Katz: U$C and Minnesota both showing strong interest in FGCU's Andy Enfield

Status
Not open for further replies.
Donate To GopherHole
The anti-Enfield guys are the same as the "everyone is overreacting, trust the process" guys. It we be fun to watch the backpedal if Enfield becomes our HC. I like Enfield as a candidate.
 

not all that psych'd about getting Andy Enfield, but would take his WIFE in a heartbeat.
 

Initially, I was strongly against Enfield, but the more I read about him, the more I like him. I'm not completely sold yet, but I think he could definitely provide a much needed spark to our offense and fan base. Hopefully, the boosters see it that way too.
 


goldengophers said:
The anti-Enfield guys are the same as the "everyone is overreacting, trust the process" guys. It we be fun to watch the backpedal if Enfield becomes our HC. I like Enfield as a candidate.
Click to expand...

I don't like his lack of a proven track record at a school I would struggle to call a mid-major.

I don't like the distinct flavor of the month vibe I get from the FGCU Sweet 16 run.

But if the guy is our coach I'm going to support him and the program until he proves whether he can win in the B1G or not.
 


If he wants to be here I'd be fine with it. I'm not so sure he wants to leave the life style there, and I don't see money being the tipping point.
 

dpodoll68 said:
I guess that's where we differ. If I'm Norwood Teague, I don't give two sh1ts what anyone (especially rubes like you and me) think of the hire. Getting excitement and buzz is under the "nice to have" category, but if we win, all of that stuff will take care of itself. A coach who they think gives us the best shot to win is and should be far and away the #1 priority. I'm not upset about the $2.5 MM because they need to "excite" me with the follow-up hire - I'm upset about the $2.5 MM because I highly doubt they'll be able to hire an upgrade. I hope they prove me wrong, and I think Enfield is as good of a candidate to be that upgrade as anyone we can realistically get.
Click to expand...

I can see your point but if we are looking to hire a coach to be bottom half of the big ten we should have just stayed with tubby and not renewed after his contract was up. i think a guy like enfield will be an ok at best hire and we will remain 6-10 in the big ten for 5-6 yrs. not sure the Minnesota bandwagon fanbase will wait around that long
 

pro Enfield guys realize that Norwood struck out on everyone else and we are now desperate...They know he has only coached low D1 For only 2 years and has never coached a team of his own players. They will be the first to demand his head if he does not out perform Tubby and act like they never wanted the guy in the first place.
 

tikited said:
If he wants to be here I'd be fine with it. I'm not so sure he wants to leave the life style there, and I don't see money being the tipping point.
Click to expand...

He makes 160,000 at FGCU. Money would probably be a tipping point.
 




MadtownGopher said:
I don't think we'd get Tyus, but yeah it would be a great system for him. Especially with athletes like Vaughn, Buggs, Coleman etc.
Click to expand...

You're right about that and most of us LOVE that kind of Offense. Here's a serious question though. Looking at Tubby's performance in the Non-Conference season(s) those teams loved running the floor too. His teams when they had ball handlers, loved to press too. He ran into trouble every year when he got into the Big Ten. There, he'd run into teams that slowed-it down big time, weren't bothered by a press and forced their opponents to beat them by out-shoting them in a half court offense. Yeah, we know that Tubby's teams had a lot of other problems and that there are a handful of B1G teams that will "run with you" but Enfield's name begs the question.

Unless you've got a bunch of great shooters and ball handlers can Enfield's system work in the B1G?
 

mcal24 said:
He makes 160,000 at FGCU. Money would probably be a tipping point.
Click to expand...

He is also independently wealthy from his medical products start up company that reportedly he sold for over $100 million. His wife may have some residual income from her previous career, as well.
 

The guy had a good 2 game weekend. Granted it was on a big stage. His resume is good enough but this would have the feel of Monson all over again without the sanctions that Monson faced when taking over.
 



Somebody brought up a great point I hadn't considered about FGCU the other day - the school opened its doors in 1997, meaning the oldest alumni are almost all 33-34 years old. Not only would it be difficult anyway to fund raise to a school like that, but there are likely few if any alumni that even have the financial resources to donate anything of significance. Whereas a school like VCU or Butler probably has a lot of money in the alumni base to finance salary and facility upgrades, I doubt FGCU has hardly any at all. Their ceiling to upgrade those things probably isn't much higher than where they are now. Stevens and Smart are both making money comparable to a lot of BCS-level coaches, but I doubt FGCU could support a salary anywhere approaching seven figures.
 

