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Message: [QUOTE="Matrim55, post: 2624406, member: 3376"] Oats has the same issue as Otz & Konkol: Only three years of HC experience at the college level. He's done great work and has a UConn tie (Donyell), but you don't know if his team's current good form is because he got lucky with one group of recruits or if it's something he can sustain and build upon. Same goes for guys like Dooley (FGCU) and Earl Grant (Charleston). McGrath is in even worse shape, as he's had only one year and that team was miserable. There's no track-record. The other issue with Oats in particular is he's never recruited elite players – Buffalo's the biggest team (only team) he's been HC or AC of. That's less of an issue with most other guys who are rumored here or elsewhere. What makes Hurley so appealing are three things: 1. He has a track-record as a head coach. URI have gotten progressively better, but he's shown he can have guys graduate and/or get hurt and still produce a winning team. He's not a "got lucky with one group of recruits and rode them to a few good years" coach. There's a level of certainty there that doesn't exist with most of the other guys being rumored. 2. He has a track-record as a program re-builder. He turned Wagner around in two years and turned URI around in three. 3. He has a track-record as a recruiter. Dude's not Calipari, but he's won his share of 4-star recruits and has recruited in the Big East before. He won't be out of place going after the types of guys that we want. Is it a guarantee that we get him, or that he's the right pick? Nope. But he checks more boxes than any other realistic candidate, balancing certainty (the guy can clearly coach and recruit) and upside (he's at a stage where his best years are probably ahead of him). I also like that his guys don't transfer. I want some stability back in the program, and hopefully he brings that with him. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach