Hey y'all! This may be long so I apologize in advance. Been thinking about the state of the basketball program a lot since the season began. It's been disappointing and dreadful to say the least. Just a few observations to maybe consider. We all have opinions and mine may not be popular, as I am a nobody, but just throwing this out there.
I know none of us are happy with Cal, including myself. A lot of people want him gone and rightfully so. There's been a lot of threads on who we want to replace him but who is really stepping back and actually thinking before they speak on a replacement? Here are several names I've heard being brought up.
1. Nate Oats in four years at Alabama has had two good years (counting this year so far) and two really bad years. I'd like to add that his best year came during the covid year. Sorry, but I've pretty well disregarded that year for any sport as the world was in shambles. Sports wasn't even expected to happen in the fall/winter but unexpectedly did. He may become the real deal but who's willing to bet on it just yet. Do we go for a guy who's been good for 1.5 years at a power program? Let's see how he ends this year.
2. Eric Musselman has been pretty good at Arkansas but far from great. He's 58 years old and isn't it likely he's peaked by now? Is this a step up?
3. Chris Holtmann.. do I even need to go there? Only once in five years at Ohio State has he had less than 10 losses and had 9 that year. He's gonna have double digit losses this year too. No way we want him.
4. Brad Stevens ok yes if you can lure him from the Boston Celtics GM or whatever he is.. then yes I don't care who your coach is, you get Brad Stevens. Not gonna happen though.
5. Billy Donovan likely wouldn't leave the NBA either. You do call him if Cal leaves but I see no chance of him coming here.
6. Jay Wright left a much cushier job due to being burnt out. I don't see him coming out of retirement to UK where expectations would be through the roof. Like Donovan, you at least call but don't get your hopes up.
7. Frank Vogel who I think would do good here would probably be my number one pick of the realistic choices. Having coached the Lakers he knows what it feels like to have a high pressure job. I think he would recruit good too. Not sure about X's and O's though. He might be Cal 2.0
8. Tommy Lloyd, don't know much about him but he's doing good at Arizona. Has he proven himself yet? Not sure. The PAC 12 is weak but it appears he'll be dominating them for a long time to come. I could see him also being a good get.
It would seem that the first three guys listed we could get with just a little effort. Are any of them really an upgrade though? Have they proven themselves? The next three are wishful thinking. The last two would personally be my realistic choices if something were to happen with Cal soon.
When/if Cal leaves, we're gonna lose everybody. We won't have a team. I'd also like to remind everyone that when Gillespie left, if we would've hired anybody but Cal (because of his recruiting of course), we likely wouldn't have started seeing results until 2-4 years later. We were in that bad of shape.
I know Cal's ego is too much to handle but it's gonna take someone with his (or Pitino's) ego to handle this job. Are these up and coming guys willing to risk cushier jobs for this pressure cooker? Whoever we get will have 2 years to start winning before fans become restless again.
And if the news that got broke yesterday is true, then it doesn't change everything but it changes a lot. Yes I know the practice facility doesn't have anything to do with wins and losses but the part about Cal becoming a GM of some sort was interesting. Imagine Cal helping a coach who can actually gameplan on the recruiting trail? I think we'd be a force to be reckoned with at that point. Plus if it's true Mitch is limiting his staff that is a major problem and Mitch needs to hit the road.
By the way y'all I'm no Cal sympathizer. I've actually been bashed a lot because of how hard I've been on him over the years. I'm not happy with what I'm seeing on the court either. Do we see what he can do with the top recruiting class one more time at least? Are any of the realistic options worth firing Cal over before finding out? Maybe we should step off the ledge and let this play out before jumping the gun too soon. Sorry for the long post again. Take care everyone!
I know none of us are happy with Cal, including myself. A lot of people want him gone and rightfully so. There's been a lot of threads on who we want to replace him but who is really stepping back and actually thinking before they speak on a replacement? Here are several names I've heard being brought up.
1. Nate Oats in four years at Alabama has had two good years (counting this year so far) and two really bad years. I'd like to add that his best year came during the covid year. Sorry, but I've pretty well disregarded that year for any sport as the world was in shambles. Sports wasn't even expected to happen in the fall/winter but unexpectedly did. He may become the real deal but who's willing to bet on it just yet. Do we go for a guy who's been good for 1.5 years at a power program? Let's see how he ends this year.
2. Eric Musselman has been pretty good at Arkansas but far from great. He's 58 years old and isn't it likely he's peaked by now? Is this a step up?
3. Chris Holtmann.. do I even need to go there? Only once in five years at Ohio State has he had less than 10 losses and had 9 that year. He's gonna have double digit losses this year too. No way we want him.
4. Brad Stevens ok yes if you can lure him from the Boston Celtics GM or whatever he is.. then yes I don't care who your coach is, you get Brad Stevens. Not gonna happen though.
5. Billy Donovan likely wouldn't leave the NBA either. You do call him if Cal leaves but I see no chance of him coming here.
6. Jay Wright left a much cushier job due to being burnt out. I don't see him coming out of retirement to UK where expectations would be through the roof. Like Donovan, you at least call but don't get your hopes up.
7. Frank Vogel who I think would do good here would probably be my number one pick of the realistic choices. Having coached the Lakers he knows what it feels like to have a high pressure job. I think he would recruit good too. Not sure about X's and O's though. He might be Cal 2.0
8. Tommy Lloyd, don't know much about him but he's doing good at Arizona. Has he proven himself yet? Not sure. The PAC 12 is weak but it appears he'll be dominating them for a long time to come. I could see him also being a good get.
It would seem that the first three guys listed we could get with just a little effort. Are any of them really an upgrade though? Have they proven themselves? The next three are wishful thinking. The last two would personally be my realistic choices if something were to happen with Cal soon.
When/if Cal leaves, we're gonna lose everybody. We won't have a team. I'd also like to remind everyone that when Gillespie left, if we would've hired anybody but Cal (because of his recruiting of course), we likely wouldn't have started seeing results until 2-4 years later. We were in that bad of shape.
I know Cal's ego is too much to handle but it's gonna take someone with his (or Pitino's) ego to handle this job. Are these up and coming guys willing to risk cushier jobs for this pressure cooker? Whoever we get will have 2 years to start winning before fans become restless again.
And if the news that got broke yesterday is true, then it doesn't change everything but it changes a lot. Yes I know the practice facility doesn't have anything to do with wins and losses but the part about Cal becoming a GM of some sort was interesting. Imagine Cal helping a coach who can actually gameplan on the recruiting trail? I think we'd be a force to be reckoned with at that point. Plus if it's true Mitch is limiting his staff that is a major problem and Mitch needs to hit the road.
By the way y'all I'm no Cal sympathizer. I've actually been bashed a lot because of how hard I've been on him over the years. I'm not happy with what I'm seeing on the court either. Do we see what he can do with the top recruiting class one more time at least? Are any of the realistic options worth firing Cal over before finding out? Maybe we should step off the ledge and let this play out before jumping the gun too soon. Sorry for the long post again. Take care everyone!
