My Coaches wish list

[BPGhost]

Interesting read after Bennett won a title in UVA. He declines a raise and instead requests UVA push that $ into the program and his staff. This guy sounds like a Virginia man for life.

Tony Bennett declines raise to help program, staff

Bennett extended his contract with Virginia but asked that the extra money he was offered be donated to the program.

www.si.com

"[My wife] Laurel and I are in a great spot, and in the past, I've had increases in my contract," Bennett said in the news release. "We just feel a great peace about where we're at, all that's taken place, and how we feel about this athletic department and this community and this school. I love being at UVA... I have more than enough, and if there are ways that this can help out the athletic department, the other programs and coaches, by not tying up so much [in men's basketball], that's my desire."

Bennetts and his wife have also pledged $500,000 toward a career-development program that's been launched for current and former UVA men's basketball players."

There’s more of a chance that Pitino would be rehired, than Tony Bennett coming here.

 

[BPGhost]

I think we are on a same page.

If guys like Wright, Few, and the NBA boys Billy D and Stevens did not move for Duke, UNC, or IU, you have to assume that Louisville isn't gonna pull them either.

This is not an insult on Card Nation it's just the market right now.

Pearl's immediate adios is another clue if the examples above don't open some eyes. The market is just different than maybe ever before. I think the culture had a standard resume fit and job mobility design/trajectory that no longer applies to this era. Somewhere between before and now the top minds in the game chose the NBA or made their current locations their destination jobs.

The last 4 major job openings were filled by 3 guys with 0 HC experience, and 1 guy with some NBA failed HC experience. Duke, UNC, IU, and AZ have at least set the market to some degree. It's a scary reality if you even look closer you see Michigan and Vandy have done the same. Not going to do all the research for other places I am sure there are a few examples like TX and Marquette hiring guys that had some experience yes for sure.

Bottom line I think with the portal and NIL we are truly beginning a new era and not sure where it takes us.

I think Pearl’s decision boiled down to him knowing that if he continues to win at the rate he has historically - short of being caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy - Auburn is the place where he can continue to play fast and loose ethically, and not get fired.

 

[Ipartiedwithhopgood]

I think Pearl’s decision boiled down to him knowing that if he continues to win at the rate he has historically - short of being caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy - Auburn is the place where he can continue to play fast and loose ethically, and not get fired.

Maybe so.

I am looking forward to what the list the firm comes up with and who gets the job.

Should probably be more fun than it is.

 

[Ipartiedwithhopgood]

I think Pearl’s decision boiled down to him knowing that if he continues to win at the rate he has historically - short of being caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy - Auburn is the place where he can continue to play fast and loose ethically, and not get fired.

Who is on your list?

I like Drew, Muss, maybe Underwood from Illinois. Have not heard his name anywhere but that dude is a good coach.

 

[Ipartiedwithhopgood]

There will be a whole lot more people interested than what our so called fans think.

I like it!

Who you got in your top 5?

 

[BPGhost]

Were people right or wrong to question Tyra and his UK background?

Wrong

 

[BPGhost]

Who is on your list?

I like Drew, Muss, maybe Underwood from Illinois. Have not heard his name anywhere but that dude is a good coach.

See post #99 😀

 

[KozmasAgain]

I don’t have a top 5 my number 1 choice was Pearl. Because of the politics in sports it has turned me off I don’t watch enough college basketball to have a list. I don’t watch any pro sports and I am not watching the Olympics because of the same reason. The only coaches I even recognize are all the old guard coaches that are close to retirement.

My point is we currently have some supposed fans that think we can’t get a top notch coach. They call themselves fans but don’t realize we are one of the top basketball programs in the country. We have won 3 National Titles, some of the best facilities in the country, a huge fan base ( with real fans) and we are the only show in town. To think other coaches aren’t interested in our coaching job is misguided.

