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Author Topic: Firing a college basketball coach mid season  (Read 3359 times)

tower912

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Firing a college basketball coach mid season
« on: December 31, 2018, 07:41:45 AM »
Almost never happens.    Except for UCLA.     Steve Alford.    And his perfect hair.     
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GGGG

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Re: Firing a college basketball coach mid season
« Reply #1 on: December 31, 2018, 07:50:13 AM »
UCLA isn't nearly as good a job as people think it is.  They are going to have a hard time meeting expectations there.

nyg

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Re: Firing a college basketball coach mid season
« Reply #2 on: December 31, 2018, 08:28:36 AM »
He led UCLA to four NCAAs and three Sweet Sixteens in five years.  That Liberty loss was just the final death straw.       Very hard expectations to live up to.
Fertile recruiting area, great academic school, weather, but living up to Wooden years still hard.

I got Jamie Dixon to succeed him. 


rocket surgeon

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Re: Firing a college basketball coach mid season
« Reply #3 on: December 31, 2018, 08:32:18 AM »

         Right before conference play.  After some questioned the firing of McCarthy before the season ended?  When it’s time, it’s time
don't...don't don't don't don't

rocket surgeon

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Re: Firing a college basketball coach mid season
« Reply #4 on: December 31, 2018, 08:33:47 AM »
  Weren’t there any more Ball boys?  Watch Lamar become head coach😂😳
don't...don't don't don't don't

GGGG

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Re: Firing a college basketball coach mid season
« Reply #5 on: December 31, 2018, 08:36:19 AM »
I doubt Dixon leaves his alma mater for that mess, especially since they ran his mentor out of there.  Furthermore from a resource point of view, TCU has everything UCLA has. 

EDIT:  Dixon is making $3.2 million at TCU.  Alford was making $2.6M.
« Last Edit: December 31, 2018, 08:40:04 AM by Sultan of South Wayne »

nyg

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Re: Firing a college basketball coach mid season
« Reply #6 on: December 31, 2018, 08:44:46 AM »
I doubt Dixon leaves his alma mater for that mess, especially since they ran his mentor out of there.  Furthermore from a resource point of view, TCU has everything UCLA has. 

EDIT:  Dixon is making $3.2 million at TCU.  Alford was making $2.6M.

We'll see, his name was mentioned when Alford got the job.  UCLA will open the bank for this hire.

tower912

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Re: Firing a college basketball coach mid season
« Reply #7 on: December 31, 2018, 09:07:32 AM »
The problem for UCLA is that they now have to publicly twist in the wind until April to get an adequate replacement.  No other coach is going to leave their job in January for UCLA.    Bad visuals. 
Luke 6:45   ...A good man produces goodness from the good in his heart; an evil man produces evil out of his store of evil.   Each man speaks from his heart's abundance...

It is better to be fearless and cheerful than cheerless and fearful.

Cheeks

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Re: Firing a college basketball coach mid season
« Reply #8 on: December 31, 2018, 10:00:36 AM »
They will be fine, the talent is there but the coaching is not.  So much talent in this area, it isn’t a rebuild for them.
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rocket surgeon

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Re: Firing a college basketball coach mid season
« Reply #10 on: December 31, 2018, 11:33:21 AM »
  I’d bring in hoiberg in an L.A. second!  What about tommy thibs? 
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Frenns Liquor Depot

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Re: Firing a college basketball coach mid season
« Reply #11 on: December 31, 2018, 11:41:54 AM »
  I’d bring in hoiberg in an L.A. second!  What about tommy thibs?

Hoiberg is available now too — so nothing lost except the buyout by acting now. 

GGGG

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Re: Firing a college basketball coach mid season
« Reply #12 on: December 31, 2018, 12:45:35 PM »
  I’d bring in hoiberg in an L.A. second!  What about tommy thibs? 


Thibs would be an awful college coach.

wadesworld

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Re: Firing a college basketball coach mid season
« Reply #13 on: December 31, 2018, 12:54:43 PM »
My money would be on Muss.
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GGGG

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Re: Firing a college basketball coach mid season
« Reply #14 on: December 31, 2018, 01:11:16 PM »

rocket surgeon

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Re: Firing a college basketball coach mid season
« Reply #15 on: December 31, 2018, 03:36:07 PM »
Diener? 🤷🏼‍♂️
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Cheeks

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Re: Firing a college basketball coach mid season
« Reply #16 on: December 31, 2018, 04:15:57 PM »
My money would be on Muss.

