I like and think Pitino will be back, but who would you most like to replace him...

Next Gopher Basketball coach is?

  • Eric Musselman

    Votes: 51 54.8%

  • Ryan Saunders

    Votes: 7 7.5%

  • Fred Hoiberg

    Votes: 34 36.6%

  • Steve Alford

    Votes: 1 1.1%
  • Total voters
    93
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GopherWeatherGuy said:
I've always been a Pitino fan and still have hope he can make the tournament and keep his job. But if not, I'd hire Nate Oats. Buffalo is in the top 15, and will likely make the tournament for the 3rd time in his 4 years. He's 44, a Wisconsin native, and appears to be a good recruiter having landed two 4* guys at Buffalo.
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When it comes to new coaches, Oats will be the "hot ticket" this year. I can't imagine he'll be staying at Buffalo another year.
 

Livingat45north said:
When it comes to new coaches, Oats will be the "hot ticket" this year. I can't imagine he'll be staying at Buffalo another year.
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yeah he will for sure be a hot ticket if he can keep his team playing well. and 5 of his top 6 scorers on this years team are seniors. so for him now is the time to bid farewell when he has his chance. IF we decide to move on from Pitino, Oats has to be up there right behind Musselman for us to go after.
 

Meanwhile Muss loves living out west. UCLA has been through 5 offers and can not get anyone to take the job. Coaches with kids do not want that job. Now they are looking at Rick Pitino. Only hang up there is ethics committee and having super booster Casey Wasserman recuse himself for his ties to representing Pitino. Casey and search team went after Bennett, no go.Beard-nope, Self ! All no ! Looks like the other two were Muss and Hoiberg. Oates would be a smash hire but classy coaches always leave their best team behind. Besides i remain confident that Pitino can win more time here by winning this year. Know i AM IN THE MINORITY to still believe in 12-13 conference wins.
 

Quote Originally Posted by builtbadgers

From what, message board insults ! After 2004 they could have been ahead of the curve and hired several coaches who went on to great success. This would have been before the fact of big success but it is about being ahead of the curve. My firm represented two of them.

So then, who were the two? And since you have the information, why did neither end up at Mn?
 

Livingat45north said:
With the new facilities and Minnesota's rather new run of producing top basketball talent in the high school ranks, I think the Gophers are more attractive to a new coach then they were when Pitino was hired.
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Exactly. Two other factors working in our favor:
- Our AD isn't going anywhere and just got a contract extension through 2024 -- coaches don't like working for ADs who didn't hire them
- $$$$$$ -- our conference pulls in enough dough that we can easily afford to pay a coach a top 20 salary if we want to

This is an attractive job. The "nobody wants to come here" or "who could we get that is better" arguments don't hold water for me. Not saying we could get anyone we wanted, but there is no doubt the candidate pool would be deeper than some seem to think.

And what's even better is that we also have an AD who knows how to run a search. (Note: I'm not saying all of Coyle's hires will definitely be successful. I don't know the answer to that. No one does. What I do know is that the process wouldn't be a wild goose chase like it was in 2013.)
 


Is Thad Motta on any potential hire lists or is he enjoying his time away from coaching too much?
 

bizzle22 said:
Exactly. Two other factors working in our favor:
- Our AD isn't going anywhere and just got a contract extension through 2024 -- coaches don't like working for ADs who didn't hire them
- $$$$$$ -- our conference pulls in enough dough that we can easily afford to pay a coach a top 20 salary if we want to

This is an attractive job. The "nobody wants to come here" or "who could we get that is better" arguments don't hold water for me. Not saying we could get anyone we wanted, but there is no doubt the candidate pool would be deeper than some seem to think.

And what's even better is that we also have an AD who knows how to run a search. (Note: I'm not saying all of Coyle's hires will definitely be successful. I don't know the answer to that. No one does. What I do know is that the process wouldn't be a wild goose chase like it was in 2013.)
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OK.

Other than the new facilities, what has changed since 2013 to make this a landing spot for a top flight coach?
 

WorkingMyTailOff said:
Is Thad Motta on any potential hire lists or is he enjoying his time away from coaching too much?
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Time away would not be an issue yet. Just whether his health would allow. I'm not a fan of him though.
 

BarnBurner said:
OK.

Other than the new facilities, what has changed since 2013 to make this a landing spot for a top flight coach?
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The AD has changed, which is a pretty big deal. Big-time coaches want to know who their boss will be. The fact that Coyle has a contract through 2024 and is well-respected in his profession matters.

I'd also say the recruiting landscape has gotten to the point where the state is consistently producing high major D1 talent. In 2013 it wasn't really a trend yet. Some may have seen it as just a blip on the radar then, but now it's pretty apparent that the state is going to produce at least a couple high major players in every class. The 2020 MN high school class has four players in the top 100, and if there is a new coach there would be time to develop those relationships.