Are there rules about coaches donating money to their school? I say Enfield is a home run if we can hit him up for $10m for the practice facility :)
 

I prefer Enfield over any assistant out there and over coaches with so-so records, such as Mack. I don't want NT to hire a sitting head coach simply for the sake of hiring a sitting head coach from a major or high major. I have two questions: A.) Is USC a significantly better coaching job than Minnesota? B.) Is the cold Minnesota weather something that would be a deal killer for Enfield?
 

MadtownGopher said:
He is a self-made millionaire, selling his stake in his business for $50+ million...
Click to expand...

I've read that the money figures are vastly overstated. The founder of the company said that the company is actually worth more than what's been reported, but Enfield's stake was very small and he himself has said that he's not independently wealthy and has to work to make a living. I'm guessing the money he made from that deal was probably enough to give a nice boost to his retirement account, but not enough that a seven-figure salary would be peanuts to him.
 

How many really are concerned about the style of play the coach uses now? I am far more concerned what style of play the coach would be able to use at Minnesota. At smaller schools its much easier to recruit 6'3"-6'8" kids than it is to get the leftover picking of true center types. Its the reason so many smaller schools we have seen play a ton of 3 guard lineups and usually are uptempo teams. They simply dont have a great deal of chances to recruit bigger players.

My question is can a guy like Ensfield who is currently running an uptempo, small lineuped team curb his sytem to include true post players. This is Minnesota and many of the top basketball players this state produces have been big guys. Yes we have kicked out the El-Amin, Bell, Taylor, and now Jones type point guards but their seems to be a much bigger list of big centers and forwards year in and year out. Would Ensfield be able to recruit those type of players and use them effectively in the Big Ten. The Big Ten is still and may always be a league dominated by tough and physical play and that usually doesnt bode well for teams that are small and like to run and gun. Its one reason I like Buzz Williams he has some very good perimeter players that he coaches up but he has included tough physical low post players that can bang down low.
 

dpodoll68 said:
I can dig it. His level of experience is not ideal, but he has shown himself to be highly skilled in multiple fields (somewhat of a Renaissance man) and took a group of lightly recruited athletes to the Sweet 16. Aside from the more substantive issues, I wouldn't mind seeing his wife in the stands at home games.
Click to expand...

I'm on board with this guy as well. He has a very intriguing background and there is a lot of evidence in his ability to recruit (see: Wife).
 

MadtownGopher said:
He is a self-made millionaire, selling his stake in his business for $50+ million...
Click to expand...

Even so, can you turn down an extra million dollars per year to coach at a more established basketball school?
 

WolfontheProwl said:
How many really are concerned about the style of play the coach uses now? I am far more concerned what style of play the coach would be able to use at Minnesota. At smaller schools its much easier to recruit 6'3"-6'8" kids than it is to get the leftover picking of true center types. Its the reason so many smaller schools we have seen play a ton of 3 guard lineups and usually are uptempo teams. They simply dont have a great deal of chances to recruit bigger players.

My question is can a guy like Ensfield who is currently running an uptempo, small lineuped team curb his sytem to include true post players. This is Minnesota and many of the top basketball players this state produces have been big guys. Yes we have kicked out the El-Amin, Bell, Taylor, and now Jones type point guards but their seems to be a much bigger list of big centers and forwards year in and year out. Would Ensfield be able to recruit those type of players and use them effectively in the Big Ten. The Big Ten is still and may always be a league dominated by tough and physical play and that usually doesnt bode well for teams that are small and like to run and gun. Its one reason I like Buzz Williams he has some very good perimeter players that he coaches up but he has included tough physical low post players that can bang down low.
Click to expand...


I'm honestly ok with any style. I prefer watching something more fast paced, but I think we can win with any style and I'd rather watch an ugly win than a pretty loss.
 

dpodoll68 said:
Somebody brought up a great point I hadn't considered about FGCU the other day - the school opened its doors in 1997, meaning the oldest alumni are almost all 33-34 years old. Not only would it be difficult anyway to fund raise to a school like that, but there are likely few if any alumni that even have the financial resources to donate anything of significance. Whereas a school like VCU or Butler probably has a lot of money in the alumni base to finance salary and facility upgrades, I doubt FGCU has hardly any at all. Their ceiling to upgrade those things probably isn't much higher than where they are now. Stevens and Smart are both making money comparable to a lot of BCS-level coaches, but I doubt FGCU could support a salary anywhere approaching seven figures.
Click to expand...

