An offer is in

[intlzncster]

Since people keep positing it as Oak’s - lets’s go with O’Aks today.

Felt like I was ordering breakfast for a moment if we are being honest.

 

[BaZZnBOAT]

I hope so, in a good way.

Didn't mean any disrespect. Was just wondering really. I'm sure it is!

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Bottom line: People can speculate all day long on limited prior recruiting and coaching successes at lower level programs and project on the potential of Hurley, Oats, et al at UConn, but speculation and projection remain speculation and projection. Regardless, zero of us have any influence. Time will tell ...

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

I bet he has not looked at Oats closely. Bring him in for an interview. I'm sure he's done his due diligence on Hurley. Do the same with Oats. He's newer on the radar for sure.

I decided to check in on this thread before watching a Dan Hurley, Nate Oats doubleheader. This is one of the very few of your many posts here that doesn't read as though your handle could be "Nateoatsfanatic." You could turn out to be right, but there us something a bit 'off' about your insistent tone.

I'm hoping that we see two good games, and like both DH & NO better afterward.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

I bet he has not looked at Oats closely. Bring him in for an interview. I'm sure he's done his due diligence on Hurley. Do the same with Oats. He's newer on the radar for sure.

Yes, definitely let's drag our feet on the guy whose proven he can rebuild programs and recruit high-level players to mid-major schools with 10 years of HC experience and is a Northeast guy with a low probability of bolting for other college jobs so we can interview the guy whose team played one good game, beat the worst NCAA tournament coach of the last 25 years by making 15 3s, is a Midwest guy from Michigan and likely would bolt the minute Beilein or Izzo retired/left. Good plan.

 

[storrsroars]

Pat Narduzzi is at the URI game in Pgh. He went to URI. It's a thin connection, but a connection nonetheless.

/conspiracy theory

 

[aburks41]

Pat Narduzzi is at the URI game in Pgh. He went to URI. It's a thin connection, but a connection nonetheless.

/conspiracy theory

Pitt isn't going after Hurley we're fine

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Pat Narduzzi is at the URI game in Pgh. He went to URI.

After Narduzzi purportedly passed on an offer and UConn ended up hiring the massive Disastro, may the former choke on his uvula.

 

[Uconnfanatic]

Yes, definitely let's drag our feet on the guy whose proven he can rebuild programs and recruit high-level players to mid-major schools with 10 years of HC experience and is a Northeast guy with a low probability of bolting for other college jobs so we can interview the guy whose team played one good game, beat the worst NCAA tournament coach of the last 25 years by making 15 3s, is a Midwest guy from Michigan and likely would bolt the minute Beilein or Izzo retired/left. Good plan.

Nice narrative but doesn't seem to have much to do with reality.

 

[Stainmaster]

Nice narrative but doesn't seem to have much to do with reality.

One might say the same about your highly subjective opinion of Oats.

 

[RoderickSpode]

His team looks like a lot of fun. So did Keno Davis's.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Nice narrative but doesn't seem to have much to do with reality.

What part of what I said is wrong? I'll spell it out not in a sarcastic run-on sentence.

too long;dr - Hurley checks nearly all the boxes of what UConn is looking for and has built two programs and sustained success over his 8-year HC career. He is not a threat to leave for another college HC job. Oats is not from the local area, took over an already built program, and coached one great game. He's been a HC for 3 years and is a threat to leave for another college HC job. To delay interviewing/hiring Hurley to look at Oats is insane.

Oats is a Midwest guy from Wisconsin who lived and coached in Michigan for over a decade. None of his current staff have any meaningful ties to the area. He's been a head coach for three years. He took over a Buffalo program that Bobby Hurley had already helped turn into a fairly successful program, and has done a good job continuing its success over the last three years. Buffalo had gone 23-10 and 19-10 in the two years prior to him taking over. He has never coached in the Tri-State area or New England and does not have ties to the area that UConn has recruited heavily from for decades. If he were to come to UConn and have success, the minute a job in one of the major B1G schools opened, he'd be a legitimate candidate - particularly Michigan, MSU, and Wisconsin.

