20 head coaches who’ll be hot commodities...

[BlueMAB]

The idea that past results are an indication of future success when changing coaches and leagues is absurd. For both Pitt and UCONN.

And perhaps UCONN will be Tulsa, WSU and Cincy’s bitch going forward, I hope not, but there’s no telling.

I'm not arguing that they will achieve the same success, I'm simply saying that a coach good enough to get UConn into the top 5-10 is good enough to get Pitt into the top 5-10.

 

[KembaStepback]

Look, I know the AAC doesn't have the name recognition that the ACC does or even the Big East, but if UConn were back to being good, it'd be a very good conference at the top. Cincy, WSU, Houston, SMU are very good, Temple, Memphis Tulsa are fine. The bottom part of the conference is pretty terrible, but not the end of the world. If UConn is good, that's roughly 5-6 at large bids for the conference. That's a lot.

 

[JMick]

UConn is not getting Danny Hurley. Move on.

Oh good, if nelson says he's not coming here it's confirmed then. Hurley will be the coach.

 

[Storrs South]

Another article on ESPN about coaches on the hot seat. I don't know what BY policy is on Insider articles so I won't post the excerpt but they say he is "Odds in favor of being fired" and includes Ernie Kent of Washington State, Dave Leitao of DePaul, and Kevin Ollie. And again incorrectly cites that UConn would not have made the NCAA tournament in 2016 if not for the 70 ft Adams shot, which is dumb.

The article has Stallings one level lower on the hot seat -- "Could go either way"

Source: Who's up, who's down in the coaches' Hot Seat Index?

 

[Northbound]

I'm not arguing that they will achieve the same success, I'm simply saying that a coach good enough to get UConn into the top 5-10 is good enough to get Pitt into the top 5-10.

I know I’m on your side of the conversation.

 

[QDOG5]

I think the UConn vs. Pitt debate is much closer to 50/50. The arguments for and against both so far seem pretty equal. UConn has 4 titles and Pitt is in the ACC. @WingU-Conn makes the point that if you're confident in your coaching abilities then you think you can win at either place. As for Pitt being a bitch to tabasco(I've been there a few times and it's delicious) road I think UConn and Calhoun at one point were thought of as bitches to Gtown, Cuse, St. Johns. I think the biggest question for Hurley(or any new hire) would be his relationship with the AD and the administration. That's a big part of why Dixon left Pitt because they got a new Chancellor and AD.

 

[kobe]

Isn't the argument that Pitt prospered off of NYC kids due to the Big East and now that they are in the ACC they've had to change their recruiting base to NC/VA/etc ?

 

[Javjudah]

Ollie will be the coach next season, get use to it. We're only wasting our time with all these dicussions as to who his replacement will be next season.

 

[Tyler2Rings]

Isn't the argument that Pitt prospered off of NYC kids due to the Big East and now that they are in the ACC they've had to change their recruiting base to NC/VA/etc ?

Yes. Then again, a similar argument could be made for UConn.

Ultimately the fact that Hurley is a northeast guy is not super important for either of these jobs. Pitt and UConn are northeast schools in mostly southern conferences.

 

[Matrim55]

Yes. Then again, a similar argument could be made for UConn.

Not really. Under Ollie we got Facey (NY player of the year, top 100 recruit), Samuel (decent 3-star), Larrier (top 40 national recruit), Mamadou (high 3-star/low 4-star), Vital (high 3-star) and Sid Wilson (top 75 national recruit).

We haven't been at our best recruiting NYC, but certainly good enough to be at or near the top of the AAC. A competent head coach would have us there.

 

[Ewekon]

I couldn’t disagree more.

The stage is commensurate to brand and the UConn basketball brand is much stronger than Pitt.

UConn also has more resources (in terms of brand equity) commensurate to its conference partners than Pitt.

There are levels in every conference and Pitt is not set up to win that conference.

If you don’t think that matters, you’re wrong. UConn has recruited blue chippers in the AAC and has won a Natty in the AAC. The recent tailspin after the coaching shake up doesn’t change those facts.

The AAC is High Major as well, so just get the job done on the court and the rest will follow. The players know they can WIN at UConn and go to the NBA.

