Coach Search Options after Autry

[OrlandoCuse]

Do you remember Drake last year [in 2025]?

Ben McCollum's first year there. He'd been tremendously successful at the D2 level. Brought a bunch of D2 players up with him when he took the Drake job, and they ended up playing key roles. They play in the MVC -- not a top conference.

Drake was supposed to be the type of team that P4 schools schedule to get an easy non-conference win, a tomato can. But with a bunch of D2 players playing big minutes, they beat Miami, Vanderbilt, and Kansas State all on the road.

They beat Missouri in the first round of the NCAAT. And they played pretty even with #3 seed Texas Tech before folding late.

They were ranked about [and please note, this might not have been the final rankings, just what I quickly looked up] #62 in KenPom in 2025. But they weren't held back by their conference, or their players. They were an example of a lower conference team playing FAR above their station, and rising in the rankings accordingly.

GMac did a nice job at Siena this year. But if you look at the winning percentages of the MAAC teams, most of them have losing records. He only beat 2 or 3 teams over .500 all year. He finished third in that conference. And then had a depleted team playing hard, and put together a great final week of the season. That is impressive. But it doesn't offset other things that are cause for concern, because empirical data is objective.

There is something to say about a coach that takes over a 4 win program and take them to going toe to toe with Duke in the first round of the NCAAT for 39 minutes in just under two years.

I’ve been in the “go outside the family” camp for a long time (pre-Autry). However, GMac looks to have what it takes to be a great head coach. The analytics are never going to be great in the MAAC.

 

[Briancuse]

BC, GTech

Tech hired the Troy guy.

 

[Cuse4Life]

If you can't get Schertz, Calhoun, or Martelli Jr then I'm fine with Gerry. I do think those three are better candidates than him. Gerry is much better than Shaheen or Skinn.

How is Gerry better than Shaheen? He was coach of the year in the big east!! They have some of the worst nil and still were top 4 in the Big East.

 

[Marsh01]

eh the only miss was George and that was only in how much we paid for him

I was referring to the past 2 seasons. And paying JJ was like lighting money on fire.

 

[OptimusOtto]

BC, GTech

Goodman's burner (Samurai) has Olen or Luke Murray linked to BC

 

[Briancuse]

How is Gerry better than Shaheen? He was coach of the year in the big east!! They have some of the worst nil and still were top 4 in the Big East.

He had a 7 win season last year.

 

[pearl31]

I was referring to the past 2 seasons. And paying JJ was lighting money on fire.

reliance on starling as option 1 was malpractice, but this past season was the only season with kline as gm

 

[phil77]

People are overthinking everything

I think that would be expected for a thread reaching 800 pages

 

[elimunelson]

Goodman's burner (Samurai) has Olen or Luke Murray linked to BC

Bc really wanted McNamara. Curious if that manifests if we hire shirts or skins (just wanted to use that joke)

 

[swish7]

That is nuts, PC just finished at the bottom of the conference, no major recruits coming in, if English was still the coach how do you think they would do, by the way they spent 9 million bucks this year in NIL more then Syracuse by all accounts. Now look at the press they are getting? Public image of PC changes immediately when they hire maybe the best mid major coach in the country especially when they are giving him maybe 13 million a year in NIl. What would our perception be if we brought Red back lol.

Oh good lord make it stop

 

[orlandoorange]

One thing I’m very sure of is that whomever we hire is going to “crush” the press conference and get people swooning. Because that’s what always happen for every new SU hire.

We're undefeated in press conferences

 

[phil77]

Do you remember Drake last year [in 2025]? They had a fantastic head coach -- Ben McCollum, who many compare to Scherz in terms of upside. McCollum parlayed his one year at Drake into moving to Iowa.

Prior to Ben McCollum's first year at Drake, he'd been tremendously successful at the D2 level. Brought a bunch of D2 players up with him when he took the Drake job, and they ended up playing key roles. They play in the MVC -- not a top conference.

Drake was supposed to be the type of team that P4 schools schedule to get an easy non-conference win, a tomato can. But with a bunch of D2 players playing big minutes, they beat Miami, Vanderbilt, and Kansas State all on the road.

They beat Missouri in the first round of the NCAAT. And they played pretty even with #3 seed Texas Tech before folding late.

They were ranked about [and please note, this might not have been the final rankings, just what I quickly looked up] #62 in KenPom in 2025. But they weren't held back by their conference, or their players. They were an example of a lower conference team playing FAR above their station, and rising in the rankings accordingly.

GMac did a nice job at Siena this year. But if you look at the winning percentages of the MAAC teams, most of them have losing records. He only beat 2 or 3 teams over .500 all year. He finished third in that conference. And then had a depleted team playing hard, and put together a great final week of the season. That is impressive. But it doesn't offset other things that are cause for concern, because empirical data is objective.

