Coaching Carousel-2023

[Bay Area Billiken]

1 minute ago, Soderball said:

It's frustrating, it seems like we are always at the short end of the stick and VCU just manages to land the right situation at the right time, every time. I'd take Odom or Rhoades right now.

I just don't see Odom playing Havoc at VCU.  Havoc is VCU's brand.  

VCU may very soon find itself in the same boat as SLU and Dayton, in terms of wholesale roster reconstruction.

[JMM28]

44 minutes ago, Bay Area Billiken said:

You can't judge a program by just 1 season.  VCU is the program that has been to the Final 4.

Oh gotcha. Can't judge based on 1 season. Cool. 

45 minutes ago, Bay Area Billiken said:

Besides Utah State lost to a Mizzou team that proceeded to get boat raced and run off the court by a bunch of Ivy Leaguers from Princeton.

Can you judge on 1 game? 

47 minutes ago, Bay Area Billiken said:

Whether the Mountain West is better than the A10 is not some sacrosanct truth either.  This year, yes, but over time they are very comparable, basically equals.  Both are conferences that members try to leave, if they are given the opportunity.

 

Every conference except 2 are conferences that members try to leave if they are given a chance. The MWC has been superior for awhile now and is trending way up while the A10 has been trending way down the last several years. The only hope is that their new commissioner is as bad as McGlade has been for the A10. 

[Bay Area Billiken]

17 minutes ago, JMM28 said:

Oh gotcha. Can't judge based on 1 season. Cool. 

Can you judge on 1 game? 

Every conference except 2 are conferences that members try to leave if they are given a chance. The MWC has been superior for awhile now and is trending way up while the A10 has been trending way down the last several years. The only hope is that their new commissioner is as bad as McGlade has been for the A10. 

The MW allegedly being “superior” for awhile is your narrative,  but not based in reality. However, you are correct that the A10 is trending  downward. Nevertheless the A10 remains a “weight class” above the MVC, (home of Bradley of Peoria) per a CBS Sports Network pundit, the NET and the RPI. 

The ‘23 MW had its 4 good teams, 3 middlers, and 4 lousy teams. 

Finally, the 12 Time (not 11, as 1886 counts) Cardinals remain significantly better than the cubbies, Baseball’s longtime Lovable Losers. When does the next fire sale begin on the Near North Side? 

[gobillsgo]

1 hour ago, Soderball said:

It's frustrating, it seems like we are always at the short end of the stick and VCU just manages to land the right situation at the right time, every time. I'd take Odom or Rhoades right now.

It’s always easier to replace a coach that’s moving up rather than a fired or retiring coach.  A coach moving up usually means the program is in a good place.  Coaches want to go to that situation. We haven’t had a coach move up since Romar, if I’m remembering correctly. 

[JMM28]

24 minutes ago, Bay Area Billiken said:

The MW allegedly being “superior” for awhile is your narrative,  but not based in reality. However, you are correct that the A10 is trending  downward. Nevertheless the A10 remains a “weight class” above the MVC, (home of Bradley of Peoria) per a CBS Sports Network pundit, the NET and the RPI. 

The ‘23 MW had its 4 good teams, 3 middlers, and 4 lousy teams. 

Finally, the 12 Time (not 11, as 1886 counts) Cardinals remain significantly better than the cubbies, Baseball’s longtime Lovable Losers. When does the next fire sale begin on the Near North Side? 

This is a very weird post. Not sure what the MVC has to do with the conversation. Or the Cardinals/Cubs rivalry. 

Mountain West has had 4 bids each in the last 2 tournaments with only 11 teams. 

Atlantic 10 has had 1 and 2 with 14/15 teams. 

The last time the A10 had more bids to the NCAA was in 2018. 

Mountain West has finished higher in RPI and kenpom the last 4 years. 

Utah State has also been better than VCU for the last 5 years, from the Craig Smith hire through to the Ryan Odom exit. 

Just the facts. 

[Fraz]

24 minutes ago, Bay Area Billiken said:

The MW allegedly being “superior” for awhile is your narrative,  but not based in reality. However, you are correct that the A10 is trending  downward. Nevertheless the A10 remains a “weight class” above the MVC, (home of Bradley of Peoria) per a CBS Sports Network pundit, the NET and the RPI. 

