Three Choices for the coaching situation

[nelsonmuntz]

Or should I say, 3 good choices and one terrible one.

I will start with the terrible choice, which is to do nothing. If Manuel is not going to make Ollie the CiW now, he is telling the world he will not make Ollie the coach later. There is no reason for a top recruit to commit to a program where they have no idea what the coaching situation will be. Recruiting will fall off a cliff, and 2 years the roster will be Boatright, Daniels, Omar Calhoun, and a bunch of A10 players. No top young coach will take that job in the Big East, so UConn will be trolling through MAC and MAAC schools that make the 2014 NIT for its next coach, and hope that guy is the 1 in 10,000 that is the next Calhoun. Because that coach will have a major rebuilding job ahead of him.

If that coach fails, we are waking up in 2019 with a program in shambles and no recruit even remembering the last time UConn was any good.

The good choices:

1) Make Ollie Coach in Waiting. This move will firm up recruiting while letting Calhoun run out the string. Recruits will know who their coach is in the future, and UConn's recruiting should improve dramatically. If it doesn't, it is Ollie's responsibility. This way also lets the program make a relatively short term commitment to the new coach. If Ollie doesn't get it done in the first two years he is at the end of the bench, the program can fire him without repercussions or other coaches feeling he got a bum deal. The primary reason Ollie would be getting the job is continuity, and continuity is what would be expected.

2) Fire Calhoun immediately. Manuel might as well fire Calhoun now, take the heat, but have a roster that a Stevens or Smart may actually want to take over. It will also show some balls on Manuel's part and instill confidence in him both internally and externally as a leader.

3) Fire Manuel Immediately, and revisit 1 or 2. This is my personal favorite. I think Manuel is off to a terrible start, and bad starts are usually indicative of the fact a guy is not up to the job. Starting off his new job by picking a fight with the program's legend, is idiotic. Not having the guts to go for the win if he picks that fight is cowardly.

 

[jfuchs91]

Option 4: Calhoun gets to choose when he retires. He's earned that right. When he retires, have a national search, but have Ollie be a serious contender for the job. Manuel has been just fine so far.

 

[Revrat]

I have no problem with Calhoun making the decision. I do however have an issue with the yearly game he makes of it.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

 

[caw]

Or should I say, 3 good choices and one terrible one.

I will start with the terrible choice, which is to do nothing. If Manuel is not going to make Ollie the CiW now, he is telling the world he will not make Ollie the coach later. There is no reason for a top recruit to commit to a program where they have no idea what the coaching situation will be. Recruiting will fall off a cliff, and 2 years the roster will be Boatright, Daniels, Omar Calhoun, and a bunch of A10 players. No top young coach will take that job in the Big East, so UConn will be trolling through MAC and MAAC schools that make the 2014 NIT for its next coach, and hope that guy is the 1 in 10,000 that is the next Calhoun. Because that coach will have a major rebuilding job ahead of him.

If that coach fails, we are waking up in 2019 with a program in shambles and no recruit even remembering the last time UConn was any good.

The good choices:

1) Make Ollie Coach in Waiting. This move will firm up recruiting while letting Calhoun run out the string. Recruits will know who their coach is in the future, and UConn's recruiting should improve dramatically. If it doesn't, it is Ollie's responsibility. This way also lets the program make a relatively short term commitment to the new coach. If Ollie doesn't get it done in the first two years he is at the end of the bench, the program can fire him without repercussions or other coaches feeling he got a bum deal. The primary reason Ollie would be getting the job is continuity, and continuity is what would be expected.

2) Fire Calhoun immediately. Manuel might as well fire Calhoun now, take the heat, but have a roster that a Stevens or Smart may actually want to take over. It will also show some balls on Manuel's part and instill confidence in him both internally and externally as a leader.

3) Fire Manuel Immediately, and revisit 1 or 2. This is my personal favorite. I think Manuel is off to a terrible start, and bad starts are usually indicative of the fact a guy is not up to the job. Starting off his new job by picking a fight with the program's legend, is idiotic. Not having the guts to go for the win if he picks that fight is cowardly.

I'm confused. What did I miss. Why is fire Manuel or Calhoun? This makes no sense at all. Did I miss something?

 

[stick]

Or should I say, 3 good choices and one terrible one.

I will start with the terrible choice, which is to do nothing. If Manuel is not going to make Ollie the CiW now, he is telling the world he will not make Ollie the coach later. There is no reason for a top recruit to commit to a program where they have no idea what the coaching situation will be. Recruiting will fall off a cliff, and 2 years the roster will be Boatright, Daniels, Omar Calhoun, and a bunch of A10 players. No top young coach will take that job in the Big East, so UConn will be trolling through MAC and MAAC schools that make the 2014 NIT for its next coach, and hope that guy is the 1 in 10,000 that is the next Calhoun. Because that coach will have a major rebuilding job ahead of him.

