How could Michigan hire Miller?
1) The coaching job in the final minute(s) of regulation of the OSU game was not exactly stellar since he a) did not choose to foul and gave OSU a chance to hit a three (fast forward one day later when Bruce Pearl fouls Singletary of UVA to avoid the same fate) and b) did not exactly guard against the three when that was OSU's only option.
2) He is friends with Matta. There is something wrong with the UM and OSU coach being friends.
3) It is not clear that the guys that made this team "successful" were direct recruits of Miller; weren't these Matta's seniors that made the run as freshmen under Matta?
4) Speaking of recruits, has anyone even seen Kenny Frease play? I saw his last game of the season this year against GlenOak and Koufos (OSU signee) did anything he wanted against the guy. Frease ended up with less than ten points and ten rebounds and is extremely slow. The good thing is he has good vision, decent hands, and some meat on his 7 foot bones, but he is not worth making a coaching decision on.
5) What did Xavier really accomplish under Miller?
What about Mark Hughes? This question was posed to me by his cousin just a few minutes ago.
If Michigan hires Miller, will he bring along all those extra timeouts he was saving as his team choked away the Ohio State game?
Hughes has no HC experience outside of the CBA and would be an enormous risk.
I'm convinced the next Michigan coach should be Montgomery (if he wants to come, which is unlikely) or Lowery. Heard Lowery on the radio tonight and he sounded really energetic and classy. I also love the way the Salukis play. We need someone young (good God, he's only a bit older than I am) with the energy to get the basketball program back to where it belongs.
Is Kevin Stallings in the mix at all? I remember hearing his name as one of the possible candidates back when Amaker was first hired. No idea if he'd want to leave Vandy but he is a Midwest guy, and has had only one losing season in his career as a head coach.
Larry Brown?
Time? check.
price? think he needs cash? check.
winner? check.
passion? eehhhhhh.......
I heard his name ALOT today on the radio.
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2) He is friends with Matta. There is something wrong with the UM and OSU coach being friends."
So... Bo Schembechler and Woody Hayes being friends was a problem?
In the coaching world, you're bound to cross paths and be close friends with guys who will be at rival schools in the future. I don't think that's a problem at all.
Brian, please send you coaching comments to Bill Martin please. I'd hate for him to make a stupid, rash decision...and your views are powerful. Thanks.
I don't really have a dog in this fight, but I'm (seriously) wishing you guys well in this search. Like I said in a comment in another thread, you're MICHIGAN, for fuck's sake. Your basketball program needs to be a LOT better than it's been under Amaker. Sticking with him would have been like Lincoln sticking with McClellan (since Brian mentioned him): "trying to bore with an auger too dull to take hold."
It would seem that Montgomery, if you can get him, would be a fantastic fit - everything (except for Crisler) would be fixed in that one fell swoop, I'd be willing to wager. I don't know exactly why, but I think you'd end up regretting Tubby Smith. If Montgomery's not available, I'd look for the best of the younger, high-energy, badass-recruiting, mid-major guys.
Speaking of Crisler, considering the "hurricane" of sentiment Brian referenced, it's kind of inexplicable that Martin seems to be defensive about it, implying - if not declaring outright - that any coach that insisted on fixing the facilities issues is more or less disqualified from consideration. We're talking about one of the largest, most powerful, most prestigious public schools in the country - why can't Martin just say, "we will replace our arena/facilities with state-of-the-art facilities befitting the stature and importance of the University of Michigan ASAP, and I am currently working on setting up a capital improvements fundraising drive for that purpose"? It's obvious that this whole thing is becoming, if it hasn't already been, a millstone around your athletic department's neck. That kind of money isn't all THAT hard for a place like Michigan to raise.
Finally, re: Aram...his point is a good one. I'd venture to say most of us, on both sides of the rivalry, have our earliest memories of it in the "Ten Year War" era. I can't imagine Ohio State vs. Michigan without Woody and Bo's abiding friendship being part of the narrative, and I suspect that I'd feel the same way even if I hadn't been around to experience it personally, because whoever taught me to be a Buckeye fan would have made sure to school me in that history (sorry, I can't imagine a world in which I was a Michigan fan - Philip K. Dick probably could, but not me).
As a UM grad stuck in Cincinnati, I must comment on one of your points about Sean Miller. He doesn't have Lavin/Donovan hair. Okay, maybe he does, but it's not product. It's SWEAT. The man is like a facucet on the sideline. And for that reason, along with the inability to get consistent play from decent A-10 players, not to mention bone-headed in-game coaching, I would not want him. But mostly it's the sweat.
Majerus used to live in the University of Utah Marriott full time and was well known around town for greeting the people delivering his room service nude.
Brian- Any thoughts on Lavin? Heard his name as a possibility.
