Next Gopher Head Coach

Donate To GopherHole
WriterGoph said:
Who are the other black coaches who are actually candidates with better resumes? Just curious.

If you say Anthony Grant or Sam Mitchell, just don't even bother. Grant is a retread who couldn't do well at Alabama and Mitchell has nothing about him that says he is going to succeed as a college HC or recruiter.
Click to expand...
Travis DeCuire
 

Ozzy&Ray said:
It’s not a step down - lateral, but not down. And, unless you are a personal friend you have no idea how his wife and daughter feel. You are simply sharing your thoughts, no more relevant than anyone else.
Click to expand...
I mean I'm sure he and his family "love it there" but so does every coach until they're out the door. Doesn't mean a whole lot. I don't think he's coming here, but it's not impossible.
 

bga1 said:
Did he say he demanded something? Nobody is demanding they hire Musselman. Yellin Thibs said that it is not out of the question and that they should try. I agree. If they go after him and can't get him- I for one have no problem with that.
Click to expand...

A LOT of people on this board are basically implying they will be upset if Coyle doesn't target Musselman first. Feel free to go back through the thread, but it's definitely fairly rampant. I simply want to know how these fans expect to have their thirst quenched in this regard?

I get a strong feeling that a certain sector of our fan base will be out for blood if Gates (for example) is hired and there is never any public indication that Musselman was offered. I just don't see that kind of information being publicly available on Coyle's watch
 

SanDiegoGopherFan said:
If recruits actually cared that much, then they should go play for a coach of color. That begs the question, why dont they.

If top recruits of color were to choose only coaches of color, I guarantee you schools would notice and start hiring more diverse candidates.

So really, it's the players that have the power here, not the Universities.
Click to expand...
Players want to play where they have the best chance to excel. That's most likely with the best coaches and the best programs. People on here talk all the time about the top recruits going to the Blue Bloods. How many Blue Bloods have a coach of color?
 

bizzle22 said:
Travis DeCuire
Click to expand...

Sorry, no. Horizon > Big Sky all day. They have both been a head coach once. DeCuire for a few more years, but in a much weaker conference. Also, I'll take Gates' 8 years of experience as an assistant at a prominent program like FSU (where he actually recruited and worked with future NBA players).
 



matt said:
This might be true (and I sincerely hope it is), but you also should acknowledge that media personalities have their own benefits/agenda in discussing and promoting Muss in their column or radio show. I trust that they have “good reason” to push his name out there and say that he can be had, but that reason might be as much or more for selfish reasons than Minnesota fandom reasons.
Click to expand...
Knowing the media personalities we're talking about, their primary basic animal desire is to be right. My hope is that they know something or have heard something and they want to be right about this in the end.
 

WriterGoph said:
Sorry, no. Horizon > Big Sky all day. They have both been a head coach once. DeCuire for a few more years, but in a much weaker conference. Also, I'll take Gates' 8 years of experience as an assistant at a prominent program like FSU (where he actually recruited and worked with future NBA players).
Click to expand...
The Big Sky and Horizon League are very comparable. If you look at conference RPI ratings they are generally within a few spots of each other and have alternated back and forth between which is stronger the last 5 years.
Cal was pretty good when DeCuire was there. Mike Montgomery was the head coach and they made the NCAA tournament 4 out of 6 years. He was the lead on-court development coach for three PAC12 players of the year in those six years, including Allen Crabbe who made $75M in the NBA. One of his players from Montana played in the NBA for a year as well.

He and Gates actually have very similar resumes. Gates doesn’t have as much HC experience, but is also 9 years younger.
 




bga1 said:
So you don't think that the U is under pressure to hire for diversity?
Click to expand...
I'm calling bull shit on his story that the recruiter said he has the job, but they need to give token interviews first. No way a recruiter would admit to that, and if they did, I wouldn't work there


I feel confident Coyle will hire best candidate and will be seeking out diverse candidate pool.
 

DelawareGopher said:
My life would be pretty sad if I made up stories to score meaningless internet points. Which I don’t. And in my field, there are few places that aren’t applying a similar process, so I don’t really have the luxury of turning it down should I get the formal offer.
Click to expand...
I still think you're full of shit.

