What Coach Could Automatically Make Minnesota B-Ball Elite?

Donate To GopherHole
manderson1984 said:
To give Miles some credit. He got them to a tournament. Their first one since 1998. His conference record has been better than the last couple as well. Good enough to keep his job? No but I thought he did better at Nebraska than many have before.
Click to expand...
Credit where it is due but not enough to get the job here.
 


builtbadgers said:
If Matta got healthy, he would win here. Great coaches win anywhere.
Click to expand...

Interesting thought. He is still only 53 years old. I wonder how his health is? Does he want to get back in after a few years away? I had heard he moved back to Indiana.
 

What are the prospects of Travis Ford? Looks like he's building something good at SLU based around sound defense. Has a P5 background, albeit with no extraordinary achievements. Not advocating for him, just wondering what opinions are from those who know the coaching profession far better than me.
 

Slim Tubby said:
If I had to choose between an elite recruiter and an elite instructor/strategist, I’d have a very heavy lean towards the recruiter. You can build a strong argument against my personal preference but I feel talent usually overcomes structure, assuming both are playing the game with passion.

Outside of Calipari, Coach K and Izzo, who do people feel are the best under-the-radar recruiters in the college game right now?
Click to expand...
Penny Hardaway
Juwan Howard (I think Michigan has the #1 class)

Of course, we don't have a local legend who graduated from here that could step in and add NBA chops. So this route is a little harder since Chris Humphries couldn't even last 90 days with the Kardashians.

Kevin McHale? Probably too old or not interested. But I would think big men would like to play for Kevin and learn a thing or too.
 


tjgopher said:
Interesting thought. He is still only 53 years old. I wonder how his health is? Does he want to get back in after a few years away? I had heard he moved back to Indiana.
Click to expand...

I keep forgetting about Thad. I think our job will require a grinder and Thad could do that back in his day. He’d be one I’d be interested in for sure if his health was right
 

WindyCityGopher said:
What are the prospects of Travis Ford? Looks like he's building something good at SLU based around sound defense. Has a P5 background, albeit with no extraordinary achievements. Not advocating for him, just wondering what opinions are from those who know the coaching profession far better than me.
Click to expand...
I get the idea of not hiring a retread, but when you see them grow and get better it’s worth a look at least.
 


BTChamp said:
I want Otis........
Click to expand...
I could definitely do my best Dennis Hopper imitation.

Except, I wouldn't sober up for the game, quite the opposite.

"Don't get caught watching the paint dry!"
 



manderson1984 said:
I keep forgetting about Thad. I think our job will require a grinder and Thad could do that back in his day. He’d be one I’d be interested in for sure if his health was right
Click to expand...
I think that Thad has the 2nd best winning % in conference history after Bo Ryan.
 

tjgopher said:
The mistake was made (in hindsight) when Maturi hired Tubby Smith instead of Tony Bennett in 2007. Tony wanted the Gopher job in 2007. Agreed, now it is too late.
Click to expand...
I could go into great detail on this one because i was very close to it. Minnesota could have made a run at it , Maturi knew the Bennetts but in 2007 TB was intent on seeing WDU through. That was his 1st year and a stunning success, breaking every school record. Long term they had their sights set on the south. As it turns out, UVA almost made the mistake of hiring Tubby and at one point in 2009 Bennett turned down UVA, INDIANA,LSU, MARQUETTE. He changed is mind with influence from his wife (incredible southern gal) and WSU cutting out charters for games which made travel to and from Pullman even more difficult. In 2007 they were all living in Pullman, loved by all the wheat farmers. If we wanted TB, the realistic shot would have been 2002 or 03. Would have been very interested then. No chance in 2007 as he would never have left after one year, long term they did not want the client, he dreamed of the ACC and taking on Duke and UNC. He was already very familiar with the south.
 

John Calipari. At least we would get some really good recruits.

