2024 SLU Men's Basketball Head Coaching Search

[thetorch]

I've been calling for Ford's head for over a year.  Even the diehard Ford backers have jumped off the wagon as it falls 100 MPH off a cliff.  This season was over before it started.  It is obvious Ford won't be back next year, he can't be back.  Hopefully Chris May is gone as well and the AD's office entirely restructured.  Who do we want as our next Head Coach? An active D-1 coach, a retired legend, a high major Asst, a fired or scandal plagued former HC or a hot shot from the D-2 ranks?

My Wishlist

1. Chris Mack

2. Ben McCollum - https://theathletic.com/2798730/2021/09/01/meet-ben-mccollum-the-division-ii-coach-winning-titles-and-turning-heads-across-college-basketball/

3. Nevada Smith - https://painttouches.com/2024/01/04/the-architect-nevada-smith-and-a-journey-of-basketball-innovation-marquette/

4. Mitch Henderson

5. Josh Schertz

6. Darian Devries

7. Mark Byington

8. Mike Morell

9. Dustin Kerns

10. Will Wade

Honorable Mention - Bob Huggins

[wgstl]

WW is at the top for me

[NextYearBill]

Give me Will Wade. 

[Lord Elrond]

Ted Lasso! It worked for AFC Richmond, and it would be very entertaining!

[cheeseman]

6 hours ago, thetorch said:

I've been calling for Ford's head for over a year.  Even the diehard Ford backers have jumped off the wagon as it falls 100 MPH off a cliff.  This season was over before it started.  It is obvious Ford won't be back next year, he can't be back.  Hopefully Chris May is gone as well and the AD's office entirely restructured.  Who do we want as our next Head Coach? An active D-1 coach, a retired legend, a high major Asst, a fired or scandal plagued former HC or a hot shot from the D-2 ranks?

My Wishlist

1. Chris Mack

2. Ben McCollum - https://theathletic.com/2798730/2021/09/01/meet-ben-mccollum-the-division-ii-coach-winning-titles-and-turning-heads-across-college-basketball/

3. Nevada Smith - https://painttouches.com/2024/01/04/the-architect-nevada-smith-and-a-journey-of-basketball-innovation-marquette/

4. Mitch Henderson

5. Josh Schertz

6. Darian Devries

7. Mark Byington

8. Mike Morell

9. Dustin Kerns

10. Will Wade

Honorable Mention - Bob Huggins

You want your AD to hire the coach - so if you are going to replace both you have to do May now - I don't see that happening

[brianstl]

1 hour ago, cheeseman said:

You want your AD to hire the coach - so if you are going to replace both you have to do May now - I don't see that happening

With the dollars we are talking about for a buyout and a new coach, the AD won't be picking the hire.  That is going to be the case if May is the AD or not.   The person/persons who picks up the bulk of that bill is going to get their guy as the next coach.  I think that mostly likely takes over half of Torch's list out of contention.  That person/persons is going to want a known commodity.  Someone that has proven they can not only get to the D1 tournament, but win a game in the tournament.  Now there maybe an exception to that if there is already some kind of connection to someone or someone like DeVries who made the tournament at Drake before his kid was on the team and would bring his kid with him.

With that criteria stated, these are the guys I think are most likely to end up as the top targets (in no particular order):

• Chris Mack
• Will Wade
• Mark Turgeon
• Bob Huggins
• Mitch Henderson
• Darian DeVries
• Blake Ahearn - He doesn't fit the criteria I set out above, but I think there was real fire and not just smoke when his name came up after last season.  If that is true, at least some people around the program really want him.  I don't think think the person/persons that will be ultimately paying most of the bill felt as strongly about him at the time.  Otherwise, it would have happened then.  That said, things could have changed or still could change before the Ford regime ends.

[cheeseman]

12 minutes ago, brianstl said:

With the dollars we are talking about for a buyout and a new coach, the AD won't be picking the hire.  That is going to be the case if May is the AD or not.   The person/persons who picks up the bulk of that bill is going to get their guy as the next coach.  I think that mostly likely takes over half of Torch's list out of contention.  That person/persons is going to want a known commodity.  Someone that has proven they can not only get to the D1 tournament, but win a game in the tournament.  Now there maybe an exception to that if there is already some kind of connection to someone or someone like DeVries who made the tournament at Drake before his kid was on the team and would bring his kid with him.

