So You Wanna Be a D1 Basketball Coach, Huh?

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Gopher_In_NYC

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The post parameters of this fun (hopefully) thread are as follows -
Can not be for a current of future D1 MN team.
Please state the team you want to helm and why (I'm generally curious about "The Why' of things) and think it fosters better conversation.
Built, unfortunately you cannot simultaneously coach two teams; so it cannot be both WI and VA.

I pick Nova for the following reasons-
I was much more a Big East conference basketball fan growing up. Big East on ESPN Monday Evenings was one of my favorite TV sports events franchises of all time..
Their 1985 Championship Team is one of my favorites and Rollie was/is beyond cool. I'd love to sit down eat good pasta with a nice bottle of red with him.
They still play the majority of their games in a small arena (6,500), The Finn Pavilion.
They play the right way.
They have never been caught illegally recruiting players.
They have a great area to recruit from.
They are less pretentious Catholics than ND (who get to be a bit much for me as Catholic - like they're the only Catholic university).
Repping the East Coast, Baby!!
 

Cool scenario. Would never want the UW job. Only cheered for them when a dear friend was the coach and i was involved. Would not want the UVA job as Bennett will be impossible to follow. Will go with Cal State Monterey. Would be next door to my home base and would love for the MP to experience the joy of a D1 power in one of the worlds most beautiful places.
 

Gonzaga: They are a powerhouse program right now getting top 5 high school kids, top end transfers as well as big time overseas recruits. Past that, unlike a Duke/UNC/Kent etc, there is no long history of winning championships so when/if you under perform in the big dance the fan base isn't after your job. Furthermore, the WCC is a fine conference, but you are most likely going 16-2 or better and winning the conference every year. So you are going to have a gaudy win/loss record which means great job security and likely continued pay raises. And with no football program, the mens bball team is the top dog on campus which means you are first on line for resources. Overall not a lot to hate
 

Oklahoma. Good history. Good fan base. Not too much pressure as long as football's good. Easy to get guys in school. Pretty easy to be in the top 3 in the Big XII every year. Only downside: You have to live in Oklahoma. But your millions will go far.
 

builtbadgers said:
Cool scenario. Would never want the UW job. Only cheered for them when a dear friend was the coach and i was involved. Would not want the UVA job as Bennett will be impossible to follow. Will go with Cal State Monterey. Would be next door to my home base and would love for the MP to experience the joy of a D1 power in one of the worlds most beautiful places.
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Even with the current rate of success with WI? I would think with stature of the ACC and recent success of UVA it would be good job for a Coach willing to put in the hard work.
 


Five Toes said:
Even with the current rate of success with WI? I would think with stature of the ACC and recent success of UVA it would be good job for a Coach willing to put in the hard work.
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Whoever follows TB at UVA will come nowhere near what he has done.
 

Someone should pick this job. Plenty of support, really good facilities, great State. This is a far better job than UW was before their turn around.
 

builtbadgers said:
Someone should pick this job. Plenty of support, really good facilities, great State. This is a far better job than UW was before their turn around.
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Respect and look forward to your input. In your opinion how would compare the BIG and ACC?
 

Montana. It’s already a fairly successful program and seems like it would be easy to take it to the next level. I’d start by scheduling more games vs the $hitty pac12 teams and MN.
 




Five Toes said:
Respect and look forward to your input. In your opinion how would compare the BIG and ACC?
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Right now the Big 10 is a touch better. But the ACC has been better at the top. Big 10 is in a strong position right now. As of today i am not sure the ACC has a team that would be top 3 in the Big 10. Duke and UNC are down and UVA is a huge work in progress. Time will reveal what this season holds as UVA may very well get their newcomers up to speed defensively. They are loaded pretty good going forward. As a example, the highly touted Rahim barely touches the floor as he is not yet ready defensively although that class is pretty special and will score. You just can not get on the floor there unless your ready to play great defense. They have non negotiables. Big 10 has at least 4 teams better then UVA as of today. I think we are better today.
 
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I'm going Maryland or Georgetown. DMV area is loaded, sports are popular in the area. Both programs can pony up resources if successful. Other jobs I'd look at are in the SEC. I think Georgia or Florida can be really good jobs too.
 

manderson1984 said:
I'm going Maryland or Georgetown. DMV area is loaded, sports are popular in the area. Both programs can pony up resources if successful. Other jobs I'd look at are in the SEC. I think Georgia or Florida can be really good jobs too.
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Florida is a great job and they have won a ton. White is a really good coach.
 



If I couldn't choose Minnesota, I'd definitely pick San Diego State. Beautiful campus, America's Finest City, enough talent to field an NBA team within 3 hour drive, a conference that can be "theirs" year in and year out, yet it's not too small of a conference so there are multiple bids available, an administration that's willing to spend on the right coaches, great facilities, etc.

Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
If I couldn't choose Minnesota, I'd definitely pick San Diego State. Beautiful campus, America's Finest City, enough talent to field an NBA team within 3 hour drive, a conference that can be "theirs" year in and year out, yet it's not too small of a conference so there are multiple bids available, an administration that's willing to spend on the right coaches, great facilities, etc.

Go Gophers!!
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Funny you said that.
I might pick San Diego for the same reasons but lower expectations than San Diego state.
 

