Early Coaching Hotseat Edition

[DefenseBB]

With roughly one third of the season done and the bulk of the Out Of Conference games, there are certainly some coaches who have to be concerned.

The P4 teams will usually pad their win columns against the weaker sisters so when you have 3 or more losses against these programs before the heart of your conference play starts, you have to be under scrutiny.

With that as a pre-amble, here is my list and the reasoning.

• Boston College Joanne Bernabe-McNamee whose team sits 4-7 with some bad mid major losses. This is her 8th year and frankly, she should have been let go last year. She's had just 2 winning conference seasons (2021-22 at 10-8 7th; 2019-20 at 11-7 4th) and the recent editions have been brutal. The school does not put money into the program but still, the results have not been good.
• Penn State Carolyn Kieger in her 7th year but while at 6-3, losses to Princeton, ASU and Nebraska don't look all that bad except the games weren't close. She was 1-17 in the Big 10 last year and I expect more of the same this year. The problem is 2 years ago, she had her only winning season at 22-13/8-8 so she will be trying to parlay that into another year but given the roster, if I were the AD, it's time to move on.
• Pittsburgh Tory Verdi, while only the 3rd year of his contract, the early results this year are not good. Losses to Drexel, Lafayette, Ball State and D3 Scranton are NOT good. He will be given more time but the writing is clearly on the wall.
• UCF Sytia Messer in her 4th year and again, not exactly a great start with losses to Charlotte, Stetson and a much over rated Wake Forest team (sorry my Decons colleague @DemonDeac22). Her first two years in the Big 12 have not gone well and this year I expect more of the same. I doubt she gets 4 wins.
• Purdue Katie Geralds in year 5 is off to a horrific start. What does a school do with a former star player? Losses to Purdue Fort Wayne, Central Michigan and absolute blow out losses to Kentucky and Michigan shout a need for a change. After a good 1st two years, the last two have been abysmal. Not sure which team is worst between PSU, Purdue or Northwestern.
• Northwestern Joe McKeown will be in his last year as he announced his retirement last year with one final season goodbye. The school allowed him that but I think will regret that decision. At least all 3 of this seasons losses have been to descent P4 teams but I just think the roster and trajectory is still not good. He's had a great career but this swan song will not be a storybook ending.
• Texas A&M Joni Taylor with a loss to UT Arlington already despite wins over depleted Colorado or a rebuilding Georgia Tech, I think this year will be a rough year for her in the SEC. A&M is paying her an exorbitant amount of money and it is only year 4 but still...lots of transfers out, non-competitive games...I just don't see her turning this thing around.

Any other teams that should be listed? Normally I would look to @azfan for his assistance but he's in wonderland with the new ASU coach and the fashionista failing miserably at SMU thus far, so I will have to look elsewhere for support.

 

[BRS24]

With roughly one third of the season done and the bulk of the Out Of Conference games, there are certainly some coaches who have to be concerned.

The P4 teams will usually pad their win columns against the weaker sisters so when you have 3 or more losses against these programs before the heart of your conference play starts, you have to be under scrutiny.

With that as a pre-amble, here is my list and the reasoning.

• Boston College Joanne Bernabe-McNamee whose team sits 4-7 with some bad mid major losses. This is her 8th year and frankly, she should have been let go last year. She's had just 2 winning conference seasons (2021-22 at 10-8 7th; 2019-20 at 11-7 4th) and the recent editions have been brutal. The school does not put money into the program but still, the results have not been good.
• Penn State Carolyn Kieger in her 7th year but while at 6-3, losses to Princeton, ASU and Nebraska don't look all that bad except the games weren't close. She was 1-17 in the Big 10 last year and I expect more of the same this year. The problem is 2 years ago, she had her only winning season at 22-13/8-8 so she will be trying to parlay that into another year but given the roster, if I were the AD, it's time to move on.
• Pittsburgh Tory Verdi, while only the 3rd year of his contract, the early results this year are not good. Losses to Drexel, Lafayette, Ball State and D3 Scranton are NOT good. He will be given more time but the writing is clearly on the wall.
• UCF Sytia Messer in her 4th year and again, not exactly a great start with losses to Charlotte, Stetson and a much over rated Wake Forest team (sorry my Decons colleague @DemonDeac22). Her first two years in the Big 12 have not gone well and this year I expect more of the same. I doubt she gets 4 wins.
• Purdue Katie Geralds in year 5 is off to a horrific start. What does a school do with a former star player? Losses to Purdue Fort Wayne, Central Michigan and absolute blow out losses to Kentucky and Michigan shout a need for a change. After a good 1st two years, the last two have been abysmal. Not sure which team is worst between PSU, Purdue or Northwestern.
• Northwestern Joe McKeown will be in his last year as he announced his retirement last year with one final season goodbye. The school allowed him that but I think will regret that decision. At least all 3 of this seasons losses have been to descent P4 teams but I just think the roster and trajectory is still not good. He's had a great career but this swan song will not be a storybook ending.
• Texas A&M Joni Taylor with a loss to UT Arlington already despite wins over depleted Colorado or a rebuilding Georgia Tech, I think this year will be a rough year for her in the SEC. A&M is paying her an exorbitant amount of money and it is only year 4 but still...lots of transfers out, non-competitive games...I just don't see her turning this thing around.

