Early Coaching Hotseat Edition | Page 11 | The Boneyard

Early Coaching Hotseat Edition

Departure of Coach Mox just announced. As a UVA women’s fan, I’m pleased. Don’t think she has what it takes to get us to the next level - competitive for ACC championships.
 
VA Huskie said:
Departure of Coach Mox just announced. As a UVA women’s fan, I’m pleased. Don’t think she has what it takes to get us to the next level - competitive for ACC championships.
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That'll be a tough job considering the likes of Duke, L'ville, UNC, NC State, and Notre Dame in the conference. Any idea about potential candidates to replace Coach Mox?
 
DRR25 said:
That'll be a tough job considering the likes of Duke, L'ville, UNC, NC State, and Notre Dame in the conference. Any idea about potential candidates to replace Coach Mox?
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About 7-8 years ago I suggested to the assistant athletic director that they should have Shea Ralph on their list. He said she was. Now I would have hoped for someone like Carla Berube…too late. I’d love to get an established head coach from a good program. No ideas on names yet.
 
VA Huskie said:
About 7-8 years ago I suggested to the assistant athletic director that they should have Shea Ralph on their list. He said she was. Now I would have hoped for someone like Carla Berube…too late. I’d love to get an established head coach from a good program. No ideas on names yet.
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Griffith at Columbia? I hope they do something fast before Kymora Johnson slips away.
 
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YoDore said:
Griffith at Columbia? I hope they do something fast before Kymora Johnson slips away.
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I just wrote Griffith's name in an e-mail to another hoopster fan.
Two WNIT/WBIT finals in a few years -- with one win -- for an Ivy program that was in the doldrums before she arrived. Finds those kids that can be developed, have perspective and want to be at the school. She then combines those with a mixture of international players and a transfer or two, usually those that have graduated.

Northwestern lured Carla Berube to the B1G. UVA should at least give a call to Griffiths to see if she'll leave her beloved Upper West Side.

Here's an AP article on the Coach Mox situation, with UVA alum Dawn Staley weighing in (and perhaps suggesting a candidate or two?)

 
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VA Huskie said:
About 7-8 years ago I suggested to the assistant athletic director that they should have Shea Ralph on their list. He said she was. Now I would have hoped for someone like Carla Berube…too late. I’d love to get an established head coach from a good program. No ideas on names yet.
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I'm glad to have Berube here in the B1G but I think she would have been a great candidate for UVA.
 
DRR25 said:
I'm glad to have Berube here in the B1G but I think she would have been a great candidate for UVA.
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Berube/N'Western is one reason why at least two of us thought of Megan Griffiths of Columbia.
 
aceboon said:
With this and the UGA coaching moves it seems like ADs aren't letting one season and/or postseason run dictate tying themselves and more money to coaches for additional years that they're not sold on


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This one shocks me since it doesn’t happen often, although I don’t think it’s necessarily the wrong decision. A Sweet 16 run is legitimate, in this case it also feels like lighting in a bottle and not indicative of a return trip.
 
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DRR25 said:
That'll be a tough job considering the likes of Duke, L'ville, UNC, NC State, and Notre Dame in the conference. Any idea about potential candidates to replace Coach Mox?
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Excuses excuses. The donors literally funded her program to get them to this level. It worked for football and men's basketball.

Next coach should have UVA ties since the last three non-UVA hires did not pan out.
 
Vowelguy said:
UVa presumably could have had a shot at Reiss had they moved earlier.
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Reiss was supposedly UVA’s top choice when the job was last open (after Tina Thompson was fired). She withdrew from consideration and Mox was eventually hired. No info ever came out about why she withdrew. I figured she just didn’t want to leave RI.
 
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You don't get to where Dawn is by not working extremely hard; and, you have to continue to work hard to maintain the level of her SC program.

But, leaving for just about any other school would require her to work a lot harder there for several years than she would if she stayed put in Columbia.
 
VA Huskie said:
Reiss was supposedly UVA’s top choice when the job was last open (after Tina Thompson was fired). She withdrew from consideration and Mox was eventually hired. No info ever came out about why she withdrew. I figured she just didn’t want to leave RI.
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Tammi pretty much alluded to it. She knew she wasn't getting the job, so she withdrew. That's where the whole [this UVA culture has changed so much from my playing days] sentiment came from.

Carla Williams had her sights set on Mox and locked in on her early. Botched hire.

