Gophers Beat Writer All In On Buzz

[Chicos' Buzz Scandal Countdown]

I dont think this is a bad hire at all. If anything if I were Bo Ryan I'd be more concerned than when Tubby was coach.

[LAZER]

Actually it is the problem. I think this is what many die hards are concerned about.  How will a 30 yro newbie convince 2 ESPN top 10 local kids and the 40th ranked player to stay home.  (Tyus Jones #2). Flip Saunders would have been able to say, listen I know what it takes to get to the Association. Can Richard say that? All 3 probably gone now. Duke, Kent, UNC in the running.

The success of Minnesota basketball will not be determined by one recruiting class.  Most likely, those recruits scratched Minnesota off the list as soon as Tubby was fired, regardless of who was hired (unless it was a homerun like Shaka).  If you're going fire your coach at a program like Minnesota, you're going to take a step backwards in the near term.

I don't know any MN basketball die hards, but it seems they're very short sighted.

[Badgerhater]

We all bash Michael Hunt from time to time and for good reason, but he is a far better beat writer than the Gopher beat writer, who dutifully transcribed the MN AD's talking points throughout this process.

[San Diego Warrior]

The firing and hiring of a new coach seems to be based on the few high profile recruits coming through the MN pipeline in the next few years.  They wanted to get a new coach to improve their chances on getting these recruits, and there was a general belief that Tubby didn't know how to relate to the current kids, and couldn't get them to play hard.  So, they wanted to move on with a new coach, but they were worried if they delayed doing this, they'd miss out on these top recruits.

I don't think Pitino was who they envisioned in the hiring process, but it may not be a bad hire in the end.

[LAZER]

The firing and hiring of a new coach seems to be based on the few high profile recruits coming through the MN pipeline in the next few years.  They wanted to get a new coach to improve their chances on getting these recruits, and there was a general belief that Tubby didn't know how to relate to the current kids, and couldn't get them to play hard.  So, they wanted to move on with a new coach, but they were worried if they delayed doing this, they'd miss out on these top recruits.

I don't think Pitino was who they envisioned in the hiring process, but it may not be a bad hire in the end.

If the AD did in fact fire his coach to help his chances with upcoming, in-state recruits he should be fired.

[GGGG]

If the AD did in fact fire his coach to help his chances with upcoming, in-state recruits he should be fired.

Why?  If the AD doesn't believe, based on past performance, that the coach isn't going to succeed at a significant part of his job, why can't that be grounds to get rid of someone.

[We R Final Four]

If the AD did in fact fire his coach to help his chances with upcoming, in-state recruits he should be fired.

Why? "We want to put a fence around the state" "we want to close the borders." "We want to keep the best players in the state--here in the state."
Aren't these the words--and rightly so of most every AD?

[Tugg Speedman]

We all bash Michael Hunt from time to time and for good reason, but he is a far better beat writer than the Gopher beat writer, who dutifully transcribed the MN AD's talking points throughout this process.

not to hijack this thread .... +1

When Hunt wants to, he can be very good.  Problem is he mails it in too much.

[The Equalizer]

The success of Minnesota basketball will not be determined by one recruiting class.  Most likely, those recruits scratched Minnesota off the list as soon as Tubby was fired, regardless of who was hired (unless it was a homerun like Shaka).  If you're going fire your coach at a program like Minnesota, you're going to take a step backwards in the near term.

I don't know any MN basketball die hards, but it seems they're very short sighted.

If the AD did in fact fire his coach to help his chances with upcoming, in-state recruits he should be fired.

We hired a young unproven assistant (Kevin O'Neill), he went out and landed the top three recruits in Wisconsin his first year (McIlvane, Key and Logtermann).  

We hired a young unproven assistnat (Tom Crean), he landed the only top 100 RSCI in-state recruit his first year (Scott Merritt)

We hired a young, unproven assistant (Buzz Williams), he went out and landed the best in-state player each of the next two years (Maymon & Blue)

From our own experience, we had three new coaches that recruited the best in-state talent out of the box, and Marquette wasn't even the flagship state program.  So I think its a mistake to suggest that making a coaching change wasn't the best way to get the MN talent to stay with MN.

There's a tendency for recruits to at least hear out the new head coach at a major in-state program, and I think having the new coach probably helps them in terms of recruiting.

And let's not forget here that a guy with the last name of Pitino probably has a better pedigree and more connections in the basketball community than Shaka Smart and Brad Stevens combined.  

[We R Final Four]

Exactly. See Nunn, Kendrick.

[LAZER]

We hired a young unproven assistnat (Tom Crean), he landed the only top 100 RSCI in-state recruit his first year (Scott Merritt)

We hired a young, unproven assistant (Buzz Williams), he went out and landed the best in-state player each of the next two years (Maymon & Blue)
And let's not forget here that a guy with the last name of Pitino probably has a better pedigree and more connections in the basketball community than Shaka Smart and Brad Stevens combined.  

I absolutely agree that a coach should focus on locking down in state talent and I think Buzz has done a good job of that.  But the success of both Crean and Buzz has been largely a result of out of state recruits.  And just to note, I don't think Pitino is a bad hire at all I just think a big splash hire like Shaka has more of a chance to land top recruits both in and out of state.

Ultimately what I'm getting at is that I don't think an AD would fire a coach because of ONE great upcoming class in am otherwise mediocre talent pool.  And the future success of Minnesota basketball will be affected by many different factors whose sum is much greater than in state recruits.  Much like Marquette's has been in recent years.

[4everwarriors]

I saw a comment from the Howard Pulley coach saying players of this caliber are more likely to play for the father than the son.

Did you have to bring religion into the discussion?