Discussing Possible Coaching Candidates Majerus, Gillen

[thetorch]

I'm not really going to weigh in on Brad this or Brad that.

He's a good man. I hope he learns from his mistakes and becomes a better coach somewhere else.

The timing of this move shocked and befuddled me. This is Biondi's MO though and always has been. I hope he makes an impact hire and this decision is based on making SLU a perennial NCAA tourney contender, not some knee jerk reaction to bad press and complaints about Brad and the program from the media and boosters.

Who are we pursuing? Who from those candidates is a real possibility?

I noticed in the press release the hiring process will take WEEKS? If this takes over 8 days it could be the deathknell of the program.

1. Rick Majerus - He is everyone's candidate. Huge success at Jesuit and non BCS schools. He has been out of the game for a long time. Has huge health problems that have forced him to leave posts and turn down jobs. I don't think we have a realistic shot at him. If we did hire him Biondi would have to get the plane back and pay for some phone bills. Except for his age and health he is a dream candidate.

2. Pete Gillen - This would be Majerus lite. Old guy, no health problems, with a step below the success in pretty much the same situations that Majerus has been. I would have trouble reconciling his hire what with him mopping the floor with us in the 80s. But if ya can't beat I guess ya hire em. Gillen has gotten the most out of Jesuit schools. This would be a Spoon like hire. Not breaking the bank and really committing to the program but letting someone come in who can win with what little we give him.

3. Cuonzo Martin - Name has been bandied about but who knows if he even is on the radar. I doubt if he gets an interview. If bernie really wanted him to get hired I'd advise him to stop mentioning Martin. Young hot shot recruiter I guess, comes from a solid coaching pedigree and is from the area, all this makes me think he won't get as much as a phone call.

4. Kevin Stallings - Maybe a couple years ago. Biondi would have to give him 10 million a year to pry him from Vandy now.

5. Mike Montgomery - Has ties to Cheryl, but who thinks Cheryl is making the decisions right now? Why would he come here? Career west coast guy. If he was an even remote possibility he'd be up there with Majerus.

6. John Groce - Another guy who would be perfect but probably won't get a phone call. Thad Matta disciple, has been asst at NC State, Butler, Xavier, and now Ohio St.

7. Numerous small time HCs - Brownwell, Grant, Horn, Sutton, et al. The guys who wouldn't be smart enough to ignore Biondi's calls aren't worth hiring.

8. Jay Spoonhour - He'll be mentioned for no good reason as a candidate till he's dead no matter what he does.

9. Kim Anderson - When UMSL needs a coach give him a call.

My top choices are Groce and Martin. Throw some money at them and their assts, pay their cell phones and watch them build a winner. I fear a Gillen hire, he is a retread hire and on a similar path that Charlie was on. The Redhead would just be another band aid for the program, not a cure. Majerus or Montgomery would be miracle hires and will never happen.

[Billiken Rich]

Any thoughts on Kevin O'neil?

[billiken_roy]

if martin is such a great recruiter, then why has purdue been down so much since martin has been a purdue recruiter?

martin doesnt excite me.

gillen is too old.

groce....if an indiana all time great aau team with greg oden is forced to play a year of college ball and decides they want to basically stay in the midwest, does that make you a head coach?

jay spoonhour? huh?

anderson, i have been told by a lot of people today that anderson would be a great choice. personally every time i hear his name it morfs into norm stewart. i cant get by that.

stallings he told biondi where to go back during the romar hiring days. why would he change his mind now?

montgomery, majerus, other pipe dreams? show them the money, show them the infrastructure improvements.

hey i have no ideas. but there better be someone lined up or the roller coaster just took one hell of a spike.

anyone that didnt see lisch and liddell's interviews tonite on the 10 o'clock news, i am scared to death they are just about ready to walk. bruce weber is probably planning his two years from now run to the final four now.

[Billikenexpress]

At this stage of the game (way too late to get a quality coach), SLU will get an old guy or a retread or an assistant from somewhere looking to move up.

