moytoy12 Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 I'm a lot higher on Rice than Dooley and Ford. Does Rice have ties to the midwest? Wonder if they would bring an asst. coach known for recruiting the area? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeSmetBilliken Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 I'm a lot higher on Rice than Dooley and Ford. I am too. Drew is still my top choice, but I think many of us have been hoping for there to be another option if Drew doesn't work out that is better than Ford, and Dooley. Rice is that guy. My only concern is that he has spent his entire career in the West. He does have a couple of international players at BSU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMM28 Posted March 28, 2016 Author Share Posted March 28, 2016 Does Rice have ties to the midwest? Wonder if they would bring an asst. coach known for recruiting the area? It doesn't appear he's ever coached or played in the central time zone. Mostly Washington or Idaho. He has experience in the Zaga program as Fews former top assistant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old guy Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 OK A Bomb, you may be among the minority of this board that is looking forward to a happy outcome and has the b_lls to be steady about it and not panic. After all soldiers should not panic when faced with tough situations. Good, I am as well. Rice might be just the ticket, or not... One last thought about headhunting firms. They are in business and their aim is to stay in business and have clients that come back for many future searches. This particular firm did very well for SLU with Majerus and Lisa Stone, why should we expect any lesser results for this particular search? What I wanted to emphasize in my prior post is that the whole process is based upon a contract signed by SLU and the search firm and that the requirements stipulated in this contract will be met by the search firm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMM28 Posted March 28, 2016 Author Share Posted March 28, 2016 I mentioned his name in jest, and still do, but Fred Hoiberg has been a total failure in his first year. Not sure if there's any connection but might be worth a call. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiseAndGrind Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 Rice has me intrigued. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheA_Bomb Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 OSU doesn't have the results that the other two schools have, that's for sure. In terms of fan support, booster support/resources, relative pressure on the coach to succeed, dominance of the AD by the football program, etc., I think OSU is equally if not more attractive since 2000. You and a_bomb bring up good points and I don't discount those at all. OSU has not been the most successful program of the 3 since 2000. Just because you own 3 Eskimo Joe's T-Shirts doesn't make it attractive. I'm liking Leon Rice. How many white dudes named Leon these days especially out in Idaho? BSU played Az and Michigan St. pretty close this year. They beat Oregon. He was the MWC COY in 14-15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majerus mojo Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 I like Rice as a candidate also, and would probably slot him after Drew and Grant (no idea what happened with that idea) among names we've heard... Though that basically just means more so than Dooley/Ford at this point Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeSmetBilliken Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 For those of you who don't know, BJ Rains is a guy who used to cover SLU some for Fox Sports MW. He now covers Boise State for some media outfit out in Boise. I asked for his thoughts on Rice, since he could provide a unique perspective of covering Rice and SLU. Here they are: Another thought on Rice: before the season I was over I had advocated for Pat Kelsey as a replacement for Crews, using the idea that we could tell him to build something at SLU using what works at Xavier. Well, we can do the same with Rice, only tell him to build something at SLU using what works at Gonzaga. Rice's first year at Gonzaga was the start of their run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box and Won Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 Just because you own 3 Eskimo Joe's T-Shirts doesn't make it attractive. I'm liking Leon Rice. How many white dudes named Leon these days especially out in Idaho? BSU played Az and Michigan St. pretty close this year. They beat Oregon. He was the MWC COY in 14-15 My next door neighbor is a white guy named Leon, and he's nice, so that's all I need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Pelican Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 I'm just an MBM but I'm intrigued by the thought of hiring Leon Rice. Sounds like he runs an uptempo offense coupled with strong defensive play too. Has always been in the Northwest though so not sure how important that is regarding recruiting. I know we had success with Romar (and I would take him back) but it seemed like his recruiting suffered after a time here. Rice's salary is a bit less than what we were paying Jim Crews (or so I've read) so at least he's in the ballpark in that regard. I'm not sure why someone successful out West would want to come to the Midwest and play in a league that is mostly in the East, but I guess that's his business. I like him more than most of the other coaches not named Drew that have been mentioned on here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwayne's_World Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 If Rice hired the right assistants to handle recruiting, he could do really well in the A10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizziken Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 I like Rice as a candidate also, and would probably slot him after Drew and Grant (no idea what happened with that idea) among names we've heard... Though that basically just means more so than Dooley/Ford at this point Yeah, I don't understand the Grant thing...he was/is pretty high on my list. I think Sydney Johnson from Fairfield would be a decent hire. If we are going to hire someone named Ford, I'd rather it be Dana Ford than Travis... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheA_Bomb Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 My next door neighbor is a white guy named Leon, and he's nice, so that's all I need. I was kinda' on the fence about the guy until I read this, now I'm nearly all in on Leon "Stir Fried" Rice Dude has an Australian Assistant that played at Gonzaga named Rillie. They have 1 Aussie and 1 German on the team a JUCO and transfer too. This tells me that they are willing to do what it takes to get out and scour the globe for players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeSmetBilliken Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 Not that we ever heard anything tangible about him being a candidate, but some people expressed interest in him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken Law Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 Yeah, I don't understand the Grant thing...he was/is pretty high on my list. I think Sydney Johnson from Fairfield would be a decent hire. If we are going to hire someone named Ford, I'd rather it be Dana Ford than Travis... OKC has another 2 months left in its season, Grant won't take any college job, especially with Monty Williams's situation. It kills the chances for any NBA assistant to take a college job right now. They're all under contract too. Johnson is mediocre. Hasn't done anything at Fairfield since leaving Princeton, no ties to the Midwest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bay Area Billiken Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 Travis Ford should have a very good biography from the SLU perspective. He has a 331-234 (.586) career record, was 62-35 (.639) at UMass, and 155-111 (.585) at Oklahoma State. His Oklahoma State teams made the NCAA Tournament 5 out of 8 years, with another making the NIT. Two of his 3 UMass teams made the NIT, with his last UMass team being the NIT Runner-Up. His last Eastern Kentucky team made the NCAA. Even though he is only 46 years of age, he has been a Head Coach 19 years, 16 at the D-1 Level. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travis_Ford Travis Ford has coached in the A10 at UMass, and has coached 8 years in the Big XII at Oklahoma State. The Big XII in '16 was the #1 ranked basketball conference in the country. In addition, Travis Ford has shown a proven ability to recruit top talent, case in point being Marcus Smart, an NBA lottery pick now playing for the Boston Celtics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLU_Billikens08 Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 I think Rice would be a good hire right behind Drew . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soderball Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 Travis Ford should have a very good biography from the SLU perspective. He has a 331-234 (.586) career record, was 62-35 (.639) at UMass, and 155-111 (.585) at Oklahoma State. His Oklahoma State teams made the NCAA Tournament 5 out of 8 years, with another making the NIT. Two of his 3 UMass teams made the NIT, with his last UMass team being the NIT Runner-Up. His last Eastern Kentucky team made the NCAA. Even though he is only 46 years of age, he has been a Head Coach 19 years, 16 at the D-1 Level. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travis_Ford Travis Ford has coached in the A10 at UMass, and has coached 8 years in the Big XII at Oklahoma State. The Big XII in '16 was the #1 ranked basketball conference in the country. In addition, Travis Ford has shown a proven ability to recruit top talent, case in point being Marcus Smart, an NBA lottery pick now playing for the Boston Celtics. Agree entirely. Ford doesnt deserve the ragging he gets. Not sure if Ford can make us a perennial conference champ contender, but he can make us respectable again. For the money being floated we should be a contender for the conference every year, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 Not that we ever heard anything tangible about him being a candidate, but some people expressed interest in him. https://twitter.com/goodmanespn/status/714308220936912896 Don't know why he never made the short list. Preferred him ove Ford and this Dooley guy. If we don't have/get Drew, I'd still like to see them at least interview Kelsey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 Good Sir, SLU was in an extremely hard place. Crews just had the most spectacular year in basketball at SLU than anyone could remember. Coach of the year honors. He was likable and Majerus thought enough of him to hire him. What coach with half a brain would have come into a situation where you would have to go out and get all new Freshmen to play, match the expectations of the previous year, and when it did not work out have everyone on Billikens.com asking how stupid SLU was not to hire Crews full time instead? RM hired Crews because he had no choice not that he thought Crews was a such a great coach. Jensen left him high and dry in Oct. Who do you find with any real experience then? Beard to UNLV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 I have stopped posting here because I only hear raw emotion coming off the posts, and very little understanding of the mechanics of a headhunter search. I do not know how much the headhunters are getting paid, but I would estimate that if the salary level is indeed in the $1.5 to $2.0 M, the headhunter firm will be paid a lot more than $75,000 or $80,000, try mid low 6 figures. With a price like that for their efforts they (the headhunter firm) will take all kinds of precautions to produce candidates that fit precisely what SLU asked for in paper at the beginning of the search. If SLU said: head coach it will be a head coach, if SLU said: so many times in the big dance it will be that too. We do not know what SLU specified for the search, but we will get someone that fits the requirements given to the headhunter firm. The search may have stipulated a minimum specific number of qualified candidates, we will get those. There will be interviews, more formal and complex as the process goes forward, finally an offer will be made and by the time it is made SLU will be pretty sure it will be accepted. Keep in mind that in order to get the minimum required number of candidates for the job the headhunter firm will contact dozens of coaches, and they expect that many of the coaches contacted may not have much interest and not follow up. Only those that show interest to the headhunter call will go to an extensive verbal examination by the search firm before coming in for interviews (as Dooley and Ford have apparently done so far). What is missing here? We plainly do not know what was specified, or the number of candidates required by SLU. What we do know is that we have interviewed Dooley and Ford (at least as far as this board has heard), and that Ford has had two interviews. Stop dreaming about new candidates, stop worrying about it. It will be what it will be, the process will proceed until the firm finds someone who fits specifications and is acceptable to SLU. Period. No use in loosing weight, pulling your hair out, or drinking yourselves repeatedly into oblivion. SLU has a plan, and like it or not SLU will follow this plan and PAY for it. You can say all you wish about how mechanical and incapable to find someone really good this process is or may be, that is fine as well, you are entitled to your own opinion. After the new coach is chosen I expect to hear wailing and rage from this board, but perhaps not. Let's hope it is perhaps not. However, the truth is that no one in this board has the slightest idea of what SLU asked for, or how the search is progressing, All we know is that Dooley had one interview and Ford has had two. All the best and a Happy (belated) Easter to all of you. Actually we do know what SLU specified. May released that info when Crews was fired. He wants a head coach who has shown a track record of success and trips to the NCAA. May was very clear on those points. Now I agree with you that we have no idea who May is really talking too and your review of how the head hunter firm system works is pretty accurate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeSmetBilliken Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 Don't know why he never made the short list. Preferred him ove Ford and this Dooley guy. If we don't have/get Drew, I'd still like to see them at least interview Kelsey. Beard concerned me because his resume gave off this idea that he was a guy with a lot of contacts in or around Texas, much of it at juco level. It'll be interesting to see how he does at UNLV, as it'll be the first time he's been that far from Texas in his career. Keep in mind that Beard's D-1 head coaching experience is only 1 season. It was a great season, but I always just questioned if he was the right fit at SLU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufan13 Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 1. Drew 2. Rice Large gap 3. Ford 4. Dooley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeSmetBilliken Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 1. Drew 2. Rice Large gap 3. Ford 4. Dooley This. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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