Any other teams that should be listed? Normally I would look to @azfan for his assistance but he's in wonderland with the new ASU coach and the fashionista failing miserably at SMU thus far, so I will have to look elsewhere for support.

NGL, this last sentence was (check's notes), chef's kiss, and I'm giddy that I understood to whom you were referring.

 

[LETTERL]

To be brutally frank, I don't think Boston College cares about WCBB; it seems they sport a team just to have one but noone is stressing out or too upset if things don't go well. Coach JB-M gets good players and develops them, but after a year, or maybe two, the better ones transfer out and so that poor lady has to start building again. By all accounts, she is a nice lady, she seems to treat her players with dignity, runs a clean program and so maybe BC feels they could do worse. There's no real excitement about this program and there are rarely more than 65 people in the stands for home games.

Every year around this time, in my letter to Santa, I wish for BC (and that house of horrors called the Conte Forum) to go somewhere else but that Christmas wish has not yet been granted.

 

[DefenseBB]

I am not sure how much developing she is truly doing vs. supplying plenty of playing time. I have not heard "great things" about her coaching acumen but do note that BC does NOT support the program compared to other Women's sports at the school.

She has had regular turnover of the roster for the last 4 years, even players who did not play much have left after 1 year. That, to me is indicative of something else going on. JBM was an assistant at MD, leveraged that to get the Albany gig when Coach Abe left and JBM inherited a strong roster which she parlayed that brief success (a mere 2 years) into the BC job.

I am just not sold on her as a good coach deserving of a P4 team. I have been following her pretty intently these past 8 years. I would bet my house she is let go after this year. BC has always had a pecking order in all their sports programs (Men's is Hockey, Football, Soccer, Basketball, other sports. Women's is very clear-Lacrosse, Ice Hockey, Field Hockey, Soccer, Basketball, other sports).

With the new NIL landscape, they just do not have the funding to truly support more than a few sports in each gender.

 

[DefenseBB]

So, @LETTERL you had me continue to ponder Joanna’s situation and I do understand the lack of P4 institutional support BUT she is 4-9 and has BAD losses to programs vastly underfunded to hers. To wit:
Holy Cross
Harvard
UMass
Murray State
Quinnipiac
Bryant

She also lost to PC and JMU whose program funding is probably similar.

Frankly, she just is not a good P4 coach and will need to go back to mid-majors to re-prove herself. Felisha Legette-Jack had to go from Hofstra to Indiana to Buffalo to Syracuse where she seems to be doing ok. Kellie Jolly Harper went from Western Carolina to NC State to Missouri State to Tennessee to Missouri. So it does happen.

But this current rendition of Eagle basketball is just brutal…

 

[azfan]

Any other teams that should be listed? Normally I would look to @azfan for his assistance but he's in wonderland with the new ASU coach and the fashionista failing miserably at SMU thus far, so I will have to look elsewhere for support.

Oh yes!

Is it too early for first year coaches to be on the hot seat?

Molly Miller's replacement at Grand Canyon comes with a good pedigree from South Carolina. But Winston Gandy has the stench of Natasha Adair. He really seems in over his head and while the Lopes have a brutal schedule at 1-8, soon to be -10 after losses to a really good coachedSanta Clara Sunday and UNLV on Wednesday can't help but wondering. His demeanor on the sideline does not demonstrate the requisite patience for a rebuilding program.