If that coach fails, we are waking up in 2019 with a program in shambles and no recruit even remembering the last time UConn was any good.

The good choices:

1) Make Ollie Coach in Waiting. This move will firm up recruiting while letting Calhoun run out the string. Recruits will know who their coach is in the future, and UConn's recruiting should improve dramatically. If it doesn't, it is Ollie's responsibility. This way also lets the program make a relatively short term commitment to the new coach. If Ollie doesn't get it done in the first two years he is at the end of the bench, the program can fire him without repercussions or other coaches feeling he got a bum deal. The primary reason Ollie would be getting the job is continuity, and continuity is what would be expected.

2) Fire Calhoun immediately. Manuel might as well fire Calhoun now, take the heat, but have a roster that a Stevens or Smart may actually want to take over. It will also show some balls on Manuel's part and instill confidence in him both internally and externally as a leader.

3) Fire Manuel Immediately, and revisit 1 or 2. This is my personal favorite. I think Manuel is off to a terrible start, and bad starts are usually indicative of the fact a guy is not up to the job. Starting off his new job by picking a fight with the program's legend, is idiotic. Not having the guts to go for the win if he picks that fight is cowardly.

Since we're on the subject of firing, can we fire or exile you from this board?

 

[Dogbreath2U]

I'm confused. What did I miss. Why is fire Manuel or Calhoun? This makes no sense at all. Did I miss something?

No, Nelson has gone off the deep end.

 

[jleves]

Or should I say, 3 good choices and one terrible one.



2) Fire Calhoun immediately. Manuel might as well fire Calhoun now, take the heat, but have a roster that a Stevens or Smart may actually want to take over. It will also show some balls on Manuel's part and instill confidence in him both internally and externally as a leader.

Option 2 has to be the most idiotic thing I've ever read on the boneyard and that's really saying something. Tell me what top coach in the country would want to work for a guy who would fire a hall of fame coach - the guy who built the program. Nobody would feel safe in taking the job. Not to mention it's by far the worst thing you could to do the program at this point. Seriously, did you have a really sharp strike to your head at some point today?

 

[RuffRuff]

Option 4: Calhoun gets to choose when he retires. He's earned that right. When he retires, have a national search, but have Ollie be a serious contender for the job. Manuel has been just fine so far.

Um no - he hasn't deserved that right. He's earned the right to go down as a Uconn icon and a HOF coach, but his job isn't to make personnel decisions to replace himself. He can offer his recommendation, but he certainly shouldn't be the final stamp.

 

[Marty Jackson]

Or should I say, 3 good choices and one terrible one.

I will start with the terrible choice, which is to do nothing. If Manuel is not going to make Ollie the CiW now, he is telling the world he will not make Ollie the coach later. There is no reason for a top recruit to commit to a program where they have no idea what the coaching situation will be. Recruiting will fall off a cliff, and 2 years the roster will be Boatright, Daniels, Omar Calhoun, and a bunch of A10 players. No top young coach will take that job in the Big East, so UConn will be trolling through MAC and MAAC schools that make the 2014 NIT for its next coach, and hope that guy is the 1 in 10,000 that is the next Calhoun. Because that coach will have a major rebuilding job ahead of him.

If that coach fails, we are waking up in 2019 with a program in shambles and no recruit even remembering the last time UConn was any good.

The good choices:

1) Make Ollie Coach in Waiting. This move will firm up recruiting while letting Calhoun run out the string. Recruits will know who their coach is in the future, and UConn's recruiting should improve dramatically. If it doesn't, it is Ollie's responsibility. This way also lets the program make a relatively short term commitment to the new coach. If Ollie doesn't get it done in the first two years he is at the end of the bench, the program can fire him without repercussions or other coaches feeling he got a bum deal. The primary reason Ollie would be getting the job is continuity, and continuity is what would be expected.

2) Fire Calhoun immediately. Manuel might as well fire Calhoun now, take the heat, but have a roster that a Stevens or Smart may actually want to take over. It will also show some balls on Manuel's part and instill confidence in him both internally and externally as a leader.

3) Fire Manuel Immediately, and revisit 1 or 2. This is my personal favorite. I think Manuel is off to a terrible start, and bad starts are usually indicative of the fact a guy is not up to the job. Starting off his new job by picking a fight with the program's legend, is idiotic. Not having the guts to go for the win if he picks that fight is cowardly.

Where has Manuel picked a fight with Calhoun? This is the 2nd or 3rd reference of such a fight...
If anything, I think the guy has done everything to appease Calhoun.
What am I missing?