With that criteria stated, these are the guys I think are most likely to end up as the top targets (in no particular order):

• Chris Mack
• Will Wade
• Mark Turgeon
• Bob Huggins
• Mitch Henderson
• Darian DeVries
• Blake Ahearn - He doesn't fit the criteria I set out above, but I think there was real fire and not just smoke when his name came up after last season.  If that is true, at least some people around the program really want him.  I don't think think the person/persons that will be ultimately paying most of the bill felt as strongly about him at the time.  Otherwise, it would have happened then.  That said, things could have changed or still could change before the Ford regime ends.

I understand your point but if the AD is not committed to the new hire then it can only lead to trouble long term.  I also am not sure that just because you have the money that you are qualified to make a hire - see Jerry Jones.  I have no problem with the money person having input but not sole responsibility for picking the new coach.  Lets get an AD that knows what he/she is doing before we screw this up again.

[TheA_Bomb]

@thetorch I like the list a few from the Shaka coaching tree.  I don't know enough about Smith to have an opinion.  I'm unimpressed by Morrell's overall record but that's just after a cursory glance. Mack for sure #1, Devries if we could get him and Wade is intriguing.

@brianstl I haven't thought about Turgeon he has some NCAA wins for sure over 24 years.  But maybe I'm jaded, with all the change I'd prefer someone not as experienced that perhaps isn't so set in the past. Now Turgeon might not be that but it's just a general feeling. If I'm interviewing the coach I'm asking about their vision, plan to leverage NIL. What's their recruiting strategy regarding transfers/HS to construct a roster. How do they plan to coach essentially a new team every season to get offensively and defensively.

I think Mack is a name that can energize boosters to donate. He's had success at a Catholic school in the Midwest and he should be rested.

Add Kelsey CoC as a good name.

Despite the AD not being the one to hire the coach. They have impact. We need the new AD because we need organizational changes. We need marketing, scheduling, fan interaction, alignment between coach and BVF. All those things are essential to a winning program.

[johnbj14]

22 minutes ago, brianstl said:

With the dollars we are talking about for a buyout and a new coach, the AD won't be picking the hire.  That is going to be the case if May is the AD or not.   The person/persons who picks up the bulk of that bill is going to get their guy as the next coach.  I think that mostly likely takes over half of Torch's list out of contention.  That person/persons is going to want a known commodity.  Someone that has proven they can not only get to the D1 tournament, but win a game in the tournament.  Now there maybe an exception to that if there is already some kind of connection to someone or someone like DeVries who made the tournament at Drake before his kid was on the team and would bring his kid with him.

With that criteria stated, these are the guys I think are most likely to end up as the top targets (in no particular order):

• Chris Mack
• Will Wade
• Mark Turgeon
• Bob Huggins
• Mitch Henderson
• Darian DeVries
• Blake Ahearn - He doesn't fit the criteria I set out above, but I think there was real fire and not just smoke when his name came up after last season.  If that is true, at least some people around the program really want him.  I don't think think the person/persons that will be ultimately paying most of the bill felt as strongly about him at the time.  Otherwise, it would have happened then.  That said, things could have changed or still could change before the Ford regime ends.

Turgeon no doubt will be considered, but he screams Travis 2.0. Huggins would also be a disaster. He was checked out before all of his personal turmoils. If that’s truly a hypothetical list of candidates, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tom Crean thrown around as an option, not that it would be a good decision. 

[JMM28]

Will Wade is still on a show cause until 2025 so you can probably cross him off the list. 

Turgeon has been out of the game since NIL came into play. Would Huggins want to work for a bunch of catholic...whatevers?

I'd also hire Brian Wardle in a second at SLU. Guy can rebuild a program and develop talent, something that hasn't been seen here since another Marquette alum roamed the sidelines. 

A lot of this will depend on what the budget is as well. I don't think they'd pay what Ford is making, but if they were the pool expands significantly. If it is 1-1.5 mill, you can cross a lot of guys off the list. A higher paid mid major guy won't jump for a couple hundred grand raise. 

DeVries at Drake has a contract through 28-29 so the buyout may be prohibitive although he would probably bring his son with him. Schertz is an interesting one. His team started hot last year and faded bigtime down the stretch. We'll see if he can pull it together this year. He has had a ton of success so far in the portal, as well. 

[Soderball]

Wade has players, and so does Schertz.

Wouldn't be surprised if one of them ends up with the Louisville job. I would love to get either, especially WW!

