A big name or hot coach is not necessarily best

EG#9

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I know a lot of people are the Shaka/Flip or bust camp and I can't agree with that contingent. Not only would I be very excited by a couple of the other names on the Gopher Hole's own list, but I could get behind a lesser name guy as well.

There are so many examples of coaches who were not a sexy pick and/or did not have an amazing name prior to doing a great job a their current school:

Bo Ryan: 2 years at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, barely over .500 overall and under .500 in his conference. Certainly not a "wow" hire
Fred Hoiberg: Never even an assistant, much less a head coach. Certainly was a huge risk and didn't have a big name outside of Iowa
Tom Izzo: Longtime assistant to Jud Heathcote, no prior head coaching experience
Jay Wright: 2 NCAA bids at Hofstra, no NCAA tournament wins.
Jim Larranaga: gets the Miami job at 61 years of age, was like their 55th choice
Billy Donovan: 2 seasons at Marshall, no NCAA or NIT bids
Fran McCaffery: Iowa's (younger) version of Larranaga has done amazing things considering his position
Frank Martin (now a big name at South Carolina): Only 4 years as a BCS assistant before getting the KSU job:4 NCAA bids in 5 years, an Elite Eight, never lost in round one
Tad Boyle: comes from Northern Colorado and has the Buffs in the NCAA's in both his 2nd and 3rd years

I am sure I could find some more examples, but you get the idea. A lot of the guys who have had success, have been guys who wouldn't have wowed anyone when their hiring was announced. I'd love to have Shaka, I'd love to have some of the guys on the GopherHole list, but there's also appeal to someone who is looking to make their name not enhance it (or live off of it).

The Gophers have got the hot Elite Eight guy (Monson) and the big name (Tubby) with their last two hires. Hopefully, the coach is someone everyone is excited about, but if not we could still hit it big.
 




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