Kentucky and Lakers

[G0UCONN]

As an old school fan dating back to the 1970s, if you had ever told me we would one day have a coach and program who would turn down the University of Kentucky and Lakers head coaching jobs in the span of 6 weeks, I would have laughed and immediately called the White Coats.

Thank you Dan Hurley....and Jim Calhoun for building it all.

 

[Scot-e]

Not a bad pitch.

 

[HuskyHoosier]

Remember last year when it was a big deal that Cooley left for gtown? Their coach left for Gtown?!?! Our coach turned down Kentucky and the lakers. Rivalry shriverly

 

[Jetskies]

Remember last year when it was a big deal that Cooley left for gtown? Their coach left for Gtown?!?! Our coach turned down Kentucky and the lakers. Rivalry shriverly

providence fans talk a HUGE game on twitter, it's absolutely laughable. these last 6 weeks ought to be our only answer to them, if we should even grace them with a response. The market has spoken about what our assets are worth (i.e. who's willing to pay you, the brand value of the interested party, and how much are they willing to pay you), vs. theirs (Ed cooley to GTown? cool bro -___- ) --- and ultimately it's all that matters when evaluating who we have vs. who they had in cooley, and whatever they have now moving forward.


get outta here PC.

 

[Jetskies]

I should also say, there must be credit given to UConn as an organization. thanks Dave Benedict, BoT's for setting the conditions to be a competitive alternative to the NBA, and the friggin LAKERS, to boot.

Could any other Big East school have kept their coach over the Lakers? i can't see it -- maybe St. Johns could have but that is an exceptional case given Pitino's age and career stage - been there done that. He'd never get an offer anyway given those factors. So remove that one out of the equation - I think my theory stands.

UConn admins know this guy is absolutely crucial to the Universtiy getting to where it wants to go in the evolving world of College athletics, and now is not the time to mess things up. This moment says loads about the culture of our school.

 

[gsmooth]

providence fans talk a HUGE game on twitter, it's absolutely laughable. these last 6 weeks ought to be our only answer to them, if we should even grace them with a response. The market has spoken about what our assets are worth (i.e. who's willing to pay you, and how much), and ultimately it's all that matters when evaluating who we have vs. who they had in cooley, and whatever they have now moving forward. get outta here PC.

Stephon Castle said "Providence thinks this is a rivalry. We don't". I am paraphrasing what he said after the arse whipping they gave PC at the AMP at the end of the season.

Having said that, I like the local rivalry with PC, but that is all that it is. PC basketball is talked about some in Big East circles, but not a single peep in national circles. They are not known at all nationally. Can you imagine forum threads about PC on North Carolina's board, Duke's board, Kentucky's board, Kansas' board,etc ? I can't. All those aforementioned forums have threads about UConn basketball, though.

I am not writing this to dunk on PC, I am really not. I hope Georgetown gets into the NCAAT every year and become consistently good, but I actually think PC with Kim English will do that sooner than Georgetown. Ed Cooley is a good coach and game strategist, but I think he might be a little overrated and I think PC might have lucked out getting rid of him.

 

[Jetskies]

Stephon Castle said "Providence thinks this is a rivalry. We don't". I am paraphrasing what he said after the arse whipping they gave PC at the AMP at the end of the season.

Having said that, I like the local rivalry with PC, but that is all that it is. PC basketball is talked about some in Big East circles, but not a single peep in national circles. They are not known at all nationally. Can you imagine forum threads about PC on North Carolina's board, Duke's board, Kentucky's board, Kansas' board,etc ? I can't. All those aforementioned forums have threads about UConn basketball, though.

I am not writing this to dunk on PC, I am really not. I hope Georgetown gets into the NCAAT every year and become consistently good, but I actually think PC with Kim English will do that sooner than Georgetown. Ed Cooley is a good coach and game strategist, but I think he might be a little overrated and I think PC might have lucked out getting rid of him.

i know nothing about providence lolol - except that dunkin donuts, or whatever it's now called, is on 95 on the way to boston. That's all i care to know. it's not a rivalry worth cultivating, IMO. If we ever get the call up to a P4, i doubt they'll get the call with us, and I doubt I'll miss those 2 games.

And for the record, i have no problem with the school or its sports, just the silly twitter fans who speak like they are a state flagship university athletic program on par with UConn.

UConn vs. Providence in a nutshell:

 

[king conn]

PC needs us to be good because they get importance from playing in the same league as us

That's their sole identity, they play in the Big East

 

[Jaydumo20]

As an old school fan dating back to the 1970s, if you had ever told me we would one day have a coach and program who would turn down the University of Kentucky and Lakers head coaching jobs in the span of 6 weeks, I would have laughed and immediately called the White Coats.

