Coach Search Options after Autry

[Frozen]

If we hire Gmac, he has to bring AO with him to teach free-throws.

 

[llandz]

Ok folks here you go and this is confirmed information from probably the closest person to the program on the donor side -

They aren’t hiring Hop. Even with all the money in the world and support he’s getting, the university knows they can get over the Washington record so that’s out.

However, they are trying to get the Same group of donors that were backing hop to back Gmac. They want Blackwell as well as the 1-2 punch. And they think that is their best way to raise money and basically anyone outside of the family has no shot to raise any sort of money because they don’t know anyone in the community

They are interviewing Hurley this week and a few other “outsiders” that even the university wouldn’t share with this donor

The financials are rough. Really rough. They are asking for sums of money that are literally astronomical and hiring a coach is going to be very hard because of how bad it truly is.

All the players on the team have the intention to come back. Mainly bc they have ZERO offers from other schools. Nate George has an offer from Kentucky and that’s it. Obviously it will be up to the new coach on what to do with the roster.

Have fun

I can understand the reasoning with the community and raising funds with familiarity, but they are also being somewhat short sighted with thinking that way. We have a ton on alumni with money in NYC and in California, for ex, who love our teams, and also could be called upon for large sums of money. Actually look at where some of our biggest NIL donors live...Florida. Now of course local folks will fill the stands, and while some of you may not want to invest on buying season tickets, I have to think that you will still attend some games. And there will be new locals who will buy seasons because they know Blackwell for years, and love Gerry. But they need to see a larger picture.

 

[MSOrange]

I don’t think things are the same for assistant coaches.

Think of the impact Juli Boeheim had on the community, and in some ways still does.

I am sure BH’s girl is great but is she ready to be a community leader? As an aside, Adrian and his wife seemed to not even try and be community leaders. I suspect SU would like to bring in someone who has a wife and who is willing to be visible in the community.

At least somewhat like JAB and Juli were.

This is ridiculous thinking Tom, either by you or SU or both. I've lived in Kansas since 1998 and couldn't tell you what either Roy Williams or Bill Self's wife even looks like. I guess it's a nice to have for some people who care about that kind of stuff, but some spouses don't like to be in the limelight and that shouldn't be a key factor in a hiring decision. Just absurd.

 

[kingtidge]

I think he can win here. I really do.

Not if he has very little NIL money, he can't.

 

[Cusefan0307]

They think he can fill the Dome. He probably can for a while. But if he starts losing...

The problem is they have to win A GAME in Vegas. A single friggin game. If they don’t the season is torpedoed again in November!

 

[Irishsecra1]

The scariest part- whoever new coach is, if they don’t win in year 1 or show signs of life. Some donors are leaving for good and then we’re in some serious serious serious trouble

This is the main reason why I have such mixed feelings of hiring Gerry right now.
I know he will eventually be a great coach but there will be so much pressure on him, having to bear all the anger from the fans they can no longer direct at Red and JB, he will have to have incredible strength of character (along with great coaching) to succeed right out of the gate.
3 years ago he would have been a great hire but now, so much is stacked against him.
And AW is his main supporter, would he still be exiled from SU if Gerry is hired?

But I will vomit if we hire Hurley, I will accept Hop if I must, but seriously how bad is it when we could not hire BH. And media are now making fun of us! I dont believe for a minute it is because he has an illegitimate kid - Seriously, who would care?

 

[RyanCuse44]

Why is he the one with interest? This is effect of the problem of poor leadership from coaches instilled on the leaders of the team. That is in the past now though.

They must be desperate and don't what they are getting into with him. Another I don't play defense guard ala JJ.

 

[Bulldog04]

Y

And none of our guys are hearing from schools? So we have to have them back?

yes they are student athletes enrolled at SU

 

[br801]

Correct - the athletic office believes Gmac is the best option for raising money and putting butts in seats to generate revenue. They are terrified to bring in someone else in fear that a new coach that no one knows will basically have 3000 people show up to the first 10 games

There's no way they can believe that.

