2019-20 Rotation

[Pentagon Cane]

I do think the right coach could win at Miami. I would not go the Pitino route but a Billy Donovan definitely could. A coach who would recruit all kids, in-state, out of state, jucos and transfers, international players using all 13 scholarships.

Remember, no one thought Miami could win in football until Howard Schnellenberger arrived. It just takes the right guy with the right drive and approach.

And Pitino would have big time. Too bad it got leaked and blew up.

 

[Pentagon Cane]

Some programs "sell themselves." Bill Self is not a dynamic recruiter in my opinion but, he doesn't need to be. The tradition and consistent Big XII championships sell KU hoops. I'm not sure at all that Self would succeed big-time here at Miami.

Leonard Hamilton was hired here with the hope he would finally be the recruiter we needed (he had been highly successful as Joe B Hall's "closer" with UK's McDonalds AA recruits). He couldn't get it done here (actually, one year he did with a co-Big East title but he did that with his defense, not recruits). UM was obviously not Kentucky so, he moved on.

The last three UM coaching hire opportunities, I've said hiring a super-human recruiter should be the paramount job qualification (actually, if there were 10 bases you'd want to cover with your new coaching hire, recruiting would be the top five on such a list). I still feel that way.

Hamilton moved on to take a job in the NBA. Self won at Tulsa. Terrific coach. He wins at Miami. Speaking of Tulsa, how is it working out for Frank Haith?

 

[hotshot]

Yes, Ham left for the Wizards where, in his one year NBA career, he went 19-63. But, he had been at UM for 9 seasons by then, so he was more than ready to move on (I'm sure in part because he was frustrated at how hard it was to recruit at UM).

Sure, Self is a great coach. He turned Oral Roberts around after a few really bad seasons, won big at Tulsa, and won at Illinois (with many of Lon Kruger's players). He likely would win his share of games here but disagree on how well he'd recruit. Certainly, nothing like he has at Kansas.

As it turns out, just last month Self and KU got served a Notice of Allegations by the NCAA for three Level 1 violations, a head coach responsibility charge against Self personally, and a lack of institutional control charge against the university. Mybe things will work out where he becomes available. Stranger things have happened.