Coaching Candidates

[ACE]

I don't see a Majerus in the available crop either. Carlesimo hasn't coached in college in 20 years. If you're looking for an available, experienced coach with a collection of NCAA Tournament appearances, I'd suggest Herb Sendek. The guy has 400 career wins, 8 NCAA tournament appearances, and 10 NIT appearances in 22 seasons. I think that's the best you get if you go the experienced coach route. By the way, Sendek's still only 52, 53 by start of next season.

I may have been the first to mention Sendek, so of course I'm open to the idea. We likely won't find another RM, but we should be able to attract somebody good, if the boosters are still committed. Sendek would be able to tell recruits James Harden stories the same way RM used to talk about Andre Miller. Sendek had success at the "mid major" level. He is from Pittsburgh. He had success at a "mid major" and had a good run at NC State playing in the shadow of Duke and UNC. I would be fine with somebody with East Coast connections, since we are in a East Coast league. You can fill in with assistants who have local and Midwest connections. I agree with others who have pointed out, that a West Coast coach seems like a bad fit.

I think you can still find good coaches among guys who "failed" at BCS jobs. Not all BCS jobs are set up for success. Arizona State doesn't exactly have a rich basketball tradition. Along those lines, I feel the same way about a lot of those southern football factory schools (Auburn, Ole Miss, Georgia, and Alabama). Anthony Grant is intriguing. He won three consecutive conference titles at VCU, so another guy who has known success at a "mid major." He's experienced and fairly young. Works alongside Billy Donovan, who I think is an outstanding coach.

[majerus mojo]

What I heard from my New England friends if Stevens does not make the playoffs this season, he only holding on by the skin of his teeth right now, he will be history, Remember in the NBA they are a lot less forgiving then in college especially a program like the Celtics.

I don't know how else to put it but... Lol, no

[brianstl]

I think a good recruiter can recruit anywhere and a good coach can coach anywhere. The search shouldn't be limited by geography.

I think a guy like Russell Turner has to be a candidate for the job even if he has been out west for the last 15 years. He has a lot going for him. He is a Mike Montgomery protege, built a program from basically nothing at UC Irvine, has a history at schools that place an emphasis on academics, and has a NBA history as an assistant for Montgomery and Nelson.

[ACE]

I think a good recruiter can recruit anywhere and a good coach can coach anywhere. The search shouldn't be limited by geography.

I think a guy like Russell Turner has to be a candidate for the job even if he has been out west for the last 15 years. He has a lot going for him. He is a Mike Montgomery protege, built a program from basically nothing at UC Irvine, has a history at schools that place an emphasis on academics, and has a NBA history as an assistant for Montgomery and Nelson.

I'm not so sure about that. Romar is a much better recruiter when stationed on the West Coast, where he has a lot of connections. Here, he couldn't even attract many above average "mid-major" players. Also there are NUMEROUS examples of guys who are successful in one situation and move up to another job, but then fail. I'm not sure all of the sudden they have forgotten how to coach just because success didn't follow them to their next job.

[brianstl]

I'm not so sure about that. Romar is a much better recruiter when stationed on the West Coast, where he has a lot of connections. Here, he couldn't even attract many above average "mid-major" players. Also there are NUMEROUS examples of guys who are successful in one situation and move up to another job, but then fail. I'm not sure all of the sudden they have forgotten how to coach just because success didn't follow them to their next job.

What Romar did gets played down here for some reason. The year after he left was an NIT team and that roster would have had a future NBA player added to it if Romar wouldn't have left. That we know of for sure. There was some talent on that roster. Plus there are stories out there that Romar had Taj Gray ready to come here in that class, too. That isn't exactly bad recruiting.

[billiken_roy]

Let's not forget Romar had west pine as his "practice facility" had assistant coaches getting paid like CBC head coaches and had to be a subservient tenant at Scott trade for games instead of chaifetz. He still gave us better rosters than this. Romar was breaking through. He had some big time second place finishes on players it was just a matter of time.

If he would have had today's budget and facility he would have won.

[ACE]

What Romar did gets played down here for some reason. The year after he left was an NIT team and that roster would have had a future NBA player added to it if Romar wouldn't have left. That we know of for sure. There was some talent on that roster. Plus there are stories out there that Romar had Taj Gray ready to come here in that class, too. That isn't exactly bad recruiting.