Don’t even try to say that winning and tradition doesn’t matter. It does.

The AAC is not a high major and won't be in consideration until/if UConn is the dominant team 4 out of 5 years. We can drag the conference up. Now we drag it down.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Ollie will be the coach next season, get use to it. We're only wasting our time with all these dicussions as to who his replacement will be next season.

J

I felt exactly as you did until very recently. After a conversation yesterday (sorry, can't name drop) it became clear that KO has to now do something pretty spectacular over the remainder of the season to have a chance at coming back. It doesn't look good in terms of his return.

For the record, this is a considerable change from how things appeared a few weeks back.

 

[Tyler2Rings]

Not really. Under Ollie we got Facey (NY player of the year, top 100 recruit), Samuel (decent 3-star), Larrier (top 40 national recruit), Mamadou (high 3-star/low 4-star), Vital (high 3-star) and Sid Wilson (top 75 national recruit).

We haven't been at our best recruiting NYC, but certainly good enough to be at or near the top of the AAC. A competent head coach would have us there.

I know we've still had success with NY recruiting but my point is that our next coach does not need to be a northeast guy to have success here.

Its surprising to me and impressive that we can still recruit NY at the level we do. Its another argument why this job is way better than Pitt.

 

[The Funster]

Isn't the argument that Pitt prospered off of NYC kids due to the Big East and now that they are in the ACC they've had to change their recruiting base to NC/VA/etc ?

They had an assistant that had great contacts in NYC. He left Pitt a year ot two before Dixon left, IIRC. That was the beginning of the end.

 

[Javjudah]

J

I felt exactly as you did until very recently. After a conversation yesterday (sorry, can't name drop) it became clear that KO has to now do something pretty spectacular over the remainder of the season to have a chance at coming back. It doesn't look good in terms of his return.

For the record, this is a considerable change from how things appeared a few weeks back.

I uderstand where you're coming from but they will give him 1 more season after this. The talent on the team he had this season had no chance to succeed. If they were going to make a change it should have been done prior to this season after the mass exodus and failure to secure a commitment from Diallo and MAL.

 

[Pudge]

What Jamie Dixon did (and from the Ben Howland playbook) was get NYC / Jersey kids to Pitt. That’s not easily reprocated.

Stallings was an incredibly odd choice given that key. Pitt fans will explain this to you. Now that they are in the Southeast-centric Hoop conference, it’s far tougher.

I do think UConn/Calhoun can be UConn/Calhoun again. We still can get the NYC kids & the emergence of Prep schools near Campus is just a better part of that story.

Money? It won’t be easy.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Yes. Then again, a similar argument could be made for UConn.

Ultimately the fact that Hurley is a northeast guy is not super important for either of these jobs. Pitt and UConn are northeast schools in mostly southern conferences.

Makes one think there oughtta be a northeastern conference. Oh wait...

 

[intlzncster]

It's not as difficult to recruit to the AAC as people make out. You don't need monster classes. It comes down to identifying the RIGHT guys for your system, and then coaching them up. You don't need Top 10 players. You just need good coaching and identification of the right players. Look at the class rankings of TEAM X below.

From 247
2015 - 29
2014 - 48
2013 - 36
2012 - 27

From ESPN
2015 - 24
2014 - 37
2013 - 31
2012 - >25

That team is Villanova. Those classes led to a NC. They are currently #3 in the nation. Their 2016 class rankings were 45 and 33 respectively

You don't think UCONN can achieve those class rankings?

 

[CL82]

Land Grant State School >>>> City School
AAC<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<ACC
Werth Center >>>>>> Pitts facilities.
4 natties >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> they did pretty well in the ACC.

UConn is a much better coaching gig than Pitt.

 

[kobe]

They had an assistant that had great contacts in NYC. He left Pitt a year ot two before Dixon left, IIRC. That was the beginning of the end.

Ah right, I vaguely remember that guy but his name slips my mind (it was something like "Slice" or w/e), think he ended up on the St. John's staff for a while.

 

[Tyler2Rings]

Makes one think there oughtta be a northeastern conference. Oh wait...