Hurley is a Northeast guy who has coached and played in the Tri-State area and New England for his entire career - the primary fertile area UConn has recruited from for decades. One of his assistants he can bring along is a former UConn longtime coach with major recruiting ties in this area. He's been a head coach for eight years. He has taken over two programs in horrible situations and turned them around into contenders. Wagner had five wins the year before he got there, two years later they won 25. URI was 7-24 the year before he arrived, three years later (in a far more difficult conference than the NEC) they had 23 wins and have sustained that success beyond that. If he were to come to UConn and have success, there are no other major college jobs in his home area that could open up where he'd be considered likely to leave. The only fathomable one could be Villanova but that's an enormous stretch to call that "home" and the Philly college basketball area is enormously different than Tri-State/New England one.

You also pointed out earlier that the tournament sheds light on coaches who previously didn't get attention. That's true - but what it also can do is shed light on coaches and make them look better than they actually are. Greg McDermott is an example - three tournaments at UNI, goes to Iowa State and fails as a P5 head coach. The aforementioned Keno Davis - brings Drake to the NCAA tournament in his first HC year and gets the job at PC, fails. Andy Enfield goes on the run at FGCU in his second year as a HC, goes to USC and has not translated that into meaningful success - one NCAA tournament win, two losing seasons, three missed tournaments.

The point isn't that Oats is a bad coach and won't be a good coach somewhere else - there's a good chance he will. But he has not proven that he's a program builder, he has no ties to the area, his staff has no ties to the area, and he has only been a head coach for three years. There's is very incomplete data on him to show that he's not just a flash in the pan coach who took over a program that was already in a good position and brought in a few good players who all got hot on one night. Dan Hurley checks all of the above boxes and has had meaningful results in the tournament on multiple occasions and sustained success everywhere he's been and done so with limited resources.

If we struck out on Hurley, I'd absolutely like to take a look at Oats. But Hurley is the most sensible choice of all of the available options, and he checks the most boxes of what we're looking for. To delay the process of hiring that candidate so we can look at one guy who coached one great game who would at best be a roll of the dice is completely asinine.

 

[whaler11]

What part of what I said is wrong? I'll spell it out not in a sarcastic run-on sentence.

Oats is a Midwest guy from Wisconsin who lived and coached in Michigan for over a decade. None of his current staff have any meaningful ties to the area. He's been a head coach for three years. He took over a Buffalo program that Bobby Hurley had already helped turn into a fairly successful program, and has done a good job continuing its success over the last three years. Buffalo had gone 23-10 and 19-10 in the two years prior to him taking over. He has never coached in the Tri-State area or New England and does not have ties to the area that UConn has recruited heavily from for decades. If he were to come to UConn and have success, the minute a job in one of the major B1G schools opened, he'd be a legitimate candidate - particularly Michigan, MSU, and Wisconsin.

Hurley is a Northeast guy who has coached and played in the Tri-State area and New England for his entire career - the primary fertile area UConn has recruited from for decades. One of his assistants he can bring along is a former UConn longtime coach with major recruiting ties in this area. He's been a head coach for eight years. He has taken over two programs in horrible situations and turned them around into contenders. Wagner had five wins the year before he got there, two years later they won 25. URI was 7-24 the year before he arrived, three years later (in a far more difficult conference than the NEC) they had 23 wins and have sustained that success beyond that. If he were to come to UConn and have success, there are no other major college jobs in his home area that could open up where he'd be considered likely to leave. The only fathomable one could be Villanova but that's an enormous stretch to call that "home" and the Philly college basketball area is enormously different than Tri-State/New England one.

You also pointed out earlier that the tournament sheds light on coaches who previously didn't get attention. That's true - but what it also can do is shed light on coaches and make them look better than they actually are. Greg McDermott is an example - three tournaments at UNI, goes to Iowa State and fails as a P5 head coach. The aforementioned Keno Davis - brings Drake to the NCAA tournament in his first HC year and gets the job at PC, fails. Andy Enfield goes on the run at FGCU in his second year as a HC, goes to USC and has not translated that into meaningful success - one NCAA tournament win, two losing seasons, three missed tournaments.

