Possible coaching scenarios

[gmutom]

We could hire Fran McCaffrey, who might be looking for a new job after this happened tonight.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebas...fran-mccaffery-ejected-after-bumping-official

 

[MasonFanatic]

Do we want another former Siena coach?

 

[gmujim92]

Do we want another former Siena coach?

No way in hell. McCaffery's a jackass, always has been.

I'd rather have Hewitt, as strange as that sounds to say.

 

[Cool Disco Dan]

I don't get the Rhoades lovefest. If Rhoades is getting interviewed by but also passed over by MAAC and Ivy League schools (Siena and Princeton), I'm suspect on how he would be such a great hire at a higher level.

I would think you'd at least take a run at some of the better MAC/MAAC/CAA head coaches like Masiello (Manhattan), Cluess (Iona), Keith Dambrot (Akron), Skerry, etc. He's only in his 1st year, but Bobby Hurley is off to a good start at Buffalo.

If that doesn't pan out or they're looking at asst coaches, I'd rather see us go with a coach from a top program like Kevin Keatts (who Jim has mentioned) or maybe El Presidente would bond with Orlando Antigua (UK). If we're still a couple of years away from finding a replacement, Kenny Johnson (IU) has local ties that are as good as anyone.

 

[gmutom]

No way in hell. McCaffery's a jackass, always has been.

I'd rather have Hewitt, as strange as that sounds to say.

Just to be clear, I was kidding. That guy's a nut job. I just had to post his tirade somewhere.

 

[gmujim92]

I don't get the Rhoades lovefest. If Rhoades is getting interviewed by but also passed over by MAAC and Ivy League schools (Siena and Princeton), I'm suspect on how he would be such a great hire at a higher level.

I would think you'd at least take a run at some of the better MAC/MAAC/CAA head coaches like Masiello (Manhattan), Cluess (Iona), Keith Dambrot (Akron), Skerry, etc. He's only in his 1st year, but Bobby Hurley is off to a good start at Buffalo.

If that doesn't pan out or they're looking at asst coaches, I'd rather see us go with a coach from a top program like Kevin Keatts (who Jim has mentioned) or maybe El Presidente would bond with Orlando Antigua (UK). If we're still a couple of years away from finding a replacement, Kenny Johnson (IU) has local ties that are as good as anyone.

Dan, any of the young assistants you mentioned would be excellent.

Keatts is a rising star in the business. Antigua will be a HC once he gets a respectable offer -- his only issue is he's seen as nothing more than a recruiter. You'd certainly expect Johnson to recruit like a MFer wherever he winds up.

Really what I like most about Rhoades -- and what separates him, IMHO, from many others -- is his basketball IQ. He's very sharp tactically, maybe even more than Shaka. You won't see his teams wandering around aimlessly, looking lost.

And I don't know about him being "passed over" for HC jobs. I know of several low-major jobs he could've had in a heartbeat, but he's comfy enough at vcu to be extremely picky. Siena hired a proven HC in Patsos, so no shame in losing out on that one.

Ask yourself this: If he's regarded well enough to basically be the HC-in-waiting for a borderline top-25 program like vcu, why wouldn't he be good enough to take over our program?

 

[gmubrian]

Dan, I think there are a couple reasons:

He is part of a successful program that is a rival that seems to value his contribution. We improve while we do some damage to them.

We are hungry for any change at the moment. It is currently only a mental exercise and I suspect few if any have done significant research. He may pan out to be a good choice, maybe not once due diligence is done.

He has a pretty good resume based on what has been posted. As you suggest there are likely other options that are as good or better.

People are just throwing ideas out to see what sticks...

 

[psyclone]

Talk of replacing a coach mid-season seems quite premature and a serious overreach. I'd like someone to provide a list of coaches that have been replaced while the season is underway. I'm guessing there are very few and those that occur are more likely for serious personal discipline problems (e.g. Blaine Taylor last year at ODU).

Doing so for lesser reasons is likely to create a PR problem, especially when the coach in question is well-respected among the coaching community.

 

[Cool Disco Dan]

Brian - Fair enough. Jim - I guess I just don't know how much stock to put in the whole 'HC in waiting' deal. Sometimes, like at Butler, it happens. When Grant left vcu, it seemed like one of his assts (Pujol) was thought to be a strong possibility (maybe not at the same level as Rhoades, but he did interview for the job).We've heard that type of talk with other coaches at other programs like Jonny Dawkins at Duke, but then they either get passed over or take another job, because they're not necessarily the lock they appear to be. Mike Hopkins at Syracuse is the only guy I've heard of who actually has it written into his contract that he'll be the next HC. Interestingly, though, he interviewed at USC in April and just hired an agent about a month ago who said his next contract will be a HC job - so apparently he's tired of waiting for Boeheim to retire.