And while the money may have been there in 2013, the B1G is at the point where it is head and shoulders above most other conferences when it comes to money. The SEC and ACC are the only ones that compare. With the B1G TV deal signed through 2024 there is stability as well. IF we wanted to, we could out-spend most other schools. And I think Coyle would do that for the right guy. He didn't have a problem getting our president and regents to commit to a record (by U of M standards) contract for PJ.

I'll add: This would be a secondary difference, but I think another thing that made the job less attractive in 2013 was that we had just fired Tubby. Put yourself in the shoes of a D1 basketball coach and tell me if you'd want to take a job where they just fired a Hall of Fame coach right after he led the program to it's best finish in years. My first question would be "What in the world are your expectations if that kind of season can get me fired?" I'm not saying a coach would turn down the job based on that alone, because other factors are more important, but it wouldn't surprise me if it made some of them less interested in the job.
 
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Teague was not a AD people craved working for. Coyle is so much more connected on who to talk and listen too. The idea is to catch someone on the way up. Great coaches past and present have a really good idea who they are , no matter the level. They have seen them grow, seen them in clinics, seen them in action . When your really bright in their world the word travels amongst them. The best AD's have conversations with Knight, K, Izzo, Williams. They talk to Boehiem, Wright. Teague never had those relationships. At UW, Richter went to Al Mcguire, Keady and Knight and they all said that for that titanic rebuild that it would be built in a way by Bennett that it could be sustained. They said Ryan would build on it inheriting really good players with a great staff schooled over and over again on taking care of the ball, working for great shots and playing great defense, they never wavered. Gard wont either. Washington State did it this way in the search and the principles but gaffed on the follow up hires who actually inherited Klay Thompson and Baynes. UVA listened to Jerry West and Bob Knight and coach K and hired Bennett into that ACC cauldron after nearly choosing of all people Tubby ! Ohio State did it with Thad, Butler with Stevens and on and on. All of them did it paying no attention to winning the press conference or worrying about here they came from. FYI, they all won the press conferences by sharing a time tested vision of really good basketball, sound. If things do not work with RP here there is every reason to believe we can hire a great coach. Fans might not know his name very well but that does not mean he is not a fantastic coach.
 

builtbadgers said:
Teague was not a AD people craved working for. Coyle is so much more connected on who to talk and listen too. The idea is to catch someone on the way up. Great coaches past and present have a really good idea who they are , no matter the level. They have seen them grow, seen them in clinics, seen them in action . When your really bright in their world the word travels amongst them. The best AD's have conversations with Knight, K, Izzo, Williams. They talk to Boehiem, Wright. Teague never had those relationships. At UW, Richter went to Al Mcguire, Keady and Knight and they all said that for that titanic rebuild that it would be built in a way by Bennett that it could be sustained. They said Ryan would build on it inheriting really good players with a great staff schooled over and over again on taking care of the ball, working for great shots and playing great defense, they never wavered. Gard wont either. Washington State did it this way in the search and the principles but gaffed on the follow up hires who actually inherited Klay Thompson and Baynes. UVA listened to Jerry West and Bob Knight and coach K and hired Bennett into that ACC cauldron after nearly choosing of all people Tubby ! Ohio State did it with Thad, Butler with Stevens and on and on. All of them did it paying no attention to winning the press conference or worrying about here they came from. FYI, they all won the press conferences by sharing a time tested vision of really good basketball, sound. If things do not work with RP here there is every reason to believe we can hire a great coach. Fans might not know his name very well but that does not mean he is not a fantastic coach.
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who would be your top 5 choices if RP is gone? or even top 3 choices?
 

bizzle22 said:
Exactly. Two other factors working in our favor:
- Our AD isn't going anywhere and just got a contract extension through 2024 -- coaches don't like working for ADs who didn't hire them
- $$$$$$ -- our conference pulls in enough dough that we can easily afford to pay a coach a top 20 salary if we want to

This is an attractive job. The "nobody wants to come here" or "who could we get that is better" arguments don't hold water for me. Not saying we could get anyone we wanted, but there is no doubt the candidate pool would be deeper than some seem to think.