 

[RedtheGOB]

Correct - the athletic office believes Gmac is the best option for raising money and putting butts in seats to generate revenue. They are terrified to bring in someone else in fear that a new coach that no one knows will basically have 3000 people show up to the first 10 games

Thanks for the info. I wrote a long post on BB a little earlier. My point was that he would be looking at Assistants and other P4 coaches out of left field...so your comment below hit hard. This is where I'm holding onto hope. If they are keeping some candidates this close to the vest I would think there could be a diamond in the rough.

few other “outsiders” that even the university wouldn’t share with this donor

My other thought was the comment above on Gmac. Is this the old guard in the Athletic department or or BB?

Obvi you've done enough here but interested in your perspective.

 

[hoopsupstate]

SU might try to play a couple of meaningful home games in December and not at 9:00 pm. The home schedule the past few seasons have been dreadful. This athletic department has no visionary thinking or guts. Of course financials are going to be bad. Attendance was lousy for football and basketball because the teams were lousy. You can’t lose your final eight football games and your final six games in basketball and expect fans to show up. If they think Gerry is the savior, they’re sadly mistaken. If you want to increase attendance, go out and hire a coach who will make a big splash not a coach who was part of the decline in the program.

 

[VikesCuse84]

Athletic departments financials suck and so do our apparent coaching candidates all I can say is I’m thankful I’m old enough to have enjoyed the golden years because it’s looking likely we will never reach that kind of success again

 

[qdawgg]

I put all of you on ignore and I was able to catch up with the last 10 pages pretty quickly as a result. Just a helpful hint for those of you that feel like you’re constantly behind in the thread.

 

[kcsu]

Ok folks here you go and this is confirmed information from probably the closest person to the program on the donor side -

They aren’t hiring Hop. Even with all the money in the world and support he’s getting, the university knows they can get over the Washington record so that’s out.

However, they are trying to get the Same group of donors that were backing hop to back Gmac. They want Blackwell as well as the 1-2 punch. And they think that is their best way to raise money and basically anyone outside of the family has no shot to raise any sort of money because they don’t know anyone in the community

They are interviewing Hurley this week and a few other “outsiders” that even the university wouldn’t share with this donor

The financials are rough. Really rough. They are asking for sums of money that are literally astronomical and hiring a coach is going to be very hard because of how bad it truly is.

All the players on the team have the intention to come back. Mainly bc they have ZERO offers from other schools. Nate George has an offer from Kentucky and that’s it. Obviously it will be up to the new coach on what to do with the roster.

Have fun

Hire Devo for 250k. Bring in two studs and watch this team dance. Im kidding but only a little. Players win bball games. Any coach hired is a crap shoot other than a proven winner which we can't afford.
My pick is the coach that brings the most capital.

 

[Toga]

I’ll remind everyone that GRob sold out the Dome in his first game as football head coach. GROB

Washington Huskies?

 

[kingtidge]

I can understand the reasoning with the community and raising funds with familiarity, but they are also being somewhat short sighted with thinking that way. We have a ton on alumni with money in NYC and in California, for ex, who love our teams, and also could be called upon for large sums of money. Actually look at where some of our biggest NIL donors live...Florida. Now of course local folks will fill the stands, and while some of you may not want to invest on buying season tickets, I have to think that you will still attend some games. And there will be new locals who will buy seasons because they know Blackwell for years, and love Gerry. But they need to see a larger picture.

Not with a coach search in the 11th hour and no capable infrastructure to tap into new revenue streams and donors.

They are going with who they know and what they know because we've been stuck in a time warp forever... And it sounds like existing big donors aren't sold on the cost of doing business now.

Maybe Blair can change all this, but it ain't going to happen overnight and certainly not for this hire.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Correct - the athletic office believes Gmac is the best option for raising money and putting butts in seats to generate revenue. They are terrified to bring in someone else in fear that a new coach that no one knows will basically have 3000 people show up to the first 10 games

Panic mode.

