It has been too long since my last Quick Hits post. Talking with Matt Willinger and he implored me to post a new one with some of the stuff I have been hearing and the people I have been talking to.
Let's get it started then...
- Louisville's lack of cohesion on defense has been a major issue in practices these last two weeks. They continue to struggle with basic man principles and there is a lack of trust among the players that everyone on the court is going to "handle their business" and so guys cheat over and get beat backdoor or get driven past.
- There is also the underlying issue of how many guys are essentially short-timers. The fear among those around basketball is that several players will make the leap to the pros at the end of the year - ready or not - and that the remaining freshmen or sophomores may transfer to their second or third choices to get out of here before the next wave hits.
- I honestly can't say that I blame them because this is not what they signed up for. I would hope all of them give the new coach a chance and stick with the program, but who knows - we all have a time clock to make a decision. The future coach will make a big difference here either way.
- The word on the new coach? There are several possibilities, but I think Louisville would be overthinking it to not make Chris Mack the first call.
- Time table? It does not appear like there will be a University President hired before Louisville intends on hiring a basketball coach (and an Athletic Director). I don't agree with this flip-flop of the proper power structure, but it also looks inevitable at this point.
- Speaking of time table: I have heard some say you have to get a new coach in fast because you are losing this recruiting class. Quick thought - this class is already gone. And it definitely will be gone by the time a coach is hired after the season. Louisville needs to be looking long-term and not short term. Louisville needs to be targeting the next "Hall of Fame" coach at the University of Louisville and not a stop-gap measure like some in local media have suggested.
- Is Mack that future Hall of Famer? He certainly could be - he also seems to be a much better option than others I have heard proposed.
- I don't know how you hire ANY coach at this point given the FBI stuff that is still out there. I don't think Mack is cheating, but this quote from someone familiar with the case makes me wonder: “You might see Tennessee-Chattanooga as a No. 2 seed" if the FBI drops its next round of info before the tournament.
- Speaking of that quote - On the FBI scandal - If you haven't read this article from Pete Thamel on Yahoo Sports, you need to do that right now: https://sports.yahoo.com/sources-co...hes-top-programs-lottery-picks-224417174.html
- Thamel writes: "It will impact every major conference, Hall of Fame coaches, a score of current top players and some of the nation’s most distinguished and respected programs. Multiple sources who’ve been briefed on the case and are familiar with the material obtained by feds told Yahoo Sports that the impact on the sport will be substantial and relentless."
- When will it happen? My theory is that little dribbles of information will leak out but the big dump will come next September and October getting ready for the first trial. I hope it doesn't take that long, but the longer the FBI holds its cards, the more likely they are to ensare people.
- Also a factor, if the FBI can let the spring recruiting season turn into summer, they could get much more information via wire taps and surveillance because everyone in college basketball goes to Vegas at the same time in late Spring and early summer.
- The fact that Gorgui Dieng's agent was observed via wire tap is not comforting, because he is one of the links many college basketball programs have to foreign talent - and Louisville has had some foreign talent recently.
- Speaking of which, the word around Christmas was the Canadian basketball pipeline was about to be exposed - but that hasn't happened yet. There have been rumors about Wiggins, Murray, Lyles and Dillon Brooks for years, but some of that was easy to write off as jealousy for a while. Who knows whether there is anything there.
- This quote from Izzo from December was really interesting. He was speaking of the NABC committee: "Are we going to be honest with ourselves? Are we going to BS each other? Because the neat part about it is, if there's 20 people in the room, most of us know what's going on with everybody. Most of us. Are we going to open up, or are we going to be afraid to be honest? Do we care about the game, or do we care about ourselves? Can we come up with some things that are not the best for one team, one program, one shoe company? We always talk about what's doing what's best for the kids. If the kid's getting a benefit, it's best for him now, but is it best for him in the long run? What are you teaching him? What is he learning? I hope we're honest with each other and truly go in trying to do what's best for the game of basketball."
- And yet there are others, like Roy Williams, who still want to minimize the issues with college basketball: "You've got 351 schools, everyone's got three assistants. That's 1,300, 1,400 coaches. We had four assistants (arrested). And if they can get some more they'll get some more. There may be some more, I'm not saying there's not, but that's a pretty small percentage. I've had some people, including writers, criticize me because I said I was shocked. I was shocked. Shocked at the FBI involvement, shocked at the extent of the investigation. I think we have a small percentage of people that intentionally break rules. It's what we are in our world. You take any industry and there are some people doing things they know are not right but they're still trying to do it to gain an advantage. That's the human race. I don't think we need to throw the whole thing in the ocean and start all over again."
- I'm more along the lines of Izzo than Williams. The coaches know what the issues are and how it affects their game. Are they going to be honest with each other?
- By the way, it is worth noting that Williams has been investigated seven times over the years and has been found technically clean every time.
- So who is clean in college basketball? Some would say no one, but CBS polled 100 college coaches and here are the top vote getters to this question:
Who is the high-major coach you genuinely believe does everything by the book and operates completely within the NCAA's rulebook?
1. John Beilein (Michigan) 26.6%
2. Mike Brey (ND) 10.5%
3. Tony Bennett (Virginia) 7.6%
3. Greg Gard (Wisconsin) 7.6%
5. Mark Few (Gonzaga) 5.7%
6. Chris Holtmann (OSU) 4.8%
6. Tom Izzo (Michigan State) 4.8%
6. Bruce Weber (Kansas State) 4.8%
- Back to Louisville - On the AD job. I would be surprised if it is anyone other than Vince Tyra at this point. I don't think there is necessarily a national search actually happening, because I don't think the current administration necessarily wants more change in the athletic department. I could be wrong, but I fully expect him to get the vote of confidence from the Board of Trustees.
- I genuinely like some of the things Vince Tyra is doing - meeting with players and coaches, making sure that moneys are directed to student-athletes causes and trying to trim down budgetary items. I still have a tough time with how the Mark Jurich issue was handled, and I told him so during our interview in Connecticut last week.
- During that interview, he said he understood and that the issue was tough for him as well, but that he felt he needed to do things to refocus the department on the student-athletes and this was part of that reorganization effort.
- Note: I did not know at the time that Mark was banned from UofL facilities for the 60 days of his paid leave or I would have asked him about the baseball games.
- One more note on that issue, it is certainly not the end of the world that Mark can't go to baseball games for the 60 days, but it also seems like an unnecessary slight to someone who is such a big part of the growth of the program.
- On Tyra as well, I do believe he is working extremely hard to get up to speed on everything in athletics and he is trying his best to make the department efficient and hard-working as well. I also fully recognize that I don't know all the details he knows and so some of the issues I bring up on radio or Twitter, he may not be able to tell me the full story on.
- I saw it suggested that the other two Associate ADs who were fired were just "throw-ins" to cover the Mark Jurich firing. I know for sure that isn't the case. There were specific issues in at least one of the cases that you can't have moving forward, especially if the former AD is suing your department.
- On the lawsuits, my prediction is that the Pitino-UofL suit is settled out of court for $3-5 million and the Jurich-UofL suit is settled out of court for $12 million. These are guesses, but we'll see how it all goes down.
- My preference when all this is over is that Jurich's legacy of building the athletic department and helping the University get into the ACC can be properly honored. My fear is that the current Board and President want no part of that.
- All of my thoughts were just interrupted: Louisville just announced a press conference for 12:05. Heading to UofL now.
Let's get it started then...
- Louisville's lack of cohesion on defense has been a major issue in practices these last two weeks. They continue to struggle with basic man principles and there is a lack of trust among the players that everyone on the court is going to "handle their business" and so guys cheat over and get beat backdoor or get driven past.
- There is also the underlying issue of how many guys are essentially short-timers. The fear among those around basketball is that several players will make the leap to the pros at the end of the year - ready or not - and that the remaining freshmen or sophomores may transfer to their second or third choices to get out of here before the next wave hits.
- I honestly can't say that I blame them because this is not what they signed up for. I would hope all of them give the new coach a chance and stick with the program, but who knows - we all have a time clock to make a decision. The future coach will make a big difference here either way.
- The word on the new coach? There are several possibilities, but I think Louisville would be overthinking it to not make Chris Mack the first call.
- Time table? It does not appear like there will be a University President hired before Louisville intends on hiring a basketball coach (and an Athletic Director). I don't agree with this flip-flop of the proper power structure, but it also looks inevitable at this point.
- Speaking of time table: I have heard some say you have to get a new coach in fast because you are losing this recruiting class. Quick thought - this class is already gone. And it definitely will be gone by the time a coach is hired after the season. Louisville needs to be looking long-term and not short term. Louisville needs to be targeting the next "Hall of Fame" coach at the University of Louisville and not a stop-gap measure like some in local media have suggested.
- Is Mack that future Hall of Famer? He certainly could be - he also seems to be a much better option than others I have heard proposed.
- I don't know how you hire ANY coach at this point given the FBI stuff that is still out there. I don't think Mack is cheating, but this quote from someone familiar with the case makes me wonder: “You might see Tennessee-Chattanooga as a No. 2 seed" if the FBI drops its next round of info before the tournament.
- Speaking of that quote - On the FBI scandal - If you haven't read this article from Pete Thamel on Yahoo Sports, you need to do that right now: https://sports.yahoo.com/sources-co...hes-top-programs-lottery-picks-224417174.html
- Thamel writes: "It will impact every major conference, Hall of Fame coaches, a score of current top players and some of the nation’s most distinguished and respected programs. Multiple sources who’ve been briefed on the case and are familiar with the material obtained by feds told Yahoo Sports that the impact on the sport will be substantial and relentless."
- When will it happen? My theory is that little dribbles of information will leak out but the big dump will come next September and October getting ready for the first trial. I hope it doesn't take that long, but the longer the FBI holds its cards, the more likely they are to ensare people.
- Also a factor, if the FBI can let the spring recruiting season turn into summer, they could get much more information via wire taps and surveillance because everyone in college basketball goes to Vegas at the same time in late Spring and early summer.
- The fact that Gorgui Dieng's agent was observed via wire tap is not comforting, because he is one of the links many college basketball programs have to foreign talent - and Louisville has had some foreign talent recently.
- Speaking of which, the word around Christmas was the Canadian basketball pipeline was about to be exposed - but that hasn't happened yet. There have been rumors about Wiggins, Murray, Lyles and Dillon Brooks for years, but some of that was easy to write off as jealousy for a while. Who knows whether there is anything there.
- This quote from Izzo from December was really interesting. He was speaking of the NABC committee: "Are we going to be honest with ourselves? Are we going to BS each other? Because the neat part about it is, if there's 20 people in the room, most of us know what's going on with everybody. Most of us. Are we going to open up, or are we going to be afraid to be honest? Do we care about the game, or do we care about ourselves? Can we come up with some things that are not the best for one team, one program, one shoe company? We always talk about what's doing what's best for the kids. If the kid's getting a benefit, it's best for him now, but is it best for him in the long run? What are you teaching him? What is he learning? I hope we're honest with each other and truly go in trying to do what's best for the game of basketball."
- And yet there are others, like Roy Williams, who still want to minimize the issues with college basketball: "You've got 351 schools, everyone's got three assistants. That's 1,300, 1,400 coaches. We had four assistants (arrested). And if they can get some more they'll get some more. There may be some more, I'm not saying there's not, but that's a pretty small percentage. I've had some people, including writers, criticize me because I said I was shocked. I was shocked. Shocked at the FBI involvement, shocked at the extent of the investigation. I think we have a small percentage of people that intentionally break rules. It's what we are in our world. You take any industry and there are some people doing things they know are not right but they're still trying to do it to gain an advantage. That's the human race. I don't think we need to throw the whole thing in the ocean and start all over again."
- I'm more along the lines of Izzo than Williams. The coaches know what the issues are and how it affects their game. Are they going to be honest with each other?
- By the way, it is worth noting that Williams has been investigated seven times over the years and has been found technically clean every time.
- So who is clean in college basketball? Some would say no one, but CBS polled 100 college coaches and here are the top vote getters to this question:
Who is the high-major coach you genuinely believe does everything by the book and operates completely within the NCAA's rulebook?
1. John Beilein (Michigan) 26.6%
2. Mike Brey (ND) 10.5%
3. Tony Bennett (Virginia) 7.6%
3. Greg Gard (Wisconsin) 7.6%
5. Mark Few (Gonzaga) 5.7%
6. Chris Holtmann (OSU) 4.8%
6. Tom Izzo (Michigan State) 4.8%
6. Bruce Weber (Kansas State) 4.8%
- Back to Louisville - On the AD job. I would be surprised if it is anyone other than Vince Tyra at this point. I don't think there is necessarily a national search actually happening, because I don't think the current administration necessarily wants more change in the athletic department. I could be wrong, but I fully expect him to get the vote of confidence from the Board of Trustees.
- I genuinely like some of the things Vince Tyra is doing - meeting with players and coaches, making sure that moneys are directed to student-athletes causes and trying to trim down budgetary items. I still have a tough time with how the Mark Jurich issue was handled, and I told him so during our interview in Connecticut last week.
- During that interview, he said he understood and that the issue was tough for him as well, but that he felt he needed to do things to refocus the department on the student-athletes and this was part of that reorganization effort.
- Note: I did not know at the time that Mark was banned from UofL facilities for the 60 days of his paid leave or I would have asked him about the baseball games.
- One more note on that issue, it is certainly not the end of the world that Mark can't go to baseball games for the 60 days, but it also seems like an unnecessary slight to someone who is such a big part of the growth of the program.
- On Tyra as well, I do believe he is working extremely hard to get up to speed on everything in athletics and he is trying his best to make the department efficient and hard-working as well. I also fully recognize that I don't know all the details he knows and so some of the issues I bring up on radio or Twitter, he may not be able to tell me the full story on.
- I saw it suggested that the other two Associate ADs who were fired were just "throw-ins" to cover the Mark Jurich firing. I know for sure that isn't the case. There were specific issues in at least one of the cases that you can't have moving forward, especially if the former AD is suing your department.
- On the lawsuits, my prediction is that the Pitino-UofL suit is settled out of court for $3-5 million and the Jurich-UofL suit is settled out of court for $12 million. These are guesses, but we'll see how it all goes down.
- My preference when all this is over is that Jurich's legacy of building the athletic department and helping the University get into the ACC can be properly honored. My fear is that the current Board and President want no part of that.
- All of my thoughts were just interrupted: Louisville just announced a press conference for 12:05. Heading to UofL now.
