10 most interesting options to replace Richard Pitino

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cjbfbp said:
Oye ve! DePaul? Going there is a huge risk. That place has been a graveyard for every coach this century except for the current incumbent (who is in his second stint there). They don't have our facilities either or as much media exposure.
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I don't believe the poster is implying that Gates will be choosing between DePaul and Minnesota offers.
 

Bad Gopher said:
Johnny Orr left Michigan for Iowa State in 1980. That was a bit of a surprise when it happened. And, of course, Lute Olson bolted Iowa for Arizona back in the day.
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Despite being from North Dakota, Lute always seemed like more of a sunbelt kind of guy. I think Lute also got sick of being in the Iowa City fishbowl where you were always the subject of the fans' obsessions. Back then, every Iowa game was on local affiliate network TV and a sports magazine article from the latter 80s indicated that Iowa games had a higher percentage of viewership than the Cosby show. His successor, George Raveling, could only take it for 3 years.
 


MplsGopher said:
I don't believe the poster is implying that Gates will be choosing between DePaul and Minnesota offers.
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I didn't say that. He said he could see him ending up at DePaul (because of the home town connection probably). I was just expressing my opinion that taking that position is living dangerously. Of course, the reward, if he could turn it around, would be that he could go almost anywhere after that. Leitao, who had a pretty good 3 year stint there earlier this century, parlayed that into the Virginia job.
 

New update:

From another board, "says Gates is option 1a and Smith is 1b. Combined with (last night's source), that means it's either Gates or Smith. Lot is fluid though."
 

WriterGoph said:
New update:

From another board, "says Gates is option 1a and Smith is 1b. Combined with (last night's source), that means it's either Gates or Smith. Lot is fluid though."
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Fleck had the 2016 season as the feather in his cap warranting the jump from MAC to Big Ten. Gates doesn't have the equivalent, unless he goes on a memorable run this month.

That said, I'm pretty sure it is known (somewhere?) that Coyle wanted Fleck in 2015 (at Syracuse), which was obviously before that great season. And also several posters corrected me that there was some (national) buzz around Fleck even in 2015 as well.

So, maybe Gates 2021 is Fleck 2015, and Coyle can sniff that out. I guess I have to trust him, if indeed that is the call.
 

cjbfbp said:
Despite being from North Dakota, Lute always seemed like more of a sunbelt kind of guy. I think Lute also got sick of being in the Iowa City fishbowl where you were always the subject of the fans' obsessions. Back then, every Iowa game was on local affiliate network TV and a sports magazine article from the latter 80s indicated that Iowa games had a higher percentage of viewership than the Cosby show. His successor, George Raveling, could only take it for 3 years.
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He did look good with a tan, that's all I can say.
 



cjbfbp said:
I didn't say that. He said he could see him ending up at DePaul (because of the home town connection probably). I was just expressing my opinion that taking that position is living dangerously. Of course, the reward, if he could turn it around, would be that he could go almost anywhere after that. Leitao, who had a pretty good 3 year stint there earlier this century, parlayed that into the Virginia job.
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I was saying it for the Chicago reasons and if he doesn't want to wait out the option during the process I think Depaul jumps on him quicker than we would
 



GopherLady said:
via our own Tony Liebert. https://gopherhole.com/10-most-interesting-options-to-replace-richard-pitino/

Who should be on this list or not be on this list?


WCCO’s Henry Lake reported Sunday that Richard Pitino and Mark Coyle had a discussion Friday that may have all been the beginning of the end of his time as the head coach of the Gophers. Assuming that this report is true, let’s look at a speculative list of the most interesting candidates to replace Richard Pitino.

  • Honorable Mention: Rick Pitino
For obvious reasons, I think Richard’s hall-of-fame father Rick would be the funniest option to replace Richard. Rick is currently the head coach of Iona, and it seems to be a matter of time before he makes the jump back up to a high major head coaching job. I would have to imagine Rick would not go to a school that gave his son the boot, but you can still laugh at how funny it would be if this happened.

10. Tim Miles
Miles is most known for his time spent as Nebraska head coach for seven years, where he finished with a 116-114 record. He has spent much of his career in the midwest, acting as the head coach for North Dakota State and (D2) Southwest Minnesota State. He wasn’t insanely productive anywhere he has been, but he seems very well-liked across the country. He is only 54 years old, so he makes for an interesting safety net.


9. Craig Smith

Craig Smith is currently the head coach of Utah State. Now in his third year as head coach of the Aggies, Smith has a 70-22 record competing in the Mountain West Conference. Before residing in Logan, Utah Smith was a head coach at South Dakota and an assistant at Nebraska and Colorado State. He was born in Stephen, Minnesota and he is only 48 years old. Being that he is due for a jump to the high-major program level why not come home?