VERY doubtful, bad fit for UCLA.
"I hate everything about this job except the games, Everything. I don't even get affected anymore by the winning, by the ratings, those things. The trouble is, it will sound like an excuse because we've never won the national championship, but winning just isn't all that important to me.” Al McGuire

brewnewsman

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Re: Firing a college basketball coach mid season
« Reply #17 on: January 02, 2019, 09:45:25 AM »
Appears like they are investing more into the program, but flying coach still needs to be addressed.


UCLA appears better positioned to lure a top basketball coach thanks to more resources/LA Times

If the hiring of Chip Kelly is any indication, UCLA may not be operating under the same old constraints as it begins the search for its next basketball coach.

Gripes about not being able to pay enough or offer top-level facilities might no longer apply.

The Bruins are paying Kelly an average of $4.66 million per season to coach their football team. His office features a picturesque view of campus inside the gleaming Wasserman Football Center, a $75-million facility that serves as the hub of cutting-edge sports science, strength and nutrition programs.

That means whoever fills the basketball coaching vacancy that was created this week when UCLA fired Steve Alford might be in line to double the $2.6 million that Alford pocketed per season. The new coach will also hold practices inside the $35-million Mo Ostin Basketball Center, a barely year-old facility that is among the best on the West Coast, before making his debut inside the recently renovated Pauley Pavilion.

It might be enough to finally lure a brand-name coach, thanks to a recent surge in donor funds as well as the record $280-million Under Armour deal that the school signed in 2016.

“I do think the funding and the money will be there in order to get the hire that can get this program back on track,” Sean Farnham, the former UCLA forward who’s now an ESPN college basketball analyst, said Tuesday during a telephone interview. Farnham cautioned that it might not be enough to land someone like the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Billy Donovan, who makes an average of $6 million per season in an area of the country where that money goes much further than it would in Los Angeles.

Farnham said one issue UCLA’s search committee may have to address with prospective candidates is the policy of usually taking commercial flights instead of charters. The team was recently marooned at the Cincinnati airport for 2½ hours because of a flight delay on its way to Chicago.

“Kentucky’s not sitting in an airport for 2½ hours, ever,” Farnham said. “And if that’s who UCLA wants to compete against, then you have to be on a level playing field.”

While Bruins fans openly daydreamed on message boards about prospective candidates such as Donovan, Virginia’s Tony Bennett and North Carolina State’s Kevin Keatts, a groundswell of support among recent UCLA basketball alumni continued to build for another name.

“The no-brainer is Earl Watson,” Ryan Hollins, the onetime UCLA center who is now an NBA analyst, said of the former Bruins point guard who coached the Phoenix Suns for parts of three seasons. “The guy bleeds blue and gold, and he’s one of the best basketball minds that I’ve ever been around.”

Former Bruins Matt Barnes and Josiah Johnson tweeted their support of Watson’s candidacy, citing his ability to connect with younger players and bring the school’s alumni back to Pauley Pavilion.

Darrick Martin, the former UCLA point guard who was openly critical of Alford shortly before he was fired, said he would like to see Watson get a shot but that whoever gets the job should be someone with California ties who understands the dynamics of UCLA basketball and is willing to embrace the expectations of a program that has won a record 11 national championships.

Martin said the new coach should become instantly identifiable with UCLA in the same way that Roy Williams is with North Carolina or Mike Krzyzewski is with Duke.

“Certain coaches just fit in certain areas,” Martin said. “Also, in L.A., with all the other teams here, in order for UCLA to regain its allure the style of play has to be exciting — not a Big Ten [Conference-style] 50-49 game.”

Just like it did in acquiring Kelly, UCLA has assembled a search committee that involves more than athletic department officials. The Bruins enlisted Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman and mega donor Casey Wasserman with their football search and have engaged Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers, a former UCLA player, in the hunt for their next basketball coach. Wasserman will not participate in the new search to prevent a conflict of interest because he represents former Chicago Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg, a potential candidate.

