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23-24 Kenpom ranking: 96
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Maybe he's just not a good coach anymore
24-25 Kenpom ranking: 107
Maybe he's just not a good coach anymore
OT: Jim Larranaga Retiring
- Thread starter aceboon
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It seems like their processes got sped up because of the current landscape. Nick Saban is another one and he mentioned NIL as a big reason too.
The structure as is is a mess that most coaches who pride themselves on teaching and development can’t really deal with. It’s the pros now which is why Belichick is giving it a swing.
But it’s just not good for the game in both basketball and football long term.
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People who took early advantage of the portal had that one year of crazy success
if you look at the top 25 today it is almost without exception the usual suspects .
After awhile the portal will achieve the exact opposite result . The rich will stay richer longer and the chance of a breakthrough team will diminish. Thankfully UConn is in a good position.
I think of us in the early years with a portal if we couldn’t keep guys like Cliff , Phil , Smitty
the task of program building becomes impossible .
The only exception will be even top programs will become exposed when a successful coach retires , which has always be the case
if you look at the top 25 today it is almost without exception the usual suspects .
After awhile the portal will achieve the exact opposite result . The rich will stay richer longer and the chance of a breakthrough team will diminish. Thankfully UConn is in a good position.
I think of us in the early years with a portal if we couldn’t keep guys like Cliff , Phil , Smitty
the task of program building becomes impossible .
The only exception will be even top programs will become exposed when a successful coach retires , which has always be the case
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can't imagine how it'd have been during the late Perno era, we'd have been doomed. Earl Kelley probably would have lasted one year here
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Nick Saban is 73 years old, he was retiring soon regardless. And honestly, if these coaches don't want to get with the times and accept the transfer portal then good riddance and the sport will be better with them gone. It's a great thing for college basketball and football
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I know we’ve have done well during these times, but there’s no need to put our heads in the sand about the overall environment of this.
It’s not like we need it to be successful. Even this years team has one transfers as a starter and he’s been here for 3 years. Reed has been huge too for us.
Doesn’t seem like a quit mid season kinda CoachKind of lame to quit during the season unless health reasons...which doesn't appear to be the case. Not as lame as what Tony Bennett pulled right before start of season but still should finish the job.
Good coach, will always dislike him though for G Mason Elite 8 win over good guys
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Two plucky up-and-coming mid-major coaches at the top of the list...
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I think initially it may have helped but then it probably led to the ending of his coaching career. The Isaiah Wong/Nijel Pac NIL fiasco must've been tough on him. NIL is tough on coaches in general. He'll be remembered as a great player at Providence and a great coach.
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I’m considering his late career resurgence the past few years. 2012-2013 was over a decade ago and his second season at the high major level.
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Purple Stein
I like to sim things.
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Something tells me it's about the Jimmies and the Joes, not the X's and the O's.
Slimy of Miami to push out a guy like Larranaga midseason. Will Wade would be a perfect fit.
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Some concern will inevitably brew if Miami threw a big offer at Rick, not Richard.
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Will Wade might be the perfect guy for it. Good coach who has no issues mucking it up with boosters, buying players, etc. Did it before it was cool even
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I didn't say we need it to be successful, I'm saying it has made the college basketball product significantly better overall, and far more enjoyable
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far more enjoyable how?
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Call me crazy, but I'd be reluctant to get involved with someone investigated by the FBI and given the harshest penalty that the NCAA has for coaches.
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I enjoy seeing kids who were under recruited out of high school and are really talented get the chance to play high major basketball when they succeed. Guys like Cam Spencer could have toiled away in mediocrity at Loyola before becoming a union rep, and is how a national champion and in the NBA
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Yes, players like Steph Curry, Ja Morant, Dame, and so many more needed to play for high majors before.
If youre talented and can play. The scouts will find you no matter where they are. Steph also made it further in the tourney at Davidson than his brother did that transferred to Duke.
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I don't think it's they don't want to get with the NIL thing. We're fortunate that all our players returned, we had a great 2024 class and picked up some good portal fits (let's not bring Mahaney up in this thread please). Many coaches both young and old are getting burnt out having to spend so much time and mental & emotional energy having to recruit their own players, HSers and portal transfers and drumming up NIL and just don't want to do it anymore. I'm sure it must take a huge toll on their family life.
Something has to change or more and more coaching carnage will follow. We're on top now which probably helped building our roster, but as much as I wish this will never end for our beloved Husky program, there will come a time when our program wrestles with this unless there are some changes, such as contracts that specify a number of years a player has to stay w/ maybe some buyout clause when they take a NIL deal. Maybe some sort of cap, though not sure how that would work. Pro leagues use salary caps and/or monetary attempted deterants when teams go beyond certain dollars, but that doesn't seem to stop some big spenders from outspending their competition. Just not sure if what we have now is sustainable where eventually the playing field will be reserved for the top donor programs...not that it hasn't pretty much been that for quite a while as long as those programs have good coaching. Some can spend all they want and still suck!
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And all of that is irrelevant to everything I just said. If you don't see the difference between Steph Curry and Cam Spencer then this is a not a conversation worth having
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Counterpoint, getting Cam Spencer from Loyola all the way to UConn was great for the game of basketball. But agreed, probably a net negative on the whole.
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I'd be willing to bet that for every Cam Spencer there's at least one kid who regrets it. And I'd bet fewer Cam Spencer's would feel the need to leave if their teammates weren't also leaving. Then there's the kid that gets pushed out to make room for Cam...
None of that is to say the new rule is wrong, but over the long haul I certainly think it makes the fan experience worse.
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FTR, it's not like coaches didn't burn out under the old way (Stevens, Donovan, etc.). I think it's a shame for the Wright's and Bennett's of the world (and maybe Hurley eventually) who built great programs that also seemed to work for the player, but on the flip side there does now exist the allure that you can re-build a program overnight. That's no doubt played a role in attracting aging legends like Pitino (or Belichick if you want to talk football) back to the sport that may not have otherwise have had the patience for a longer build.
And while coaches clearly dislike the NIL/portal overall, most of the guys who retire because of it simply aren't in winning situations. I bet if Providence calls Larranaga in 16 months and tells him he can have $3 million/year in NIL money in addition to a $3 million salary, he changes his tune. Coaches are still coaches. They like a challenge and a new toy to play with like anyone else. What I think you'll see moving forward is quicker burnout and shorter tenures, but I don't think the overall appetite for competing will dissipate as much as we might think.
And while coaches clearly dislike the NIL/portal overall, most of the guys who retire because of it simply aren't in winning situations. I bet if Providence calls Larranaga in 16 months and tells him he can have $3 million/year in NIL money in addition to a $3 million salary, he changes his tune. Coaches are still coaches. They like a challenge and a new toy to play with like anyone else. What I think you'll see moving forward is quicker burnout and shorter tenures, but I don't think the overall appetite for competing will dissipate as much as we might think.