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Post by Rogobob77 on Nov 13, 2021 22:28:46 GMT -5
I thought I'd start a new thread separate from "Bacari Fired," so we can focus just on candidates and criteria, not on the fallout from Bacari's dismissal or Vowels' future or JJ (except as a potential candidate) or Bacari himself. As I start thinking about this, it seems to me that there are basically 6 groups from which a school like UofD draws its candidates: 1. The Loyal Assistant. This is the simple promotion from within, and the candidate this time around is JJ (though some have questioned whether he's been a loyal assistant. Usually when this is done, it's because the program is doing well, and the top man retires or takes a better job. It's rarely done when things are going poorly. The Titans have done this a couple times in the modern (i.e. Post-WWII) era, with mixed results. Smokey Gaines was promoted when Dick Vitale stepped down, and Gaines had the best two consecutive year W-L record of any Titan coach ever. When Gaines left for San Diego State, we did it again, promoting Willie McCarter, a disaster from which we've never truly recovered. (Here's a great "what if" for you: Gaines offered to take McCarter with him to SD State as his top assistant. Had McCarter accepted, who would have gotten the Titan job--then one in decent demand, with the team having gotten an at-large NCAA bid and finished the regular season ranked #20 in the nation? Who knows, maybe we'd have never fallen from the ranks of national powers). 2. The High School Coaching Legend. This is a rare hiring but not unheard of. The High School Legend is a HS Coach who is either more or less legendary after a long career, or has at least stunned the state HS ranks with a series of awesome seasons. Usually that will include multiple state titles or final appearances. This person may have a couple years as a college assistant under his belt and that adds to his credentials, but he's coming straight from high school and his success there is the source of his candidacy. Over on the grumpy board, people have suggested Michael Thomas, head coach at Grand Blanc. Thomas is a young guy, but won a couple state titles at Kalamazoo Central, then spent a few years as an assistant at D-III Albion. Another possible candidate from this category is Pat Donnelly, head coach at UD Jesuit High, where he's had enormous success. Donnelly spent 7 years as head coach at D-III Elmira around the last turn of the century, but had an overall losing record of 81-94. Donnelly is an intriguing candidate, but that losing record at Elmira I find worrisome. The hope is that this type of candidate has the HS and AAU contacts to recruit, and can translate HS success to the college level. Frankly, I'm surprised how many people seem eager for this type of candidate. The step from HS to D-I is a big one, and this is certainly a high risk approach. The Titans have not tried this approach, though they probably should have back in 1969, when they passed over Pershing legend Will Robinson. 3. The High Major Assistant. This is the young assistant coach at a successful high major, ready to take his first top job. The theory is that this candidate has learned how to run a winning program at the side of an established coach. They've probably been recruiting, and been successful at it, given that their high major team has likely been successful. They may have some recruits ready to come aboard, guys who might be at the bottom of the high major pool but the top of the mid-major pool. They tend to be a bit costly, because they're usually payed pretty well at the high major assistant level, and may not want to leave a secure position for the risk of running a mid-major. The Titans have had huge successes, and huge failures here. In the latter category, we have ... hmmm... oh, that's right! Bacari Alexander. Also Don Sicko, who had some success but couldn't get over the hump and left the program in disarray, and Ricky Byrdsong, who never won much at Detroit but did slowly rebuild something of a foundation after the McCarter/Sicko years. On the success side, there's Dick Vitale and Perry Watson, the two coaches who still cast such long shadows over the program. Watson, of course, was also the HS legend (as was Vitale in New Jersey), and a bit older than most, but he still put in his years at UM before coming to UofD. That in itself may be a warning to those wanting to pluck someone directly from high school. Several names bantered about fit here. Dane Fife and Saadi Washington don't seem at all interested. But Preston Murphy, currently at Creighton, has been mentioned, and also Ryan Peydon at Ohio State. Another is Cornell Mann, currently at Missouri. He's a Michigan guy who has also been an assistant at WMU, CMU, and Oakland, plus several years at Iowa State. One guy who doesn't perfectly fit the profile but who could be a candidate is Lou Dawkins. Dawkins has never been the high major assistant, but he's spent the last several years at Northern Illinois and Cleveland State, where he's been raiding Michigan talent pretty well. Before that he was a high school legend, so he's a bit of a combination of two categories-- not quite a high major assistant, but not right out of high school, either. 