The star of that NIT team was Marque Perry - a Spoon recruit. (I know, he "re-recruited" him). Marque carried that team. The Miracle in Memphis team was Spoon's players - Love, Jeffers... the talent level on the roster began to erode after that. Josh Fisher was a solid Romar recruit, but the rest were mostly nondescript during his tenure.

[Pistol]

The star of that NIT team was Marque Perry - a Spoon recruit. (I know, he "re-recruited" him). Marque carried that team. The Miracle in Memphis team was Spoon's players - Love, Jeffers... the talent level on the roster began to erode after that. Josh Fisher was a solid Romar recruit, but the rest were mostly nondescript during his tenure.

I'd take those "nondescript" players over our current players any day. The talent gap is significant.

[Pistol]

Dream On

Bryce Drew - Current HC at Valpo, his alma mater. Took over for dad. Has an NCAA tournament team this year. Likely to get more BCS offers this offseason.

This is my favorite candidate, probably. I don't think he's quite as much a "Dream On" candidate as you say, either. He'll probably end up with better offers and I don't think we'd get him, true, but I wouldn't be shocked, either, to see him emerge as a SLU candidate. You never know what other coaches get hot in March and get interviewed for higher-level vacancies; guys like Drew get leap-frogged by those guys (unless Drew is the one taking Valpo on a run).

It'd take a high-paying, high-profile job to peel him away from his alma mater. Since we're not a BCS school, we'd really need to pay up.

[TheA_Bomb]

How hot is Crean's seat at IU? I'd take that guy if Drew Deiner can't be bought out of his Rockhurst contact

[HoosierPal]

How hot is Crean's seat at IU? I'd take that guy if Drew Deiner can't be bought out of his Rockhurst contact

Will you pony up for Crean's $7.5MM buyout? His seat is neutral at this point. The gauge goes up or down each week. He makes the NCAA and wins a couple of games, he is okay. The Hoosier's don't make the NCAA, hmmmm. His buyout goes down to $4MM in July, but that is too late for any 2016/17 gig.

[Pistol]

I thought this would be easier to break down potential candidates instead of getting mixed in with the Crewshate threads.

Current Head Coaches - Moving Up?

Andy Toole - Current HC at Robert Morris. Reportedly turned down Fordham last year. Tough start this year, but had an NCAA team at RMU last year. East coast guy.

Zach Spiker - Current HC at Army. Spiker, Bobby Knight, and Coach K are the only coaches to win 65 games at Army in their first 5 seasons! Was an assistant at Cornell for their late 2000's tournament teams under Steve Donahue. Has Army positioned as a favorite to win the Patriot League this year. Could possibly be the first coach to take Army to the NCAA Tournament.

Keith Dambrot - Akron - LeBron James's high school coach. Has been at Akron since 01 and HC since 2004. Taken the Zips to 3 NCAAs in his time there. Is still friends with LeBron and Shaka!

Current Head Coaches - Moving Down?

John Groce - Firmly on the hot seat at Illinois this year. New athletic director could make a change. Took Ohio to 2 NCAA's in 4 years there, including a Sweet 16 run that led to his job at Illinois. Solid recruiter. Struggled with injuries at Illinois this year.

Josh Pastner - Memphis fans have a #firejpastner hashtag! Currently HC at Memphis. Missed tournament last year, but has taken Memphis 4/6 years there.

Travis Ford - Current HC at Oklahoma State. He has compiled a .611 winning percentage at OkSt, but has been mediocre enough to get the fan base against him. Has gone to the NCAA 5/7 years there but only has 1 win, in his first year. Formerly the HC at UMass.

Tom Crean - Indiana - had some success at Marquette. Looked to be turning corner at Indiana, but hasn't gotten it done.

Lorenzo Romar - could be on the hot seat at Washington. Plenty of talent with very little results. Obvious connection to SLU.

Not Coaching Currently

Todd Lickliter - Currently a scout for the Celtics. Butler coach from 01-07. Most recently HC at Marian in Indianapolis. Not sure if he is done with the college game or not.

I don't know much about many of the assistants, but there are some intriguing names on there (and in the thread). Xavier people are talking about options if Mack leaves after this season, and both Travis Steele (moving up within the staff, providing continuity, how Xavier has done it before) and Pat Kelsey have been mentioned.

