Royal or Boynton make the most sense from an experience at their age sense. Beard seems like Weltich II, to me. If Ivey plays a pro style and can coach at that level, slam dunk.
With his defense-first style I think Beard is the safest and surest bet for consistent regular season success. Even though at times it is about as painful to watch as a poetry reading contest hosted by a stuttering academy. Beards team win in the regular season and produce very consistently game to game. But we’ve seen with Barnes, regular season success only means so much to Texas fans. If given a choice I think the vast majority of Texas fans would take 5th or 6th place finishes if it meant more sweet 16/elite 8 chances. That’s what Shaka was really meant to produce I think.
Now so far, Beard has had excellent success in the dance, but I believe ultimately the most consistent winners in March are the teams with the best and most consistent offenses. Yes Virginia beat Tech for the championship in 2019, but Virginia also was the first 1 to lose in the first round the year before and got dropped in the first round again this year. When your goal is turn every game into a 60-55 rock fight sometimes you end up on the wrong side of 60.
All that is why I think I’d prefer to go with Ivey. Now, maybe Ivey goes back to his Barnes roots and we start playing in your shirt man to man again. But from what I’ve heard he’s a true pace and space disciple. Plus I’ve heard from basketball guys I very much respect that Royal is absolutely the real deal as far as having a basketball mind. I also just like the idea of one of the toughest and most underrated players we’ve ever had coming here and having success versus someone who has a tendency to throw grown man-baby tantrums on the court.
Great post. I love basketball too more than Football. Another name I would add is Grant McCasland out of UNT. He’s a simliar system to Scott Drew. The difference is he doesn’t have the baggage of Drew and is a more affordable option. The downside is his offense are super slow in tempo and can really bogg down at times. Also, if he recruits higher level he can implement the the Baylor 1-3-1 zone if we get some lengthy players.
I have written before [at BC] how my sister, with degrees from MichST where she was a gymnast, and UNC, where she was a staff PhD in the School of Public Health, is a basketball nut who was Roy Williams' next door neighbor when he was an Asst. She wrote me this on RW's retirement:
Roy, Wanda, Scott and Kimmie were wonderful next door neighbors. It was also fun to see Michael Jordan, Sam Perkins, and James Worthy show up at their house, usually for Sunday dinner. Wanda also tutored team members. Roy and Michael played golf pretty often. Scotty was a 5th grader when Rebecca started school and he took care of her, like a big brother, on the school bus. There are a boatload of good memories with them, before they moved to Kansas.
Gonzaga-UCLA was a really good game, an offensive showcase but not a defensive failure. BU looks back to pre-COVID form just in time. I did not think they would crush UH the way they did.
We will get the final that pairs the season's two best teams, which is in itself unusual, I think.
I would be happiest with Royal Ivey. When I first came to UT we had a Coach Royal who did a pretty good job, so there's that.
Seriously, there is so much luck involved with any single elimination tournament that hiring a coach based on a couple of good March runs seems like a crapshoot to me. And, as you have spelled out here, the few coaches who consistently make deep runs in March are not realistic candidates.
Did Hoiberg forget how to coach or is Lincoln just a perennial stink hole that recruits will not visit? He could recruit his guys and get a defensive minded assistant here.
I share the preferences you have posted here and would much prefer CDC take a flyer on Ivey than pay to go to the new arena to watch BeardBall. It sounds like we all do. Should we email CDC? Maybe he doesn't remember what a high BB IQ Royal displayed as a player. At least Ivey should get a serious interview. Get him Lucas for an assistant and I think more good things can happen.
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On the really down side for me I think this is Drew's fifth Elite 8 at Baylor. They may be regaining their pre-COVID energy. We shall see.
Texas has really minimized outcomes in basketball. Even Rick Barnes was the 2nd best option. Rick Majerus was option 1 and would have done more at Texas.
Go for Kelvin and manage any NCAA rule issues. College basketball is dirty. It is always a matter of managing risk.
In a vacuum he's a very interesting candidate, and I would be very open to him. Having said that, he's only ever been happy in Kansas and regardless of where he's been coaching (OSU, Illinois, doesn't matter) there has always been talk of him leaving for Kansas State if/when it opens up. So if Weber is canned a year from now, does Texas lose Underwood? The data to this point says yes. That guy loves Kansas State more than I can rationally explain.
Royal or Boynton make the most sense from an experience at their age sense. Beard seems like Weltich II, to me. If Ivey plays a pro style and can coach at that level, slam dunk.
I think you nailed it again.
