men's basketball

TheTastyGreek · February 17, 2017

Oh, and hey! Steve Lutz was apparently open to the UTSA job last year.

I like Steve Lutz. I'd be thrilled with Steve Lutz. We should call Steve Lutz!

KingDL1 · February 17, 2017

54 minutes ago, TheTastyGreek said:

Oh, and hey! Steve Lutz was apparently open to the UTSA job last year.

I like Steve Lutz. I'd be thrilled with Steve Lutz. We should call Steve Lutz!

Did you call Steve Lutz?

TheTastyGreek · February 17, 2017

10 minutes ago, KingDL1 said:

Did you call Steve Lutz?

I did not, no. Not understanding our evaluation process, I'm trusting the powers that be to handle that call in an appropriate way at the appropriate time.

Maybe mid-July? Will we be done evaluating by then?

KingDL1 · February 17, 2017

22 minutes ago, TheTastyGreek said:

I did not, no. Not understanding our evaluation process, I'm trusting the powers that be to handle that call in an appropriate way at the appropriate time.

Maybe mid-July? Will we be done evaluating by then?

I just want action and some winning. Someone better be calling.

Mean_Green09 · February 17, 2017

15 hours ago, Harry said:

Plenty said about why not North Texas... how about why?

Sounds to me that we need a gambler. I do not dispute any of Tasty's good info, especially the part that the money deal has changed since when we hired Johnny.

That said, we still have the carrot that just 5 years ago our coach was able to parlay his time here into a SEC gig at LSU... that is no small feat.. SMU and TCU can't boast that.

We need a coach looking for a big payoff opportunity. Come here and win and you could get a fast track to a high profile gig.

I also think location is a big plus. We have so much talent around DFW. Combs wanted to stay close to home, I expect there will be others. Not to mention the bounce back players like T-Mitch who you may be able to land.

Everyone talks about how why Scott Cross would leave UTA. My question is, if he is such a valued commodity why would he not get another opportunity already? I think if Cross was offered this job (and more money/budget) he would still take it.

They dont have to boast that. They just landed two damn good coaches. TCU took a coach away from a better basketball program than theirs. They lured away a really good basketball coach from a basketball conference.

Why do you need a coach looking for a big payoff opportunity? We had that in Benford he tried to mash together rosters with multiple transfers every year and it didnt work.

Id rather find a guy that is really confident in system. That he can develop a team and a program through recruiting 4 year guys. Sure a few transfers like one every other year are okay as long as they are very talented.

Look at the top 10 mid major programs this year. Their starting 5 avg playing at that program at least 2 years for every position. PG and SG avg 3 years playing at that program. Out of 50 players listed as starters at least 7-8 were guys that transferred in from other programs. Id like to see the next guy dedicated toward building continuity in this program.

Censored by Laurie · February 17, 2017

16 hours ago, TheTastyGreek said:

Not trying to pick a personal argument or fight, just using this as a jumpoff point for a hiring thought that's come up a few times here... In my opinion, hiring a current D2, JUCO, or other lower division coach is (potentially) the absolute worst possible decision we could make. There's a reason that, these days, it only ever seems to happen (and even then, rarely) among the very bottom conferences in D1 basketball. Meaning, way, way below CUSA or the Belt.

Even 10-15 years ago, this might not have been such a bad idea. But the money explosion in D1 sports has so widened the gulf, we ought to be very skeptical why anyone we think is a good fit is active in a lower division instead of coaching (even as an assistant) in the D1 ranks.

Just to illustrate the point... Back when we hired Johnny Jones, the base salary for the head coach at Nebraska (Barry Collier) was 20% lower than what Michael Lewis is making there as the 2nd or 3rd assistant. Six figure salaries were pretty unusual among assistants, and multi-year deals were very unusual. Now, there's so much money floating around, the #4 guy on the sideline for a Big 10 team with as many NCAA bids over the last 23 years as our school, and that last won their regular season in 1950 (in the Big Seven!) is guaranteed just under three quarters of a million dollars across three years.

Even in 2000 or 2001, the money gap wasn't anywhere near there. So, a guy who liked where he was, or wanted to be a head coach, or had ties to the program, might stay at a lower division school rather than looking for a D1 assistant job. If you make $50-75k, and your job is secure, and your wife and kids are happy... Is it really worth it to fight for an $80k job where you're taking orders from someone else, and the cost of living may be double what it was in your old job? Especially when they can cut you loose after a year with no penalty?

Even 15 years ago, sticking around at a D2 or a JUCO (if you were successful and paid well for that level) made sense. The difference between what you could make at that sort of gig and what you'd make as an assistant at a D1 or even a low major head coach wasn't so huge.

Now, whatever makes you a good coach, whether it's development, recruiting, in-game strategy... If you have it, someone at the D1 level will find you and add you to their staff. And you'll be offered potentially TEN TIMES or more what you make as a D2 or JUCO head coach. So, if you're staying put there... Why? And, is there any answer to "why?" that wouldn't also rule out North Texas? Are you waiting for a big D1 head coaching job? Are you or your family tied to the area? Is there some reason you aren't able to get interest at the D1 level?

There are a lot of guys coaching as D1 assistants who have experience as a JUCO or D2 head coach. Some of them may have dropped down for a few years to get the title on their resume (like Steve DeMeo seems to be in the middle of doing), some of them may have worked their way up through those ranks to get their D1 opportunity.

But anyone who is active in a lower division carries an immediate, obvious question mark that makes them (in my opinion) even more risky than a D1 assistant with no head coaching experience.

Of the guys I assume to be in consideration here, at least one is an active D2 guy and another is a current D1 assistant with a JUCO HC background (and watch everyone's head explode if we hire him, given where he's working as an assistant right now). But I think that if you look at the sort of coaches everyone mentions as "why don't we go get ___" from a perceived lower tier D1 school, almost all of them were inexperienced head coaches before getting the gig that made them so appealing.

If we can get a guy active at the D1 level as a HC, great. I like Roman Banks!

if we get a D1 assistant with previous HC experience, either at the D1 level or below, that can be fine too. I like Darrin Horn! I sort of like Unnamed Former JUCO HC and Current D1 Assistant Who Seems To Have A Relationship With Wren Baker And Could Potentially Be A Candidate (Or A Future Top Assistant Under Our Next Coach)!

But if it comes down to a guy currently coaching below D1, I'd need to get a real clear picture of why he's down there, because I'd rather go fish in the D1 assistant pool rather than hire a career D2 or JUCO guy for our job.