Syracuse.com: Top 15 Coaching Jobs in CBB

[James]

I liked Dakich but man what a dope he must be....? really a fn moron

he's been really terrible, i think it coincides with him getting a radio gig in Indiana

 

[upstater]

Put UConn in any major conference and they move instantly to the top 5 with Louisville falling somewhere outside of it since they never should've been ahead of Duke to begin with.

But if you're looking at ease of job and not prestige, Texas and Arizona are significantly undervalued. They're always going to be in a position outrecruit because of geography and appeal. Shaka is going to kill it there.

He will kill it if he changes his schtick. If he keeps up with that havoc stuff, it's going to wear thin. And fast. But I'm sure he's smart enough to have an ACT 2.

 

[Inyatkin]

There are no fluky titles. They don't exist. Look at who wins championships -- Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, UNC, an occasional Michigan State or Arizona. And, of course, UConn. There's no Daytons or Davidsons in there.
Six straight against top competition may not decide the "best" team, whatever that means, but it weeds out all pretenders. You cannot fluke your way to a title.
It's a shame even some people on this site don't understand that.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Just so I have this right, some puts a post on a Syracuse board with his opinion of the relative worth of college coaching values and it becomes a three page thread within one day?

Goodness. It's a central NY nutfucks' opinion.

This doesn't rise to the level of pizza, beer or cheeseburgers. Each post lends credence to his opinion. The responses to this thread fully explain Mark May, Steven A Smith and old crazy white dude on ESPN.

 

[4in16]

Dan Dakich is a moron, plain and simple. He's right up there with Goodman imo as idiot 1 and 1a on espn. His Big 10/Midwest biases come out every time he speaks or types, listening to him call a game is painful right up there with Patrick and Knight.

 

[Husky1964]

Nce symmetry, he was coached by Knight!!!

 

[mauconnfan]

It's pretty cool to have 4 NC's in 16 years and not be a Top 15 job in the country isn't it? This is so funny it's unbelievable the more I read it.

 

[Rocktheworld]

I love how UConn has twice as many "fluky" (leaving off how ridiculous that is, as others have pointed out) NCs as Cuse has total. And how, just three years in, and despite two off seasons of rejecting some remarkable NBA jobs, they're already looking forward to KO's leaving.

People say we give credence by commenting here: I'm just pointing out the pure comedy in it. I hope that's what the writer was going for.

 

[djct1999]

Lets be easy on Dan. He is sleeping with the Syracuse softball coach and thus, has to be very pro Syracuse. Come on guys, we have all said silly things with the hope it would get us laid!

 

[pnow15]

I was hoping some of you would pick up Dan Dakish on Colin yesterday. I was eating breakfast and I nearly choked when I heard him. I ended up writing an email to the show because I couldn't believe how terrible that was. Here it is.

Hey Colin,

I'm a graduate student and I frequently listen to your show while doing work or studying, mostly because it's not generic like most radio shows on ESPN. I think you do a good job with your show. The reason for this email is that I listened to your show this morning and heard you discuss top college basketball jobs. You and your guest Dan Dakich mentioned how UConn is not a top college job, and referred to Indiana, Syracuse and Gonzaga as better jobs. Now, I'm okay with Kentucky, Kansas, and Duke as better jobs, but my problem is with the aforementioned schools. What is your rationale for this?

It can't be recent National Championships. (1999, 2004, 2011, 2014). Indiana? (Last was 1987). Syracuse? (2003) Gonzaga (2 elite eights in program history)

It can't be NBA draft picks (Ray Allen, Richard Hamilton, Ben Gordon, Caron Butler, Kemba Walker, Andre Drummond, Charlie Villanueva, Emeka Okafor, Rudy Gay...)

It can't be facilities. (New practice facility opened last year)

Furthermore, which many media outlets forget to address, is that Uconn wins without getting one and done talent. We've had one guy be a one and done (Andre Drummond), and we have 4 national championships in 16 years. That's attributed to developing kids who weren't as highly touted out of high school. We get kids and develop them on and off the floor (see Shabazz Napier). We don't rely on one and done players to win. The lack of national respect for the program is crazy.

You could argue our conference affiliation, which is based on football which is a whole other story. Even with our situation, we get by with bulking the schedule. Most are confident we will move conferences in the near future. You could also argue that Calhoun retired, but we have Kevin Ollie. The same guy who had the opportunity to coach two of the best players on the planet in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, but stayed at UConn. He's also won a national championship and has done well on the recruiting trail.

Again, I like your show and will continue to listen, but I thought this needed to be addressed.

