Return of Derek Kellogg

[Juice Stand]

Niles, there's definitely some truth to that, but do we have a strong enough NIL to build a roster, or is it only strong enough to compete for one or two top targets? I think it's probably the latter, and a good recruiter will be important for building a roster top to bottom. As we've seen with RJ, NIL isn't everything. You need to sell the school, facilities, conference, everything.

[Floyd]

I think if we're looking for guys who only care about NIL money we're in trouble. I agree with Juice that it's the whole package, and those are the kids we should want so they stick around

[NilesGold]

Niles, there's definitely some truth to that, but do we have a strong enough NIL to build a roster, or is it only strong enough to compete for one or two top targets? I think it's probably the latter, and a good recruiter will be important for building a roster top to bottom. As we've seen with RJ, NIL isn't everything. You need to sell the school, facilities, conference, everything.

Sure, it's still a necessary component, just diminished. Kellogg didn't join the staff until August. As far as I can tell, the only two players who've committed to UMass that DK recruited were Josh Cohen and Isaac Kante... the staff can recruit without a salesman. Better to have a coach who can make the players better once they're here.

[Quann]

It's not even a debate. Being an assistant at Creighton is a much better job than an assistant here. Better program and better conference. Sad but true. That being said, I really don't get the draw of Kellogg. He's probably the worst x and o guy to ever be a head coach at UMass and he always kind of acted like a clown on the sideline. I had high hopes for him when we first hired him 13+ years ago but I'm just not a fan of Kellogg the coach. Seems like a good enough recruiter I guess.

[LS71]

Good lord I hate the offseason.....

Why? What’s he ever done to you?

[doubledribble]

It's not even a debate. Being an assistant at Creighton is a much better job than an assistant here. Better program and better conference. Sad but true. That being said, I really don't get the draw of Kellogg. He's probably the worst x and o guy to ever be a head coach at UMass and he always kind of acted like a clown on the sideline. I had high hopes for him when we first hired him 13+ years ago but I'm just not a fan of Kellogg the coach. Seems like a good enough recruiter I guess.

I’m with you

[doubledribble]

Let's think about what qualities we need as a replacement for DK. For me, the top priority is to get someone who can recruit. As much as I love Ricky, I'm not sure he fits what we need right now. Al Skinner's name has also been brought up. Al certainly has the experience and the pedigree, but how long has he been away from the game?

John Carroll's name has also been brought up. He has great contacts in the New England Prep ranks and I felt he had a good grasp of the game listening to him on his calls of UMass games. I just wonder if he can recruit at the A10 level. I'm not sure he ever had to recruit before.

There are a lot of assistant coaches out there due to the many head coaching firings, but I have no knowledge of how good any of them are. Frank has tons of contacts in the coaching community so I'm sure he has people contacting him.

Kellogg came back (for a few months) how ‘bout McCall ?

[InnervisionsUMASS]

Another shoutout to DK for our latest Commit. At least we know he was working hard for UMass even on his way out the door.


https://twitter.com/PrepBridgeport/stat ... 07840?s=20

[DanaDingle3]

Creighton is like the anti-UMass -- the luckiest, or 2nd luckiest, college basketball program around. Dana Altman, who's from Nebraska, stayed there forever. Then Greg McDermott, who was about to get run out of his HM job in Ames, IA, took over. In his 4th year there, Creighton somehow lands in the Big East. It's been all sunshine from there.

Meanwhile, UMass is going nowhere fast in the decaying A10. Without a big jolt of support/all hands on deck campaign, it's hard to see UMass doing anything other than lose in its revenue sports. I really hate to be so negative, but we've been running uphill and losing ground for a while. Anyway, happy for DK for taking a much bigger job at... Creighton.

[doubledribble]

Creighton is like the anti-UMass -- the luckiest, or 2nd luckiest, college basketball program around. Dana Altman, who's from Nebraska, stayed there forever. Then Greg McDermott, who was about to get run out of his HM job in Ames, IA, took over. In his 4th year there, Creighton somehow lands in the Big East. It's been all sunshine from there.

Meanwhile, UMass is going nowhere fast in the decaying A10. Without a big jolt of support/all hands on deck campaign, it's hard to see UMass doing anything other than lose in its revenue sports. I really hate to be so negative, but we've been running uphill and losing ground for a while. Anyway, happy for DK for taking a much bigger job at... Creighton.

As a LONG time STH, you are right about UMass.
Let’s not forget ,however, that we never really gained any ground all the years DK has been around either!

[InnervisionsUMASS]

^

Absolutely... we've really only had two "periods" of success since the late 90s... TF's 2nd and 3rd years, and the middle of DK's run. That's it.

And the highlight of all those years likely still remains a single Lappas coached game. Crazy.

[Marty Peretz]

Creighton is like the anti-UMass -- the luckiest, or 2nd luckiest, college basketball program around. Dana Altman, who's from Nebraska, stayed there forever. Then Greg McDermott, who was about to get run out of his HM job in Ames, IA, took over. In his 4th year there, Creighton somehow lands in the Big East. It's been all sunshine from there.

Meanwhile, UMass is going nowhere fast in the decaying A10. Without a big jolt of support/all hands on deck campaign, it's hard to see UMass doing anything other than lose in its revenue sports. I really hate to be so negative, but we've been running uphill and losing ground for a while. Anyway, happy for DK for taking a much bigger job at... Creighton.

Not exactly. Creighton is essentially the pro team for the state of Nebraska and there's a ton of money flying around Omaha. That program has A LOT of big money support and they sell out what is essentially a pro arena. Their NIL money is ELITE as well. Way more than luck going there.

[stevemaz]

Another shoutout to DK for our latest Commit. At least we know he was working hard for UMass even on his way out the door.


https://twitter.com/PrepBridgeport/stat ... 07840?s=20

we'd better get out of the A10 if we want to keep this guy beyond 1 year.

[DanaDingle3]

Creighton is like the anti-UMass -- the luckiest, or 2nd luckiest, college basketball program around. Dana Altman, who's from Nebraska, stayed there forever. Then Greg McDermott, who was about to get run out of his HM job in Ames, IA, took over. In his 4th year there, Creighton somehow lands in the Big East. It's been all sunshine from there.

Meanwhile, UMass is going nowhere fast in the decaying A10. Without a big jolt of support/all hands on deck campaign, it's hard to see UMass doing anything other than lose in its revenue sports. I really hate to be so negative, but we've been running uphill and losing ground for a while. Anyway, happy for DK for taking a much bigger job at... Creighton.

Not exactly. Creighton is essentially the pro team for the state of Nebraska and there's a ton of money flying around Omaha. That program has A LOT of big money support and they sell out what is essentially a pro arena. Their NIL money is ELITE as well. Way more than luck going there.

Well, yeah, NOW. Compare the UMass and Creighton basketball programs from 25 years ago. If you had told me that UMass would be floundering in the bottom half of college hoops and Creighton would be nationally elite, that would've sounded a little nutty. I certainly don't doubt there's more than luck involved, but a school does have to catch some breaks, like landing in the right conference or choosing the right HCs who stick around. They've done that. We haven't. All that said, I do appreciate the infrastructure and money they seem to have, and it's frustrating we don't seem to have that support or infrastructure.

[dennisdent]

^ Creighton was 22 - 9 in 1998 while UMass was a mediocre 14 - 16. I think that's about 25 years ago. CU has a heck of a better record overall in basketball than UMass does and a much better fan base. I really wouldn't compare the two schools as its apples to oranges.