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Win at Wake to keep the NIT hope alive

coachpatg said:
Not yet, but he does need to get his act together. Sadly, I don't see it getting turned around next year neither. Recruiting, recruiting, recruiting!!
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Yep, L was intentionally planning on having an FBI investigation sink what appeared to be a top 30 or so class. Yep, that was the plan. L also planned on having the centerpiece of the team miss the ENTIRE season due to the NCAA. I know our "Fans" are unrealistic morons at times(Actually, most of the time), but this takes the cake. Miami not only got screwed by the NCAA this season in regards to the Dewan situation, they got screwed by the FBI allegations, which Miami was cleared from. It's going to take YEARS to get clear of this, because Miami didn't have a single freshman in this recruiting class.

A lesser coach wouldn't have Miami competing night in and night out in the most rugged conference in the country. Tonight's loss stinks, but when you aren't overly talented and you aren't deep, this happens. Especially on the road. You don't know what you are getting from this team, because outside of Chris Lykes, D.J. Vasiljevic, Amp Lawrence and Z. Johnson, it's a grab bag. Sam W is a fish out of water, Izundu picks and chooses when he wants to do something, and Mack just isn't ready for prime time.
 
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Mklein13 said:
That was the worst possession I’ve seen in my life.
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That had to have been an intentional decision to hold for the last shot. It's not like it was a disjointed 25 second possession. We sat on the ball for 15 seconds.

Which is remarkable, given that we were down - the right move is to shoot quickly so if you miss you can extend the game by fouling. L must have thought that we had better odds of winning on 1 shot, even if a miss guaranteed a loss. You have to figure he thought we were gassed, and the longer the game wore on, the worse for us. Those last few minutes Lykes struggled to shake free from his guy, and L didn't want to ask him to do it more than one more time.
 
Canedude08 said:
Yep, L was intentionally planning on having an FBI investigation sink what appeared to be a top 30 or so class. Yep, that was the plan. L also planned on having the centerpiece of the team miss the ENTIRE season due to the NCAA. I know our "Fans" are unrealistic morons at times(Actually, most of the time), but this takes the cake. Miami not only got screwed by the NCAA this season in regards to the Dewan situation, they got screwed by the FBI allegations, which Miami was cleared from. It's going to take YEARS to get clear of this, because Miami didn't have a single freshman in this recruiting class.

A lesser coach wouldn't have Miami competing night in and night out in the most rugged conference in the country. Tonight's loss stinks, but when you aren't overly talented and you aren't deep, this happens. Especially on the road. You don't know what you are getting from this team, because outside of Chris Lykes, D.J. Vasiljevic, Amp Lawrence and Z. Johnson, it's a grab bag. Sam W is a fish out of water, Izundu picks and chooses when he wants to do something, and Mack just isn't ready for prime time.
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I'm a Coach L fan, but I don't do it blindly. I'm sure he'll even tell you that they've got to do better. Stop being an apologist for the coaching staff's short comings. The FBI investigation definitely had an impact, but to not sign a single prospect in a recruiting class is unheard of. Not sure I've ever heard of a P5 school go without signing a single recruit in a class. Listen, no players signed last year and you want to blame the investigation. For argument's sake let's say you're right. This year's class has been so-so at best. What's the excuse for that? If we're going to be a perennial power in hoops than it starts with recruiting quality players. A roster full of mid-major kids isn't going to cut it in the ACC. This is a bottom line business. No one wants to hear excuses. People want results. Coach L, I'm sure is well aware of that. Too bad you are not. GO CANES!!!
 
That was high comedy. For a highly regarded coach, Larranaga has no clue how to design basic in-bounds plays, or for the players to understand basic strategy on those plays. This was identical to a few years ago when we had a very good team but no concept how to do anything late in the game other than the deep chuck.