 

[Patriotsince81]

I would love to pull Tommy Amaker away from Harvard.

 

[TweederGMU]

I'll throw out Stan Jones. 12 years at FSU, the man can recruit, stresses defense, and is a proven winner.

Bino Ranson is another up and comer. He has ties all over the East Coast and is a great recruiter. Not sure how his Coaching philosophy is but studying under Gary Williams is a plus.

 

[TweederGMU]

Scott Spinelli is another.

http://www.umterps.com/ViewArticle....B_OEM_ID=29700&ATCLID=207324745&Q_SEASON=2013

 

[PoorManProfit]

I would love to pull Tommy Amaker away from Harvard.

Oh, please no.

 

[Patriotsince81]

Very solid resume, see below. Local ties since he graduated from WT Woodson. Played point guard for Duke so he shoule know a thing or two about the position.

In the six seasons since taking over as head coach of Harvard’s century-old men’s basketball program, Tommy Amaker has reinvented the Crimson into an Ivy League power with a national presence. He has directed Harvard to a period of unprecedented prosperity in the form of back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances, three consecutive Ivy League championships and four 20-win seasons in a row.
Amaker was introduced as head coach by Nichols Family Director of Athletics Bob Scalise on April 13, 2007, following six seasons as head coach at Michigan and four at the helm of Seton Hall. Amaker owns a 288-205 career record: 112-66 at Harvard, 108-84 at Michigan and 68-55 at Seton Hall. He ranks fourth on Harvard’s all-time wins list and has earned numerous Coach of the Year awards, including the Clarence "Big House" Gaines College Basketball Coach of the Year Award, presented to the top minority basketball coach in NCAA Division I.
Before beginning his head-coaching career, Amaker won two NCAA championships and advanced to five Final Fours as an assistant and associate head coach at Duke. He was previously a four-year starter at point guard for the Blue Devils, leading the team to the 1986 NCAA title game before earning All-America honors and recognition as the nation’s top defensive player in his senior year of 1987.
Amaker’s 2012-13 Crimson squad—New England’s only representative in the NCAA tournament—was the talk of the nation after knocking off third-seeded New Mexico, but his Harvard teams have long been making headlines, with each season bringing more program milestones. Some of the highlights:

• 112-66 record (.639 win percentage), including an Ivy League-best 90-30 (.750) the last four seasons
• 54-30 Ivy League record (.642), including an Ivy League-best 45-11 (.804) the last four seasons
• First three Ivy League championships in school history (2011,’12, ’13)
• Consecutive NCAA tournament appearances (2012, ’13), including Harvard’s first since 1946
• Four straight seasons with 20 wins and a postseason appearance
• Harvard’s first appearance in a major national poll, ranking as high as No. 21 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll in 2011-12

 

[Five Two]

1. Let Hewitt have the duration of his five-year contract to see if his plan comes together.

2. Fire him and his staff after the season, and allow the new coach and his assistants determine which recruits to maintain (assuming they still want to come here).

3. Fire Hewitt mid-season and promote one of the assistants to take over the team.

#3 isn't going to happen.

#2 is probably not going to happen unless we go 0-for-A10 (although, this team never fails to surprise.....)

#1....ugh

Somebody has probably mentioned this in the 4+ pages on this thread that I didn't read- the wild card is TOC. If he leaves in June, I think everything is on the table.

 

[GSII]

I would guess TOC would have announced by now that he is retiring. Or did his contract not get extended?

 

[GMUgemini]

I would love to pull Tommy Amaker away from Harvard.

Didn't Maryland try to interview him and he turned them down?

 

[A.-Siegfried]

Talk of replacing a coach mid-season seems quite premature and a serious overreach. I'd like someone to provide a list of coaches that have been replaced while the season is underway. I'm guessing there are very few and those that occur are more likely for serious personal discipline problems (e.g. Blaine Taylor last year at ODU).

Doing so for lesser reasons is likely to create a PR problem, especially when the coach in question is well-respected among the coaching community.

USC and Kevin O'Neill just last season. He was 7-10, 2-2 in conference play.

 

[GSII]

Didn't Maryland try to interview him and he turned them down?

Tommy does what his wife tells him. She is a proffessor at Harvard so he aint leaving unless she does. You want Tommy, give his wife a job at our law school. Next.

 

[CHRISTOPHER JAMES JOLLAY]

It would take a pretty dismal, four win or less A-10 slate to even make firing Hewitt after the season a REMOTE possibility.

Assuming TOC stays. A decision wouldn't likely be made until after Hewitt's fourth year, when he's playing with almost all his guys.

In the event this discussion did become necessary I would prefer a younger guy. Old guys can seem creepy.