|
Post by Commissioner on Jul 11, 2013 20:30:16 GMT -5
Dan Majerle is turning out to be a stellar recruiter. Having snared high-major 6-11 prospect Miroslav Jaksic of Walled Lake, today he picked up Demetrius Walker, a transfer from New Mexico. Walker wasn't a stud with New Mexico, but he was a member of the rotation, playing over 15 minutes a game last year as a junior. He's also picked up a Colorado transfer, Jeremy Adams, again no stud but a guy who averaged over 11 minutes a game last year playing in the PAC 12. That's a pretty good start for a new D-I program.
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Jul 11, 2013 22:46:52 GMT -5
What the heck is going on out there?
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Jul 29, 2013 13:51:03 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Mar 14, 2020 17:27:25 GMT -5
Well, almost seven years after the first post in this thread, the Thunder Dan era has come to an end at Grand Canyon. He was fired by the school after 7 seasons. On the surface, it wasn't a bad tenure, as this past season was Dan's first with a losing record, and his overall record was 136-89. But from a high mark of 27-7 in 2015-16, the program has been in a slide ever since. And the Antelopes never made the NIT or NCAA tourney during that time. The program enjoys a great fanbase and homecourt experience, and is located in a very fertile recruiting area. The right person can make that program take off. For awhile, it looked like that guy was Majerle. www.azcentral.com/story/sports/college/gcu/2020/03/12/dan-majerle-fired-grand-canyon-university-basketball-coach/5039050002/
|
|
|
Post by Commissioner on Mar 14, 2020 18:02:14 GMT -5
Well, almost seven years after the first post in this thread, the Thunder Dan era has come to an end at Grand Canyon. He was fired by the school after 7 seasons. On the surface, it wasn't a bad tenure, as this past season was Dan's first with a losing record, and his overall record was 136-89. But from a high mark of 27-7 in 2015-16, the program has been in a slide ever since. And the Antelopes never made the NIT or NCAA tourney during that time. The program enjoys a great fanbase and homecourt experience, and is located in a very fertile recruiting area. The right person can make that program take off. For awhile, it looked like that guy was Majerle. www.azcentral.com/story/sports/college/gcu/2020/03/12/dan-majerle-fired-grand-canyon-university-basketball-coach/5039050002/Majerle by year 2014: 15-15 - 3rd in WAC. Not eligible for WAC tournament. Lose to Pacific in first round of CIT. 2015: 17-15 - 2nd in WAC. Not eligible for WAC tournament. Lose to Northern Arizona in first round of CIT. 2016: 27-7 - 2nd in WAC. Not eligible for WAC tournament. Lose to Coastal Carolina in third round of CIT. 2017: 22-9 - 2nd in WAC. Not eligible for WAC tournament. No post-season. 2018: 22-12 - 3rd in WAC. Lose to New Mexico State in WAC tournament final. Lose to Mercer in first round of CBI. 2019: 20-14 - 3rd in WAC. Lose to New Mexico State in WAC tournament final. Lose to West Virginia in first round of CBI. 2020: 13-17 - 5th in WAC. Conference tournament cancelled. Almost a perfect arc. Couldn't quite get over the hump. Still, it's pretty brutal when you get fired after 1 losing season following 4 consecutive 20-win seasons. A heckuva lot better than the last 7 Titan seasons. Four of his 7 rotation players this year graduate, which may have added to the sense that he wasn't going to be able to flip that curve again.
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Mar 17, 2020 14:36:51 GMT -5
So, Grand Canyon hired former Vanderbilt and Valpo coach Bryce Drew to replace Dan Majerle. I am not sure if that was the right call. I think Drew is a good coach, but he took over a good situation at Valpo. He failed when he stepped up at Vanderbilt, despite taking over an NCAA tournament team, including going 6-30 in his last two conference seasons.
I think GCU overthought the decision. Marvin Menzies was on Majerle's staff, in his first year as associate head coach. Menzies was formerly the coach at New Mexico State. In nine seasons at NMSU, he went to the NCAA tournament five times and the NIT once. He had only once losing season, at 16-17. He compiled a 74% winning percentage in the WAC, which is the same conference GCU is in now. Unless there was some issue behind the scenes, it seems to me that the smart move would have just been to elevate MM to the big chair.
We'll see how things work out with Drew.
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Jul 26, 2020 13:06:13 GMT -5
So, Grand Canyon hired former Vanderbilt and Valpo coach Bryce Drew to replace Dan Majerle. I am not sure if that was the right call. I think Drew is a good coach, but he took over a good situation at Valpo. He failed when he stepped up at Vanderbilt, despite taking over an NCAA tournament team, including going 6-30 in his last two conference seasons. I think GCU overthought the decision. Marvin Menzies was on Majerle's staff, in his first year as associate head coach. Menzies was formerly the coach at New Mexico State. In nine seasons at NMSU, he went to the NCAA tournament five times and the NIT once. He had only once losing season, at 16-17. He compiled a 74% winning percentage in the WAC, which is the same conference GCU is in now. Unless there was some issue behind the scenes, it seems to me that the smart move would have just been to elevate MM to the big chair. We'll see how things work out with Drew. Like I said, we'll see how things work out with Bryce Drew at GCU, but here's another bit of info suggesting that maybe Grand Canyon missed out on making the obvious hire when they passed on Marvin Menzies. This article names Menzies the top coach of the WAC so far this century. bustingbrackets.com/2020/07/16/wac-basketball-top-10-head-coaches-of-the-century-2000-20/11/
|
|
|
Post by Commissioner on Jul 26, 2020 14:06:28 GMT -5
So, Grand Canyon hired former Vanderbilt and Valpo coach Bryce Drew to replace Dan Majerle. I am not sure if that was the right call. I think Drew is a good coach, but he took over a good situation at Valpo. He failed when he stepped up at Vanderbilt, despite taking over an NCAA tournament team, including going 6-30 in his last two conference seasons. I think GCU overthought the decision. Marvin Menzies was on Majerle's staff, in his first year as associate head coach. Menzies was formerly the coach at New Mexico State. In nine seasons at NMSU, he went to the NCAA tournament five times and the NIT once. He had only once losing season, at 16-17. He compiled a 74% winning percentage in the WAC, which is the same conference GCU is in now. Unless there was some issue behind the scenes, it seems to me that the smart move would have just been to elevate MM to the big chair. We'll see how things work out with Drew. Like I said, we'll see how things work out with Bryce Drew at GCU, but here's another bit of info suggesting that maybe Grand Canyon missed out on making the obvious hire when they passed on Marvin Menzies. This article names Menzies the top coach of the WAC so far this century. bustingbrackets.com/2020/07/16/wac-basketball-top-10-head-coaches-of-the-century-2000-20/11/Drew just seems to me a bad fit for GCU. Like you say, they may have overthought this.
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Jul 26, 2020 17:35:39 GMT -5
Drew just seems to me a bad fit for GCU. Like you say, they may have overthought this. Same thought I had about fit. Truthfully, I wouldn't have fired Thunder Dan, outside of their being some conflict behind the scenes. However, if they were going to make a change, Marvin Menzies seemed like an easy choice.
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on May 10, 2024 12:52:11 GMT -5
Drew just seems to me a bad fit for GCU. Like you say, they may have overthought this. Same thought I had about fit. Truthfully, I wouldn't have fired Thunder Dan, outside of their being some conflict behind the scenes. However, if they were going to make a change, Marvin Menzies seemed like an easy choice. With the news today that Grand Canyon is joining the West Coast Conference, it's interesting to look back on this thread that started about 11 years ago. Thunder Dan was doing very well in Phoenix with the 'Lopes, and the future looked bright. They fell off a bit and replaced Dan with Bryce Drew. I have to admit, I was wrong in thinking that Drew might struggle there; he's been excellent. A big plus in his favor, which even Thunder Dan didn't have, is the ability of GCU to pay out high major style money to recruits via NIL deals. It's a program awash in cash, and they are spending it wisely. GCU to the West Coast Conference is a definite upgrade for the program, and personally, it means I'll get to see better programs here locally as the WCC teams make it to Phoenix for conference road games. The program has come a long way in the past decade. That's due in large part to a dedicated, focused administration and a detailed plan for success. Of course, having Jerry Colangelo playing the role of rainmaker and "sugar daddy" is probably the most important factor in that rise. Dreams and good intentions are great, but there's no substitute for a lot of cash. Go 'Lopes!
|
|