The point isn't that Oats is a bad coach and won't be a good coach somewhere else - there's a good chance he will. But he has not proven that he's a program builder, he has no ties to the area, his staff has no ties to the area, and he has only been a head coach for three years. There's is very incomplete data on him to show that he's not just a flash in the pan coach who took over a program that was already in a good position and brought in a few good players who all got hot on one night. Dan Hurley checks all of the above boxes and has had meaningful results in the tournament on multiple occasions and sustained success everywhere he's been and done so with limited resources.

If we struck out on Hurley, I'd absolutely like to take a look at Oats. But Hurley is the most sensible choice of all of the available options, and he checks the most boxes of what we're looking for. To delay the process of hiring that candidate so we can look at one guy who coached one great game who would at best be a roll of the dice is completely asinine.

Hurley lost today.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Hurley lost today.

Forget everything I said, we can only hire a coach who beat Duke in the NCAA Tournament. We should be targeting Bob Hoffman at Mercer or Brett Reed at Lehigh. Get on it Dave!

 

[whaler11]

If you want the red flag on Hurley it’s this:

They played 12 games against tourney teams and went 5-7.

They were 21-3 and split their last ten - going 1-4 against tourney teams only escaping against the DOA Sooners.

Looks like he is our guy and he seems to be the best legitimate candidate we’ve got but this is no slam dunk.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

If you want the red flag on Hurley it’s this:

They played 12 games against tourney teams and went 5-7.

They were 21-3 and split their last ten - going 1-4 against tourney teams only escaping against the DOA Sooners.

Looks like he is our guy and he seems to be the best legitimate candidate we’ve got but this is no slam dunk.

Very good points. The problem is, there isn't another candidate out there who doesn't have similar red flags. Buffalo went 2-5 against RPI top 100, both wins over Toledo. They went 0-5 against tourney teams. They had three RPI 150+ losses.

I agree Hurley is not a slam dunk, but of the available candidates, he has the fewest red flags, the most ties to the area, and has twice proven he can rebuild a program with limited resources.

 

[Matrim55]

If you want the red flag on Hurley it’s this:

They played 12 games against tourney teams and went 5-7.

They were 21-3 and split their last ten - going 1-4 against tourney teams only escaping against the DOA Sooners.

Looks like he is our guy and he seems to be the best legitimate candidate we’ve got but this is no slam dunk.

Very good points. The problem is, there isn't another candidate out there who doesn't have similar red flags. Buffalo went 2-5 against RPI top 100, both wins over Toledo. They went 0-5 against tourney teams. They had three RPI 150+ losses.

I agree Hurley is not a slam dunk, but of the available candidates, he has the fewest red flags, the most ties to the area, and has twice proven he can rebuild a program with limited resources.

Good god, a reasonable discussion? I was beginning to think that wasn't allowed on the boneyard.

 

[the Q]

What part of what I said is wrong? I'll spell it out not in a sarcastic run-on sentence.

too long;dr - Hurley checks nearly all the boxes of what UConn is looking for and has built two programs and sustained success over his 8-year HC career. He is not a threat to leave for another college HC job. Oats is not from the local area, took over an already built program, and coached one great game. He's been a HC for 3 years and is a threat to leave for another college HC job. To delay interviewing/hiring Hurley to look at Oats is insane.

Oats is a Midwest guy from Wisconsin who lived and coached in Michigan for over a decade. None of his current staff have any meaningful ties to the area. He's been a head coach for three years. He took over a Buffalo program that Bobby Hurley had already helped turn into a fairly successful program, and has done a good job continuing its success over the last three years. Buffalo had gone 23-10 and 19-10 in the two years prior to him taking over. He has never coached in the Tri-State area or New England and does not have ties to the area that UConn has recruited heavily from for decades. If he were to come to UConn and have success, the minute a job in one of the major B1G schools opened, he'd be a legitimate candidate - particularly Michigan, MSU, and Wisconsin.