 

[Ipartiedwithhopgood]

My point is we currently have some supposed fans that think we can’t get a top notch coach. They call themselves fans but don’t realize we are one of the top basketball programs in the country. We have won 3 National Titles, some of the best facilities in the country, a huge fan base ( with real fans) and we are the only show in town. To think other coaches aren’t interested in our coaching job is misguided.

Around here, people aren't saying UofL can't get a top notch coach.

They are just discussing if there are any, and if so who are they?

I think Drew and Musselman would be good targets maybe top notch. Am I a bigger fan than you because I listed two and you listed none? I don't think so. No biggie man.

I ain't watching the Olympics for the same reasons you ain't.

 

[nccardfan]

Wrong

I don’t disagree but it did happen, correct? So if things don’t go as plan with KP, there will be all kinds of rumors that this was planned to ultimately destroy U of L or something to that effect…

 

[BPGhost]

I don’t disagree but it did happen, correct? So if things don’t go as plan with KP, there will be all kinds of rumors that this was planned to ultimately destroy U of L or something to that effect…

There’s no doubt that there would be people saying that in the event that it didn’t work out with Payne.

As we’ve painfully seen over the course of the last decade - there’s a massive amount of willful stupidity out there and there’s no amount of logic that can convince those idiots into having some damn sense.

 

[KozmasAgain]

I am just tired of decisions being made based on politics or race. I want the best coach for our program and I don’t want to limit the search. I know about 12 people who have season tickets and they have had them for over 30 years. All of them have said that if KP is the coach they are not renewing their tickets.
All of them pay over $25,000 a year that includes their tickets and their contribution when they purchase their tickets. Unfortunately because of Jerry Eaves and Butch Beard they have turned the coaching search into race and politics. The other negative to hiring KP is his lack of Head coaching experience. When you research all these programs that hire former players it is usually a disaster. If KP is the coach I wish him great success because this is the program I grew up supporting.

 

[Ipartiedwithhopgood]

@KozmasAgain

I thought a search firm was hired, and you were happy about that?

Is the search firm fake news?

I can't keep up with it all.

Hang in there.

 

[nccardfan]

I am just tired of decisions being made based on politics or race. I want the best coach for our program and I don’t want to limit the search. I know about 12 people who have season tickets and they have had them for over 30 years. All of them have said that if KP is the coach they are not renewing their tickets.
All of them pay over $25,000 a year that includes their tickets and their contribution when they purchase their tickets. Unfortunately because of Jerry Eaves and Butch Beard they have turned the coaching search into race and politics. The other negative to hiring KP is his lack of Head coaching experience. When you research all these programs that hire former players it is usually a disaster. If KP is the coach I wish him great success because this is the program I grew up supporting.

Isn’t his lack of head coaching experience a legitimate concern? We can’t be held responsible for something nobody else did either.

 

[Morgantown Card]

All of them have said that if KP is the coach they are not renewing their tickets.

I really don't understand this mentality. We all have our opinions on who the guy most likely to succeed but to stop support because you picked a different guy? That makes no sense to me. If they are spending $25k/year on tickets, they obviously love Louisville basketball - they can just turn that off b/c they want a different new coach? Crazy to me.

I just want the best guy. To me, Musselman is far and away the most likely one to be that guy. But I could be wrong. You could be wrong. The search firm could be wrong. If they hire Payne, or anyone else, I'll hope I'm wrong and tune in Game 1 ready to root for the Cards. I just want the best guy hired.

 

[KozmasAgain]

As I posted they feel Beard and Eaves are pushing Payne because of racial issues and like everyone else they are tired of race being used. If they would have talked about how good of coach he would be instead of how deserving he is they would of had a different opinion. These are also people who were very supportive of TJ so they were already disappointed with the decisions at Louisville.

 

[Morgantown Card]

As I posted they feel Beard and Eaves are pushing Payne because of racial issues and like everyone else they are tired of race being used. If they would have talked about how good of coach he would be instead of how deserving he is they would of had a different opinion. These are also people who were very supportive of TJ so they were already disappointed with the decisions at Louisville.

