Zeise blog...enfield, longeran, and drew to interview

[pittbb80]

USC has always had cycles where they've been down pretty bad and then the recover for a few years, typically make a nice little run in the tournament, then fall back again. The cycle just keeps repeating itself. It's hard to be down for long when you're in the middle of Los Angeles.

That said, if this is the list (quite unimpressive as it is), then Enfield actually is a no brainer, which days more about the list than Enfield himself. But the question is if he'd actually leave Southern California for Pittsburgh.

This really isnt accurate. They havent made a nice littte run since Tim Floyd was there in 2006-2007. During Floyds time they made the dance 3 of 4 years advancing to the Sweet 16 once, losing in the first round and advnacing to the round of 32. Floyds record was 85-50 and 38-33 in conference. Pretty mediocre.

After Floyd, ONeil made the Dance once in 2011. THey were under .500 overall and in conference durig his tenure.

Prior to Floyd they made the tourney 3 of 10 times under Bibby and were sub 500 in conference play.

USC has been a mediocre program at best and was a complete dumpster fire when Enfield took over.

If youre going to crap all over the candidates, at least get the facts correct.

 

[pittbb80]

Roster ain't squat without a good guard & big man, they all like to shoot & nothing else. It would be same ol same ol.

Well at least Enfiled might be able to get them to shoot bettter in big games rather than throwing up bricks as they typically do

 

[Drax1975]

Well at least Enfiled might be able to get them to shoot bettter in big games rather than throwing up bricks as they typically do

The returning roster are full of decent shooters, they just don't have a great guard, rebounder and generally don't like to play defense.

 

[Drax1975]

Anybody will be better than Dixon, he got stale in all facets of the game!

 

[mvk112]

This really isnt accurate. They havent made a nice littte run since Tim Floyd was there in 2006-2007. During Floyds time they made the dance 3 of 4 years advancing to the Sweet 16 once, losing in the first round and advnacing to the round of 32. Floyds record was 85-50 and 38-33 in conference. Pretty mediocre.

After Floyd, ONeil made the Dance once in 2011. THey were under .500 overall and in conference durig his tenure.

Prior to Floyd they made the tourney 3 of 10 times under Bibby and were sub 500 in conference play.

USC has been a mediocre program at best and was a complete dumpster fire when Enfield took over.

If youre going to crap all over the candidates, at least get the facts correct.

Raveling took over 30 years ago they were winning 9, 10 games his first few years, he built the up to be a 2 seed in early 90s, but by mid 90s they were winning 12 games again. His replacement lasted a year or two and was winning like 10 games. Henry Bibby took over then and a few years later they went to the Elite 8, but just a few short years later, they were back to winning 10 games again. Floyd took over and they were winning again, he was out, O'Neill was in, they had a good year or two, then fell apart. They won 6 games his last full year there, and 14 in the year he got canned. Enfield took over, had two terrible years, then made the tournament. Its the same cycle as the past 30 years. A good three or four years followed by three or four good years where they typically have one really good season (Raveling led them to a 2 seed, Bibby to Elite 8, Floyd to Sweet 16).

Let's not act like a decent season where USC had a #8 and choked away the game means they are on track for long term success. It's the same cycle as the past 30 years for that program.

Again, Enfield is the best of a thoroughly mediocre list, but that is more of an indictment of the list, not an indication of him being a great coach.

 

[pittbb80]

Raveling took over 30 years ago they were winning 9, 10 games his first few years, he built the up to be a 2 seed in early 90s, but by mid 90s they were winning 12 games again. His replacement lasted a year or two and was winning like 10 games. Henry Bibby took over then and a few years later they went to the Elite 8, but just a few short years later, they were back to winning 10 games again. Floyd took over and they were winning again, he was out, O'Neill was in, they had a good year or two, then fell apart. They won 6 games his last full year there, and 14 in the year he got canned. Enfield took over, had two terrible years, then made the tournament. Its the same cycle as the past 30 years. A good three or four years followed by three or four good years where they typically have one really good season (Raveling led them to a 2 seed, Bibby to Elite 8, Floyd to Sweet 16).

Let's not act like a decent season where USC had a #8 and choked away the game means they are on track for long term success. It's the same cycle as the past 30 years for that program.

