Where do we go from here? (long)

[kshoe]

Obviously yesterday was a pretty big shock to all of us and our primary concerns should be with coach and his health. As I've thought about it more I've come to three conclusions about what will/should happen next.

1) Majerus has coached his last game. There is little value in keeping open the idea that he could return a year from now. I certainly don't believe, as Volfan suggested, that RM quit because he was tired of Biondi (no way would he leave this team, with this potential success behind unless he was really ill). However, I do believe there was a reason he hasn't had a contract extension yet and its likely different visions between Biondi and RM. It was already getting harder for him to recruit and convince players that he'd be around for another 5 years. It's time for SLU to make a clean break.

2) This year's team should be fine. We probably won't be as good as we would have been continuing under RM's system, but these are veteran guys that should be able to win, no matter who the coach is. I don't expect many transfers but the young kids are certainly the most likely. Personally, I always thought RM's "genius" as coach was overstated. Hopefully I'm not proven wrong with this coming season. We will still make the NCAA tournament.

3) We need to hire a new coach NOW. This will undoubtedly be controversial but I think it needs to happen. Crews is a fine 1 year coach but he obviously won't be a long term answer. Whitesell certainly knows now how SLU feels about him as he was passed over for the HC job despite being the "Associate Head Coach." Neither should be expected to be with the Bills for 2013-14 and as such neither can effectively recruit at this point. Tanner Bronson is the only one left. This recruiting class is critical with 3 schollys to give and 5 more to give next year.If we let this whole winter go without recruiting it will be a disaster down the line.

I recognize that many coaching candidates (current head coaches at lower D1 programs) aren't going to leave their teams at this point, which would be pretty scummy, but we can't afford to wait until spring to get someone else in here. Top assistants that are ready for the jump or maybe there's somebody out there that was a coach but is currently doing broadcasting. Somebody needs to be hired. If Crews and Whitesell want to stick around for continuity then great. If they don't and new assistants need to be brought in at least they'll be out recruiting.

This is a critical hire and unfortunately it has to be made quickly. If we wait till the spring to hire someone we are setting this program for inevitable decline 2 years down the road. If we bring in a a hot shot assistant from somewhere now we are obviously taking a risk that they aren't ready to be a head coach but its a chance we have to take. The programs lack of succession planning is biting us in the ass right now.

[slu72]

Well, another kick in the crotch for Billiken fans. Of course, not as big a kick as RM is taking. Get well, coach. You may never coach again at SLU for health reasons, but I for one hope you stay on in some kind of advisory role.

Life has handed us a lemon here. So what is the Admin and AD's plan for the future?

First move should be a call to Dr. C to see if he will remain as deeply committed to Billiken BB's future. If anyone can stand up to Biondi it's him. When money talks Biondi listens, no matter what he thinks about athletics.

Second, they obviously won't do anything about the HC position this season. Crews is our man. That being the situation he can make a good case for keeping the job if and only if he meets the following goals:

1.) This team goes on to meet the high expectations set for it, ie go dancing.

2.) We land a couple of good recruits for the 2 scholies we have open next year.

3.) This team stays intact, ie no transfers.

It's my belief all 3 conditions have to be met in order to justify keeping him beyond this season as HC. Fine and dandy if he makes the dance, but this team was built by RM's uncanny ability to land gems in the rough and coach them up. It's very important he sign some of the guys we're in on come November or the spring period, and equally important that he manages to keep guys like Drew and Carter. If he's scrambing to sign bodies, ala Brad, he's not the guy to replace RM. If he loses some FR and SO players to transfers he's probably not the guy.

Just making the dance should keep him as HC if the other two conditions are not satisfied. For example, when Brad replaced Bennet as UW's HC and took them to the dance, UW still canned him in favor of Bo Ryan. SLU has to take the same approach if they think Crews is not the guy to keep the ball rolling.

Obviously, money's going to be the determing factor here along w/ Dr. C's continued commitment and checkbook. But this season's equally important from a $'s viewpoint. Increased ticket sales and a dance invite would go a long way to convincing Biondi that he cannot go on the cheap in replacing RM. My guess would be he's going to be looking at anywhere between $600-$800k for our next HC. He'll get a bargain if Crews meets his goals and he won't hesitate to sign him. However, if Crews fails, there's going to have to be some serious arm twisting by major supporters for him to spring for the kind of bucks it's going to take to land a really solid candidate.