 

[jfuchs91]

Um no - he hasn't deserved that right. He's earned the right to go down as a Uconn icon and a HOF coach, but his job isn't to make personnel decisions to replace himself. He can offer his recommendation, but he certainly shouldn't be the final stamp.

I didn't say he had the right to choose his replacement. Rather, he should be able to coach until whenever he wants. I understand that him waiting to announce whether or not he's returning hurts recruiting, and missing games during the season hinders the development of a team, but we are never going to have a coach like Calhoun again. Do people forget that we have 2 Final Fours and a NC just in the past 4 years? Calhoun can still coach with the best of them, he's not some lingering figurehead like Joe Paterno was in his later years at Penn State. Also, Calhoun has made it very clear that he wants what's best for the program's long-term success; if he feels he can't complete a season due to health, he'd very likely hang it up (though it'll be hard with his drive for competition).

But as of now, we have one of the best coaches in the NCAA and one of the best of all-time. We should be thankful for every minute Calhoun coaches at UConn, not trying to push him out.

 

[johnhuskies95]

Mark Turgeon just took the Maryland job with an atrocious roster. It's not like football where it takes around three full years to really remake a roster.

Bring in a good recruiting class and by year two you're in good shape.

 

[jrazz12]

My brain hurts from the stupidity in the original post. I really hope it was alcohol-induced

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Option 4: Calhoun gets to choose when he retires. He's earned that right. When he retires, have a national search, but have Ollie be a serious contender for the job. Manuel has been just fine so far.

So you like the terrible choice. Tell me why a recruit with options would commit to UConn when they know a new coach will be coming in 1 to 2 years that might have a completely new system and go Larry Brown on them? And if you are acknowledging that no recruits will come, then why are you in favor of signing up to several bad years of basketball?

 

[nelsonmuntz]

My brain hurts from the stupidity in the original post. I really hope it was alcohol-induced

You are so freaking hilarious!!! That was the funniest, most insightful post I have ever seen in the history of this board. Insulting the poster when you have nothing remotely intelligent to add to the conversation is what makes message boards great!!!

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Mark Turgeon just took the Maryland job with an atrocious roster. It's not like football where it takes around three full years to really remake a roster.

Bring in a good recruiting class and by year two you're in good shape.

This is the only valid counter-argument I have seen to my original post. I will add that Maryland's roster looks like an NBA draft combine compared to where UConn's would be in 2 years. And, Maryland pushed Williams out when he started to really slip. Finally, is a Mark Turgeon a significant upgrade from Ollie? He is a caretaker coach that takes over decent programs and keeps them decent.

 

[willie99]

1 out of 3 ain't bad

gets you into the HOF in baseball

 

[HuskyBballFan]

Or should I say, 3 good choices and one terrible one.

I will start with the terrible choice, which is to do nothing. If Manuel is not going to make Ollie the CiW now, he is telling the world he will not make Ollie the coach later. There is no reason for a top recruit to commit to a program where they have no idea what the coaching situation will be. Recruiting will fall off a cliff, and 2 years the roster will be Boatright, Daniels, Omar Calhoun, and a bunch of A10 players. No top young coach will take that job in the Big East, so UConn will be trolling through MAC and MAAC schools that make the 2014 NIT for its next coach, and hope that guy is the 1 in 10,000 that is the next Calhoun. Because that coach will have a major rebuilding job ahead of him.

If that coach fails, we are waking up in 2019 with a program in shambles and no recruit even remembering the last time UConn was any good.

The good choices:

1) Make Ollie Coach in Waiting. This move will firm up recruiting while letting Calhoun run out the string. Recruits will know who their coach is in the future, and UConn's recruiting should improve dramatically. If it doesn't, it is Ollie's responsibility. This way also lets the program make a relatively short term commitment to the new coach. If Ollie doesn't get it done in the first two years he is at the end of the bench, the program can fire him without repercussions or other coaches feeling he got a bum deal. The primary reason Ollie would be getting the job is continuity, and continuity is what would be expected.

2) Fire Calhoun immediately. Manuel might as well fire Calhoun now, take the heat, but have a roster that a Stevens or Smart may actually want to take over. It will also show some balls on Manuel's part and instill confidence in him both internally and externally as a leader.

3) Fire Manuel Immediately, and revisit 1 or 2. This is my personal favorite. I think Manuel is off to a terrible start, and bad starts are usually indicative of the fact a guy is not up to the job. Starting off his new job by picking a fight with the program's legend, is idiotic. Not having the guts to go for the win if he picks that fight is cowardly.

#2 is not a realistic option so you might as well have not included it. There is not an AD on the planet that would fire a Hall of Fame coach who is one year removed from a National Championship, particularly a coach who has a maximum of 2 years left. There just isn't. You can rattle off all the off court problems we've had but it doesn't matter. Jim Boeheim wasn't fired either, you know.

