|
|
Post by Rogobob77 on Apr 3, 2024 13:30:09 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by Rogobob77 on Apr 3, 2024 13:32:35 GMT -5
I would think this ups the Titans' chances of getting MSU back on the schedule.
|
|
|
|
Post by ptctitan on Apr 3, 2024 13:44:50 GMT -5
I hope he hires a good staff and that we play much better next season.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Post by akhorey on Apr 3, 2024 14:12:57 GMT -5
Not that it makes a huge difference but will be nice to maybe keep Antoine in the potential donor pool with this move as he coached him a little bit. As well as just maybe being around every once in a while. That’s the saddest thing about the Ray stuff to me is that they lost his son wanting to give back in the process along with other guys on that team excluding Eli.
|
|
|
|
Post by titantarheel on Apr 3, 2024 14:20:22 GMT -5
Potentially...Montgomery consulted Izzo a bunch on this. They both know the challenges at UD, and perhaps Montgomery got some concessions/commitments from leadership in the name of helping him be successful and support his plan for making hoops a power again. Or, I would be surprised if that did NOT occur during the hiring process.
Welcome aboard Coach! Wishing you success and hoping you can recruit back so many of the fans that have left feeling disenchanted by results on the floor and decisions made by AD Vowels.
|
|
|
|
Post by ptctitan on Apr 3, 2024 15:39:08 GMT -5
It's funny to read the perceptions of others here about his age and compare them to the opinions of some who were around our team here 3 years ago when it finished 11-3 after he joined the staff. Those people on the team and staff found him to be a very high energy coach who brought the difference to our play that year. A number of them have texted me saying he is a very good hire for us. Yet, those here who have never seen him coach (due to the Covid restrictions in 2020-21) have decided that his age makes him an older low energy guy. For the moment, I'll go with the opinions of those who experienced him firsthand.
|
|
|
|
Post by calihanmole on Apr 3, 2024 15:45:22 GMT -5
I agree with what some others have said. It’s not a creative hire, and it’s hard to get excited about this pick. That said, I wish our new coach well and hope he finds a way to figure out the Rubik’s cube that is Detroit Mercy basketball.
This is a TOUGH job, as we have already discussed ad nauseam over the years. The recent changes in college hoops only make it harder. Hard to build a team when good players will simply leave for a bigger stage and more money. The UDM job could become a post where coaches go to end their careers. I know many of us wanted a younger guy, but I guess we can’t rule out the possibility that the most promising younger guys said no or just weren’t too enthusiastic about the job after giving it some deep thought and talking to their mentors.
Hopefully coach can land a few good commits right out the gate. Ideally, grad transfers or very good students who will not encounter admissions/eligibility issues.
|
|
|
|
Post by rc on Apr 3, 2024 16:01:15 GMT -5
“At 1-31 last year the only direction is up.” Not 100% accurate. Haha! |
|
|
|
Post by calihanmole on Apr 3, 2024 16:03:00 GMT -5
ptc, I’m not sure if people here were specifically saying that Montgomery is a lazy old man based on what they’ve seen firsthand. I think the general thoughts expressed were that college basketball has become a very intense environment with the changes regarding recruiting (due to turnover), and even more pressure to do things like talk to donors and be somewhat involved in the NIL collectives that are semi attached to your school. It’s more work than it’s ever been, and it’s more unfair for schools like UDM than it’s ever been.
As I said in a previous post, the risk for a guy like Montgomery is lower because he’s probably getting a guaranteed five years salary and could simply retire if this doesn’t work out. If a younger man had this job, it would be a situation of make this head coaching position work at UDM, or go back to taking orders as an assistant. That’s not an attack on older people, it’s simply stating the reality that a younger guy might have a fire under his ass that a 54 year old does not. There’s a reason some starving artists produce their best art when they simply need to in order to survive or legitimately call themselves artists. I can think of similar examples in my own life as someone approaching my mid 40s and having worked with lots of people at a few organizations. At a certain point, some people just get soft. Not saying that’s true of Montgomery - simply saying that maybe a younger guy trying to prove himself to the world might have been the better direction.
|
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Apr 3, 2024 16:07:56 GMT -5
Here's what I posted about Montgomery on another thread a few days ago:
If Montgomery is the hire, I'm fine with that. As the Commissioner has said, the people doing the interviewing and evaluation know more about the candidates than I do. I like the fact that he has experience as a head coach and recent experience here. He's obviously still motivated; otherwise I imagine he'd be happy to serve as an assistant coach to Izzo for the base salary of $424,000 rather than take on the tall task of trying to rebuild the mess that is Titan basketball. He's obviously well known among local high school and JUCO coaches. Whether or not he (or anyone) will be able to overcome all the issues in the program is anyone's guess.
As far as his record at NIU, over his last five full seasons there, the win/loss record was 84-79, a big improvement from his early years there. In the 2019-20 season, the team was 18-13, and finished tied for first in the MAC west division. That's pretty good for NIU. Evaluating him as a candidate, I find it a positive that the end of his tenure was more successful than the beginning.
With Montgomery being officially announced, I'm excited. Basically, I'm excited that we have someone in the position who knows the ins and outs of being a head coach. I would have been fine with most of the other guys mentioned, also. They probably all had strengths and weaknesses that made them unique.
Montgomery's age doesn't concern me at all. I am probably less hung up on age than some other posters on the board. I've seen low energy guys who were young, and high energy guys who were quite a bit older than MM. He's 54, not 74. Yeah, it can be seen as a safe choice, but given the state of the program, we can't afford to hire someone who is going to be in well over their head. There is no universal ideal candidate or guaranteed successful profile. We aren't likely to attract the type of candidate who would make everyone happy, like Dusty May at Michigan. We got an experienced guy who is local, connected, and has the added benefit of having inside knowledge and experience in our program. That's not bad, all things considered.
Go Titans.
|
|
|
|
Post by rbj on Apr 3, 2024 16:48:10 GMT -5
On one of the UofM message boards they are saying that Matt Ishbia had a voice in Montgomery becoming our head coach. I'm not sure why he would care what happens at UofD. Does anyone have any inside info?
|
|
|
|
Post by dtowntitan on Apr 3, 2024 16:50:03 GMT -5
TERRIBLE hire. He was the absolute worst of the 4 announced. Same old BS.
This hire was about safety. Not about what could actually rejuvenate and bring excitement to 6 and Liv. This program needs to win AND bring excitement back to the program.
To me this is the same old same old let's go back to the same bucket and pull out the next thing that was like all the others.
LAME ASF
|
|
|
|
Post by upbasketballfan on Apr 3, 2024 17:35:32 GMT -5
On one of the UofM message boards they are saying that Matt Ishbia had a voice in Montgomery becoming our head coach. I'm not sure why he would care what happens at UofD. Does anyone have any inside info? Ishbia and Montgomery do have a connection. When Ishbia was at Michigan State he was a walk for Jud Heathcote’s National Championship team and Montgomery was a young assistant coach on that team. |
|
|
|
Post by Commissioner on Apr 3, 2024 18:24:17 GMT -5
I know he wasn't everyone's first pick, but it's the pick and let's all root for Montgomery to succeed. I don't think there's much point in dwelling on reasons why any of us thought it should be someone else. Coach Montgomery certainly brings many pluses to the job and was the pick out of what appeared to be a very competitive and qualified field.
Go Titans!
|
|