Thanks

The problem is you should not try to have a rational conversation with man in need of a good bitch slapping.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Syracuse after 2011: "Yeah, but what will happen once Jim Calhoun leaves?"
Syracuse after 2014: "Yeah, but what will happen once Kevin Ollie leaves?"

Exactly.

#trollhardercuse

 

[Rocktheworld]

I'm surprised they don't pimp their #1 ranking in t-shirt production

 

[JesusAllen11]

The AAC will forever weigh us down when it comes to perception and comparison to other blue bloods. Its just something we have to accept. We yet to even have a season where we dominate the AAC. Its prob a blessing in disguise. IF were to win the last championship in the old big east , combined with coach Ollie , we would prob be turning into another 1 and done factory. Which is cool , but is a method that only works when the situation is perfect (Duke and 2012 Kentucky). Other than that One and Dones are under whelming. We all love Andre , but his 1 season was kinda disappointing and knew he would of killed it as a sophomore. I think once we start dominating our conference like Gonzaga does , and Ollie keeps up the recruiting , People we gives us our due respect. Or if the Football team improves and get outta this conference lol

 

[UConn Ryan]

Unless he "took his name out of consideration." There are no indications he was actually offered the job.

No, I don't think he was offered officially I'm pretty sure he removed his name before it got that far....and they probably would've offered Donovan first anyways because he's Presti's boy

 

[Brochacho]

There is only one fluke tournament result shared between UConn and Syracuse, and it belongs to Syracuse in 2013. They had no business making the Final Four, Marquette simply folded. If you recall, Syracuse won the Elite Eight game 55-39; a game that was even uglier than our 2011 National Championship win. Now, I'm not looking to discredit an ugly win, a win is a win, but Syracuse got lucky. Marquette won their one meeting that season 74-71, and averaged 68 points per game in their three other NCAA contests. 39 against Syracuse? Total fluke. If Marquette plays to their average, they win by 13. Take away this historically bad game played by Marquette and Syracuse hasn't been relevant on the national stage for 12 years.

4>1. Rip, Okafor, Kemba, Shabazz > Melo.

 

[djct1999]

Syracuse ranking itself this high is as embarrassing as that time when Melo won an ESPY and thanked himself.

 

[Confident Carl]

NO RESPECT!

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=12990885

4 minutes in Dan Dakich says UCONN is not a great job and Syracuse is a much better job than UCONN but not on the level with Kentucky, UNC, Duke, etc.

Dan Dakich then says Gonazaga is a great job but UCONN is not. What?!

Oklahama State not a great job. Why? According to Dakich they are not the premier state school and they haven't won enough. What?! Isn't UCONN the premier state school and has 4 championships?

WOW! WOW! UCONN gets no respect. WOW!

 

[KembaStepback]

Am I missing something? Shouldn't Michigan St. be mentioned?!? Izzo has made that a very very good program.

If this was on ESPN or CBS or something I'd be a little bit more mad. Obviously whoever wrote this is a Syracuse homer. I'd fully expect someone from the BY to write this list with UConn in the top 5.

The truth is, Syracuse does have a very good coaching gig. Better than UConn? Tough to say. The points about Carrier Dome and Conference are legitimate, but I still think UConn is a better gig.

 

[Gurleyman]

I love how UConn has twice as many "fluky" (leaving off how ridiculous that is, as others have pointed out) NCs as Cuse has total. And how, just three years in, and despite two off seasons of rejecting some remarkable NBA jobs, they're already looking forward to KO's leaving. People say we give credence by commenting here: I'm just pointing out the pure comedy in it. I hope that's what the writer was going for.

If 2011 was a "fluke", then 2003 clearly was too. More so even. We had to play two virtual road games to get to the Final Four that year (SDSU and Arizona in Anaheim), and Cuse had two virtual home games in Albany. And we we're BE champs in 2011 - they were not in 2003. Discounting the title because we beat Butler is disingenuous - in the previous two years, they had beaten two Big East one seeds (Cuse, Pitt), as well as Michigan State and Florida, and were a baseline fadeaway (or a halfcourt miracle) from beating Duke. We manhandled them when nobody else could.

I can get on board that we were fortunate to get to the FF in 2014. Getting the two games at MSG, facing ISU without Niang, surviving St. Joe's, etc. But after what we did to Florida, just absolutely dismantling the top team in the field with a 30-game win streak, there's no more fluke. I'll put the 40 minutes or so (last 30 vs UF, first 10 vs UK) up as a nominee for the greatest stretch of dominant basketball in Final Four history, when we were about +35 over a 40-minute span (finally stopped only by foul trouble to DD and Boat). Nothing fluky about that. That's just a team playing great basketball at the right time.