4. The Low-Major Boomlet. We shouldn't underestimate the down sides to the Titan job. Aging facilities, low attendance, tight budget. BUT, this is still a better job than probably 100-200 D-I jobs. There is some tradition, and an alumni base waiting to be awakened; Detroit isn't what it once was, but it still isn't a bad recruiting area; it historically pays pretty well. One source of coaches is the successful low-major (or D-II) coach. Often this person has already turned around or taken to new heights one of these smaller programs. He's usually a younger guy, though some, like Scott Nagy at Wright State, had put in quite a bit of time before making the move up. RB has suggested the Titans shoot for Montana head coach Travis DeCuire. In a post a while back on the grumpy board, I suggested several names more as examples than actual candidates, including Bashir Mason of Wagner (small, private, urban school), Rob Krimmel at St. Francis (difficult job at Jesuit Institution); Bob Richey at Furman, and Casey Alexander at Lipscomb. Another guy in this category, perhaps the most likley? D-II Ferris State's Andy Bronkema. I'll admit that all things equal, this is my preferred category, where I'd start looking. Green Bay (Linc Darner) and Wright State (Nagy) have recently made NCAA tournaments after this type of hire. YSU also went this route a year ago. The Titans never really have tried this, however. 5. The Retread, Looking for Redemption. The last coach to take Detroit to the NCAA, Ray McCallum, came from this category. This is a group that had success at one time, usually at a mid-major, got the opportunity at a high major, and came up short. He is typically now an assistant somewhere, hoping for another chance. Because this coach has usually won in the past at a mid-major, I like them. Cleveland State's Dennis Felton is in this category, as is the man he replaced, Gary Waters. I'm not seeing many names in connection with the Titan job from this category this time around. Former Titan assistant Ernie Zigler, currently an assistant at Mississippi State, would be one, although Zigler never got the high major head job, and in fact wasn't much successful as a head coach--he did not have a winning season in six years at CMU. Unless I'm missing someone, the Titans haven't gone this route in the past. A subset of this group is the one time high major star, who has often been set back by scandal--think Rollie Massimino at Cleveland State or Lefty Driesell at James Madison--but I don't see any such candidate in the Titans' future. 6. The Outsider. This is a slim category, but consists of men not currently in college or high school coaching. Broadcasters and professional players or assistants would be in this category. Dan Majerle was this type when hired at Grand Canyon. A couple have been mentioned in connection with the Titan vacancy: Willie Green and Rashad Phillips. I remain leery, as I was two years ago, about bringing back the old star, but Green and Phillips both have their attractions. I'm also leery, though, about hiring someone with no college coaching experience at this point in our program. The Titans did this one time since WW-II--Bob Calihan, our winningest career coach ever (you know, Calihan Hall and all that). Although I tend to favor candidates from categories 4 and 5, I think we shouldn't rule any one type out, or think we must draw from a certain background. But I definitely like to see results, which is why I like to see guys who have won in low major or mid-major head coaching jobs. Then we've got to look at vision, and that's something most of us won't get to see before the hiring is made. Anyway, with these categories in mind (have I missed any), what is it we need most in terms of qualifications? Maybe that's too obvious--we need recruiting! But let's hear people's thoughts. We've tried #3. (Bacari Alexander) and we've tried #5. Twice (McCallum,Davis). What should we do next? I cant see the Davis clan in Detroit beyond March of 2022. I dont have an inkling on what road we should travel down next. I don’t see Davis leaving after this season. He hasn’t really done anything that would warrant a better gig, and I don’t see the school anxious to move in a new direction. My guess is that we might see a new AD in the next year or so, and that domino would likely fall first before a coaching change is considered. In any event, we are only two games into this season, so perhaps best to wait a bit before speculating about the next regime.