-Lickliter may be done with the game completely. Marian's president has pushed athletic success hard since arriving; the football program just won the national championship in their division. Lickliter was initially successful but stagnated and his departure was a 'mutual' decision.

-Some have used youth as an excuse for SLU; Romar truly has one of the youngest teams in the nation, if not the youngest, and has 5-star kids in the pipeline. He's also signed through another 4 seasons, so he'd be expensive to buy out. I think he's safe for a bit longer so I just don't see this return working out. My ultimate take on Romar: He's not the kind of coach who will win a National Championship at a BCS school, but he's the kind of coach who could take a program like SLU to several Sweet Sixteens.

-I have nothing nice to say about Crean. I think he's a terrible person and was overrated at Marquette. If he gets booted from IU, we should not even consider interviewing him.

-Ford is not a very good coach. He lands talent, but I'm not sure how much of that is him and how much is T. Boone Pickens' ridiculous investment in athletic facilities and perks.

-Same for Pastner. He can recruit and that's it. I also don't trust him from an ethics standpoint.

-Groce is interesting. He's got a lot in the recruiting pipeline, like Romar, but he has a lot of STL-area kids with offers. He'd be a good hire from the standpoint of not missing out on the loaded 2017 and 2018 classes. I could see him succeeding at a program like SLU. Like Romar, he also has a long-term contract; his is slightly shorter, through 2019. This isn't to say Illinois can't buy him out, but I'm not sure they will for another season or two, if he doesn't turn it around by then.

-Dambrot makes about $400,000/year, which we could double or triple for sure, but he's signed through 2023. He was born and raised in Akron, went to college there, and seems pretty content. It'd take a very high-profile, high-salary job to lure him away - and a school willing to pay a big buyout.

-Jacobson is another one I'd love to see, but he makes $450,000 this year with $25,000 increases each year through 2020, the end of his deal.

-Toole signed an extension through 2018 a couple seasons ago and I think he just extended through 2020 last year after turning down a higher-level gig. He only makes $210,000/year, but he seems content at RM.

-I don't know about Spiker. The jump from service academy to A10 program is not an easy one.

[brianstl]

This is my favorite candidate, probably. I don't think he's quite as much a "Dream On" candidate as you say, either. He'll probably end up with better offers and I don't think we'd get him, true, but I wouldn't be shocked, either, to see him emerge as a SLU candidate. You never know what other coaches get hot in March and get interviewed for higher-level vacancies; guys like Drew get leap-frogged by those guys (unless Drew is the one taking Valpo on a run).

It'd take a high-paying, high-profile job to peel him away from his alma mater. Since we're not a BCS school, we'd really need to pay up.

Bryce would be the ideal guy.

After that I really like Dambrot and Turner.

[Pistol]

I'm not so sure about that. Romar is a much better recruiter when stationed on the West Coast, where he has a lot of connections. Here, he couldn't even attract many above average "mid-major" players. Also there are NUMEROUS examples of guys who are successful in one situation and move up to another job, but then fail. I'm not sure all of the sudden they have forgotten how to coach just because success didn't follow them to their next job.

Romar has more inroads within the STL region than our current staff. The Porter boys seem more likely to play for him out in Seattle than for their family's in-town employer - Mizzou. He had really good relationships with local AAU and HS programs when he was here. I know coaches have moved around since then, but I'd be willing to bet our relationship with the local amateur ranks would be better after 90 days of Romar back on the job than it has been since...well, since Romar left in 2002.

He's a West Coast guy by background, but he can recruit anywhere.

I'm not exaggerating when I say we were on the cusp of big things when he left. Ryan Hollins, Taj Gray - Nick Kern may not have panned out, but 2/3 ain't bad, especially when you're talking about future all-conference bigs. Not to mention the groundwork he laid with the younger guys and their coaches. I know it's a game of "what if" but be careful to discount what Romar could've done with a penny pinching athletic department with weak leadership (Doug Woolard) and the West Pine Gym as its day-to-day facility. With the current HS crop in the area, our current facilities, and more commitment to the program from the AD (I hope), we'd forget about the Crews area in short order.

That said, I don't think he's going anywhere.

[brianstl]

If Romar became available, he would probably rank 1b to Drew at 1a. Either would be a home run hire, IMO.

[Pistol]

The long-term contracts make it tough to hire guys from equal or lower-level programs. We'd more likely be interviewing assistants from higher-level programs or head coaches who get fired from higher-level programs.

