2018 College Basketball Coaches Hiring and Firing Thread

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Poor Tubby. He should've stayed at Texas Tech while the going was good.
 



Kind of a raw deal of Tubby. I wonder if he will really go coach High Point as rumored.
 

howeda7 said:
Kind of a raw deal of Tubby. I wonder if he will really go coach High Point as rumored.
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Wouldn't surprise me at all. And High Point will pay him $90,000 while Memphis pays the rest. Pretty good deal for both Tubby and High Point. At that level, I can see him having a lot of success without having to deal with the headaches of players, parents and fans who all think they should be pros and win national championships every other year. Multiple times, including his first year here, Tubby has led over achieving teams. He could do that again.
 


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Matta apparently turned down the Georgia job.

Former Ohio State coach Thad Matta has turned down the Georgia job, he told ESPN Wednesday.

Matta met with Georgia officials on Monday and was offered the position before he left campus.
“It was the most difficult decision because Georgia is a tremendous opportunity for a coach to build a great program,” Matta said. “Unfortunately, I just don’t feel that I am completely ready at this point to give Greg McGarity and Georgia what they deserve.”
Matta coached for 13 seasons at Ohio State and went 337-123 before leaving the program after the 2016-’17 season. Matta’s teams appeared in a Final Four, two Elite Eights and a pair of Sweet 16’s.
Matta also spent three seasons at Xavier and a year at Butler.

http://www.zagsblog.com/2018/03/14/thad-matta-turns-georgia-job/
 

mplarson7 said:
Matta apparently turned down the Georgia job.

Former Ohio State coach Thad Matta has turned down the Georgia job, he told ESPN Wednesday.

Matta met with Georgia officials on Monday and was offered the position before he left campus.
“It was the most difficult decision because Georgia is a tremendous opportunity for a coach to build a great program,” Matta said. “Unfortunately, I just don’t feel that I am completely ready at this point to give Greg McGarity and Georgia what they deserve.”
Matta coached for 13 seasons at Ohio State and went 337-123 before leaving the program after the 2016-’17 season. Matta’s teams appeared in a Final Four, two Elite Eights and a pair of Sweet 16’s.
Matta also spent three seasons at Xavier and a year at Butler.

http://www.zagsblog.com/2018/03/14/thad-matta-turns-georgia-job/
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Crean might be their next option.
 

There's a USA Today article on Crean being on Georgia's radar, but also a report on ESPN last night that he met with Pittsburgh to discuss their opening too.
 



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Go Gophers!!
 


ESPN: Penny Hardaway agrees to be next Memphis coach

Former Memphis star Penny Hardaway has agreed to a deal to become the next Tigers men's basketball coach, and a news conference is expected on Tuesday, sources told ESPN.

Memphis' hire looks to add some life to a program that has struggled in the latter years of the Tubby Smith regime. Smith won 19 games his first year and 21 the second, but the Tigers didn't make any postseason tournaments, and attendance has been down.

Hardaway isn't your typical former NBA player, as he has coached AAU basketball in the summer and also won his third consecutive state title as the head coach of Memphis East High this past weekend.

Hardaway has ties to some of the top players in the area, including top-ranked junior James Wiseman.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...86/penny-hardaway-agrees-memphis-tigers-coach

Go Gophers!!
 

ESPN: Virginia assistant Sanchez to be Charlotte coach

Charlotte is expected to hire Virginia assistant Ron Sanchez as its next coach, sources told ESPN.

Sanchez was an assistant coach on Tony Bennett's staff for three years at Washington State and the past nine in Charlottesville. Virginia was upset in the first round last week by 16th-seeded UMBC after winning both the ACC regular-season and tournament titles.

Sanchez will replace former NBA player Mark Price, who was fired midway through the season after just 2½ years at the helm.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...tte-49ers-hire-virginia-assistant-ron-sanchez

Go Gophers!!
 



Atlanta Journal Constitution: Point guard Tai Strickland impressed with Wisconsin after strong campus visit

Five weeks ago, point guard Tai Strickland was waiting and hoping all the hard work during his high school basketball career would pay off in the form of more scholarship offers. He was a self-proclaimed “late-bloomer,” and time was running out for coaches to notice him as his senior season sped to a close.

But then Wisconsin assistant coach Howard Moore watched Strickland and came away so impressed that the Badgers offered him a scholarship, beginning a string of offers to come Strickland’s way. Rutgers, Minnesota and DePaul entered the fold, providing Strickland with plenty to ponder.

Now, Strickland is in the process of whittling down his list to finalists. And after taking an official visit to Madison over the weekend, Wisconsin is firmly in the mix alongside Minnesota and Rutgers. Strickland is scheduled to take an official visit to Rutgers on Friday and is in the process of setting up a visit to Minnesota.

Strickland visited Madison with his parents and liked what the city and the campus had to offer.

