bballnut90
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Cori Close is the first newbie coach to win a title since Dawn joined the winner's circle in 2017. Who joins it next?
Who is the next coach to win their 1st title?
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This is an interesting question. Before the transfer portal I think I would have said Vic. Famous coach, southern climate, interesting city that is an emerging tech center, in short many ingredients to be a consistent major contender. But losing three key players in the portal raises questions about the program too.
Shea could be there soon too, and clearly is a program on the up-swing, but has the potential disadvantage of being the Northwestern of the SEC, namely having to sometimes take a pass on a top player because of academics. Of course Stanford was a national power for years despite having the same issue.
Kara has the national team status to add to her resume, is a well known personality and in a hotbed of basketball interest, so she deserves to be on this list. Lindsay is a puzzlement to me. I get the appeal of LA to young athletes, and her ability to recruit is proven, but I'm not sure if she is that good a coach, and at least it seems to me she just tries to get the most talent, regardless of how it goes together or fits into a team concept.
Jeff has been in the discussion for years, but always seems to be the next tier of national contenders, just below the top dogs. Kim has that great sophomore class to add to, and if she is ever going to get there, it is probably with that group. Jan inherited a great program built on Clark's exceptional popularity, but I think she needs to achieve high level success on her own for a few years before she will be a top threat. And finally I wonder if Mark can just buy a championship with short term portal rentals, but he too needs a few more years pf success, and demonstrate an ability to recruit HS recruits as well.
This is a great list of potential candidates, a case can be made for all of them, but if I had to pick one, it would be between Vic, Shea and Kara and I can't decide between those three.
Shea could be there soon too, and clearly is a program on the up-swing, but has the potential disadvantage of being the Northwestern of the SEC, namely having to sometimes take a pass on a top player because of academics. Of course Stanford was a national power for years despite having the same issue.
Kara has the national team status to add to her resume, is a well known personality and in a hotbed of basketball interest, so she deserves to be on this list. Lindsay is a puzzlement to me. I get the appeal of LA to young athletes, and her ability to recruit is proven, but I'm not sure if she is that good a coach, and at least it seems to me she just tries to get the most talent, regardless of how it goes together or fits into a team concept.
Jeff has been in the discussion for years, but always seems to be the next tier of national contenders, just below the top dogs. Kim has that great sophomore class to add to, and if she is ever going to get there, it is probably with that group. Jan inherited a great program built on Clark's exceptional popularity, but I think she needs to achieve high level success on her own for a few years before she will be a top threat. And finally I wonder if Mark can just buy a championship with short term portal rentals, but he too needs a few more years pf success, and demonstrate an ability to recruit HS recruits as well.
This is a great list of potential candidates, a case can be made for all of them, but if I had to pick one, it would be between Vic, Shea and Kara and I can't decide between those three.