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OT Byrce Drew


Schasz

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I concede Ford was not my first choice - and I still have some reservations - but of the slate of candidates that seemed to be seriously considered (at least in rumor world), he very likely was the best choice.

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Drew had some misfortune. If Garland doesn’t get hurt Vandy likely makes the tourney this year, which would give him 2 NCAA appearances in 3 years. He was a strong recruiter at Vandy but just didn’t win enough games. Who knows how he would have done at SLU.

Very nervous/excited about the Vandy hire.

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12 minutes ago, NH said:

Drew had some misfortune. If Garland doesn’t get hurt Vandy likely makes the tourney this year, which would give him 2 NCAA appearances in 3 years. He was a strong recruiter at Vandy but just didn’t win enough games. Who knows how he would have done at SLU.

Very nervous/excited about the Vandy hire.

If the AD wants to go the mid-major route again, Lipscomb is only 10 minutes away. Casey Alexander has performed a minor miracle there.

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2 hours ago, WVBilliken said:

I was always a Ford guy.  But many, if not most on the board, wanted SLU to hire Drew.  Seems the right choice was made.  I knew Ford was a extraordinary recruiter .... and that is the key to success in college basketball. 

I dont disagree with you but Drew has brought in top 5 recruiting classes nationally and still isn't winning 

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It does look good for May/Pestello/Chaifetz that most of the other guys the board wanted over Ford (other than Bennett who was probably never that realistic) have gone on to lose their gigs.  Meanwhile Travis has us dancin’.

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12 minutes ago, ARon said:

It does look good for May/Pestello/Chaifetz that most of the other guys the board wanted over Ford (other than Bennett who was probably never that realistic) have gone on to lose their gigs.  Meanwhile Travis has us dancin’.

indeed.

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Perusing the Vandy roster for transfer candidates - Forward Matt Ryan might be a decent fit as a stretch big for us (36% from 3 during his career).  He originally transferred to Vandy from ND and is a RS junior so I assumed he'd be eligible right away as a GT.  His numbers at ND actually look a lot better than his Vandy numbers, so perhaps a change of scenery would be good for him.  I wouldn't necessarily be thrilled to get him, but I think he fits a need for us.

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Casey Alexander at Lipscomb is a former Rick Byrd (Belmont) player and assistant. The question would be recruiting at a higher level. He can coach. Same for Byrd, who is retiring at Belmont when he hangs it up. He is not a candidate in his current mid 60’s. He’s going nowhere else.

Rob Lanier at Tennessee, cousin of Bob would also be considered. Worked under Billy Donovan and Rick Barnes twice. Played at Bonnies, former Siena head coach. 

The expectation is that Turner has someone in mind for making that decision. He obviously has heavy NBA connections. 

Drew recruited well. Garland is an NBA draft pick. Shittu was highly touted as one of best power forwards out of high school, but he did not have a strong first season. Nesmith is very good. Class coming is good.  The obvious concern is the level of collapse, 18 straight losses. Some would say the players quit on the coach. Some would ‘t. And if one believed that, it’a difficult to keep the coach.  Losing Garland was huge but still no excuse for 18 straight, none. I thought it would be iffy because of that. Media likes Bryce, as do many others. 3 years is not long. So Turner and Vandy taking some heat. Pressure on Turner for a strong hire.  Drew was in it for the long haul. 

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I wanted Drew over Coach Ford and was upset when SLU signed coach Ford.  There is no way of knowing what Drew would have done as SLU's coach but Drew stupidly did not take a good opportunity when it was offered and we got coach Ford and that is a great thing.

Coach Ford's charisma blew me away and made me more excited to be a Billikens fan than I already was.  For me coach Ford made me feel about him the way I felt when Rick Majerus was hired, excited.  Then the recruits started coming in and I was blown away again on the types of players he was bringing to St. Louis.

After losing Gordon and Santos all I expected for the season was a winning record in the conference and at least 20 wins overall and that would make me happy even though we would have missed the post season.

Reaching the big dance is just icing on the cake and what came of that win was a Billiken moment that will be on of my favorites and that is coach Ford jumping in the dog pile.

Hey Oklahoma State fans do you want your old coach back?

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Well since I started this thread I'm not surprised as I do have SEC sources who indicated he was in serious trouble. Going 0fer in the SEC did him in. The same sources said Avery Johnson was in serious trouble and sure enough after losing in the 1st round at home in the NIT...bye bye Avery. Let's face it P-5 conferences don't have very much patience. Someone else will get chances to see if they can make Vandy and Bama winners. There is another thread about this but regardless what happens in San Jose tonight it behooves the powers to be to  make sure Coach Ford is satisfied with his situation at SLU!

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Vandy's playing with fire letting Drew go. If true, they have a great incoming class you could see kids opting out. Also, could see a bunch of transfers ala Pitt last year. 

