Predict the Next Coach Pool

[Walter]

So it may not be in some candidates' interest to jump too quickly.

Good points.

If I were Prohm, you bet I would have my agent tell BBB that I have interest in the job. We may not be his first choice, but we should be in the discussion for him and his family.

If Kentucky and Texas join the search for a coach then that is not good for us.

 

[Walter]

Yeah I continue to find it funny some on here have zero faith in Caputo, as if his experience is meaningless or something because he wasn't a head coach. Do they not realize assistants do must the work and prep?

If we end up with Caputo, I will be okay with it.

 

[wijg]

Yeah I continue to find it funny some on here have zero faith in Caputo, as if his experience is meaningless or something because he wasn't a head coach. Do they not realize assistants do must the work and prep?

Well, then hire him as an assistant...

You defeated your own argument here. You just pointed out how being head coach is a different job than assistant coach and then you imply he would be a good head coach...

I don't think anyone has said anything negative about Caputo. I know I said I thought he'd be a good coach. But he hasn't proven himself in the head coaching position. That leaves a question mark in his skill set. He may end up being the best head coach ever, he is just unproven in that position and there are plenty out there that are proven.

 

[Quentin Daniels]

You guys are so funny. You realize the two most effective coaches in the A10 had no head coaching experience before taking over Dayton and vcu. Then there is Fordham who hired Pecora who was pretty successful recruiting to Hofstra. No NCAA, but he won a lot of games there. And he couldn't move Fordham an inch.

I'm also OK w/giving a guy his first shot if there's potential - bit more risk for a shot at a bigger reward.

That said, the two guys you've mentioned have significantly more experience at multiple programs than does Caputo.

Smart - Cal. Univ of Pa, Dayton, Akron, Clemson & Florida
Miller - Western KY, NC State, AZ State, OH State & Arizona

Caputo has Mason & Miami and just one head coach to have learned from. He's a great head coach, but would still prefer more exposure to a variety of coaching philosophies and institutional challenges.

If we go the assistant route, would prefer it be a guy like OH State's Jeff Boals.

 

[Herndon]

You guys are so funny. You realize the two most effective coaches in the A10 had no head coaching experience before taking over Dayton and vcu. Then there is Fordham who hired Pecora who was pretty successful recruiting to Hofstra. No NCAA, but he won a lot of games there. And he couldn't move Fordham an inch.

That's fair, man. Goes against my instincts, but facts are facts.

This is actually a really good conversation. Lots of reason, not much invective.

 

[wijg]

Then there is Fordham who hired Pecora who was pretty successful recruiting to Hofstra. No NCAA, but he won a lot of games there. And he couldn't move Fordham an inch.

He did move them out of last place....

Ok, he held them steady as we sank below them.

 

[dr. gunnie]

I like Caputo, but go ahead and type me up his resume of his accomplishments and I'll go ahead and type up a resume of someone like Moton or Toole and we'll see who has the better resume.

And I'm not saying that Caputo couldn't be a better coach than both of those guys, he could be... I'm just saying he doesn't have the track record as some of the others do. It's up to BE if he wants to take a chance on someone with less experience. If he does, great!

 

[KAOriginal]

I like Caputo, but go ahead and type me up his resume of his accomplishments and I'll go ahead and type up a resume of someone like Moton or Toole and we'll see who has the better resume.

And I'm not saying that Caputo couldn't be a better coach than both of those guys, he could be... I'm just saying he doesn't have the track record as some of the others do. It's up to BE if he wants to take a chance on someone with less experience. If he does, great!

Ditto

 

[gmujim92]

Even if we hired Caputo tomorrow, any comparison to Smart/Miller would be apples to oranges.

Both of those guys took over established programs whose previous coaches had moved on to "better" jobs. vcu in particular was set up for immediate success because of the team Anthony Grant had recruited.

Hiring an unproven assistant to rebuild our program from the destruction of Hewitt would be a very risky proposition. If he tanks, it only sets us back further and makes it even harder to get a legit coach the next time.

 

[KAOriginal]

Even if we hired Caputo tomorrow, any comparison to Smart/Miller would be apples to oranges.

