his place. Wash, rinse, repeat.

 

[gmubrian]

Haven't been on the boards in a while because this is a busy time of year for me and the last loss left a bad taste in my mouth... Went all in in spring training baseball and the NCAA tournament.

So I just read this entire thread all at once. I have so much to say and am slightly drunk so I want to ramble, but I'm going to just say a couple of things...

Hiring from the Shaka tree is extremely important. The reason we all are envious of vcu basketball, whether we admit it or not, is branding. Havoc sells right now. No one cares that havoc is a gimmick that leads to NCAAT losses. It gets them there and it's exciting. But more importantly, it's a brand. We have NOTHING. Under L and Paulsen we have good basketball... How many butts has that put in the seats? Without butts, you lose both revenue and a significant portion of home court advantage. Final four was our brand, briefly, and it put butts in the seats. Briefly. But we didn't go back. Not even to a Sweet 16. So that brand died. Havoc hasn't died. We need to stop blaming DC vs Richmond and blame brand vs no brand.

None of this matters if Dave sticks around long enough to make us CONSISTENTLY successful at the NATIONAL level. But until then, branding matters. In my time as a Mason fan, we've had two spectacular coaches and two absimal coaches. But along the way, what we've always had is a meh athletic department. Can Brad change that? We'll see.

Next topic. CAA vs A10. Just plain stupid. CAA is a true mid major that will always be up and down because of recruiting cycles. A10 is a low-high-major that will survive recruiting cycles with "disappointing" 2 or 3 bid years. Loved loved loved the CAA. Do not for a second regret leaving. When there are 2 years in a row, or even 2 out of 5, where CAA matches A10's NCAA bid total, we can revisit this.

Luke Hancock was so much more a part of this program than some of you want to admit. Him back in 11-12, even with the Virus, translates to Sweet 16. And that's everything. We have been surpassed by Wichita and vcu, among a couple others, because we didn't make it 3 seasons in a row. Of course, that could have kept Hewitt around which would have been the end of us. Nevermind. Forget all that. Just focus on the fact that someone on this thread underestimated Luke Hancock's potential contribution to that 2012 team.

There's more but I'm more drunk than I thought. Bye.

That was a great ramble. You should get drunk and post more often.