UMassHoops.com

Cream may be having Kellogg-like problems
http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/co ... s/97753170

Crean would be a slam dunk hire, I think he would get better offers than UMass.. very slim chance.

uz2b-len wrote:Cream may be having Kellogg-like problems
http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/co ... s/97753170

Not sure how I feel about the public blame game. He is right and I am guessing he has tried everything to get through to his guards and public outing is his last ditch effort, but it smacks of Lappas and some of his antics. He did however take direct Blame himself, something scuba-Steve never seemed grasp.

been doing a lot of thinking lately about what our next coach should look like. as much as i like the idea of an up and comer (ie, keatts), i don't think i want another "umass as a stepping stone" coach. in other words, i dont want Ford 2.0. im still bitter. i want a guy who is going to stick around for a while. maybe its a guy exactly like Creen, who is talented and a good coach, but the pressures of his current gig is just too much. or maybe a guy on the hot seat this year (mike anderson, bruce webber, john groce) . i think i want a guy like that.

thecaptain wrote: maybe its a guy exactly like Creen, who is talented and a good coach, but the pressures of his current gig is just too much.

I'd love to see Bamford pursue Crean if he becomes available. Maybe he gets other offers but show him the Champions Center and tell him that there isn't going to be this intense pressure to win here as would be the case with a lot of P5 offers he might get. Get us in the top 4 of the A10 consistently and at least being a semi-regular participant in the NCAAs.

Sheck wrote:I'd love to see Bamford pursue Crean if he becomes available. Maybe he gets other offers but show him the Champions Center and tell him that there isn't going to be this intense pressure to win here as would be the case with a lot of P5 offers he might get.

I don't like that idea one bit. This sounds like Crean is unable to get his players to do what he wants/needs. His time at IU has been plagued by that sort of thing. When there's an issue with players and it happens year after year, that's on the coaching. I'm also not a big fan of promising him there won't be a lot of pressure to win as an incentive, that sounds like we'd be setting ourselves up to get a coach that doesn't care that much.

Sheck wrote:

thecaptain wrote: maybe its a guy exactly like Creen, who is talented and a good coach, but the pressures of his current gig is just too much.

I'd love to see Bamford pursue Crean if he becomes available. Maybe he gets other offers but show him the Champions Center and tell him that there isn't going to be this intense pressure to win here as would be the case with a lot of P5 offers he might get. Get us in the top 4 of the A10 consistently and at least being a semi-regular participant in the NCAAs.

Why would you hire a coach and tell him he wouldn't be expected to win or challenge for the championship every year? The pressure in a mid major like UMass should be more than most P5 schools. P5 leagues have very rigid hierarchies. For example, BC wants to be competitive in the ACC and maybe finish in the top 4, but UNC, Duke, etc. even Syarcuse have much better pedigrees and the NCAA protects those.

thecaptain wrote:been doing a lot of thinking lately about what our next coach should look like. as much as i like the idea of an up and comer (ie, keatts), i don't think i want another "umass as a stepping stone" coach. in other words, i dont want Ford 2.0. im still bitter.

At least you acknowledge it's because you're bitter. Ford was given a ridiculous amount of money to leave UMass. That isn't likely to happen to another UMass coach, unless they can deliver Calipari-like results.

Who can we hire that is guaranteed to stick around a while? How will be know? Are you going to purposely hire an inferior coach so that there won't be any temptation to leave? This can and should be a pretty simple hire, just get the best coach, don't try to make it more difficult than it has to be.

I am in 100% agreement with Niles here. Hire the best coach. This program needs a major shot in the butt.

Go get an up and comer. If he leaves, so be it, that just means he was successful.

Maybe I'm missing someone, but I can't think of any P5 coaches stepping down a level and having success.

As much as we all want to see a change I think there is very little chance DK goes this year. I have a feeling they will win a few more, finish the year at about .500 and point to all the close loses. Our only saving grace might be is Bamford played the game in college and was a good 3pt shooter. I have a good feeling he knows what good basketball looks like.

^ I'm continually surprised at how certain some people are that Kellogg's job is safe. I suspect Bamford wants to fire him, but I have no idea where the president, chancellor and boosters stand... or really how much say they have in the matter.

NilesGold wrote:^ I'm continually surprised at how certain some people are that Kellogg's job is safe. I suspect Bamford wants to fire him, but I have no idea where the president, chancellor and boosters stand... or really how much say they have in the matter.

I don't think Bamford wants to fire him. Bamford has been quiet, but he emphatically supported DK last year. Even though we don't like that we are in a rebuilding year, we are. Bamford knows what rebuilding looks like.

I agree Bamford probably wants him gone but the case will be made about how young we are and how many close games we had.... Bamford knew we had a good class last year.. this year I think he probably realized DK can't coach. He hasn't seen the same mistakes year after year like we have.

JSF... 6 out of 9 DK years have been rebuilding years..