Its incredibly sad that the Atlantic 10 conference is the best northeast-centric conference. Even the NBE is half midwest

 

[Huskybass]

I uderstand where you're coming from but they will give him 1 more season after this. The talent on the team he had this season had no chance to succeed. If they were going to make a change it should have been done prior to this season after the mass exodus and failure to secure a commitment from Diallo and MAL.

How can you watch game after game of terrible basketball and think KO will return as head coach next season? He doesn't even look like he wants to be here anymore.

 

[Storrs South]

"I've been told they want to buy [KO] out" - Goodman

Starts at 19:45

 

[Huskyforlife]

Something else to consider. I doubt we’d pay KOs buyout unless we’re willing to also pay for a “big time” coach. Why bother going small? May as well give Ollie one more year, unless you’ve identified the next Calhoun.

 

[Marty Jackson]

Here's their tournament appearances since 2000 for you....
2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016
The kids graduating high school this year grew up seeing Pitt in the NCAA tourney more often than not.

That's Big East and ACC. Pitt isn't "UConn". But UConn isn't "UConn" anymore. UConn will never be a destination for top recruits. And winning there, in the ACC, would make recruiting easier. It's a program that has been a perennial tournament team for 2 decades. That's not to say they've matched UConn, but a team that has been in the NCAA tourney nearly every year, playing in the Big East and ACC, that gets to play on ESPN network against UNC, Duke, etc, etc, rather than buried on the CBS Sports Network is easier to recruit to.

Remember when half that top 10 class left? Remember what our classes have been ranked since then? Recruiting is easier at Pitt, and when you prove you know what you're doing, you're going to get better and better recruits.

I don't understand why you think this guy (who I want at UConn) can overcome the challenges facing us, but not Pitt. He's good enough to win at both schools, bottom line. And Pitt has a much bigger stage, can attract higher caliber recruits, and thanks to conference affiliation, is a much more stable long-term job.

Easy- UConn with one good season is back. Uconn has to beat Memphis, Cincy, Houston, Temple, and maybe Tulsa or SMU. We recruit out of the most fertile bb territory (aka Our back yard.

Pitt competes against Duke, UNC, Syracuse, UVA, Miami, et all. That's a tough grind. And Pitt is a FB school first. Win at UConn, the state is yours.

UConn had an unprecedented run in coaching with JC and GA. Unlikely we'll see that again. But where else have you seen two bb NC's in same year let alone twice.

Also, don't undersell uconns schedule. Sure it's not the big east, but JC never believed in this type of OOC. UConn pretty much plays an elite ooc schedule so the visibility is there. Just need to get back to winning.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Land Grant State School >>>> City School
AAC<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<ACC
Werth Center >>>>>> Pitts facilities.
4 natties >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> they did pretty well in the ACC.

UConn is a much better coaching gig than Pitt.

While UConn may yet be a better basketball coaching gig than Pitt, the Land Grant State School vs. City School comparison you offer sells Pitt short. It's an AAU member, with a huge research profile, an endowment that dwarfs UConn's, and a connection to its city, state, and region that combines private status & state-affiliation toward beneficial partnership with multiple stakeholders in ways that other schools seek to emulate. That doesn't address the northern school in a southern conference conundrum, but as noted both schools share that.

 

[intlzncster]

Ah right, I vaguely remember that guy but his name slips my mind (it was something like "Slice" or w/e), think he ended up on the St. John's staff for a while.

Barry Slice Rohrrson. He's bounced all over. Was even at UK for a bit with Cal. Pretty much a hired gun recruiter. Dunno where he is now...too lazy to look up.

 

[superjohn]

Barry Slice Rohrrson. He's bounced all over. Was even at UK for a bit with Cal. Pretty much a hired gun recruiter. Dunno where he is now...too lazy to look up.

He was last with the Johnnies, don't think he's anywhere now.

 

[BlueMAB]

I'm 100% certain that coaches evaluating the potential jobs at UConn vs Pitt are having their agents give them a breakdown of the advantages of coaching at a Land Grant school vs. City school.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

I'm 100% certain that coaches evaluating the potential jobs at UConn vs Pitt are having their agents give them a breakdown of the advantages of coaching at a Land Grant school vs. City school.

Before or after reviewing course selection options for the student athletes?