Texas Loses Again

[easttexastrash]

Texas lost to Texas Tech, who was once again playing without starting center and leading scorer and rebounder Mallard. How long can GG hold onto a million dollar a year job. Texas is now 3-5 in what is a bit of a down year in the Big 12. This was the perfect year for her to establish UT as the second best team in the conference.

If GG were to get the boot, which big name program would hire her? Tennessee?

 

[alexrgct]

More interesting to me is who Texas would hire to replace GG. Certainly no one with a resume that remotely approaches what Gail did at Duke.

And would Texas hire a man? Matt Bollant is just sitting there waiting for a bigger program to scoop him up. How much higher can his stock get than these past couple of seasons.

 

[speedoo]

I can't imagine that Jody Conrad would want to hire a man. But it might not be her decision.

 

[Phil]

Texas is now 3-5 in what is a bit of a down year in the Big 12.

I’m with you that the Texas performance won’t sit well, but I’m not sure I agree that the B12 is down.

They have the highest conference RPI , ahead of second place Big East. And their margin over the BE is about the same distance as the distance between the BE and Pac-12, in fifth place. That not just first, but first by a solid margin.

 

[alexrgct]

It definitely is not her decision. It's Chris Plonsky's.

I imagine CP felt pressure to hire a woman to replace Jody, but I don't know if she will feel the same way this time around.

For the record, I believe GG will be at Texas next year.

 

[easttexastrash]

Landing Stafford secured her another year or two. If she cannot win with 2 top 10 post players on the court, the gong will be banged soon. I can't remember if Gayle was top 10 coming out of high school, but she proved to have very little talent on the offensive end, although she is a very good shot blocker and rebounder.

 

[alexrgct]

Landing Stafford secured her another year or two. If she cannot win with 2 top 10 post players on the court, the gong will be banged soon.

That is my feeling as well.

Now, if I'm Texas and I do eventually dismiss G, I try to get Vic Schaefer or Matt Bollant. Or throw 2 mill a year at Jeff Waltz because, you know, you can, and see if he'd jump ship, Kentucky boy or not. Or you take a risk with a young assistant like Shea or an up and comer like Jen Rizzotti.

All risky moves, but there is no "name" obviously out there.

 

[skaterboy]

as a long time die hard texas fan since the 1982 - i can tell you that our coach is NOT a good fit at texas. period.
she has zero personality - fans have left and never came back because she has made NO effort to keep them and build a fan base when she came. we wanted to give her a chance but its obvious that she is NOT a people person to the fans or the community the way Conradt was. Jody was out and about promoting the womens game and her team. a great ambassador & speaker that cared about the community and fan base. she was always in the media speaking. she did not shun and hide like this one does with a cold personality. my wife and i even had long time friends not speak to us anymore because from the begining we said that our new coach was COLD and just was not a fit for texas. as anyone knows - texas had a large fan base of die hards like us that were around since the early 80's some late 70's. many of us including my wife & i went to the away games - charted buses - and we always had good home attendance. now everyone has quit going. we havent been in 4 years to a game.
and now alot of the ones who were upset with what we said - said hey we think
you and your wife were right afterall.

Karen Aston should have been our head coach when Jody retired. great up coming coach and super recruiter. remember the team Uconn faced at the final 4 in Atlanta?? i think her recruits gave you guys one of the best semi final games that Uconn ever had to face at a final 4. well all than ended for good when she left knowing she would not be the head coach - and by not having Clarissa Davis or Travis Mays. our recruiting pipeline in Texas ended and has never been the same since. and we know of Karen was our coach we would be at a much more competetive level what what we are with fundamentals that we have not had in 5 years, better conditioning, and a better fan base.

good luck to your team i was really impressed how good they were when they played ND. i have been a lurker for yrs and glad to say how this board run so much better than the other orange board that seems to whine now. im surprised that now its a "in board" now. if your arent in the "in club" by reading it now a person has no fair chance. i was surprised by their FBI comment made by the moderator. how stupid. and her side kick the "betty bean brain" if you ask me.

good luck the rest of the season. beat Baylor at the final 4

gg has to be a good coach for what she did at duke. i will give her that no doubt. but as the die hards at texas that have been around forever like me and my wife know that she is just NOT the fit for Texas.