[slufan13]

Crews came here as a favor to Majerus. Maybe they thought we would lose Crews if we didn't name him head coach

[Westy03]

Yeah if the only reason why Crews was here was because of Rick. If he wasn't named head coach he probably would of left as well

We need to get carter and drew to stay

[RiseAndGrind]

Yeah if the only reason why Crews was here was because of Rick. If he wasn't named head coach he probably would of left as well

We need to get carter and drew to stay

The 2012-2013 Billikens may be the most talented SLU team ever. They will still crush the A-10. Hopefully that, along with bonding with their teammates, will be a great experience for them and they will stay.

Bring back Coach Harriman. I'll start a fundraising effort. Whatever it takes. Get the man back to SLU.

[kshoe]

Crews came here as a favor to Majerus. Maybe they thought we would lose Crews if we didn't name him head coach

I guess I'm saying that I'd rather let him go and start fresh now with a permanent head coach then let this entire recruiting year go down the drain.

I have nothing against crews but he doesn't recruit much, if at all, and there is virtually no chance of him getting any commitments as the temporary head coach.

[Pistol]

Can we merge the "Where do we go from here?" threads?

[SluSignGuy]

Can we merge the "Where do we go from here?" threads?

Done.

[jjray]

Yeah if the only reason why Crews was here was because of Rick. If he wasn't named head coach he probably would of left as well

We need to get carter and drew to stay

Keeping Carter and Drew is now thrown into question. Majerus is almost assuredly done so the university should plan as if that is the case. The current interim situation leaves the program dead in the water for recruiting and in danger of losing current players from the roster. One approach would be to bring back Alex Jensen, name him head coach (not interim) and keep the Majerus' staff intact. That keeps as much continuity as possible and removes the doubt. Alex can start bringing in his own people after the season. The downside is that we might be able to land a HC with a better resume in an open search after the season. If a contract for Jensen were structured with a lot of years (like 6) but a relatively small buyout, the university might be able to have it both ways. They get some measure of continuity but are not tied long-term to a young coach brought in under duress. Also, if Rick's health improves somewhat he come back to the program as an adviser much like Gene Keady at St. John's. I can only see Rick coming back as an adviser if it is Jensen who gets the job.

We need the experience Crews brings to help Jensen transition for the next year or two, so take part of Rick's salary and bump up what Crews is receiving. No available option is a good situation. If we wait until after the season to find a new head coach, then we lose an entire year of recruiting and, potentially, our current class of recruits. I don't like either option but I think I'd go with Jensen immediately if he was willing to take the job.

** Another thought on the Jensen buyout. You could write something akin to a vesting provision that escalates the buyout amount for NCAA appearances. Alex knows his security goes up if he wins.

[Tonka]

I guess I'm saying that I'd rather let him go and start fresh now with a permanent head coach then let this entire recruiting year go down the drain.

I have nothing against crews but he doesn't recruit much, if at all, and there is virtually no chance of him getting any commitments as the temporary head coach.

I get what you are saying, but I see NO chance in hell they hire a new Coach at this stage in the game for this season.

My biggest fear is Carter. School has started, correct? So, I believe he would have to wait to the end of the semester if he wanted to transfer. That way he could pay second semester of next year somewhere. If he stays all year, then I think his decision will be based on who the next Coach will be.

[kshoe]

Keeping Carter and Drew is now thrown into question. Majerus is almost assuredly done so the university should plan as if that is the case. The current interim situation leaves the program dead in the water for recruiting and in danger of losing current players from the roster. One approach would be to bring back Alex Jensen, name him head coach (not interim) and keep the Majerus' staff intact. That keeps as much continuity as possible and removes the doubt. Alex can start bringing in his own people after the season. The downside is that we might be able to land a HC with a better resume in an open search after the season. If a contract for Jensen were structured with a lot of years (like 6) but a relatively small buyout, the university might be able to have it both ways. They get some measure of continuity but are not tied long-term to a young coach brought in under duress. Also, if Rick's health improves somewhat he come back to the program as an adviser much like Gene Keady at St. John's. I can only see Rick coming back as an adviser if it is Jensen who gets the job. We need the experience Crews brings to help Jensen transition for the next year or two, so take part of Rick's salary and bump up what Crews is receiving. No available option is a good situation. If we wait until after the season to find a new head coach, then we lose an entire year of recruiting and, potentially, our current class of recruits. I don't like either option but I think I'd go with Jensen immediately if he was willing to take the job. ** Another thought on the Jensen buyout. You could write something akin to a vesting provision that escalates the buyout amount for NCAA appearances. Alex knows his security goes up if he wins.