I saw a game at FGCU in January when I was on vacation, and their primary arena anyway was quite nice for a low major program. While the school is new, it is not a fledgling little hick place. Locals told me it had over 10,000 students, and it is on a sprawling piece of land in Fort Myers (not sure how much is buildable) and is just a toss down the road from Naples, which is loaded with wealthy people. Alumni base may not be there for fundraising yet, but there is plenty of money locally. My guess is that the develpment office at FGCU is hard at work hitting up major donors for many projects this week. What I am saying is that there is a lot of room for growth there, especially if he is comfortable and has no desire to uproot his family.
 

Iceland12 said:
You're right about that and most of us LOVE that kind of Offense. Here's a serious question though. Looking at Tubby's performance in the Non-Conference season(s) those teams loved running the floor too. His teams when they had ball handlers, loved to press too. He ran into trouble every year when he got into the Big Ten. There, he'd run into teams that slowed-it down big time, weren't bothered by a press and forced their opponents to beat them by out-shoting them in a half court offense. Yeah, we know that Tubby's teams had a lot of other problems and that there are a handful of B1G teams that will "run with you" but Enfield's name begs the question.

Unless you've got a bunch of great shooters and ball handlers can Enfield's system work in the B1G?
Click to expand...

I saw a lot of their baskets - even some of the more spectacular ones - coming out of half court sets. Some very basic concepts like give-and-go but executed with great precision and floor spacing. Looks like jungle ball with some of the spectacular finishes but in essence good fundamental basketball.

My primary concern about him would be recruiting. He's a relative unknown in that regard since he's been working with inhereted players.
 

Bad Gopher said:
I saw a lot of their baskets - even some of the more spectacular ones - coming out of half court sets. Some very basic concepts like give-and-go but executed with great precision and floor spacing. Looks like jungle ball with some of the spectacular finishes but in essence good fundamental basketball.

My primary concern about him would be recruiting. He's a relative unknown in that regard since he's been working with inhereted players.
Click to expand...

Thanks.
 

Marcus tweet: @gophersnow: There's been talk about Andy Enfield for a while now but what do you think about his style of play working in the Big Ten? Not sure it fits.

Go Gophers!!
 

I am not too worried about recruiting. I think there is enough with his style of play, NBA experience, and the allure of playing in the Big Ten for him to attract good talent.
 

BleedGopher said:
Marcus tweet: @gophersnow: There's been talk about Andy Enfield for a while now but what do you think about his style of play working in the Big Ten? Not sure it fits.

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

There are a lot of styles in the B1G and each one can succeed given the right players (Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan for example - all different styles, all successful in 2012/2013). Not concerned about style, more concerned about recruiting the type of players that can win in the style in the B1G
 

westcoastgopher11 said:
I don't like his lack of a proven track record at a school I would struggle to call a mid-major.

I don't like the distinct flavor of the month vibe I get from the FGCU Sweet 16 run.

But if the guy is our coach I'm going to support him and the program until he proves whether he can win in the B1G or not.
Click to expand...

+1000. If Georgetown doesn't wet the bed, most folks would be screaming bloody murder over this guy even being mentioned. Even if we're going the mid-major route, there are more qualified candidates. The process should not go Shaka, Stevens, Hoiberg, Flip, Enfield. That's a long ways down the list to jump and seems like a panic move done because of USC's interest.
 

howeda7 said:
+1000. If Georgetown doesn't wet the bed, most folks would be screaming bloody murder over this guy even being mentioned. Even if we're going the mid-major route, there are more qualified candidates. The process should not go Shaka, Stevens, Hoiberg, Flip, Enfield. That's a long ways down the list to jump and seems like a panic move done because of USC's interest.
Click to expand...

This argument could be made for literally every hot up and comer in the mid-majors.
 

MadtownGopher said:
This argument could be made for literally every hot up and comer in the mid-majors.
Click to expand...

Not true. A guy like Jim Larranaga won at George Mason for a long time. Yes, the Final Four run put him on the map, but he did it for a much longer period of time. Heck I'd rather go to that well and give Paul Hewitt another shot than roll the dice on Andy Enfield.
 

Status
Not open for further replies.



Top Bottom