Who will replace Ford?
The more I think about, the more I realize that if we could somehow get Barbee, it would actually be an upgrade from our previous coach. Plus, think about the morale of the current players; I think it would renew their faith and excitement to have someone coming in who played in Amherst and is less of an outsider. I hope the admin is willing to be aggressive in an offer to Barbee the same way they were to Ford.
McCaffery supposedly has a $700,000 buyout in his Siena contract. If that's true, it would almost certainly seem to rule him out.
As such, the pool of our most realistic candidates - those who meet the criteria and who might actually take the job -- is rather small. Particularly if we are just looking at candidates with prior head-coaching experience.
On my shortlist now are Tony Barbee, Mike Rice, Derek Kellogg, Jimmy Patsos and Randy Monroe of UMBC.
I doubt Barbee would move after two years from UTEP. Just have a hard time seeing it.
Mike Rice is my preferred choice, but he does not play a style akin to Ford. His teams are uptempo and shoot their fair share of threes, but he's a tough, defense-first kind of guy. I've always been that way too, but Ford has opened my eyes to the value of an attacking offense with shooting ability. Another problem with Rice is he does seem to possess some loyalty, so I am not sure he would leave Robert Morris after one year.
Kellogg, I like. But I'd have to interview him and talk to those who studied him close up in recent years to see if he's ready.
Patsos has done a great job at Loyola and runs a pressing, shooting style somewhat similar to Ford. He's been at Loyola three years and has filled his loyalty quota at a smaller school.
Randy Monroe has done a terrific job at UMBC, but he's spent most of his career at small schools as a HC or assistant. Philly guy, good East Coast connections, but not sure he has the recruiting pull.
At this point, I'd have to say Kellogg and Patsos might be our best and most realistic options. One is a UMass guy, the other a Boston guy.
As such, the pool of our most realistic candidates - those who meet the criteria and who might actually take the job -- is rather small. Particularly if we are just looking at candidates with prior head-coaching experience.
On my shortlist now are Tony Barbee, Mike Rice, Derek Kellogg, Jimmy Patsos and Randy Monroe of UMBC.
I doubt Barbee would move after two years from UTEP. Just have a hard time seeing it.
Mike Rice is my preferred choice, but he does not play a style akin to Ford. His teams are uptempo and shoot their fair share of threes, but he's a tough, defense-first kind of guy. I've always been that way too, but Ford has opened my eyes to the value of an attacking offense with shooting ability. Another problem with Rice is he does seem to possess some loyalty, so I am not sure he would leave Robert Morris after one year.
Kellogg, I like. But I'd have to interview him and talk to those who studied him close up in recent years to see if he's ready.
Patsos has done a great job at Loyola and runs a pressing, shooting style somewhat similar to Ford. He's been at Loyola three years and has filled his loyalty quota at a smaller school.
Randy Monroe has done a terrific job at UMBC, but he's spent most of his career at small schools as a HC or assistant. Philly guy, good East Coast connections, but not sure he has the recruiting pull.
At this point, I'd have to say Kellogg and Patsos might be our best and most realistic options. One is a UMass guy, the other a Boston guy.
WH has he changed his style at all since he got there? I have never seen them play but I was checking out kenpom and their tempo/pace has only been around 160 or so for the last couple seasons. I really have no idea about the guy but you seem to know a lot about coaches. Any idea?WH wrote: Patsos has done a great job at Loyola and runs a pressing, shooting style somewhat similar to Ford. He's been at Loyola three years and has filled his loyalty quota at a smaller school.
This is to taken with a grain of salt. I seldom go to the Holy Cross message board so I don't know the poster, but here are their opinions:
I think Fordham alum Mike Rice (currently at Robert Morris) would be a great pick.
Jimmy Patsos is a lunatic and an awful game coach. Good luck if he comes to UMass.
Fran McCaffrey or Billy Lange would be solid hires.
new quotepatsos is a great recruiter but an AWFUL (i would put that in size 100 font if i could) game coach.
he has had 3 top 100 players at loyola college the past couple years in gerald brown (providence transfer), omari israel (notre dame transfer), and hassan fofana (maryland transfer). and they have not really been a player in the maac despite having considerably more talent than anyone else.
patsos would be an awful choice, umass. while he is enthusiastic and talks a big game, he is far too interested in playing a cool/uptempo style to get kids to play for and like him. seriously, i can't think of many worse game coaches. just look at the talent on his recent rosters compared to the w/l record!
p.s. The list of candidates is from Matty V's write-up.I echo the sentiments on Patsos. And I'll also throw Brian Rudolph (former PC commit) into the mix of high-talent players (and with this recruit, you can also question the character make-up of kids he allows into his program, too).
If I'm UMass, I'm trying to bring in Kellogg. And all of the strong credentials (save Patsos) are good candidates, too
Last edited by Steve81 on Thu Apr 17, 2008 10:15 am, edited 2 times in total.
I've only seen Loyola play a few times the past couple of years. Patsos' team s played fast, and though he turned the program around, he hasnt done what McCaffery has done at Siena and other stops, or what Rice did at RM.
Given the talent on Loyola, perhaps that criticism is correct. It could be argued that his teams should have done better, and I dont see evidence that his teams get better as the year goes on. The team's performance has generally been uneven, based on looking at the actual skeds.
If Barbee actually does come in for an interview, thats a great sign. Of course, he may be doing it as courtesy to his alma mater. Perhaps, though, he wants to be based in the East ... for his next big job opportunity.
Kellogg, Barbee, Rice. Any one of those three would make me pleased.
Given the talent on Loyola, perhaps that criticism is correct. It could be argued that his teams should have done better, and I dont see evidence that his teams get better as the year goes on. The team's performance has generally been uneven, based on looking at the actual skeds.
If Barbee actually does come in for an interview, thats a great sign. Of course, he may be doing it as courtesy to his alma mater. Perhaps, though, he wants to be based in the East ... for his next big job opportunity.
Kellogg, Barbee, Rice. Any one of those three would make me pleased.
I have zero interest in that type of guy (Lavin). He's been out of the game for a few years, so he's probably lost some of his recruiting connects, he's got a huge ego and would think he could come here and win on name alone. No retreads. And yes I am advocating for Jim O'Brien. He's not a retread. Damaged goods maybe, but he's always been a winner.DEM wrote:After lappas, I would prefer to not go with a guy who was fired. If he hadn't been hired already, Brady would have been one of the few exceptions I'd take to this rule.UmAstudent wrote:What about Steve Lavin...
O'Brien was never a great recruiter, not even at Ohio State. Thad Matta took the same job and recruited like crazy. Again, UMass should be one of the better A-10 jobs where we don't always have to look for hidden gems. O'Brien is a good, solid coach, but this profession is all about momentum. He lost his.
On further investigation, Billy Lange at Navy looks like another promising guy who's worth a look. Former Nova assistant under Jay Wright. Open, uptempo offense at Navy, plus good defensive stats. Young, energetic, has revived a lagging Navy program. Knows Philly and the East Coast. Also was an asst in the A-10 briefly.
On further investigation, Billy Lange at Navy looks like another promising guy who's worth a look. Former Nova assistant under Jay Wright. Open, uptempo offense at Navy, plus good defensive stats. Young, energetic, has revived a lagging Navy program. Knows Philly and the East Coast. Also was an asst in the A-10 briefly.
One thing to keep in mind to everyone for everyone who thinks Barbee is a favorite. He might be, but remember that no one (as far as I know) has any connections to him. None of them were here when he was as far as I can figure. The alum thing would work in his favor, but he'd have to win the job on his own skills because they won't feel like they owe him anything -- which I actually think is a good thing.
Recruited well enough to get to a Final Four and keep his team among the top teams in the Big 10.WH wrote:O'Brien was never a great recruiter, not even at Ohio State. Thad Matta took the same job and recruited like crazy. Again, UMass should be one of the better A-10 jobs where we don't always have to look for hidden gems. O'Brien is a good, solid coach, but this profession is all about momentum. He lost his.
On further investigation, Billy Lange at Navy looks like another promising guy who's worth a look. Former Nova assistant under Jay Wright. Open, uptempo offense at Navy, plus good defensive stats. Young, energetic, has revived a lagging Navy program. Knows Philly and the East Coast. Also was an asst in the A-10 briefly.
I really think there has to be a lot of emphasis on finding someone with quality credentials that has reason to stick around for awhile. A lot of us have been saying this, but I think it is critical. And its the number 1 reason many of us have had Barbee, Kellogg and Moore at the top of our lists.
With absolutely no knowledge of anything, I would also think Barbee is probably the front runner, being a Minuteman and someone with 2 years of head coaching under his belt at UTEP.
With absolutely no knowledge of anything, I would also think Barbee is probably the front runner, being a Minuteman and someone with 2 years of head coaching under his belt at UTEP.