Tweet re: Danny Hurley
- Thread starter King Of All Message Boards
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Yeah, I edited that. They were a solid program, but not a blue blood before Boeheim. They have accomplished a lot with Boeheim and his 31 years is why they are there. If they hire two clunkers in a row, after him, they will be a complete after thought.
They had some ho-hum seasons, but they had like 5 F4s, 3 Title games, 1 NC, and 2 other Elite 8 appearances in 30 years. I'd sign up for half of that right now.
Interesting side question is if you view the Carrier Dome as a positive or negative. It's a concrete bunker. Went to a game there and it sort of is an ugly clunker. But they can (and sometimes do) get over 30,000 fans in there, which seems to me to be one of their strengths as a program.
Take it back to 1969, which was Cuse's last losing season, and the nadir of Pitt hoops (4-20 with a loss to Carnegie Mellon). Since then, Pitt has been largely competitive until now. We've made 22 NCAAs, and 6 Sweet 16s, two of which reached the Elite 8. In the same time frame, Syracuse has been to 36 NCAAs, 6 Final Fours, three Finals, and won a championship.
I don't think anyone would argue they haven't been the better program, but if they hire a Kevin Stallings or two, they aren't any better of a job just because they are Syracuse. It would entirely come down to administrative commitment to winning and making the right hires.
0% recruits know about Carmelo Anthony at Syracuse. Hell, even 2012-13 is a maybe for the current recruits, let alone future recruits.
Us fans are way, way more connected and reminiscent than these 16-18 year old kids.
Know any good 55 year old + coaches who are about to get fired from their previous job?
Right because when Kentucky fires Calipari (then Hurley takes over), then Calipari can take over Robert Morris (of course, due to his moon twp ties!
).Then Pitt can dump Stallings to RI & Pitt can have Toole!
Works for everyone! Lol...
Oh absolutely. I was just saying that for at least half of that career, they were an average program that he elevated to very good with some really good seasons. I probably wouldn't have called Syracuse a top notch program (those programs that aren't blue bloods but are certainly the next best) until melo, that national championship, and everything they've done since then. Certainly now looking back at boeheim's whole career he's made them a household name.
So it takes 9-10 years to win after a total rebuild, but you want to run Stallings off after one year of the ultimate total rebuild?
This stuff is funny. Stallings’ resume is WAY better than Danny’s, in a P5 league, ar a school that’s the hardest to win at in that league.
Again, I’m not making the case for Stallings, he was a lackluster hire that had a catastrophic effect on the Pitt program, but I really doubt Danny Hurley would be the savior.
Pitt fans are dumb. Being from Philly, I selected the farthest place from home, in state, that my parent could afford. I made a major mistake.
I live in NC...I'm very close to just adopting a local team.
My fear is that a lot of top P5 coaches are canned in this FBI investigation and these good programs take all of the good, clean candidates. Yes, these programs will be sanctioned but will still be in better shape than we are. I think we are screwed if there are 20-30 openings.
Hurley would be a slam dunk though.
Hurley would be a slam dunk though.
Hurley is winning now and completely turned Rhode Island around in only 3 years. There is no doubt, whatsoever, he provides a better chance of success than Kevin Stallings. Hurley has been better in his first 6 years starting at Rhode Island than Stallings was in his last 6 at Vandy.
I could see them going the way if UConn if things don't go well.
Hold on a minute- Are you really suggesting the Pitt job is not a big job for someone coaching in the A-10?
Hello...
Do you not realize Pitt is in arguably the best basketball conference in the country.
Do you not think that just about any coach in the Atlantic 10 would jump at a chance to coach in the ACC?
Do you not remember Pitt is a team that made the NCAA tournament most years with Dixon.
Do you not remember that Pitt was once a team that could beat any ACC team on any given day.
And Pitt has the Pitt Zoo (who will show up in full force if you have a good coach who can recruit well).
Now... I get why coaches might hesitate to take the job after Dixon left. He was winning 20+ games a year.
But the Pitt Job NOW is an incredible opportunity.