Again, Enfield is the best of a thoroughly mediocre list, but that is more of an indictment of the list, not an indication of him being a great coach.

LOL. 30 years ago...........Good stuff.

FACT USC was a complete dumpster fire.........

Enfield has put the back on the map.

Not sure what Pitt fans expect. Short of a guy like Marshall, who was a complete long shot, you have next level guys like Enfield.

Pitt is an attractive program but it aint a blue blood that can entice any D1 coach. That doesnt mean guys like Enfield, Keatts, et al wont be at least as good as JD and possibly better.

 

[Zaratoughda]

Zara, you do know that Enfield made $100+ million on Wall Street and "retired" to his passion, basketball, right?

He's NOT playing some AD for a raise. That's peanuts to him. He's doing what HE wants to do. Maybe the ACC challenge intrigues him. Maybe he stays in warm weather and a fertile recruiting area where his model wife can find work.

He is probably the best candidate but I'm not so sure our roster is a match for his style. He likes shooters.

Harve.... I was aware of that but those that have a lot of money... got there by playing the situation.

I would have to agree with you though that... being that he is interested... it is probably for the bigger challenge of coaching in the ACC... or maybe wanting to be back in the east. His style does not fit the roster but it apparently fits Barnes' idea of what HE wants in a coach.

Also... Harve... you and I have disagreed on things a lot in the past.... but we may be looking at a monumental disaster here. Barnes.... should not be looking for a coach that fits HIS idea of what HE wants in a coach... but instead a coach that best fits the opening. To be honest I am astonished and appalled that a person in Barnes position does not understand this. Keatts.... seems to have all the requirements but so far it doesn't seem like he is even getting a look.

If he does hire Enfield.... uh... probably gonna be some growing pains... yeah.... probably be about the same as we have seen over the last five years... so that is not a total disaster.

But if he hires Drew, Lonergan or Knight.... the fertilizer is probably gonna hit the ventilator with a bad season next year then worse after that (well, Knight would probably do OK next year but then tail off because he can't recruit).

When Coach Duzz was hired... a GREAT hire... it was Gallagher running the show and IMO he has made a mistake in letting Barnes run the show this time. When Barnes started running at the mouth... saying he was gonna make a big splash and saying he wanted a more up-tempo offense... that shoulda raised the red flag in our minds.

But, again, if he hires Enfield.... not a BAD hire but you may as well throw out the current roster (except for Slim)... so it will be a while before we know if he is going to be successful here (I like Enfield's passion for the game). But, he is gonna have to get over the recruiting problem that occurred when we moved to the ACC and lost our fertile recruiting grounds of NYC metro and eastern PA.

I still think Keatts would be the best hire because he is a great recruiter up and down the east coast as well as having great background and very successful, albeit just two years, as a head coach.

Yeah... a side affect of hiring Keatts would be that we would probably keep our two Virginia recruits... where otherwise we are probably gonna lose them.

 

[Zaratoughda]

LOL. 30 years ago...........Good stuff.

FACT USC was a complete dumpster fire.........

Enfield has put the back on the map.

Not sure what Pitt fans expect. Short of a guy like Marshall, who was a complete long shot, you have next level guys like Enfield.

Pitt is an attractive program but it aint a blue blood that can entice any D1 coach. That doesnt mean guys like Enfield, Keatts, et al wont be at least as good as JD and possibly better.

Actually... if they hired Keatts.... it would be similar to the hire of Jamie Dixon as opposed to the hire of Ben Howland.

When Howland was hired the program was a mess and Ben had to build it up almost from scratch.

But, when Dixon took over.... he was inexperienced... had NO prior head coaching experience... but he inherited a solid program so that gave him time to get his feet wet.

Right now... we have a solid roster and Keatts, like Dixon, has a solid background.... yeah... better than Dixon as a matter of fact.... and he has two years as a HC and has done very well... but it is not a major program and is just two years but... with the solid roster to start with he, like Dixon, would have time to get his feet wet.

 

[vegasgreed]

I said yesterday before his blog came out that i had a feeling it was going to be enfield.

 

[mvk112]

LOL. 30 years ago...........Good stuff.

FACT USC was a complete dumpster fire.........

Enfield has put the back on the map.

Not sure what Pitt fans expect. Short of a guy like Marshall, who was a complete long shot, you have next level guys like Enfield.