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Post by udballer on Nov 14, 2021 0:01:16 GMT -5
I thought I'd start a new thread separate from "Bacari Fired," so we can focus just on candidates and criteria, not on the fallout from Bacari's dismissal or Vowels' future or JJ (except as a potential candidate) or Bacari himself. As I start thinking about this, it seems to me that there are basically 6 groups from which a school like UofD draws its candidates: 1. The Loyal Assistant. This is the simple promotion from within, and the candidate this time around is JJ (though some have questioned whether he's been a loyal assistant. Usually when this is done, it's because the program is doing well, and the top man retires or takes a better job. It's rarely done when things are going poorly. The Titans have done this a couple times in the modern (i.e. Post-WWII) era, with mixed results. Smokey Gaines was promoted when Dick Vitale stepped down, and Gaines had the best two consecutive year W-L record of any Titan coach ever. When Gaines left for San Diego State, we did it again, promoting Willie McCarter, a disaster from which we've never truly recovered. (Here's a great "what if" for you: Gaines offered to take McCarter with him to SD State as his top assistant. Had McCarter accepted, who would have gotten the Titan job--then one in decent demand, with the team having gotten an at-large NCAA bid and finished the regular season ranked #20 in the nation? Who knows, maybe we'd have never fallen from the ranks of national powers). 2. The High School Coaching Legend. This is a rare hiring but not unheard of. The High School Legend is a HS Coach who is either more or less legendary after a long career, or has at least stunned the state HS ranks with a series of awesome seasons. Usually that will include multiple state titles or final appearances. This person may have a couple years as a college assistant under his belt and that adds to his credentials, but he's coming straight from high school and his success there is the source of his candidacy. Over on the grumpy board, people have suggested Michael Thomas, head coach at Grand Blanc. Thomas is a young guy, but won a couple state titles at Kalamazoo Central, then spent a few years as an assistant at D-III Albion. Another possible candidate from this category is Pat Donnelly, head coach at UD Jesuit High, where he's had enormous success. Donnelly spent 7 years as head coach at D-III Elmira around the last turn of the century, but had an overall losing record of 81-94. Donnelly is an intriguing candidate, but that losing record at Elmira I find worrisome. The hope is that this type of candidate has the HS and AAU contacts to recruit, and can translate HS success to the college level. Frankly, I'm surprised how many people seem eager for this type of candidate. The step from HS to D-I is a big one, and this is certainly a high risk approach. The Titans have not tried this approach, though they probably should have back in 1969, when they passed over Pershing legend Will Robinson. 3. The High Major Assistant. This is the young assistant coach at a successful high major, ready to take his first top job. The theory is that this candidate has learned how to run a winning program at the side of an established coach. They've probably been recruiting, and been successful at it, given that their high major team has likely been successful. They may have some recruits ready to come aboard, guys who might be at the bottom of the high major pool but the top of the mid-major pool. They tend to be a bit costly, because they're usually payed pretty well at the high major assistant level, and may not want to leave a secure position for the risk of running a mid-major. The Titans have had huge successes, and huge failures here. In the latter category, we have ... hmmm... oh, that's right! Bacari Alexander. Also Don Sicko, who had some success but couldn't get over the hump and left the program in disarray, and Ricky Byrdsong, who never won much at Detroit but did slowly rebuild something of a foundation after the McCarter/Sicko years. On the success side, there's Dick Vitale and Perry Watson, the two coaches who still cast such long shadows over the program. Watson, of course, was also the HS legend (as was Vitale in New Jersey), and a bit older than most, but he still put in his years at UM before coming to UofD. That in itself may be a warning to those wanting to pluck someone directly from high school. Several names bantered about fit here. Dane Fife and Saadi Washington don't seem at all interested. But Preston Murphy, currently at Creighton, has been mentioned, and also Ryan Peydon at Ohio State. Another is Cornell Mann, currently at Missouri. He's a Michigan guy who has also been an assistant at WMU, CMU, and Oakland, plus several years at Iowa State. One guy who doesn't perfectly fit the profile but who could be a candidate is Lou Dawkins. Dawkins has never been the high major assistant, but he's spent the last several years at Northern Illinois and Cleveland State, where he's been raiding Michigan talent pretty well. Before that he was a high school legend, so he's a bit of a combination of two categories-- not quite a high major assistant, but not right out of high school, either. 