And NAU very well have made a Natasha Adair hire at the last minute in bringing back Lumberjack alum Laura Dinkins. The 1-9 Jacks will certainly pick up their second victory Monday against Park of Gilbert Arizona and from there on out it looks really bleak in terms of picking up another victory. The Jacks don't appear to run any discernible offense merely getting the ball to Naomi White to go one-on-one. Defense has not been part of the culture inFlagstaff but Dinkins is taking it to somewhat ridiculous levels. South Dakota State shot 54% from the field in their last loss and I believe the Jacks have been out shot percentage wise in all of their games.

As I drove down for the Grand Canyon lost (I'm looking forward to see Loree Payne's Broncos in action) I reflected on how important it is to enjoy the successes in the moment. Last year my drive up and down i-17 was a delight to see the 32 and 3 Lopes and the 27 win Jacks. This year I should just stay in Tempe to glory in the marvel that is Molly Miller

It's kind of like a car wreck I can't help but go watch to see what's going on at the Global Credit Arena home of the soon to be 1-10 Lopes and Rolle Activity Center home of the 1-9 Lumberjacks.

The fashionista is of course laughing all the way to the bank - she's not leaving SMU, or if she does it'll be 6 million dollars richer.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

To be brutally frank, I don't think Boston College cares about WCBB; it seems they sport a team just to have one but noone is stressing out or too upset if things don't go well. Coach JB-M gets good players and develops them, but after a year, or maybe two, the better ones transfer out and so that poor lady has to start building again. By all accounts, she is a nice lady, she seems to treat her players with dignity, runs a clean program and so maybe BC feels they could do worse. There's no real excitement about this program and there are rarely more than 65 people in the stands for home games.

Every year around this time, in my letter to Santa, I wish for BC (and that house of horrors called the Conte Forum) to go somewhere else but that Christmas wish has not yet been granted.

Many years ago, BC was actually fairly decent, shortly before and after the millennium. Conte Forum is odd, I remember it was connected to the football stadium.

Expectations have been low for a number of years. I'm not sure the head coach is truly awful, but in the end at some point will be held accountable, even if in a bad situation.

 

[triaddukefan]

Many years ago, BC was actually fairly decent, shortly before and after the millennium. Conte Forum is odd, I remember it was connected to the football stadium.

Expectations have been low for a number of years. I'm not sure the head coach is truly awful, but in the end at some point will be held accountable, even if in a bad situation.

As recently as 2020, they had a competitive team. Probably would have been a NCAA squad if not for covid ending the season. They won 20 games, and made it to the ACC tournament semis. Through the past 5 or so years, they have been basically a farm system for higher profile squads.

 

[UConnCat]

Many years ago, BC was actually fairly decent, shortly before and after the millennium. Conte Forum is odd, I remember it was connected to the football stadium.

Yes, back when Cathy Inglese was coach and the Big East had some very good teams. Her BC teams earned 7 NCAA tournament bids and reached the Sweet 16 three times.

 

[cancontent]

Yes, back when Cathy Inglese was coach and the Big East had some very good teams. Her BC teams earned 7 NCAA tournament bids and reached the Sweet 16 three times.

Apologies for the temporary swerve, but this comment brought something to mind. It would be cool to see a 30 for 30 on Big East women's basketball. It affected women's basketball just as much as the men's. Comments like these indicate to me there are some great stories we're missing out on.

 

[DefenseBB]

Watching this Texas beat down on Baylor has me wondering with the departure of the Baylor AD who blew the Mulkey situation and hired Collen, will now have Nicki on the clock, given how much money they funnel into that program for less than stellar results. Fortunately for Nicki, other than TCU and ISU, she may be able to fend off OSU to remain relevant in the Big 12 but definitely not on the national relevance stage like they used to be. 2nd round appearances seem to be her ceiling.

 

[GoChips20]

Watching this Texas beat down on Baylor has me wondering with the departure of the Baylor AD who blew the Mulkey situation and hired Collen, will now have Nicki on the clock, given how much money they funnel into that program for less than stellar results. Fortunately for Nicki, other than TCU and ISU, she may be able to fend off OSU to remain relevant in the Big 12 but definitely not on the national relevance stage like they used to be. 2nd round appearances seem to be her ceiling.

I don’t think she develops her talent well. Her program mainstays, Littlepage-Buggs and Bella, are exactly what they were as freshman: impact players who haven’t particularly expanded their games or improved their individual statistics.

I do think Baylor is a more challenging school to recruit to, though. Your regional talent is in the same market as Texas, LSU, Oklahoma, and South Carolina, all of whom have more to offer in most of the recruiting battlegrounds.