[Soderball]

2 minutes ago, JMM28 said:

Will Wade is still on a show cause until 2025 so you can probably cross him off the list. 

Turgeon has been out of the game since NIL came into play. Would Huggins want to work for a bunch of catholic...whatevers?

I'd also hire Brian Wardle in a second at SLU. Guy can rebuild a program and develop talent, something that hasn't been seen here since another Marquette alum roamed the sidelines. 

A lot of this will depend on what the budget is as well. I don't think they'd pay what Ford is making, but if they were the pool expands significantly. If it is 1-1.5 mill, you can cross a lot of guys off the list. A higher paid mid major guy won't jump for a couple hundred grand raise. 

DeVries at Drake has a contract through 28-29 so the buyout may be prohibitive although he would probably bring his son with him. Schertz is an interesting one. His team started hot last year and faded bigtime down the stretch. We'll see if he can pull it together this year. He has had a ton of success so far in the portal, as well. 

If we had a record like Schertz does now we would be calling for the natty. Billikens.com has some interesting takes when it comes to homering for our team. If we are going for him I hope he doesn't do THAT great, because a blue blood will come looking for him quick.

We need a quick roster turnaround in this situation and a guy with players ready to transfer now is the right move.

[TheA_Bomb]

Schertz is making $338,000/yr just extended through 2028.

When I see these types of numbers it really makes me more frustrated about SLU's complete mismanagement.  Unforced error. Now if it was a certain booster that pushed this salary no wonder they ended up with a Pickleball team and not a NBA franchise.

https://www.tribstar.com/sports/indiana-state-basketball-locks-up-schertz-through-2028/article_f858a836-6958-11ee-944e-5f7cc8414268.html

[Soderball]

34 minutes ago, TheA_Bomb said:

Schertz is making $338,000/yr just extended through 2028.

When I see these types of numbers it really makes me more frustrated about SLU's complete mismanagement.  Unforced error. Now if it was a certain booster that pushed this salary no wonder they ended up with a Pickleball team and not a NBA franchise.

https://www.tribstar.com/sports/indiana-state-basketball-locks-up-schertz-through-2028/article_f858a836-6958-11ee-944e-5f7cc8414268.html

salesmen sell. it's what they do. Ford is a salesman.

[Iggy]

Alex Jensen

[TheA_Bomb]

1 minute ago, Iggy said:

Alex Jensen

Nice out of the box thinking. Good experience as D League HC of the Year. Some Texas fans including KD were pushing for Royal Ivey to be considered after Beard.  Only HC experience is as South Sudan HC. The argument for these guys and Ahearn would be they could sell developing players for professional ball. They should be able to assess talent. They understand professional basketball, contracts and are young. Plus I don't think they'd have a buy out.

[slu72]

The dollars needed to bring in a near as sure to be a winner HC, like a Spoon or Rick, is going to be a very costly deal. First you have the Travis buyout. Isn’t that going to be close to $5mm? Then if you were to bring in a Shertz or Kelce type we’re gonna have to cover their buyout. I’ve heard Kelce’s new deal at CofC is $1mm a year plus bonus money and the increases every year he stays for like 5 years. That whole buyout package could add another $4 or $5 mm. Then you’d likely have to double his salary to $2mm. So suddenly your up to around $10-11mm to bring in a hot currently working HC. I don’t see any booster stepping up with that kind of money. Now would SLU be wise to pull the $$’s from the endowment. I think so, but I’m not so sure our BOT would approve. 
We’d have a cheaper $ picture by hiring one of the current HC’s on sabbatical, ie a Mack type. It’s what Houston and Auburn did with Sampson and Pearl and it’s worked well for them. Point being a splash hire should come from the currently unemployed HC’s list. Mack fills the bill but would he take it is the issue? 
The other option is to roll the dice and try to find an undiscovered gem in the rough just waiting to make a name for himself. Good luck if we spin that wheel, ie a Blake Ahern type. 

 

[Soderball]

Why is this board so unable to quit talking about Blake Ahearn. He keeps coming back like herpes around here.

(to be clear Blake Ahearn is a great guy. his prevalence as a topic here over now decades is getting weird.)

 

Also: Hire Matt Dickey

[NextYearBill]

Could somebody explain how CMAY dropped the ball on the Big East? I never heard the details on that

[willie]

12 minutes ago, NextYearBill said:

Could somebody explain how CMAY dropped the ball on the Big East? I never heard the details on that

I don't believe he did. 

[billikenfan05]

5 minutes ago, willie said:

I don't believe he did. 