Longtime ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas was not bullish on UCLA’s chances to land a top coach given its recent results. The Bruins were rebuffed by Brad Stevens and Shaka Smart before hiring Alford in 2013.

“I think after Ben Howland was dismissed, there was an incorrect belief that there would be a line at the door and there was not,” Bilas said, “and so I think UCLA has to be creative and look for a long-term solution rather than someone who may have the biggest name or come from what they consider to be a comparable job.

“I just don’t believe that’s going to happen, and I don’t believe that’s been in the cards for a number of years now.”

Asked if adding Myers to the search committee could enhance the results, Bilas praised the executive as one of the brightest minds in basketball before adding, “If you have somebody in charge who knows what they’re doing, I don’t know if they need to form committees like that.”

Spotcheck Billy

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Re: Firing a college basketball coach mid season
« Reply #18 on: January 02, 2019, 10:25:53 AM »
Buzz to UCLA

Cheeks

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Re: Firing a college basketball coach mid season
« Reply #19 on: January 02, 2019, 11:37:27 AM »
UCLA in an article in 2016, states they began taking charters then.  Not solely, but as more of a practice.  Because they fly out of LAX, they can get almost anywhere in the world direct, which is why chartering wasn’t used along with cost at a statewide university system under heavy pressure from taxpayers to reign it in.

The example of them being caught in Chicago is bizarre.  They played Cincinnati, then had to go to Chicago to play Ohio State....a direct flight.  The comment that Kentucky or Kentucky like teams are never marooned is funny....charter companies have delays, too.....a few recent articles of even pro teams being left “marooned” for a few hours because charter delayed, maintenance issues, etc.
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Benny B

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Re: Firing a college basketball coach mid season
« Reply #20 on: January 02, 2019, 01:44:37 PM »
The problem for UCLA is that they now have to publicly twist in the wind until April to get an adequate replacement.  No other coach is going to leave their job in January for UCLA.    Bad visuals. 

This.

Although.... one would think that UCLA is not going to want to give up a semester's worth of recruiting, so it would be in their best interests (as well as the best interests of the new coach) to get someone in there right away.

I don't think UCLA will poach a current NCAA head coach mid-season (not to mention, I honestly don't think any of the current head coaches - at least those short-listed by Norlander - would leave their team mid-season) -- a situation like that would be enough of a powder keg to cause the NCAA to actually flex its muscle for the first time ever.

So really, Hoiberg and Watson are the only two on this list that make any sense.  Regardless, I have to believe that UCLA's been whispering with one or more candidates before they pulled the trigger on Alford.  I won't be surprised if they announce later this week.
Wow, I'm very concerned for Benny.  Being able to mimic Myron Medcalf's writing so closely implies an oncoming case of dementia.

brewcity77

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Re: Firing a college basketball coach mid season
« Reply #21 on: January 03, 2019, 07:20:46 AM »
Hoiberg seems most likely. Currently looking for a job, proven college coach with NBA lineage. Might actually be able to win there, though let's be honest, if there aren't Final Fours and maybe even a national championship in the first five years, he'd be on the hot seat.

Best fit is probably Pitino. He's available and he's taken every program he's coached to the Final Four within the first four years. He can recruit, he can build a staff, and he's the best coach out there. He can reestablish UCLA as a powerhouse for a decade and restore prestige to the job before retiring.

Musselman would probably take it because Nevada doesn't pay much, but I'm not sure how well it would go there. I don't think his method of building a team would work for Westwood (see also: Hoiberg).

Dixon I just can't see. He has a better situation at TCU and is paid more than UCLA paid for Alford. If he wasn't at his alma mater and doing well, I could see it, but why leave TCU with great money and low expectations for UCLA with marginal amenities and galactic expectations?

Watson...ehh...maybe. I feel like he's the fallback option. The guy they'll get if they strike out on bigger names. If Watson does get the job, I expect he'll be on the Alford fast track to a pink slip.

Bennett and Brey, no way. Sampson and Hopkins I'm not sure would satisfy the fanbase. Beard is a great coach, but I just don't see it. Not sure he's a good fit and don't know that he'd make the fans happy.

