If we don't have the money...

[brewcity77]

None of those five would have been on Marquette's radar. And Jans was fired at BGSU for lewd and drunk behavior.

I would argue Sampson should've been. His NCAA violations were always stupid and are not even violations any more.

Smith wasn't, but many seem to think he should be now.

Jans I don't think would've been because of his JUCO past, but the things that got him fired at BGSU would've been completely irrelevant in 2014 when he was hired at BGSU. We couldn't have held actions against him that hadn't yet happened.

[tower912]

Scoop bake sale.

[naginiF]

Scoop bake sale.

You're thinking too small. Local Arby's will host a night for a nonprofit where 10% of sales go to the NP. A coordinated "Eat at Arby's" night across the country could bring in dozens of dollars.

[Dr. Blackheart]

None of those five would have been on Marquette's radar. And Jans was fired at BGSU for lewd and drunk behavior.

Four of the five are squirmy

[Warrior3211]

Howland was and is a total joke. Wojo was the right hire at the time and we need to accept that we should be gunning for the next up and comer who can keep us in the tourney year in and year out. Having said that Wojo is not that guy but it felt like he could've been. This was the year he had a balanced talented roster and it was nothing but uninspired on the court.

I have heard it with my own ears from Scholl that schools don't fire coaches that make the ncaa tourney... well this coach doesn't do that.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

We did this exercise a while ago. Of coaches MU could have conceivably hired at the time (Sampson/Pearl too dirty, Beard/C Smith too unknown), I think the only one I would say that has been definitively better is Mike White who was hired a year later at Florida. With Mizzou getting back on track, maybe Cuonzo passes Wojo. Maybe Steve Pikiell but he may have fall into the too unknown category when Wojo was hired.

[f/k/a humanlung]

Howland was and is a total joke. Wojo was the right hire at the time and we need to accept that we should be gunning for the next up and comer who can keep us in the tourney year in and year out. Having said that Wojo is not that guy but it felt like he could've been. This was the year he had a balanced talented roster and it was nothing but uninspired on the court.

I have heard it with my own ears from Scholl that schools don't fire coaches that make the ncaa tourney... well this coach doesn't do that.

Howland a total joke?

Yeah.  With how many Final Fours under his belt?

Did he screw up at the end at UCLA? Yeah.  A total joke? No.  That's Wojo, not Howland.

[Uncle Rico]

I think someone asked who the best hire was that year. It's pretty obvious if you go back and look at the list...


• 1. Kelvin Sampson, Houston: After a rough start, Sampson had consistent improvement, improving over their projected kenpom ranking every year except the first, with an average improvement of 33.8 spots in the past 6 seasons. They are now a perennial top-20 team and trending toward a 2/3 seed this year. I know...Marquette wasn't going to hire someone with that baggage, but considering what Houston got out of a guy with baggage, maybe we shouldn't rule people out on the basis of past misdeeds if we want to win.
  
• 2. Craig Smith, South Dakota: Hiring a Nebraska assistant wouldn't have excited many, but in 4 years at USD he averaged an 82.5 spot improvement in kenpom and he took them from a perennial sub-200 team to the top-100 before moving on to Utah State.
  
• 3. Bruce Pearl, Auburn: We were never going to hire Pearl either, but Auburn had been sub-100 in 8/10 seasons before Pearl arrived. He took them to the Final Four and consistent top-35 rankings before this season.
  
• 4. Chris Jans, Bowling Green: He wasn't on our radar and had obvious issues at Bowling Green, but his results at New Mexico State have been incredible. With his JUCO background, was probably exactly what Marquette was trying to get away from, but considering his issues came after this hiring cycle, might've worked out.
  
• 5. Buzz Williams, Virginia Tech: Well...he probably was never coming back.

Anyone like other names better? Honestly, considering what Marquette was looking for, the crop wasn't great. Cuonzo would've been okay, but I don't think he would still be here. He wasn't running to something, he was running from something.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/hirings-and-firings-2014-college-basketball-coaching-changes/

Kelvin Sampson is a great college basketball coach.  The Indiana nonsense was just that, nonsense.  That said, Indiana wasn't a good fit for him.  I believe this, had he come to Marquette, Marquette would have won a lot

[panda]

Kelvin Sampson is a great college basketball coach.  The Indiana nonsense was just that, nonsense.  That said, Indiana wasn't a good fit for him.  I believe this, had he come to Marquette, Marquette would have won a lot

Did he get hired away from the Bucks as an assistant to go to Houston or was there a stop in between?

[brewcity77]

Did he get hired away from the Bucks as an assistant to go to Houston or was there a stop in between?

