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DFW Picture in coaching hire

Harry

By Harry
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Harry Grand Master

Harry

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OK - Trent Johnson is firmly at TCU and it appears Larry Brown may get the nod for the ponies (he's meeting with SMU today).

Assuming Brown lands, can North Texas find a way to differentiate themselves...?

I know that RV would say I am going to hire the best candidate available but let's be honest, Johnny Jones was perfect for us and frankly held his own and more against our metroplex rivals for talent.

Johnson's heyday was at Stanford and of course TCU is a private school soon to be competing in the Big 12. His knock at LSU was he couldn't land the talent but you can't question the success he has had in the past. The Big 12 will be a very tough place to be successful and although Johnson has shown he can win, it is going to take some time.

Brown is a huge name that will attract a lot of attention but at 71 will he be able to connect with the top recruits? SMU has some talent but they have at least a 3-4 year rebuilding process and even then they will be in a tough way trying to get tournament bids in he Big East.

I think the North Texas job is very interesting and appealing in 2 aspects. One, you have a top 25 caliber roster including one NBA player right out of the gate. Secondly, North Texas is in a conference that while quite challenging is not the level of the Big East or Big 12...a coach looking to make an immediate splash would have to take this under consideration.

And if these hires play out as they appear to, I still see a nice niche for North Texas to be able to land some top talent in the metroplex much as Johnny Jones was able to do. Let's be honest, North Texas offers a much more comfortable environment for the inner-city or even rural athlete than TCU or SMU can or ever will.

My understanding was that Shawn Forrest was the lead guy much like Justin Gaines is in football and Johnny was the closer. I think Johnny did a wonderful job of creating a family atmosphere. Hopefully we can find a candidate with these qualities. I think the talent niche that we occupied under Johnny's regime is still there for the taking and I suspect some quality coaches do as well.

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emmitt01 Grand Master

emmitt01

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There is a reason coaches literally couldn't be paid to take the SMU job. The same reason Doh was doomed to fail. The kind of kids they need to resurrect that program are the kind of kids they'd call campus police to remove I they weren't on scholarship. Unless the payroll is reinstated...for coaches AND kids...they'll continue to be an afterthought.

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NT03 Newbie

NT03

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He was awesome at Nevada.

He had the 1 run to the sweet 16 , but Games outside of the WAC he was 29 - 31

He's not a horrible coach , but I wouldn't pay him that $ and he wouldn't be my choice to lead me into the BIG XII. I think there was a reason LSU didn't try to keep him

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KoldBeer Newbie

KoldBeer

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It sounds like SMU is getting Larry Brown with Buzz Petterson as the coach in waiting. Larry Brown is one of the greatest coaching minds around and loves coaching hoops. He spent the second half of the season hanging around Kansas and traveled with the team to several games. I think this is a great hire for SMU. Now I don't really like Petterson as coach in waiting. He hasn't impressed me very much.

I'm not sold on the TCU hire. With Baylor doing really well the Big 12 is tough. KU is always elite and UT always recruits well. I'd think TCU is 4th or 5th choice for local kids.

But there are tons of really good talent in the area for all three schools. North Texas needs to find a coach that has the ability to recruit the local area. North Texas could make a nice living on DISD and other area kids that don't get Big 12 offers. I thought Jones had done a great job the last couple of years on this.

Edited by KoldBeer
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Mean Green Matt Veteran

Mean Green Matt

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It sounds like SMU is getting Larry Brown with Buzz Petterson as the coach in waiting. Larry Brown is one of the greatest coaching minds around and loves coaching hoops. He spent the second half of the season hanging around Kansas and traveled with the team to several games. I think this is a great hire for SMU. Now I don't really like Petterson as coach in waiting. He hasn't impressed me very much.

I'm not sold on the TCU hire. With Baylor doing really well the Big 12 is tough. KU is always elite and UT always recruits well. I'd think TCU is 4th or 5th choice for local kids.

But there are tons of really good talent in the area for all three schools. North Texas needs to find a coach that has the ability to recruit the local area. North Texas could make a nice living on DISD and other area kids that don't get Big 12 offers. I thought Jones had done a great job the last couple of years on this.

Larry Brown is a big name, but I have a hard time believing he cares at all about SMU hoops. He'll cash a few paychecks and be done with it.

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Harry Grand Master

Harry

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Larry Brown is a celebrity. I can see him becoming fast friends with Dale Hansen and perhaps even critiquing Maverick games in the SMU off-season. He's a big name that has a LOT of skins on the wall. Will he relate to coaches and players? That remains to be seen.

I'm guessing that he will hire some top notch assistants to help him recruit...that's where SMU's budget is a plus.

To me it sounds like SMU is looking for Brown to help them groom a young assistant...interesting strategy but didn't work with Mack Brown at Texas.

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