I think it's come to a point the majority of the fanbase just want a change, imo and believe me I will always cheer the Cats on regardless who the Coach is.
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Seriously Who would be your first choice for a coach?
- Thread starter TNCatfanforever
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Ben McCollum at D2 Northwest Missouri State is only 42 and has a career record of 365-86 for an 81% winning percentage.
He’s won 4 of the last 6 D2 championships and 5 national coach of the year awards. He’s lost a grand total of 16 games in the last 7 years.
Bruce Pearl came from D2 but didn’t dominate like this guy has. Oats and Hurley came from high school to D1. No rule saying a guy has to come from D1 to be good.
And whoever does eventually give McCollum his shot won’t have to pay a kings ransom to hire him.
The joke that never gets old....Has Rick Barnes taken his name out of consideration yet?![[laughing]](http://l.yimg.com/j/assets/img/emoticons/classic/laugh.r191677.gif "Laughing [laughing]")
How about Wes Miller, HC at Cincinnati?
Of course he's a UNC guy but Hubert's got the job for the next 15-17 years (assuming he wins at a good enough rate).
Miller is currently 40 and has Cincy at 7-0. Has won at every coaching stop so far.
Could be too soon for Miller if Calipari left after this season but maybe down the road.
Of course he's a UNC guy but Hubert's got the job for the next 15-17 years (assuming he wins at a good enough rate).
Miller is currently 40 and has Cincy at 7-0. Has won at every coaching stop so far.
Could be too soon for Miller if Calipari left after this season but maybe down the road.
Now do Cal…if those teams had anything approaching the level of talent, rescources, etc that UK had, it would be a valid argument. I’m not saying we should be a F4 or even an E8 team every year, but when you look at us on paper and in person, it’s hard to understand why were not at least knocking on the door most years. The only consistent variable in our failures is Cal
Lynn Nance was none too happy. Former FBI agent if I recall correctly.
All good ideas except Donovan. I would NOT ask a third time. Stevens or Vogel, maybe Drew.
Apparently some WVU fans think he will be there next season
I figured it wouldn’t be long before someone made him an offer. His record even for D2 is unheard of. And he runs good stuff that’s going to work at any level. The only question mark will be recruiting and whether or not he can win right away because his is a system that might take guys a season or two to pick up before they really get rolling.
Probably Lloyd or Drew.
Donovan would be worth at least a call. I know I know he’s turned UK down before but he’d do great in Lexington.
Donovan would be worth at least a call. I know I know he’s turned UK down before but he’d do great in Lexington.
Meh. BYU is 8-0 and ranked 14th in the country. They were picked to finish next to last in the Big 12. He coaches an exciting brand of basketball. His ties to UK make him an attractive prospect as a coach. That’s hardly the only reason. He’s winning at fvcking BYU. Laughable that anyone thinks he couldn’t win here. I mean he also only played on our best team of all time. That’s just a plus.
I HATE the idea of asking a third time, I really do. However, I still think he would kill it here. Thought he was a better choice than Tubby and still think he'd do good.
Billy Donovan is in year 3 of a 4 yr contract that pays him $6 million. 58 years old.
Cal retires (he's not giving up that buyout) or gets fired (buyout gets progressively less prohibitive with time), Donovan would get a raise in Lexington but he'd have to recruit all year long due to the transfer portal (recruit new hs players, look at transfer possibilities, and recruit your own players to stay and likely having to replace the entire rotation of 8 players).
In the NBA, maybe you scout players and oversee workouts of your own players, go to free agent wine and dine meeting, but seems like a high major college gig is more strenuous than an NBA gig.
Cal retires (he's not giving up that buyout) or gets fired (buyout gets progressively less prohibitive with time), Donovan would get a raise in Lexington but he'd have to recruit all year long due to the transfer portal (recruit new hs players, look at transfer possibilities, and recruit your own players to stay and likely having to replace the entire rotation of 8 players).
In the NBA, maybe you scout players and oversee workouts of your own players, go to free agent wine and dine meeting, but seems like a high major college gig is more strenuous than an NBA gig.
