Craig Smith

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GopherWeatherGuy

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Craig Smith is the perfect coach for this job and someone will throw a bunch of money at him after this season.

Pitino’s teams have talent, but the lack of consistency is due to poor coaching. Good coaches continue to beat Pitino, and it’s time we hire a good coach in Craig Smith after this season.
 


GopherWeatherGuy said:
Craig Smith is the perfect coach for this job and someone will throw a bunch of money at him after this season.

Pitino’s teams have talent, but the lack of consistency is due to poor coaching. Good coaches continue to beat Pitino, and it’s time we hire a good coach in Craig Smith after this season.
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If I were Craig Smith there’s no way I’d take the MN job. A better opportunity to be successful will come along for him.
 

Angry said:
If I were Craig Smith there’s no way I’d take the MN job. A better opportunity to be successful will come along for him.
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Are you a Minnesota alumnus?
 



BarnBurner said:
What will little Marky do?

Punt again?
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Coyle was going to fire Pitino after last season but didn't have the money after covid hit. He will make a move if this team continues to struggle this season.
 


I have watched a little of Dutcher, Smith and Medved this year in anticipation of this happening. It's tough because the Mountain West is doing back to backs like we did with Loyola Marymount so that adds a different dynamic and makes the scheduling. The 4 best teams in the conference are San Diego State, Utah State, Boise State, and Colorado State. Medved and CSU had to play at SDSU/UState and just finished a home series with Boise. They are done with the tough teams and split with all 3. San Diego State dropped both on the road at Utah State/Smith in addition to splitting at home with CSU/Medved, they don't play Boise until later. SDSU/Dutcher also has wins over UCLA and Arizona State. Utah State/Smith have those wins at home against SDSU and split with CSU and don't play Boise until later.

SDSU/Dutcher: Has the team that looks most like a Big 10 team. Has the best wins outside of conference play. Lost a first round pick in the NBA draft and still in the mix for a conference title or at large berth. Has pretty consistently had highly ranked defenses at SDSU and might have had an Elite 8 type team last year.

Utah State/Smith: Best wins to date sweeping SDSU and splitting with CSU. Ugly losses to VCU and South Dakota State to start their season. Smith has this great center (Queta is his name I think) who could play for anyone but oustide of him they would resemble more of a typical mid major lacking size and athleticism. It is encouraging that Smith is doing well without the stud shooter he inherited (Sam something, drafted in 2nd round this year) that was a big key to his earlier success. The thing with Utah State to remember is it's widely considered one of (if not the) worst jobs in that conference so Smith winning there is a bet more impressive.

Colorado State/Medved. Has had it tough with the schedule, but they might be in the best postion to win the conference having split with the other 3 contenders despite only getting one of them at home. They don't have a Senior (can't remember if there's a non on the roster or simply none who play) and all the guys are Niko's kids. I just read a stat tonight that 5 of the highest 10 rated recruits in CSU history have come under Niko's tenure. I like the PG for Colorado State and Roddy is suprisingly effective in that league as a rebounder/scorer.

Anyone coming from a mid major to a power 5 will come with some question mark, here is my biggest question with each.

Dutcher: Age. This would be less of a big deal to me if the Gophers had talent coming back for '21 and he could start out strong, but that won't be the case. Does he want to grind through a bad season while setting up for '22 and beyond?

Smith: Recruiting: The C he got is nice, but he's still playing a guy or two from the previous regime and there doesn't seem to be a next impact guy on that roster. Given that he's only coached briefly at Nebraska he doesn't have any experience recruiting at the level I'd like to see.
Medved: No NCAA berths/signature wins. This could change this year, but they might need to win the Mountain West tourney to get there, even if they clearly are on the same level as the other top teams in this league. The closest Medved has to a big win out of conference was at Drake when they lost by 1 point at the Barn (a little misleading if I remember correctly a buzzer beater 3 cut it to 1) in Pitino's 5th year pre Reggie Lynch dismissal.