[davidnark]

>At this stage of the game (way too late to get a quality

>coach), SLU will get an old guy or a retread or an assistant

>from somewhere looking to move up.

Isn't that what they would have gotten six weeks ago?

[slu72]

Get a retread, Gillen, and force him to hire Martin or Groce, make them asst HC. They take over as HC in three years if they perform, ie recruit well.

[jjray]

>>Get a retread, Gillen, and force him to hire Martin or Groce, make >>them asst HC. They take over as HC in three years if they perform, ie >>recruit well.

Agree, if it is Gillen, they need to install an up and comer as the top assistant which means showing the money to both Gillen and the #1 assistant. SLU has never done that ... but this firing has put the program's back up against the wall.

[slu72]

It's definitely time to put up or shut up about basketball. Not only should the HC be an improvement over UB, but the AC's need to be a major upgrade as well. The only way we get stability at SLU is to have a succession plan and pay them well. I'm hoping this dramatic move is an indication that is finally going to happen. I don't think adding another $1mm to the hoops budget is going to sink SLU.

[Archy McNally]

>My top choices are Groce and Martin. Throw some money at

>them and their assts, pay their cell phones and watch them

>build a winner. I fear a Gillen hire, he is a retread hire

>and on a similar path that Charlie was on. The Redhead

>would just be another band aid for the program, not a cure.

Why do you fear a path that Charlie was on? Do you not like to see SLU going to NCAA tournaments? Right now, I would do backflips to see Pete Gillen. I remember him taking Xavier to the NCAA tournament every year for say 10 years straight. I remember a great coach and recruiter. He did have problems in the ACC, probably b/c he has to compete against NC, Duke, Maryland, etc.

And what is the deal with this board and it's disdain for Charlie? It seems regulated to the board, not to the rest of St. Louis, at least the fans I talk to. Did he mistreat all you Bill club people? Not that I think it that matters. It seems to me, the fan base in St. Louis figured out there were hard times coming after Spoon left and stopped coming to the games.

I think SLU made a mistake when it did not hire the proven coach in Stallings after Spoon left. I do not want to make the same mistake. Not that I am going to root against a young assistant hire, but I just do not think you are giving enough credit to the Gillens, Spoons, Bennetts (he did take Wisconsin to the final 4) of the college scene. But I would love to see the coach from Wright St. in here.

[kmbilliken]

Don't you think Biondi's going to tell Cheryl to go out and find the guy that's going to lead us to the promised land. Here's your budget, $450,000 a year. That's a $50,000 raise over Soderberg. Now go get it done.

[billfan4life]

Groce is the perfect man for the job.

http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/con....asp?CID=588230

[3star_recruit]

Hiring Martin would be a wrong-headed attempt to placate Tommie since he recruited Tommie out of high school. You don't need to do that to make our kids happy -- just make a good hire. Like you said, Purdue's recruiting hasn't been anything to write home about until Painter got there.

Gene Cross is getting love by some because of his ties to Vashon. Notre Dame's last two recruiting classes have been solid but not anything beyond what they got before Cross arrived. But with six seasons at UIC and three at Depaul, he knows Illinois like the back of his hand.

Anthony Grant and John Groce pretty much completes the hotshot recruiting list. Another postseason appearance by VCU and Grant will have his pick of BCS jobs next year. Everyone knows about the insane recruiting success Matta/Groce have had at Ohio St.

Scott Sutton would be a very good hire but he has the pedigree to soon land a BCS job.

Darrin Horn has had solid success at Western Kentucky.

Realistically Groce and Horn are probably the best we can hope for. I'm not totally opposed to Cross but he'd be a major league roll of the dice. The powers that be at SLU don't strike me as gambling men.

[slu72]

There appear to be a number of talented recruiters on that list that are still available. I'd have no problem with Groce. Knows the A-10, knows the midwest, and now has a final two on his resume. Hell, Matta might even throw him some castoff recruits for OSU, which would fit in well with us.

[brianstl]

I think he would be one of the best hires out of what I think are the realistic canidates. But, he has turned down chances to interview for other D-1 jobs becuase the situation wasn't right. I think he would need some convincing that this is the right fit for him. I think it could be done, but I do not believe it would be automatic.