 

[alexrgct]

As wonderful a lady as Jody is and and as much of a trailblazing coach as she was, she stuck around way too long. Even the 2003 Final Four team was led by a transfer (Jamie Carey) and not someone Texas recruited out of high school.

Additionally, although this is not Jody's fault, Texas has to fight a lot of small town Texas homophobia due to a tag the program got while she was coach.

These have been issues for GG and will continue to be issues for the next coach if there is one in the near future.

 

[ghostmutt]

That's the interesting thing about her being mentioned in connection with the Tennessee job. If she's a bad cultural fit in Austin, wouldn't she be an even worse cultural fit in Knoxville?

 

[alexrgct]

That's the interesting thing about her being mentioned in connection with the Tennessee job. If she's a bad cultural fit in Austin, wouldn't she be an even worse cultural fit in Knoxville?

What G could do at Tennessee is the thing she did well at Duke and should be doing at Texas arguably (and sort of did in terms of reeling in Stafford): recruit nationally. The cultural fit question is legitimate, though.

 

[Phil]

Welcome to the board - very interesting inside view.

FTR, I'd prefer not to see name-calling directed at partcipants on other boards.


Do you think there is a likelihood that Gail will not survive if she fails to finish strong this year, or is there a longer leash?

 

[UcMiami]

I think no one was overly impressed with GGs in game coaching at Duke. She did a good job recruiting, but I think she really really benefited from the Duke name. I do not mean to 'diss' any other school, but Duke on the east coast and Stanford out west are way ahead on academic reputation for big time WCBB programs. That is a huge advantage for women's sports (where the post grad $ signs are not in the mega-millions) and Gail sold that hard. Texas, which is certainly a hot bed of talent, is also a big 'relationship' recruiting state and as skater pointed out - Gail didn't have those connections. When she was hired, I did expect her to do a little better than she has, but I also thought it was a stretch for Texas at that money.

 

[ThisJustIn]

i think it's interesting how Aston ended up in North Texas (Wins 27 games, resigns from 49ers to be with family in Arkansas, finds herself in Texas a week later). I'm thinking she's setting herself up to return to Texas in case Gail exits

 

[UConnCat]

i think it's interesting how Aston ended up in North Texas (Wins 27 games, resigns from 49ers to be with family in Arkansas, finds herself in Texas a week later). I'm thinking she's setting herself up to return to Texas in case Gail exits

Although Texas beat North Texas this season (71-62), UNT was up at halftime and UT had to rally to win the game. The game was in Austin, btw.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

I think no one was overly impressed with GGs in game coaching at Duke. She did a good job recruiting, but I think she really really benefited from the Duke name. I do not mean to 'diss' any other school, but Duke on the east coast and Stanford out west are way ahead on academic reputation for big time WCBB programs. That is a huge advantage for women's sports (where the post grad $ signs are not in the mega-millions) and Gail sold that hard. Texas, which is certainly a hot bed of talent, is also a big 'relationship' recruiting state and as skater pointed out - Gail didn't have those connections. When she was hired, I did expect her to do a little better than she has, but I also thought it was a stretch for Texas at that money.

Completely disagree.

First, Duke was the pits before Goestenkors arrived. The bottom of the ACC. The Duke name was there. If it were only the name, Duke would have been much better.

Second, the myth of Goestenkors as only a recruiter has been disproven several times. She went 3-0 against Candace Parker's teams while at Duke. She was 5-4 against Summitt and 2-2 against Geno while at Duke.

Look at the 2007 team that lost Currie, Foley, and Mistie Bass to graduation and Chante Black to injury, only to finish the regular season undefeated. After Beard and Tillid graduated and Hunter transferred, with Harding suspended, the team won 30 games the next year and reached the Elite Eight (using a freshman Wanisha Smith as a makeshift point guard). The recruiting myth and can't coach story is message board fiction.

Having said all that, the results at Texas have been really, really disappointing, especially the last two years. And I do think Gail overestimated how much she could use the name as a "closer" in recruiting.