I have a hard time ranking these 3 currently just against themselves much less against the larger pool of prospective candidates. I will say that Medved has really made a positive impression on me this year, but that could be because I happened to see the game he beat Craig Smith at and not the game 2 nights prior where Smith beat Medved.
 

What is the reasoning the focus is on these three coaches?

What others should be in the conversation?
 



BarnBurner said:
What is the reasoning the focus is on these three coaches?

What others should be in the conversation?
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The vast majority of social media content I've seen has focused on these 3 coaches likely due to their Minnesota ties. Smith and Medved are from Minnesota (Medved coached here under Monson/Molinari) and Dutcher's dad is the former Gopher coach and he had it written in to his new deal that his buyout would be significantly less for Minnesota specifically.

As far as who else should be in the conversation, I think that's also part of the reason these guys get brought up. Since they coach in the Mountain West and make significantly less than a Big Ten coach most agree they would take the job. There's a large contingent of people in this fanbase who love to say Coach X would never take this job, so then you can just waste time arguing hypotheticals instead of discussing merits. So without mentioning current head coaches at power 5 schools, the only other names off the top of my head that I am really familiar with are Darren Devries at Drake (currently undefeated after losing Robbins to us, coached under McDermott at Creighton plays a style of basketball that gets everyone touches on offense) and then guys like Matta and Beilein who are out of the game. I could say people like John Becker at Vermont or Wes Miller at UNC Greensboro, but I would just be citing their records and what others have said about them.
 

Amazing analysis EG, thank you for putting the posts together.
 

If a move is made either Smith or Medved would be a solid choice. I would rate Dutcher a distant third behind the other two.

Unfortunately the coach I would have at the top of the list was hired by Alabama last year.
 

EG#9 said:
I have watched a little of Dutcher, Smith and Medved this year in anticipation of this happening. It's tough because the Mountain West is doing back to backs like we did with Loyola Marymount so that adds a different dynamic and makes the scheduling. The 4 best teams in the conference are San Diego State, Utah State, Boise State, and Colorado State. Medved and CSU had to play at SDSU/UState and just finished a home series with Boise. They are done with the tough teams and split with all 3. San Diego State dropped both on the road at Utah State/Smith in addition to splitting at home with CSU/Medved, they don't play Boise until later. SDSU/Dutcher also has wins over UCLA and Arizona State. Utah State/Smith have those wins at home against SDSU and split with CSU and don't play Boise until later.

SDSU/Dutcher: Has the team that looks most like a Big 10 team. Has the best wins outside of conference play. Lost a first round pick in the NBA draft and still in the mix for a conference title or at large berth. Has pretty consistently had highly ranked defenses at SDSU and might have had an Elite 8 type team last year.

Utah State/Smith: Best wins to date sweeping SDSU and splitting with CSU. Ugly losses to VCU and South Dakota State to start their season. Smith has this great center (Queta is his name I think) who could play for anyone but oustide of him they would resemble more of a typical mid major lacking size and athleticism. It is encouraging that Smith is doing well without the stud shooter he inherited (Sam something, drafted in 2nd round this year) that was a big key to his earlier success. The thing with Utah State to remember is it's widely considered one of (if not the) worst jobs in that conference so Smith winning there is a bet more impressive.

Colorado State/Medved. Has had it tough with the schedule, but they might be in the best postion to win the conference having split with the other 3 contenders despite only getting one of them at home. They don't have a Senior (can't remember if there's a non on the roster or simply none who play) and all the guys are Niko's kids. I just read a stat tonight that 5 of the highest 10 rated recruits in CSU history have come under Niko's tenure. I like the PG for Colorado State and Roddy is suprisingly effective in that league as a rebounder/scorer.

Anyone coming from a mid major to a power 5 will come with some question mark, here is my biggest question with each.

Dutcher: Age. This would be less of a big deal to me if the Gophers had talent coming back for '21 and he could start out strong, but that won't be the case. Does he want to grind through a bad season while setting up for '22 and beyond?

