April 25, 2006
The Carousel Turns
Well, well. It seems that our old friend Matt Doherty is on the move again, this time to SMU. You may recall that just one year ago, Doherty was hired off the scrap heap to try to revive the program at Florida Atlantic. I'm sure they knew he was not going to be a long-term coach there, but I'm guessing they hoped for more than one season - a 15-13 season, mind you.
My favorite quote, from the coach who left Notre Dame after just one season, was fired from UNC after three and is now leaving FAU after one season - "I look at this as a destination job. I didn't want to take a job to take another job." Sure thing, Matt. We believe you.
On another, more local front, the NC State coaching search appears to be focusing on Steve Lavin and John Beilein. I think I can sum up my feelings on that with just four words. Lavin, NO. Beilein, Yes. Steve Lavin was a mediocre (at best) coach at UCLA, basically in the same situation that Sendek was here. He accomplished just enough to avoid being fired most years, but never showed that he was going to take the program to the next level - or more accurately at a falling UCLA program, the previous level. Why would State try to build a major program with a guy who failed to sustain major program?
Beilein, on the other hand, shows every sign of being an excellent coach. The only concern I'd have with him is with recruiting. He had some very good teams at West Virginia (and Richmond before that), but I don't recall him capitalizing on that success to land any high school All-Americans. You have to be both a great coach and a great recruiter if you want to hang with UNC and Duke.
| Lee J. Cockrell wrote: |
| I would be a lot more afraid of Beilein than Lavin. Steve got one good job by accident and did nothing to improve the program, in fact the opposite. Beilein's strength is also his weakness -- he's an outside-the-box coach who's bootstrapped his way to success in unorthodox fashion on and off the court. I don't think the Pack will like that about him, they want someone with connections. |
I agree. I really don't think that Lavin is a good coach at all. His first (and only) job was at UCLA and he pretty much sucked. If he had followed the standard track and begun at a small school, I don't think he ever would have risen through the ranks.
My only concern about Beilein is wondering how his system will work in the long term. Did it just work because he had a particularly good (and unlikely) group of players? Would ACC coaches figure it out and shut it down after a year or two?
Yep. Beilien's offense is similar to Sendek's, and the good coaches knew what Sendek was playing and embarrased him.
I'd still take Beilien over Lavin b/c he can hopefully switch it up and does make some great in-game adjustments. I'd consider Lavin an upgrade also.
| cfpack03 wrote: |
| Would ACC coaches figure it out and shut it down after a year or two?
Yep. Beilien's offense is similar to Sendek's, and the good coaches knew what Sendek was playing and embarrased him. I'd still take Beilien over Lavin b/c he can hopefully switch it up and does make some great in-game adjustments. I'd consider Lavin an upgrade also. |
Yeah, and it's happened before. Pete Gillen looked like a genius in the Big East and for a season or two in Charlottesville. After that, his press stopped working and instead of generating easy buckets, his team gave up layup after layup.
Notice that Gary Williams doesn't run his full-court press very much anymore either. You just can't run too many gimmicks in this league for long. Sendek's offense was actually a slight exception to this rule. It kept working, but just not very well. The only systems that have stood the test of time in my lifetime have been Dean Smith and Mike Krzyzewski's. Other coaches have to change things up every few years, depending on the talent they have (or don't have).
NCSU is starting to look desperate--"You wouldn't want to go to the prom with me would you?" desperate. Lavin has a much brighter and less stressful future at ESPN. Notwithstanding his ability, he just doesn't seem to be someone who would fit...
Nor, does B from WV. I think he would be Sendek with more hair--hardworking, earnest, and a player short in the recruiting battles and a game or two short at the end of the season.
Refresh my memory--why does Mark Few's name rarely come up? Is there something about Spokane we don't know?
But speaking of Baylor, I wonder if Bliss and those hoopsters from a couple of years ago were under the same double-secret morality code that the administration plans to enforce on the first nubile coed who ends up in "Girls of the whatever-conference-they-are-in" issue of Playboy? Talk about your double standards!
And that my friends, is what you call a graceful recovery...
| HoopRu wrote: |
| There is probably a thread on this already, but has college sports at the ACC Basketball level, at least, reached the point where a new coach must be a proven head coach with a beefy resume? Who'd ever heard of Jim Valvano in 1981? |
That's a good question. I don't think we're there yet, but it's close. There have been some hires recently of relatively unknown guys like Paul Hewitt and Frank Haith. Oliver Purnell and Dave Leitao had mid-major jobs, but I doubt many people who weren't fans of their leagues knew who they were.
It does seem like just about every ACC program first tries a couple of guys who are already established in big leagues though.
And what about this News & Observer article that has PHIL FORD listed as a candidate for new head coach??!! If they were to make Phil the head coach, man, talk about a conflict of interests...
| SuperJew wrote: |
| FYI, The Sporting News & ESPN are reporting that both coaches aren't going to be the next head coaches at NCST...
And what about this News & Observer article that has PHIL FORD listed as a candidate for new head coach??!! If they were to make Phil the head coach, man, talk about a conflict of interests... |
Yep, apparently you are correct. The N&O is reporting the same thing. Wow. I feel bad for State, but it's starting to get to the point where it's actually funny now.
As for Phil Ford, even last year, I thought about writing something asking why his name wasn't coming up for openings. If you remember, back about ten years ago, he was the stone cold lock to take over for Dean Smith. Then he had his second (or so) drunk driving charge and his career disappeared before it started. Why? Plenty of other coaches have gotten second or third chances after those kind of off-court problems. Was there maybe something else that wasn't made public?
Don't get me wrong, Phil Ford couldn't be more wrong for the NC State job, but why isn't someone out there trying to hire him?
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