Both of those guys took over established programs whose previous coaches had moved on to "better" jobs. vcu in particular was set up for immediate success because of the team Anthony Grant had recruited.

Hiring an unproven assistant to rebuild our program from the destruction of Hewitt would be a very risky proposition. If he tanks, it only sets us back further and makes it even harder to get a legit coach the next time.

In reality...and I agree....the unproven but ready fro prime time assistant would have been the better hire 2011...because they got handed a good team to build from in a less competitive conference.

Now would be asking an unproven assistant to rebuild a program in a hard core conference against seasoned/good coaches. If we go that route, that says we have given up and are just hoping for the best.

 

[Vurbel]

Much speculation these days (at least on Tony Kornheiser) on whether Calipari leaves UK if they win the next 4. Some thinking that he may go back to the NBA having nothing left to prove in terms of NCAA legacy.

Of course, that would open one of the biggest jobs in the country which may trigger a domino effect even if the guys we're looking at (maybe with the exception of Prohm and his familiarity in Kentucky) aren't candidates for that job. Similarly if/when Texas pulls the trigger on Barnes in April (to save some buyout).

So it may not be in some candidates' interest to jump too quickly.

Start the Shaka to Kentucky rumors!

 

[Walter]

This guy is an idiot.

Coaching Changes ‏@CoachingChanges
George Mason sounds like a botch search just waiting to happen. AD hired IUPUI Ft Wayne coach at Jacksonville last year, No State Ties!

and

Coaching Changes ‏@CoachingChanges 3h3 hours ago
Alabama names floating last 24 hours- Greg Marshall, Tom Crean, Mark Turgeon, Rick Barnes, Richard Pitino, Larry Eustacy

 

[GMUSig03]

I agree with both sides of the argument on this one. Obviously a head coach who has been successful is going to have a better resume, be a more attractive candidate and have presumably a better chance for success. However, they are also going to cost more and have more job options. We may not be able to hire the coach of our choice.

Then you start looking at coaches who have been less successful, and eventually you get to the point where you are looking at coaches who have sort of established a ceiling, ie, they have proven just how good/mediocre they are.

At this point, you start looking at assistants because of the potential payoff. Pretty much every successful head coach was an assistant at some point and got his break. If you are the school who gives that next star coach his break, you are going to get a huge payoff, at a much lower cost salary wise.

 

[GSII]

This guy is an idiot.

Coaching Changes ‏@CoachingChanges
George Mason sounds like a botch search just waiting to happen. AD hired IUPUI Ft Wayne coach at Jacksonville last year, No State Ties!

and

Coaching Changes ‏@CoachingChanges 3h3 hours ago
Alabama names floating last 24 hours- Greg Marshall, Tom Crean, Mark Turgeon, Rick Barnes, Richard Pitino, Larry Eustacy

Wow talking shit about Brad. Just wow.

 

[MasonFanatic]

Anyone who calls IPFW "IUPUI Ft Wayne" immediately loses all credibility.

 

[MasonFanatic]

That's like calling UNC Greensboro "UNCW-Greensboro"

 

[Quentin Daniels]

Guy on interwebs says something stupid and offensive?

Set my outrage meter to 11!!!

 

[gmujim92]

Nobody puts Big Balls Brad in a corner!

 

[Leesburg Chankenstank III]

This program has fallen leaps and bounds since Hewitt took over. I am all about giving "unknowns" a chance if the word is that they have shown potential. But we are not their right now. Another bad hire could do irreversible damage to our program and could sink us forever.

At least at this point we can say “Well, Hewitt was a bad hire and it was his fault, Mason is a place where a decent coach can succeed”. But another four years of miserable performance could forever label us another Fordham in which it is a coaches graveyard and where NCAA hoop dreams come to die.

Taking a chance at an unknown could have happened after Coach L left, but is not the best approach at this point for the program. We need a proven head coach, whether that’s mid major, low major or high major, it doesn't matter.

I know Hewitt was a supposed "winner" but this time we can do our due dilligence to look beyond the NC title game crap because as we all know the devil is in the details.

 

[GSII]

And thats why I think Scott Cherry is our guy. He is family, proven successful in conference play on consistent basis. Who cares about conf tourney ships. if he maintains that consistency in A10 then we get into the dance.