🏀 Wichita St. Men's 🏀 coach

[scratch1976]

After 3 years at Wichita St. with 2 years left on contract he was let go!  🏀

[NT80]

9 hours ago, scratch1976 said:

After 3 years at Wichita St. with 2 years left on contract he was let go!  🏀

Not surprising.  They were 17-15 this season.  In fact, Alcorn St beat them in Wichita earlier in the season.  

With no football, Men's basketball is their major fan sport.  They don't put up with .500 ball very long.

[MrAlien]

The AAC might be loosing Houston, however they are gaining 3 schools that have all been in the top 50 in NET.  Not to long ago Wichita had one of the better programs in the AAC, heading into next season they could be even further behind, Tulane is on the way up, and SMU will also likely improve.  

[wardly]

43 minutes ago, MrAlien said:

The AAC might be loosing Houston, however they are gaining 3 schools that have all been in the top 50 in NET.  Not to long ago Wichita had one of the better programs in the AAC, heading into next season they could be even further behind, Tulane is on the way up, and SMU will also likely improve.  

Wichita is a really good mid-major job. Only game in town with large community support and big crowds.

[greenminer]

4 hours ago, wardly said:

Wichita is a really good mid-major job. Only game in town with large community support and big crowds.

Just now chewing on this, but I think it could be a very similar situation to bball in El Paso.

[MrAlien]

5 hours ago, wardly said:

Wichita is a really good mid-major job. Only game in town with large community support and big crowds.

No doubt its a good job, with a solid fan base.  However I think they have struggled the last couple years, some of that is coaching, some of that is recruiting, and some of that might be the NIL.  My point is they needed to do something, the AAC is going to be a tougher conference next season. 

[meangreenfaninno]

18 minutes ago, MrAlien said:

No doubt its a good job, with a solid fan base.  However I think they have struggled the last couple years, some of that is coaching, some of that is recruiting, and some of that might be the NIL.  My point is they needed to do something, the AAC is going to be a tougher conference next season. 

Are you thinking Mac would be interested?

[drex]

It would be an insane move by Mac.

[emmitt01]

2 hours ago, meangreenfaninno said:

Are you thinking Mac would be interested?

[NT80]

3 hours ago, MrAlien said:

No doubt its a good job, with a solid fan base.  However I think they have struggled the last couple years, some of that is coaching, some of that is recruiting, and some of that might be the NIL.  My point is they needed to do something, the AAC is going to be a tougher conference next season. 

Wichita is in the Kansas grass lands, middle of nowhere.  Small metro town with rural feel, gets very cold, and little to do for entertainment. I would think difficult place to recruit to. 

Edited March 14, 2023 by NT80

[greenminer]

12 minutes ago, NT80 said:

Wichita is in the Kansas grass lands, middle of nowhere.  Small metro town with rural feel, gets very cold, and little to do for entertainment. I would think difficult place to recruit to. 

El Paso is in the Chihuahuan Desert, closer to Phoenix, Santa Fe, Ciudad Chihuahua, and Hermosillo, than it is to its own capital.  Large city with small town vibes.  Desert climate where day time temps can swing 30+ degrees depending on if the sun is out or not.  No major sports leagues.  No major malls.  The Nordstroms of the retail world do not last long.  

Miner ball is the best game in town, and home of some of the grandest MBB traditions and history in the that part of the country.

[wardly]

12 hours ago, NT80 said:

Wichita is in the Kansas grass lands, middle of nowhere.  Small metro town with rural feel, gets very cold, and little to do for entertainment. I would think difficult place to recruit to. 

With the loss of Houston, Cincy, and UCF the AAC should be a much easier conference next year. Kansas State is in the middle of nowhere, gets very cold, and except for tractor races not much entertainment yet they do very well in basketball and football. If Wichita gets a coach of the caliber of coach Mac they will do well. They have one thing that UNT basketball does not, and that is fans.

[wardly]

12 minutes ago, wardly said:

With the loss of Houston, Cincy, and UCF the AAC should be a much easier conference next year. Kansas State is in the middle of nowhere, gets very cold, and except for tractor races not much entertainment yet they do very well in basketball and football. If Wichita gets a coach of the caliber of coach Mac they will do well. They have one thing that UNT basketball does not, and that is fans.

FYI, Wichita has 400,000 residents, WSU 12,000 undergraduates, and attendance dropped the lowest in 20 years with average of 8,400. Before this year and excluding last years severe attendance drop due to COVID the Shockers averaged 10,000 +. It's a lot better job than SMU's.

[MrAlien]

14 hours ago, drex said:

It would be an insane move by Mac.

Wichita Basketball is the only game in town, big fish in a small pond, that is appealing for some people.  Plus the university knows how important their basketball program is, I would expect them to offer a very decent salary and perks. 

40 minutes ago, wardly said:

With the loss of Houston, Cincy, and UCF the AAC should be a much easier conference next year. Kansas State is in the middle of nowhere, gets very cold, and except for tractor races not much entertainment yet they do very well in basketball and football. If Wichita gets a coach of the caliber of coach Mac they will do well. They have one thing that UNT basketball does not, and that is fans.