Danny Hurley has it rolling in Storrs. He's as East Coast as they come. Lexington is definitely a better job but Hurley and UConn seems to be a tremendous fit. With Syracuse's transition, UConn is the prominent program and can get more of the best players in the region.
Hurley's intense though. Seems like he's going to burn himself out with his sideline demeanor. He screams more than Calipari now and K in his younger days and that's saying something.
Hurley's intense though. Seems like he's going to burn himself out with his sideline demeanor. He screams more than Calipari now and K in his younger days and that's saying something.
I'm not defending Cal. I'm calling out the hypocrisy of wanting Cal fired for underperforming, but pointing to a coach that has ONLY underperformed so far as a clear favorite to replace Cal and asserting he'd do better...
Fair point. I think “underperformed” could only really apply to Lloyd and that would be in reference to just last years NCAAT. Still a far cry from our underperformance spanning 6 straight seasons. To date, the ultimate performance was 2015. How you don’t win the F4 with that embarrassment of talent riches is unforgivable
Asking Donovan a 3rd time reeks of desperation. I'd be against that and I seriously doubt anyone associated with UK would be interested in do so either.
The next coach at UK needs to be comfortable handling NIL and all the behind the scenes deals that make it work. Calipari has been OK with that but, I wouldn't say he has knocked it out of the park. The UK brand attracts a lot of interest so, I don't think we can say he went out and sold anything.
The next guy also needs to be a known name. Someone that has worked the scene on a national level for some amount of time. The BCG clusterfvck pretty much guarantees a well know coach will be a target.
Also has to be someone comfortable with the fishbowl that is UK basketball. That automatically filters several names out. Why would Brad Stevens want to deal with the pressures and expectations of UK bball? Heck, he had that in Boston and stepped aside.
If Barnhart is the guy leading the search, he'll go all in on Drew as his first choice. And don't be surprised if it leaks out that he also reaches out to Tony Bennett at UVA. IMO Barnhart would love to hire the anti-Calipari as the next coach. JMO.
The next coach at UK needs to be comfortable handling NIL and all the behind the scenes deals that make it work. Calipari has been OK with that but, I wouldn't say he has knocked it out of the park. The UK brand attracts a lot of interest so, I don't think we can say he went out and sold anything.
The next guy also needs to be a known name. Someone that has worked the scene on a national level for some amount of time. The BCG clusterfvck pretty much guarantees a well know coach will be a target.
Also has to be someone comfortable with the fishbowl that is UK basketball. That automatically filters several names out. Why would Brad Stevens want to deal with the pressures and expectations of UK bball? Heck, he had that in Boston and stepped aside.
If Barnhart is the guy leading the search, he'll go all in on Drew as his first choice. And don't be surprised if it leaks out that he also reaches out to Tony Bennett at UVA. IMO Barnhart would love to hire the anti-Calipari as the next coach. JMO.
With respect, this is wrong. As a 1-seed in 2022, Lloyd's Arizona team didn't make it to the Elite 8 - again, we all know how BBN would respond if that happened to him here at UK
Then yes, last year they lost as a 2-seed in first round to 15-seed. And we DEFINITELY know how BBN responded when this happened to UK vs St Peter's...
So what's Lloyd have, a 2-2 record in the NCAAT?
I see your point, but remember: this is his 3rd year as a head coach. Our results in those tournaments were even worse than his, but we also had some horrid losses during the season that he didn’t have.
Prior to 2016, people could’ve made the same comments about Jay Wright that you’re making about Tommy Lloyd right now. We all know how that turned out.
If you look at career trajectories, Lloyd is shooting up while Calipari is in a nose dive. It’s obvious to anyone that he is not the same person after 2015 than he was before. Combine that with the modern style basketball and his refusal/inability to adapt, we’re foolish to think he’s going to produce results any different than he has over the last 5 to 6 years.