Pitt is an attractive program but it aint a blue blood that can entice any D1 coach. That doesnt mean guys like Enfield, Keatts, et al wont be at least as good as JD and possibly better.

Enfield didn't put them back on the map, they were an 8 seed that blew a tournament game. Every coach that starts at USC starts with the program where Enfield started. Raveling, Bibby, Floyd, Enfield. They all built the program up pretty quickly then the program dropped back down to about 10 wins soon after. Its a cycle that has repeated itself for 30 years. There is absolutely nothing to indicate that that program is built for the long haul.

That program was no more of a dumpster fire when he took over than it was when Raveling, Bibby, & Floyd took over.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

When reading these posts it's important to remember that nobody really knows anything unless Barnes is feeding them updates. Stop panicking . Find it hard to believe that anyone whose at USC and wealthy would want to trade LA for Pgh. If the wife attends games that would help definitely attendance . Hope she doesn't like LA otherwise no chance.

 

[steel_curtain]

Enfield didn't put them back on the map, they were an 8 seed that blew a tournament game. Every coach that starts at USC starts with the program where Enfield started. Raveling, Bibby, Floyd, Enfield. They all built the program up pretty quickly then the program dropped back down to about 10 wins soon after. Its a cycle that has repeated itself for 30 years. There is absolutely nothing to indicate that that program is built for the long haul.

That program was no more of a dumpster fire when he took over than it was when Raveling, Bibby, & Floyd took over.

--Took Florida Gulf to the Sweet 16. That was their first tournament appearance ever under Enfield.

 

[tuckshop]

It's not true that Enfield is worth 100+ million.

From Tom Rizk founder of TractManager the company that Enfield was VP of Finance:

"He was part of our company, he made a modest investment, he cashed out some of his stake and he still retains a small piece," said Rizk of Enfield, who was among the first group of employees, but was not a founding partner. "But, at least by my definition, he is not independently wealthy."

 

[Harve74]

Harve.... I was aware of that but those that have a lot of money... got there by playing the situation.

I would have to agree with you though that... being that he is interested... it is probably for the bigger challenge of coaching in the ACC... or maybe wanting to be back in the east. His style does not fit the roster but it apparently fits Barnes' idea of what HE wants in a coach.

Also... Harve... you and I have disagreed on things a lot in the past.... but we may be looking at a monumental disaster here. Barnes.... should not be looking for a coach that fits HIS idea of what HE wants in a coach... but instead a coach that best fits the opening. To be honest I am astonished and appalled that a person in Barnes position does not understand this. Keatts.... seems to have all the requirements but so far it doesn't seem like he is even getting a look.

If he does hire Enfield.... uh... probably gonna be some growing pains... yeah.... probably be about the same as we have seen over the last five years... so that is not a total disaster.

But if he hires Drew, Lonergan or Knight.... the fertilizer is probably gonna hit the ventilator with a bad season next year then worse after that (well, Knight would probably do OK next year but then tail off because he can't recruit).

When Coach Duzz was hired... a GREAT hire... it was Gallagher running the show and IMO he has made a mistake in letting Barnes run the show this time. When Barnes started running at the mouth... saying he was gonna make a big splash and saying he wanted a more up-tempo offense... that shoulda raised the red flag in our minds.

But, again, if he hires Enfield.... not a BAD hire but you may as well throw out the current roster (except for Slim)... so it will be a while before we know if he is going to be successful here (I like Enfield's passion for the game). But, he is gonna have to get over the recruiting problem that occurred when we moved to the ACC and lost our fertile recruiting grounds of NYC metro and eastern PA.

I still think Keatts would be the best hire because he is a great recruiter up and down the east coast as well as having great background and very successful, albeit just two years, as a head coach.

Yeah... a side affect of hiring Keatts would be that we would probably keep our two Virginia recruits... where otherwise we are probably gonna lose them.

I don't think Gallagher was involved in the day to day with hiring Narduzzi other than opening the purse strings. That was delegated to Randy Juhl, much like Dixon was hired by interim AD Mark Boehm.

Not sure that Drew is a disaster. Hiring an uptempo coach is to an extent pandering to a fanbase and boosters who are not particularly knowledgeable about the sport. Being entertained is nice but generally, going uptempo only works if the talent level is similar to the opponent. Trying to run against superior talent usually just results in getting beat by larger margins. And, as long as the current coaches are at UNC,Duke, the Ville, etc, we're not going to have better talent.

