Why the Buzz hire wasn't a bad choice...Stanford stranded in coach search

[77ncaachamps]

It also appears the Cottingham isn't the only AD who's being closely followed.

I think this article begins to expose the difficulty of finding a late, top tier replacement during a coaching carousel season bereft of attractive names. Though Buzz wasn't a sexy name, his hire has allowed for some continuity for this program.

As for Stanford - with no head coach and the Lopez twins gone, who knows where their program is going.

All eyes on next move by Bowlsby
By Jon Wilner
Mercury News
Article Launched: 04/19/2008 01:35:56 AM PDT

Hot off the Mercury News' college sports blog, the College Hotline . . .

What happens next at Stanford? What model will Athletic Director Bob Bowlsby use in identifying his new men's basketball coach? Does he even have a model?

And will anyone who fits that model want the job?

For 90 percent of the coaches in the country with first-rate résumés, Stanford is not an attractive job.

For the remaining 10 percent, it's a great job - maybe the best job there is. If you believe in Stanford's mission and are willing to embrace its admissions standards, then it's close to perfect.

Bowlsby must find someone who is comfortable with the salary restrictions - Stanford doesn't pay market rate and never will - and has experience with tough admissions requirements.

Two coaches who fit that model were on Stanford's payroll a few weeks ago (Trent Johnson and Mike Montgomery). Now there are none.

• Under any circumstance, the pool of available candidates would be fairly small, but these are not any circumstances.

Stanford has taken a P.R. hit because of the Johnson affair. Delaying a contract extension is a red flag in the coaching community. I wonder if that will make potential candidates wary.

It sure seems like Bowlsby will have to come with the hard sell. Is he capable of that? Sure. He's a smooth operator.

But if Stanford's top pick happens to seek advice from a coach who was appalled by what happened to Johnson - and there are more than a few - then that top pick could back out mighty fast.

• It also will be interesting to see how things develop on the diversity front.

Stanford takes immense pride in the diversity of its student body, staff and faculty. Currently, only two of its 35 head coaches are black. I can't imagine that sits well with the administration, and it wouldn't surprise me if Bowlsby makes diversity a priority in his search.

If he's looking for a young, successful black coach from a small private school with high admissions standards, then the best candidate might be Craig Robinson.

Robinson played at Princeton, got his masters degree in finance from the University of Chicago, was an assistant at Northwestern, just won 19 games at Brown (that's tougher than neurosurgery) and, oh, by the way, is Barack Obama's brother-in-law.

Except for one thing: Robinson was hired by Oregon State two days before Johnson left Stanford.

http://www.mercurynews.com/collegesports/ci_8982684

[jce]

It also appears the Cottingham isn't the only AD who's being closely followed.

I think this article begins to expose the difficulty of finding a late, top tier replacement during a coaching carousel season bereft of attractive names. Though Buzz wasn't a sexy name, his hire has allowed for some continuity for this program.

This isn't exactly an apples and apples comparison.  Marquette clearly had options other than Buzz...they just determined that Buzz was the best option.  Stanford doesn't seem to have many legitimate options at all.  They don't pay well...their admission standards are very tough...and they play in a brutal conference.  They should have worked much harder to keep Johnson, a coach who understood all that, by extending his contract.

[Tulsa Warrior]

TheBootleg.com is reporting  that the three recruits have reaffirmed their commitments to Stanford. Former Stanford coach Trent Johnson spoke to Jeremy Green, Jarrett Mann and Miles Plumlee and "told them they belong at Stanford."  A pretty classy upfront way to do business.  I imagine Coach Johnson has been pretty busy with his new job at LSU.  That makes his actions that much more impressive. 

[BrewCity83]

TheBootleg.com is reporting  that the three recruits have reaffirmed their commitments to Stanford. Former Stanford coach Trent Johnson spoke to Jeremy Green, Jarrett Mann and Miles Plumlee and "told them they belong at Stanford."  A pretty classy upfront way to do business.  I imagine Coach Johnson has been pretty busy with his new job at LSU.  That makes his actions that much more impressive. 

I wonder if Coach Judas has been doing anything like this for the MU recruits...

[Thomas' Danish Delight]

I wonder if Coach Judas has been doing anything like this for the MU recruits...