Now, we're all hearing that she could've pursued Cori Close in 2018 (she certainly targeted her)--but went with Tina Thompson instead as the "outside the box" option. Oh my goodness.

Carla is about to hire her third women's basketball coach in eight years. Let's let that sink in. Between 1981 and 2011, there was only one coach.

I honestly don't think she cares because she can't be fired unless football and men's basketball suffer. Also, she's a UGA alum, not a UVA one.

By contrast, Candice Storey Lee is Vandy through and through. While she's done an excellent job with football and men's basketball, she made an incredible women's basketball hire that will continue to serve the program well moving forward. She truly cares.
 
WBBTakeover said:
Tammi pretty much alluded to it. She knew she wasn't getting the job, so she withdrew. That's where the whole [this UVA culture has changed so much from my playing days] sentiment came from.

Carla Williams had her sights set on Mox and locked in on her early. Botched hire.

Now, we're all hearing that she could've pursued Cori Close in 2018 (she certainly targeted her)--but went with Tina Thompson instead as the "outside the box" option. Oh my goodness.

Carla is about to hire her third women's basketball coach in eight years. Let's let that sink in. Between 1981 and 2011, there was only one coach.

I honestly don't think she cares because she can't be fired unless football and men's basketball suffer. Also, she's a UGA alum, not a UVA one.

By contrast, Candice Storey Lee is Vandy through and through. While she's done an excellent job with football and men's basketball, she made an incredible women's basketball hire that will continue to serve the program well moving forward. She truly cares.
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Thanks for the insights. I hadn’t known that Mox was a shoe in. I do think that Williams “cares” though. I believe she has a basketball playing background, but maybe I’m wrong? In fact I’ve wondered if her struggles with hiring a good women’s basketball coach might be related to her background. Maybe too close to the sport. Thinks she knows too much? Who knows?
Anyway, women’s bb is clearly on the rise, UVA has some nil $$, and she needs to get this one right!

Any thoughts on who you’d go after?
 
VA Huskie said:
Thanks for the insights. I hadn’t known that Mox was a shoe in. I do think that Williams “cares” though. I believe she has a basketball playing background, but maybe I’m wrong? In fact I’ve wondered if her struggles with hiring a good women’s basketball coach might be related to her background. Maybe too close to the sport. Thinks she knows too much? Who knows?
Anyway, women’s bb is clearly on the rise, UVA has some nil $$, and she needs to get this one right!

Any thoughts on who you’d go after?
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Carla played basketball at UGA. That should've been an asset, but she's failed twice now in her women's basketball hires. What's worse is that her two failed hires look like her and some UVA fans will point that out to her during this search. That could cause her to overlook what would be good candidates for the position (more on that later).

I honestly don't think she cares because (1) she didn't attend UVA (and probably couldn't give a shart about the program or its tradition) and (2) she won't be badgered about the failed WBB hires unless either men's basketball (it won't--they have a great coach) or football (this one's iffy, but he did get them to the ACCCG this past season) fails for multiple seasons or unless she hires another abusive WBB coach. She can continue making poor WBB hires as long as football and men's basketball do well and WBB is relatively scandal free.

I would hope that Carla takes more of a backseat during the search, but she's not going to do that. If it were me, I would target a candidate with UVA ties. They missed the boat with Tammi Reiss and aren't getting Dawn Staley. Where to next? Jenny Boucek would be at the top of my list due to her unique coaching background and her ties to UVA (as a player). She's one of Debbie's favorites, and now's the time to tap into that goodwill. She would have to tell me "no" about a hundred times. She has to be the one. Going outside of the UVA ties resulted in three subpar Debbie replacements. Do that four times and you'll kill the program for good.

If wooing Jenny fails, I would try Tim Taylor, former UVA AHC and current Navy coach. If offered, I don't think he would refuse. He'd also help beef up the UVA coaching tree in the process.

If that doesn't work, I'd try Tonya Cardoza. Dawn wasn't happy about Mox's firing (though Mox did that to herself by being abusive), but she might be onboard with Tonya going to UVA (Tonya replaced her at Temple). The question I would have here is if Tonya would be up for the task of bringing UVA to a S16-level program and not one that went on a fortuitous end-of-season run.

I won't name any non-UVA folks because that route has not been fruitful and I'm not sure why the university would want to continue banging its head against a brick wall. It's not going to work.
 