 

[nycorange]

Syracuse fan here. Let's be clear: no national championship is ever a "fluke". Unexpected, sure. Unlikely, yes. But a fluke? No. George Mason's final 4 at your expense wasn't a fluke either. You earned every championship you have. I'll also say that most rational BB observers, if given the choice between the past 15 years of Syracuse BB and UCONN BB would probably go with UCONN. That said, Syracuse is clearly the better job right now, even in spite of the NCAA crap. And that's not even to say that we'll definitely have more success in the future. A good way to think about it is if KO coached at Syracuse for the next 15 years, would he likely have more or less success than at UCONN? I think he'd have more. And I think that 95% of America agrees. You're lucky--you have a very good coach who's probably better than the program circumstances he inherited. Given time, he may raise the job profile.

 

[OkaForPrez]

@nycorange imagine if you guys didn't have the whole conference advantage to cling to these days? You'd have to face all the hardware we've been stacking and the realization that we replaced our HOF head coach with a guy who won the whole damn thing himself on the first try while you embark on the sunset of JB's career with no certainty if Hop will even be there never mind competent. Meanwhile you're in the karma backlash of your Belly laughs at our APR ban as KOs recruiting is gaining steam. What would you guys lord over us to boast your superiority? But go ahead and have at it. Tell us why 95% of the rational observers would pick cuse. Keep claiming realignment is THE barometer of program strength to make yourselves feel better despite the fact that Rutgers in the B1G dismantles that notion from go. Glad to see Ollie is now above the job though, guess he wasn't just a guy who "knows Lebron James."

Good thing he'll be in the NBA soon right? Hope we get you on the Island.

 

[KembaStepback]

Syracuse fan here. Let's be clear: no national championship is ever a "fluke". Unexpected, sure. Unlikely, yes. But a fluke? No. George Mason's final 4 at your expense wasn't a fluke either. You earned every championship you have. I'll also say that most rational BB observers, if given the choice between the past 15 years of Syracuse BB and UCONN BB would probably go with UCONN. That said, Syracuse is clearly the better job right now, even in spite of the NCAA crap. And that's not even to say that we'll definitely have more success in the future. A good way to think about it is if KO coached at Syracuse for the next 15 years, would he likely have more or less success than at UCONN? I think he'd have more. And I think that 95% of America agrees. You're lucky--you have a very good coach who's probably better than the program circumstances he inherited. Given time, he may raise the job profile.

You realize that conference alignment has nothing to do with basketball, right? It's all football.

Look - Boeheim is a HOFer. I understand he faces sanctions and vacated wins, but he's a very good head coach.

I just don't think I agree with your main point about Ollie switching teams and being better at Syracuse. I'd prefer to look at it a different way... If UConn and Syracuse both were to lose their head coaches at the same time, which program would be most attractive to a top coach?

I think this is VERY close. I also think it'd depend on the coach and his style/personality. Obviously, both programs have big shoes to fill. So lets look at pros and cons.

UConn Pros:
4 National Titles in 16 years. (That's a big one)
Have proven they can still compete w/out HOF coach
New training facility

UConn Cons:
Not in a power conference
Split home courts/upgrades needed
Inconsistent regular seasons

Cuse Pros:
Carrier Dome
Power Conference
More consistent regular seasons

Cuse Cons:
NCAA sanctions
Can they win w/out Boeheim?
Have under-achieved in post-season (1 title 12 years ago)

Now - it's very even. Any coach would be HAPPY to take either of these jobs. Like I said before I think it'd come down to what matters most for a coach and how they get along with the school administration.

 

[Inyatkin]

Too many people consider things like conference affiliation and recruiting as ends in themselves. They aren't. They're a means to achieve success on the court, which is the only thing that matters.
It's certainly easier to achieve that success with a great conference and top recruiting. But no one ever watched sports to cheer on a conference affiliation.

 

[OkaForPrez]

2004: Johnny Come Lately's, Even San Francisco has 2 National Championships, Am I right?
2010: Calhoun is over the hill and Uconn can't recruit because they know he's done, they'll return to the loser program they are
2013: Between the APR ban and Calhoun retiring, UConn is done. Kevin Ollie Knows Lebron James! *Snicker*
2015: Ollie's in the NBA next year and he only won with Calhoun's talent anyway. UConn is done.

 

[tcf15]

2004: Johnny Come Lately's, Even San Francisco has 2 National Championships, Am I right?
2010: Calhoun is over the hill and Uconn can't recruit because they know he's done, they'll return to the loser program they are
2013: Between the APR ban and Calhoun retiring, UConn is done. Kevin Ollie Knows Lebron James! *Snicker*
2015: Ollie's in the NBA next year and he only won with Calhoun's talent anyway. UConn is done.

This should go in the omens for next year thread.