The Swamp

I was surprised when Nate Oats of Buffalo signed an extension at Buffalo, but I figured a big boy would pay his buyout when necessary.

I saw today his buyout was only $750K.

He's now the coach at Alabama.

What a terrible decision. He could have waited another season or two and gotten a much better job.

Yeah, he wasn't going to jump straight to a blue blood from Buffalo, but he probably could have had his pick of any openings below that tier in a year or two especially if UB continued to dominate the MAC. I didn't realize he was the coach at Romulus HS for a decade. That's pretty crazy.

Kinda/sorta akin to a player signing during their arb years? HS to SEC in 6 years is pretty insane.

Alabama produces a decent amount of good players. Just gotta convince some yo stay home.

Comes down to how much the administration and the boosters are willing to spend to acquire those players. Not gonna win at that school without cheating. But I don't think Alabama has any qualms about bending the rules.

So Wofford's coach goes to VA Tech when everyone was saying Odom was leaving UMBC for the job (except Odom).

Jalen "Sticks" Smith is staying at Maryland. Not even testing the NBA Draft process. I did not think he would stay in the draft but figured there is very little harm in going to the draft camp.

Also I think the Transfer Portal is interesting....but talk about a rough start for your coaching career.

The University of Missouri-Kansas City introduced new head coach Billy Donlon earlier this week.

The new head coach was welcomed to the team with a significant portion of the roster in the transfer portal. Less than a week after firing head coach Kareem Richardson, 10 players entered the portal.

According to a report from 247Sports, the Kangaroos now have 11 players currently in the transfer portal

.

Eh, might be better to just start building your own roster as soon as possible.

UCLA hires Mick Cronin. He'll probably win a bunch of games, but it's going to be hard to watch so he will get run out.

A_B wrote: ↑Tue Apr 09, 2019 11:37 am UCLA hires Mick Cronin. He'll probably win a bunch of games, but it's going to be hard to watch so he will get run out.

I think UCLA would settle for winning a bunch of games, right now.

sancarlos wrote: ↑Tue Apr 09, 2019 11:39 am

A_B wrote: ↑Tue Apr 09, 2019 11:37 am UCLA hires Mick Cronin. He'll probably win a bunch of games, but it's going to be hard to watch so he will get run out.

I think UCLA would settle for winning a bunch of games, right now.

This would never had been an issue if they let LaVar Ball coach

Six years, $24 million. I doubt Cronin makes it through four.

How long until the pressure gets to Cronin and he punches someone?

DSafetyGuy wrote: ↑Tue Apr 09, 2019 2:19 pm Six years, $24 million. I doubt Cronin makes it through four.

I'll bet the under.

Can't believe that he was the best that UCLA could get.

Shirley wrote: ↑Wed Apr 10, 2019 1:51 pmHow long until the pressure gets to Cronin and he punches someone?

The interesting part is I doubt Xavier will be on the schedule the next few years, so it might take longer than normally expected.

And it seems to me that Cronin just jumped because he wanted the money (was making $2.2 million a year) and he's never gonna get a better offer than Cincinnati otherwise. A good enough job to not be a stepping stone, but not a top-tier one.

Nevada hiring Steve Alford.

brian wrote: ↑Thu Apr 11, 2019 1:54 pmNevada hiring Steve Alford.

Good news for your local fanbase.

Maybe but he’s had success in MWC. Reno should be as easy to recruit to as New Mexico.

better hire than UCLA made at least

John Beilein to the Cavs...five years! Per Woj.

Yeah, that sucks for Michigan and I guess college hoops in general. Beilein is arguably the best coach in the country - certainly in the top 5-10.

Shirley wrote: ↑Mon May 13, 2019 10:15 am Yeah, that sucks for Michigan and I guess college hoops in general. Beilein is arguably the best coach in the country - certainly in the top 5-10.

I made one call upon learning that John Beilein had taken the Cleveland Cavaliers’ job, phoning a coach I knew would cut out the BS and get straight to the heart of it. “When John Beilein goes to the NBA, it tells you how fucked up college basketball is,’’ he told me, after asking that I not share his identity.

https://theathletic.com/975437/2019/05/ ... the-sport/

Big clue there using "he". Narrows it down.

Michigan reportedly already going after Billy Donovan.

wlu_lax6 wrote: ↑Mon May 13, 2019 2:20 pm

Shirley wrote: ↑Mon May 13, 2019 10:15 am Yeah, that sucks for Michigan and I guess college hoops in general. Beilein is arguably the best coach in the country - certainly in the top 5-10.

I made one call upon learning that John Beilein had taken the Cleveland Cavaliers’ job, phoning a coach I knew would cut out the BS and get straight to the heart of it. “When John Beilein goes to the NBA, it tells you how fucked up college basketball is,’’ he told me, after asking that I not share his identity.

https://theathletic.com/975437/2019/05/ ... the-sport/

Eh. I didn't mean that his leaving was a bad omen for college basketball. Only that college basketball was the worse for it, because he's a great coach. Beilein has flirted with the NBA before, so this is hardly shocking.

Sure, there are problems in college basketball and they may get worse, but I seriously doubt that factored much into his decision. He has been doing pretty well of late! I think he just wanted to test himself at the highest level and I don't see why he shouldn't give it a shot. He's at the age where this opportunity likely wasn't going to come again.

Eh, it’s possible he was fed up, or maybe he always dreamed of a job coaching at the very highest level (and making some serious cash in the process).