And what's even better is that we also have an AD who knows how to run a search. (Note: I'm not saying all of Coyle's hires will definitely be successful. I don't know the answer to that. No one does. What I do know is that the process wouldn't be a wild goose chase like it was in 2013.)
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Factors in our favor:

We are the only D1 basketball university in a state of 5 million that is now producing better talent.
We have a great practice facility
Lots of business opportunities here
Nice city

Factors against

Locals don't believe that the program can win - 1 Big Ten Championship in the last 45 years (1 more but it was vanished)
As a result the local kids don't grow up dreaming of playing here
No coach has survived the job in 50 years- all have been fired or resigned as a result of scandals
3 major program probations since the 70s
Cold weather
The talent, while improving is usually about three four stars deep and those three think they are gods and want to go to Duke
Fan support is going down and this is more and more a pro sports town

I think that every time you fire the coach, it adds to the belief that you can't win here and that the coach doesn't get the support needed. We might need to fire Pitino, but I hope not. This is not an easy place to hire a coach to and we are not going to get a proven top flight coach to come here.
It is going to have to be someone who has done well at a mid major.
 
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Isn't Ben Howland about 80?

No thanks

Okay I checked he is "only' 61, a very high mileage 61 year old. ''

Despite that, I'd take him over Steve Alford, they guy UCLA replaced him with. Tubby looked energetic and vibrant compared to Howland in the game before they both were dispatched.
 
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Ben has a ton of energy and builds winners. Not my first choice but he would win and we would get a brand of hard nosed defense and fundamentals. Fife has not only learned at the feet of 2 of the best conference coaches in history but built very strong relationships on the recruiting front.
 

If a move is made (which I doubt will happen) the first call made should be to Nate Oats.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 


scools12 said:
If a move is made (which I doubt will happen) the first call made should be to Nate Oats.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Oats is 1a but i left him off because he is said to be attracted to upcoming openings in the ACC.
 

dpodoll68 said:
Who? (Not being sarcastic, I genuinely have no idea who this is.)
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Associate head coach at UVA. Played there, cut his teeth recruiting and learned to teach under Bennett. Has done a big job on the development side. Keeps everything above board, supports rigourous academics.
 

builtbadgers said:
Associate head coach at UVA. Played there, cut his teeth recruiting and learned to teach under Bennett. Has done a big job on the development side. Keeps everything above board, supports rigourous academics.
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Barf; UVA Bennett ball is awful unless you have a whole bunch of all ACC recruits which he would not get at MN. Then again, with all that talent, they still are awful in the NCAA Tourney (ruined my bracket many times, never again!) Well at least they are not Wisconsin. I'd rather hire Bo Ryan's new girlfriend as HC.

How does Bennett get all these elite players admitted to UVA, considering their very rigid academic standards? I though Duke and Stanford had cornered the market on those players. I met several "hoos" in Nashville for the 2005 Music City Bowl, and my lord, they generally gave the impression that they were on par with Harvard and Yale. Apparently in Charlottesville, it is still 1864, they are the cream of the crop.
 
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I like pitino as a coach but his assistant coach selection has killed him. The guys he’s hired have focused way too much on the east coast. And we don’t need to look anywhere but Minnesota for talent. He has to hit 3 of the 5 2020s.
 

oak_street1981 said:
Barf; UVA Bennett ball is awful unless you have a whole bunch of all ACC recruits which he would not get at MN. Then again, with all that talent, they still are awful in the NCAA Tourney (ruined my bracket many times, never again!) Well at least they are not Wisconsin. I'd rather hire Bo Ryan's new girlfriend as HC.

How does Bennett get all these elite players admitted to UVA, considering their very rigid academic standards? I though Duke and Stanford had cornered the market on those players. I met several "hoos" in Nashville for the 2005 Music City Bowl, and my lord, they generally gave the impression that they were on par with Harvard and Yale. Apparently in Charlottesville, it is still 1864, they are the cream of the crop.
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Conspiracy theory.
 


builtbadgers said:
If the Gophers could get him, Muss., Howland then Fife, then Wiliford.
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yeah Muss has to be 1A and Oats 1B for me.
Howland has a lot of milage under his belt but he is doing a nice job at Miss St. and is still doing rreally well on the recruiting trail there
Fife i like that idea. I am always a little worried about having no actual head coach experience but when hes under a guy like Izzo hes learning from the best.

How bout a guy like Wes Miller from UNCG? Only 35 years old but has been a head coach since he was 28! Roy Williams pedigree. He wins with pressing and defense. And he knows what he is looking for on the recruiting trail. He seems to have deep roots in the North Carolina area so not sure he would want to come north. Im guessing if he can keep winning as a coach that UNC may be in his future once roy Williams is done?
 


Gophs24 said:
yeah Muss has to be 1A and Oats 1B for me.
Howland has a lot of milage under his belt but he is doing a nice job at Miss St. and is still doing rreally well on the recruiting trail there
Fife i like that idea. I am always a little worried about having no actual head coach experience but when hes under a guy like Izzo hes learning from the best.

