I think, if Heird is looking seriously at either of these guys then he has conceded defeat. In other words, he is settling. We are UL….is this really the best we can do? I have to say that I was more excited by KP’s hiring than I would be by these guys.
Plan B?
- Thread starter Knucklehank1
- Start date
Why? Are you hearing this, or is that more of a guess?
To me, it has to be a relatively "safe" hire like Musselman, or else you swing for the fences with a risk/reward like Ben McCollum or Bucky McMillan. Holloway doesnt seem like either safe or all that high on the possible reward side.
Musselman sounds like the best bet for a quick turnaround. He's shown he can use NIL, navigate the recruiting portal, win NCAAT games, and besides this year, has shown he can win at a high level.
That’s what Jeff Goodman tweeted out. At this point who would excite the fans? The name coaches:
Musselman, who just came off a very disappointing season at Arkansas?
Chris Collins, a guy who just recently had a 3 year stretch coaching record of 30-57?
Cronin, coming off a moribund season and get ready for bruiser-ball Card fans.
It’s a different era obviously but Jay Wright came from Hofstra with an 0-3 record in tournament play when Villanova snagged him. Truth is nobody is going to be happy until we start winning games again. I thought Dusty May would have been a solid hire but I don’t know any Cards fans that were “excited” about him.
We'll see if this is where he wants to be. Hell,I'm willing to forego the stipulation that somebody could come and pluck him in 3 years if he can ignite the passion of the fanbase again. By then there will be some new names that will get us all excited.
Collins is a good choice. May accepted a 3.4 Mil 5 year contract. We certainly could have beat that if we thought that it was worth while. Maybe we did not. May never know. We certainly have a bunch of nervous nellies.
Agreed. The next coach doesn't necessarily have to be here 20-25 years even though that would mean he was a homerun hire. Get stability back, get some excitement back, and WIN, then after several years the job would be more appealing the next carousel.
Another name being thrown into the mix by Jeff Goodman is Amir Abdur-Rahim from USF.
If you’re looking for a coach whose career is ascending, it’s him. He took Kennesaw State from 1-28 to the NCAA Tournament and then in his only year at USF won the conference regular season title by 2 games over Dusty May and FAU. Not to mention he is 1-0 vs May head to head.
If you’re looking for a coach whose career is ascending, it’s him. He took Kennesaw State from 1-28 to the NCAA Tournament and then in his only year at USF won the conference regular season title by 2 games over Dusty May and FAU. Not to mention he is 1-0 vs May head to head.
Same person that told me Drew and May were choices told me that they thought Holloway was top of next tier. So I guess you could consider an educated guess.
Danny Sprinkle? Just watched the bit on him and his family. Seems like a fun style. Wins and has a squeaky clean image. 
And one Hell of a name. LOL. If he beats Purdue today, lots of people will know his name.Danny Sprinkle? Just watched the bit on him and his family. Seems like a fun style. Wins and has a squeaky clean image.
One name that I’m surprised nobody mentions is Bryce Drew. Apparently he can recruit and if you watched his Grand Canyon team beat St Mary’s the other night, you saw a well coached and entertaining team.
Northwestern has the worst basketball history in the BT. Collins has gotten the purple Wildcats into the NCAA 3 times, including back to back seasons. Impressive. Very tough to win anything in Evanston.
Drew got screwed over by Vandy, which has now fired Stackhouse, who got Drew's job via his good buddy the then Vandy AD, who also is no longer in Nashville.
He basically “Kenny Payne’d” the Vanderbilt basketball program. His final season Vandy went 0-19 in the SEC. Also, snapped their NCAA record at making at least one 3 point shot since the rule began. Grand Canyon is a good fit for him. He should never coach at a power 5 level.
He didn’t get screwed, he was just terrible. Like Stackhouse after him.
I agree Holloway is really lowering the bar. I am all for hiring an up and coming coach but one big win or one good season I don’t consider them up and coming.
His situation there is interesting though. Mark Few has even alluded to the thought that GCU is probably the next up and coming Gonzaga out there. And somehow I saw where this Jerry Coangelo of NBA personnel fame is tied in with Drew as far as recruiting players. Keep your eye on that team he has. There are some studs on that team and I ain't talking about Syd.
By that comparison Chris Collins should never be considered then. During the same time frame that Bryce Drew went 40-59 at Vanderbilt, Collins went 30-57 at Northwestern.
Both coaches are/were at non traditional schools that are in tough conferences and have bounced back nicely since then.
Delusional to think you can take a coach from Illinois, lol. You just lost one to Michigan, it’s the same tier of job in the same wealthier conference … except Illinois is also in a much better spot than Michigan.
i can't see Holloway being comfortable at Louisville. he is a real Jersey guy and he is at his alma mater.
i will keep doubling down on Will Wade. the violations will be gone in 14 months and they are easy to work around. i don't see why we want candidates who don't want to be here.
i will keep doubling down on Will Wade. the violations will be gone in 14 months and they are easy to work around. i don't see why we want candidates who don't want to be here.
What Collins inherited at NU was a program that had never been competitive, What Drew inherited was a program with a sound, though far from really good, history, but in Kevin Stallings last years had losy its way in al real, including recruiting. So it was a terrible time for anybody to take over the program, doubly so anyone who did not know the SEC well. Drew simply could not get all that done before a new AD wanted his long time close friend to have the job.
Drew had 5 teams at Valpo. All 5 made the post-season, 2 of them NCAA. His win totals at GCU: 23, 24, and 30 (so far), with 2 NCAA tourneys. I don't think Kenny Payne could have sniffed getting closed to any of that.
Agreed. That NYC area type belongs there. For example, I don't think Lou Carneseca could have been happy and winning big in any other region. Even Syracuse and BC seemed too far away from NYC to him.
So you were in the room with while the negotiations were going on? What was said?
When Collins arrived, Northwestern had gone 89-75 in the previous 5 years under Bill Carmody. The 30-57 record that Collins achieved were in Collins’ 6th, 7th and 8th seasons.
That part of your post is off.
We are not looking ahead to the future of college sports by trying to hire a coach with past success in the NCAA world. Players are paid now. They can change teams at will. Do universities even track athletes graduation rates anymore? Let’s hire some coach from the NBA G league. Or from Europe. Remember when CRP coached there?
The box is only small if you are focused on a coach in this country with an affordable buyout. Who has won an ncaa title. Is willing to undertake the complete rebuild of a college basketball program. It may expand if you look at coaches with success managing low level / semi pro players.
Rumor was that Schertz was one of the ones Heird really wanted but backed off after they didn't make the NCAAT.
Lets go back to what or at least what I thought I heard our top 3 choices were by Heird.
1) Scott Drew - not coming deciding to stay at Baylor
2) Dusty May - not coming just signed a contract to become Michigan's next HC
3) Mick Cronin - crickets.... although several on here have speculated that we have moved on to others? Why haven't we heard (Heird) anything definite.
Also for those of you who believe his contract is a detriment, Cronin may be able to negotiate a settlement since UCLA is leaving the PAC10 and might make his buyout something we can live with. But it can't be discussed overnight.
1) Scott Drew - not coming deciding to stay at Baylor
2) Dusty May - not coming just signed a contract to become Michigan's next HC
3) Mick Cronin - crickets.... although several on here have speculated that we have moved on to others? Why haven't we heard (Heird) anything definite.
Also for those of you who believe his contract is a detriment, Cronin may be able to negotiate a settlement since UCLA is leaving the PAC10 and might make his buyout something we can live with. But it can't be discussed overnight.
At this point, I could be happy with
Richard Pitino
Eric Mussleman
Mick Cronin
Will Wade
Also, one last thought on Dusty May… going from south Florida to Ann Arbor will be more than culture shock. I predict he will be found frozen in a snow drift by mid November. South Fl. summer is year round. Ann Arbor summer is 5 days in July.
Richard Pitino
Eric Mussleman
Mick Cronin
Will Wade
Also, one last thought on Dusty May… going from south Florida to Ann Arbor will be more than culture shock. I predict he will be found frozen in a snow drift by mid November. South Fl. summer is year round. Ann Arbor summer is 5 days in July.
I'm a no go on 3 of the 4 listed here, Musselman would be the only one that makes sense to me.
The Sycamores were third among the first four out, and NCAA selection committee chairman Dr. Charles McClelland said five bids were stolen during the conference tournament season. One of those bids was ISU's.
Perhaps, buy you failed to note these details: Carmody was not a first time HC. He had taken all 4 of his Princeton teams (Princeton is the most successful Ivy League program) to the post-season, 2 of them the NCAA, where he won a game. While Carmody did get two 20 win teams at Northwestern, he never made the NCAA.
Collins only HC job has been Northwestern, and he has produced 3 NCAA teams.
I see all that as suggesting that Carmody did a good at Northwestern but did not leave a program ready to step up more, while Collins could show a whole lot more in a place easier to recruit to.