Alex Jensen makes a ton of sense. He's a long term solution that has ties to the majority of the team. No, he doesn't have the head coaching pedigree some will crave but he's a legitimate answer. If necessary, give Whitesall and Crews raises to keep them happy for this next season.

[kshoe]

I get what you are saying, but I see NO chance in hell they hire a new Coach at this stage in the game for this season. My biggest fear is Carter. School has started, correct? So, I believe he would have to wait to the end of the semester if he wanted to transfer. That way he could pay second semester of next year somewhere. If he stays all year, then I think his decision will be based on who the next Coach will be.

School starts on Monday.

[NH]

The ###### I get for posting this will be unbelievable, but I'll say it anyway.

I wonder if Porter would get a look for the head coaching job.

Crews and Whitesell are obviously not answers.

[WestCoastBilliken]

Porter is obviously not an answer. Maybe we can move to the Valley and start playing at West Pine Gym again.

[3Bill]

Why are crews and whitesell "obviously" not answers, but a guy like portermoser who has a horrible record might be the answer? Makes no sense. Before crews was ever hired as an asst here, rm said more than once that he is an exellent coach. If we do well this year and he recruits give him the job. If not, find someone else but it better be a bigger name than porter moser.

The ###### I get for posting this will be unbelievable, but I'll say it anyway.

I wonder if Porter would get a look for the head coaching job.

Crews and Whitesell are obviously not answers.

[kshoe]

Why are crews and whitesell "obviously" not answers, but a guy like portermoser who has a horrible record might be the answer? Makes no sense. Before crews was ever hired as an asst here, rm said more than once that he is an exellent coach. If we do well this year and he recruits give him the job. If not, find someone else but it better be a bigger name than porter moser.

Well Whitesell is obviously not an option given that he was passed over for this promotion despite being the associate head coach. I'm sure he can read the writing on the wall.

[wgstl]

From what it seems, Im not worried about drew. From things I have read and seen, it looks like hes already become very close to the others players. As for carter, mianly cause he just got here, he hasnt YET become as close which could play a part on his stay. So hopefully carter looks past this because I dont see drew leaving at all.

[wgstl]

whats bonner up to these days? is he still at vashon?

[slufan13]

I guess I'm saying that I'd rather let him go and start fresh now with a permanent head coach then let this entire recruiting year go down the drain.

I have nothing against crews but he doesn't recruit much, if at all, and there is virtually no chance of him getting any commitments as the temporary head coach.

But then if he leaves you have to hire a head coach and an assistant. You need to keep as much of the coaching staff in tact as possible to keep the morale high and the current players on board. Crews did a bit of recruiting this year. Nothing much but he is still willing to do a bit.

I wouldn've liked to see Whitesell get the job, but there has to be a reason Crews got it. Majerus has raved about Whitesell so I really think they just wanted to keep Crews around. Who knows, maybe Crews has it this year and then gives off to Whitesell.

We probably can't hire a coach before the season but, I would at least hope we could have some kind of concrete answer to give recruits this year. Having a no name coach might be better than telling a recruit that his coach will either be Majerus, Crews, Whitesell, or some other guy.

Thoughts on Harriman leaving: If we did know that Majerus was very sick, we should've made some sort of promise to Harriman. I know he moved for his son and got triple the salary, but as head coach, he obviously would've made more. There could have been something more serious with his son so I can't fault him at all there.

I love Majerus, but at this point I think he should just retire. It's best for him and his health and it's best for the program. You can't have a coach on a year to year basis here. I hope the Athletic Department and Father Biondi are at least throwing names around for a potential new head coach. Hopefully Dr. Chaifetz would be willing to help out too because Fr B doesn't seem to interested in the basketball program.

[NH]

Why are crews and whitesell "obviously" not answers, but a guy like portermoser who has a horrible record might be the answer? Makes no sense. Before crews was ever hired as an asst here, rm said more than once that he is an exellent coach. If we do well this year and he recruits give him the job. If not, find someone else but it better be a bigger name than porter moser.