Might Yale from the IVY league, that is uber talented so talented and in a super powerful conference, had an Ortg of 43. Its only about the players you have Yale has so many pro-level players. The only can only run a good offense with great players is so dumb and old school way of thinking. It isn't reality. If you have a great offensive system in a bad league, you will run the league, and you effeciency numbers should be through the roof.

 

[Blanko97]

Providence is a joke. Imo, if BH was a future coaching star he’d be taking a better job at a higher profile program. GT in the heart of Atlanta for one.

You think GT is a better job than Prov? That’s actually quite funny

 

[Bayside44]

Holloway, I’d be pissed but could tolerate. Skinn would be boycott the program

It's not gonna be him.

70 wins in 3 seasons in a meatgrinder conference is nothing to sneeze at, these takes don't make sense to me.

A look under the hood shows he was battling injuries also.

 

[Cusefan69]

How is Gerry better than Shaheen? He was coach of the year in the big east!! They have some of the worst nil and still were top 4 in the Big East.

Shaheen over his career has won slightly over 50% of his games. Honestly his name should not even be on any list.

 

[DomeHolmes]

Hodgson is a great coach. But he’s is in no way the best mid major coach in the country. We’ve overvalued him a ton here.

True. Whether it’s USF, Sienna, St. Louis, Nebraska etc, they all are better coached without NBA talent. No one coach is so much better than the others that we have to have him. 2 simple things would have put us on the bubble THIS year. Both are among Reds failures, and both would be solved by any one of 100 coaches in the country.

1. We needed a true rim protector for center or backup. (Vs a 6’7” shot blocker) we had McNeal, but need a Craig forth to go with him. We got big boyed all year from everyone from SMU and Carolina to Hofstra. Watch the SMU and Carolina games. Their bigs stood 1/2 up the paint and took away our drives while also guarding the alley oop. We had shot blockers but very little rim protection. And Kyle was a great athlete and I liked him, but he got abused by low post players.

2. Red compounded the problem he created by having Kyle chase opposing centers all over the court (whether they were shooting threats or not) rather than stay anchored in the paint, leading to the non stop layup lines vs our D. (Especially in the second half). It was bizarre coaching malpractice that made no sense.

This is why I think people are getting way too carried away about who we need and who we don’t. Mostly we need competence. It’s quite possible we had the worst coach in division one.

 

[phil77]

Holloway, Hurley, and Skinn are people you interview so you can say you did a "national search"

 

[Blanko97]

Paulie was 98% Gerry on Friday lol

People didn’t mad enough at him so he didn’t feel victimized, had to change that right quick!

 

[OptimusOtto]

Shaheen over his career has won slightly over 50% of his games. Honestly his name should not even be on any list.

By all indications it's not but Shaheen himself is trying to insert himself into the list

 

[RF2044]

Might Yale from the IVY league, that is uber talented so talented and in a super powerful conference, had an Ortg of 43. Its only about the players you have Yale has so many pro-level players. The only can only run a good offense with great players is so dumb and old school way of thinking. It isn't reality. If you have a great offensive system in a bad league, you will run the league, and you effeciency numbers should be through the roof.

That's how I see it, as well.

Again, it is order of magnitude [by my way of thinking]. That's why I used the Scherz / Diebler example above.

But it does provide some insight. I prefer other metrics [especially earlier in the season, when the KenPom data set is too small] more, but to dismiss it or chalk it up to external factors is unnecessary -- it is an empircal data point.

 

[llandz]

I think that would be expected for a thread reaching 800 pages

People are writing the same thing over and over and over and over...It's becoming groundhog day. I wake u to see what is new (being on the westish coast) and it is just a repeat of the same pages I read yesterday and the day before...But heck, lets get to 100!!!

 

[Acesn8s]

Oh good lord make it stop

Facts?

 

[Bayside44]

I don't know enough about Martelli -- but in the limited sample size of seeing his team knock off UNC the other day, they played pretty darn well.

Do bloodlines work for coaches?

He'd be a great pick, those A-10 schools play their asses off.

And FWIW think his pops mitigates our pops issue.

 

[RF2044]

Holloway, Hurley, and Skinn are people you interview so you can say you did a "national search"

You and I have disagreed about Skinn from day 1. : )

But I agree 100% -- I am baffled by Hurley. I get wanting to emulate a rival like uconn -- but if that's the case, go hire Murray, don't hire the less successful brother of the successful rival's coach.

 

[phil77]

People are writing the same thing over and over and over and over...It's becoming groundhog day. I wake u to see what is new (being on the westish coast) and it is just a repeat of the same pages I read yesterday and the day before...But heck, lets get to 100!!!

Everyone as to do their part