Mayville State University (ND) my alma mater, a hotbed of basketball coaches. ☄ Home of Lute Olson and the Head Coach start for Tim Miles and Craig Smith.
 

Pepperdine. For me personally, despite the money I wouldn't want to deal with spotlight, recruiting, pressure and pitfalls of a high major. Only hesitation would be the cost of housing in and around Malibu. Lorenzo Romar makes $400k a year.
 

BleedGopher said:
If I couldn't choose Minnesota, I'd definitely pick San Diego State. Beautiful campus, America's Finest City, enough talent to field an NBA team within 3 hour drive, a conference that can be "theirs" year in and year out, yet it's not too small of a conference so there are multiple bids available, an administration that's willing to spend on the right coaches, great facilities, etc.

Go Gophers!!
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I'm taking Florida Gulf Coast for similar reasons. Southwest Florida is beautiful and growing. The university has a gorgeous campus, is huge (25,000 or students, I think), has great local support, and a terrific little on-campus arena for the conference its in. It's resources likely dwarf the rest of the conference, and it would be an almost guaranteed top 3 finish every year if I knew what I was doing, which is a big IF of course.

Fan base is awesome but not nuts.

Full disclosure, I get to a game a year there now when I am on vacation. Super place to be in January.
 


University of Hawaii.

Just so I could live there.
They have had past success with Euros.
If you can recruit it could be built into a decent program.
Definitely would drop Rainbow and stick with Warriors.
 

Lots of good mentions here already, from those yet to be mentioned, I'll take U. of Missouri.

Growing up, Norm Stewart put together some outstanding teams (Derrick Chievous, Doug Smith, Jon Sundvold, Steve Stipanovich, Anthony Peeler and many others) but never could push the team to the Final Four. I believe they are the most successful program never to have made a Final Four. I recall, when things were cooking, they had a great on-campus environment and passionate fans for hoops. Fun rivalry games with Kansas and Illinois. Really fertile recruiting grounds. It'll be interesting to see what Cuonzo Martin does there over the next few years.
 

I pick New Mexico for the following reasons-
Competes in an 'OK' conference that is up for grabs most seasons. Chance to become a mainstay at the top.
Actually has some great history and basketball is Mecca in New Mexico.
Great Arena. The Pit (15,500),
Great city of ABQ
Cant beat the mountains and the southwest.
 

balds said:
Pepperdine. For me personally, despite the money I wouldn't want to deal with spotlight, recruiting, pressure and pitfalls of a high major. Only hesitation would be the cost of housing in and around Malibu. Lorenzo Romar makes $400k a year.
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Cleveland State for the same reason - low expectations. Another benefit is due to their continuous malfeasance (fake classes, providing pole dancing for midnight madness, using shoe company agents to funnel money, having someone else take the act test for a player) they are always a step away from the death penalty. In which case i would be able to collect some nice paychecks without being there long enough to get a chance to be fired.
 

golf said:
Cleveland State for the same reason - low expectations. Another benefit is due to their continuous malfeasance (fake classes, providing pole dancing for midnight madness, using shoe company agents to funnel money, having someone else take the act test for a player) they are always a step away from the death penalty. In which case i would be able to collect some nice paychecks without being there long enough to get a chance to be fired.
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Plus you get a certified victim card because you'll get punished for the transgressions of Kentucky, Kansas, and UNC. That will go a long way in retirement support.
 


San Francisco University, with Bill Russell during the mid 50s, if I get to use my time machine that is..
 


tikited said:
San Francisco University, with Bill Russell during the mid 50s, if I get to use my time machine that is..
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Reminds me also of Wilt. KU had been playing the freshman versus varsity game for 33 years preseason and of course the varsity always won. In those days freshmen werent allowed to play varsity. Anyway, Wilt's freshman team beat the KU varsity by 10 points with Wilt scoring 42 with 29 boards. The next season, his first then on varsity, Kansas was preseason #1 and first game Wilt had 52 points with 31 rebounds.

Kansas went on to beat SanFrancisco, defending national champs but now without Russell who had graduated, in the final four semis. However, Kansas lost by 1 to UNC in the final. Yeah, someone really needs to invent a time machine, shouldnt be too much to ask :).
 

Zags.

National program, playing in a conference they usually dominate, so they are almost always going to be in the NCAA tournament.

mostly all of the advantages of a Duke or Kentucky, without the baggage of long-time history or boosters who blow a gasket if the team isn't in the Final Four every year.

And now they're landing big-time one-and-done recruits, which only elevates the profile of the program.
 

golf said:
Reminds me also of Wilt. KU had been playing the freshman versus varsity game for 33 years preseason and of course the varsity always won. In those days freshmen werent allowed to play varsity. Anyway, Wilt's freshman team beat the KU varsity by 10 points with Wilt scoring 42 with 29 boards. The next season, his first then on varsity, Kansas was preseason #1 and first game Wilt had 52 points with 31 rebounds.

Kansas went on to beat SanFrancisco, defending national champs but now without Russell who had graduated, in the final four semis. However, Kansas lost by 1 to UNC in the final. Yeah, someone really needs to invent a time machine, shouldnt be too much to ask :).
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I'm not saying Kansas was solely a one man team with Wilt, but I always enjoyed the teams that made big runs with one superstar leading the way and a bunch of average guys along for the ride.
 

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