Yeah, definitely very classy move by Johnson.  Makes me appreciate him and realize that my ire towards Stanford is really just aimed at the overgrown Sideshow Bob and his brother...and their ugly cheerleaders and ugly tree.

[warthogdriver]

No, you're wrong! Coach Judas was on the phone with Nick Williams about coming to IU before his own players knew about his betrayal!

Judas is a piece of crap!

[Marquette84]

TheBootleg.com is reporting  that the three recruits have reaffirmed their commitments to Stanford. Former Stanford coach Trent Johnson spoke to Jeremy Green, Jarrett Mann and Miles Plumlee and "told them they belong at Stanford."  A pretty classy upfront way to do business.  I imagine Coach Johnson has been pretty busy with his new job at LSU.  That makes his actions that much more impressive. 

Or it's a calculated move by a coach who knows that the type of players he can get into Stanford aren't going to be good enough to win at LSU.

[RawdogDX]

No, you're wrong! Coach Judas was on the phone with Nick Williams about coming to IU before his own players knew about his betrayal!

Really?  Where did you hear that from?  I'm shocked that no one else claimed that in the 500+ posts of people bitching abot Crean I've read over the last few weeks.

[warthogdriver]

My mistake - Judas got on the phone to Jamil Wilson before he let anyone in his Marquette "Family" know of his treachery. Imagine how Dominic James feels about that. Judas is a scum bag

[RawdogDX]

My mistake - Judas got on the phone to Jamil Wilson before he let anyone in his Marquette "Family" know of his treachery. Imagine how Dominic James feels about that. Judas is a scum bag

Yeah, that i knew, that is really the only thing about his leaving that pissed me off.  I'm not sure james was the kid he was closest to, but i'm sure many of the players were hurt by that.

[The Lens]

My mistake - Judas got on the phone to Jamil Wilson before he let anyone in his Marquette "Family" know of his treachery. Imagine how Dominic James feels about that. Judas is a scum bag

James probably feels relieved, considering his coach was consistently over committing scholarships and telling recruits he was gone.

Anyone know where DJ's great family problems have gone?  Or were the rumors that made their way out of TC's usual suspects just postering and cover up by one of America's great PR men?

[77ncaachamps]

Update on the coaching situation @ Stanford:

The Stanford coaching search: Taylor, Reveno and other names
By Jon Wilner
Monday, April 21st, 2008 at 5:30 am

Heard Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby was in Houston and Pittsburgh (and possibly Philadelphia) this past week — cities that played host to high school tournaments, which meant they played host to dozens of college coaches.

It was by far the most efficient way for Bowlsby to meet with candidates and get his search wrapped up ASAP. And yes, speed is essential.

The April recruiting window is about to close, and the junior class — the key piece of that April recruiting window — is huge for Stanford's future. (By my unofficial count, Stanford will have five scholarships available for Nov. '09.)

The best guess is that Bowlsby brings coaches on campus this week to meet with the Stanford "search committee." I use the quotation marks because, let's face it, this is ultimately Bowlsby's call (with approval from president John Hennessy, provost John Etchemendy and uber-mega-donor John Arrillaga, of course).

I'd imagine that if all goes well for Bowlsby, he'll have a coach in place by next weekend.

Who that coach will be, I have no idea, and my guess is that at this point, nobody knows who Bowlsby plans to hire with the possible exception of Bowlsby. He keeps things extremely close to the vest (inside the vest, really).

And if he has made up his mind yet, he's keeping it super secret.

But I know the Stanford model, and the Bowlsby model. That doesn't mean he'll go that direction again, but there's a decent chance.

The next coach might be on the list below, might not be. But at minimum, the list should provide a guide for Hotline readers as to the type of coach Stanford might hire (with bonus insights into the Stanford and Bowlsby models).

First, I heard Stanford swung and missed on Davidson's Bob McKillop and Georgia Tech's Paul Hewitt. Neither was interested (no surprise there).

Second, a thought on St. Mary's Randy Bennett and Denver Nuggets assistant Mike Dunlap: Hard to see Bowlsby hiring coaches who interviewed for, but did not get, the Cal job.

I mean, how bad would that look: Hiring a coach who Cal passed over in favor of the coach who was working in the Stanford athletic department.