8. Thad Matta

Thad Matta was the longtime head coach at Ohio State where he recorded a record of 337-123 in 13 seasons. Since the 2016-17 season, he has been out of coaching completely, and there have been rumblings that he wants to get back into the mix. He has familiarity in the Midwest having previously coached Butler and Xavier. He is only 53 years old and would certainly be an interesting option for the Gophers.



7. Darian DeVries

DeVries will be one of the most popular names among D1 coaching searches. In only his third season at Drake, he has the Bulldogs 24-3. He has earned 20+ wins in all three of his seasons as head coach. After being an assistant at Creighton for 16 years, he has taken advantage of his opportunity at Drake. Another midwest guy that is only 45 years old could be a terrific option.



6. Porter Moser

College basketball fans may recognize Moser’s name from his magical run with Loyola-Chicago and Sister Jean to the 2017-18 Final Four. Well, Moser’s Ramblers are back this season reaching as high as No. 21 in the country and a current 21-4 record. He is only 52 years old with stops at Arkansas Little-Rock and Illinois State as a head coach. If he can do it in the Missouri Valley why can’t he do it in the Big Ten?



5. Ryan Saunders

It seems to be a recent trend in college basketball for programs to hire a famous alumnus. Memphis with Penny Hardaway, Michigan with Juwan Howard, and Georgetown with Patrick Ewing to name a few. Some have been more successful than others, but why wouldn’t the Gophers take a shot in the dark. It makes sense any way you put it, and I would imagine a 34-year-old would be much more comfortable coaching college kids instead of grown men.



4. John Beilein

Beilein has been a very popular name within Big Ten basketball for years, having made the Michigan basketball program a consistent powerhouse. He has most recently been let go by the Cleveland Cavaliers promoting a career in the booth for Big Ten Network. He is 68 years old, but I would have to imagine that he would like to get back out there, and why not jump into a familiar conference. There are no connections to Minnesota, but this would certainly be great for the Gophers program.



3. Eric Musselman

Musselman is a popular name in college basketball, as he has completely turned around Arkansas’ program in only his second season. He has the Razorback ranked No. 20 in the country and only rising. He has a connection with Minnesota, as his father Bill was head coach of the Gophers from 1971-75 as well as the first coach in Timberwolves history. This move makes a lot of sense, but unfortunately I just really don’t see it happening, but you can always hope.



  1. Niko Medved
Niko Medved was born in Minneapolis, MN and he is currently the head coach of Colorado State. He brought Breck high school graduate David Roddy to the school who is now averaging 16.1 PPG and 9.3 RPG in only his second year. Medved has the Rams 15-4 and likely headed for the NCAA tournament. He is only 47 years old and supports a 47-36 record in only three seasons at CSU. He also has eight years of head coaching experience previously at Furman and Drake. Medved was even an assistant at Minnesota for the 2006-07 season.



  1. Brian Dutcher
There is one option that stands out over the rest. Brian Dutcher, San Diego State’s current head coach attended the University of Minnesota himself. His name may sound familiar because his father Jim was the head coach of the Gophers for 10 seasons from 1975-1986. Brian has an 87-30 record in only four seasons as the head coach of the Aztecs. He is currently 61 years old and has great connections to the Gophers.

After receiving a contract extension at San Diego St with a nearly $7MM buyout, he insisted on only a $1MM buyout if he goes to Gophers. “It’s my school where I went & was able to be part of basketball program with my dad,” said Dutcher.
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I would go...

1. Dave Smart
2. Devries
3. Beilein
4. Muss
5. Dutcher
6. Craig Smith
7. Thad
 



alchemy2u said:
Here is review of the coaching job that Musselman did in a couple of recent games. The guy thinks he is a great coach..
https://www.wholehogsports.com/news/2021/mar/01/former-basketball-assistant-has-high-praise-arkans/
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“And with that the game turned on a dime. It was pure coaching, NBA stuff that Musselman is really good at seeing. He recognized what was working and exposed the other team.

That quote says it all. I wish we had a coach the last 8 years and not RP
 

MplsGopher said:
Fleck had the 2016 season as the feather in his cap warranting the jump from MAC to Big Ten. Gates doesn't have the equivalent, unless he goes on a memorable run this month.

That said, I'm pretty sure it is known (somewhere?) that Coyle wanted Fleck in 2015 (at Syracuse), which was obviously before that great season. And also several posters corrected me that there was some (national) buzz around Fleck even in 2015 as well.

