Luke Murray and BC?

[Tenspro2002]

College basketball is certainly not the only game in town here in Boston, but I think a better to phrase it rhetorically is "is college basketball even a game in town here?". Boston College is beyond irrelevant here and they really don't have good fan support and very little commitment to NIL is going towards that team.

Selfishly I want to keep Luke Murray. Unselfishly, I want the best for Luke Murray if he is seeking a head coaching job. Boston College ain't the one he should make the leap to. If he does, I will support his decision FWIW.

Boston is a college town, and Boston is a sports town, but Boston is absolutely not a college sports town (with the exception of hockey, I suppose).

Luke Murray needs to ask himself these questions when deciding on a job -- and he'll have plenty to choose from:

• what does success look like here, is it achievable, and what happens next if I succeed?
• what does failure look like here, is it avoidable, and what happens next if I fail?

The problem with BC is that success there probably looks like avoiding the play-in round of the ACC Tournament (maybe start by making it in the first place, eek) and maybe the occasional 10 seed in the Tournament. Is that going to translate to getting a better offer down the road? Almost certainly not.

And, worse, if he fails there, he's not going to get a chance elsewhere.

 

[Deepster]

It is almost universally a bad idea, unless they have a significant coaching resume.

Honestly, it speaks to the strength of our program that even our failed nepotism hire won a national championship.

I don't disagree. I also disagree with all the "hire Cam, hire Alex, hire any smart player we've ever had" posts here.

 

[80shusky]

I know these guys gotta go and I should want them to go but I selfishly just sorta hoped they'd hang around and win a few more championships here. Best to Luke.

 

[lonsharkin51]

It’s a dead end job.

Yes, it is. But hit that dead end with the program improved, and then get a better job

 

[DRBackup]

Is this really a strong possibility? Lots of smoke on social it seems?

LOL!!! No

 

[djct1999]

Yes, it is. But hit that dead end with the program improved, and then get a better job

It’s not a dead end job for a first gig. Maybe for an established guy but to have BC has your first head coaching job is far from dead end.

 

[gmc1055]

He'll do fine. He can recruit. He has access to Hurley recruiting. Has has a system and can coach and learned from the best.

 

[temery]

Think about it. Every time we have a smart player (like Cam Spencer) this place says “we should hire him on the coaching staff!!!” Syracuse did just that.

I never thought of Cam as being any smarter than any other player, but he was flawlessly cast for his role as a Husky. When his NBA careers is over my guess is he will be thought of as one of the best players to ever come out of UConn.

 

[DRBackup]

Selfishly I want to keep Luke Murray. Unselfishly, I want the best for Luke Murray if he is seeking a head coaching job. Boston College ain't the one he should make the leap to. If he does, I will support his decision FWIW.

100%. It's an inevitability, but good lord, we can want something better for him than BC of all places, right ???!

 

[imno1]

l don’t think Luke is going anywhere without certain guarantees. He probably can’t win the league but the ACC is terrible and he could certainly move BC up the standings.. Then if successful come back here when Danny retires (3-5 years). I see a UConn BC game in the TD Garden if Luke is hired. There's gonna be a lot of schools who will regret not considering Murray.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Boston is a college town, and Boston is a sports town, but Boston is absolutely not a college sports town (with the exception of hockey, I suppose).

Luke Murray needs to ask himself these questions when deciding on a job -- and he'll have plenty to choose from:

• what does success look like here, is it achievable, and what happens next if I succeed?
• what does failure look like here, is it avoidable, and what happens next if I fail?

The problem with BC is that success there probably looks like avoiding the play-in round of the ACC Tournament (maybe start by making it in the first place, eek) and maybe the occasional 10 seed in the Tournament. Is that going to translate to getting a better offer down the road? Almost certainly not.

And, worse, if he fails there, he's not going to get a chance elsewhere.

I think Luke is plenty smart and will find out what BC intends before committing. The fans would absolutely come back to support a winning program. Flipping a mens college basketball team can now be done instantly. Look at Pitino. You don't need 4-5 years to build it anymore. Luke's offensive style, name and success at UConn would attract players rapidly. BC can be a tournament team next year. But...BC needs to pony up Rev Share for basketball and probably update Conte forum and the facilities and they need a real NIL collective and sponsors willing to pony up.

 

[Palatine]

Wrong era. Taliek maybe?

Thanks, good catch. Calhoun told Taliek to stay with Mac and not leave him to help. It worked. Ricky would still be a god coach for SU.

 

[Excalibur]

I never thought of Cam as being any smarter than any other player, but he was flawlessly cast for his role as a Husky. When his NBA careers is over my guess is he will be thought of as one of the best players to ever come out of UConn.

People refer to Cam as "smart", "crafty" etc. for mostly stereotypical reasons. He is all of those things, but what makes him a special player is that he's mentally tough, strong as hell, and surprisingly athletic.

 

[DCHuskyFan]

People refer to Cam as "smart", "crafty" etc. for mostly stereotypical reasons. He is all of those things, but what makes him a special player is that he's mentally tough, strong as hell, and surprisingly athletic.

Do you think Cam would be more or less “intense” than Hurley on the sideline 🤣?

 

[Fishy]

Is this really a strong possibility? Lots of smoke on social it seems?

Is it possible? Yes.

Is it smart? No.

It’s a bad job and a bad time to be taking that particular bad job.

 

[Fishy]

People refer to Cam as "smart", "crafty" etc. for mostly stereotypical reasons. He is all of those things, but what makes him a special player is that he's mentally tough, strong as hell, and surprisingly athletic.

I never thought of Cam as being any smarter than any other player, but he was flawlessly cast for his role as a Husky. When his NBA careers is over my guess is he will be thought of as one of the best players to ever come out of UConn.

Also, it’s because he’s a really freaking smart player.

What is wrong with you people?

Turn on the NBA. He’s not averaging 11 pts and five assists in a read and react system because he’s plucky or gritty, or holy crap, white, it’s because he’s smart as hell on the court and makes terrific decisions in that offense.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

It’s not a dead end job for a first gig. Maybe for an established guy but to have BC has your first head coaching job is far from dead end.

If Luke takes that job and makes that team .500 in the ACC, he’ll be talked about for every big job opening there is. I’m just not sure I see the path to getting to .500 unless there is a serious financial commitment. IMO it’d be easier to take a decent mid major job and win there, which would still make Luke a big name for the next big job opening.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Yes, it is. But hit that dead end with the program improved, and then get a better job

The question becomes, what level of success would Murray need to have at BCU to use it as a springboard? Once you figure that out, what is the probability of doing it?

 

[FlippinCrazy!]

Good thing for Murray is that he can wait as long as he wants for the right HC position. He’s making good money, obviously not gonna get fired, and his market isn’t going to drop. If Hurley leaves for the NBA in a few years, Murray will assuredly have plenty of options, whether it’s following Hurley to the NBA, taking a HC position that he might not have considered before, staying at UConn (as a candidate for HC, but if not, the top assistant for Kimani), or at worst be an assistant at another top program.

He’s in the driver’s seat. I just can’t see him giving that up for 4 years of losing at BC. But some people love the challenge, so you never know.

 

[NJHusky]

The question becomes, what level of success would Murray need to have at BCU to use it as a springboard? Once you figure that out, what is the probability of doing it?

^^ this 110%. They've been in the toilet so he only has 1 direction to go. Does getting them to .500 in ACC and making the tournament for 3-4 years get him a big time job, or is he forgotten about because they aren't winning the ACC?

As has been said, would be great if he left here with another Natty, then got his HC chops someplace for 5 years then comes back to replace Dan Hurley when he retires. Danny said he won't be doing this at 60, but who knows?

 

[CL82]

I actually want there to be a lot of confirmation that Murray is their candidate and then have him turn it down so they have to go back to square one.

Petty?

 

[Vowelguy]

It's a low bar, can only go up.

Unless you're set up for failure and it's so awful that you torpedo your entire career.

 

[temery]

Also, it’s because he’s a really freaking smart player.

What is wrong with you people?

Turn on the NBA. He’s not averaging 11 pts and five assists in a read and react system because he’s plucky or gritty, or holy crap, white, it’s because he’s smart as hell on the court and makes terrific decisions in that offense.

He wasn't the genius you say before his one year at UConn. I stand by what I said, and you seem to agree.


temery said:
I never thought of Cam as being any smarter than any other player, but he was flawlessly cast for his role as a Husky. When his NBA careers is over my guess is he will be thought of as one of the best players to ever come out of UConn.

 

[UConn Dan]

 

[kansashusky]

You make the NCAA tournament at BC, you have your pick of jobs.

 

[SwampYankee]

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Also, it’s because he’s a really freaking smart player.

What is wrong with you people?

Turn on the NBA. He’s not averaging 11 pts and five assists in a read and react system because he’s plucky or gritty, or holy crap, white, it’s because he’s smart as hell on the court and makes terrific decisions in that offense.

He has a 6 to 1 a/to ratio over his last 21 games. That’s insane, and you don’t put up those numbers if you aren’t an extremely smart player. I don’t know how anyone can even argue this lol

 

[uconndogs]

Kentucky put a team together this season with a total salary north of $20 million. That's where this is all going. Hard to see a scenario where BC plays in that world.

On the other hand it's possible, albeit unlikely, that BC might someday make a serious run at an NIT bid. That might pack Conte with almost a thousand fannies in the seats.

In all seriousness, it would not shock me if BC and some other P4 schools bow out of this madness in the next ten years or so. It's not sustainable for these small privates especially.

 

[FightOnCT]

Comes down to the NIL/revenue share package he’s given. If it’s satisfactory, he goes, if not, he’s back here. He already has respectable pay so it’s not a salary issue.

BC is arguably the worst high major job in America. I’d avoid jobs where it’s hard to tell when a decent coach is doing a good job or not. For BC, being 7-9th in the ACC is technically a great coaching job, but it more than likely won’t be nearly enough for a tourney bid. They also have 0 fan support and they care more about hockey than basketball.

I’ve accepted Murray will likely leave sooner than later, has to at some point, but I’d rather him not take that huge of a risk.

 

[StllH8L8ner]

Stay here, Luke. Malcolm Huckabee and Bill Curley and Dana Barros are not walking through that door.