Now, to the list:

Tulsa's Doug Wojcik: Just finished his third season with the Golden Hurricane. Former assistant at North Carolina, Notre Dame and Michigan State. Well thought of. Played and coached for Navy.

I heard he met with Bowlsby this weekend, which could mean something or nothing — my guess is that Bowlsby has met/spoken with more than a dozen coaches.

William and Mary's Tony Shaver: Was just named Colonial Athletic Association's Coach of the Year (in the same conference as Virginia Commonwealth's Anthony Grant, Old Dominion's Blaine Taylor and George Mason's Jim Larranaga).

Knows how to recruit to a school with high admissions standards and he knows how to win with less talent than his opponents.

***The Stanford model, thought No. 1: Understanding how to win with less is a huge part of succeeding at Stanford, because the Cardinal usually has less overall talent than the top teams in the Pac-10 and around the country.

Hiring a head/assistant coach who's used to having more talent than his peers would be a huge mistake.

Illinois State's Tim Jankovich: Was a Kansas assistant under Bill Self before taking over the Redbirds last spring. Won 25 games in his first year.

He also worked at Vanderbilt, so he has a sense for the recruiting/admissions situation he'd face at Stanford. My guess is that Bowlsby knows him, or knows of him, from his days at Iowa (when Jankovich was an Illinois assistant).

And Jankovich, who's in his mid-40s, would certainly look like a Bowlsby head coach.

***The Bowlsby model, thought No. 1: The guy likes his coaches to look the part. At Iowa, he hired Kirk Ferentz and Steve Alford. At Stanford, he hired Jim Harbaugh.

Click the links for pictures. Basically, the Bowlsby model has been to, um, hire models! Harbaugh and Alford could be brothers, and here's Jankovich.

Siena's Fran McCaffery: A University of Pennsylvania graduate, so you'd have to think he'd identify with Stanford's academic slant.

And he's a very, very good coach: Took UNC Greensboro to the NCAAs, beat Stanford earlier this season, won 23 games and slayed Vanderbilt in the first round. But McCaffery and Bowlsby were both in Pittsburgh, and I don't think contact was made.

New Mexico's Steve Alford: Hey, Bowlsby hired him once.

Old Dominion's Blaine Taylor: Has a lot going for him and, I've heard, is definitely on Bowlsby's radar — if not in the center, then close to it. And he should be.

Taylor was a Cardinal assistant for three years under Mike Montgomery and has taken ODU to the NCAA tournament.

He'd have the Monty stamp of approval — he played for Montgomery at Montana and later coached the Grizzlies — he's used to doing more with less, and he knows Stanford.

Portland's Eric Reveno: Only one basketball coach on the planet understands Stanford as well as Reveno, a former Stanford player and assistant — and that coach currently resides in Berkeley.

***Stanford model thought No. 2: Bowlsby must hire a coach who not only understands Stanford's academic mission but embraces it, who doesn't fight with the admissions office or complain about who doesn't get in school.

That course of action would spell quick and certain doom on The Farm. The most successful coaches at Stanford turn the admissions into a positive. And if you don't believe in the school's priorities, you can't sell it to the recruits.

Reveno is well regarded as a developer of big men, which have always been central to Stanford's success, and he's well liked by the Stanford community/administration.

He'd be an absolute no-brainer except for the basketball end of things.

Reveno left The Farm two years ago to rebuild Portland, one of the worst programs on the west coast. The Pilots won just nine games this season, but they played hard and organized and had a ridiculously young roster.

Reveno's candidacy depends on how important proven success is to Bowlsby. If it's not essential, then Reveno could well be the next coach. If it is, then bet on Reveno getting the job the next time it opens.


http://www.mercextra.com/blogs/collegesports/2008/04/21/the-stanford-coaching-search-taylor-reveno-mccaffrey-and-other-names/

As an MU fan, I gotta love those names! 

[Marquette65]

Just a reminder.  When KO left MU he said he would not take any current players or MU committed recruits to Tenn.   

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

A coaching search is rarely a winning proposition (unless you are a top, top program).

If you move quickly, you can might take a candidate who is a little inexperienced, or not talk to every available coach.

Obviously, its important to get the RIGHT guy for the job rather than just fill it immediately... but moving quickly and decisively has it's advantages as well.

Buzz might be a gamble... but waiting like Standford is doing is a gamble as well.

No perfect way to do it.