 

[jdubct]

That is my feeling as well.

Now, if I'm Texas and I do eventually dismiss G, I try to get Vic Schaefer or Matt Bollant. Or throw 2 mill a year at Jeff Waltz because, you know, you can, and see if he'd jump ship, Kentucky boy or not. Or you take a risk with a young assistant like Shea or an up and comer like Jen Rizzotti.

All risky moves, but there is no "name" obviously out there.

Texas will want to hire a prominant head coach who has proven that she/he can recruit and coach well. Particularly, they would someone who could be successful in outrecruiting teams like Baylor and TAMU for the leading Texas players. There are not many coaches who might be available who meet those criteria. Jeff Walz is one coach who can do the job, especially if he has assistant coaches who can recruit in Texas. Texas has the money to offer. A very high figure might be $1.5 million/yr which would be an overpayment relative to the salaries of the top few women's coaches.

 

[mudcat]

Now, if I'm Texas and I do eventually dismiss G, I try to get Vic Schaefer or Matt Bollant. Or throw 2 mill a year at Jeff Waltz because, you know, you can, and see if he'd jump ship, Kentucky boy or not. Or you take a risk with a young assistant like Shea or an up and comer like Jen Rizzotti.

All risky moves, but there is no "name" obviously out there.[/quote]

What about a coaches like Tricia Cullop or Karen Asten (sp?). I think both are proven and fairly young.

 

[alexrgct]

Now, if I'm Texas and I do eventually dismiss G, I try to get Vic Schaefer or Matt Bollant. Or throw 2 mill a year at Jeff Waltz because, you know, you can, and see if he'd jump ship, Kentucky boy or not. Or you take a risk with a young assistant like Shea or an up and comer like Jen Rizzotti.

All risky moves, but there is no "name" obviously out there.

What about a coaches like Tricia Cullop or Karen Asten (sp?). I think both are proven and fairly young.[/quote]
I could see that as a possible fallback. I really think Plan A is going to be as big a name as possible.

Texas can afford to reset the market value for a hot coaching commodity. They did it in 2007 with G and can do it again. It's their comfort zone approach, and it indirectly hurts rival programs because then they have to pay their coaches more money and not all of those ADs are fiscally solvent.

Ultimately, they may go a mid-major route and they may be happier if they do in terms of the result, but I believe their first inclination is to go big money and see who they can lure. Doing that successfully may be easier if they let Coach G stay for the rest of her contract (two more years).

 

[TheTruthBelow]

I don't think Texas will fire GG. She's made the NCAA tournament every year she's been there, and that coupled with what's probably a huge buyout, I think she stays for the duration of her contract. But if she were fired, I'd suggest taking a serious look at Dawn Staley.

 

[alexrgct]

I don't think Texas will fire GG. She's made the NCAA tournament every year she's been there, and that coupled with what's probably a huge buyout, I think she stays for the duration of her contract.

At this point, the buyout can't be more than $2 million, and I doubt it's the full value of the remaining years. So the buyout cost, whatever it is, is pocket change by Texas standards.

Granted Texas missed the NCAA tourney the last two seasons of Jody's tenure, but you don't pay a coach a seven-figure salary to be one of the 64 best teams in the country on a consistent basis.

If she stays for the full seven years, it will be a) because Texas wants to give her a chance to see what she can do with Reed/Stafford, and/or b) they feel their chances of landing another big name are higher if they let their previous coach serve out her entire contract.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Interesting comments about "cold" personality. Rutgers went through the same issue when Vivian came aboard, as Grentz was a great personality, always out there speaking and selling, etc. and Viv is more reserved and not out doing many of the PR things.

Of course, NJ not being Texas, the impact was mostly in the first few years, which were also not very good on the court. Viv "wooed" the fan club, produced a winner, and in an area like NJ ultimately doesn't really "need" to be out speaking, etc. in that it is not going to ultimately grow the fan base like it did for example in Iowa, where she did do the "rubber chicken" circuit as she tells the story.

So I see parallels for sure.

 

[FairView]

Here's a question, who is the better coach, C. Vivian or GG?