- Joined
- Dec 22, 2011
- Messages
- 49,676
Good lord, some of the nonsense on this thread. And to be clear, I am not calling it "nonsense" to believe that Coach X is going to be very good, I'm calling it "nonsense" to use all kinds of tricks to justify certain conclusions, and then dismiss other viewpoints as "you don't follow the sport".
Furthermore, I do not claim to know with certainty whether some young assistant will someday be the second coming of Dean Smith. Nobody can know that.
But here's what I do know. Miami is a couple of years removed from a Final Four berth, is in the ACC with hopes of going to an even better conference. We now live in the Portal/NIL Era, and it doesn't take long to turn a program around. All of these factors push more to the "hire an established head coach from a slightly lower level" than "hire a young assistant who might be great or might not be so great".
MIami's own history (since reinstating the program) supports this approach.
Bill Foster - came to an independent program after having success as a head coach at 3 stops, the most recent was in the ACC.
Leonard Hamilton - came to an independent program (soon to be Big East) after having success as a head coach in the Big 8 (now Big 12). It should be noted that Leonard has been much more successful at F$U, overall, where he had a "prior resume entry" involving success at Miami in the Big East.
Perry Clark - came to a Big East Miami after taking Tulane from the Metro to C-USA. Was actually more successful at Tulane in the Metro, less successful in C-USA.
Frank Haith - the only long-time assistant that we elevated (since reinstating the basketball program), and the one who is sketchiest of all. In addition to his issues with following the rules at Mizzou, we were good-but-not-great under Haith, routinely making the NIT but not the NCAAs (one time only).
Jim Larranaga - he had two good runs in the MAC (Bowling Green) and Colonial (George Mason) before moving up to the ACC and winning big at Miami.
So, I'm not sure why the "let's hire a young up-and-comer" crowd is so surprised that many of us prefer to hire a more established/accomplished head coach. Pre-Larranaga, we were lucky to get whoever we got. Post-Larranaga, we don't have to be beggars anymore.
I'm particularly amused by the ****ing contests between people who advocate for certain coaches. The questions abound.
In the case of Jai Lucas (who appears to be leading the claiming race right now), perhaps he will be amazing some day. But to just step back and evaluate his coaching bona fides...well, first, as an older guy, I'm going to point out that his dad was not a great head coach. OK, OK, maybe Jai can be better than his old man. Sure. But then his assistant coaching careers is at three blue-blood schools, the first of which...he's an alum. This is not to diminish his career, but to point out that it might be hard to determine how much of the success at Texas/Kentucky/Duke is due to Jai Lucas...and how much is due to the head coaches and the brand of each school itself. And anyone who is arguing that Jai Lucas is responsible for getting the Boozer twins to Duke is just ejaculating bull****.
The same can be said of Kimani Young. Is it Hurley? Is it UConn? I'd certainly say those two factors make it much easier for Kimani Young to succeed at UConn. Although I am HIGHLY impressed by his work-hard nature, having done prison time for moving NINETY-SIX pounds of marijuana.
Ditto for Luke Murray, though I would LOVE IT to be fortunate enough to be in the building when his old man shows up to catch a game. He is one of my all-time heroes, and it would certainly elevate the celebrity culture of SoFla.
I don't understand the ****ting on Richard Pitino, a head coach who is rising. To sit back and say "he's only made the NCAAs three times in 13 years is hilarious, since he is on-track to make his 4th NCAA appearance in Year 13 as a head coach. He was a bit up-and-down at Minnesota, but seems to be doing much better at New Mexico.
What bothers me most about locking-in on an (admittedly good) assistant coach is that it gives off JD Arteaga vibes. Just as there were better (and interested) candidates for the baseball job who were scared off by Radakovich's indifference to committing money for salaries, scholarships, facilities, and technology, and then pivoting to a guy who would gladly sign on the dotted line for his first coaching job, that's what it feels like with the hoops job right now. Maybe Jai Lucas is the guy you EVENTUALLY hire, but in a "Butch Davis" way, after exhausting about 10 other head coaching candidates. If Lucas and Young and Murray want to be head coaches, they should eventually jump off the blue-blood-assistant treadmill and get started as a head coach at a mid-major.