I’m not saying that Tommy Lloyd is necessarily the top choice, I’m saying, I’d rather take a chance on him than expecting Cal to go back to his old self.
Thanks for the thoughtful response. I don't understand why you're referencing Cal, though? If Cal is underperforming, let's not compare Lloyd to an underpferforming coach, right? I don't see the point in comparing TWO underperforming coaches to each other. Why fire one underperforming coach to hire another underperforming coach?
BBN thinks there's simply an ample supply of replacements for Cal just dying to come here. All I'm saying is, all of these potential replacements have glaring flaws as well. You want Cal gone for underperforming? Ok, but you're probably going to replace him with another underperformer. Too many in BBN have a "title or bust" mindset. That's a lifetime of disappointment.
Tommy Lloyd, Shaka Smart, Scott Drew - those are the 3 names you see mentioned quite a bit. All 3 coaches are COMBINED for 1 title. Drew has only been to 1 Final 4 in his 20+ coaching career. Don't even get me started on Shaka!
Definitely a hard NO on Shaka. Coaching hires are always a gamble to a degree. Roy Williams never won a championship at Kansas, so UNC fans technically would’ve been justified in doubting his hire if we’re using this “proven” criteria of titles, etc. But like Jay Wright, that seemed to turn out OK (cheating aside, of course)
We can’t continue with this battered wife syndrome in that we fear change to the point that we stay in what’s clearly proven to be a broken relationship
In regards to Jay Wright, I am curious about this...
In 21 years at Villanova, he went to 4 Final Fours - winning 2 titles
In Cal's 14 years at UK, he's been to 4 Final Fours - winning 1 title
Does that 1 additional title (in 6 more years of coaching for Villanova) really making Jay Wright such a better coach? Honest question..
Again, trajectory matters. In 2023-2024, would you rather have Jay Wright as your coach, or John Calipari? If we’re going to ignore Cal’s recent performances, then we should also ignore Wright’s past performances.
If it was 1996, I’m going with Rick Pitino. 1973? John Wooden.
The (legitimate) knock on Cal is that he became complacent and resists change—and we’re seeing that first hand. If we could turn the clock back to 2010, I’m Cal’s biggest fan.
Good points. I'll take Cal in 2023-24, solely because it's widely speculated Wright wanted out of the coaching game with the impending "portal era" and NIL developments. I don't think Wright would ever come to UK, personally - there's a reason he stayed 20+ years at a small university - don't think he ever wanted to be a "rock star" at a historical blue blood.
But your point remains, yes. He ended his career on an upward trajectory. Cal's career, however, isn't over yet. So here's to hoping he has one more final push left in him...
Serious question: If Cal retired after this season, would you actually be campaigning for Wes Miller to take over the program? 2 seasons so far at Cincinatti, no NCAA Tournament appearances.
Now he's in the Big 12, loaded schedule come conference time - so PLENTY yet to be seen.
But is that acutally who you'd campaign for?
To be clear, I’m not saying we should pursue Wright because he’s done coaching. Just like I’m saying we shouldn’t pursue Brad Stevens or Billy Donovan because those aren’t realistically happening either. Guys like Lloyd, Drew, and Wes Miller are potentially available if we come calling.
Cal’s tenure is nearing an end one way or another. I’d just assume rip the bandaid off now rather than see how much further this ship sinks before we realize it’s too late. The more damage he does to this program, there could be less support, money, excitement, etc for the next guy. I hate everything about Indiana, I certainly don’t want to become them.
I'm being legit here, NOT a smart-ass...
Why do you want Scott Drew?
Why do you want Tommy Lloyd?
Why on earth do you want Wes Miller?
Because they appear to know the modern game of basketball, something I’m serious questioning with Cal these days.
Not to be a smartass, but what have you seen over the last 5 years that makes you think we should stick with Cal? We have “his” type of team this year and we were just a missed FT away in the the St Joesphs game from having 3 losses by the first week in December
And to be fair, any one of those guys could hit it out of the park here…or they could make us pine for the days of BCG
Either way, what we’re doing now isn’t working
Because I asked you about those 3 coaches shouldn't imply that we keep Cal at all costs. I'm just curious why you reference those 3. I'd be very surprised if most posters on here could actually tell me anything at all about Miller's style of play, to be honest.
