Basketball over - now what?

[waverider]

Burnt toast.

That was my reply to every news tweet saying Rex would still toast in front of the house that recently burned down

[Poseidon]

If Dunleavy has a job at 5pm today, then Dannen will have seriously disappointed me for the first time. He hasn't nailed every move so far, but at least it seemed like we had a plan and were trying to execute it. Poseidon, you nailed it.

I think the plan has been laid out since day one. Year 4 is the expectation of playing for a conf championship and NCAA tournament. As LG pointed out, if that’s the plan then Dunleavy will have another year to try to get there.

That would be more than asking CJ's year 5 team to compete for a conference championship and be in a really good bowl. We were all aware that almost certainly wouldn't have happened, so he had to go. If those are the expectations then next year will be the lamest of lame duck years.

[krewe of ham and eggs]

If Dunleavy has a job at 5pm today, then Dannen will have seriously disappointed me for the first time. He hasn't nailed every move so far, but at least it seemed like we had a plan and were trying to execute it. Poseidon, you nailed it.

I think the plan has been laid out since day one. Year 4 is the expectation of playing for a conf championship and NCAA tournament. As LG pointed out, if that’s the plan then Dunleavy will have another year to try to get there.

That would be more than asking CJ's year 5 team to compete for a conference championship and be in a really good bowl. We were all aware that almost certainly wouldn't have happened, so he had to go. If those are the expectations then next year will be the lamest of lame duck years.

Aunt Becky's kids had a better chance of getting into a college based on their own merits than Dunleavy has of leading this team to a conference championship and NCAA tournament next year.

[TUPF]

Aunt Becky's kids had a better chance of getting into a college based on their own merits than Dunleavy has of leading this team to a conference championship and NCAA tournament next year.

You, my friend, win the Interweb today!

[GreenieBacker]

No kidding. If MD stays I hope no one here seriously expects to see a NCAA Tournament level team next year. The best I can see is what I expected o see this year a team of younger players hopefully showing signs of developing into future solid performers. And a mid level conference finish.

[gerryb323]

No kidding. If MD stays I hope no one here seriously expects to see a NCAA Tournament level team next year. The best I can see is what I expected o see this year a team of younger players hopefully showing signs of developing into future solid performers. And a mid level conference finish.

Which is why we should just move on now. Is that going to be better than a new coach could provide for next year? A good, promising coach with solid recruiting should put us at least there

[GreenieBacker]

No argument there. I just don't think it will happen.

[long green]

Dunleavy is finished now, whenever he’s shown the door. If we start out losing next year* he’ll get it in the neck during the season, possibly shockingly early. If we improve surprisingly it won’t matter. There’s only so good we’ll get and the need to get past this will assert itself.


* no one wants to see crap scheduling but if ever a season needed to start with a set-up game at home it’s this upcoming basketball season.

[Wavery]

According to Warrennolan.com there are 353 team rated in his RPI. Team 353 is Alabama A&M. We lost to them!

I don't think there are any setup games unless with play Spring Hill, Loyola and William Carey. Problem is I think they all might beat us.

I used to love Tulane Basketball. But that was over 15 years ago it seems. Watari Marsh (sp?) and Duane Wade has a great battle in our gym. Nothing close to that since.

[long green]

Next year, starting at full strength, we’ll be better than we’re allowing ourselves to think right now.

[OGSB]

According to Warrennolan.com there are 353 team rated in his RPI. Team 353 is Alabama A&M. We lost to them!

I don't think there are any setup games unless with play Spring Hill, Loyola and William Carey. Problem is I think they all might beat us.

I used to love Tulane Basketball. But that was over 15 years ago it seems. Watari Marsh (sp?) and Duane Wade has a great battle in our gym. Nothing close to that since.

Yep. We are the setup team.

[gerryb323]

According to Warrennolan.com there are 353 team rated in his RPI. Team 353 is Alabama A&M. We lost to them!

I don't think there are any setup games unless with play Spring Hill, Loyola and William Carey. Problem is I think they all might beat us.

I used to love Tulane Basketball. But that was over 15 years ago it seems. Watari Marsh (sp?) and Duane Wade has a great battle in our gym. Nothing close to that since.

Sorry, I laughed that you put the (sp?) by Marsh and then spelled Dwyane "wrong"

[ml wave]

I would look at Casey Alexander at Lipscomb. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casey_Alexander

Lipscomb was a NAIA(?) power with a longtime legendary coach and they have managed to do well moving up to D1. It's not a prerequisite for me, but one thing I'd be looking for is someone who has succeeded at a program that does not have historical success. I'll also make the assumption that when we move on from Dunleavy that we'll be looking for, shall we say, less of a budget buster. Wonder if Schlessinger at UNO crosses the radar?

[gerryb323]

Porter Moser
John Becker
Nathan Davis
Mike Young
John Brannen
Earl Grant
Jeff Jones
Chris Carrawell
Ready, go!

[tulaneoutlaw]

Porter Moser - Loyola Chicago
John Becker - Vermont
Nathan Davis - Bucknell
Mike Young - Wofford
John Brannen - Northern Kentucky
Earl Grant - College of Charleston
Jeff Jones - Old Dominion
Chris Carrawell - Duke assistant
Ready, go!

I really like Earl Grant as an option. Strong assistant work and has shown consistent success in 5 years at College of Charleston. I also like Nathan Grant who has won at a couple of levels now.

I don't think Mike Young is leaving Wofford ever. He seems like a lifer. That said, I like his model and think we should copy it.