Just my 2 cents. I've gone from Day 1 as a big Rad supporter to now doubting every single move he makes (or doesn't make). It's sad. It's time to replace the AD too, but that's a different thread. For this thread, I'm not very happy with the hoops job search.
Furthermore, I do not claim to know with certainty whether some young assistant will someday be the second coming of Dean Smith. Nobody can know that.
But here's what I do know. Miami is a couple of years removed from a Final Four berth, is in the ACC with hopes of going to an even better conference. We now live in the Portal/NIL Era, and it doesn't take long to turn a program around. All of these factors push more to the "hire an established head coach from a slightly lower level" than "hire a young assistant who might be great or might not be so great".
MIami's own history (since reinstating the program) supports this approach.
Bill Foster - came to an independent program after having success as a head coach at 3 stops, the most recent was in the ACC.
Leonard Hamilton - came to an independent program (soon to be Big East) after having success as a head coach in the Big 8 (now Big 12). It should be noted that Leonard has been much more successful at F$U, overall, where he had a "prior resume entry" involving success at Miami in the Big East.
Perry Clark - came to a Big East Miami after taking Tulane from the Metro to C-USA. Was actually more successful at Tulane in the Metro, less successful in C-USA.
Frank Haith - the only long-time assistant that we elevated (since reinstating the basketball program), and the one who is sketchiest of all. In addition to his issues with following the rules at Mizzou, we were good-but-not-great under Haith, routinely making the NIT but not the NCAAs (one time only).
Jim Larranaga - he had two good runs in the MAC (Bowling Green) and Colonial (George Mason) before moving up to the ACC and winning big at Miami.
So, I'm not sure why the "let's hire a young up-and-comer" crowd is so surprised that many of us prefer to hire a more established/accomplished head coach. Pre-Larranaga, we were lucky to get whoever we got. Post-Larranaga, we don't have to be beggars anymore.
I'm particularly amused by the ****ing contests between people who advocate for certain coaches. The questions abound.
In the case of Jai Lucas (who appears to be leading the claiming race right now), perhaps he will be amazing some day. But to just step back and evaluate his coaching bona fides...well, first, as an older guy, I'm going to point out that his dad was not a great head coach. OK, OK, maybe Jai can be better than his old man. Sure. But then his assistant coaching careers is at three blue-blood schools, the first of which...he's an alum. This is not to diminish his career, but to point out that it might be hard to determine how much of the success at Texas/Kentucky/Duke is due to Jai Lucas...and how much is due to the head coaches and the brand of each school itself. And anyone who is arguing that Jai Lucas is responsible for getting the Boozer twins to Duke is just ejaculating bull****.
The same can be said of Kimani Young. Is it Hurley? Is it UConn? I'd certainly say those two factors make it much easier for Kimani Young to succeed at UConn. Although I am HIGHLY impressed by his work-hard nature, having done prison time for moving NINETY-SIX pounds of marijuana.
Ditto for Luke Murray, though I would LOVE IT to be fortunate enough to be in the building when his old man shows up to catch a game. He is one of my all-time heroes, and it would certainly elevate the celebrity culture of SoFla.
I don't understand the ****ting on Richard Pitino, a head coach who is rising. To sit back and say "he's only made the NCAAs three times in 13 years is hilarious, since he is on-track to make his 4th NCAA appearance in Year 13 as a head coach. He was a bit up-and-down at Minnesota, but seems to be doing much better at New Mexico.
What bothers me most about locking-in on an (admittedly good) assistant coach is that it gives off JD Arteaga vibes. Just as there were better (and interested) candidates for the baseball job who were scared off by Radakovich's indifference to committing money for salaries, scholarships, facilities, and technology, and then pivoting to a guy who would gladly sign on the dotted line for his first coaching job, that's what it feels like with the hoops job right now. Maybe Jai Lucas is the guy you EVENTUALLY hire, but in a "Butch Davis" way, after exhausting about 10 other head coaching candidates. If Lucas and Young and Murray want to be head coaches, they should eventually jump off the blue-blood-assistant treadmill and get started as a head coach at a mid-major.
Just my 2 cents. I've gone from Day 1 as a big Rad supporter to now doubting every single move he makes (or doesn't make). It's sad. It's time to replace the AD too, but that's a different thread. For this thread, I'm not very happy with the hoops job search.
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