Oatmeal Savage
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It was pointed out in another post that this year was the first time since 1954 that one of Kansas, Kentucky, UCLA, or North Carolina hasn’t been in the Sweet 16.
At the same time, every time a blue blood coaching job opens up, everyone assumes it will be highly sought after and we see names like Dan Hurley, Scott Drew, etc. and especially on our board names in our region we talk about: TJ Otzelberger, Ben McCollum (maybe wishful thinking on our part), and Niko Medved (NC State, not so blue).
One thing about all three of the local guys, is they are at schools they have strong connections with. Niko’s an alum, McCollum grew up in Iowa City and idolized Hawkeye players, and Otz is from Wisconsin, was a longtime ISU assistant, his wife is an alum, and is good friends with the AD.
Also, coaches are control freaks. These guys are at institutions where they have control over their basketball programs, especially since they have shown they can win (Otz and McCollum, maybe Niko).
They also have egos. If they have reasonable success, like they’ve shown so far, they have a good chance of going down as the best coaches in the schools’ history (far too early to tell with Niko, McCollum is sprinting out of the marathon start).
They already are in good basketball conferences with decent budgets, revenue sharing, and NIL (or it can project to grow to a decent level). The playing field has leveled out a lot with that and the transfer portal.
If they went to a blue blood, they would get paid more, but if you’re getting paid a couple million, what’s a couple million more? Diminishing marginal utility. They get that.
Some coaches may consider blue bloods if they felt it got them a bit closer to regular chances at Final Fours and a championship or two. You would certainly have a bigger budget to work with and greater likelihood of 5 star players. But would getting a Darryn Petterson be worth it? Or AJ Dybantsa? Ask Bill Self. Or Otz and McCollum, since they have their “teams” farther in the tournament. Duke’s still playing, but haven’t really looked like a dominant team; maybe they’ll pull it together. Scheyer has a Final Four to his name, but the expectations are that or bust.
I suspect the biggest downside is the loss of control. When you go to a blue blood, you have a dominant athletic director (and/or school president, or governor: see LSU) and Bigmouth Bobby Booster who thinks he’s the program’s GM with his $1 million donation. “This program was a powerhouse before you got here and will be after you leave. We own you. Just do what you’re paid to do and win ball games.”
It seemed like Calipari left Kentucky for Arkansas in light of much of this. Arkansas is still probably a hot mess, but he can play savior.
So I suspect that more and more coaches who have 2nd tier, power conference jobs like Niko, Otz, and McCollum will pass on the blue bloods and will build their own kingdoms.
At the same time, every time a blue blood coaching job opens up, everyone assumes it will be highly sought after and we see names like Dan Hurley, Scott Drew, etc. and especially on our board names in our region we talk about: TJ Otzelberger, Ben McCollum (maybe wishful thinking on our part), and Niko Medved (NC State, not so blue).
One thing about all three of the local guys, is they are at schools they have strong connections with. Niko’s an alum, McCollum grew up in Iowa City and idolized Hawkeye players, and Otz is from Wisconsin, was a longtime ISU assistant, his wife is an alum, and is good friends with the AD.
Also, coaches are control freaks. These guys are at institutions where they have control over their basketball programs, especially since they have shown they can win (Otz and McCollum, maybe Niko).
They also have egos. If they have reasonable success, like they’ve shown so far, they have a good chance of going down as the best coaches in the schools’ history (far too early to tell with Niko, McCollum is sprinting out of the marathon start).
They already are in good basketball conferences with decent budgets, revenue sharing, and NIL (or it can project to grow to a decent level). The playing field has leveled out a lot with that and the transfer portal.
If they went to a blue blood, they would get paid more, but if you’re getting paid a couple million, what’s a couple million more? Diminishing marginal utility. They get that.
Some coaches may consider blue bloods if they felt it got them a bit closer to regular chances at Final Fours and a championship or two. You would certainly have a bigger budget to work with and greater likelihood of 5 star players. But would getting a Darryn Petterson be worth it? Or AJ Dybantsa? Ask Bill Self. Or Otz and McCollum, since they have their “teams” farther in the tournament. Duke’s still playing, but haven’t really looked like a dominant team; maybe they’ll pull it together. Scheyer has a Final Four to his name, but the expectations are that or bust.
I suspect the biggest downside is the loss of control. When you go to a blue blood, you have a dominant athletic director (and/or school president, or governor: see LSU) and Bigmouth Bobby Booster who thinks he’s the program’s GM with his $1 million donation. “This program was a powerhouse before you got here and will be after you leave. We own you. Just do what you’re paid to do and win ball games.”
It seemed like Calipari left Kentucky for Arkansas in light of much of this. Arkansas is still probably a hot mess, but he can play savior.
So I suspect that more and more coaches who have 2nd tier, power conference jobs like Niko, Otz, and McCollum will pass on the blue bloods and will build their own kingdoms.
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