Tony Bennett?
He left his heart in the midwest...
Lavin couldn't make UCLA a winner. He's last on my list.
bennett, hewitt and Gonzaga guy, Nova guy & Vandy guy are the only ones missing, imo.
re : kent @ UO: bingo Brian. plus, i read his wikibio and his offense sounds similar to TAs. not that it couldn't work, but w/o Nike subsidising his recruiting, can he bring in guys more suited to that offense than TA did? that whole athletic dept out there is an empty suit.
you should put your top ten together, maybe broken up into tiers.
fyi, the next womens coach will turn out to be the current BGSU coach.
still waiting to hear why Krueger has been so nomadic in his career...is it simply larry Brown syndrome or are there backstories at each school?
My list in order of tiers:
TIER 1
Pitino/Calipari...i know but still
Lon Kreuger. UNLV, Ill, UF (pending info on nomadic life)
Tubby Smith, UK
Mike Montgomery, stan, NBA (can he recruit the Midwest/State of Mich?)
Chris Lowery, SIU....best mid major guy available
John Beilein, WVU...buy out issues
Tony bennett, WSU....can he recruit Michigan?
TIER 2
Sean Miller, Xavier..lots of holes in the resume
Greg Marshall, Winthrop...ditto
Todd Lickliter, Butler....ditto again
Paul Hewitt, GT...kind of a TA level guy, but i don't know much about him other than he was at Siena, which is cool.
Tom Crean, Marquette...MSU guy & $$ issues. w/o Wade, does he get this kind of pub?
No F-ing way:
Ernie Kent, Oregon...see above
Rick Majerus, not enough Buffets in the county for the both of us.
Lavin..vomit
Bruce pearl, UTenn, gimmickey
Reggie Theus, New Mexico State..too unproven
Gillespie should be tossed in with petino/calipari, for completeness
Speaking of Crisler, considering the "hurricane" of sentiment Brian referenced, it's kind of inexplicable that Martin seems to be defensive about it, implying - if not declaring outright - that any coach that insisted on fixing the facilities issues is more or less disqualified from consideration.
The way I read his comments was more like, "If a candidate's ONLY problem with the job is outdated facilities, then his heart is probably not in the right place and he won't be the kind of guy we want and need at Michigan."
Also, as someone else pointed out on another thread, at some of these schools with the flashy state-of-the-art facilities, success came first, then the money followed for the facilities. We're still waiting for the success here.
And even Philip K. Dick could not make me a Buckeyes fan. But I appreciate the sentiment that if one of our schools is sucking bad, it takes a lot of fun out the rivalry. So hopefully we can live up to our end on the basketball court again soon.
Alan, don't fall for the idiotic drivel all the sports hacks are putting out there. Pearl very well could have COST HIS TEAM THE GAME by having them foul like that. Because UVA's coach did the smart thing, had his guy sink both and then foul immediately. If Loften misses one of his last two free throws, then UVA is shooting for the tie/win and fouling isn't an option. Why get into a free throw shooting contest when you can just play good defense and limit the other team to at best tying. There's a reason coaches don't foul in that situation, and there's a reason they're coaching and the morons who think you should foul are all hack loser sports writers (see Doyle).
As for your point 1-b) you're right, the Xavier players defended poorly on that play. They should have had a guy or two ready to trap at mid court and the others speard along the three point line. This would have made Conley have to work to get the ball up court and probably makes him take the shot instead of Lewis.
To continue with the Pearl/Virgina end game talk...
Pearl did have his guy foul with about 10 seconds left and a three point lead...
but did NOT have him foul with about 6 seconds left and a 3 point lead.
Same situation, and he played it differently. If the Virigina guy hits that 3 and sends it to overtime, ala OSU, how many people would think Pearl's move was a good one?
If Ron Lewis misses the 3, how many people would be questioning Miller's decision?
the fact is, if you don't foul, there is NO chance to lose in regulation. thus, it's the best move.
if you do foul, you could get called for a flagrant/intentional foul. or, if they miss the 2nd/3rd FT & get the RB, they can shoot for the W, not just the tie.
there was no F-up in the X-osu game besides the execution, aka perimeter D.
How the hell do Lickliter and Marshall have "lots of holes in their resume?"
I swear every time I read an asinine post here I scroll down to see if it's Dan. Often is.
Licklighter: Inherited Three-time Horizon League champs coming off back-to-back NCAA bids. it's called coatails. he could be riding them.
thats a hole.
can he recruit the big time top 50 guys at a BCS level school? probably, but not for certain. that's a hole.