It shouldn't have been possible to lose that game. Zach Johnson had to know he can't take that shot after the deep in-bounds unless it's uncovered and a certainty. That lay up miss after using up virtually no clock really shifted the odds. Miami was ******** up prior to that but was still hefty favorite to win.

Once Lykes was still sideways dribbling the ball with less than 10 seconds remaining and 30 feet from the basket it was impossible not to laugh. It was like we were saying...hey we allowed your sorry team to make this absurd comeback to take the lead, so we won't spoil it for your fans by actually attempting to score on this possession.
 
Canedude08 said:
Yep, L was intentionally planning on having an FBI investigation sink what appeared to be a top 30 or so class. Yep, that was the plan. L also planned on having the centerpiece of the team miss the ENTIRE season due to the NCAA. I know our "Fans" are unrealistic morons at times(Actually, most of the time), but this takes the cake. Miami not only got screwed by the NCAA this season in regards to the Dewan situation, they got screwed by the FBI allegations, which Miami was cleared from. It's going to take YEARS to get clear of this, because Miami didn't have a single freshman in this recruiting class.

A lesser coach wouldn't have Miami competing night in and night out in the most rugged conference in the country. Tonight's loss stinks, but when you aren't overly talented and you aren't deep, this happens. Especially on the road. You don't know what you are getting from this team, because outside of Chris Lykes, D.J. Vasiljevic, Amp Lawrence and Z. Johnson, it's a grab bag. Sam W is a fish out of water, Izundu picks and chooses when he wants to do something, and Mack just isn't ready for prime time.
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Wake is not part of the “most rugged conference in the country”. They are ATROCIOUS. You don’t blow a 14 point lead like that and be able to blame it all on lack of depth. That was pure INCOMPETENCE, from the players and most importantly from the coaches. Just dreadful.
 
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I'm not opposed to a coaching change (Coach L isn't getting any younger) but ... only if we could be assured we were getting a proven winner at a major program or a hot, up and comer who is already a HC. No more Haiths, Clarks, or a Caputo or the like. Given those guidelines, I'm not at all sure we can do better than the coach we have now. Not at all sure.

If and when we go on a HC search, I think the #1 attribute we should be looking for is name recognition and energy that translate to a STRONG NATIONAL recruiting presence. God knows that history has shown we can't recruit consistently (FBI aside) and have much to overcome with HS recruits (no real tradition, little fan or student support, no NBA players to point to as well-known successes (Rick Barry has receded deep into history and, sorry John Salmons, you were a fine NBA player but remain anonymous).

By the way, Arizona -- in far worse "trouble" with the Feds than we were (and they are still in court; Miller was subpoena'd this week) -- somehow managed to sign the nation's #1 recruiting class after all the negative news on Miller and Book Richardson broke last season.
 
IF we made a coaching change at the top, these are some of the guys I'd like for us to call:

1) Eric Musselman - Nevada. He's got an NBA background, and has thrived at Nevada so far with a Sweet 16 appearance a year ago and ranked in the top 10-15 most of this season. He could be interested in taking over a team in the ACC after proving his worth with success at Nevada.

2) Penny Hardaway - Memphis. I won't run down his resume, but his name power alone would be a splash hire. Memphis is home, but after spending almost his whole pro career in Orlando, maybe he wouldn't frown upon a return to the state of Florida. He's still green as a HC, but his potential his super-high.

3) Wes Miller - UNC Greensboro. He's one of the top coaches in one of the top mid-major conferences, and he's built their program up to winning 20+ games the past 3 seasons. This is an X's and O's type of coach, still young (36) and energetic as well. He won a national title as a player at UNC in 2005, where he walked on and was a 3pt specialist for them.

