I can imagine that most of people on here will enjoy their share of alcohol this weekend. A lot of basketball to watch and even more rumors.
So early today the Schmidt rumors started strong. Not sure where they started but I am assuming somewhere from the Schmidt camp. Like I have said from the beginning, his name has been there from the start and it has been consistent, but nothing all that significant. After Hurley and Miller, he has been mentioned as much as anyone.
Now, a national media member seems to think that Schmidt and Cluess are not in the mix. This is how these things go.
Here is where I am at. I feel like I am pretty good at sharing what I know, what I think, what I am hearing, and what I don't know. That is my goal. In these searches, that is about all that you can do.
What I do know is that the budget has been right at 4 total (3/1 for staff), and that Hurley has been the only offer thus far. So while the optics do look terrible right now, a lot of that has been a media creation I think. Until they present an offer to another candidate or make a hire, it is difficult to make too many judgements. Otherwise, we are all just rushing to judgement and raising the blood pressure.
Here is what I can tell you. Danny Hurley and Sean Miller are not the only candidates that turn this thing around and are good coaches. There are so many of them out there. What Heather needs to focus on is the fit. The fit is everything with this. It is such a significant hire. Not only to turn this thing around but financially. I thought she made the right decision and she is about 9 million in the hole. Plus about 8-10 (or however many) in lost revenue this past season. She has to be very careful here.
Hiring a coach is a lot like drafting a QB. It can be a crapshoot. That is why these AD's and now search firms get paid a lot of money. It is their job to find them. Sometimes they get lucky and sometimes they don't. These hires are basically like hedging a bet. You are hiring a percentage.
From the start, I have said that Pitt will need to overpay. If you aren't a blue blood program, you have to evaluate better than other schools or find a perfect fit for the program. To get a head coach to move laterally or slightly down, you will have to overpay. It is that simple. She has to do that in this scenario because of what happened two years ago.
That, however, is not the only route. If you can evaluate these candidates and know exactly what you are looking for, you don't have to pay above market value. If you find an assistant or a lower level head coach that is a fit, you take him.
Schmidt worries me not because he isn't a good coach. It is the fit. The guy can definitely coach but Pitt needs either a big name, or a guy with upside or a trait that gets you excited. Is it a guy that can flat out recruit? Is it a guy that can develop guards or bigs? Is it a guy with an uptempo speed? Is it a full court pressure type of coach? An aggressive salesman? There are a hundred different ways they can go. There just has to be something to get excited about with regards to the fit. During the last search, I said there were only two guys they couldn't sell to the fanbase. Stallings and Lonergan.
Pitt fans are extremely passionate and competitive. All they need is a little sign too. One of my friends said the following about the Browns; "no matter how bad they are how bad they mess things up all year, all it takes is a first down." He is right. That is all that it takes to get them excited. For a while at least.
There are so many candidates that Pitt fans could get behind here. A lot. Maybe all aren't sold at first or it takes a little time. But I know the vast majority of these fans can get excited about a lot of different options.
What I don't understand is the need for head coaching experience. Or a certain age. How do any of us know if an assistant can succeed here or not? I will use Micah Shrewsberry just as an example. Is he a guarantee to succeed here? I don't know but who is? I would rather look at what these guys bring and how it could fit. I know a lot of people don't like him as a candidate because he hasn't been a head coach but he has been with Brad Stevens forever and two years wit Matt Painter. He can sell the NBA experience and relationships he has at that level with guys like Tatum and Jaylen Brown. He is one of the sharpest defensive minds in the game. Great developer of talent. Not to mention, you would have a better staff overall because he would take less.
There are a bunch of assistants that could work. I'm not saying Brandin Knight should be a candidate or not, but the way some of these people react to the idea is downright disrespectful. I know he could bring anyone he wants from the A.O.T. AAU program in Atlanta. He can relate to kids and would be able to get this fanbase back together behind someone again.
None of us control this process or get to interview these guys. All we can do is discuss and I think this place would be much better if we all respected everyone's thoughts and opinions on it. The honest truth is that none of us really know if these guys will work or not. We can just gather opinions about what probably won't work.
My stance is that you either steal a high major head coach or go with the right fit from the mid major level, or you take a gamble for upside. She has to look where this program is at and how you win in college basketball in 2018. She has to think outside the box too. Look for a guy that can live in Ohio. Or DC area. The talent in NYC is not there any more. You have to find someone that can win in the league.
This is not curing cancer. It is basketball. You land a couple of studs and then build the right depth and team around them. It's not that difficult. All I hear about is how big of a rebuild this is. Well, you come in and keep Ellison, Luther, Carr, Brown, Davis, and then fill out with transfers, JUCO, etc. The key is to support and embrace the kids. There are some coaches that can come in and get more out of what is already here.
The search is basically wide open now. No one really knows anything because Lyke is running point and Spears is about the only one around. I will keep working all sides of it to see where things are who is in play.
My advice to everyone is to stay calm and stay together. Remember, you can completely botch a search and still end up with a good coach. That is what Pitt did with Dixon, after Wright State didn't hire him. So much of it is timing and fit. Just take everything you hear and see with a reasonable approach and respect the people on here. Everyone wants the same thing, just through a different candidate. Stay optimistic until we have a reason not to. I need some help to get through this.