“The city of Madison is beautiful,” Strickland told Land of 10. “The city was great. The facilities are really big-time. I like that. The people up there are really cool. I liked those guys.

“We toured the facilities, the Kohl Center, we went over to the school of business. That’s one of my big things that I wanted to do. We went down to State Street, looked at the restaurants, ate near the lake. Of course, it was frozen at this time, which was actually pretty cool. That’s most of what we did.”

What did Strickland like most about his visit?

“Definitely the fans,” he said. “They love Wisconsin basketball.”

https://www.ajc.com/sports/college/...r-strong-campus-visit/uNmywdreVltpGGNjd4nuxJ/

Go Gophers!!
 

Can't find a link but apparently Tubby has been whining to anyone who will listen that Hardaway was undermining him to recruits, telling them not to go to Memphis, trying to sabotage Tubby at Memphis.

Even if true, kinda thought that was essentially the very basic premise behind all college recruiting for virtually every sport in college athletics? Is Tubby saying he's never told a recruit that he shouldn't go to a certain school, bad things going on at School X, you won't be happy there, etc?

Victim Tubby, once again.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Can't find a link but apparently Tubby has been whining to anyone who will listen that Hardaway was undermining him to recruits, telling them not to go to Memphis, trying to sabotage Tubby at Memphis.

Even if true, kinda thought that was essentially the very basic premise behind all college recruiting for virtually every sport in college athletics? Is Tubby saying he's never told a recruit that he shouldn't go to a certain school, bad things going on at School X, you won't be happy there, etc?

Victim Tubby, once again.
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I saw a statement from his lawyer that said that. No idea if it is true.

I don't think your comparison really holds water though. You'd expect other D1 coaches to participate in negative recruiting. It's not normal for a high school coach who is an alum of the school you coach for and controls many of your potential recruits to do it. Again, no idea if it actually happened or if Tubby is actually running around telling that to people.
 

bizzle22 said:
I saw a statement from his lawyer that said that. No idea if it is true.

I don't think your comparison really holds water though. You'd expect other D1 coaches to participate in negative recruiting. It's not normal for a high school coach who is an alum of the school you coach for and controls many of your potential recruits to do it. Again, no idea if it actually happened or if Tubby is actually running around telling that to people.
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My hunch is this is true, but could also be justifiable on Penny's part - I think it has more to do with the Lawson situation than anything else. Penny coaches Chandler Lawson, the younger brother of the two Lawson's that transferred to Kansas after last year, and son of Keelon who Tubby demoted upon arriving at Memphis. From what I've read and heard Tubby was stuck between a rock and a hard place, felt like the older Lawson boys weren't team players and the team would be better without them. But the repercussions, which I am sure Tubby was well aware of at the time, would be losing out on Chandler (ESPN #26 in class of '19) and angering much of the fan-base and anyone close to the Lawson's (Penny included).
 

Gopher Skipper said:
My hunch is this is true, but could also be justifiable on Penny's part - I think it has more to do with the Lawson situation than anything else. Penny coaches Chandler Lawson, the younger brother of the two Lawson's that transferred to Kansas after last year, and son of Keelon who Tubby demoted upon arriving at Memphis. From what I've read and heard Tubby was stuck between a rock and a hard place, felt like the older Lawson boys weren't team players and the team would be better without them. But the repercussions, which I am sure Tubby was well aware of at the time, would be losing out on Chandler (ESPN #26 in class of '19) and angering much of the fan-base and anyone close to the Lawson's (Penny included).
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It wouldn't surprise me if it were true. That Lawson deal was sketchy from the get-go though. It was pretty clear that Keelon leveraged the fact that he had three sons and a nephew who were top recruits into a job on the Memphis staff. Seemed like people in Memphis were upset about that and never really forgave Tubby for it. Which I think is a little ridiculous...let the coach do his job.

I'd have a hard time believing that Penny wasn't aware that he was helping his own chances of eventually getting the job by guiding those players elsewhere. Not saying that is the only reason, but based on the way things went down it certainly looks like it was a factor.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Can't find a link but apparently Tubby has been whining to anyone who will listen that Hardaway was undermining him to recruits, telling them not to go to Memphis, trying to sabotage Tubby at Memphis.

Even if true, kinda thought that was essentially the very basic premise behind all college recruiting for virtually every sport in college athletics? Is Tubby saying he's never told a recruit that he shouldn't go to a certain school, bad things going on at School X, you won't be happy there, etc?

Victim Tubby, once again.
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The main difference for me is coaches are normally trying to better the team and program. If true, Penny was essentially trying to hurt the program for personal gain.
 

bizzle22 said:
It wouldn't surprise me if it were true. That Lawson deal was sketchy from the get-go though. It was pretty clear that Keelon leveraged the fact that he had three sons and a nephew who were top recruits into a job on the Memphis staff. Seemed like people in Memphis were upset about that and never really forgave Tubby for it. Which I think is a little ridiculous...let the coach do his job.

