Hurley? Why not Pikiell?

[lange10]

Link?

Around the 24 min mark. Simmons' reaction to hearing Ollie is on the hot seat is telling of just how quickly this has spiraled out of control.

 

[RoderickSpode]

Now let's say Hurley comes here and is successful. He brings back our winning culture and we are in the tournament every year, maybe even a final four run here and there! What stops him from leaving as soon as a power 5 opportunity opens up? NOTHING. Coach K retires, Duke is looking? See you later Hurley hes leaving for Duke and any other top 3 or 4 programs in the respective conference.
*Note: assuming we can obviously offer the same money.

Now let's say Pikiell comes here and is successful... What stops him from leaving as as soon as a Power 5 comes calling? UCONN. UConn player and grad, played for Calhoun, all of that! At least we can hold onto that and have a fair fighting chance at keeping him here.

Now stop being disturbed and surprised about all the Pikiell news. He could be a top coach and actually want to stay here.

Can’t worry about that — we were excited to have KO locked up til he reached retirement age, but that’s moot now.

A coach having loyalty to the school is great, but it should be way down on the list of priorities. You try to hire the best guy available who you can afford (I’m not saying that pre-extension Pikiell wouldn’t have been that guy).

If a new coach gets you to a level where schools like Duke want to poach him, that’s a good problem to have. Would it suck to be spurned for another program, sure, but if someone makes our program relevant again I’m willing to take the risk.

 

[UConnFranklin]

Recruiting harder? Nonsense. I am tired of reading posts about harder recruiting. Tougher because we are in AAC.

BS! Geno has no problems. Winning takes care of everything.

I admit winning does take care of everything. But......

Geno is a Hall of Fame coach with and existing program, track record and already recognized as the best in the business. It's significantly more difficult to recruit in the AAC when you don't have a coach that has Geno's pedigree and track record. I fear what will happen to UConn's women's basketball program once Geno retires.

As a UConn official recently stated, (I'm paraphrasing) "Do you get excited when you go to a men's basketball game between UConn and Tulane or Tulsa? or Do you get more exited to watch UConn play Syracuse or Georgetown? That's the challenge our coaches face in recruiting. Trying to get 4 & 5 star recruits excited to come to UConn and play the likes of Tulane, South Florida or East Carolina."

Calhoun had a similar problem when he came to UConn, trying to recruit players to play in the Field House. But he had an advantage. We were in the Big East. An already recognized big time conference. You saw what happened when Calhoun left and when the Big East left us out.

 

[CL82]

Calhoun had a similar problem when he came to UConn, trying to recruit players to play in the Field House. But he had an advantage. We were in the Big East. An already recognized big time conference. You saw what happened when Calhoun left and when the Big East left us out.

Not an apt comparison. The University, the campus, our facilities and our legacy is far different now.

 

[Matt1010]

I'd love to give Baker Dunleavy a long look. Promising young coach who is already in state and would come in very cheap.

 

[Stainmaster]

I'd love to give Baker Dunleavy a long look. Promising young coach who is already in state and would come in very cheap.

Only one year of HC experience and a 12-21 record? We can't hand the job to someone like that.

That was a nice MAAC tourney run, and getting Matthew Balanc to commit was definitely a coup. But a guy at Dunleavy's stage needs 2-3 years and much more consistent results to move up the ladder.

 

[mwc22]

Can’t worry about that — we were excited to have KO locked up til he reached retirement age, but that’s moot now.

A coach having loyalty to the school is great, but it should be way down on the list of priorities. You try to hire the best guy available who you can afford (I’m not saying that pre-extension Pikiell wouldn’t have been that guy).

If a new coach gets you to a level where schools like Duke want to poach him, that’s a good problem to have. Would it suck to be spurned for another program, sure, but if someone makes our program relevant again I’m willing to take the risk.

I definitely agree. I would take either.

I was just saying that is why Pikiell is wanted among the UConn community.

 

[Matt1010]

Only one year of HC experience and a 12-21 record? We can't hand the job to someone like that.

That was a nice MAAC tourney run, and getting Matthew Balanc to commit was definitely a coup. But a guy at Dunleavy's stage needs 2-3 years and much more consistent results to move up the ladder.

Certainly would be a risky hire but given what he inherited and the subsequent results, I'd say he vastly overachieved. Great scheme guy, which is Ollie's obvious biggest weakness. AHC at that age under Wright is also very telling.

 

[StunningSteve]

As a UConn official recently stated, (I'm paraphrasing) "Do you get excited when you go to a men's basketball game between UConn and Tulane or Tulsa? or Do you get more exited to watch UConn play Syracuse or Georgetown? That's the challenge our coaches face in recruiting. Trying to get 4 & 5 star recruits excited to come to UConn and play the likes of Tulane, South Florida or East Carolina."

Not an apt comparison. You're comparing the nostalgia of what Georgetown and Syracuse USED to be with the lower tier teams in the AAC. I'm not sure you got the memo but UConn, Georgetown, and Syracuse aren't what they once were. That's not UConn's big problem. UConn had the #8 recruiting class in the country in 2016, and they were fine playing Dunleavy, Haith, and the like.