So early today the Schmidt rumors started strong. Not sure where they started but I am assuming somewhere from the Schmidt camp. Like I have said from the beginning, his name has been there from the start and it has been consistent, but nothing all that significant. After Hurley and Miller, he has been mentioned as much as anyone.
Now, a national media member seems to think that Schmidt and Cluess are not in the mix. This is how these things go.
Here is where I am at. I feel like I am pretty good at sharing what I know, what I think, what I am hearing, and what I don't know. That is my goal. In these searches, that is about all that you can do.
What I do know is that the budget has been right at 4 total (3/1 for staff), and that Hurley has been the only offer thus far. So while the optics do look terrible right now, a lot of that has been a media creation I think. Until they present an offer to another candidate or make a hire, it is difficult to make too many judgements. Otherwise, we are all just rushing to judgement and raising the blood pressure.
Here is what I can tell you. Danny Hurley and Sean Miller are not the only candidates that turn this thing around and are good coaches. There are so many of them out there. What Heather needs to focus on is the fit. The fit is everything with this. It is such a significant hire. Not only to turn this thing around but financially. I thought she made the right decision and she is about 9 million in the hole. Plus about 8-10 (or however many) in lost revenue this past season. She has to be very careful here.
Hiring a coach is a lot like drafting a QB. It can be a crapshoot. That is why these AD's and now search firms get paid a lot of money. It is their job to find them. Sometimes they get lucky and sometimes they don't. These hires are basically like hedging a bet. You are hiring a percentage.
From the start, I have said that Pitt will need to overpay. If you aren't a blue blood program, you have to evaluate better than other schools or find a perfect fit for the program. To get a head coach to move laterally or slightly down, you will have to overpay. It is that simple. She has to do that in this scenario because of what happened two years ago.
That, however, is not the only route. If you can evaluate these candidates and know exactly what you are looking for, you don't have to pay above market value. If you find an assistant or a lower level head coach that is a fit, you take him.
Schmidt worries me not because he isn't a good coach. It is the fit. The guy can definitely coach but Pitt needs either a big name, or a guy with upside or a trait that gets you excited. Is it a guy that can flat out recruit? Is it a guy that can develop guards or bigs? Is it a guy with an uptempo speed? Is it a full court pressure type of coach? An aggressive salesman? There are a hundred different ways they can go. There just has to be something to get excited about with regards to the fit. During the last search, I said there were only two guys they couldn't sell to the fanbase. Stallings and Lonergan.
Pitt fans are extremely passionate and competitive. All they need is a little sign too. One of my friends said the following about the Browns; "no matter how bad they are how bad they mess things up all year, all it takes is a first down." He is right. That is all that it takes to get them excited. For a while at least.
There are so many candidates that Pitt fans could get behind here. A lot. Maybe all aren't sold at first or it takes a little time. But I know the vast majority of these fans can get excited about a lot of different options.
What I don't understand is the need for head coaching experience. Or a certain age. How do any of us know if an assistant can succeed here or not? I will use Micah Shrewsberry just as an example. Is he a guarantee to succeed here? I don't know but who is? I would rather look at what these guys bring and how it could fit. I know a lot of people don't like him as a candidate because he hasn't been a head coach but he has been with Brad Stevens forever and two years wit Matt Painter. He can sell the NBA experience and relationships he has at that level with guys like Tatum and Jaylen Brown. He is one of the sharpest defensive minds in the game. Great developer of talent. Not to mention, you would have a better staff overall because he would take less.
There are a bunch of assistants that could work. I'm not saying Brandin Knight should be a candidate or not, but the way some of these people react to the idea is downright disrespectful. I know he could bring anyone he wants from the A.O.T. AAU program in Atlanta. He can relate to kids and would be able to get this fanbase back together behind someone again.
None of us control this process or get to interview these guys. All we can do is discuss and I think this place would be much better if we all respected everyone's thoughts and opinions on it. The honest truth is that none of us really know if these guys will work or not. We can just gather opinions about what probably won't work.
My stance is that you either steal a high major head coach or go with the right fit from the mid major level, or you take a gamble for upside. She has to look where this program is at and how you win in college basketball in 2018. She has to think outside the box too. Look for a guy that can live in Ohio. Or DC area. The talent in NYC is not there any more. You have to find someone that can win in the league.
This is not curing cancer. It is basketball. You land a couple of studs and then build the right depth and team around them. It's not that difficult. All I hear about is how big of a rebuild this is. Well, you come in and keep Ellison, Luther, Carr, Brown, Davis, and then fill out with transfers, JUCO, etc. The key is to support and embrace the kids. There are some coaches that can come in and get more out of what is already here.
The search is basically wide open now. No one really knows anything because Lyke is running point and Spears is about the only one around. I will keep working all sides of it to see where things are who is in play.
My advice to everyone is to stay calm and stay together. Remember, you can completely botch a search and still end up with a good coach. That is what Pitt did with Dixon, after Wright State didn't hire him. So much of it is timing and fit. Just take everything you hear and see with a reasonable approach and respect the people on here. Everyone wants the same thing, just through a different candidate. Stay optimistic until we have a reason not to. I need some help to get through this.