Hurley is a Northeast guy who has coached and played in the Tri-State area and New England for his entire career - the primary fertile area UConn has recruited from for decades. One of his assistants he can bring along is a former UConn longtime coach with major recruiting ties in this area. He's been a head coach for eight years. He has taken over two programs in horrible situations and turned them around into contenders. Wagner had five wins the year before he got there, two years later they won 25. URI was 7-24 the year before he arrived, three years later (in a far more difficult conference than the NEC) they had 23 wins and have sustained that success beyond that. If he were to come to UConn and have success, there are no other major college jobs in his home area that could open up where he'd be considered likely to leave. The only fathomable one could be Villanova but that's an enormous stretch to call that "home" and the Philly college basketball area is enormously different than Tri-State/New England one.

You also pointed out earlier that the tournament sheds light on coaches who previously didn't get attention. That's true - but what it also can do is shed light on coaches and make them look better than they actually are. Greg McDermott is an example - three tournaments at UNI, goes to Iowa State and fails as a P5 head coach. The aforementioned Keno Davis - brings Drake to the NCAA tournament in his first HC year and gets the job at PC, fails. Andy Enfield goes on the run at FGCU in his second year as a HC, goes to USC and has not translated that into meaningful success - one NCAA tournament win, two losing seasons, three missed tournaments.

The point isn't that Oats is a bad coach and won't be a good coach somewhere else - there's a good chance he will. But he has not proven that he's a program builder, he has no ties to the area, his staff has no ties to the area, and he has only been a head coach for three years. There's is very incomplete data on him to show that he's not just a flash in the pan coach who took over a program that was already in a good position and brought in a few good players who all got hot on one night. Dan Hurley checks all of the above boxes and has had meaningful results in the tournament on multiple occasions and sustained success everywhere he's been and done so with limited resources.

If we struck out on Hurley, I'd absolutely like to take a look at Oats. But Hurley is the most sensible choice of all of the available options, and he checks the most boxes of what we're looking for. To delay the process of hiring that candidate so we can look at one guy who coached one great game who would at best be a roll of the dice is completely asinine.

You make some great points.

I’m a big Oats fan, but I agree Hurley is probably the better fit.

I admit I hadn’t even thought of the Mich/mich st angle that you bring up.

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

If you want the red flag on Hurley it’s this:

They played 12 games against tourney teams and went 5-7.

They were 21-3 and split their last ten - going 1-4 against tourney teams only escaping against the DOA Sooners.

Looks like he is our guy and he seems to be the best legitimate candidate we’ve got but this is no slam dunk.

If Hurley aquires better talent at UConn (which he should do, compared to Wagner and URI), then the results will obviously be better. 5-7 against tourney teams for URI is pretty good tbh.

I think Jalen, Alterique and Sid Wilson are more talented than anyone URI has. Even E.C. Matthews.

 

[the Q]

Very good points. The problem is, there isn't another candidate out there who doesn't have similar red flags. Buffalo went 2-5 against RPI top 100, both wins over Toledo. They went 0-5 against tourney teams. They had three RPI 150+ losses.

I agree Hurley is not a slam dunk, but of the available candidates, he has the fewest red flags, the most ties to the area, and has twice proven he can rebuild a program with limited resources.

I’m curious how many mid major schools do have stout W/L records against tourney teams.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Good god, a reasonable discussion? I was beginning to think that wasn't allowed on the boneyard.

Sometimes the complete fools bring out reasonable discussion as Oatsfanatic has here.

To go further, there's red flags on all other reported candidates - Matta's health, Frank Martin has only made the NCAA tournament once at South Carolina, etc. We're not in a position where we're picking from a pool of complete riches so we have to evaluate which option has the most upside and which red flags can and can't be overlooked. It's a calculated risk.

 

[Jaker]

After that trouncing, the offer needs to be cut in half.

 

[HawkHusky]

After that trouncing, the offer needs to be cut in half.

Thus sending him to Pitt...

Great idea.

 

[Jaker]

Thus sending him to Pitt...

Great idea.

He's not a home run, so if we lose him to Pitt, so be it.

 

[jibsey]

In my opinion this is about getting and being able to coach talent. URI didnot seem loaded, so losing to that bunch of 1 and dones of Duke by so much is meaningless. They do not even have 1 next level player so making the tourney is an accomplishment.