Expectations have been lowered dramatically because of Stallings. Fans and the administration would be happy just to get back to being competitive in the BE.
The new hire would be taking over for a guy who not only has trouble winning a single BE game but whose team is getting blown out in most games.
This is a place where recruiting well and making the final four is realistic.
If I am a talented coach (from the East) and currently coaching in any conference other than the ACC, B1G, BE, SEC, Big 12, or the The PAC 12... And I was offered the job... I'd say... PITT IS IT!
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Archie Miller and Shaka Smart were pretty content spending a few extra seasons in the A-10 and waiting out an elite opportunity instead of going to a team at the bottom of a Power 5 League. Hurley could certainly do the same, especially if he achieves the tourney success that Archie (Elite 8) and Shaka (Final 4) did.
Why do I need to learn it. It's not like I thought Stallings was a good hire- but he did a wonderful job of lowering the bar for the next Pitt coach and make it that much more attractive.
Some fans seem to think the Pitt job is not a very good job-I don't get it... it really is... it is an ACC school that traditionally ends up in the top half of the conference... and especially now that the next coach taking would be following Stallings- who will
make anyone who takes it and proves to be even moderately successful, look like a hero.
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Anything is possible but Syracuse does have the ACC to sell, unlike Uconn's bad conference situation. And Uconn may be back someday too. Hard to predict any of this. Both have pretty good fan bases. Syracuse students are pretty nuts about hoops and can fill up the adjusted dome.
Then why are they so bad now?? They have the largest "gym"....which sucks for either sport, NOTHING else to do there. no competition from pro teams....and their hoops history consists of 2 factors...Dave Bing, a great player on mediocre teams....and Boeheim, who bent lots of rules over the years, but won, bigly. He'll step down, soon, and they'll be average at best. Just like Cuse FB post-Schwartzwalder.
Pitt is a bigger job than Rhody but not nearly big enough for Hurley. He is the #1 prospect right now. He will wait for a REALLY big job
So do you think Danny is waiting to go to the biggest school that willl pay him the most $?
I think not. He sees Shaka (a very good coach) is struggling at Texas. Archie has had some issues at Indiana too. Sure Danny wants to get paid well but he also wants to play against the best.
Texas sounds impressive but coaching in the ACC against teams like Duke and NC and Virginia and Florida State and Clemson and Louisville and even Syracuse is even better.
So Pitt has a few bad seasons with a coach who looks to be a bad hire and Pitt. A very good coach can flip the script and have Pitt up near the top in a year or two with some good recruits. It's not like Pitt was always at the bottom of the ACC- being at the bottom is not a normal thing for Pitt.
Look... if Dan were to take the job at Pitt, he gets to play against coach K and Roy Williams and Tony Bennett and Jim Boeheim... some of the best of all time. Maybe eventually he gets offered the Duke Job when coach K retires or maybe he gets offered the NC job when Roy Williams retires. Heck, maybe he is is content with staying at Pitt and battling his brother (should Bobby get the Duke or NC job).
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Don't be so sure...
He would love to get into the ACC for the opportunity to play against some of the best coaches (Coach K and Roy Williams and Tony Bennett) and some of the best programs in all of college bball.
And to be able to take over a team that looks terrible now but one he knows he can turn into a top ACC team with his coaching and recruiting ability should have him salivating. He would be a Hero at Pitt and he would be one step closer to landing the Duke or NC job when their coaches retire
The only job I see as potentially more attractive (because it would probably mean more $ with a bigger fan base and in the same conference at Pitt) would be the Syracuse job should Boeheim leave...
And I don't see Jimmy leaving there until they have to carry him out on a stretcher.
What other REALLY big job is out there that you think he would want?
I would love for you to be right. I am all for far-fetched outlandish scenarios but I just cant see this one. Hurley has visions of Final Fours and National Championships. You cant do that here. Just like Shaka and Archie, he'll be patient and wait. If Heather were to land Hurley, she would immediately become the best AD in Pitt history. Stuff like this doesn't happen for Pitt.
Why... why must you buy into the narrative that Pitt can not get to the final four or win a championship?