The ‘23 MW had its 4 good teams, 3 middlers, and 4 lousy teams. 

Finally, the 12 Time (not 11, as 1886 counts) Cardinals remain significantly better than the cubbies, Baseball’s longtime Lovable Losers. When does the next fire sale begin on the Near North Side? 

Cubbies spent over $300m this off-season on 10 different signings.  Dansby, Bellinger, Taillon, Mancini.  Lost Contreras to us.

Cubs at least are going for it, think they’ll be much more competitive 

[slu72]

Our old friend Randy Bennett turned down the Cal job. Must be really happy at St Mary’s.

[Bay Area Billiken]

58 minutes ago, JMM28 said:

This is a very weird post. Not sure what the MVC has to do with the conversation. Or the Cardinals/Cubs rivalry. 

Mountain West has had 4 bids each in the last 2 tournaments with only 11 teams. 

Atlantic 10 has had 1 and 2 with 14/15 teams. 

The last time the A10 had more bids to the NCAA was in 2018. 

Mountain West has finished higher in RPI and kenpom the last 4 years. 

Utah State has also been better than VCU for the last 5 years, from the Craig Smith hire through to the Ryan Odom exit. 

Just the facts. 

Weird is your opinion, but not based in fact.

Let's take a closer look at the Mountain West, in particular its #5 Seed, San Jose State, 21-14, 10-8 MWC, good for the #5 Seed in the Mountain West Tournament, a CBI participant, which lost to Radford in the first round of the 16 team CBI.  San Jose State is the oldest public institution in the western states.  That alleged meteoric rise of the Mountain West apparently failed to significantly resonate among the 35,751 students at SJSU, as the Spartans averaged 2,460 fans (announced) for their 9 Mountain West Conference home games.  When I tuned in on TV to see the Spartans play, this after a diligent search to find the game, as HOF'er Marty Brennaman would say, literally thousands of loyal San Jose State students, alumni, and fans were disguised as empty blue seats at the Provident Credit Union Event Center.

Now we can go back for proof that the Mountain West is no better than the A10.  It just depends upon the cutoff point.  Lately, the Mountain West has been on the rise.  But current Final 4 participant San Diego State is expected to be the first Pac-12 expansion team, if and when the Pac-12 gets a TV deal.  Boise State also has a wandering eye, blue field or not.  A question is if Stanford and Cal can stomach being in a conference with a former junior college (Boise State).  For that matter, will they consent to being in the same conference as a California State University school (San Diego State)?  Necessity, keeping a Southern California presence, requires that answer to be Yes in the latter case.

As you said, just the facts.

[almaman]

4 minutes ago, Bay Area Billiken said:

Weird is your opinion, but not based in fact.

Let's take a closer look at the Mountain West, in particular its #5 Seed, San Jose State, 21-14, 10-8 MWC, good for the #5 Seed in the Mountain West Tournament, a CBI participant, which lost to Radford in the first round of the 16 team CBI.  San Jose State is the oldest public institution in the western states.  That alleged meteoric rise of the Mountain West apparently failed to significantly resonate among the 35,751 students at SJSU, as the Spartans averaged 2,460 fans (announced) for their 9 Mountain West Conference home games.  When I tuned in on TV to see the Spartans play, this after a diligent search to find the game, as HOF'er Marty Brennaman would say, literally thousands of loyal San Jose State students, alumni, and fans were disguised as empty blue seats at the Provident Credit Union Event Center.

Now we can go back for proof that the Mountain West is no better than the A10.  It just depends upon the cutoff point.  Lately, the Mountain West has been on the rise.  But current Final 4 participant San Diego State is expected to be the first Pac-12 expansion team, if and when the Pac-12 gets a TV deal.  Boise State also has a wandering eye, blue field or not.

As you said, just the facts.

A casual fan living there would keep up via the 10 o clock news. Most times our home games have no real competion if u want to get out. Out there would take me 2 lifetimes to do all I'd rather do than sit indoors & watch hoops.

[Bay Area Billiken]

56 minutes ago, Fraz said:

Cubbies spent over $300m this off-season on 10 different signings.  Dansby, Bellinger, Taillon, Mancini.  Lost Contreras to us.