Lloyd's 2 Arizona teams have been upset in the NCAAT each year, one of the reasons why BBN wants Cal gone.
Scott Drew has won 2 NCAAT games since he won the national title.
I'm just looking for reasons why those 3 should be the next guy, something other than becuase they've seen their names posted elsewhere...
Fair enough, they’re just coaches who have shown to produce with what is by all accounts less talent than UK. I can’t knock them for the NCAAT when we’ve done far worse in those same tourneys despite far better talent, resources etc. Also, Lloyd has been doing well with international recruiting and is from the Few coaching tree.
Again, those things don’t guarantee success at UK, but they don’t hurt either. If Cal walked tomorrow, who would you like to see that at least on a paper a realistic possibility?
Easy answer—Tommy Lloyd. Younger version of Mark Few, modern offense, can recruit. He’s gotta be the 1st call.
Drew doesn’t need KY. You don’t need to coach at a blue blood to win and compete for titles anymore. Virginia and Baykor being examples. And programs like Texas Tech, SD state have been in A FF with legit shots to win it.
Drew doesn’t need KY. You don’t need to coach at a blue blood to win and compete for titles anymore. Virginia and Baykor being examples. And programs like Texas Tech, SD state have been in A FF with legit shots to win it.
I'll start with the obvious IF IT HAPPENED THIS YEAR, although I don't think very realistic: Dan Hurley. And no, not simply because he won the title last year - I actually think the title last year was diluted (if you will) with a Final 4 of FAU, SDSU and Miami, but I digress.
Obvious: Hurley not only recruits well, but he develops his guys in his program - a la what everyone typically credits Jay Wright and Bill Self for. I'll say this though, and it's NOT a criticism - Hurley's team runs A LOT of sets, very similar with what you see from Painter at Purdue. Might not be an exciting brand of basketball, watching set after set after set - but for me, the priority is winning games. (In 2022, Uconn upset in first round as 5-seed)
Under the radar: A name worth mentioning, maybe not for 2024, is Micah Shrewsberry. In his first year at Notre Dame after previously being at Penn St. He's also been an assistant coach for the Celtics, so he has his NBA connections, and was also an assistant for Brad Stevens at Butler (and w/Celtics). Was an assistant at Purdue recently for a couple good teams, took Penn St to an NCAA Tournament win last year, now with ND. Interested to see him develop, currently only 47 years old
Wild card pick: Joe Mazzulla, head coach Boston Celtics. Has previously coached the college ranks. I believe he's in his 1st of a 3-year contract - but w/the East getting tougher, we'll see if the pro-ranks end up being a long-term deal for him. Will be tough for him in future depending on Tatum and Brown's contracts. He's under 40 though, so plenty of longevity in his career at any level.
I'll add to the list already provided - no particular order right now
Kim English (currently at Providence)
Eric Musselman (Arkansas)
Grant McCasland (currently at Texas Tech)
Frank Vogel (doubtful he'd be interested)
Dusty May (FAU, see how his career continues to develop, but from Indiana so local ties)
Kevin Willard (Currently at Maryland, former Pitino assistant, played at WKU)
I agree with Hurley, I have him as my top pick in my original post in this thread. Several of your other picks are curious to me given your prior comments in our discussion, but to each his own
Well replacing Cal at the end of this season isn't really very realistic, so I'm not going to put time and effort into really addressing that hypothetical. However, if he DOES finish out his contract, I provided a list of names - some "up and comers" to keep an eye on. It's not just wins and losses, or ability to "manage a game" that are prerequisites for this job at UK - BCG clearly exemplified that.
This job requires a certain level of charisma, youth, connections, and a certain personality. Some of the coaches previously mentioned don't exactly check all those boxes. But, they can certainly make strides by the time Calipari is done at UK
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