I'll add Steve Forbes from ETSU. He's been good there and has a good background (Wichita St.)

[gerryb323]

Porter Moser - Loyola Chicago
John Becker - Vermont
Nathan Davis - Bucknell
Mike Young - Wofford
John Brannen - Northern Kentucky
Earl Grant - College of Charleston
Jeff Jones - Old Dominion
Chris Carrawell - Duke assistant
Ready, go!

I really like Earl Grant as an option. Strong assistant work and has shown consistent success in 5 years at College of Charleston. I also like Nathan Grant who has won at a couple of levels now.

I don't think Mike Young is leaving Wofford ever. He seems like a lifer. That said, I like his model and think we should copy it.

I'll add Steve Forbes from ETSU. He's been good there and has a good background (Wichita St.)

Thanks for adding the teams!

[washwave]

Does this sound like something that we should be reading about our school?

George Washington fired men’s basketball coach Maurice Joseph on Friday, one day after the Colonials completed one of the worst seasons in program history with a loss to George Mason in the second round of the Atlantic 10 tournament.

Joseph, 33, had a 44-57 record in three seasons. He had three years left on his contract.

“This decision was necessary because we are not reaching our full potential on the court,” Athletic Director Tanya Vogel said in a statement. “Our university leadership and I have high expectations for what this program can achieve in the near future. We will move forward with a national search for our new head coach....”

[GSx]

As Gretna noted, I agree it was an experiment worth trying. That said, as much as it pains me my gut tells me that MD is coming back. Hopefully we do something to help him, new Assistants comes to mind. Maybe a young up and coming new guy with the knowledge that the job is his as we gracefully usher MD out the door?

Given the names that were apparently in play 3 years ago, I guess it was a worthy experiment. Let's hope the pool is more bountiful this time.

[QuarterbackU]

The Altitude Chamber should be worth 4-5 additional wins alone next year.

If it comes down to we are lacking resources from a budget standpoint to compete in the AAC, we should all be outraged if we next year book more tournaments like that Atlantic City disaster instead of going on the road, taking a few licks, and collecting some checks.

[tulaneoutlaw]

The Altitude Chamber should be worth 4-5 additional wins alone next year.

If it comes down to we are lacking resources from a budget standpoint to compete in the AAC, we should all be outraged if we next year book more tournaments like that Atlantic City disaster instead of going on the road, taking a few licks, and collecting some checks.

Right? If we retain MD we should just take as many pay day games as possible. If we are going to be horrible, might as well get paid to be horrible.

[NJwave]

We’ve tried assistants from major schools (Dickerson and Finney), a young coach from a lower level program (Conroy) and now an NBA guy with very little success. The only thing we haven’t tried is bringing in a Tulane guy. It is time to give Carlin Hartman or Greg Gary a call. They both know what it is like to win at Tulane and have experience recruiting and coaching at bigger programs. They don’t have head coaching experience but at this point I don’t see what we have to lose.

[GreenieBacker]

I think the Tulane MBB job requires a high energy young guy. Not an older CEO type, to get us back just to where we were when Perry left us, an NIT team. And I think we need a young coach with head coaching experience. The TU job isn't something you can learn on the job, its too far gone for that now.

[gerryb323]

We’ve tried assistants from major schools (Dickerson and Finney), a young coach from a lower level program (Conroy) and now an NBA guy with very little success. The only thing we haven’t tried is bringing in a Tulane guy. It is time to give Carlin Hartman or Greg Gary a call. They both know what it is like to win at Tulane and have experience recruiting and coaching at bigger programs. They don’t have head coaching experience but at this point I don’t see what we have to lose.

I don't think the Conroy hire can be compared to any of the above coaches. He had a better winning percentage here than he did at Citadel

[visualmagic]

We’ve tried assistants from major schools (Dickerson and Finney), a young coach from a lower level program (Conroy) and now an NBA guy with very little success. The only thing we haven’t tried is bringing in a Tulane guy. It is time to give Carlin Hartman or Greg Gary a call. They both know what it is like to win at Tulane and have experience recruiting and coaching at bigger programs. They don’t have head coaching experience but at this point I don’t see what we have to lose.

That’s definitely not the only thing that we haven’t tried.
We could always go after a Billy Kennedy or Steve Alford type that was recently fired from a big school but has had plenty of success as a head coach.
I don’t see Conroy’s failure as a good reason to stay away from the young guy from a lower level program. There are plenty of those types with résumés that blow Conroy’s out of the water.

[GretnaGrn]

We’ve tried assistants from major schools (Dickerson and Finney), a young coach from a lower level program (Conroy) and now an NBA guy with very little success. The only thing we haven’t tried is bringing in a Tulane guy. It is time to give Carlin Hartman or Greg Gary a call. They both know what it is like to win at Tulane and have experience recruiting and coaching at bigger programs. They don’t have head coaching experience but at this point I don’t see what we have to lose.

That’s definitely not the only thing that we haven’t tried.
We could always go after a Billy Kennedy or Steve Alford type that was recently fired from a big school but has had plenty of success as a head coach.
I don’t see Conroy’s failure as a good reason to stay away from the young guy from a lower level program. There are plenty of those types with résumés that blow Conroy’s out of the water.

Agreed. Conroy was a dubious hire for reasons beyond coming from a smaller school. Also, worth noting that all of the above-referenced hires were by RD, who demonstrated that when it comes to hiring coaches, he has a real eye for gardeners.