4. The Low-Major Boomlet. We shouldn't underestimate the down sides to the Titan job. Aging facilities, low attendance, tight budget. BUT, this is still a better job than probably 100-200 D-I jobs. There is some tradition, and an alumni base waiting to be awakened; Detroit isn't what it once was, but it still isn't a bad recruiting area; it historically pays pretty well. One source of coaches is the successful low-major (or D-II) coach. Often this person has already turned around or taken to new heights one of these smaller programs. He's usually a younger guy, though some, like Scott Nagy at Wright State, had put in quite a bit of time before making the move up. RB has suggested the Titans shoot for Montana head coach Travis DeCuire. In a post a while back on the grumpy board, I suggested several names more as examples than actual candidates, including Bashir Mason of Wagner (small, private, urban school), Rob Krimmel at St. Francis (difficult job at Jesuit Institution); Bob Richey at Furman, and Casey Alexander at Lipscomb. Another guy in this category, perhaps the most likley? D-II Ferris State's Andy Bronkema. I'll admit that all things equal, this is my preferred category, where I'd start looking. Green Bay (Linc Darner) and Wright State (Nagy) have recently made NCAA tournaments after this type of hire. YSU also went this route a year ago. The Titans never really have tried this, however. 5. The Retread, Looking for Redemption. The last coach to take Detroit to the NCAA, Ray McCallum, came from this category. This is a group that had success at one time, usually at a mid-major, got the opportunity at a high major, and came up short. He is typically now an assistant somewhere, hoping for another chance. Because this coach has usually won in the past at a mid-major, I like them. Cleveland State's Dennis Felton is in this category, as is the man he replaced, Gary Waters. I'm not seeing many names in connection with the Titan job from this category this time around. Former Titan assistant Ernie Zigler, currently an assistant at Mississippi State, would be one, although Zigler never got the high major head job, and in fact wasn't much successful as a head coach--he did not have a winning season in six years at CMU. Unless I'm missing someone, the Titans haven't gone this route in the past. A subset of this group is the one time high major star, who has often been set back by scandal--think Rollie Massimino at Cleveland State or Lefty Driesell at James Madison--but I don't see any such candidate in the Titans' future. 6. The Outsider. This is a slim category, but consists of men not currently in college or high school coaching. Broadcasters and professional players or assistants would be in this category. Dan Majerle was this type when hired at Grand Canyon. A couple have been mentioned in connection with the Titan vacancy: Willie Green and Rashad Phillips. I remain leery, as I was two years ago, about bringing back the old star, but Green and Phillips both have their attractions. I'm also leery, though, about hiring someone with no college coaching experience at this point in our program. The Titans did this one time since WW-II--Bob Calihan, our winningest career coach ever (you know, Calihan Hall and all that). Although I tend to favor candidates from categories 4 and 5, I think we shouldn't rule any one type out, or think we must draw from a certain background. But I definitely like to see results, which is why I like to see guys who have won in low major or mid-major head coaching jobs. Then we've got to look at vision, and that's something most of us won't get to see before the hiring is made. Anyway, with these categories in mind (have I missed any), what is it we need most in terms of qualifications? Maybe that's too obvious--we need recruiting! But let's hear people's thoughts. We've tried #3. (Bacari Alexander) and we've tried #5. Twice (McCallum,Davis). What should we do next? I cant see the Davis clan in Detroit beyond March of 2022. I dont have an inkling on what road we should travel down next. The correct answer has always been Mike Thomas. He's now won a state Class A title at Grand Blanc as well. No reason to think he'd perform any worse than we've seen the last half decade. Im certain his performance will get him a shot sooner or later. Maybe he'll end up replacing Kampe at OU? Ideally, it would be nice if Mike Davis sticks around and works out. If not, Thomas is still at the top of my personal list.
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lafan
Iyapo Montgomery
Posts: 47
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Post by lafan on Nov 22, 2021 13:55:46 GMT -5
Instead of going with a re-tread or ex-UofD player, why not try to go after a promising young coach like Thomas. Loyola Chicago used that strategy with success.
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Post by fan on Nov 22, 2021 14:35:36 GMT -5
agreed, if and when MD leaves.
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Post by upbasketballfan on Nov 22, 2021 15:29:11 GMT -5
Instead of going with a re-tread or ex-UofD player, why not try to go after a promising young coach like Thomas. Loyola Chicago used that strategy with success. [br I’m trying to see a similarity here but can’t find one except that Thomas and Valentine are both from Michigan, played HS in Michigan and are both under 45.
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Post by udballer on Nov 22, 2021 19:55:40 GMT -5
Instead of going with a re-tread or ex-UofD player, why not try to go after a promising young coach like Thomas. Loyola Chicago used that strategy with success. [br I’m trying to see a similarity here but can’t find one except that Thomas and Valentine are both from Michigan, played HS in Michigan and are both under 45. You're right. Thomas is a little better qualified. 😁
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Post by calihanmole on Mar 9, 2022 13:27:48 GMT -5
Rick Pitino named MAAC coach of the year. Remember that time The Mole orchestrated the greatest message board prank of all time and got a local reporter to take the bait? Hilarious!
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Post by hyperion on Apr 21, 2022 12:11:54 GMT -5
I have a possible long term solution to our current mediocrity but it must include a coaching change. The idea is that good, if not great players, can be had for a 25K-50K NIL. Hire a hungry young coach for $200K and pay 5 starting transfer portal players $50K each. You’d be farther than paying $600K to a coach that is recruiting very mediocre players. I hope our new President is reading this.
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Post by upbasketballfan on Apr 21, 2022 12:33:55 GMT -5
Rick Pitino named MAAC coach of the year. Remember that time The Mole orchestrated the greatest message board prank of all time and got a local reporter to take the bait? Hilarious! And I for one was hoping you were correct!
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Post by rbj on Apr 21, 2022 12:53:46 GMT -5
I have a possible long term solution to our current mediocrity but it must include a coaching change. The idea is that good, if not great players, can be had for a 25K-50K NIL. Hire a hungry young coach for $200K and pay 5 starting transfer portal players $50K each. You’d be farther than paying $600K to a coach that is recruiting very mediocre players. I hope our new President is reading this. The universities cannot make direct payments to players. The NIL allows players to use their image and likeness to obtain money. For example, Greggs Pizza can pay Mo Sylla $50,000 to send a tweet to his followers, or to appear in a commercial. In the past, that would've been illegal.
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Post by titantarheel on Apr 21, 2022 13:26:17 GMT -5
I have a possible long term solution to our current mediocrity but it must include a coaching change. The idea is that good, if not great players, can be had for a 25K-50K NIL. Hire a hungry young coach for $200K and pay 5 starting transfer portal players $50K each. You’d be farther than paying $600K to a coach that is recruiting very mediocre players. I hope our new President is reading this. The universities cannot make direct payments to players. The NIL allows players to use their image and likeness to obtain money. For example, Greggs Pizza can pay Mo Sylla $50,000 to send a tweet to his followers, or to appear in a commercial. In the past, that would've been illegal. Good clarification RBJ. Although thru a 'coordinated' approach the example from Hyperion still could hold -- the university frees up a couple hundred grand annually to invest/spend somewhere in athletics, while on the side a booster group is arranging the NIL deals. There was a good story in the Athletic earlier this week that went into how a company has set up specifically to arrange for NIL deals for UM students. They already had some know-how by doing branding deals for professional athletes so it was easy enough to pivot and use their knowledge/expertise to support their school (it was a couple of UM alums)
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Post by nctitan on Apr 21, 2022 14:19:57 GMT -5
How much would you pay someone to take it off your hands?
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Post by motorcitysam on Apr 21, 2022 16:55:30 GMT -5
I'm always in favor of new ideas, but I don't know if paying five transfers 50K is the answer. If they can get that here, they can probably get it somewhere else. And if they come here just for the cash, they'll likely have their eyes on the door and their next stop from the moment they arrive. And getting a young hungry coach is what we did in 2016. That path fails more than it succeeds.
I don't know what the answer is for mid majors in the time of the portal and NIL, but I do believe a good coach has to be part of it. The Titans will have to be able to develop players in the short term. I like what we have seen in that regard with Kuol and Akec, but it can be hit and miss with transfers. In addition to development, we'll have to be able to build a connection with players so that they will want to stay rather than hit the portal.
