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Realistic coaching candidates

Gables Canes

Gables Canes

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I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread and keep a running list of coaching candidates. I don't have the time to post mine now, I will come back to this, but I had to start this thread after the quality of basketball I've witnessed this season (well, really the last 3....but this has been the worst).
 
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Depends on the profile of coach we are going to be looking for but I'd imagine someone relatively younger will be a preference given Larranaga's age - so no, I doubt we go after Rick Pitino. The 'lazy' and unspectacular hire would be Eric Konkol but hopefully Blake thinks outside of the box for once and doesn't go that route. I know many will clamor for Frank Martin but he'd be a very underwhelming hire and I think his stock has fallen considerably since that miracle Final 4 run.

If he was truly running a national search, here is who I'd target:

Anthony Grant (Dayton) - This is the first call I make. Obviously having the Miami ties are huge and I'd imagine an ACC job in his hometown is far more appealing than living in Dayton, Ohio. Great combination of experience and success coupled with ascending trajectory, as he's done a really good job of reinventing himself after washing out at Alabama. Was an NBA assistant under Billy Donovon so that's also a fantastic sell on the recruiting trail. He's currently middle of the road in D-1 when it comes to head coaching salaries (about $1 million per) so money shouldn't be an issue here.

Richard Pitino (Minnesota) - Bit more of a long shot I think but certainly worth a call. Minnesota is the better job at the moment so it really comes down to how much he values coaching in the ACC over the BIG. With that said, fairly recent history would suggest that the Miami has the higher ceiling as a program. Would likely need to go well above $2 million per to have any chance.

Wes Miller (UNC Greensboro) - Former UNC player so have to think he'd be chomping at the bit to coach in the conference. Greensboro was a train wreck when he took over, and it's been a bit of a rebuild, but they've been a 20+ win program in the SoCon the past 4 seasons.

Bob Richey (Furman) - Bit of an under the radar name but he's just 37 and has already won 40 games in the SoCon. Experience and the fact he hasn't made the tourney yet would be a concern but he's one of the best young coaches in the country.
 
ATXCane86 said:
Depends on the profile of coach we are going to be looking for but I'd imagine someone relatively younger will be a preference given Larranaga's age - so no, I doubt we go after Rick Pitino. The 'lazy' and unspectacular hire would be Eric Konkol but hopefully Blake thinks outside of the box for once and doesn't go that route. I know many will clamor for Frank Martin but he'd be a very underwhelming hire and I think his stock has fallen considerably since that miracle Final 4 run.

If he was truly running a national search, here is who I'd target:

Anthony Grant (Dayton) - This is the first call I make. Obviously having the Miami ties are huge and I'd imagine an ACC job in his hometown is far more appealing than living in Dayton, Ohio. Great combination of experience and success coupled with ascending trajectory, as he's done a really good job of reinventing himself after washing out at Alabama. Was an NBA assistant under Billy Donovon so that's also a fantastic sell on the recruiting trail. He's currently middle of the road in D-1 when it comes to head coaching salaries (about $1 million per) so money shouldn't be an issue here.

Richard Pitino (Minnesota) - Bit more of a long shot I think but certainly worth a call. Minnesota is the better job at the moment so it really comes down to how much he values coaching in the ACC over the BIG. With that said, fairly recent history would suggest that the Miami has the higher ceiling as a program. Would likely need to go well above $2 million per to have any chance.

Wes Miller (UNC Greensboro) - Former UNC player so have to think he'd be chomping at the bit to coach in the conference. Greensboro was a train wreck when he took over, and it's been a bit of a rebuild, but they've been a 20+ win program in the SoCon the past 4 seasons.

Bob Richey (Furman) - Bit of an under the radar name but he's just 37 and has already won 40 games in the SoCon. Experience and the fact he hasn't made the tourney yet would be a concern but he's one of the best young coaches in the country.
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Excellent post. I had 3 out of those 4 in the list in my head (wasn't considering Pitino as that's likely a pie in the sky deal). I will highlight each of these in a bit more detail in subsequent posts, plus some other names.

Agreed that Martin would not be a good hire. He is a head case and a walking NCAA violation and that's the last thing we need around the program.
 
I will post a few notes in bullet form about each candidate in no particular order. The first one I will discuss is Anthony Grant.