Crews is on the verge of retirement. He doesn't recruit. I think that pretty obviously says he's not gonna be our next permanent head coach.

Like KShoe said, if Whitesell were going to be our next head coach, he would've gotten the interim tag while he was here.

Porter was known as one of the top college assistants while he was here. He used that to get a head coaching job. His arrow is pointing up. Whitesell and Crews were both fired from there last stops; their arrows are pointing down.

Not to mention, Moser is younger and Majerus often said he should be the coach in waiting.

I would also be happy if we hired Jensen and like Kshoe would prefer we do it right away.

[West Pine Jim]

If we could lure him back, I would be very happy with the return of Coach Harriman. He's energetic, smart, has the respect of the players, knows the current system, can recruit. All he lacks is HC experience but if he starts gaining it here, so much the better.

[slufanskip]

I don't know why people want to settle. We have a great arena, good players and are in a top conference and a great academic reputation. Alex Jensen really? Porter's arrow is pointing up, but Crews and Whitsell's aren't because they got fired from their last job? Didn't Porter get fired previously also? Harriman? why?

I don't know what the answer is, but I don't believe it is Jensen, Porter, Crews, Harriman or Whitsell long term. I believe for the moment Crews is as equally mediocre a choice as any of the others.

[Clock_Tower]

I don't know why people want to settle. We have a great arena, good players and are in a top conference and a great academic reputation. Alex Jensen really? Porter's arrow is pointing up, but Crews and Whitsell's aren't because they got fired from their last job? Didn't Porter get fired previously also? Harriman? why?

I don't know what the answer is, but I don't believe it is Jensen, Porter, Crews, Harriman or Whitsell long term. I believe for the moment Crews is as equally mediocre a choice as any of the others.

+1

What's the obsession with putting our assistant coaches on some pedestal? Porter was terrible at x's and o's while coaching - unsuccessfully - in the Valley. His few games leading our team didn't change this perception. Jensen?? Harriman?? What recruit even knows their name?? These no names will be SLU's next coach, the face of the program, and will lead us to multiple wins over Butler, X, UD, VCU... ?? Sorry but Valley retreads, and not successful ones at that, will not lead us to national prominence. Spoonhour was a winning and successful Valley coach (unlike Porter and Whitesell). Even Brad had prior head coaching experience unlike Jensen and Harriman. Romar was a successful head coach at Pepperdine who used Pepperdine as a stepping stone just like he used SLU as a stepping stone to get back the PAC 10/his alma mater. Except for Fr. Biondi, SLU should be an attractive job and we should be able to hire a younger coach who already has head coaching experience.

[Quality Is Job 1]

In response to a question, I believe Anthony Bonner has a front-office job with the New York Knicks.

[Tonka]

+1

What's the obsession with putting our assistant coaches on some pedestal? Porter was terrible at x's and o's while coaching - unsuccessfully - in the Valley. His few games leading our team didn't change this perception. Jensen?? Harriman?? What recruit even knows their name?? These no names will be SLU's next coach, the face of the program, and will lead us to multiple wins over Butler, X, UD, VCU... ?? Sorry but Valley retreads, and not successful ones at that, will not lead us to national prominence. Spoonhour was a winning and successful Valley coach (unlike Porter and Whitesell). Even Brad had prior head coaching experience unlike Jensen and Harriman. Romar was a successful head coach at Pepperdine who used Pepperdine as a stepping stone just like he used SLU as a stepping stone to get back the PAC 10/his alma mater. Except for Fr. Biondi, SLU should be an attractive job and we should be able to hire a younger coach who already has head coaching experience.

I don't know why people want to settle. We have a great arena, good players and are in a top conference and a great academic reputation. Alex Jensen really? Porter's arrow is pointing up, but Crews and Whitsell's aren't because they got fired from their last job? Didn't Porter get fired previously also? Harriman? why?

I don't know what the answer is, but I don't believe it is Jensen, Porter, Crews, Harriman or Whitsell long term. I believe for the moment Crews is as equally mediocre a choice as any of the others.

+10000

Other possible Coaches were listed in the other thread...I would like to entertain those

Not sure why anybody is so high on Porter....great guy - yes. Pretty good recruiter - yes. But, he has proven nothing as a head coach. As far as Jensen - see Porter.

Crews will stay for this year and I am fine with that. Then, we need to look for a young stud coaching prospect to take over.