It's a mess. Like I said, I don't know the answer.
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Post by rbj on Feb 1, 2023 22:30:10 GMT -5
I thought I'd start a new thread separate from "Bacari Fired," so we can focus just on candidates and criteria, not on the fallout from Bacari's dismissal or Vowels' future or JJ (except as a potential candidate) or Bacari himself. As I start thinking about this, it seems to me that there are basically 6 groups from which a school like UofD draws its candidates: 1. The Loyal Assistant. This is the simple promotion from within, and the candidate this time around is JJ (though some have questioned whether he's been a loyal assistant. Usually when this is done, it's because the program is doing well, and the top man retires or takes a better job. It's rarely done when things are going poorly. The Titans have done this a couple times in the modern (i.e. Post-WWII) era, with mixed results. Smokey Gaines was promoted when Dick Vitale stepped down, and Gaines had the best two consecutive year W-L record of any Titan coach ever. When Gaines left for San Diego State, we did it again, promoting Willie McCarter, a disaster from which we've never truly recovered. (Here's a great "what if" for you: Gaines offered to take McCarter with him to SD State as his top assistant. Had McCarter accepted, who would have gotten the Titan job--then one in decent demand, with the team having gotten an at-large NCAA bid and finished the regular season ranked #20 in the nation? Who knows, maybe we'd have never fallen from the ranks of national powers). 2. The High School Coaching Legend. This is a rare hiring but not unheard of. The High School Legend is a HS Coach who is either more or less legendary after a long career, or has at least stunned the state HS ranks with a series of awesome seasons. Usually that will include multiple state titles or final appearances. This person may have a couple years as a college assistant under his belt and that adds to his credentials, but he's coming straight from high school and his success there is the source of his candidacy. Over on the grumpy board, people have suggested Michael Thomas, head coach at Grand Blanc. Thomas is a young guy, but won a couple state titles at Kalamazoo Central, then spent a few years as an assistant at D-III Albion. Another possible candidate from this category is Pat Donnelly, head coach at UD Jesuit High, where he's had enormous success. Donnelly spent 7 years as head coach at D-III Elmira around the last turn of the century, but had an overall losing record of 81-94. Donnelly is an intriguing candidate, but that losing record at Elmira I find worrisome. The hope is that this type of candidate has the HS and AAU contacts to recruit, and can translate HS success to the college level. Frankly, I'm surprised how many people seem eager for this type of candidate. The step from HS to D-I is a big one, and this is certainly a high risk approach. The Titans have not tried this approach, though they probably should have back in 1969, when they passed over Pershing legend Will Robinson. 3. The High Major Assistant. This is the young assistant coach at a successful high major, ready to take his first top job. The theory is that this candidate has learned how to run a winning program at the side of an established coach. They've probably been recruiting, and been successful at it, given that their high major team has likely been successful. They may have some recruits ready to come aboard, guys who might be at the bottom of the high major pool but the top of the mid-major pool. They tend to be a bit costly, because they're usually payed pretty well at the high major assistant level, and may not want to leave a secure position for the risk of running a mid-major. The Titans have had huge successes, and huge failures here. In the latter category, we have ... hmmm... oh, that's right! Bacari Alexander. Also Don Sicko, who had some success but couldn't get over the hump and left the program in disarray, and Ricky Byrdsong, who never won much at Detroit but did slowly rebuild something of a foundation after the McCarter/Sicko years. On the success side, there's Dick Vitale and Perry Watson, the two coaches who still cast such long shadows over the program. Watson, of course, was also the HS legend (as was Vitale in New Jersey), and a bit older than most, but he still put in his years at UM before coming to UofD. That in itself may be a warning to those wanting to pluck someone directly from high school. Several names bantered about fit here. Dane Fife and Saadi Washington don't seem at all interested. But Preston Murphy, currently at Creighton, has been mentioned, and also Ryan Peydon at Ohio State. Another is Cornell Mann, currently at Missouri. He's a Michigan guy who has also been an assistant at WMU, CMU, and Oakland, plus several years at Iowa State. One guy who doesn't perfectly fit the profile but who could be a candidate is Lou Dawkins. Dawkins has never been the high major assistant, but he's spent the last several years at Northern Illinois and Cleveland State, where he's been raiding Michigan talent pretty well. Before that he was a high school legend, so he's a bit of a combination of two categories-- not quite a high major assistant, but not right out of high school, either. 