So, maybe Gates 2021 is Fleck 2015, and Coyle can sniff that out. I guess I have to trust him, if indeed that is the call.
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I will support whoever is our new coach, but Gates scares me a bit. What RP did at FIU was more impressive than what Gates has done at CSU
 

howeda7 said:
He's 55, retired, hasn't coached in 2 years and has never coached in the US. Other than that, sure!
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If he was interested, I would take him in a heart beat. He'd be Musselman-level hire for me.
 

SanDiegoGopherFan said:
“And with that the game turned on a dime. It was pure coaching, NBA stuff that Musselman is really good at seeing. He recognized what was working and exposed the other team.

That quote says it all. I wish we had a coach the last 8 years and not RP
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Supposedly if Pitino turned it down they were going to interview him..
 

howeda7 said:
Supposedly if Pitino turned it down they were going to interview him..
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Say what you want about Charlie Walters, but he's been pimping Dutcher and Muss for a long, long time. One way or another, had the U been astute, we could've gotten in on the ground floor with either of them long ago. If anyone asks why our neighbors to the east and south have done better than we have here...
 

So, realistically it appears to be between Gates, Medved and Smith ( listed alphabetically).
Smith is the best on x’s and o’s, but can he recruit well enough for the Big Ten?
Gates is the best recruiter, but can he coach the X’s and O’s?
Medved is somewhere between them.
I think Smith is the best if Coyle can get him to hire a great recruiter particularly for the MN area (bring Ben Johnson back, hire Thorson away from Medved, or get Nuness from Baylor).
What do you think?
 

kiedro said:
So, realistically it appears to be between Gates, Medved and Smith ( listed alphabetically).
Smith is the best on x’s and o’s, but can he recruit well enough for the Big Ten?
Gates is the best recruiter, but can he coach the X’s and O’s?
Medved is somewhere between them.
I think Smith is the best if Coyle can get him to hire a great recruiter particularly for the MN area (bring Ben Johnson back, hire Thorson away from Medved, or get Nuness from Baylor).
What do you think?
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Realistically, Dutcher is the best fit given the situation. Great coach, great recruiter, right salary, MN specific and reasonable buyout, etc.
 



If you can get Musselman, (and media people are saying he's interested) you take Musselman because he's the best known quantity out there.

You aren't spending $1.5M to possibly hit or miss for 3-4 years. You are spending $2-4M a year for 20 wins.

I assume if they don't try to get Musselman, it's because of a difference in ethics / culture that would stop it.
 


Hi all....

For everyone talking about limiting our choices due to buyout prices and salaries, you are all thinking from a closed mindset. If you want to improve, you need to think of things from a mindset of abundance, not a mindset of scarcity.
 

Face The Facts said:
If you can get Musselman, (and media people are saying he's interested) you take Musselman because he's the best known quantity out there.

You aren't spending $1.5M to possibly hit or miss for 3-4 years. You are spending $2-4M a year for 20 wins.

I assume if they don't try to get Musselman, it's because of a difference in ethics / culture that would stop it.
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I don’t know why people selling Dutcher short. He was primary recruiter as lead assistant with recruits knowing any day he would be head coach. Last year he had a team that would have been #2 seed with shot at Final Four. Has achieved more than Musselman. Still, I would be happy with either of them.
 


Ozzy&Ray said:
I don’t know why people selling Dutcher short. He was primary recruiter as lead assistant with recruits knowing any day he would be head coach. Last year he had a team that would have been #2 seed with shot at Final Four. Has achieved more than Musselman. Still, I would be happy with either of them.
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I think there is something about the idea that you were an assistant until age 60 nearly before you took a head coach job. The loyalty to Steve Fisher is great and awesome, but it's almost not normal from the standpoint that Steve almost should have pushed him to interview for a low level job.

Sure, Dutcher signed a deal about 8 years prior that he was the head coach in waiting, but should he and Fisher have had a talk at some point like "Hey, just 1-2 more years" or "Hey, I'm thinking I'm not going to quit for a while, why don't you interview for a few other jobs and get your head coaching career started".

I think he's a good coach, can recruit, and it would be cool to have him coach here since I started watching when Jim was coach, but the age and lack of HC experience is probably why he isn't a bigger target.

Also, if he recruited the Fab Five as some say, that brings up questions Coyle might not want to ask either.
 

Face The Facts said:
Hi all....

For everyone talking about limiting our choices due to buyout prices and salaries, you are all thinking from a closed mindset. If you want to improve, you need to think of things from a mindset of abundance, not a mindset of scarcity.
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Dutcher does both.
 

Ozzy&Ray said:
No evidence to really support this as an absolute, other than younger. 61 not that old. He could still coach 12-15 years. Both good coaches. I’d take Dutcher every day.
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Smith is 5-3 vs Dutcher, given him 2 of his 3 conference losses this season, and is 2-0 against Dutcher in tournament championship games while having less talent than SDSU. I’d take Smith every day.
 

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