 

[CuseTG2003]

This is ridiculous thinking Tom, either by you or SU or both. I've lived in Kansas since 1998 and couldn't tell you what either Roy Williams or Bill Self's wife even looks like. I guess it's a nice to have for some people who care about that kind of stuff, but some spouses don't like to be in the limelight and that shouldn't be a key factor in a hiring decision. Just absurd.

From what I've heard, Bill Self doesn't know what his wife looks like either or he does and that's the problem. Quite the ladies man apparently.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I’ll drive Nait to Lexington.

 

[Melancer46]

I watched him, he was definitely part of the problem

I don't think he's a particularly special player, but he was definitely a poor fit for the system that Autry was running (insert "what system?" joke here).

I think George could be a fine enough starting PG in other situations but without much motion in our system, we were asking our ball handlers to be able to break their man down off the dribble and that's not really his game IMO.

Doesn't mean he's a good target for Kentucky necessarily but I think he makes more sense for other schools than he does for us.

 

[cuseincincy]

Thats why I asked. Your previous post stated the Ohio guy was fired for a relationship with a student. That isn’t true.

From online:
The reasons outlined in the notice included "participation in extramarital affairs" and "alcohol-related conduct," including participating in a public event during which Smith smelled strongly of alcohol and "were intoxicated in your demeanor," according to the records.

The school said the extramarital affairs were cause for termination because they brought the coach into "public disrepute, contempt, scandal or ridicule."

So yes, not remotely the same circumstances. Ohio guy wasn’t fired for his relationship with a student as you stated, it was because it was an affair combined with alcohol problems.

What I’m seeing involved an undergrad student though and you keep saying it’s a grad student so maybe we aren’t talking about the same thing.

Thats why I asked. Your previous post stated the Ohio guy was fired for a relationship with a student. That isn’t true.

From online:
The reasons outlined in the notice included "participation in extramarital affairs" and "alcohol-related conduct," including participating in a public event during which Smith smelled strongly of alcohol and "were intoxicated in your demeanor," according to the records.

The school said the extramarital affairs were cause for termination because they brought the coach into "public disrepute, contempt, scandal or ridicule."

So yes, not remotely the same circumstances. Ohio guy wasn’t fired for his relationship with a student as you stated, it was because it was an affair combined with alcohol problems.

What I’m seeing involved an undergrad student though and you keep saying it’s a grad student so maybe we aren’t talking about the same thing.

You go ahead and believe what you can find online. I'll stick with sources I've known for over 40 years that work in the athletic department, administration and local government that all told me the same story. It's a small town and the truth usually lies just beneath the surface. The OU particulars don't really matter. What does is that coaches sleeping with students get fired, not hired. And I have zero info on what happened or didn't happen in Alabama.

 

[MSOrange]

Hire Devo for 250k. Bring in two studs and watch this team dance. Im kidding but only a little. Players win bball games. Any coach hired is a crap shoot other than a proven winner which we can't afford.
My pick is the coach that brings the most capital.

Devo would bring in the most capital? How?

 

[Toga]

SU might try to play a couple of meaningful home games in December and not at 9:00 pm. The home schedule the past few seasons have been dreadful. This athletic department has no visionary thinking or guts. Of course financials are going to be bad. Attendance was lousy for football and basketball because the teams were lousy. You can’t lose your final eight football games and your final six games in basketball and expect fans to show up. If they think Gerry is the savior, they’re sadly mistaken. If you want to increase attendance, go out and hire a coach who will make a big splash not a coach who was part of the decline in the program.

But but the busloads from Scranton.

 

[Melancer46]

Thanks. If financials are so bad how are we going to win in year one? We need several top players from the portal to be slightly competitive. Running back with current roster is not getting us in the tournament. Actually, I doubt they can have a winning season.

Ceiling wouldn't be high but I think if this years roster had a good coach, we're in the tournament right now. We lost so many close games down the stretch that a good coach could have added 8+ wins to the resume, including some high quality wins.

I would gladly move on from a few of our players though and take my chances in the portal.

 

[Orange315]

Gmac is a better choice than Skinn