4) Steve Forbes - East Tennessee State. I'm a bit biased here because ETSU is the closest D1 basketball school to me geographically...and I've followed them since I was a kid. Like Miller above, he coaches in the Southern conference, and has been at ETSU for 4 seasons, winning 20+ games each year and making an NCAA tourney appearance 2 years ago. Forbes is actually my personal favorite - his style would fit Miami well. He loves recruiting athletes and letting them play, but can coach X's and O's well when he has to. He coached under Gregg Marshall at Wichita State, and also coached Northwest Florida State on the JUCO level and led them to 2 straight national title runner-ups before that.

I'm sure that there would be some assistants on other staffs that we could look at as potential HC's as well, but I looked more at guys that are HC's now. This small list is certainly not all-inclusive, but are a few names I'd want to reach out to. I'd want bigger names to tell us no before we called up Miller/Forbes, but those guys deserve a call if we get to that point.
 
BWCD, I like your list just fine, minus Penny Hardaway. With Penny, I keep remembering Isaiah Thomas at FIU. Huge name, pro coaching experience but not good.

My additions:

- Jay Wright, Villanova: Only the 24th highest paid HC in college ball. $3M a year and a change of scenery might be enticing. New challenge and what not!

- Mark Few, Gonzaga: Doesn't look like he ever wants to leave Gonzaga but ... way down on the salary list. Has done what he can with the Zags.

- Mid majors: The South Dakota State HC (Otzelberger) is intriguing.
 
hotshot said:
BWCD, I like your list just fine, minus Penny Hardaway. With Penny, I keep remembering Isaiah Thomas at FIU. Huge name, pro coaching experience but not good.

My additions:

- Jay Wright, Villanova: Only the 24th highest paid HC in college ball. $3M a year and a change of scenery might be enticing. New challenge and what not!

- Mark Few, Gonzaga: Doesn't look like he ever wants to leave Gonzaga but ... way down on the salary list. Has done what he can with the Zags.

- Mid majors: The South Dakota State HC (Otzelberger) is intriguing.
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Yeah - I get the Penny/Zeke comparison, but I think Penny can be a much better recruiter than Thomas was. I know he's cashing in on his HS/AAU ties early on with his current class, but I think his personality as a coach will make kids want to come play for him. Thomas, as likable as he had a reputation to be as a player, didn't see that translate to him as a coach at all. Memphis isn't good this year, but they will be soon if Penny recruits like I think he's going to.

I like the Otzelberger mention. He's a very solid coach, but I'm not sure how the translation from SDSU to Miami would be culture-wise...that, and his ability to recruit nationally would be my question marks with him.

If Wright and Few wanted to pick up the phone when we called, I'd be more than willing to consider either one. They're both elite coaches IMO. No-brainer type of hires if they wanted to be considered.
 
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BWCD said:
IF we made a coaching change at the top, these are some of the guys I'd like for us to call:

1) Eric Musselman - Nevada. He's got an NBA background, and has thrived at Nevada so far with a Sweet 16 appearance a year ago and ranked in the top 10-15 most of this season. He could be interested in taking over a team in the ACC after proving his worth with success at Nevada.

2) Penny Hardaway - Memphis. I won't run down his resume, but his name power alone would be a splash hire. Memphis is home, but after spending almost his whole pro career in Orlando, maybe he wouldn't frown upon a return to the state of Florida. He's still green as a HC, but his potential his super-high.

3) Wes Miller - UNC Greensboro. He's one of the top coaches in one of the top mid-major conferences, and he's built their program up to winning 20+ games the past 3 seasons. This is an X's and O's type of coach, still young (36) and energetic as well. He won a national title as a player at UNC in 2005, where he walked on and was a 3pt specialist for them.

4) Steve Forbes - East Tennessee State. I'm a bit biased here because ETSU is the closest D1 basketball school to me geographically...and I've followed them since I was a kid. Like Miller above, he coaches in the Southern conference, and has been at ETSU for 4 seasons, winning 20+ games each year and making an NCAA tourney appearance 2 years ago. Forbes is actually my personal favorite - his style would fit Miami well. He loves recruiting athletes and letting them play, but can coach X's and O's well when he has to. He coached under Gregg Marshall at Wichita State, and also coached Northwest Florida State on the JUCO level and led them to 2 straight national title runner-ups before that.