I don't think losing 95- 80 is any better thsn losing 70 to 65.

Keatts is a decent candidate but he has the stripper/hooker scandal hanging over him. Until that's resolved, he's probably toxic.

If the new coach wants to keep the recruits, he could hire Knight as an assistant. If not, he has to be scrambling for a PG immediately. Without a PG, any new coach could have a disasterous first season. But, if the new coach is a good recruiter, he MIGHT be able to convince the signees to stay.

We made the change, now we live with the consequences. Let's hope Mr. Barnes is successful. He is handling this second phase of the search in a quiet, professional manner.

 

[mvk112]

--Took Florida Gulf to the Sweet 16. That was their first tournament appearance ever under Enfield.

I'm well aware of who Andy Enfield is, and where he has been. He recruits athletes that run and his teams don't play a lot of defense or rebound that well.

 

[steel_curtain]

I'm well aware of who Andy Enfield is, and where he has been. He recruits athletes that run and his teams don't play a lot of defense or rebound that well.

-You seem to leave out certain things about candidates for your own personal reasons.

 

[Harve74]

It's not true that Enfield is worth 100+ million.

From Tom Rizk founder of TractManager the company that Enfield was VP of Finance:

"He was part of our company, he made a modest investment, he cashed out some of his stake and he still retains a small piece," said Rizk of Enfield, who was among the first group of employees, but was not a founding partner. "But, at least by my definition, he is not independently wealthy."

Could be right, but that's different from what was widely reported when FGCU was on their run. It was enough he retired from Wall Street and went into coaching. It might depend upon how Rizk considers his definition of independently wealthy.

 

[steel_curtain]

-If Enfield is interviewing, he would have to have major interest. He doesn't need the money. The only other bonus for him would be to say he rejected Pitt like Drew rejecting Iowa State and Mississippi State. Don't think that is the case.

 

[Heismn32]

I really like the idea of Enfield. However, his USC team didn't impress me at all this year. Very undisciplined team in an overrated conference. But he supposedly has a strong recruiting class coming in.

Like Football, I'm not sure how good we will ever be but it's really great to have a coach you love and you know will not be pushed around. I've lost that with the bball program and someone like Efield could bring that back. So I'm down with Enfield.

 

[mvk112]

-You seem to leave out certain things about candidates for your own personal reasons.

USC was outscored and outrebounded in the Pac 12 this year. His team gave over 79 points per game in the conference. He recruits athletes that run, but his teams don't defend or rebound. That's not exactly a recipe for success in the best conference in college hoops.

He's the best of an average at best group, more of an indictment of the list than an endorsement of Enfield.

 

[steel_curtain]

USC was outscored and outrebounded in the Pac 12 this year. His team gave over 79 points per game in the conference. He recruits athletes that run, but his teams don't defend or rebound. That's not exactly a recipe for success in the best conference in college hoops.

He's the best of an average at best group, more of an indictment of the list than an endorsement of Enfield.

-The PAC 12 was garbage this year, I'll admit that to anyone. But he also is rebuilding the program. He also has the entire roster coming back next year with 2 top guards coming into the program. Obviously since he took over, that program is still trending up.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Zara, you do know that Enfield made $100+ million on Wall Street and "retired" to his passion, basketball, right?

Enfield just moved to the top of my list. Dude was a bulldog on Wall St? Sign me up, please. That's the type of attitude, personality, and bravado that is needed.

 

[DT_PITT]

This isn't saying much, but Enfield is by far their best option right now, IMO.

Agree. He's the only option who, at least on paper, makes me feel like all of the mess of the last week could end up for the better. Perhaps Drew, too.

 

[DT_PITT]

Harve.... I was aware of that but those that have a lot of money... got there by playing the situation.

I would have to agree with you though that... being that he is interested... it is probably for the bigger challenge of coaching in the ACC... or maybe wanting to be back in the east. His style does not fit the roster but it apparently fits Barnes' idea of what HE wants in a coach.