How bout a guy like Wes Miller from UNCG? Only 35 years old but has been a head coach since he was 28! Roy Williams pedigree. He wins with pressing and defense. And he knows what he is looking for on the recruiting trail. He seems to have deep roots in the North Carolina area so not sure he would want to come north. Im guessing if he can keep winning as a coach that UNC may be in his future once roy Williams is done?
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Dane Fife has a great deal of head coaching experience.
 

oak_street1981 said:
Barf; UVA Bennett ball is awful unless you have a whole bunch of all ACC recruits which he would not get at MN. Then again, with all that talent, they still are awful in the NCAA Tourney (ruined my bracket many times, never again!) Well at least they are not Wisconsin. I'd rather hire Bo Ryan's new girlfriend as HC.

How does Bennett get all these elite players admitted to UVA, considering their very rigid academic standards? I though Duke and Stanford had cornered the market on those players. I met several "hoos" in Nashville for the 2005 Music City Bowl, and my lord, they generally gave the impression that they were on par with Harvard and Yale. Apparently in Charlottesville, it is still 1864, they are the cream of the crop.[

You should do your research. All this elite talent ? Ty become elite while they are there. Not a single consensus 5 star. This is how you become 3 time national coach of the year, your recruits get better and you win. Have you paid attention to what Joe Harris has done, Malcom Brogdon etc.. and then you factor in what those guys with Masters degrees have done off the court ! UVA has far higher standards to get into and have ad dozens of highly rated players not qualify and even more not even draw interest knowing they are not a fit. Your just spewing anger over something you know nothing about. You do not like the style of play, whatever that means. But if those results happened here, including the NCAA losses they would build a statue. People that do not understand the style and just throw out slow or stalling do not get it. They are last in pace of play for two reasons, they guard you for the whole possession which causes fewer possessions and they rarely turn it over and that lessens possessions ! That is something few get. So they could simply turn it over 15 times, take 15 bad shots , do not guard anyone and that would make them top 10 % in pace. My group of basketball folks at Bel-Air laugh at this when talking about people not getting it. Oh yeah, it is bad to win Several ACC titles, sell out your arena, do it with true student athletes, play great defense, look for great shots. I can not guarantee that Jason works out as a head coach but he will do better than what we have hired here. And he will not recruit guys not smart enough to stay out of trouble.
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builtbadgers said:
oak_street1981 said:
Barf; UVA Bennett ball is awful unless you have a whole bunch of all ACC recruits which he would not get at MN. Then again, with all that talent, they still are awful in the NCAA Tourney (ruined my bracket many times, never again!) Well at least they are not Wisconsin. I'd rather hire Bo Ryan's new girlfriend as HC.

How does Bennett get all these elite players admitted to UVA, considering their very rigid academic standards? I though Duke and Stanford had cornered the market on those players. I met several "hoos" in Nashville for the 2005 Music City Bowl, and my lord, they generally gave the impression that they were on par with Harvard and Yale. Apparently in Charlottesville, it is still 1864, they are the cream of the crop.[

You should do your research. All this elite talent ? Ty become elite while they are there. Not a single consensus 5 star. This is how you become 3 time national coach of the year, your recruits get better and you win. Have you paid attention to what Joe Harris has done, Malcom Brogdon etc.. and then you factor in what those guys with Masters degrees have done off the court ! UVA has far higher standards to get into and have ad dozens of highly rated players not qualify and even more not even draw interest knowing they are not a fit. Your just spewing anger over something you know nothing about. You do not like the style of play, whatever that means. But if those results happened here, including the NCAA losses they would build a statue. People that do not understand the style and just throw out slow or stalling do not get it. They are last in pace of play for two reasons, they guard you for the whole possession which causes fewer possessions and they rarely turn it over and that lessens possessions ! That is something few get. So they could simply turn it over 15 times, take 15 bad shots , do not guard anyone and that would make them top 10 % in pace. My group of basketball folks at Bel-Air laugh at this when talking about people not getting it. Oh yeah, it is bad to win Several ACC titles, sell out your arena, do it with true student athletes, play great defense, look for great shots. I can not guarantee that Jason works out as a head coach but he will do better than what we have hired here. And he will not recruit guys not smart enough to stay out of trouble.
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Have you contacted the U of Minnesota to offer your services? I cant imagine a search team for a coach without you. And I am being serious.

You seem to have the answers - please, please, please pride them to the U so the fans and the state can be like Virginia.
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builtbadgers said:
Associate head coach at UVA. Played there, cut his teeth recruiting and learned to teach under Bennett. Has done a big job on the development side. Keeps everything above board, supports rigourous academics.
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I think it's safe to say you'd be about the only Gopher fan excited about hiring Tony Bennett's assistant. Let him go fix the dumpster fire at Washington State and then he can come here next time we have an opening.
 

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