Cubs at least are going for it, think they’ll be much more competitive 

Until June, July at the latest.  If the Dodgers thought Cody Bellinger still had it, they would no doubt have kept him.  He's had 3 straight awful seasons, post-injury.

As the sign guy's sign at Shea Stadium read:  Rub a Dub Dub, Same Old Cubs.

Growing up in a "mixed neighborhood" in Quincy, I've dealt with cub fans and cub hype my whole life.  Nothing has changed.  They're still Baseball's Lovable Losers.  The Act of God of '16 notwithstanding, they will always be losers.

As for that overspending, there is a school of thought the cubs did that so they could flip those mercenaries for prospects. at the trading deadline.  It's not like they haven't recently done similar, except then they went cheap and exiled their own players.

One of my favorite cubbie stories is I was at a cubs-Giants game at what is currently known as AT&T Park in San Francisco.  The cub Catcher attempted to start the throwing of the ball around the horn but fired the ball into Left Field.  It was hilarious, vintage cub.  And that is a fact, as I was an eyewitness to same.

[Bay Area Billiken]

16 minutes ago, almaman said:

A casual fan living there would keep up via the 10 o clock news. Most times our home games have no real competion if u want to get out. Out there would take me 2 lifetimes to do all I'd rather do than sit indoors & watch hoops.

Whether San Jose State Hoops would make the 11:00 Fluff News (CBS, ABC, NBC), maybe NBC since the station is licensed to San Jose, or 10:00 Fluff News (Fox) out here is an open question.  I have seen some Spartan Football highlights make the News.

[brianstl]

The attendance numbers for this season won't come out until after the Final Four, but last season the MWC averaged 6,203 people per game.  The A10 averaged 4,313 per game.

[Pistol]

Sounds like Mike Rhoades to Penn State is finally official and that it'll be 7 years, $25 million.

And Ryan Odom (Utah Valley) is the favorite for VCU already. Could be a very quick turnaround on the replacement.

Rhoades hasn't even talked to his VCU players yet. Meeting is in just over 2 hours (4:00 Eastern).

[brianstl]

1 minute ago, Pistol said:

Sounds like Mike Rhoades to Penn State is finally official and that it'll be 7 years, $25 million.

And Ryan Odom (Utah Valley) is the favorite for VCU already. Could be a very quick turnaround on the replacement.

Rhoades hasn't even talked to his VCU players yet. Meeting is in just over 2 hours (4:00 Eastern).

The Odom deal probably won't be made official until after Friday.  The buyout VCU would need to pay decreases on April 1.  

[HoosierPal]

19 minutes ago, Pistol said:

Rhoades hasn't even talked to his VCU players yet. Meeting is in just over 2 hours (4:00 Eastern).

I wonder how many players he has 'special meetings' with after the final group hug, asking them how much it would cost to follow him to PSU?  Ace for sure.  And probably DeLoach. 

Maybe Kerns come home?  I doubt if he gets the PSU invite that others will.

[JMM28]

2 hours ago, Bay Area Billiken said:

Weird is your opinion, but not based in fact.

Let's take a closer look at the Mountain West, in particular its #5 Seed, San Jose State, 21-14, 10-8 MWC, good for the #5 Seed in the Mountain West Tournament, a CBI participant, which lost to Radford in the first round of the 16 team CBI.  San Jose State is the oldest public institution in the western states.  That alleged meteoric rise of the Mountain West apparently failed to significantly resonate among the 35,751 students at SJSU, as the Spartans averaged 2,460 fans (announced) for their 9 Mountain West Conference home games.  When I tuned in on TV to see the Spartans play, this after a diligent search to find the game, as HOF'er Marty Brennaman would say, literally thousands of loyal San Jose State students, alumni, and fans were disguised as empty blue seats at the Provident Credit Union Event Center.

Now we can go back for proof that the Mountain West is no better than the A10.  It just depends upon the cutoff point.  Lately, the Mountain West has been on the rise.  But current Final 4 participant San Diego State is expected to be the first Pac-12 expansion team, if and when the Pac-12 gets a TV deal.  Boise State also has a wandering eye, blue field or not.  A question is if Stanford and Cal can stomach being in a conference with a former junior college (Boise State).  For that matter, will they consent to being in the same conference as a California State University school (San Diego State)?  Necessity, keeping a Southern California presence, requires that answer to be Yes in the latter case.