Thank you Dan Hurley....and Jim Calhoun for building it all.

If he did leave, we may have had to call a white coat:

 

[gsmooth]

i know nothing about providence lolol - except that dunkin donuts, or whatever it's now called, is on 95 on the way to boston. That's all i care to know. it's not a rivalry worth cultivating, IMO. If we ever get the call up to a P4, i doubt they'll get the call with us, and I doubt I'll miss those 2 games.

And for the record, i have no problem with the school or its sports, just the silly twitter fans who speak like they are a state flagship university athletic program on par with UConn.

UConn vs. Providence in a nutshell:

I won't miss the 2 games against them all that much either, but I do enjoy them. I went to the AMP this year twice, one for the UConn game and one for the Georgetown game, as well as last year for the UConn game. I went to the PC game at Gampel this year, too, so it was kind of interesting going to see both teams in their own venues in the same year.

As for the rivalry, it's what keeps PC more relevant. UConn certainly does it need it. Like I said in my previous post, PC isn't on the national radar at all and I mean at all.

 

[gsmooth]

PC needs us to be good because they get importance from playing in the same league as us and associating with UConn in some way.

That's their sole identity, they play in the Big East

It would be like Wake Forest trying to have this big rivalry with Duke or UNC. No one outside of ACC circles even thinks about Wake Forest.

 

[Fan1978]

I should also say, there must be credit given to UConn as an organization. thanks Dave Benedict, BoT's for setting the conditions to be a competitive alternative to the NBA, and the friggin LAKERS, to boot.

Could any other Big East school have kept their coach over the Lakers? i can't see it -- maybe St. Johns could have but that is an exceptional case given Pitino's age and career stage - been there done that. He'd never get an offer anyway given those factors. So remove that one out of the equation - I think my theory stands.

UConn admins know this guy is absolutely crucial to the Universtiy getting to where it wants to go in the evolving world of College athletics, and now is not the time to mess things up. This moment says loads about the culture of our school.

I would not be so quick to give the administrator much credit. This decision had more to do with dan being an east coast and family guy. His parents are 76 and attend most if not all home games plus others. Imagine moving to crazyland and missing the last few years of your dads life. It willa different story when local nba team comes calling and they will. He was never leaving, this was a dress rehearsal. Hopefully the administration locks him down for 5 years with massive buyout.

 

[LBird33]

On to the big east contract. Is there a new never ?

 

[Scot-e]

PC needs us to be good because they get importance from playing in the same league as us

That's their sole identity, they play in the Big East

This is not aimed at you. But who cares? I certainly don’t.
Kentucky and the Lakers are a different story however and its glorious!

 

[Jetskies]

I would not be so quick to give the administrator much credit. This decision had more to do with dan being an east coast and family guy. His parents are 76 and attend most if not all home games plus others. Imagine moving to crazyland and missing the last few years of your dads life. It willa different story when local nba team comes calling and they will. He was never leaving, this was a dress rehearsal. Hopefully the administration locks him down for 5 years with massive buyout.

that makes a lot of sense. I may have oversold the admins on this particular round, but the uconn job is obviously not a toxic/unhealthy one for him, and is enough "overall" value (quality-of-life-wise) that he chose to remain in it, regardless of the lakers offer existing or not. If it was a bad job or otherwise unfulfilling, he could leave to another school in the northeast. I'm sure rutgers would kill to get him running their program and put him close to home.

I hope that he stays long enough here, to get us into P4 and to cement the program prestige-wise such that our next hire is a proven winner, and also of up-and-coming-age with youth and hunger, so that we don't go through a kevin-ollie situation all over again.

We don't have the athletic dept stability, currently, to take chances on a new guy, which also is why i've been nervous about his leaving now.

I would hope he stays forever till retirement, but this lakers dress rehearsal makes it clear to me that his long term thinking is 100% beyond Connecticut; he WILL leave; it's just a matter of time.

that being said, once those things i mentioned earlier are hopefully in place, i would not mind seeing DH as coach of the Knicks, if he is really hell-bent on going to NBA.

 

[Kitaman]

3 peat will be great but for me this is the 3 peat.

 

[nomar]

I said this on Thursday:

Separately, if Hurley were to turn down some massive deal from the Lakers -- after telling UK to pound sand -- that would be the biggest BDE imaginable. Legend.

 

[phillionaire]

Rough offseason for the combo Kentucky/Laker fans. At least the Yankees and doing well and the cowboys should be good this season.