[bg]

a Horn hire might get Pettigrew into the Billiken fold.

[MU88]

>>My top choices are Groce and Martin. Throw some money at

>>them and their assts, pay their cell phones and watch them

>>build a winner. I fear a Gillen hire, he is a retread hire

>>and on a similar path that Charlie was on. The Redhead

>>would just be another band aid for the program, not a cure.

>

>Why do you fear a path that Charlie was on? Do you not like

>to see SLU going to NCAA tournaments? Right now, I would do

>backflips to see Pete Gillen. I remember him taking Xavier

>to the NCAA tournament every year for say 10 years straight.

> I remember a great coach and recruiter. He did have

>problems in the ACC, probably b/c he has to compete against

>NC, Duke, Maryland, etc.

>

>And what is the deal with this board and it's disdain for

>Charlie? It seems regulated to the board, not to the rest

>of St. Louis, at least the fans I talk to. Did he mistreat

>all you Bill club people? Not that I think it that matters.

> It seems to me, the fan base in St. Louis figured out there

>were hard times coming after Spoon left and stopped coming

>to the games.

>

>I think SLU made a mistake when it did not hire the proven

>coach in Stallings after Spoon left. I do not want to make

>the same mistake. Not that I am going to root against a

>young assistant hire, but I just do not think you are giving

>enough credit to the Gillens, Spoons, Bennetts (he did take

>Wisconsin to the final 4) of the college scene. But I would

>love to see the coach from Wright St. in here.

Huh? Gillen recruiting went downhill when Bobby G left for Manhatten. He really struggled without him at PC and Virginia. That said, the rule should be never, ever, hire retreads or sons. How did Rollie do at UNLV or Cleveland State? How about Dr. Tom at Drake? Retread rarely succeed. Sons are usually worse. Bartow, Meyer, etc were flops.

[courtside]

>>>My top choices are Groce and Martin. Throw some money at

>>>them and their assts, pay their cell phones and watch them

>>>build a winner. I fear a Gillen hire, he is a retread hire

>>>and on a similar path that Charlie was on. The Redhead

>>>would just be another band aid for the program, not a cure.

>>

>>Why do you fear a path that Charlie was on? Do you not like

>>to see SLU going to NCAA tournaments? Right now, I would do

>>backflips to see Pete Gillen. I remember him taking Xavier

>>to the NCAA tournament every year for say 10 years straight.

>> I remember a great coach and recruiter. He did have

>>problems in the ACC, probably b/c he has to compete against

>>NC, Duke, Maryland, etc.

>>

>>And what is the deal with this board and it's disdain for

>>Charlie? It seems regulated to the board, not to the rest

>>of St. Louis, at least the fans I talk to. Did he mistreat

>>all you Bill club people? Not that I think it that matters.

>> It seems to me, the fan base in St. Louis figured out there

>>were hard times coming after Spoon left and stopped coming

>>to the games.

>>

>>I think SLU made a mistake when it did not hire the proven

>>coach in Stallings after Spoon left. I do not want to make

>>the same mistake. Not that I am going to root against a

>>young assistant hire, but I just do not think you are giving

>>enough credit to the Gillens, Spoons, Bennetts (he did take

>>Wisconsin to the final 4) of the college scene. But I would

>>love to see the coach from Wright St. in here.

>

>Huh? Gillen recruiting went downhill when Bobby G left for

>Manhatten. He really struggled without him at PC and

>Virginia. That said, the rule should be never, ever, hire

>retreads or sons. How did Rollie do at UNLV or Cleveland

>State? How about Dr. Tom at Drake? Retread rarely succeed.

> Sons are usually worse. Bartow, Meyer, etc were flops.

Huh? No the rule should be taking everyone at face value for their own merits. JT-3 is doing just fine, thanks.

[Billiken Law]

>Huh? No the rule should be taking everyone at face value

>for their own merits. JT-3 is doing just fine, thanks.