It’s a weird move at this point in Beilein’s career and weirder because Cleveland has no prospects to be good before he retires. But he’s done all he can do in college and probably figured the meh response to all of the rampant cheating scandals means he has no chance of winning a national title against the entrenched cheaters who get passes in the media and from the NCAA. We all know who they are.

brian wrote: ↑Mon May 13, 2019 7:56 pm It’s a weird move at this point in Beilein’s career and weirder because Cleveland has no prospects to be good before he retires. But he’s done all he can do in college and probably figured the meh response to all of the rampant cheating scandals means he has no chance of winning a national title against the entrenched cheaters who get passes in the media and from the NCAA. We all know who they are.

The choice of Cleveland, despite their ongoing rebuild, has to be because of Mike Gansey. Gansey, played for Beilein at WVU, became best friends with his son, and is now the #2 front office exec for the Cavs. Here’s a link to an article from last winter detailing just how close the bond is between Beilein and Gansey — it goes well beyond the typical coach and ex-star player relationship.

https://www.michigandaily.com/section/m ... lein-story

So a top 5 recruit goes pro without the hangups of maybe not being eligible. Maybe it does not work out, maybe it does, but not every kids should be a college student athlete.
http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basket ... d-pro-team

I like the Juwan hire. Dude has built quite a reputation, both around the league and in the AAU realm.

Important to keep Yaklich or another of the top assistants. That fact that Yak isn't already signed up with Texas is a very good sign.

Nonlinear FC wrote: ↑Tue May 28, 2019 12:43 pm I like the Juwan hire. Dude has built quite a reputation, both around the league and in the AAU realm.

Important to keep Yaklich or another of the top assistants. That fact that Yak isn't already signed up with Texas is a very good sign.

I hope it works out, but I can't understand a major program hiring a guy who's never coached in college. That makes no sense to me. Are there any examples of an NBA guy going straight to college as a head coach and working out? I can think of several off the top of my head who didn't (Mullen, Drexler, Sidney Lowe).

Shirley wrote: ↑Wed May 29, 2019 11:18 pm

Nonlinear FC wrote: ↑Tue May 28, 2019 12:43 pm I like the Juwan hire. Dude has built quite a reputation, both around the league and in the AAU realm.

Important to keep Yaklich or another of the top assistants. That fact that Yak isn't already signed up with Texas is a very good sign.

I hope it works out, but I can't understand a major program hiring a guy who's never coached in college. That makes no sense to me. Are there any examples of an NBA guy going straight to college as a head coach and working out? I can think of several off the top of my head who didn't (Mullen, Drexler, Sidney Lowe).

Ewing..TBD

Penny Hardaway, but Memphis isn't "major" I don't suppose. It's all about trying to influence the top recruits with NBA cred.

College coaching is 4 jobs (coaching, recruiting, marketing/raising money for the school, NCAA compliance). If you can get an assistant to cover the ones you are not good at/teach and guide, going with an NBA superstar is not such a bad idea.

Also NBA stars who had bad college experiences...Isiah Thomas at FIU..one of the worst.

There should be a split between guys like Ewing/Howard who have legit assistant coaching experience and Mullin/Drexler who were name only hires.

I have gone down the rabbit hole of NBA players who became college coaches

Terry Porter
Avery Johnson
Donyell Marshall
Thunder Dan
Theus
Price
Stoudamire
Juan Dixon (13-52 at Coppin State)

This list was from 2017
Twenty-six former NBA players or coaches now in D-I head coaching fraternity (alphabetical by school):

Avery Johnson, Alabama

Reggie Theus, Cal State Northridge

Donyell Marshall, Central Connecticut

Kevin Ollie, Connecticut

Michael Curry, Florida Atlantic

Leonard Hamilton, Florida State

Dan Majerle, Grand Canyon

Rick Pitino, Louisville

Mike Dunlap, Loyola Marymount

Dan D'Antoni, Marshall

Eric Musselman, Nevada

Lon Kruger, Oklahoma

Damon Stoudamire, Pacific

Terry Porter, Portland

Chris Mullin, St. John's

Scott Padgett, Samford

Mike Dunleavy Sr., Tulane

Johnny Dawkins, Central Florida

Steve Alford, UCLA

Mark Price, UNC-Charlotte

Larry Krystkowiak, Utah

Mark Pope, Utah Valley

Tim Floyd, UTEP

Tony Bennett, Virginia

Danny Manning, Wake Forest

Lorenzo Romar, Washington

The key differentiator among those is which ones became college assistants first and learned the college coaching game before becoming a head coach. I think that's critical. Coaching 18-21 year old college kids is WAY different than coaching pros. And as mentioned, recruiting is a huge part of the equation and it's way too complicated to learn on the fly.

A_B wrote: ↑Thu May 30, 2019 6:45 am Penny Hardaway, but Memphis isn't "major" I don't suppose. It's all about trying to influence the top recruits with NBA cred.

Go fuck yourself.

ETA - there’s a helluva basketball tradition at Memphis and he’s got the #1 class next year.

Only reason it’s not “major” whatever the fuck is it isn’t in one of the sainted chosen big five conferences.

tennbengal wrote: ↑Thu May 30, 2019 1:16 pm ETA - there’s a helluva basketball tradition at Memphis and he’s got the #1 class next year.

Only reason it’s not “major” whatever the fuck is it isn’t in one of the sainted chosen big five conferences.

Yeah, that's what i meant, mostly. Certainly a better tradition than most SEC schools. But dang, son, calm down!