As you said, just the facts.

So your opinion is that the Mountain West is inferior to the A10 because San Jose State doesn't draw well enough and that a few members could maybe bolt to the Pac12? Got it. 

[TRN]

3 hours ago, slu72 said:

Our old friend Randy Bennett turned down the Cal job. Must be really happy at St Mary’s.

That’s a wise career choice.  Cal is the doormat of that conference and athletics aren’t highly supported in Berkeley like other schools.  Why leave a job where you’re top 25 annually and in the tournament, for a place difficult to get players admitted and limited backing.

Cal will probably hire a retread, an assistant, or smaller level coach.  Maybe they’ll take Cuonzo back.

[Bay Area Billiken]

14 minutes ago, JMM28 said:

So your opinion is that the Mountain West is inferior to the A10 because San Jose State doesn't draw well enough and that a few members could maybe bolt to the Pac12? Got it. 

It's good that you finally got it.  BAB is pleased to be of service in educating you about Western Hoops and its pecking order.  

Now what's your next negative post going to be?  How about those cubbies!  Or do I need to move on to Fresno State, another Mountain West member, next?  

 

[Bay Area Billiken]

7 minutes ago, TRN said:

That’s a wise career choice.  Cal is the doormat of that conference and athletics aren’t highly supported in Berkeley like other schools.  Why leave a job where you’re top 25 annually and in the tournament, for a place difficult to get players admitted and limited backing.

Cal will probably hire a retread, an assistant, or smaller level coach.  Maybe they’ll take Cuonzo back.

Former Stanford player and current Utah Valley Coach Mark "Mad Dog" Madsen is in line to be the next Cal Coach.  He would be a good hire, an up and coming coach with Bay Area ties.

[Box and Won]

2 hours ago, brianstl said:

The attendance numbers for this season won't come out until after the Final Four, but last season the MWC averaged 6,203 people per game.  The A10 averaged 4,313 per game.

**Please note that people swimming in LaSalle's pool during games are not included in the final attendance count.**

[Schasz]

5 minutes ago, Bay Area Billiken said:

Former Stanford player and current Utah Valley Coach Mark "Mad Dog" Madsen is in line to be the next Cal Coach.  He would be a good hire, an up and coming coach with Bay Area ties.

Thinking he played in the NCAA Tourney Game I saw Gonzaga beat Stanford. If he's the same Stanford I'm thinking about he was a star for them. That was a good game too!

[Bay Area Billiken]

5 minutes ago, Schasz said:

Thinking he played in the NCAA Tourney Game I saw Gonzaga beat Stanford. If he's the same Stanford I'm thinking about he was a star for them. That was a good game too!

Yes, it's him.  He's from San Ramon Valley High in Contra Costa County, not far from Cal Berkeley on the other side of the Caldicott Tunnel.

So a former Cal player, Jared Haase is coaching Stanford, while Mark Madsen, a former Stanford player, will be coaching arch-rival Cal.

And Cal will not be down forever.  Cal has had a number of good basketball teams over the years.  Jason Kidd played hoops at Cal, as did former Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and many others.

[billikenbill]

13 minutes ago, Box and Won said:

**Please note that people swimming in LaSalle's pool during games are not included in the final attendance count.**

But do the players on the pickleball court count?

[Schasz]

Nope...the Stanford player I was thinking about was actually Mike Montgomery. Stanford was ranked high that year too! That was a big upset for the Zags but they had several players who were deadly from 3 point land!

[Bay Area Billiken]

14 minutes ago, Schasz said:

Thinking he played in the NCAA Tourney Game I saw Gonzaga beat Stanford. If he's the same Stanford I'm thinking about he was a star for them. That was a good game too!

Yes, it's him.  He's from San Ramon Valley High in Contra Costa County, not far from Cal Berkeley on the other side of the Caldicott Tunnel.

So a former Cal player, Jared Haase is coaching Stanford, while Mark Madsen, a former Stanford player, will be coaching arch-rival Cal.

And Cal will not be down forever.  Cal has had a number of good basketball teams over the years.  Jason Kidd played hoops at Cal, as did former Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and many others.