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Who Would Be "Mario Cristobal" Of Basketball Hire?

Empirical Cane

Empirical Cane

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Know very little about BBall.. barely casual. observer.

Question: Who would be a "Mario Cristobal" equivalent for the program??
 
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I'd say RICK PITINO! As far as recruiting is concerned it's Pitino, Sr. It would immediately put Miami in many of the top prospects list of options. I don't think any other hiring would have the same type of impact on a national level that Pitino would have. The guy is still one of top minds in college basketball. His name still carries a lot of weight in the basketball world. Might be a ****** person to some, but haven't met anyone who questions his basketball acumen. 2 weeks ago I'm not sure how plausible this might've been. And to be honest I'm still not sure, but would think with all the new money and apparent changing of the guard I'd say possibility has at the very least slightly increased.
 
King of Allapattah said:
I'd say RICK PITINO! As far as recruiting is concerned it's Pitino, Sr. It would immediately put Miami in many of the top prospects list of options. I don't think any other hiring would have the same type of impact on a national level that Pitino would have. The guy is still one of top minds in college basketball. His name still carries a lot of weight in the basketball world. Might be a ****** person to some, but haven't met anyone who questions his basketball acumen. 2 weeks ago I'm not sure how plausible this might've been. And to be honest I'm still not sure, but would think with all the new money and apparent changing of the guard I'd say possibility has at the very least slightly increased.
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All I'll say is, vacating wins is a **** of a lot better than losing
 
If we're going to go after a local guy, I think there's no question that had this been 5 years ago, Frank Martin would be the guy that many would be clamoring for. However, Frank and the Gamecocks have been in a downward trajectory since that Final 4 team in 2017. Another local name who many around here like is Anthony Grant. And although he may not have the resume or some of the same success Martin has had overall, Grant has seen his stock take an uptick in recent years.

Considering both guys are of the same age, if TNM were to go the local route, I think it'd be 50-50 between these two names. I'd probably give Martin the slight edge because of the Columbus crew effect (strong ties to Miami High).

Whichever the case -- whether it's Pitino, Grant or even Martin -- I think change would be better.

GO CANES!!!
 
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For those who remember, Pitino was ready to jump in to replace Leonard Hamilton when Michael Jordan poached him to the NBA. But Hamilton handpicked Perry Clarke and Paul Dee said sure whatever. (And he came just cheaper)
 
King of Allapattah said:
If we're going to go after a local guy, I think there's no question that had this been 5 years ago, Frank Martin would be the guy that many would be clamoring for. However, Frank and the Gamecocks have been in a downward trajectory since that Final 4 team in 2017. Another local name who many around here like is Anthony Grant. And although he may not have the resume or some of the same success Martin has had overall, Grant has seen his stock take an uptick in recent years.

Considering both guys are of the same age, if TNM were to go the local route, I think it'd be 50-50 between these two names. I'd probably give Martin the slight edge because of the Columbus crew effect (strong ties to Miami High).

Whichever the case -- whether it's Pitino, Grant or even Martin -- I think change would be better.

GO CANES!!!
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I'd rather keep Larranaga over signing Martin. Especially with 2022 recruits possibly in the balance. Martin does absolutely nothing for me in terms of any recent recruiting excellence or game strategies. Pitino's next birthday, he'll be 70. Grant's the best of the three mentioned but he's nowhere near to basketball what Mario is to football.
 
This happens in corporations sometimes, but not really much in sports. Coach L is one guy that retrains a pedigree (and attraction) such that if there is such a thing as a Head Coach Emeritus in our newly (found) funds future, I'd like to see Coach L be that when a new guy is picked...

...it was done at Tennessee in 2012, when Pat Summitt "retired" but was appointed that role and continued to assist with recruiting and some other festivities.
 
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hotshot said:
I'd rather keep Larranaga over signing Martin. Especially with 2022 recruits possibly in the balance. Martin does absolutely nothing for me in terms of any recent recruiting excellence or game strategies. Pitino's next birthday, he'll be 70. Grant's the best of the three mentioned but he's nowhere near to basketball what Mario is to football.
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What good is it to have a nice recruiting class if you're not going to do anything with it? Larranaga has been a shell of himself since 2017. A great coach prior to that, but has been abysmal since. This program is in a 5 year tailspin. There are dozens of college coaches out there who I'd be willing to take over the this version of Larranaga, including the 3 I previously mentioned.

It wasn't too long ago that Pitino was bringing in top prospects while he was at Louisville. If he hasn't gone senile since then I'd take him over what we have now.