#1 is a realistic option, but Manuel just isn't comfortable with this yet. Regardless of what you think about Ollie, Manuel's hesitation is understandable. Replacing Jim Calhoun is probably the most important decision that he'll ever have to make. I think we can forgive him for wanting to make the best choice possible.

 

[jrazz12]

You are so freaking hilarious!!! That was the funniest, most insightful post I have ever seen in the history of this board. Insulting the poster when you have nothing remotely intelligent to add to the conversation is what makes message boards great!!!

You just said firing a hall of fame coach with 3 national championships and 2 final fours in the past 4 seasons was a "good choice".

That's not the start of a debate, that's a looney toons rant

 

[nelsonmuntz]

#2 is not a realistic option so you might as well have not included it. There is not an AD on the planet that would fire a Hall of Fame coach who is one year removed from a National Championship, particularly a coach who has a maximum of 2 years left. There just isn't. You can rattle off all the off court problems we've had but it doesn't matter. Jim Boeheim wasn't fired either, you know.

#1 is a realistic option, but Manuel just isn't comfortable with this yet. Regardless of what you think about Ollie, Manuel's hesitation is understandable. Replacing Jim Calhoun is probably the most important decision that he'll ever have to make. I think we can forgive him for wanting to make the best choice possible.

I was mostly using #2 to illustrate why Manuel's current path is a really bad idea. And Hall of Fame coaches have been pushed out. It wouldn't be that hard to get Calhoun out of there if Manuel wanted him gone, without it looking like an outright firing.

I think Ollie is a free option for Manuel, because you don't have to make a long-term commitment to Ollie. The reason so many programs appoint a "coach in waiting" is that they expect the succession to be seamless and the program to not miss a beat. If Ollie stumbles at all out of the gate, you just fire him, because that would defeat the whole purpose of bringing him in. Heck, I would even can Ollie if recruiting slipped significantly over the last 2 years of Calhoun's time at UConn.

My point is, Manuel should just name Ollie CiW, no matter what Manuel really plans on doing. If Ollie knocks the cover off the ball on the recruiting trail, takes a larger role as a bench coach, and runs the team during Calhoun's various absences, then he gets the job. If recruiting continues to slip, and the transition is not looking to be as seamless as everyone hoped, then fire Ollie when Calhoun retires, or give him 1 or 2 years at the most. Calhoun might be pissed, but at least Manuel gave Ollie a chance.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

You just said firing a hall of fame coach with 3 national championships and 2 final fours in the past 4 seasons was a "good choice".

That's not the start of a debate, that's a looney toons rant

Your inability to handle moderately complex concepts or project even a couple of years into the future does not make me "looney toons".

 

[freescooter]

nelson, I think you're a little crazy myself on this. while I agree with you that Manuel needs to take charge and not baby the situation, and just say, hell, Kevin Ollie is not oging to be coach in waiting so get over it, I have a sense that he's just trying to humor Calhoun. I actually think he very well could be justified in taking the dramatic step and fire him for leading the program into such a mess, doing the will he, won't he dance about coming back, all that, but that doesn't mean I think he should or will. But the reality is that good coaches will be interested in the UCONN job. And they'll be no less interested in it if Calhoun retires in 2014 than they will be if Ollie gets the job and proves himself utterly incapable of being the head coach of a major program, and recruiters aren't automatically great head coaches for what its worth. You can rebuild a basketball program in 2-3 years with a couple of good recruiting classes, and with the support sytems UCONN has in place, it will remain a very attractive opportunity. We're not going back to the Yankee Conference for heaven sakes. We have $35 million practice center under construciton. We have 3 national Championship banners hanging from the rafters. As long as the committment is there good coaches will be interested.

But I'm curious as to why in your mind if Ollie washes out in 2 years, so we've now gone say 3-4 years without an NCAA appearance, UCONN would be more attractive than if we try to hire a new coach after 2 more years of Calhoun?

 

[UConn990411]

Your inability to handle moderately complex concepts or project even a couple of years into the future does not make me "looney toons".

No, but insisting that Stanley Robinson isn't a great athlete does.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

No, but insisting that Stanley Robinson isn't a great athlete does.

He really dominated in the NBA all-star game, didn't he?

 

[Pmurph678]

None of your options will come true, Calhoun will retire after this year and there won't be a"coach in waiting". Ollie will get a look, but there will be no guarantees.

 

[caw]

He really dominated in the NBA all-star game, didn't he?

If the comment was that Robinson wasn't a great athlete, that might be arguable. I remember it being more along the lines of Robinson not being a BE caliber athlete. That is/was insane.