One thing that scares me is suddenly the SEC has 3 openings with a 4th, LSU, likely on the horizon. 

Hope Travis is seeing the benefits of sticking at SLU v a jump back to a P5. These schools had very little patience w/ these relatively new coaches. Whereas SLU will be more patient. Take care of him, SLU. 

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The idea and notion of know your place Vandy etc...is silly from some media that I have seen. There is zero reason Vandy can’t be a much bigger success in men’s basketball. 

Losing 19 straight will cost many their positions. It definitely could have gone either way for Bryce Drew. I still think he can regroup and find success elsewhere with a different fit. In general Vandy wants and expects better hoops success moving forward than in the past. Stallings would have been fired that off season had he not left. Stallings often had the attitude that Vandy was lucky to have him.  He was not a robust, vigorous recruiter in any way. He can coach x’s and o’s and he can develop players. Early results for Drew was he could recruit but be challened in the other areas. He by all accounts has super high character. 

 

 

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3 hours ago, slufan13 said:

I dont disagree with you but Drew has brought in top 5 recruiting classes nationally and still isn't winning 

Top 5, hardly.  Yes, 2018 was good, #13 per 247.  But 2016 at 70 and 2017 at 52.  For SEC, in the bottom quadrant both of his first 2 years.  

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33 minutes ago, WVBilliken said:

 It can take a few years to get it going.  You get a job in the Spring for the fall season. Few coaches produce elite recruiting on paper their first several years, let alone two seasons. Drew’s recruiting was not his problem nor challenge. It was trending way better than Stallings’ recruiting in a short time. 

Vandy was runner up to Indiana for Romeo Langford. Langford was considered the best two guard prospect nationally.  Vandy was also in the final few for James Wiseman who chose Memphis. But Drew was not just runner up for 5 star players. He landed 2 of them along with a few really good 4 star type players. Garland was considered by many to be the best point guard nationally, and Shittu the best power forward.  So, Drew was recruiting at an elite level early on at Vandy.  Nesmith is very good. Next year’s class is really good. Not one and done types but some really good 4 year type players that improved over time.  His recruiting prowess, as well as his likability, have many media types stunned by his dismissal after just 3 seasons. Drew could have won just a few more games and likely kept his job. But when it is that many in a row, it gets lots of attention. It was the first losing home record in 67 years at Vandy.  Historically bad. Could have gone either way, but unless you have something great ready to go, waiting for a new season with more recruits after the Garland   was worth a look. Vandy needed to get away from one and dones and stick to 4 year good players and I believe that would have happened. 

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1 hour ago, courtside said:

The idea and notion of know your place Vandy etc...is silly from some media that I have seen. There is zero reason Vandy can’t be a much bigger success in men’s basketball. 

Losing 19 straight will cost many their positions. It definitely could have gone either way for Bryce Drew. I still think he can regroup and find success elsewhere with a different fit. In general Vandy wants and expects better hoops success moving forward than in the past. Stallings would have been fired that off season had he not left. Stallings often had the attitude that Vandy was lucky to have him.  He was not a robust, vigorous recruiter in any way. He can coach x’s and o’s and he can develop players. Early results for Drew was he could recruit but be challened in the other areas. He by all accounts has super high character. 

 

 

I don't see where Vandy can consistently get quality recruits. Tennessee is as good it's ever been, Penny is locking down Memphis. Ben Howland and Kermit Davis are locking down Mississippi. Vanderbilt is an afterthought to recruits in the region.

Top 40 classes every 3 years isn't enough to win in that conference unless you're a top notch coach.

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Garland is from Nashville/Indiana. Shittu is from Ontario, played at Vermont Academy. Two transfers from Notre Dame and Syracuse. Commit Austin Crowley is from Mississippi. Commit Dylan Disu is from Houston. Pippen is from California. They are recruiting two 5 star players from Birmingham and Memphis. Current good players, Aaron Nesmith is from South Carolina. Saben Lee is from Phoenix. Both highly sought after.

Drew recruited Nationally, Internationally, locally, regionally. Recruiting was and is not his problem nor Vandy’s. 

 

 

 

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7 minutes ago, courtside said:

Garland is from Nashville/Indiana. Shittu is from Ontario, played at Vermont Academy. Two transfers from Notre Dame and Syracuse. Commit Austin Crowley is from Mississippi. Commit Dylan Disu is from Houston. Pippen is from California. They are recruiting two 5 star players from Birmingham and Memphis. Current good players, Aaron Nesmith is from South Carolina. Saben Lee is from Phoenix. Both highly sought after.

Drew recruited Nationally, Internationally, locally, regionally. Recruiting was and is not his problem nor Vandy’s. 

 

 

 

Pippen is a commit, not signed.  Good chance he never signs as most players decide based on the relationships with the coaches.

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