JT III went elsewhere to prove his meddle first before taking over at GT (success at Princeton), unlike Joey and Murray, who were handed their jobs without prior head coaching experience. Of course, there's Tony Bennett who in his first season inheriting a program from his dad was incredibly successful, so there isn't really a hard and fast rule regarding this.

[courtside]

>>Huh? No the rule should be taking everyone at face value

>>for their own merits. JT-3 is doing just fine, thanks.

>

>JT III went elsewhere to prove his meddle first before

>taking over at GT (success at Princeton), unlike Joey and

>Murray, who were handed their jobs without prior head

>coaching experience. Of course, there's Tony Bennett who in

>his first season inheriting a program from his dad was

>incredibly successful, so there isn't really a hard and fast

>rule regarding this.

Nowhere in his post did it mention if a son of a coach goes somewhere else first.....I am well aware of his experience at Princeton.

[brianstl]

JT3 is in my opinion a better all-around coach than his dad. Has anyone else read this article http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1604096,00.html .

[Billiken Law]

>

>Nowhere in his post did it mention if a son of a coach goes

>somewhere else first.....I am well aware of his experience

>at Princeton.

the previous post in this thread did and your response mentioned JTIII, whose high level of success at a son at the same institution as his father can partially be explained by his previous head coaching experience at another institution, unlike Joey and Murray.

[courtside]

>

>>

>>Nowhere in his post did it mention if a son of a coach goes

>>somewhere else first.....I am well aware of his experience

>>at Princeton.

>

>the previous post in this thread did and your response

>mentioned JTIII, whose high level of success at a son at the

>same institution as his father can partially be explained by

>his previous head coaching experience at another

>institution, unlike Joey and Murray.

MU88 said, never hire retreads or sons. It did not specify if they have head coaching experience elsewhere in between or not.(some have been successful without it, others not btw).......and in the post he replied to...nowhere did it mention the son of a coach not going somewhere else first, or going somewhere else first.

[hoops]

>>>And what is the deal with this board and it's disdain for

>>>Charlie? It seems regulated to the board, not to the rest

>>>of St. Louis, at least the fans I talk to. Did he mistreat

>>>all you Bill club people? Not that I think it that matters.

>>> It seems to me, the fan base in St. Louis figured out there

>>>were hard times coming after Spoon left and stopped coming

>>>to the games.

>Huh? No the rule should be taking everyone at face value

>for their own merits. JT-3 is doing just fine, thanks.

I also don't understand the Charlie disdain. The fans and the city embraced the Bills during the "Spoonball Era". Charlie had success that has not been replicated.

As for his son, maybe you need to do a little research into his merits.

After leaving SLU, he went on to take over as head coach at Wabash Valley and lead them to a record of 36-1. Which also earned him NJC Coach of the Year and the NJC National Championship.

He left there to rejoin Charlie at UNLV. And was named Interim HC and showed that he had a dramatically different style than his dad and finished out the season 6-3.

I think he is a young, hungry coach that would breathe some life into SLU's stagnant program.

[thetorch]

Spoon was great.

He won the first time around with Grawer's players. And then won with Larry. His recruiting overall was extremely inconsistent and as time went on at SLU he lost interest in doing things as a coach like recruiting a talent evaluation that it takes to win.

His son has a decent resume but he has interviewed for job after job, UMKC and SEMO wouldn't hire him. He's not nearly as qualified as other candidates.

I fear Gillen would be like Spoon. He would come here to cement his legacy as a coach and then after a few seasons lose interest. Then SLU is right back where we started.

[jjray]

>>I fear Gillen would be like Spoon. He would come here to cement his legacy as a coach and then after a few seasons lose interest. Then SLU is right back where we started. up and coming low level D-1 HC or © take a retread aging HC with past glory on his resume who wants last bite at the coaching apple. If you get the young up and comer and he hits a homerun, the guy is off like a shot to a BCS school. We all know it. If it is an old guy, once he tastes success, he's likely to coast. Either way, if we get a guy who can raise the level of the program we should be happy and deal with the consequences later.

My guess is that the administration has less of a stomach for gambling and will go with the old retread.