Grant may not be nowhere near to Mario on a national level, but he certainly is on a local one. Unlike Larranaga, Grant still recruits the state and has much stronger ties to the area than Larranaga does.
 
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Trav said:
For those who remember, Pitino was ready to jump in to replace Leonard Hamilton when Michael Jordan poached him to the NBA. But Hamilton handpicked Perry Clarke and Paul Dee said sure whatever. (And he came just cheaper)
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Arguably the worst decision Dee made at Miami. And without a doubt the worst basketball coach we've had since the basketball program's resurrection in 1984.
 
Liberty City El said:
If money is no issue, how would you guys feel about making a run at someone like Andy Enfield?
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Andy's name comes up a lot in the local basketball community as a replacement for Larranaga. The man still does a good job of staying in touch with the power brokers here in Fl and recruiting the state as well. I mentioned him a while back in another thread (see below). He enjoyed his time in Florida (trailerhassee & ft. Myers) and I think if Miami made the call he'd definitely listen to coming back. He likes USC but from what I've heard if the right opportunity presented itself he wouldn't mind moving back east. Don't think Miami would have to break the bank to make it happen, but they better hurry cause Maryland might be making that call as well.

www.canesinsight.com

Realistic coaching candidates

Honestly, I didn't know he was on the staff. He’s versatile, though his acting is weak.
www.canesinsight.com www.canesinsight.com
 
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King of Allapattah said:
Andy's name comes up a lot in the local basketball community as a replacement for Larranaga. I think I mentioned him a while back in another thread. He enjoyed his time in Florida and I think if Miami made the call he'd definitely listen. He enjoys USC but from what I've heard if the right opportunity presented itself he wouldn't mind moving back east. Don't think Miami would have to break the bank to make it happen, but they better hurry cause Maryland might be making that call as well.
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That’s right, I forgot Turgeon just stepped down. The Maryland job is a real interesting gig, because similar to Miami football it’s right smack dab in the middle of one of the best recruiting pools (for Basketball) in the Nation & if you get the right guy in there that can steer kids from DeMatha, Oak Hill, St. Frances Academy, Gonzaga (DC) & all the local MD schools like Oxon Hill, Mount St. Joseph, Friends, Chapelgate Christian etc they can get back to how they used to be under Gary Williams.

Although I would say that the B1G move really screwed their program both in Football & especially in Basketball, they used to be a staple in the ACC on equal footing with Duke & UNC, since the move they’ve been an afterthought, but because of their location are always one good coach away, sounds familiar lol.

But yeah, Enfield is a guy that sprang up because of historic run with Florida Gulf Coast & even though he’s basically a Leonard Hamilton disciple, he’s also a Pitino guy from his days as an assistant with the Celtics & he’s proven he can win at a big time program like USC leading them to an Elite 8 last year.

There is some question about his recruiting only having one top 10 class during his tenure at USC, but idk if they’ve had any sanctions over the years or the specifics on their recruiting overall as a BBall program, I’m not really as locked in on Basketball crootin like I am in football lol (except for DMV BBall, I keep up with that region pretty closely).
 
Liberty City El said:
Anthony Grant or Kelvin Sampson.

Travis Ford from Saint Louis would be a good hire as well IMO.
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I like Grant - Donovan coaching tree, been a HC in the SEC, 3 seasons on Billy's staff at OKC and has turned Dayton into a force. He went to Miami Senior HS so like MC maybe can be lured to come home. Larranaga has to be asked to retire at the end of the season, at 72 it's time.
 
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King of Allapattah said:
What good is it to have a nice recruiting class if you're not going to do anything with it? Larranaga has been a shell of himself since 2017. A great coach prior to that, but has been abysmal since. This program is in a 5 year tailspin. There are dozens of college coaches out there who I'd be willing to take over the this version of Larranaga, including the 3 I previously mentioned.

It wasn't too long ago that Pitino was bringing in top prospects while he was at Louisville. If he hasn't gone senile since then I'd take him over what we have now.

Grant may not be nowhere near to Mario on a national level, but he certainly is on a local one. Unlike Larranaga, Grant still recruits the state and has much stronger ties to the area than Larranaga does.
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I don't want Larranaga or Martin. As for the latter, he's been very average with the Gamecocks. Two good years out of nine. Grant's fine but isn't gonna immediately have anyone that excited. No big splash, for sure (if that's important in these heady times of Dan and Mario).
 
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