If I'm UCLA, I really think the first call should be Pitino. You can look past the scandals that he's denied involvement in. Easy to peg the stripper parties on the assistant, and if the allegation of "a shoe company is helping you win" is going to stick, well he's no worse than K, Self, or Roy.
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Benny B

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Re: Firing a college basketball coach mid season
« Reply #22 on: January 03, 2019, 09:06:21 AM »
If I'm UCLA, I really think the first call should be Pitino. You can look past the scandals that he's denied involvement in. Easy to peg the stripper parties on the assistant, and if the allegation of "a shoe company is helping you win" is going to stick, well he's no worse than K, Self, or Roy.

Just to be clear, when you say "if I'm UCLA," are you talking more along the lines of Alan Rickman in Dogma or John Cusak in Being John Malkovich?
Wow, I'm very concerned for Benny.  Being able to mimic Myron Medcalf's writing so closely implies an oncoming case of dementia.

GGGG

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Re: Firing a college basketball coach mid season
« Reply #23 on: January 03, 2019, 09:13:24 AM »
Hoiberg seems most likely. Currently looking for a job, proven college coach with NBA lineage. Might actually be able to win there, though let's be honest, if there aren't Final Fours and maybe even a national championship in the first five years, he'd be on the hot seat.

Best fit is probably Pitino. He's available and he's taken every program he's coached to the Final Four within the first four years. He can recruit, he can build a staff, and he's the best coach out there. He can reestablish UCLA as a powerhouse for a decade and restore prestige to the job before retiring.

Musselman would probably take it because Nevada doesn't pay much, but I'm not sure how well it would go there. I don't think his method of building a team would work for Westwood (see also: Hoiberg).

Dixon I just can't see. He has a better situation at TCU and is paid more than UCLA paid for Alford. If he wasn't at his alma mater and doing well, I could see it, but why leave TCU with great money and low expectations for UCLA with marginal amenities and galactic expectations?

Watson...ehh...maybe. I feel like he's the fallback option. The guy they'll get if they strike out on bigger names. If Watson does get the job, I expect he'll be on the Alford fast track to a pink slip.

Bennett and Brey, no way. Sampson and Hopkins I'm not sure would satisfy the fanbase. Beard is a great coach, but I just don't see it. Not sure he's a good fit and don't know that he'd make the fans happy.

If I'm UCLA, I really think the first call should be Pitino. You can look past the scandals that he's denied involvement in. Easy to peg the stripper parties on the assistant, and if the allegation of "a shoe company is helping you win" is going to stick, well he's no worse than K, Self, or Roy.


Pitino is likely going to get hit with a show-clause. That's why he said he "retired" from college coaching last fall.

wadesworld

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Re: Firing a college basketball coach mid season
« Reply #24 on: January 03, 2019, 11:39:36 AM »
Hoiberg seems most likely. Currently looking for a job, proven college coach with NBA lineage. Might actually be able to win there, though let's be honest, if there aren't Final Fours and maybe even a national championship in the first five years, he'd be on the hot seat.

Best fit is probably Pitino. He's available and he's taken every program he's coached to the Final Four within the first four years. He can recruit, he can build a staff, and he's the best coach out there. He can reestablish UCLA as a powerhouse for a decade and restore prestige to the job before retiring.

Musselman would probably take it because Nevada doesn't pay much, but I'm not sure how well it would go there. I don't think his method of building a team would work for Westwood (see also: Hoiberg).

Dixon I just can't see. He has a better situation at TCU and is paid more than UCLA paid for Alford. If he wasn't at his alma mater and doing well, I could see it, but why leave TCU with great money and low expectations for UCLA with marginal amenities and galactic expectations?

Watson...ehh...maybe. I feel like he's the fallback option. The guy they'll get if they strike out on bigger names. If Watson does get the job, I expect he'll be on the Alford fast track to a pink slip.

Bennett and Brey, no way. Sampson and Hopkins I'm not sure would satisfy the fanbase. Beard is a great coach, but I just don't see it. Not sure he's a good fit and don't know that he'd make the fans happy.

If I'm UCLA, I really think the first call should be Pitino. You can look past the scandals that he's denied involvement in. Easy to peg the stripper parties on the assistant, and if the allegation of "a shoe company is helping you win" is going to stick, well he's no worse than K, Self, or Roy.

Thanks Gary Parrish.
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