Houston is a big loss, but adding UNT, UAB and FAU more then make up for the losses of Cincy and UCF.  Tulane, SMU, and Wichita all have the potential to turn their programs back into Quad-1 teams.  I think the AAC will become a very competitive basketball conference, similar to the Mountain West, with 5-6 quad-1 teams.     

[eulessismore]

13 hours ago, greenminer said:

El Paso is in the Chihuahuan Desert, closer to Phoenix, Santa Fe, Ciudad Chihuahua, and Hermosillo, than it is to its own capital.  Large city with small town vibes.  Desert climate where day time temps can swing 30+ degrees depending on if the sun is out or not.  No major sports leagues.  No major malls.  The Nordstroms of the retail world do not last long.  

Miner ball is the best game in town, and home of some of the grandest MBB traditions and history in the that part of the country.

With all the other praise of El Paso and UTEP, you're not going to mention an NCAA MBB national championship, with all its historical significance, and being the namesake of a song with the best guitar solo in all country western music? I will say that, having flown into El Paso twice in the last 4 years (on my way to other places), it is a city very capable of promoting itself and its only university. Also, I like the look of their stadium for the Sun Bowl, which has had some great games.

[NT80]

1 hour ago, wardly said:

Kansas State is in the middle of nowhere, gets very cold, and except for tractor races not much entertainment yet they do very well in basketball and football. 

Manhattan, KS is only about 60 miles from Kansas City.  In case you forgot, they are in the Big12, thus have a built-in attendance and recruiting attraction.  If NT was in the Big12 we would instantly double all attendance.

[CMJ]

Wichita State is one of the best non-Power league jobs in the country, full stop.

[meanrob]

8 minutes ago, CMJ said:

Wichita State is one of the best non-Power league jobs in the country, full stop.

Curious about your top five on such a list. No need to list Gonzaga. 

[NT80]

42 minutes ago, CMJ said:

Wichita State is one of the best non-Power league jobs in the country, full stop.

Is that totally based just on 8-10K fan attendance?  There is really nothing else about the program or location that is unique or enticing to a coach and player.

[CMJ]

35 minutes ago, meanrob said:

Curious about your top five on such a list. No need to list Gonzaga. 

 

 

Top 5 is tough.  Not counting the AAC, since it is kinda considered both a power league and not a power league depending on who you read.

 

I tend to figure location, historical success, fan base, potential, etc. all as a part of the calculus.  Not necessarily how good the program currently is, but what they represent and how easy it would be to continue/sustain success there given the right coach.

 

Dayton

Wichita State

San Diego State

Temple

UNLV

[CMJ]

12 minutes ago, NT80 said:

Is that totally based just on 8-10K fan attendance?  There is really nothing else about the program or location that is unique or enticing to a coach and player.

Nope, as I said in my other reply, it's based on a calculus.  And their location is ideal.  Any school in Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, or Indiana starts the game ahead simply because those states all live basketball.

Edited March 14, 2023 by CMJ

[meanrob]

1 hour ago, CMJ said:

 

 

Top 5 is tough.  Not counting the AAC, since it is kinda considered both a power league and not a power league depending on who you read.

 

I tend to figure location, historical success, fan base, potential, etc. all as a part of the calculus.  Not necessarily how good the program currently is, but what they represent and how easy it would be to continue/sustain success there given the right coach.

 

Dayton

Wichita State

San Diego State

Temple

UNLV

I wonder if the shine has been off Temple so much they aren’t top five. Same with Tulsa. 

[Venson]

21 hours ago, meangreenfaninno said:

Are you thinking Mac would be interested?

I think the only person on Mac's staff that would go there is Matt Braeur since he is a former player for WSU. However, I doubt if they would give him the reigns of the program without more HC experience.

[greenminer]

4 hours ago, eulessismore said:

With all the other praise of El Paso and UTEP, you're not going to mention an NCAA MBB national championship, with all its historical significance, and being the namesake of a song with the best guitar solo in all country western music? I will say that, having flown into El Paso twice in the last 4 years (on my way to other places), it is a city very capable of promoting itself and its only university. Also, I like the look of their stadium for the Sun Bowl, which has had some great games.

Oh I was intentionally mirroring his points: weather/geography/whatever.

All those traditions were established in the pre-internet era, which furthers my point: it was so remote for decades, and Haskins was able to recruit/win.  Crowd support was incredible.

It's better equipped to promote now more than ever, with all the accessibility that the internet affords us.  The landscape is completely different from the one that Haskins had to work with.

[CMJ]

1 hour ago, meanrob said:

I wonder if the shine has been off Temple so much they aren’t top five. Same with Tulsa. 

Temple is in such a basketball hotbed, it would only take the right coach to bring them back.  Now with Jay Wright gone at Villanova, that doesn't seem impossible.

 

I probably have Tulsa in my top 10-15.  It's still a great job, and I think it could get back to being how it used to be with the right coach.

Edited March 14, 2023 by CMJ