Also... Harve... you and I have disagreed on things a lot in the past.... but we may be looking at a monumental disaster here. Barnes.... should not be looking for a coach that fits HIS idea of what HE wants in a coach... but instead a coach that best fits the opening. To be honest I am astonished and appalled that a person in Barnes position does not understand this. Keatts.... seems to have all the requirements but so far it doesn't seem like he is even getting a look.

If he does hire Enfield.... uh... probably gonna be some growing pains... yeah.... probably be about the same as we have seen over the last five years... so that is not a total disaster.

But if he hires Drew, Lonergan or Knight.... the fertilizer is probably gonna hit the ventilator with a bad season next year then worse after that (well, Knight would probably do OK next year but then tail off because he can't recruit).

When Coach Duzz was hired... a GREAT hire... it was Gallagher running the show and IMO he has made a mistake in letting Barnes run the show this time. When Barnes started running at the mouth... saying he was gonna make a big splash and saying he wanted a more up-tempo offense... that shoulda raised the red flag in our minds.

But, again, if he hires Enfield.... not a BAD hire but you may as well throw out the current roster (except for Slim)... so it will be a while before we know if he is going to be successful here (I like Enfield's passion for the game). But, he is gonna have to get over the recruiting problem that occurred when we moved to the ACC and lost our fertile recruiting grounds of NYC metro and eastern PA.

I still think Keatts would be the best hire because he is a great recruiter up and down the east coast as well as having great background and very successful, albeit just two years, as a head coach.

Yeah... a side affect of hiring Keatts would be that we would probably keep our two Virginia recruits... where otherwise we are probably gonna lose them.

What makes you say the Drew would be a bad choice?

 

[steel_curtain]

What makes you say the Drew would be a bad choice?

-For the record Im not against Drew. I just have some concerns with him. Recruiting is one of them, building relationships in the east coast is another. He has 4 conference championships in 5 years, the guy is not a slouch by any means. However, He hasn't proven dominance. Neither has Enfield, but at least Enfield took two programs that were a complete mess and turned them around. Valpo was good before Drew got there and was winning conference titles before Drew got there. He hasn't elevated the program, but, it is Valpo, not Duke.

-But I want Pitt to get to the next level. I want to go to the Final 4. I still stand by Keatts would get us there. Enfield is intriguing for multiple reasons, pair him with 2 Elite assistants he could be very good here. Perhaps the same could be said with Drew. But I have concerns with Drew getting us to the next level as opposed to keeping us where we are. If Drew got the job, I would reserve judgement and see how the staff was completed with the assistants. Drew can obviously win basketball games. Iowa State and Mississippi State wanted him bad. But can he win a championship down the line? It should be noted, Drew is only 41, that is a good age to start to blossom in D1 coaching.

 

[King Of All Message Boards]

Is Drew able to control his emotions?

 

[steel_curtain]

Is Drew able to control his emotions?

-You can mock me all you like. Im not the one throwing temper tantrums at girls JV basketball games. The guy is a loser.

 

[DT_PITT]

-For the record Im not against Drew. I just have some concerns with him. Recruiting is one of them, building relationships in the east coast is another. He has 4 conference championships in 5 years, the guy is not a slouch by any means. However, He hasn't proven dominance. Neither has Enfield, but at least Enfield took two programs that were a complete mess and turned them around. Valpo was good before Drew got there and was winning conference titles before Drew got there. He hasn't elevated the program, but, it is Valpo, not Duke.

-But I want Pitt to get to the next level. I want to go to the Final 4. I still stand by Keatts would get us there. Enfield is intriguing for multiple reasons, pair him with 2 Elite assistants he could be very good here. Perhaps the same could be said with Drew. But I have concerns with Drew getting us to the next level as opposed to keeping us where we are. If Drew got the job, I would reserve judgement and see how the staff was completed with the assistants. Drew can obviously win basketball games. Iowa State and Mississippi State wanted him bad. But can he win a championship down the line? It should be noted, Drew is only 41, that is a good age to start to blossom in D1 coaching.

The question wasn't addressed to you specifically, but to Zara.

But otherwise, I have some concurrence with you thoughts on Drew. But if you feel this way about Drew, it would seem like you should have even more concerns with Kevin Keatts.

 

[DT_PITT]

Is Drew able to control his emotions?

He better not smile!

 

[King Of All Message Boards]

-You can mock me all you like. Im not the one throwing temper tantrums at girls JV basketball games. The guy is a loser.

I wasn't questioning your opinion of Lonergan for what it's worth. Everyone has one on every coach that has been mentioned.

 

[Black_Man_Panther]

Well at least Enfiled might be able to get them to shoot bettter in big games rather than throwing up bricks as they typically do

Yeah... but if you don't play defense - you actually expect to have better (and more) shooters than UNC and Duke? You have to go the UVA route for success.

 

[Piranha]

Yeah... but if you don't play defense - you actually expect to have better (and more) shooters than UNC and Duke? You have to go the UVA route for success.

We beat UNC last year and Duke this year because of our offense.

 

[steel_curtain]

The question wasn't addressed to you specifically, but to Zara.

But otherwise, I have some concurrence with you thoughts on Drew. But if you feel this way about Drew, it would seem like you should have even more concerns with Kevin Keatts.

-I dont want to keep talking about Keatts. Ive done that enough already. IF Keatts stays at Wilmington next year, everyone is going to be after him. Everyone. Wilmington is going to be the runaway favorite to win the conference next year. He's going to have 3 conference titles and 3 coach of the year awards in 3 seasons at D1. Don't be surprised if Wilmington goes to the Sweet 16 next year. The entire team is back minus 1 player. At that point you can forget it, the opportunity will be lost.

 

[DT_PITT]

-I dont want to keep talking about Keatts. Ive done that enough already. IF Keatts stays at Wilmington next year, everyone is going to be after him. Everyone. Wilmington is going to be the runaway favorite to win the conference next year. He's going to have 3 conference titles and 3 coach of the year awards in 3 seasons at D1. Don't be surprised if Wilmington goes to the Sweet 16 next year. The entire team is back minus 1 player. At that point you can forget it, the opportunity will be lost.

If you say so.

 

[steel_curtain]

If you say so.

-Its not about what I say. Its about what he does. All Keatts does is win Championships. Everywhere he goes, win, win win, with a Championship collection. I'll leave it at that with Keatts.

 

[pittzap]

We beat UNC last year and Duke this year because of our offense.

Consistency on offense is the problem, which most teams have. However, Our defense was so bad that we couldn't stop the bleeding when our offense went on a several minute drought most games.

 

[King Of All Message Boards]

Keatts does seem to be the biggest potential home run high ceiling hire. That stripper/hooker scandal could possibly be costly to Pitt because of the timing. I too don't want to repeat myself - but - perception could be the issue. Can anyone really think he wasn't aware of it? On the flip side I do get keeping your mouth shut. There have been assistants whose careers have been destroyed by whistle blowing. One was attached to Pearl I believe. That guy was thrown under the bus and run over repeatedly if I recall correctly.

And this is probably far from over so it's possible he will need another year before anyone touches him.

I'm sure they're vetting everyone extensively and if he's in the mix maybe even moreso for him than the rest.

If this dude's clean he'd be my choice as well.

 

[Piranha]

Consistency on offense is the problem, which most teams have. However, Our defense was so bad that we couldn't stop the bleeding when our offense went on a several minute drought most games.

I agree - I like defenses that force teams out of their comfort zone. We have not seen that in a long time. Ben Howland did a good job with this when he was here.

 

[DT_PITT]

Keatts does seem to be the biggest potential home run high ceiling hire. That stripper/hooker scandal could possibly be costly to Pitt because of the timing. I too don't want to repeat myself - but - perception could be the issue. Can anyone really think he wasn't aware of it? On the flip side I do get keeping your mouth shut. There have been assistants whose careers have been destroyed by whistle blowing. One was attached to Pearl I believe. That guy was thrown under the bus and run over repeatedly if I recall correctly.

And this is probably far from over so it's possible he will need another year before anyone touches him.

I'm sure they're vetting everyone extensively and if he's in the mix maybe even moreso for him than the rest.

If this dude's clean he'd be my choice as well.

Keatts has to be off limits until that situation has been resolved.

He wouldn't be my choice though regardless. He could have a big upside or he could be the "cool" flavor of the month. There are other more proven choices.

 

[DT_PITT]

I agree - I like defenses that force teams out of their comfort zone. We have not seen that in a long time. Ben Howland did a good job with this when he was here.

Howland plays pretty much the same defense as Dixon. And Howland and Dixon both did that when they had Page and Brown as defenders.