My political views are Libertarian and I am not down with the stuff that Beard and Eaves are saying politically. I don't care, at all, what Beard and Eaves say or why they are saying it as that has no bearing on my own opinion of who the best guy is. Payne is not my first choice but is definitely top 2-3; I think a Louisville National Champion in KP has a lot of potential, a huge ceiling, and could be the start of an incredible new run in this new NIL era (which admittedly makes me nauseous, but it's the world we live in). I just want the best guy, if the hire of KP makes Beard/Eaves/whoever think they've won some big SJW victory then so be it, whatever, I think KP could be a homerun.

 

[nccardfan]

My political views are Libertarian and I am not down with the stuff that Beard and Eaves are saying politically. I don't care, at all, what Beard and Eaves say or why they are saying it as that has no bearing on my own opinion of who the best guy is. Payne is not my first choice but is definitely top 2-3; I think a Louisville National Champion in KP has a lot of potential, a huge ceiling, and could be the start of an incredible new run in this new NIL era (which admittedly makes me nauseous, but it's the world we live in). I just want the best guy, if the hire of KP makes Beard/Eaves/whoever think they've won some big SJW victory then so be it, whatever, I think KP could be a homerun.

I think KP could actually be a home run hire if we knew a little more about the offensive/defensive schemes he plans to use. How his coaching fits in or not with this particular group of players. Face it we can’t just flush the entire team. Maybe give us an ideal who he plans to bring in as an assistant? That might help with the lack of HC experience. If he says Milt Wagner, I’m out.

 

[shadow force]

I think KP could actually be a home run hire if we knew a little more about the offensive/defensive schemes he plans to use. How his coaching fits in or not with this particular group of players. Face it we can’t just flush the entire team. Maybe give us an ideal who he plans to bring in as an assistant? That might help with the lack of HC experience. If he says Milt Wagner, I’m out.

All valid questions if Payne is the guy. I'm very curious what his offense and defense style would be.

 

[Birdie King]

I am just tired of decisions being made based on politics or race. I want the best coach for our program and I don’t want to limit the search. I know about 12 people who have season tickets and they have had them for over 30 years. All of them have said that if KP is the coach they are not renewing their tickets.
All of them pay over $25,000 a year that includes their tickets and their contribution when they purchase their tickets. Unfortunately because of Jerry Eaves and Butch Beard they have turned the coaching search into race and politics. The other negative to hiring KP is his lack of Head coaching experience. When you research all these programs that hire former players it is usually a disaster. If KP is the coach I wish him great success because this is the program I grew up supporting.

I know 6 more that will join your 12 friends and probably more. 😒

 

[gocds]

Eaves and Beard are all about their shitty little radio show. They don't give a rats ass about UofL portraying themselves as being abused racially by the University of Louisville. And nothing could be further from the truth.
They should be ashamed of themselves.

GO CARDS!!!

 

[yum center]

Do you all think there's any way we could lure Billy Donovan out of the NBA to coach at Louisville? I think he would be a great hire.

 

[BPGhost]

Do you all think there's any way we could lure Billy Donovan out of the NBA to coach at Louisville? I think he would be a great hire.

He’s making 6M+ with the Bulls - hard to see the current UofL administration coming up with an offer that would match that. Only Jurich thought on that type of scale.

 

[KenSucky]

I'd say it's KP's to lose. Outside of that, you have a bunch of Tier 1 sEZ coaches that are probably next in line. However, when S. Dakota St goes on a run in March, we will definitely have to give a hard look at Henderson there if money is an issue. He has the Jackrabbits rolling and his offense is high caliber.

Don't look now, but here come the Jackrabbits on ESPN2. If they finish this game out Henderson will get some mention after next week in the dance. What an exciting offense!

 

[Thecycle27]

Jeff Greer who seems to be pretty tapped in mentioned the 2 names have came back up Willard and Murray State coach. He also said Louisville was pleasantly surprised by how interested coaches were despite all the factors. I would say Willard and the Murray State coach are option B and maybe C. Why would they come back up?