4. The Low-Major Boomlet. We shouldn't underestimate the down sides to the Titan job. Aging facilities, low attendance, tight budget. BUT, this is still a better job than probably 100-200 D-I jobs. There is some tradition, and an alumni base waiting to be awakened; Detroit isn't what it once was, but it still isn't a bad recruiting area; it historically pays pretty well. One source of coaches is the successful low-major (or D-II) coach. Often this person has already turned around or taken to new heights one of these smaller programs. He's usually a younger guy, though some, like Scott Nagy at Wright State, had put in quite a bit of time before making the move up. RB has suggested the Titans shoot for Montana head coach Travis DeCuire. In a post a while back on the grumpy board, I suggested several names more as examples than actual candidates, including Bashir Mason of Wagner (small, private, urban school), Rob Krimmel at St. Francis (difficult job at Jesuit Institution); Bob Richey at Furman, and Casey Alexander at Lipscomb. Another guy in this category, perhaps the most likley? D-II Ferris State's Andy Bronkema. I'll admit that all things equal, this is my preferred category, where I'd start looking. Green Bay (Linc Darner) and Wright State (Nagy) have recently made NCAA tournaments after this type of hire. YSU also went this route a year ago. The Titans never really have tried this, however. 5. The Retread, Looking for Redemption. The last coach to take Detroit to the NCAA, Ray McCallum, came from this category. This is a group that had success at one time, usually at a mid-major, got the opportunity at a high major, and came up short. He is typically now an assistant somewhere, hoping for another chance. Because this coach has usually won in the past at a mid-major, I like them. Cleveland State's Dennis Felton is in this category, as is the man he replaced, Gary Waters. I'm not seeing many names in connection with the Titan job from this category this time around. Former Titan assistant Ernie Zigler, currently an assistant at Mississippi State, would be one, although Zigler never got the high major head job, and in fact wasn't much successful as a head coach--he did not have a winning season in six years at CMU. Unless I'm missing someone, the Titans haven't gone this route in the past. A subset of this group is the one time high major star, who has often been set back by scandal--think Rollie Massimino at Cleveland State or Lefty Driesell at James Madison--but I don't see any such candidate in the Titans' future. 6. The Outsider. This is a slim category, but consists of men not currently in college or high school coaching. Broadcasters and professional players or assistants would be in this category. Dan Majerle was this type when hired at Grand Canyon. A couple have been mentioned in connection with the Titan vacancy: Willie Green and Rashad Phillips. I remain leery, as I was two years ago, about bringing back the old star, but Green and Phillips both have their attractions. I'm also leery, though, about hiring someone with no college coaching experience at this point in our program. The Titans did this one time since WW-II--Bob Calihan, our winningest career coach ever (you know, Calihan Hall and all that). Although I tend to favor candidates from categories 4 and 5, I think we shouldn't rule any one type out, or think we must draw from a certain background. But I definitely like to see results, which is why I like to see guys who have won in low major or mid-major head coaching jobs. Then we've got to look at vision, and that's something most of us won't get to see before the hiring is made. Anyway, with these categories in mind (have I missed any), what is it we need most in terms of qualifications? Maybe that's too obvious--we need recruiting! But let's hear people's thoughts. I mentioned Travis Decuire as a candidate for UofD head coach a few years ago, the other night I watched his team (Montana) against Portland State on ESPN, Decuire is a mini Mike Davis. Everything little thing rattles him, if a player missed a shot or an assignment he acted as if the world had ended. I dont see how these young men can play to their full capabilities constantly getting yelled at and belittled for every single basketball mistake. Sounds like a miserable existence for the coach and athlete.
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Post by udballer on Feb 1, 2023 23:14:30 GMT -5
Unless Michael Thomas got hit in the head and forgot how to coach... I'm still on that train.
Just checked. Through 13 games he has East Kentwood (9-4) with the same amount of wins they'd had in the prior 2 years combined (9-33).
I guess I'll look for them to win a state title in the next 3 years.
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