Dillon77 said:
I just wrote Griffith's name in an e-mail to another hoopster fan.
Two WNIT/WBIT finals in a few years -- with one win -- for an Ivy program that was in the doldrums before she arrived. Finds those kids that can be developed, have perspective and want to be at the school. She then combines those with a mixture of international players and a transfer or two, usually those that have graduated.
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I'm a big Megan Griffith fan and agree with your assessments of her, except Ivy schools don't accept graduate transfers for sports.

Griffith is hot now, so it would be a good time for her to jump at an opportunity if she gets one such as Virginia.

The only concern I have about an Ivy coach going to a power conference, and this includes Berube, is that they really don't have any experience recruiting nationally elite players. Nor do most nationally elite players even know who any of the Ivy coaches are. They don't have big name reputations that will be immediate recruiting draws. This is not a showstopper in the longer term, but it may affect an AD who is looking for a quick program turnaround.
 
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Gael said:
The only concern I have about an Ivy coach going to a power conference, and this includes Berube, is that they really don't have any experience recruiting nationally elite players. Nor do most nationally elite players even know who any of the Ivy coaches are. They don't have big name reputations that will be immediate recruiting draws. This is not a showstopper in the longer term, but it may affect an AD who is looking for a quick program turnaround.
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Courtney Banghart went from Princeton to UNC. With the right staff, she has been able to recruit top ranked players.

And I am extremely disheartened and dismayed to have to say something complimentary about the Cheats. @triaddukefan feels my pain.
 
Gael said:
I'm a big Megan Griffith fan and agree with your assessments of her, except Ivy schools don't accept graduate transfers for sports.

Griffith is hot now, so it would be a good time for her to jump at an opportunity if she gets one such as Virginia.

The only concern I have about an Ivy coach going to a power conference, and this includes Berube, is that they really don't have any experience recruiting nationally elite players. Nor do most nationally elite players even know who any of the Ivy coaches are. They don't have big name reputations that will be immediate recruiting draws. This is not a showstopper in the longer term, but it may affect an AD who is looking for a quick program turnaround.
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Are you saying Columbia doesn't accept any students as transfers? Or they don't accept grad transfers?
Griffith has taken undergrad transfers, such as Jada Patrick (from Duke). But is the "grad transfer" stipulation based on the "four years" and no more? What if a player has graduated from his/her school in three, which is pretty commonplace?

BTW, if a school is looking for a quick fix, I can see your point. But if a school wants to build up a program, I'd have no doubt Megan Griffith could get herself known and known quickly, in much the same way Courtney Banghart did. Remember, she did have a pro-ready player in Abby Hsu.
 
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Just saw this from Skim
IMG_1741.jpeg
 
CamrnCrz1974 said:
Courtney Banghart went from Princeton to UNC. With the right staff, she has been able to recruit top ranked players.

And I am extremely disheartened and dismayed to have to say something complimentary about the Cheats. @triaddukefan feels my pain.
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Now go take a hot bath, throw a little bit of Clorox in the tub to make sure you are properly disinfected.
 
Gael said:
I'm a big Megan Griffith fan and agree with your assessments of her, except Ivy schools don't accept graduate transfers for sports.

Griffith is hot now, so it would be a good time for her to jump at an opportunity if she gets one such as Virginia.

The only concern I have about an Ivy coach going to a power conference, and this includes Berube, is that they really don't have any experience recruiting nationally elite players. Nor do most nationally elite players even know who any of the Ivy coaches are. They don't have big name reputations that will be immediate recruiting draws. This is not a showstopper in the longer term, but it may affect an AD who is looking for a quick program turnaround.
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True, but I doubt many knew of Mox when she was hired. And everyone knew about Tina Thompson, and look at how that worked out.
 
VA Huskie said:
True, but I doubt many knew of Mox when she was hired. And everyone knew about Tina Thompson, and look at how that worked out.
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I would argue that the youth didn't know who Tina Thompson was. She approached HS recruiting as if she didn't have to sell herself. It worked in Texas (where she mostly played and the AAU coaches knew who she was) but didn't work in the DMV.

Also, Mox is a poor HS recruiter herself. She didn't recruit well at Missouri State (used Kellie Harper's leftovers) or UVA outside of the Kymora Johnson-Olivia McGhee class.

Don't know much about Griffith's HS recruiting, but I will say this. Meg Griffith is the coach that you hire before you hire a Tina Thompson. I just don't think they can afford to go down that path anyore.
 
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