Marshall...winthrop isn't even a mid major. can this success translate to BCS level program? I'm not sure. that's a hole. does anyone in the Detroit PSL, Flint, or even the AAU circuit know this guys name? maybe, but that's a potential hole.
i'll admit that these guys seem to have fewer holes than Miller at XU, so maybe "ditto" was the wrong word...perhaps "fewer holes" would have been a better choice.
i just don't buy that any Mid-major guys will necessarily be great at the next level.
at least my comments have substance (that obviously some don't agree with, which is fine). imo, asinine comments are the ones that do nothing but rip someone else. but thanks for the question.
Paul Hewitt, GT...kind of a TA level guy, but i don't know much about him other than he was at Siena, which is cool.
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Ummm the only thing these two have in common is that both are black and dress well. Hewitt got his team to the championship game, how about that Amaker?????
Bash Ernie Kent all you want but the guy wins with dopey fan base and facilities and this alleged Nike support includes what exactly?? Because I'm pretty sure Nike does more for Michigan. I don't see alot of Oregon Duck gear bouncing up and down the fine streets of Detroit, NY, or Chicago.
Jeezus, Lon Kruger got K-state into the NCAA's consistently when it was the old Big 8 and Mizzou, Kansas, Oklahoma, Ok St dominated. He's the only logical decision considering the circumstances. The only bad thing is that UNLV boosters are gonna take care of him because he actually can win and do things legally unlike Tarkanian.
hewitt... he's not flashy, and is very classy and relatively low key. tall, thin, same age... sounds familiar, except the success is admittedly on different scales. if anyone actually considered him and wrote a summary I'd know more. records at GT: 17-13 ncaa, 15-16, 16-15nit, 28-10(title game), 20-12ncaa, 11-17, 20-12. better than amaker, but not by much. again, could at least be considered as a tier 2 guy maybe?
Kent--this is his bio: big time recruiter who has a bad Xs & Os rep. he's an egotist who won't hire an Xs&Os guru as an assistant. a significant part of the UO community is not behind him. he may be the only guy in the Sweet 16 (or elite 8?) that gets canned this year. this is all from an Oregonian writer via WTKA this PM. I, for one, see that as an easy "pass."
"a lot of UCLA people were convinced the reason Malik Hairston went to Oregon and not UCLA was that Nike flew him in on a private jet for his official visit and rumors swirled that Hairston got a little extra to sign the LOI."...
http://www.arizonasportsfans.com...hp/t-
51745.html
sure they are rumors, but i've heard that before.
and go to the UO athletics wiki. phil knight funds most of the athletic dept; fingerprint biometric locks & personalized comic books for prospective recruits? kent is a recruiter who benefits from the connection UO has with nike...as does every program there.
"Because I'm pretty sure Nike does more for Michigan. I don't see alot of Oregon Duck gear bouncing up and down the fine streets of Detroit, NY, or Chicago."
phil knight writes the checks directly for anything UO does athletically. every other school gets the Nike deal that benefits Nike as much as the school. it's not about merchandising UO gear...it's about phil knights private jet bouncing up & down the streets of NY, Det, Chicago.
As far as recruiting Detroit goes, keep in mind that the head coach doesn't have to be the best recruiter on the staff. Whomever we hire could probably just hire some PSL guy to be an assistant and voila - instant connections.
Ernie Kent is a dam good coach who unfortunately surrounded by nimrodic fan base. What exactly was UO history before Kent??? X and O's don't mean shit if your athletes suck. Dude is winning with marginal talent at best. I think people are just selling this guy short for no apparent reason considering his track record the last 5 years...
What exactly was UO history before Phil Knight???
Dude is winning with marginal talent at best?...well which is it? he gets great recruits out of Det, etc or he wins with marginal talent?
here's your marginal talent: NBA Draft choices Bracey (2001), Jones (2002) , Ridnour (2003) and Jackson (2004). All-Pac-10 freshmen Aaron Brooks (2004), Malik Hairston (2005) and Bryce Taylor (2005).
the apparent reason to sell him short is that he's not known for Defense, hes not known for offense, he's known as a recruiting guru. a guru who benefits from phil Knight's support. he's a one-trick pony who trick (imo) severely depends on benefits he can only get at UO via knight.
Ummmmm I guess UO is the only school with sugar daddy cutting checks and last time I checked, I didn't see Phil Knight coaching that team to the tournament 3 out of the last four years.
That list is very impressive but maybe you should look at what Ridnour, Jackson, Jones, Brooks and crew were rated coming in to UO. I believe Malik Hairston is the only top flight recruit.
UO is the only school with sugar daddy cutting checks to fly recruits in on the NIKE PRIVATE JET.
sure, he's a good coach. he's done very well at UO. i can't argue with the success he's had there. I just think he's less of a sure thing than Lowery, Krueger, Beilein, others when it comes to coaching at M.
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