2021-22 College Hoops Coaching Carousel

#953      
Weber State coach is retiring. Not sure if it is immediately or after the end of the coming season. His claim to fame? Coached Dam Lilliard in college.
Live look at Dam Lilliard:
hoover-dam.jpg
 
#954      
#958      
Not exactly a coaching carousel topic, but it looks like Holtmann got an extension and small raise. The fan reactions are just priceless though. They have no idea what they have, complaining about the extension and / or money. Holtmann is a darn good coach.

OSU complaining about Holtmann is like when Pittsburgh fans were nagging about Jamie Dixon. Some fan bases gotta be stupid I guess.
 
#959      

this should allow you to read it
Great read! There are a LOT of “elite” jobs just below the Blue Bloods, and which ones you consider “top ten” will inevitably come down to personal bias - Syracuse, Maryland, Arizona, Ohio State, Texas, etc. will all have pros and cons depending on your metrics. However, it should be beyond any reasonable doubt that a VERY good argument can be made for Illinois!
 
#960      
Also, RE: Mike Thomas ... as far as I can tell, he was literally good for one thing, and that was a "fresh perspective" from RG. It was always my perception, FWIW, that RG ran Illinois almost like a private school - an elite institution for alumni only and with limited "bandwagon appeal" outside of East Central Illinois. While I understand U of I alums are rightfully very proud of their degrees, this is obviously no way to run an athletic department for the flagship state school of a state of 13 million people. This might be incorrect, but I would argue it's worth something, being my perspective as a non-alum fan who lived in Iowa City during RG's tenure. To see the contrast with how Iowa was run and how Iowans grew up as default Hawkeye fans no matter where their parents went. I always watched from afar knowing that Illinois could be more like that with sports while not sacrificing any academic reputation (cough, cough, MICHIGAN!).

MT seemed a disaster in many ways, but I did like that he targeted Chicago with ad campaigns and AT LEAST seemed to want Illinois to have a perspective closer to Ohio State than to Purdue. And that was good. We need kids growing up from Chicago to Cairo as rabid Illini fans simply because they were born within the borders of the Land of Lincoln. The more "T-shirt fans" (like me!!) you have, the better ... you need a big fan base to win big, and instate recruits need the same pressure on them to consider Illinois that recruits in Indiana have to consider IU. Given the unique nature of Chicago, perhaps we will never get there, but that must always be the goal. I at least like that MT set us in that direction.

With that said, I don't think there's a soul on this board who'd trade Josh for either of our two previous ADs. Whitman is an absolute keeper, and I am so thankful we got him.
 
#961      
Also, RE: Mike Thomas ... as far as I can tell, he was literally good for one thing, and that was a "fresh perspective" from RG. It was always my perception, FWIW, that RG ran Illinois almost like a private school - an elite institution for alumni only and with limited "bandwagon appeal" outside of East Central Illinois. While I understand U of I alums are rightfully very proud of their degrees, this is obviously no way to run an athletic department for the flagship state school of a state of 13 million people. This might be incorrect, but I would argue it's worth something, being my perspective as a non-alum fan who lived in Iowa City during RG's tenure. To see the contrast with how Iowa was run and how Iowans grew up as default Hawkeye fans no matter where their parents went. I always watched from afar knowing that Illinois could be more like that with sports while not sacrificing any academic reputation (cough, cough, MICHIGAN!).

MT seemed a disaster in many ways, but I did like that he targeted Chicago with ad campaigns and AT LEAST seemed to want Illinois to have a perspective closer to Ohio State than to Purdue. And that was good. We need kids growing up from Chicago to Cairo as rabid Illini fans simply because they were born within the borders of the Land of Lincoln. The more "T-shirt fans" (like me!!) you have, the better ... you need a big fan base to win big, and instate recruits need the same pressure on them to consider Illinois that recruits in Indiana have to consider IU. Given the unique nature of Chicago, perhaps we will never get there, but that must always be the goal. I at least like that MT set us in that direction.

With that said, I don't think there's a soul on this board who'd trade Josh for either of our two previous ADs. Whitman is an absolute keeper, and I am so thankful we got him.
It’s an interesting (and perhaps spot on) perspective on something needed that MT brought to the table. Unfortunately, it was overwhelmed by the fact that MT is one of the biggest a-holes one will ever have the displeasure of meeting.
 
#966      
I always thought Jamie Dixon was pretty good. No inside info though.

Trying to get to TCU in December to catch a practice.
Agree 100%... Just off the top of my head, I think Dixon was the best coach in Pitt history. Pittsburgh hasn't even sniffed the bubble since then while TCU (yes, TCU) is a competitive Big 12 team that makes the NCAA Tournament more often than not under Dixon. Give fan bases like that what they want.
 
#971      
Agree 100%... Just off the top of my head, I think Dixon was the best coach in Pitt history. Pittsburgh hasn't even sniffed the bubble since then while TCU (yes, TCU) is a competitive Big 12 team that makes the NCAA Tournament more often than not under Dixon. Give fan bases like that what they want.
Dixon played for TCU so I am not sure how much he was chased out. Ben Howland rebuilt Pitt and left for bigger and better programs. Pitt has not been the same when those two left. In the early 2000s no one wanted to play their physical style on their home court

I would say most programs sometimes chase away good coaches because they go through rough patches