Smith: Recruiting: The C he got is nice, but he's still playing a guy or two from the previous regime and there doesn't seem to be a next impact guy on that roster. Given that he's only coached briefly at Nebraska he doesn't have any experience recruiting at the level I'd like to see.
Medved: No NCAA berths/signature wins. This could change this year, but they might need to win the Mountain West tourney to get there, even if they clearly are on the same level as the other top teams in this league. The closest Medved has to a big win out of conference was at Drake when they lost by 1 point at the Barn (a little misleading if I remember correctly a buzzer beater 3 cut it to 1) in Pitino's 5th year pre Reggie Lynch dismissal.

I have a hard time ranking these 3 currently just against themselves much less against the larger pool of prospective candidates. I will say that Medved has really made a positive impression on me this year, but that could be because I happened to see the game he beat Craig Smith at and not the game 2 nights prior where Smith beat Medved.
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Thank you for the analysis, EG!

There was a time when I thought Dutcher's age was an automatic disqualifier. Then I thought about people like Scotty Bowman, who won (I think) four Stanley Cups after age 60.
 



EG#9 said:
The vast majority of social media content I've seen has focused on these 3 coaches likely due to their Minnesota ties. Smith and Medved are from Minnesota (Medved coached here under Monson/Molinari) and Dutcher's dad is the former Gopher coach and he had it written in to his new deal that his buyout would be significantly less for Minnesota specifically.

As far as who else should be in the conversation, I think that's also part of the reason these guys get brought up. Since they coach in the Mountain West and make significantly less than a Big Ten coach most agree they would take the job. There's a large contingent of people in this fanbase who love to say Coach X would never take this job, so then you can just waste time arguing hypotheticals instead of discussing merits. So without mentioning current head coaches at power 5 schools, the only other names off the top of my head that I am really familiar with are Darren Devries at Drake (currently undefeated after losing Robbins to us, coached under McDermott at Creighton plays a style of basketball that gets everyone touches on offense) and then guys like Matta and Beilein who are out of the game. I could say people like John Becker at Vermont or Wes Miller at UNC Greensboro, but I would just be citing their records and what others have said about them.
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Great post and input, EG.

I’m in the vast minority on here but Dutcher, Smith and Medved do absolutely nothing for me personally if the intent of firing Pitino is to ignite an immediate resurgence of interest in the program.

Are all three (3) of those guys superior to Pitino strategically when it comes to coaching? Probably. I’d be more excited and reinvigorated about the program (and recruiting) if Bielein was brought in with Matta being a distant second.
 


Slim Tubby said:
Great post and input, EG.

I’m in the vast minority on here but Dutcher, Smith and Medved do absolutely nothing for me personally if the intent of firing Pitino is to ignite an immediate resurgence of interest in the program.

Are all three (3) of those guys superior to Pitino strategically when it comes to coaching? Probably. I’d be more excited and reinvigorated about the program (and recruiting) if Bielein was brought in with Matta being a distant second.
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I would do anything to bring in Beilein, including but not limited to a big donation. But I just don't see him returning to the college game. He did it the right way; in other words the hard way. He got increasingly frustrated with the nature of college recruiting and the uneven playing field battling programs that were shady. I hate to say this because the guy was made to coach college-age guys.
 

EG#9 said:
The vast majority of social media content I've seen has focused on these 3 coaches likely due to their Minnesota ties. Smith and Medved are from Minnesota (Medved coached here under Monson/Molinari) and Dutcher's dad is the former Gopher coach and he had it written in to his new deal that his buyout would be significantly less for Minnesota specifically.

As far as who else should be in the conversation, I think that's also part of the reason these guys get brought up. Since they coach in the Mountain West and make significantly less than a Big Ten coach most agree they would take the job. There's a large contingent of people in this fanbase who love to say Coach X would never take this job, so then you can just waste time arguing hypotheticals instead of discussing merits. So without mentioning current head coaches at power 5 schools, the only other names off the top of my head that I am really familiar with are Darren Devries at Drake (currently undefeated after losing Robbins to us, coached under McDermott at Creighton plays a style of basketball that gets everyone touches on offense) and then guys like Matta and Beilein who are out of the game. I could say people like John Becker at Vermont or Wes Miller at UNC Greensboro, but I would just be citing their records and what others have said about them.
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While I am OK that a potential new coach have MN ties, that isn't the most important thing for me. And I am familiar with the paths of both Smith and Medved and of course Dutcher.