I also wouldn't work for a company that said, well you have the job, but the damn social justice warriors are making me interview diverse candidates and it's taking forever

They're either stringing you along OR they're fucking morons.
 

bizzle22 said:
The Big Sky and Horizon League are very comparable. If you look at conference RPI ratings they are generally within a few spots of each other and have alternated back and forth between which is stronger the last 5 years.
Cal was pretty good when DeCuire was there. Mike Montgomery was the head coach and they made the NCAA tournament 4 out of 6 years. He was the lead on-court development coach for three PAC12 players of the year in those six years, including Allen Crabbe who made $75M in the NBA. One of his players from Montana played in the NBA for a year as well.

He and Gates actually have very similar resumes. Gates doesn’t have as much HC experience, but is also 9 years younger.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your detailed info. I still think the Horizon has had better quality teams who have made the tournament and pulled some upsets than the Big Sky, but the background on DeCuire piques my interest.
 

WriterGoph said:
Thanks for your detailed info. I still think the Horizon has had better quality teams who have made the tournament and pulled some upsets than the Big Sky, but the background on DeCuire piques my interest.
Click to expand...
I also have watched a few Montana games since DeCuire got that job, and like him. I also remember him from Cal. Competitive guy with some fire.
 



bga1 said:
I'm not the person simplifying it down to the color of his skin. Let's be honest for a second here. We would not be talking about Gates as anything more than one of many on a list were it not for that differentiating factor. He has not done that much yet. Certainly Smith has done more, as has Medved, as has Moser, Ben Jacobsen and a host of others. If he's hired, I'm fine and I will be all in on it, just like I was with Monson, Tubby and Pitino. I really like what I am hearing about Gates as a potentially good and maybe great coach. He's not proven.
Click to expand...
One advantage Gates brings over other coaches is an ability to connect with HS/college age kids. Part of that is his youth, part of it is being black IMO, part of it is his approach to relationships and teaching. It's the main reason I am interested in him. That connection with the youth was something I assumed we would get with a young Pitino...but IMO he related a lot better to the media and fans than he ever did with his players.

A good thought experiment to address the question of whether his being black affects his job prospects is to flip the race of the candidates. If Dennis Gates was white, would he be a frontrunner for the U of M job? If Craig Smith or Niko Medved were black, would they be seen as 2nd tier options for the Gophers or would they be our main target, or a the choice of an Indiana/blue blood?

You could do the same thought experiment with Pitino 8 years ago. If he was a random white guy named John Johnson, does he get hired at the U of M with one good year at FIU? Absolutely not. HIs last name and connections elevated him.

To me it's clear his being black is a major part of elevating Gates with just 2 years as a HC, and I am fine with that. Dutcher is my 1a, Gates is my 1b, Smith and Medved are my fallbacks I will be very happy with.
 

salzie said:
I still think you're full of shit.

I also wouldn't work for a company that said, well you have the job, but the damn social justice warriors are making me interview diverse candidates and it's taking forever

They're either stringing you along OR they're fucking morons.
Click to expand...
I’m not sure why you find this so hard to believe. It’s effectively just the corporate world’s version of the Rooney Rule.
 


DelawareGopher said:
I’m not sure why you find this so hard to believe. It’s effectively just the corporate world’s version of the Rooney Rule.
Click to expand...
I don't believe a company would be that open about it during hiring process. It's one unlikely kept under wraps and would be bad policy and press if it got they kept candidates on hold they were going to hire solely to interview diverse candidates they weren't going to hire just to say they'd interview them.

back to coaching search
 


WriterGoph said:
A LOT of people on this board are basically implying they will be upset if Coyle doesn't target Musselman first. Feel free to go back through the thread, but it's definitely fairly rampant. I simply want to know how these fans expect to have their thirst quenched in this regard?

I get a strong feeling that a certain sector of our fan base will be out for blood if Gates (for example) is hired and there is never any public indication that Musselman was offered. I just don't see that kind of information being publicly available on Coyle's watch
Click to expand...
He should target Musselman first. Period. He's a homerun hire in this town, he's proven he can do it. If he targets him and can't get him- then great, get the next best guy.

Yes, in the end we won't know, publicly, who Coyle considered/asked. The other thing you don't know right now is that he definitely won't come here.
 

