OT: Calipari to Arkansas

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

Scott Drew has that religious thing going on at Baylor so I'm not totally surprised. Oats said no pre-emptively (wasnt offered) and that really surprised me. Maybe if UK ups the ante? No way Hurley is taking it. I guess they go Billy Donovan next. They are running out of "splash" options.

I cant see them hiring Pope. I do think that they can do a lot worse than going back to Pitino. Thinking out loud, I'd look at:

McDermott
Underwood
Rick Barnes
Pearl
Lloyd

I would probably argue that blue blood jobs in both sports are at an all-time underwhelming point with regards to sitting head coaches. I guess it makes sense. No need to inherent lofty expectations unless they're coming with huge recruiting bumps. And now that NIL matters more than prestige, they're probably not.

Ryan Day
Sherrone Moore
Marcus Freeman
Hubert Davis
Jon Scheyer
Kalen DeBoer... I guess this one is more of an unproven thing; he at least had P5 experience/success
Etc.

 

[Pitt_Boss]

I would say for sure a side effect of NIL is actually a changing of the guard in "blue blood" status, in practical application of the term. Part of the allure to coaching hoops at Kentucky, UCLA, UNC, Kansas or football at Notre Dame, Alabama, Ohio St, Texas is that just by being coach at those schools you had a chance at all the top recruits and realistic chance of getting a nice share of the top recruits. The places almost sold themselves, at least the name brand + the facilities and other perks from having big fanbase/booster base.

Now, the above things only matter if they are also coupled with a NIL check at market rate. You could take a school with little history, meager fan base, and small booster base quantity-wise...and turn them into a national powerhouse with just one big booster willing to fund NIL. Like if Warren Buffet decided he wanted Rutgers to be a Top 10 football team...they could be one in a couple years time.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

I would say for sure a side effect of NIL is actually a changing of the guard in "blue blood" status, in practical application of the term. Part of the allure to coaching hoops at Kentucky, UCLA, UNC, Kansas or football at Notre Dame, Alabama, Ohio St, Texas is that just by being coach at those schools you had a chance at all the top recruits and realistic chance of getting a nice share of the top recruits. The places almost sold themselves, at least the name brand + the facilities and other perks from having big fanbase/booster base.

Now, the above things only matter if they are also coupled with a NIL check at market rate. You could take a school with little history, meager fan base, and small booster base quantity-wise...and turn them into a national powerhouse with just one big booster willing to fund NIL. Like if Warren Buffet decided he wanted Rutgers to be a Top 10 football team...they could be one in a couple years time.

Yeah, I worded that lazily. If you're going from Syracuse to Oklahoma, sure there's going to be a huge recruiting bump. But I definitely think NIL creates more seats at the table (we see what Ole Miss, Missouri, Arkansas, etc. have done recently), so there's probably less need to jump to a blue blood job if you're at a job that is already providing you with what you need, especially in relation to expectations, even if it's historically perceived as lesser.

And honestly, the trend of good basketball coaches staying put even pre-dates NIL. Greg Marshall, Mark Few, Greg McDermott (when he was in the MVC), etc. Those schools have been paying competitively enough.

 

[PITTstorm]

Scott Drew has that religious thing going on at Baylor so I'm not totally surprised. Oats said no pre-emptively (wasnt offered) and that really surprised me. Maybe if UK ups the ante? No way Hurley is taking it. I guess they go Billy Donovan next. They are running out of "splash" options.

I cant see them hiring Pope. I do think that they can do a lot worse than going back to Pitino. Thinking out loud, I'd look at:

McDermott
Underwood
Rick Barnes
Pearl
Lloyd

Otzelberger.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Otzelberger.

The Big 12 has such good coaches, I'd like to get a guy like Otzelberger out of there. Iowa State doesnt need to be a perennial NCAAT team. Notice you dont hear any ACC coaches mentioned.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Mark Pope?

 

[PITTstorm]

The Big 12 has such good coaches, I'd like to get a guy like Otzelberger out of there. Iowa State doesnt need to be a perennial NCAAT team. Notice you dont hear any ACC coaches mentioned.

Looks like they’re zeroing in on Pope.
Can’t really be happy with that, can they?

 

[PITTstorm]

Mark Pope?

Didn’t think this could backfire on them, but it has. I understand the expectations at UK, but maybe sometimes the grass isn’t always greener. This is one of those times.

 

[HailToPitt725]

Mark Pope?

It’s not a homerun by any means, but feels very similar to the John Scheyer and Hubert Davis hires.

On a side note, perhaps it’s a good thing to have an alum follow up a legendary coach? They know what they’re getting theirselves into and know what to expect in regards to the school, fanbase, etc.

 

[TD_6082]

Didn’t think this could backfire on them, but it has. I understand the expectations at UK, but maybe sometimes the grass isn’t always greener. This is one of those times.

No idea if it's true or not, but coming from some very well connected media in the SEC that I trust, Cal's initial flirtation with Arkansas was an attempt a power play to get rid of Mitch Barnhart. That backfired and things just snowballed from there.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

It’s not a homerun by any means, but feels very similar to the John Scheyer and Hubert Davis hires.

On a side note, perhaps it’s a good thing to have an alum follow up a legendary coach? They know what they’re getting theirselves into and know what to expect in regards to the school, fanbase, etc.

I'm not saying he can't end up being a good hire for them. But if you asked knowledgeable basketball people who Kentucky was going to get the moment that it became known that Calipari was leaving, would any of them had Pope on their list?

They are clearly settling. And hey, one time we settled and got a lot of good years out of Jamie Dixon. Maybe Kentucky will too.

 

[HailToPitt725]

I'm not saying he can't end up being a good hire for them. But if you asked knowledgeable basketball people who Kentucky was going to get the moment that it became known that Calipari was leaving, would any of them had Pope on their list?

They are clearly settling. And hey, one time we settled and got a lot of good years out of Jamie Dixon. Maybe Kentucky will too.

Here’s how I see it: he’s a really good X’s and O’s coach and is apparently pretty analytically-driven.

The question becomes whether he can put a team together (and recruit thereafter) to survive the first 1-3 years? That remains to be seen. Even at a place like Kentucky, you have to know how to work the NIL game nowadays.