There has to be many reasons why MN has not had a coach at the helm that has created a self sustaining program for any length of time, other than Haskins, since Dutcher left. Administrative politics, funding, priority of sports at the U, and poor hiring plans have all contributed, imo.

To me, MN is a job that coaches SHOULD want. Recent history of top flight kids to recruit locally, Big 10 conference, Big 10 salary (assistants), lots of positives. Metro area, of course can be a plus or minus. Lots to offer in the city.

If we are to believe BADGER, there are very few coaches with the ability and skills to build and sustain a program that is equal to many of the programs fans on GH would like Mn to be. That being the case, if one of those "special" coaches is not hired, each time a change is made, we fans are disappointed after a few years, generally. Each change is usually at least 5 years. A few 5 year changes and the cycle is established. Seems like what we see here.

Given that, should we really be so surprised when the wins dont come as expected? After all, if you subscribe to the minimal available "special" coaches that are available, we as fans really should not be surprised.
 

BarnBurner said:
While I am OK that a potential new coach have MN ties, that isn't the most important thing for me. And I am familiar with the paths of both Smith and Medved and of course Dutcher.

There has to be many reasons why MN has not had a coach at the helm that has created a self sustaining program for any length of time, other than Haskins, since Dutcher left. Administrative politics, funding, priority of sports at the U, and poor hiring plans have all contributed, imo.

To me, MN is a job that coaches SHOULD want. Recent history of top flight kids to recruit locally, Big 10 conference, Big 10 salary (assistants), lots of positives. Metro area, of course can be a plus or minus. Lots to offer in the city.

If we are to believe BADGER, there are very few coaches with the ability and skills to build and sustain a program that is equal to many of the programs fans on GH would like Mn to be. That being the case, if one of those "special" coaches is not hired, each time a change is made, we fans are disappointed after a few years, generally. Each change is usually at least 5 years. A few 5 year changes and the cycle is established. Seems like what we see here.

Given that, should we really be so surprised when the wins dont come as expected? After all, if you subscribe to the minimal available "special" coaches that are available, we as fans really should not be surprised.
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After being on GH the past decade or so, it seems as if the average Gopher fan would be content with finishing in the top 5 in the BIG for both hoops and football and be in serious contention for a title or even winning one when everything lines up. The BIG is an extremely competitive conference
and getting to and maintaining a top 5 program is difficult. That task may is a bit easier in hoops for many reasons.

In the past five basketball seasons, including today, the following schools rank the highest and number of times in the top 5: 1. MSU (4), 2. Purdue (4), 3. Wisconsin (4), 4. Michigan (4) and 5. Maryland (3). The Gophers have been there once; 4th in 16-17 and every BT school has had at least top 5 finish.

Maybe the Gophers can somehow get their act together and finish strong and win at least one NCAA tourney game. But I am not in that camp. If it does, then RP will stay but I'm all about making a change.
 

Bayfieldgopher said:
After being on GH the past decade or so, it seems as if the average Gopher fan would be content with finishing in the top 5 in the BIG for both hoops and football and be in serious contention for a title or even winning one when everything lines up. The BIG is an extremely competitive conference
and getting to and maintaining a top 5 program is difficult. That task may is a bit easier in hoops for many reasons.

In the past five basketball seasons, including today, the following schools rank the highest and number of times in the top 5: 1. MSU (4), 2. Purdue (4), 3. Wisconsin (4), 4. Michigan (4) and 5. Maryland (3). The Gophers have been there once; 4th in 16-17 and every BT school has had at least top 5 finish.

Maybe the Gophers can somehow get their act together and finish strong and win at least one NCAA tourney game. But I am not in that camp. If it does, then RP will stay but I'm all about making a change.
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I'm not in that camp, either. The team deficiencies we see today are the same team deficiencies we have seen for the past 6 seasons. Those things have not improved.
 