Majerus was a truly unique opportunity. There aren't any guys outside of coaching at the moment who jump out at me as good candidates. Herb Sendek might be the best from that category, although I don't know how he didn't have more success at ASU. The Pac 12 is ripe with programs that could and should be very competitive every year and somehow don't amount to much. He does have a nice coaching tree: Matta, the Miller brothers, Groce, and a few others.

[TheA_Bomb]

Yes I'm glad you guys are on the Drew Deiner express with me, toot toot all aboard that train leaving KC headed east!

HoosePal not sure if Crean has some kind of crazy contract but normally if you're fired, hence the "hot seat" question, the next school to hire doesn't pay a buy out. The last employing school usually pays the difference between last salary and the new salary if there is one. IE, you coach SlackJaw U and have A $2 buyout. You are fired but then hired by SlopedForehead Tech @ $1.5 salary. SlackJaw U would pay you $0.5. SlopedForehead Tech doesn't owe SlackJaw U anything.

Free lesson in the economics of coaching, you're welcome

[Pistol]

Yes I'm glad you guys are on the Drew Deiner express with me, toot toot all aboard that train leaving KC headed east!

I think he means Bryce Drew, not Drew Diener.

[johnbj14]

Drew Diener would be a good secondary option, in my opinion. He has experience in D1 from his time at Virginia and Depaul, head coaching experience at lower levels, and a track record of winning. Obviously the jump back up to D1 is something that is a mystery in terms of translation of success, but he is a young guy who I think could be good for the program. When you take into account that he also played here and was a part of an NCAA team and two NIT teams, his application looks pretty attractive. At the very least, I'd have him on my short list of candidates.

[brianstl]

Dambrot's buyout is $300,000.

[HoosierPal]

HoosePal not sure if Crean has some kind of crazy contract but normally if you're fired, hence the "hot seat" question, the next school to hire doesn't pay a buy out. The last employing school usually pays the difference between last salary and the new salary if there is one. IE, you coach SlackJaw U and have A $2 buyout. You are fired but then hired by SlopedForehead Tech @ $1.5 salary. SlackJaw U would pay you $0.5. SlopedForehead Tech doesn't owe SlackJaw U anything.

No, $7.5MM is why Crean won't be fired (until after July if at all). Plus, IU alumni Mark Cuban is in his camp, so you know, Cuban money talks. I doubt Crean will be fired barring a horrible conclusion to this season.

But if SLU or anyone else wanted him, that school would need to pony up the buyout to get him out of his contract. But for my money, I wouldn't touch him. He can recruit, but can't coach.

[MusicCityBilliken]

Dambrot's buyout is $300,000.

Do a package deal and get the soccer coach also.

[TheA_Bomb]

No, $7.5MM is why Crean won't be fired (until after July if at all). Plus, IU alumni Mark Cuban is in his camp, so you know, Cuban money talks. I doubt Crean will be fired barring a horrible conclusion to this season.

But if SLU or anyone else wanted him, that school would need to pony up the buyout to get him out of his contract. But for my money, I wouldn't touch him. He can recruit, but can't coach.

OK now I understand your point. Sorry is just assuming your we're being a dense Hoosier.

[TheA_Bomb]

I think he means Bryce Drew, not Drew Diener.

Pretty sure that other guy didn't coach his team to a National championship and he's on the Deiner Express (driven by Box conducted by A Bomb) Toot Toot!

[jbizzle09]

In terms of older guys that had success at high majors, I know Seth Greenberg was already brought up. I'd actually be fine with him at this point. He had decent success at Va Tech, and probably should have had more than one NCAA appearance during his tenure there. (Constantly getting to NIT while being on the bubble.) Also, when he was fired, he actually had a commitment from Montrezl Harrell. Of course, Harrell backed out and went to Louisville. As SLU-Nick said up thread, Tech doesn't have a great tradition of basketball success.

Another old dude with a proven record is Al Skinner. He is in his first year at Kennesaw State after not having a head coaching gig since being fired at BC in 2010. Boston College has sucked since then and is on its second head coach since canning him. Apparently, a lot of the reason Skinner has been on the outside looking in is due to Boston Globe's Bob Ryan portraying him as lazy, mostly due to the hard work his assistants gave on the recruiting trail. (Skinner actually has a pretty good coaching tree going.)