I think Willard and Murray State coach are both good. Murray State coach is really good. Like Payne could be a rock star.

 

[Morgantown Card]

Jeff Greer who seems to be pretty tapped in mentioned the 2 names have came back up Willard and Murray State coach. He also said Louisville was pleasantly surprised by how interested coaches were despite all the factors. I would say Willard and the Murray State coach are option B and maybe C. Why would they come back up?

I think Willard and Murray State coach are both good. Murray State coach is really good. Like Payne could be a rock star.

I'm meh on both of those guys but of the two I much prefer stretching on the Murray State coach versus Kevin Willard. Willard has been in the Big East for a while, to me he's a lesser version of Cronin; Willard would get us to the tournament fairly consistently and we'd rarely see the second weekend.

 

[EKYCard643]

I would rather hire an up and coming no-name coach than hire Kevin Willard. Based on what I've gathered he just seems like he would be a personality clash. We just lived through Chris Mack being an asshole to everyone and now people are throwing out names like Mick Cronin and Kevin Willard who have legit reps as being assholes.

Also - Kevin Willard has done NOTHING as a coach. Granted Seton Hall is basically a mid-major but he's not even been successful there. 1-4 in the tournament after 12 years and winning 58% of his games. Been a head coach for 15 years and finished the season 1 win over .500 or worse in 7 of those seasons. Never finished the season with fewer than 9 losses, finished higher than 3rd in his conference 1 time.

Absolutely no way in hell hiring Kevin Willard would go over well. Having said all of this there's absolutely 0.00% chance that Kevin Willard will be our coach. I'll wager a decent lump of cash that Kevin Willard won't even be considered.

 

[nccardfan]

I would rather hire an up and coming no-name coach than hire Kevin Willard. Based on what I've gathered he just seems like he would be a personality clash. We just lived through Chris Mack being an asshole to everyone and now people are throwing out names like Mick Cronin and Kevin Willard who have legit reps as being assholes.

Also - Kevin Willard has done NOTHING as a coach. Granted Seton Hall is basically a mid-major but he's not even been successful there. 1-4 in the tournament after 12 years and winning 58% of his games. Been a head coach for 15 years and finished the season 1 win over .500 or worse in 7 of those seasons. Never finished the season with fewer than 9 losses, finished higher than 3rd in his conference 1 time.

Absolutely no way in hell hiring Kevin Willard would go over well. Having said all of this there's absolutely 0.00% chance that Kevin Willard will be our coach. I'll wager a decent lump of cash that Kevin Willard won't even be considered.

Dude, you’re harsh. There’s a difference between being an asshole and a coach who believes in discipline. I would rather have that than a coach who puts on a starter jacket and pretends he’s your friend. We all probably think Mick is an asshole because he was usually coaching against us at UC. What do his players think of him rather than some armchair coach..

same thing with Williard. We all know what he’s done at Seton Hall. Believe me I never heard of Seton Hall at least not as a basketball program. They’re well respected in the Big East maybe not as strong as the Big East used to be. Some coaches you just don’t know how they would do in a different environment. It’s more about their style of play. I think we all learned that you got to look deeper than wins and losses.

 

[EKYCard643]

Dude, you’re harsh. There’s a difference between being an asshole and a coach who believes in discipline. I would rather have that than a coach who puts on a starter jacket and pretends he’s your friend. We all probably think Mick is an asshole because he was usually coaching against us at UC. What do his players think of him rather than some armchair coach..

same thing with Williard. We all know what he’s done at Seton Hall. Believe me I never heard of Seton Hall at least not as a basketball program. They’re well respected in the Big East maybe not as strong as the Big East used to be. Some coaches you just don’t know how they would do in a different environment. It’s more about their style of play. I think we all learned that you got to look deeper than wins and losses.

Valid points. I'll just reiterate that this is all moot. Kevin Willard isn't going to be considered for the Louisville job. Mick on the other hand? Who knows. I don't see it happening and think this a money making ploy from him but I think a few things would have to fall apart for him to enter the convo. Hiring Cronin would certainly cause some shockwaves and soul searching within the fanbase because every person I talk to about Cronin gives a very adamant "No!"

 

[Morgantown Card]

Valid points. I'll just reiterate that this is all moot. Kevin Willard isn't going to be considered for the Louisville job. Mick on the other hand? Who knows. I don't see it happening and think this a money making ploy from him but I think a few things would have to fall apart for him to enter the convo. Hiring Cronin would certainly cause some shockwaves and soul searching within the fanbase because every person I talk to about Cronin gives a very adamant "No!"

I'd rather have Cronin than Willard. But I still think he'd underwhelm, we'd have decent regular seasons, be competitive, get a 5-12 seed every year, and make it to the second weekend once every 5 years or so. I'm not putting too much hope into his one FF run.

 

[EKYCard643]

I'd rather have Cronin than Willard. But I still think he'd underwhelm, we'd have decent regular seasons, be competitive, get a 5-12 seed every year, and make it to the second weekend once every 5 years or so. I'm not putting too much hope into his one FF run.

Oh absolutely. Cronin and Willard aren't even comparable. I'm surprised Williard's name is even being mentioned for the Maryland job. Granted he isn't their top choice but I'm a little surprised he's even on their radar.

I feel the exact same way about Cronin. He'd be fine here. We'd win 20-23 games 8 years out of 10 and maybe twice a decade have a team get a top 3 seed and have actual hopes of getting to a Final Four. He wouldn't "fail" at Louisville he just wouldn't elevate the program. He'd be fine. I think he'll be better at UCLA than he'd ever be here because he has much better access to "easy to get" talent there.

 

[Knucklehank1]

Enfield just signed a big extension with USC so you can scratch him and his model wife off the list.

 

[bigloucards]

I believe if UofL hires a home run, or better yet a grand slam that the ACC could be ours for the taking! Duke is losing Coach K, UNC lost R.Williams last year, and Virginia becoming more boring by year! The ACC is becoming less top heavy and waiting for a new top team

 

[bigloucards]

Do you all think there's any way we could lure Billy Donovan out of the NBA to coach at Louisville? I think he would be a great hire.

I think if it ended with Pitino on a high note and we went after Donovan once he parted ways with OKC I could see it! But now he’s making 6mil a year at Chicago there no chance!!!

 

[Thecycle27]

I agree on Willard not moving the bar at all. The bigger question is why are they circling back to Willard and Murray State assuming Greer’s contacts are right?

 

[zipp]

I agree on Willard not moving the bar at all...

That "bar" needs to be lower than many of our fans have it situated. The people in charge at U of L are incapable of clearing a high bar. How many times do we need to witness that fact?...

 

[Cardlink]

That "bar" needs to be lower than many of our fans have it situated. The people in charge at U of L are incapable of clearing a high bar. How many times do we need to witness that fact?...

Amen. Jurich isn't flying into town with Pitino on the plane. That's who we were at one time.

 

[KozmasAgain]

But Zipp a lot of our fans on here think we are better off that Jurich is gone. I talked to a Memphis fan today and he said he has never seen Louisville look so bad and fall so far in his lifetime. He is 72 years old and he can‘t believe we fired Jurich he wants Memphis to try and hire him. He said Jurich built Louisville up with everything being new and bigger and better than everyone else. When I told him some of our fans though it was a good idea to get rid of him he didn’t have anything good to say about them. He used terms like idiots, stupid and moron and more.

 

[Thecycle27]

God Lord back to Jurich. No wonder we aren’t moving forward. Mack was Jurich guy as well.

Very few people have said Louisville was going to better of without Jurich but carry on.

 

[Ipartiedwithhopgood]

Who has the final word on the HC hire? Did they give the authority to Josh H?