He was an assistant with the Bucks for 3 years, then with the Rockets for 3 years. He also had a 5 year show cause, so he couldn't have coached in the NCAA before then.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Kelvin Sampson is a great college basketball coach.  The Indiana nonsense was just that, nonsense.  That said, Indiana wasn't a good fit for him.  I believe this, had he come to Marquette, Marquette would have won a lot

What about the Oklahoma nonsense?

[brewcity77]

What about the Oklahoma nonsense?

The same nonsense that is no longer a violation.

[The Sultan]

I would argue Sampson should've been. His NCAA violations were always stupid and are not even violations any more.

They are stupid.  But he was a repeat violator of said rules and lied about breaking them to the IU AD.  There was zero chance MU was going to hire him.

[Dr. Blackheart]

The same nonsense that is no longer a violation.

That's a lot of squirmy

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelvin_Sampson#NCAA_violations

[Uncle Rico]

They are stupid.  But he was a repeat violator of said rules and lied about breaking them to the IU AD.  There was zero chance MU was going to hire him.

Agree with all this.  Marquette wasn't hiring him, so it's a non-starter.  Houston was a perfect spot for him.  Starts over in a low pressure environment with little expectations

[Billy Hoyle]

The same nonsense that is no longer a violation.

It isn't, but that isn't what got Sampson canned. It was finding impermissible ways around his restrictions and lying about it.

Plus, the program atmosphere Sampson left was a crapshow. Ignoring multiple positive drug tests (11 or 13 guys tested positive at least one time during the season), academic disasters. There is NO WAY MU was going to hire someone like that. All they would have to do is reach out to TC to learn how the program he inherited had been run.

[panda]

It isn't, but that isn't what got Sampson canned. It was finding impermissible ways around his restrictions and lying about it.

Plus, the program atmosphere Sampson left was a crapshow. Ignoring multiple positive drug tests (11 or 13 guys tested positive at least one time during the season), academic disasters. There is NO WAY MU was going to hire someone like that. All they would have to do is reach out to TC to learn how the program he inherited had been run.

Yep - I think Crean kicked off almost all returning players his first year? They won like 7 games his first year  because they barely had anyone left.

[Billy Hoyle]

Yep - I think Crean kicked off almost all returning players his first year? They won like 7 games his first year  because they barely had anyone left.

Only one player who returned to TC's first team had actually scored for IU: a walk-on. The only guys who didn't have a positive test were DJ White and Eric Gordon, the guys who knew they were NBA bound the next season.

There was also the potted plant incident after TC caught the kid lying.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Yep - I think Crean kicked off almost all returning players his first year? They won like 7 games his first year  because they barely had anyone left.

Let's not forget the potted plant incident.

[brewcity77]

And 6 years later, it seems Sampson isn't really having any issues. Maybe they should've talked to him to see where he was at after his show cause rather than not even considering the best hire of the year.

I'm not surprised MU didn't call Sampson, but it's painfully obvious they should have and hiring him would've been an infinitely better one than the decision they made.

[Silkk the Shaka]

And 6 years later, it seems Sampson isn't really having any issues. Maybe they should've talked to him to see where he was at after his show cause rather than not even considering the best hire of the year.

I'm not surprised MU didn't call Sampson, but it's painfully obvious they should have and hiring him would've been an infinitely better one than the decision they made.

They won the press conference though. They got the guy with a gelled side part & a CFO's monotone speech pattern. Wonderful representative for the University, which is really all that matters.

[rocky_warrior]

And 6 years later, it seems Sampson isn't really having any issues. Maybe they should've talked to him to see where he was at after his show cause rather than not even considering the best hire of the year.

I'm not surprised MU didn't call Sampson, but it's painfully obvious they should have and hiring him would've been an infinitely better one than the decision they made.

Hey google "define hindsight"

[brewcity77]

Hey google "define hindsight"

It's a lesson that should be learned when next we go into the coaching market.

[Silent Verbal]

So I was scrolling through Buckyville to see what they were saying about Wojo.  One poster on there said he has a couple friends on the Marquette BOT, and mentioned that he'd heard Wojo's buyout, were he to be fired this year, would be $9.3 million.  The thing is, he said it matter-of-factly, didn't sound like he was trolling or hating on MU or anything.

For those in the know, could that be close to accurate?  If so, that is an *insane* number.

[panda]

So I was scrolling through Buckyville to see what they were saying about Wojo.  One poster on there said he has a couple friends on the Marquette BOT, and mentioned that he'd heard Wojo's buyout, were he to be fired this year, would be $9.3 million.  The thing is, he said it matter-of-factly, didn't sound like he was trolling or hating on MU or anything.

For those in the know, could that be close to accurate?  If so, that is an *insane* number.

Gosh I hope not. Three years left on his 2 mil/year deal would mean it's probably around 6ish. No inside info, but if it's around 9 million, everyone involved with that contract needs to be let go yesterday.