Current position: Head Coach at Dayton

Head coaching record:
VCU: 3 seasons - 76-25 including 45-9 in the CAA
Alabama 6 seasons - 117–85 including 54-48 in the SEC
Dayton: in his 4th season - 71-34 including 42-17 in the A10
Overall: 264–144 (65%)

Current salary (per USA Today): $1.2 million (for reference, Coach L makes $2.17 million)

Positives:
- Had a wildly successful start to his head coaching career at VCU, including 2 NCAA appearances in 3 seasons
- Lead Dayton to a historic 29-2 season last year. they were a projected #1 seed in the tournament before COVID cancelled it
- Still relatively young at 54
- Has a ton of experience as a head coach (in his 13th year), including in P5 conferences (SEC) and high-end mid-major conferences (CAA and A10)
- Has local ties as he's from Miami and was an assistant at UF for 10 years
- Has a bit of NBA experience on his resume as he worked under Billy Donavan at OKC for a couple of seasons

Negatives:
- His 6 year stint at Alabama was mediocre. Bama was never a bottom dweller in the SEC like we are right now, but they never could quite get over the hump, either. 3 NIT appearances and just 1 NCAA tournament in 6 seasons

Overall, his local ties, combined with his experience and impressive successes at VCU and Dayton would have him near or at the top of my list. A little concerning that he struggled to get Alabama over the hump, but there will be some risk with every candidate.
 
The next candidate I will discuss is Ryan Odom.

Current position: Head Coach at UMBC

Head coaching record:
UMBC: in his 5th season - 93–56 including 46-26 in the AEC
Overall: 93–56 (62%)

Current salary: $0.425 million (for reference, Coach L makes $2.17 million)

Positives:
- Has taken a UMBC program that was a complete dumpster fire under the previous coach (28-95 in 4 seasons) and instantly made them a respectable program
- Lead UMBC to just their second NCAA Tournament appearance in school history. This was the infamous defeat of #1 seed UVA, considered the biggest upset in tournament history. They lost a close game to Kansas State in the following round
- From Durham, NC and was an assistant at VT for 8 seasons, so he has ACC area ties
- Young at 46

Negatives:
- UMBC is his first Head Coaching job. Going from the AEC to the ACC would obviously be a massive jump.

Overall, his ability to take a program that was bottom of the barrel and have instant success is impressive. I also like his ties to the Tobbaco Road area. We've had success in the past with North Carolina players (Reggie Johnson, Julian Gamble, Garrius Adams, Ebuka Izundu to name a few) but for some reason we've gotten away from it. Maybe he could help with that. However, the big risk here is the difference in quality of basketball between a low-major conference like the AEC and the ACC. Would be a gamble hire from that standpoint alone, but he's still an intriguing candidate.
 
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Of this group, I'm most intrigued by Wes Miller.

Anyone know what kind of offense he runs? Being a UNC guy, I suspect it's a fast-breaking, end-to-end game (like Dean Smith and Roy Williams ran/run). That is another aspect that needs to be looked at in a hiring situation. With the AAU explosion, most kids don't really want to play in a slow, half-court set scheme anymore. They want to run and gun.
 
Gables Canes said:
I will post a few notes in bullet form about each candidate in no particular order. The first one I will discuss is Anthony Grant.

Current position: Head Coach at Dayton

Head coaching record:
VCU: 3 seasons - 76-25 including 45-9 in the CAA
Alabama 6 seasons - 117–85 including 54-48 in the SEC
Dayton: in his 4th season - 71-34 including 42-17 in the A10
Overall: 264–144 (65%)

Current salary (per USA Today): $1.2 million (for reference, Coach L makes $2.17 million)

Positives:
- Had a wildly successful start to his head coaching career at VCU, including 2 NCAA appearances in 3 seasons
- Lead Dayton to a historic 29-2 season last year. they were a projected #1 seed in the tournament before COVID cancelled it
- Still relatively young at 54
- Has a ton of experience as a head coach (in his 13th year), including in P5 conferences (SEC) and high-end mid-major conferences (CAA and A10)
- Has local ties as he's from Miami and was an assistant at UF for 10 years
- Has a bit of NBA experience on his resume as he worked under Billy Donavan at OKC for a couple of seasons

Negatives:
- His 6 year stint at Alabama was mediocre. Bama was never a bottom dweller in the SEC like we are right now, but they never could quite get over the hump, either. 3 NIT appearances and just 1 NCAA tournament in 6 seasons

Overall, his local ties, combined with his experience and impressive successes at VCU and Dayton would have him near or at the top of my list. A little concerning that he struggled to get Alabama over the hump, but there will be some risk with every candidate.
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Even Avery Johnson had Bama 75-62 and 34-38 in SEC play. Nate Oats has Bama 14-3, 9-0. Again, he did a great job at Buffalo. I would open up the mid-major look. You can win at Miami. If we are paying Jim north of $2 million money is not a huge concern.
 
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Gables Canes said:
Do you really think Rodney Miller or Sam Wardernburg would be making a difference? Lykes is a big loss, sure, but we aren't even playing competitive basketball. This program needs new life.
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Exactly. We were banged up 3 years ago and suited 7 scholarship players. We played hard every night. Normally, we would run out of gas the last 10 minutes. This year we are done after 10 minutes in. We lost to both bottom dwellers, BC by 22 and ND by 14.
 