I'd have a hard time believing that Penny wasn't aware that he was helping his own chances of eventually getting the job by guiding those players elsewhere. Not saying that is the only reason, but based on the way things went down it certainly looks like it was a factor.
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Totally agree with all of this. The word "justifiable" was a little overboard by me; meant to say that where he sided on the Lawson issue would be more or less understandable, if indeed true. His actions of steering kids away from Tubby, definitely not justifiable if true, and as you mentioned I'm sure he knew that doing so would not only hurt Tubby but help himself which doesn't seem like the most ethic thing to do.
 

GophersInIowa said:
The main difference for me is coaches are normally trying to better the team and program. If true, Penny was essentially trying to hurt the program for personal gain.
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Not justifying what Hardaway did, if he did. I guess there are two points for me; one, negative recruiting is a part of college sports, plain and simple, regardless of the source. Two, what's to be gained by Tubby by whining about it? It's sour grapes, victim mentality, just move on and let it go.
 

Of course coaches participate in spreading negativity about other programs. Do you really think Pitino doesn't?

"Sure, you can go to Wisconsin, where they have a good basketball tradition. But do you really want to be a skunk for the rest of your life?"

Case closed.
 

mplarson7 said:
Of course coaches participate in spreading negativity about other programs. Do you really think Pitino doesn't?

"Sure, you can go to Wisconsin, where they have a good basketball tradition. But do you really want to be a skunk for the rest of your life?"

Case closed.
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We aren't talking about other D1 basketball coaches though. This alleged negative recruiting was coming from a HS coach in his own backyard who wields quite a bit of influence over top tier players. I don't think that happens very often. Especially when that coach is also a very well-liked alum of the program he is telling kids not to go to.

What would you think about it if the story was about Mike Grant telling Eden Prairie football players that they shouldn't go to the U of M?
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Not justifying what Hardaway did, if he did. I guess there are two points for me; one, negative recruiting is a part of college sports, plain and simple, regardless of the source. Two, what's to be gained by Tubby by whining about it? It's sour grapes, victim mentality, just move on and let it go.
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Being able to recruit Memphis is a pretty big deal for that program. Again if true, Penny made it nearly impossible for Tubby to be able to do that. Wouldn't you be upset if you were fired from your job because of something like this?
 

bizzle22 said:
We aren't talking about other D1 basketball coaches though. This alleged negative recruiting was coming from a HS coach in his own backyard who wields quite a bit of influence over top tier players. I don't think that happens very often. Especially when that coach is also a very well-liked alum of the program he is telling kids not to go to.

What would you think about it if the story was about Mike Grant telling Eden Prairie football players that they shouldn't go to the U of M?
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Yes ... and then Grant replaces the coach at the U when he's fired.

A better analogy might involve a former Gopher with the chance to be ahead coach doing it. What if it was known that Flip Saunders was the one urging the Big Three to go somewhere else when Tubby was coach? Then Tubby is fired because the perception is he isn't getting the top recruits from Minnesota. And --
coincidentally -- Saunders replaces him.
 

bizzle22 said:
We aren't talking about other D1 basketball coaches though. This alleged negative recruiting was coming from a HS coach in his own backyard who wields quite a bit of influence over top tier players. I don't think that happens very often. Especially when that coach is also a very well-liked alum of the program he is telling kids not to go to.

What would you think about it if the story was about Mike Grant telling Eden Prairie football players that they shouldn't go to the U of M?
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I was actually just using the opportunity to make a joke at the expense of Wisconsin. I wasn't trying to actually contribute to the conversation at all. :cool02:
 


mplarson7 said:
I was actually just using the opportunity to make a joke at the expense of Wisconsin. I wasn't trying to actually contribute to the conversation at all. :cool02:
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Fair enough. I misunderstood. I hate Wisconsin too much to understand jokes about them.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Can't find a link but apparently Tubby has been whining to anyone who will listen that Hardaway was undermining him to recruits, telling them not to go to Memphis, trying to sabotage Tubby at Memphis.

Even if true, kinda thought that was essentially the very basic premise behind all college recruiting for virtually every sport in college athletics? Is Tubby saying he's never told a recruit that he shouldn't go to a certain school, bad things going on at School X, you won't be happy there, etc?

Victim Tubby, once again.
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Yes, this kind of thing happens between rival schools, but how often does it happen where somebody is undermining someone so they can take their own job away from them? Not to mention the fact that he's willfully hurting the program in the short-term so that he can personally benefit by becoming its coach.
 

I do not think Richard spends time on negative recruiting, He sells opportunity. UCONN hit a grand slam hire with Hurley as he loved the ACC but Pitt is a mess and Louisville, who knows.
 

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