I'm sure that there would be some assistants on other staffs that we could look at as potential HC's as well, but I looked more at guys that are HC's now. This small list is certainly not all-inclusive, but are a few names I'd want to reach out to. I'd want bigger names to tell us no before we called up Miller/Forbes, but those guys deserve a call if we get to that point.
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Penny Hardaway? LMFAO at this nonsense. Seriously. this is why I think the average Miami fan doesn't watch one minute of basketball. Penny was a great player(would have been a HOFer had his knees held up) but he was hired because of his AAU connections and the fact that Memphis is willing to bet that they will be able to out talent people in their garbage conference with Penny doing the recruiting. That's all. Penny is one of those guys that I could see being an average coach at best, but having great success in a garbage conference, where he will be able to draw from seemingly endless resources.

I look at this list, and I don't see guys like Fred Hoiberg, Randy Bennett and others. But hey, let's throw Penny on the list.
 
I like some of the names on the coaching hypotheticals previously mentioned and since we're playing the hypothetical game how about Rick Pitino? I'm aware that this is highly unlikely to happen and I know it's a long shot, but crazier things have happened. Talk about making a splash hire. There are pros & cons to this. The debacle at Louisville with strippers and agents was bad and will probably never allow him to get a D1 coaching job again. But let's play the what if game for a minute. He's a long time South Florida resident and has ties to the community. Hiring Pitino would definitely make Miami a contender for top recruits. Just about every top 50 player coming out of high school would give Miami a serious look. For better or worse, he has a long standing relationship with Adidas and it's grassroots circuit. Name recognition would get him the international prospects as well. You never know. Never say never.

:stormwarningflag-sm:
 
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We had Pitino on the hook once (if he wasn't just playing us to raise his salary). We sure could use the UK Pitino (as opposed to the Louisville version). Recruiting top HS players to UM seems to require a "superman" type of recruiter and Pitino fits that mold. Might raise the excitement level at the school and in the community too, something we also need.

I really like the Iowa State coaching tree, starting back with Hoiberg. Otzelberger is from that tree.
 
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Canedude08 said:
Penny Hardaway? LMFAO at this nonsense. Seriously. this is why I think the average Miami fan doesn't watch one minute of basketball. Penny was a great player(would have been a HOFer had his knees held up) but he was hired because of his AAU connections and the fact that Memphis is willing to bet that they will be able to out talent people in their garbage conference with Penny doing the recruiting. That's all. Penny is one of those guys that I could see being an average coach at best, but having great success in a garbage conference, where he will be able to draw from seemingly endless resources.

I look at this list, and I don't see guys like Fred Hoiberg, Randy Bennett and others. But hey, let's throw Penny on the list.
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OK - so we disagree on how good of a coach Penny could be, but we agree he was hired for his recruiting ties like I mentioned in my post after the one you quoted. I also acknowledged that Memphis wasn't good this year, but that was going to happen regardless of how good Penny is because that is a struggling program at the moment. I don't really get the callout here. Also, if Penny is pulling classes like the one he's got coming in next year with Wiseman & Co., it won't take him long to have some success at Memphis and other programs come calling.

Not including guys like Hoiberg/Bennett isn't a slight to them nor is it me not wanting them at Miami. I'd take either guy in a hot minute if Coach L were shown the door. Note also in the post that you quoted that I mentioned my list was definitely not all-inclusive. As for not watching basketball, let's put it this way...I watch enough basketball for the quick list above to be just a few names I wanted us to look at. I don't watch every game, but from what I have watched, those are 4 names I'd be OK with us looking at. Doesn't mean there won't be different names like Hoiberg/Bennett ahead of them. So...hop down off that high horse for a minute and understand the context of what I posted.
 
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