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IncaneInTheBrain said:
Steve Pikiell would be the obvious first call for me
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Problem have with Pikiell is he only won his conference tournament once at Stony Brook, being 1-3 when he was favorite going into the tournament. I want a mid-major guy like Nate Oats who Bama brought in. The guy won his conference tournament 3 of 4 years at Buffalo.
 
Pikiell is interesting and hadn't considered him. What he's done at Rutgers is nothing short of miraculous given the how poorly run their AD has been. Miami has recruited the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic well under Larranaga so his recruiting footprint wouldn't change. My issue is the total body of work going back to Stony Brook and the fact he's already in his 50's, so not sure what his trajectory actually is at this point.

Kevin Willard from Seton Hall would be a monster hire but he was already making over $2 million already and that was before he got a raise a couple of years ago.
 
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Pentagon Cane said:
Even Avery Johnson had Bama 75-62 and 34-38 in SEC play. Nate Oats has Bama 14-3, 9-0. Again, he did a great job at Buffalo. I would open up the mid-major look. You can win at Miami. If we are paying Jim north of $2 million money is not a huge concern.
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We already are paying north of $2MM and that is cheap. Here is an old post I had.

www.canesinsight.com

Jim L'sarranaga

the number of people who think blake james is just going to go out and find a better coach than L is really funny to me. you guys really believe it's that easy? for blake james? at miami? in basketball? the chance that we would get someone worse than L is extremely high. these threads are crazy...
www.canesinsight.com www.canesinsight.com
 
hotshot said:
Of this group, I'm most intrigued by Wes Miller.

Anyone know what kind of offense he runs? Being a UNC guy, I suspect it's a fast-breaking, end-to-end game (like Dean Smith and Roy Williams ran/run). That is another aspect that needs to be looked at in a hiring situation. With the AAU explosion, most kids don't really want to play in a slow, half-court set scheme anymore. They want to run and gun.
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He played for/is close with Roy Williams so this appears to be the case
 
Gables Canes said:
I will post a few notes in bullet form about each candidate in no particular order. The first one I will discuss is Anthony Grant.

Current position: Head Coach at Dayton

Head coaching record:
VCU: 3 seasons - 76-25 including 45-9 in the CAA
Alabama 6 seasons - 117–85 including 54-48 in the SEC
Dayton: in his 4th season - 71-34 including 42-17 in the A10
Overall: 264–144 (65%)

Current salary (per USA Today): $1.2 million (for reference, Coach L makes $2.17 million)

Positives:
- Had a wildly successful start to his head coaching career at VCU, including 2 NCAA appearances in 3 seasons
- Lead Dayton to a historic 29-2 season last year. they were a projected #1 seed in the tournament before COVID cancelled it
- Still relatively young at 54
- Has a ton of experience as a head coach (in his 13th year), including in P5 conferences (SEC) and high-end mid-major conferences (CAA and A10)
- Has local ties as he's from Miami and was an assistant at UF for 10 years
- Has a bit of NBA experience on his resume as he worked under Billy Donavan at OKC for a couple of seasons

Negatives:
- His 6 year stint at Alabama was mediocre. Bama was never a bottom dweller in the SEC like we are right now, but they never could quite get over the hump, either. 3 NIT appearances and just 1 NCAA tournament in 6 seasons

Overall, his local ties, combined with his experience and impressive successes at VCU and Dayton would have him near or at the top of my list. A little concerning that he struggled to get Alabama over the hump, but there will be some risk with every candidate.
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Anthony Grant is my pick as well, I think he’d do very well here, he’s built Dayton into a legit tournament team & even had a kid like Obi Toppin being drafted in the top 10. Had the tournament not been cancelled last year Dayton was looking at easily being a Sweet 16/ possibly Elite 8 team.

I don’t really hold the Bama years against him either, he had 3 good seasons early in his tenure from 2010-2013 & Bama really just recently started paying attention to Basketball recruiting. For the longest the only thing that mattered to them as a program was Football obviously. I think he did about as good job as he could at Bama given the circumstances. The best season they’ve ever had in their program history was in 04 when they went to the Elite 8 after having a 20-13 season & the most wins they’ve ever had in a season was 27. Coach Grant got them their 2nd highest win total in a season in school history with 25 W’s.

Bama Basketball is not Bama Football, just making the tournament is high level success for that program.

Plus given his history from being a long time assistant on Billy Donovan’s staffs at UF helping build their National championship teams, I think he’d be able to show his recruiting acumen very well at a program with more resources like Miami.

Kelvin Sampson would be my 2nd pick if he were interested in leaving Houston, regardless of some of the controversial off the court violations with him, it can’t be denied the man knows how to build a winning program, what he’s done at Houston has been very impressive considering how he was looked at as “finished” after the way things ended in Oklahoma.

Chris Mooney at Richmond is another name I’d consider.

Travis Ford at Saint Louis is another one as well.
 
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