Grading this Year's NCAA D1 WBB Hires

[kennykallina]

@KennyKallina Grades this Year's Best NCAA D1 Women's Basketball Hires http://kennykallina.wordpress.com/2013/08/27/grading-this-years-best-ncaa-d1-womens-basketball-hires/

 

[Kibitzer]

Kenny knows his wcbb but he seems to be an easy grader. All A's and B's.

There has gotta be one Rich Kotite, Ray Hanley, Rex Ryan or Bobby Valentine in there.

 

[kennykallina]

I didnt give out bad grades because I dont need people to hate me more than they already do. I didnt break some down for that particular reason if you can read between the lines.

 

[Icebear]

In other words, Kenny, you are doing what our mothers taught us.

 

[vtcwbuff]

Kinda' blows the credibility of the grades.

 

[Bestiarius]

I like the kinder gentler Kallina. No need to criticize when the new hires haven't done anything wrong - yet. Excellent and informative article.

 

[Icebear]

Momma always said, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."

 

[Kibitzer]

I didnt give out bad grades because I dont need people to hate me more than they already do. I didnt break some down for that particular reason if you can read between the lines.

Kenny, good job, and Yes, I can read between the lines.

You clearly are a master of the technique used by clever writers/evaluators: You damned (a few) with faint praise.

 

[LesMis89]

Would have liked to get your assessment of the job Matt Bollant did at UI this season.

 

[meyers7]

Kenny knows his wcbb but he seems to be an easy grader. All A's and B's.

There has gotta be one Rich Kotite, Ray Hanley, Rex Ryan or Bobby Valentine in there.

Well the article was titled....the "best" hires. D and F coaches don't really qualify.

 

[EricLA]

Some good stuff. I honestly had forgotten about some of the more interesting hires (Serio, Insell, Curry) and it will be fun to see how they do the next several years. I think it's not a stretch to say McGuff is the best hire anywhere in the past 3-4 years. He's already taken OSU from nowhere to landing a bunch of top recruits with many more seemingly on the cusp. I can see OSU as a final 4 team very soon.

 

[DobbsRover2]

I didnt give out bad grades because I dont need people to hate me more than they already do. I didnt break some down for that particular reason if you can read between the lines.

I guess that in a "between the lines case" that when saying the coach is a great recruiter and that's about it, there might well be some illustrious coaching elements such as game management and strategizing that may be hovering a bit ambiguously outside of that coach's toolbox.

 

[Jim]

Momma always said, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."

I seem to recall Momma saying, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Instead, post whatever the hell you want on the BoneYard -- just watch out for HuskyNan!"

 

[Wbbfan1]

One thing we have to remember Kenny is receiving dollars for his subscription service from coaches/colleges. Its not in his financial interest to be highly critical of any coach and/or school.

Its hard to know what to believe when the majority of the evaluators of talent receive financial backings from Colleges/Universities. There's also IMHO petty bickering/jealousy between the different Ranking Services that is unnecessary. However, with that said I enjoy reading Kenny's comments/ public evaluations.

 

[Outside Shot]

One thing we have to remember Kenny is receiving dollars for his subscription service from coaches/colleges. Its not in his financial interest to be highly critical of any coach and/or school.

Its hard to know what to believe when the majority of the evaluators of talent receive financial backings from Colleges/Universities. There's also IMHO petty bickering/jealousy between the different Ranking Services that is unnecessary. However, with that said I enjoy reading Kenny's comments/ public evaluations.

A fun list for conversation. Piggybacking off of your comment, I'd be curious to know what each of the coaches listed is paying Kenny for his services, how that affects what he writes and which ones he is "friends" with and decides to promote? I think those are all legitimate questions. I am guessing he is tight with McGuff, Neighbors and Insell for sure.

 

[Phil]

Well the article was titled....the "best" hires. D and F coaches don't really qualify.

Good point, there are 53 new head coaches.

 

[Wbbfan1]

Kenny's subscription service is Girls Basketball Insider and it cost $200.00 - $750.00, depending on Subscription Package a Coach/school signs up for. I suspect most coaches sign up at minimum for the $400.00 package because that give you access to his evaluations of the players. Link I'm sure Kenny and most of the other evaluators provide an honest evaluation on most of the players based on their eye test, otherwise why would the coaches sign up for the service. But at the same time some evaluators IMHO provide higher rankings when there is an association of some type with the player and evaluator. IMHO BlueStar, Kenny's Service and others provide a service to the college programs that have limited Recruiting Dollars.

I understand there needs to be a paid subscription to obtain in-depth evaluations as Evaluators have to be reimbursed for their expenses and in some cases make a living off their service. Some rely on endorsement money for Shoe Companies for the AAU programs they're associated with. However, what I would like to see is once a Player has completed their Freshmen or Sophomore year, that these evaluations be available at a reduced or no cost to the General Public.

A fun list for conversation. Piggybacking off of your comment, I'd be curious to know what each of the coaches listed is paying Kenny for his services, how that affects what he writes and which ones he is "friends" with and decides to promote? I think those are all legitimate questions. I am guessing he is tight with McGuff, Neighbors and Insell for sure.

 

[vtcwbuff]

"One thing we have to remember Kenny is receiving dollars for his subscription service from coaches/colleges. Its not in his financial interest to be highly critical of any coach and/or school."

Probably a good reason to pass on grading the new coaches. However, if you decide as a sports journalist to provide some sort of performance grading, then the grade should be whatever it is - no reading between the lines required.

 

[Icebear]

"One thing we have to remember Kenny is receiving dollars for his subscription service from coaches/colleges. Its not in his financial interest to be highly critical of any coach and/or school."

Probably a good reason to pass on grading the new coaches. However, if you decide as a sports journalist to provide some sort of performance grading, then the grade should be whatever it is - no reading between the lines required.

Only for people not paying the service.