I really don't have a favorite horse here and I prefer not to get too obsessed about potential coaching hires just like I prefer to not get too invested in potential recruits. When I look around the conference and see coaches who have elevated their programs when the those programs were in the doldrums, I see some coaches who weren't household names to fan bases. Were Rutgers fans clamoring for the hiring of Steve Pikiell from the illustrious Stony Brook? Was Fran McCaffrey of Siena the #1 choice of Iowa fans? After flubbing at Duquesne, Penn State's interim coach, Jim Ferry, looked like the kind of guy who would be unlikely to get another D1 head coaching job, let alone a power conference job, anytime soon. Nevertheless, Penn State has been playing remarkably well under a tough schedule especially considering that they lost their best player (Lamar Stevens) and one of the more imposing big men in the conference (Mike Watkins) from last year's team. Of course, going back a couple of decades, we have the hiring of a man, Bo Ryan, who spent overwhelming majority of his career to that point coaching at the DIII level.
 

Former Goofer said:
I'm skeptical that anyone could make us consistently elite. To be consistently elite you need to keep bringing in top talent. Unless you solve that fundamental issue this program will continue to be an average one that has exceptional years here and there.
Click to expand...
I'd have to disagree with this. The gophers are consistently bringing in better or at least similar type of talent as a team like Iowa yet Iowa is a national title contender and we aren't. Wisconsin doesn't out recruit us to a point where they are always on top of the Big Ten and we're middle at best. The reasoning for this is player development, coaching, game management, motivation for guys to work hard, etc.

Finding a guy that can bring in the level of talent that Wisconsin and Iowa does should be very very easy.

If by "elite" you mean a blue blood then I'd agree with you. We will probably never be pulling in 5 5* guys a year like Kentucky or Duke no matter who our coach is.
 



tmvander said:
I'd have to disagree with this. The gophers are consistently bringing in better or at least similar type of talent as a team like Iowa yet Iowa is a national title contender and we aren't. Wisconsin doesn't out recruit us to a point where they are always on top of the Big Ten and we're middle at best. The reasoning for this is player development, coaching, game management, motivation for guys to work hard, etc.

Finding a guy that can bring in the level of talent that Wisconsin and Iowa does should be very very easy.

If by "elite" you mean a blue blood then I'd agree with you. We will probably never be pulling in 5 5* guys a year like Kentucky or Duke no matter who our coach is.
Click to expand...
And evaluation of who fits what you do, who is better than others think. Mastering the ability to measure intangibles is critical. Then of course the gift of simply being a better teacher than others.
 

I still feel like we're not in a position to make a move any time soon because of the pandemic and resulting financial crunch, but...the fact that two excellent candidates--Brian Dutcher and Craig Smith--would jump at the chance to coach here... We might look back at this moment in future years and smack our foreheads.
 

Bad Gopher said:
I still feel like we're not in a position to make a move any time soon because of the pandemic and resulting financial crunch, but...the fact that two excellent candidates--Brian Dutcher and Craig Smith--would jump at the chance to coach here... We might look back at this moment in future years and smack our foreheads.
Click to expand...
If it comes down to those two and all else is equal (it's not) give me the guy who's 13 years younger.
 

Bad Gopher said:
I still feel like we're not in a position to make a move any time soon because of the pandemic and resulting financial crunch, but...the fact that two excellent candidates--Brian Dutcher and Craig Smith--would jump at the chance to coach here... We might look back at this moment in future years and smack our foreheads.
Click to expand...
No $hit sherlock......that is what I was telling 1984 yesterday

Manage and lead, Marky......
 


Lindsey Whalen can coach both teams. She was a terrible hire but we could save money.
 


howeda7 said:
These random DII/III coaches are lottery tickets. Sure it might work, but it probably won't. Give me a proven D-1 coach. We can get one if we commit the resources to it.
Click to expand...
Not a random one. One that has won multiple conference titles, NCAA championships, etc. One that wins at a .700-.800 clip.

Where did Tom Bennet come from? Bo Ryan? Say what you want, but this University has to follow Wisconsin's model if they want to be successful. We will not win here with talent alone. Just will not happen.
 

builtbadgers said:
And evaluation of who fits what you do, who is better than others think. Mastering the ability to measure intangibles is critical. Then of course the gift of simply being a better teacher than others.
Click to expand...

Honestly, we need a hard ass here. A hard ass means he gets tough players. If they can't handle being coached hard, play tough defense, disciplined offense, etc, then they shouldn't be here. This thing needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. If you are going to recruit this same 3* type talent all the time, then recruit guys that will give you their all and play smart ball.

We have not been tough here since Clem.
 

Go Gophs said:
Honestly, we need a hard ass here. A hard ass means he gets tough players. If they can't handle being coached hard, play tough defense, disciplined offense, etc, then they shouldn't be here. This thing needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. If you are going to recruit this same 3* type talent all the time, then recruit guys that will give you their all and play smart ball.

We have not been tough here since Clem.
Click to expand...

I'm not a Tubby fan by any means, but he was really hard on his guys. I'd argue that there are very few who can do the old school hard ass model and be successful ala Huggins or Martin. Greg Marshall's available if you want that type lol.
 

Go Gophs said:
Not a random one. One that has won multiple conference titles, NCAA championships, etc. One that wins at a .700-.800 clip.

Where did Tom Bennet come from? Bo Ryan? Say what you want, but this University has to follow Wisconsin's model if they want to be successful. We will not win here with talent alone. Just will not happen.
Click to expand...

I'm with you on I like the guys who've worked their way through different levels and didn't have it handed to them. That being said I'd still like to find a guy who has some D1 experience as a HC. There is things like staff size and other things that are different from a DII/III job compared to a mid major or well funded low major job. It's nice to not have to adjust to it all. That being said I think looking at a school like Wisconsin is a good model for us to look at when looking for a new HC whenever that may be. A lot of good mid and low major D1 coaches out there who'd come here that have grinded and worked their way up.
 

Angry said:
Lindsey Whalen can coach both teams. She was a terrible hire but we could save money.
Click to expand...
Lol, way too early to know if she was a good or bad hire. She just signed Mara Braun and has a couple of 4-5 star recruits in her 3rd season. She has won @ every level and unlike many of our other coaches considers MN a dream job. You can look @ the records of some other women's National championship coaches and see many of them had similar records in their first few years.
 

Go Gophs said:
Honestly, we need a hard ass here. A hard ass means he gets tough players. If they can't handle being coached hard, play tough defense, disciplined offense, etc, then they shouldn't be here. This thing needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. If you are going to recruit this same 3* type talent all the time, then recruit guys that will give you their all and play smart ball.

We have not been tough here since Clem.
Click to expand...
This.

This again.
 

Go Gophs said:
Honestly, we need a hard ass here. A hard ass means he gets tough players. If they can't handle being coached hard, play tough defense, disciplined offense, etc, then they shouldn't be here. This thing needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. If you are going to recruit this same 3* type talent all the time, then recruit guys that will give you their all and play smart ball.

We have not been tough here since Clem.
Click to expand...
I don't care how hard he is on players but needs to make sure they are accountable. Also, defense and rebounding are bread and butter in this conference. I'm not seeing it from this team this year.
 

GringaGopher said:
Lol, way too early to know if she was a good or bad hire. She just signed Mara Braun and has a couple of 4-5 star recruits in her 3rd season. She has won @ every level and unlike many of our other coaches considers MN a dream job. You can look @ the records of some other women's National championship coaches and see many of them had similar records in their first few years.
Click to expand...
Don’t get me wrong I love her as a player. I hope her recruiting can make up for her lack in other areas.
 

Oh shit I didn’t mean to derail this tread.
 

Go Gophs said:
Not a random one. One that has won multiple conference titles, NCAA championships, etc. One that wins at a .700-.800 clip.

Where did Tom Bennet come from? Bo Ryan? Say what you want, but this University has to follow Wisconsin's model if they want to be successful. We will not win here with talent alone. Just will not happen.
Click to expand...
If it was that easy, Power 5 schools would routinely hire DII and DIII coaches. They don't. I'm sure there are many brilliant X's and O's guys at that level, but if they don't work their way up through smaller D-1 schools you have no idea if they can recruit. It's a crap shoot and not one I'm signing up for. It'd be like hiring Marc Trestman on the football side.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom