Herbst and our new AD

[Excalibur]

I don't want Ollie. Don't read something that's not there. My initial response was to the idea (expressed in the first post) that we should politely show JC the door and hire Stevens right now. I assume that you don't buy into that idea, either.

 

[Excalibur]

I think we're on the same page. The OP seemed to think it would be wise to try to get Stevens before someone else does.

 

[businesslawyer]

Why in the world do you have to knock Stevens to conclude that Calhoun shouldn't be and isn't about to be forced out by the university?

 

[Excalibur]

Why in the world do you have to knock Stevens to conclude that Calhoun shouldn't be and isn't about to be forced out by the university?

How is "we don't know" and "I think he's a good coach and would do well in a better league" knocking Stevens? Did I mistakenly type "Edsall" in place of "Stevens"?

 

[businesslawyer]

How is "we don't know" and "I think he's a good coach and would do well in a better league" knocking Stevens? Did I mistakenly type "Edsall" in place of "Stevens"?

Because we know a heck of a lot about him. Only a small number of coaches had gotten a mid-major to the Final Four in 35 years. No one had made it to a championship game. he made it to two.

You can have all the questions you want about him, just like anyone can have all the questions about Calhoun or K that they want to have, but in truth he has answered more questions already than most coaches have asked of them.

 

[Yonick]

Stevens is a mid westerner. He'll probably jump to a B1G team eventually. And good for him. I don't know if he would shine in this Eastern environment. With the fans & media. I know fellow hoosier, Bobby Knight probably couldn't/wouldn't, in his day.
When JC does leave we need a coach familiar with eastern seabord mentality. That, and the ability to coach & recruit. Someone mentioned Hurley. Perhaps not for the next 2 years, but, after that he might be our guy. JC will most likely stay until all the NCAA sanctions, and APR penalties are finished. Also, JC will wish to see the start of construction of the practice facility, at least.

 

[Palatine]

JC will leave when he wants.

When he does I'm sure that Herbst will demand a professional and national search.

 

[Excalibur]

OMG, Randy Edsall apologists trying to turn this into a Randy Edsall thread. I thought you guys were "over" him.

They may be over him, but they sure as heck aren't over anyone who dares to criticize him.

 

[Excalibur]

Because we know a heck of a lot about him. Only a small number of coaches had gotten a mid-major to the Final Four in 35 years. No one had made it to a championship game. he made it to two.

You can have all the questions you want about him, just like anyone can have all the questions about Calhoun or K that they want to have, but in truth he has answered more questions already than most coaches have asked of them.

OK, so I'm knocking the guy by complimenting him but taking the position that it's silly to suggest that we try to show Calhoun the door now and hire Stevens before someone else does. Got it.

 

[freescooter]

I tend to think good coaches are good coaches, and Stevens is a good one. As bl says, you don't go to back to back finals with a mid-major and not know your stuff. Bob knight, by the way, was a good coach. He was 105-50 at Army. Went to 4 NITs in 6 seasons back when the NIT still meant something. Last I looked West Point was in the east, too.

 

[suzyq]

........should be meeting right now to plan the coaching transition of our men's basketball team. Now hear this;
Brad Stevens is going to a big time school someday soon with a big fat contract. Book it. That school is going to have their head coaching needs met for about 20 years. They are going to be competitive for final fours and national championships, and in other words they are going to be where we have been under Jim Calhoun for the last 15 years. We all know at this point that coach as great as he has been and as much as he has accomplished is winding things up because of his health and age, this year maybe, next year, the year after whatever. We likely have no tournament next year anyway and also lose 2 likely lottery picks, so this isn't going to exactly be an easy sell to Stevens, but damnit shouldn't we try? Calhoun is stubborn and a maverick but he's 70 and not in good shape. Stomach ailments, cancers and now back problems have seen him miss lots of games. Age is not likely to make him any healthier. This is not running him out of town. He goes out with a program built from scratch and 3 titles and his head held high. We do this one year from now and Stevens may be unavailable. President and AD need to secure the future of our program.... Now.

The big time school that Brad Stevens is going to is in Bloomington not Storrs.

 

[sammydabiz]

........should be meeting right now to plan the coaching transition of our men's basketball team. Now hear this;
Brad Stevens is going to a big time school someday soon with a big fat contract. Book it. That school is going to have their head coaching needs met for about 20 years. They are going to be competitive for final fours and national championships, and in other words they are going to be where we have been under Jim Calhoun for the last 15 years. We all know at this point that coach as great as he has been and as much as he has accomplished is winding things up because of his health and age, this year maybe, next year, the year after whatever. We likely have no tournament next year anyway and also lose 2 likely lottery picks, so this isn't going to exactly be an easy sell to Stevens, but damnit shouldn't we try? Calhoun is stubborn and a maverick but he's 70 and not in good shape. Stomach ailments, cancers and now back problems have seen him miss lots of games. Age is not likely to make him any healthier. This is not running him out of town. He goes out with a program built from scratch and 3 titles and his head held high. We do this one year from now and Stevens may be unavailable. President and AD need to secure the future of our program.... Now.

Don't get me wrong, Stevens is a good coach, but I wouldn't want to see him in UConn blue. He's too vanilla, too Midwest for me and I have some serious doubt how he would be able to recruit on the east coast. Saying that, I'm not sold on Ollie either, yes he has the bones to recruit, but the lack of unity, the lack of effort this team has shown this year makes me second guess Ollie's impact in practice.

#1 on my wish list after JC decides he is ready to go (I want to see him hit 900) is the Hurley's (Bob and Dan), I think Wagner is 24-5, and we're talking about staten island Wagner! IMO they've got the influence, X & 0 talent, and recruiting muscle (having established their name in NJ for years) to be the next great coaches in the forseeable future. I only hope they're still available when the time comes.

 

[upstater]

What conference will UConn be in when Calhoun retires? Will we have away games against UCF and SMU?

 

[mauconnfan]

........should be meeting right now to plan the coaching transition of our men's basketball team. Now hear this;
Brad Stevens is going to a big time school someday soon with a big fat contract. Book it. That school is going to have their head coaching needs met for about 20 years. They are going to be competitive for final fours and national championships, and in other words they are going to be where we have been under Jim Calhoun for the last 15 years. We all know at this point that coach as great as he has been and as much as he has accomplished is winding things up because of his health and age, this year maybe, next year, the year after whatever. We likely have no tournament next year anyway and also lose 2 likely lottery picks, so this isn't going to exactly be an easy sell to Stevens, but damnit shouldn't we try? Calhoun is stubborn and a maverick but he's 70 and not in good shape. Stomach ailments, cancers and now back problems have seen him miss lots of games. Age is not likely to make him any healthier. This is not running him out of town. He goes out with a program built from scratch and 3 titles and his head held high. We do this one year from now and Stevens may be unavailable. President and AD need to secure the future of our program.... Now.

Shi**in me right? Brad Stevens can't hold his jock and the first 55-49 game we lose against UHar you will be calling for his hyde!!

 

[Excalibur]

I've been through this before with you. Not once have you seen me use the kind of hyperbole that others have admittedly used with respect to the team's accomplishments under Edsall. You've also, outside of a very few whackos, never seen anyone hint that he was a terrible coach. Your over-zealousness in defending against the rants of a tiny minority of posters has caused you and others to attempt to shout down any reasonable criticism of the former coach or his record.

 

[champs99and04]

People need to get off Calhoun's already. The man just won a national championship last year. The "Kemba had more to do with it than Calhoun did" logic is just dumb. You could say without Rip Hamilton, Emeka Okafor, Ben Gordon, and Kemba Walker, Jim Calhoun has zero national championships. That wouldn't make any sense, because players make coaches and coaches make players. There are some cases where one makes the other more than vice versa, but the one controlled variable in all our championships has been the man walking the sidelines.

Why do people assume Calhoun can't coach anymore because he's 70? Is there a magic clock that goes off and zips away somebody's coaching ability? The same people running him out now were probably running him out two years ago. Those same people probably thought he was too old then too. As long as he has the energy and the motivation, there is NOBODY else I want coaching this team.

 

[husky711]

I've been through this before with you. Not once have you seen me use the kind of hyperbole that others have admittedly used with respect to the team's accomplishments under Edsall. You've also, outside of a very few whackos, never seen anyone hint that he was a terrible coach. Your over-zealousness in defending against the rants of a tiny minority of posters has caused you and others to attempt to shout down any reasonable criticism of the former coach or his record.

Wow... I feel for you in this thread Excalibur. For someone who never even MENTIONED the name "Randy Edsall" (until someone else started the idiotic discussion) people seem to keep throwing words in your mouth regarding the topic. It's mind boggling to be honest... especially this part:

Because we know a heck of a lot about him. Only a small number of coaches had gotten a mid-major to the Final Four in 35 years. No one had made it to a championship game. he made it to two.

You can have all the questions you want about him, just like anyone can have all the questions about Calhoun or K that they want to have, but in truth he has answered more questions already than most coaches have asked of them.

You'd think someone that makes a living that involves a great deal of analytical skills (if businesslawyer's username accurately represents his occupation, which I obviously assume) would have reading comprehension skills stronger than that of an individual that cannot read. I have no idea how someone gets the impression you are knocking someone (Stevens) with the statement: "I think he's a good coach and would do well in a better league". People on this board read WAY too far into statements, turning minor comments into blanket statements in order to create an argument/debate/whatever. Stating that the jury is out on whether Stevens would be a success at UConn does NOT infer that the man isn't a good coach and can't succeed at a higher level. Especially when you explicitly state that he is, word for word.

Point is... JC sure as hell shouldn't be shown the door, should and WILL retire on his own terms; and while Stevens is definitely a very solid young coach (etc etc.), he is far from guaranteed to keep UConn an elite program which would apparently justify giving JC the "polite" boot. Even if he was guaranteed to keep UConn elite... I don't feel that it'd justify giving JC the boot. That is a pretty easy concept to understand... I don't understand why people on this board enjoy arguing and putting words in others' mouths.

Without JC, a thread like this wouldn't even exist... he has undoubtedly earned the right to leave on his own terms and be trusted with deciding at what point his retirement would be the best option for both himself and the program.