Yeah as much as I'd LOVE to pile on his Mr. Potter lookin' a$$, I don't think he really dropped the ball. It seems like it's some sort amalgamation of Biondi not making it happen or BEAST presidents not wanting Biondi. 

[cheeseman]

9 minutes ago, NextYearBill said:

Could somebody explain how CMAY dropped the ball on the Big East? I never heard the details on that

I think they would say he was at the helm when that all went down so he had to have a hand in the bungling of it.  In some respect there may very well be some blame to go to him whether you think he is soley responsible or just partially.  Truth be all failures have many fathers so to speak.  The money people who let the mediocrity continue, the AD who fiddle while SLU's chances were burning, the President of the University who never really valued athletics or cared to truly support it properly both financially and politically except for a couple of isolated times, the BOT who simply rubber stamped all the missteps, and finally those fans who made excuses for the mediocrity.  I do know for a fact and I have stated this before and who my source was that the Jesuits Presidents in the BE simply could not stand Biondi and had no interest unless there was a big dollar reason to deal with him.  You can't keep pissing on people before they get an umbrella to wall you off.  It was this no affinity to Biondi that played a big part.

[TheA_Bomb]

23 minutes ago, Soderball said:

Why is this board so unable to quit talking about Blake Ahearn. He keeps coming back like herpes around here.

(to be clear Blake Ahearn is a great guy. his prevalence as a topic here over now decades is getting weird.)

 

Also: Hire Matt Dickey

It's the nature of message boards. He's a local guy we missed on and went on to have success. Message board white whales. I bet you there's a group on IU boards right now talking Alford as coach and have been for 15 years (it might work they're probably the 4th best team in the state right now).

In this instance it makes sense as he's a HC in the G League.  G League has become a competitor for the top basketball talent with College and it's also a place our better players have gone after SLU.  So that connection might help recruiting and development. Plus no buyout and maybe a salary under $1mil.

[Soderball]

4 minutes ago, TheA_Bomb said:

It's the nature of message boards. He's a local guy we missed on and went on to have success. Message board white whales. I bet you there's a group on IU boards right now talking Alford as coach and have been for 15 years (it might work they're probably the 4th best team in the state right now).

In this instance it makes sense as he's a HC in the G League.  G League has become a competitor for the top basketball talent with College and it's also a place our better players have gone after SLU.  So that connection might help recruiting and development. Plus no buyout and maybe a salary under $1mil.

the 1mil/yr ship already sailed at SLU. The issue isn't money. The issue is if certain boosters are "personal friends" of Travis Ford. The guy is a salesman and he has dug his claws into the program and is siphoning money out at a rate never seen before. People will always get duped into throwing good money after bad for "their guy" ..

The only way to get Ford out is to make keeping him less palatable than firing him. Don't stop the #FIREFORD train. No brakes. No detours. Just FIRE FORD NOW. Constant barrages on message boards, emails to BoT members, athletic dept, you name it. This works on politicians. Politicians actually do care when constituents are calling them. Lobbying works. That's why Ford's defenders tell you it's worthless and not worth your time. They want apathy to set in and Ford to keep draining this program of life. Get angry. Get mad or stay bad. The Lobos are 37 on KenPom today. Not a bad drum to beat.

[TheA_Bomb]

6 minutes ago, Soderball said:

the 1mil/yr ship already sailed at SLU. The issue isn't money. The issue is if certain boosters are "personal friends" of Travis Ford. The guy is a salesman and he has dug his claws into the program and is siphoning money out at a rate never seen before. People will always get duped into throwing good money after bad for "their guy" ..

The only way to get Ford out is to make keeping him less palatable than firing him. Don't stop the #FIREFORD train. No brakes. No detours. Just FIRE FORD NOW. Constant barrages on message boards, emails to BoT members, athletic dept, you name it. This works on politicians. Politicians actually do care when constituents are calling them. Lobbying works. That's why Ford's defenders tell you it's worthless and not worth your time. They want apathy to set in and Ford to keep draining this program of life. Get angry. Get mad or stay bad. The Lobos are 37 on KenPom today. Not a bad drum to beat.

I'm with you on keeping the fire Ford train going. Don't forget to Fire May also.

But the $1mil/season ship hasn't sailed. It's still a realistic option for an A10 school.  Now a Turgeon or Mack won't be $1mil or less but other options would.  It's nearly triple Schertz and probably double Devries salaries.