I just don't get it.
How many people believed Butler would get to back to back final fours (heck- 2 championship games) before it really happened. Are you going to tell me that most people believed Butler (at that time) was more likely than Pitt to reach a final four?
Enter Brad Stevens. A excellent coach hired to coaching a team with a tradition of being good but not elite (much like Pitt).
Let's be honest: Making a final four becomes realistic when you hire a great coach who can recruit enough talent...
And it is easier for that coach to get great talent when they're coaching in the ACC than it is when they are in the Atlantic 10 (the conference Butler was in at the time and the one Rhode Island is in currently).
Rhode Island may very well reach the final four this year.
My point: Pitt can absolutely get to a final four and beyond with a very good coach.
I am sincerely surprised that you do not see it that way.
Both literally true and historically rare. Brad Stevens is one of the best basketball coaches in the world. ANY level. I hope we get the next Brad Stevens but just think about how rare that is to get a Butler to the national title game.
Also, FWIW, the 2010 and 2011 national title game Butler teams had 11 players from the state of Indiana on them (the players differed slightly but it was 11 each time.) Including Matt Howard, Gordon Hayward, and Andrew Smith (RIP.) Shelvin Mack grew up a few hours away in Kentucky.
There is a reason Indiana, Purdue, and Butler usually have at least one elite team going.
That's my point. Much more unlikely for a Butler team to reach a final 4 (at least at that time) than it would have been for Pitt. Again, Pitt is in the ACC and many top prospects would love to play in such a prestigious conference playing against teams like Duke and North Carolina and getting to play on national tv in front of many more viewers - much more frequently.
Yes, Brad Stevens was a special talent and I get that Indiana is known to have some very good high school players.
Ohio State and Xavier recruit heavily in the state of Indiana too. Trevon Bluiett- Xavier's best player- was the Mr. Basketball runner up for Indiana. I understand that part of it.
But honestly, Indiana isn't the only place to find great recruits- Pitt has proven you can find really good prospects in PA and NY and MD and in the NJ area (among other states) who can be molded into a very good team.
Let's not forget, Pitt teams not too long ago have done well and come close to making the final 4. They also have done well at the Big East tournament - including winning it twice (2003 and 2008). Both tournaments I have been fortunate enough to witness, since I live in the area.
Simply put, thinking it is such a stretch for Pitt to reach a final 4 with a great coach, makes zero sense.
It starts with hiring a coach who wins often and can recruit players who he has proven he can mold into a very good team.
I agree. Having an expectation that Pitt reaches a Final 4 someday is doable and achievable. The requirement is that we get a decent head coach with a good staff that can recruit top 100 talent regularly and actually coach them up to being a solid team. We're not the school that top 10 kids go to and are one-and-doners. But if we could get a coach that can recruit top 100 kids with the occasional top 25 or top 50 kid and then coach them, it can be done at Pitt. That's not a stretch.
The problem we have now is that we don't have a coach and a staff that can do any of that.
I mostly agree, it is theoretically possible. I hope we see it someday. I am just saying for the purposes of a coach looking for a job where he says "OK here is a place I can compete for a title and go to final fours", Pitt ain't gonna be high on their list.
Agree. The tournament is the ultimate crap shoot. Just need guys to get hot at the right time and get a little lucky (which we hardly ever did).
Agree. Jim Larranaga got George Mason there. So absolutely it CAN be done at Pitt. Always some posters that continually want to tell everyone about what Pitt can't achieve like their opinion is somehow the final word.
Yes... And Mark Few got Gonzaga ro there first final four in 2017
Frank Martin also got Sourh Carolina to its first final 4 in 2017
Dana Altman got Oregon there in 2017 for the first time since 1939 - Note: Pitt got to the final 4 two years later in 1941-( though it was not really the same prestigious tournament back then).
Gregg Marshall got Wichita State there in 2013
Shaka Smart got VCU there in 2011
Brad Stevens got Butler 2010 and again in 2011
Bob Huggins got WVU thee in 2010 (what Pitt fan would have thought that was more likely)
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