With his defense-first style I think Beard is the safest and surest bet for consistent regular season success. Even though at times it is about as painful to watch as a poetry reading contest hosted by a stuttering academy. Beards team win in the regular season and produce very consistently game to game. But we’ve seen with Barnes, regular season success only means so much to Texas fans. If given a choice I think the vast majority of Texas fans would take 5th or 6th place finishes if it meant more sweet 16/elite 8 chances. That’s what Shaka was really meant to produce I think.
Now so far, Beard has had excellent success in the dance, but I believe ultimately the most consistent winners in March are the teams with the best and most consistent offenses. Yes Virginia beat Tech for the championship in 2019, but Virginia also was the first 1 to lose in the first round the year before and got dropped in the first round again this year. When your goal is turn every game into a 60-55 rock fight sometimes you end up on the wrong side of 60.
All that is why I think I’d prefer to go with Ivey. Now, maybe Ivey goes back to his Barnes roots and we start playing in your shirt man to man again. But from what I’ve heard he’s a true pace and space disciple. Plus I’ve heard from basketball guys I very much respect that Royal is absolutely the real deal as far as having a basketball mind. I also just like the idea of one of the toughest and most underrated players we’ve ever had coming here and having success versus someone who has a tendency to throw grown man-baby tantrums on the court.
Great post. I love basketball too more than Football. Another name I would add is Grant McCasland out of UNT. He’s a simliar system to Scott Drew. The difference is he doesn’t have the baggage of Drew and is a more affordable option. The downside is his offense are super slow in tempo and can really bogg down at times. Also, if he recruits higher level he can implement the the Baylor 1-3-1 zone if we get some lengthy players.
I have written before [at BC] how my sister, with degrees from MichST where she was a gymnast, and UNC, where she was a staff PhD in the School of Public Health, is a basketball nut who was Roy Williams' next door neighbor when he was an Asst. She wrote me this on RW's retirement:
Roy, Wanda, Scott and Kimmie were wonderful next door neighbors. It was also fun to see Michael Jordan, Sam Perkins, and James Worthy show up at their house, usually for Sunday dinner. Wanda also tutored team members. Roy and Michael played golf pretty often. Scotty was a 5th grader when Rebecca started school and he took care of her, like a big brother, on the school bus. There are a boatload of good memories with them, before they moved to Kansas.
Gonzaga-UCLA was a really good game, an offensive showcase but not a defensive failure. BU looks back to pre-COVID form just in time. I did not think they would crush UH the way they did.
We will get the final that pairs the season's two best teams, which is in itself unusual, I think.
I would be happiest with Royal Ivey. When I first came to UT we had a Coach Royal who did a pretty good job, so there's that.
Seriously, there is so much luck involved with any single elimination tournament that hiring a coach based on a couple of good March runs seems like a crapshoot to me. And, as you have spelled out here, the few coaches who consistently make deep runs in March are not realistic candidates.
Did Hoiberg forget how to coach or is Lincoln just a perennial stink hole that recruits will not visit? He could recruit his guys and get a defensive minded assistant here.
I share the preferences you have posted here and would much prefer CDC take a flyer on Ivey than pay to go to the new arena to watch BeardBall. It sounds like we all do. Should we email CDC? Maybe he doesn't remember what a high BB IQ Royal displayed as a player. At least Ivey should get a serious interview. Get him Lucas for an assistant and I think more good things can happen.
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On the really down side for me I think this is Drew's fifth Elite 8 at Baylor. They may be regaining their pre-COVID energy. We shall see.
Kinda feel like if Hoiberg leaves Nebraska, it's to go back to the NBA. That's just a guess though.
Where's Mark Few on this search list?
Is it possible to be negative-percent interested in a job
I vote for Kelvin Sampson.
Texas has really minimized outcomes in basketball. Even Rick Barnes was the 2nd best option. Rick Majerus was option 1 and would have done more at Texas.
Go for Kelvin and manage any NCAA rule issues. College basketball is dirty. It is always a matter of managing risk.
What about Underwood from Illinois?
In a vacuum he's a very interesting candidate, and I would be very open to him. Having said that, he's only ever been happy in Kansas and regardless of where he's been coaching (OSU, Illinois, doesn't matter) there has always been talk of him leaving for Kansas State if/when it opens up. So if Weber is canned a year from now, does Texas lose Underwood? The data to this point says yes. That guy loves Kansas State more than I can rationally explain.
I'm strongly biased towards Royal or Nate. Hope one of those 2 comes aboard.
Been wishing to hear your thoughts! No surprise that they’re intriguing and informative. Gonna be interesting!