There are few special coaches or people in every profession. If there were many they would not be special . But they are out there and the board has listed some of them that are possible to get it done here. I added a few of my own and then there are a few, very few that the public Is not aware of.
 

builtbadgers said:
There are few special coaches or people in every profession. If there were many they would not be special . But they are out there and the board has listed some of them that are possible to get it done here. I added a few of my own and then there are a few, very few that the public Is not aware of.
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List the others in your posts above, other than Dutcher, Medved, Smith. In order of the best, in your mind.
 

Are any top assistants at Power 5 schools on the radar? I keep thinking of how Mark Few took over at Gonzaga after Gophers hired Monson - in hindsight it looks like we should have gone after the assistant coach rather than the head coach at that time.
 

MW of course has a lot of good candidates, as has been noted for some time.

Teams are all over the place in terms of number of games played, but there are five teams right now sitting at 3 or less conf losses:
Boise 10-1
Utah St 10-2
Colo St 9-3
San Diego St 7-3
UNLV 3-3

Looks like for their conf games, they're doing series of two games back to back. Lot of splits in the series between this group:
Boise - split with Colo St recently (hasn't played any others though)
Utah St - swept San Diego St, split Colo St, UNLV
Colo St - split San Deigo St, swept UNLV, split Utah St, split Boise
San Diego St - split Colo St, swept by Utah St
UNLV - swept by Colo St, split Utah St


Smith, Medved, and Dutcher have been talked about many times, for their various reasons. UNLV being led in the 2nd year by South Dakota St's previous head coach. Maybe a bit too soon for him, unless they really kick booty the rest of the way. Boise is led by a coach in his 11th year, who before that spent 10 seasons at Gonzaga as an asst, and is from Washington. Guessing he wouldn't have any interest in Minnesota.
 

1 name I'll throw out there is Darian DeVries at Drake. He's got them sitting at 15-0 this year in year 3. No significant big name wins but it's tough to be 15-0 in any conference.

Interesting dynamic with Robbins transferring out of Drake and I don't think they were very happy with Minnesota (Pitino/Conroy) about that. Whether that plays a factor or not negatively I don't know.

On the surface I don't think DeVries would leave Drake. He was an assistant at Creighton for 17 years and stayed in the MVC with the move to HC at Drake in 2018. I could be wrong and Coyle would no doubt reach out to inquire about any interest there if that's a guy he was looking at. Just saying I don't know how likely that is. He's also an Iowa guy who played in the MVC at Northern Iowa. Ties to both the MVC and Iowa. Drake just seems like a good fit for him at this point.
 
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Angry said:
If I were Craig Smith there’s no way I’d take the MN job. A better opportunity to be successful will come along for him.
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The U is the only division 1 (UST doesn't count....yet) team in a state that has been loaded with talent the last 10 years. If I were a good young coach who could sell a program, I would love this job.
 
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Gopherbbdude said:
Beilein.....he's one of the few slam dunk hires
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67, NOT necessarily a detriment. Won 57 % of his conference games. Won 4 conference titles in his career including one at Michigan. Made the NCAA'S half the time in his career. Now enjoying warmer weather and attending to a family that needs him.
 

ethomasp31 said:
The U is the only division 1 (UST doesn't count....yet) team in a state that has been loaded with talent the last 10 years. If I ere a good young coach who could sell a program, I would love this job.
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Oats would have been a grand slam. Same goes for Grant but word is he may be up next at Clemson.
 

ethomasp31 said:
The U is the only division 1 (UST doesn't count....yet) team in a state that has been loaded with talent the last 10 years. If I ere a good young coach who could sell a program, I would love this job.
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I personally think Pitino sells the program and college well with what he has to sell. It's just that he's not able to boast a track record of success or obvious coaching prowess. All these kids from Minnesota going to Madison or other places aren't rejecting the U of M; they're attracted to the prospect of competing for conference championships and being developed and challenged by the best in the business.
 

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