Am i missing something? Seems to me Sam Mitchell would be an outstanding hire yet hear nothing about him. Has he said he doesnt want the job or something? Definitely dont want Tim Miles.
 



salzie said:
I don't believe a company would be that open about it during hiring process. It's one unlikely kept under wraps and would be bad policy and press if it got they kept candidates on hold they were going to hire solely to interview diverse candidates they weren't going to hire just to say they'd interview them.

back to coaching search
Click to expand...
Maybe I misworded my OP. They “plan” to hire me because it’s difficult to attract minority candidates to the geographic location I’m interviewing at, so they just don’t expect any qualified applicants. They were open about the policy with me so I don’t write them off in the meantime or solely rely on them, because if the minority-candidate version of my resume comes through, I’m probably out of luck. So yeah, they’re stringing me along in a sense, but they’re being open as to why.

In any case, my point—which I think is pretty uncontroversial—is that there is tremendous pressure in corporate America and academia to become more diverse. That applies from low-level corporate drones like me to leaders of huge institutions. Gates may end up being the most qualified applicant we have, and we should scoop him up if so. But I don’t see any reason (besides the need for more diversity) to go with him IF Dutcher/Smith are gettable. This is all sort of academic, though, since we’ll probably never know who’s truly in the cards.
 

goldengophers said:
What about Sam Mitchell would leads you to believe he would be an "outstanding" college HC?
Click to expand...

I have always been impressed with his demeanor as a player and coach so part of it is that i suppose. COY with the raptors and has experience at the college level. Maybe part of it is seeing how ex player juwan howard has come in and mitchell seems in that mold to me. Both are likable, humble, and i think Sam would be appealing to recruits and parents. Seems to me recruits would be much more excited about mitchell than gates.
 


JimmyJamesMD said:
I dont really care who the next HC (if its one of the aforementioned possibilities)

What a door care about is, there better be a lot of leaks, this process needs to be fun
Click to expand...
Someone better be firing up the flight checker.

Today through Thursday will probably drag. Then at least we’ll get to watch our potential coach in action.
 

GAMESWONLOSTWIN%SOS
COACH X
126​
96​
30​
0.762​
3.13​
COACH Y
204​
152​
52​
0.745​
4.71​
COACH Z
58​
30​
20​
0.517​
-3.71​
COACH T
231​
153​
78​
0.622​
-0.48​
COACH Q
255​
129​
126​
0.506​
-1.66​


PICK A COACH.

I GO WITH Y 1ST
X 2ND BASED ON % AND STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE (YES, THERE ARE NEGATIVE SOS
 
Last edited:

SanDiegoGopherFan said:
Games Wins Losses W-L% SOS

Coach X 126 96 30 .762 3.13

Coach Y 204 152 52 .745 4.17

Coach Z 58 30 20 .517 -3.71

Coach T 231 153 78 .662 -0.48

Coach Q 255 129 126 .506 -1.66


PICK A COACH.

I GO WITH Y 1ST
X 2ND BASED ON % AND STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE (YES, THERE ARE NEGATIVE SOS
Click to expand...
Yep Y - X and then the bailout is T
 

golf said:
I have always been impressed with his demeanor as a player and coach so part of it is that i suppose. COY with the raptors and has experience at the college level. Maybe part of it is seeing how ex player juwan howard has come in and mitchell seems in that mold to me. Both are likable, humble, and i think Sam would be appealing to recruits and parents. Seems to me recruits would be much more excited about mitchell than gates.
Click to expand...
I think his experience at the college level is the problem. One year as an assistant. Recruiting and dealing with young guys and their families, balancing grades, university policies, etc. may not be for everyone.

Don't disagree that he has some great tools but he's pretty high risk in my opinion. I brought his name up as well but then thought about it and wouldn't be as thrilled with him anymore.
 

golf said:
I have always been impressed with his demeanor as a player and coach so part of it is that i suppose. COY with the raptors and has experience at the college level. Maybe part of it is seeing how ex player juwan howard has come in and mitchell seems in that mold to me. Both are likable, humble, and i think Sam would be appealing to recruits and parents. Seems to me recruits would be much more excited about mitchell than gates.
Click to expand...

Wasn't the rap on Sam when he was the Wolves HC that the team was very young at that time and Sam was quite old school in his ways and wasn't a great fit to connect and work with guys of that generation? If my memory is correct, seems like that would even be more of an issue at the college level
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom