E-mailed 3/31/11
The list is getting so small, I'm just putting all of the names together:
Brad Stevens
Dave Rose
Mick Cronin
Kevin Stallings
Shaka Smart
Scott Sutton (this one still just mystifies me)
Ben Jacobson
Randy Bennett
Gregg Marshall
Talk is you can delete Dave Rose (who if you recall recently told Oklahoma no) and...Ben Jacobson who recently told his administration and his associates he wasn't leaving Northern Iowa this year. I thought he was going to be the next coach. Strike two for me.
Some new names being bantered about:
Doug Wojcik -- Just what we need: a head coach from a small ass nobody school (Tulsa) who has never been to the NCAA Tournament. What could go wrong?
Brad Brownell -- Head coach of Clemson for a grand total of 1 year. Before that four years at Wright State and before that four years at UNC Wilmington. Zero NCAA appearances outside of the first round. He's done that three times. This guy is being pushed by Power Mizzou.
So we sit at:
Brad Stevens
Mick Cronin
Kevin Stallings
Shaka Smart
Scott Sutton (this one mystified me)
Randy Bennett
Gregg Marshall
Doug Wojcik
Brad Brownell
If we hire Doug Wojcik I'm e-mailing unpleasant things to Alden.
I think we'd better hope for Mick Cronin (or Brad Stevens), be happy if we get the "Next Quinn Snyder" Shaka Smart or "Can't Win In the Tourney or Finish a Season Strong" Kevin Stallings, and run and hide if we get Sutton, Bennett, Marshall, Wojcik, or Brownell.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
The Mourning After + Anatomy of a Call
E-mailed 3/31/11
I didn’t walk to my car last night in the rain, I walked to it through freezing rain. I stopped at a gas station and it cost $70 to fill up my car. I got home and realized I still didn’t have a basketball coach. All things that suck but all things that suck infinitely less than dealing with nuclear fall out, escaping genocide, or trying to live through a civil war. In other words, I guess its good to try and keep things in perspective.
Today there are a lot of asshole journalists who sat on the sideline yesterday (not making a call and not reporting) who are asking pretty smug and a lot of people who jumped in, reported, and got things wrong who are eating crow. Basketball links and baseball prediction at the bottom of this e-mail, feel free to skip to them. But first, a commentary on the events of yesterday.
Yesterday was a fascinating day for many reasons. One of which was how the story unfolded and who made what calls when during the day. So for my J-Heads on this list, the anatomy of the making a Call:
I can still remember the day in high school and always will: the day my dad came home from work with the St. Louis paper’s sports page and I found out Joe Torre was fired as Cardinals manager and Todd Zeile was traded to the Cubs for Mike Morgan. Back then news happened once a day…when my dad brought the newspaper into the house.
Now because of Twitter, or “The Tweeter” as one prominent Congresswoman likes to refer to it as, news happens all the time. Before my new job, for me Twitter was only good for following sports commentary during or right after games and procuring essentials during snowmageddon such as a snow shovel, food, and most importantly, booze. I rarely and still rarely tweet myself and when I do, I’m particularly bad at it (boring).
Fast forward to March 23 at 4:58 pm when I Tweet “I’m buying what Painter is selling” and from that moment forward began a quest to try and figure out who was going to be the next Mizzou coach. After I took my new job at Georgetown I started using Twitter differently. I found, if properly managed, Twitter can be a very efficient way to synthesize lots of information. For instance, by following the news sites you normally get your news from you can get all of the important links they post, generally before they post them on their sites. Therefore, no need to click from website to website, you can get all of the important links in one place: on your Twitter feed. With the tragedies in Japan and Lybia news sites would retweet from sources and journalists on the ground (drawback: some of them wouldn’t be in English). You could then start following the direct sources rather than the news sites to get even quicker first hand updates. Even more interesting, you could compare those updates with how the news sites reported the stories and compare the two.
The same principles (only in all English) apply to sports. You can follow all of the major reporters in Missouri and in Indiana and you can also follow all of the blog sites (like Rock M Nation). Finally, if you are neurotic enough you can also start following athletic department staff, facilities staff (who set up for an announcement), faculty who are on intercollegiate committees, major donors, and all the members of the Purdue basketball team who have a Twitter account. Unlike journalistic reporters, I don’t these people and don’t know which ones are reliable sources and which ones are bat-shit crazy. So I have to evaluate the sources. That’s why when former Hall of Fame and past President of the College Basketball Writers Association, now currently an Ass Hat, Dick Weiss, called Painter to Mizzou with SPECIFIC information (7 years, 14 mil)…it seems like it was true. Why would the former Hall of Famer now Ass Hat put that out there if it wasn’t true? Who knows. But lesson learned: have multiple credible sources who each site different sources themselves before making a call.
Fast forward to yesterday. One of the lead journalists at the St. Louis Post Dispatch calls Painter to Mizzou around 11:15 am and bases it on a source claiming that (1) Painter called Alden at 10:45 am, (2) Painter headed to Purdue to tell players, and (3) will be introduced to crowd at Busch Stadium today and then on to Columbia for a presser before Final Four action starts tonight. Fascinating report with very specific details, but no one else jumped on it. Conflicting reports came out saying no decision yet. Then KOMU gets involved sighting a source saying “100% done deal, presser Wednesday night in Columbia.” Could be the same source Post Dispatch used earlier…I didn’t call it. Text messages then come in sighting people on campus saying prep was started for a press conference. Sounds sketchy. Still no call. Finally, leaked e-mails between members of the Intercollegiate Sports Committee (faculty committee) at Mizzou congratulate Alden on finalizing the deal. E-mails in the hands of KOMU. At that point, it’s a new credible source. And I called it. And I was wrong.
The difference between me being wrong and e-mail my friends (biggest consequence = one of you calling me a dumb ass) and a credible news source calling it are rather big. What we won’t know, I think, is what really happened. Alden won’t tell and if Painter’s smart he won’t tell either. They have similar characters. While we don’t know what really happened, I’m rather confident Painter accepted, talked it over with his players, and couldn’t do it. He went with Purdue’s promise to get more money into the basketball program and opted to stay at his alma mater.
So believe what you want. If you are a humanoid type cat-fish or a j-major not doing anything related to journalism, feel free to blow up my cell phone with text messages or my Facebook page with comments about how I got things wrong (neither are or were ever on the this e-mail list). I wasn’t in it to get it right, I was in it to give my friends information who might not…how do I say…currently have the amount of free time I have during the hours of 8 am to 5 pm.
Regardless, I feel bad for the people at the Post Dispatch and KOMU who made a call based on information they had and in the end made the wrong call (regardless of if he changed his mind or not). Life was a lot easier when news happened once a day at 5:00 pm and not every 5 minutes.
Before we get to the basketball links, here are some other tidbits to get you through your day:
(1) Some smart Nebraska fans threatened to kill Dan Bebee. Deets here: http://espn.go.com/blog/big12/post/_/id/27166/tom-osborne-weighs-in-on-beebe-threats
(2) Its opening day!!! My picks:
NL East: Phillies
NL Central: Too close to call. I’d guess Cardinals. I think the Reds will fold. Too old and too many hurt pitchers with unproved track records. For those of you not covering my response to the Pujols contract, I’m now a Reds fan.
NL West: San Francisco
Wild Card: Braves or Rockies, probably Braves.
AL East: Boston
AL Central: White Socks
AL West: Texas
Wild Card: Twins or Yankees; its comes down to the health of Twins hitters versus the ability of the Yankees make-shift starting pitching.
World Series: Phillies vs. Red Sox (and hope a bomb explodes in the stadium)
(3) I quote from Rock M Nation about Missouri fans: “…the fanbase is demoralized (and when the insecure Mizzou fanbase gets demoralized, it gets embarrassed ... and when it gets embarrassed, it gets angry).” Don’t be angry. Its still a good day to be a Tiger. And as one person on the list text messaged me: Third time’s a charm, right?
And now, the basketball links:
Why Painter ultimately brushed off Mizzou and what could have been: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/jeff-gordon/article_829c4d5e-5b93-11e0-9ac7-00127992bc8b.html
Key paragraph: Jeff Goodman, FoxSports.com: “Painter is a rare breed in the coaching fraternity, valuing toughness and defense over glitz and glamour. He’s a man’s man, a rare guy who actually looks good in black and maize. He's all about three-hour practices, no BS and the mentality that you win games by playing harder than the opposition. Painter is old school. Ultimately, that’s why he’s still at Purdue. Loyalty won. Sure, there are more bells and whistles at Missouri, the place Painter flirted with over the last few days. He could have gotten more money for himself and his assistants — and maybe even had a more realistic opportunity to go to a Final Four — in Columbia. Just imagine Painter coaching guys such as Marcus Denmon, Kim English and Phil Pressey at Missouri. But he couldn’t do it. Couldn’t leave home. Couldn’t leave (returning senior) Robbie Hummel.”
Why the people at CBS Sports are assholes and an explanation why they are saying our job is worse than NC State (which can’t get anyone to agree to go there) and only slightly better than Oklahoma: http://gregg-doyel.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/5881996/28162513
A good overall summary with some new names to add to the list (read this if you want it straight from them and not filtered through me: http://www.rockmnation.com/2011/3/31/2081483/mizzou-basketball-coaching-search-now-what
Key paragraph: You're Mike Alden. You almost pulled a humongous upset in the Matt Painter chase, but since you came up short, the fanbase is demoralized (and when the insecure Mizzou fanbase gets demoralized, it gets embarrassed ... and when it gets embarrassed, it gets angry).
I didn’t walk to my car last night in the rain, I walked to it through freezing rain. I stopped at a gas station and it cost $70 to fill up my car. I got home and realized I still didn’t have a basketball coach. All things that suck but all things that suck infinitely less than dealing with nuclear fall out, escaping genocide, or trying to live through a civil war. In other words, I guess its good to try and keep things in perspective.
Today there are a lot of asshole journalists who sat on the sideline yesterday (not making a call and not reporting) who are asking pretty smug and a lot of people who jumped in, reported, and got things wrong who are eating crow. Basketball links and baseball prediction at the bottom of this e-mail, feel free to skip to them. But first, a commentary on the events of yesterday.
Yesterday was a fascinating day for many reasons. One of which was how the story unfolded and who made what calls when during the day. So for my J-Heads on this list, the anatomy of the making a Call:
I can still remember the day in high school and always will: the day my dad came home from work with the St. Louis paper’s sports page and I found out Joe Torre was fired as Cardinals manager and Todd Zeile was traded to the Cubs for Mike Morgan. Back then news happened once a day…when my dad brought the newspaper into the house.
Now because of Twitter, or “The Tweeter” as one prominent Congresswoman likes to refer to it as, news happens all the time. Before my new job, for me Twitter was only good for following sports commentary during or right after games and procuring essentials during snowmageddon such as a snow shovel, food, and most importantly, booze. I rarely and still rarely tweet myself and when I do, I’m particularly bad at it (boring).
Fast forward to March 23 at 4:58 pm when I Tweet “I’m buying what Painter is selling” and from that moment forward began a quest to try and figure out who was going to be the next Mizzou coach. After I took my new job at Georgetown I started using Twitter differently. I found, if properly managed, Twitter can be a very efficient way to synthesize lots of information. For instance, by following the news sites you normally get your news from you can get all of the important links they post, generally before they post them on their sites. Therefore, no need to click from website to website, you can get all of the important links in one place: on your Twitter feed. With the tragedies in Japan and Lybia news sites would retweet from sources and journalists on the ground (drawback: some of them wouldn’t be in English). You could then start following the direct sources rather than the news sites to get even quicker first hand updates. Even more interesting, you could compare those updates with how the news sites reported the stories and compare the two.
The same principles (only in all English) apply to sports. You can follow all of the major reporters in Missouri and in Indiana and you can also follow all of the blog sites (like Rock M Nation). Finally, if you are neurotic enough you can also start following athletic department staff, facilities staff (who set up for an announcement), faculty who are on intercollegiate committees, major donors, and all the members of the Purdue basketball team who have a Twitter account. Unlike journalistic reporters, I don’t these people and don’t know which ones are reliable sources and which ones are bat-shit crazy. So I have to evaluate the sources. That’s why when former Hall of Fame and past President of the College Basketball Writers Association, now currently an Ass Hat, Dick Weiss, called Painter to Mizzou with SPECIFIC information (7 years, 14 mil)…it seems like it was true. Why would the former Hall of Famer now Ass Hat put that out there if it wasn’t true? Who knows. But lesson learned: have multiple credible sources who each site different sources themselves before making a call.
Fast forward to yesterday. One of the lead journalists at the St. Louis Post Dispatch calls Painter to Mizzou around 11:15 am and bases it on a source claiming that (1) Painter called Alden at 10:45 am, (2) Painter headed to Purdue to tell players, and (3) will be introduced to crowd at Busch Stadium today and then on to Columbia for a presser before Final Four action starts tonight. Fascinating report with very specific details, but no one else jumped on it. Conflicting reports came out saying no decision yet. Then KOMU gets involved sighting a source saying “100% done deal, presser Wednesday night in Columbia.” Could be the same source Post Dispatch used earlier…I didn’t call it. Text messages then come in sighting people on campus saying prep was started for a press conference. Sounds sketchy. Still no call. Finally, leaked e-mails between members of the Intercollegiate Sports Committee (faculty committee) at Mizzou congratulate Alden on finalizing the deal. E-mails in the hands of KOMU. At that point, it’s a new credible source. And I called it. And I was wrong.
The difference between me being wrong and e-mail my friends (biggest consequence = one of you calling me a dumb ass) and a credible news source calling it are rather big. What we won’t know, I think, is what really happened. Alden won’t tell and if Painter’s smart he won’t tell either. They have similar characters. While we don’t know what really happened, I’m rather confident Painter accepted, talked it over with his players, and couldn’t do it. He went with Purdue’s promise to get more money into the basketball program and opted to stay at his alma mater.
So believe what you want. If you are a humanoid type cat-fish or a j-major not doing anything related to journalism, feel free to blow up my cell phone with text messages or my Facebook page with comments about how I got things wrong (neither are or were ever on the this e-mail list). I wasn’t in it to get it right, I was in it to give my friends information who might not…how do I say…currently have the amount of free time I have during the hours of 8 am to 5 pm.
Regardless, I feel bad for the people at the Post Dispatch and KOMU who made a call based on information they had and in the end made the wrong call (regardless of if he changed his mind or not). Life was a lot easier when news happened once a day at 5:00 pm and not every 5 minutes.
Before we get to the basketball links, here are some other tidbits to get you through your day:
(1) Some smart Nebraska fans threatened to kill Dan Bebee. Deets here: http://espn.go.com/blog/big12/post/_/id/27166/tom-osborne-weighs-in-on-beebe-threats
(2) Its opening day!!! My picks:
NL East: Phillies
NL Central: Too close to call. I’d guess Cardinals. I think the Reds will fold. Too old and too many hurt pitchers with unproved track records. For those of you not covering my response to the Pujols contract, I’m now a Reds fan.
NL West: San Francisco
Wild Card: Braves or Rockies, probably Braves.
AL East: Boston
AL Central: White Socks
AL West: Texas
Wild Card: Twins or Yankees; its comes down to the health of Twins hitters versus the ability of the Yankees make-shift starting pitching.
World Series: Phillies vs. Red Sox (and hope a bomb explodes in the stadium)
(3) I quote from Rock M Nation about Missouri fans: “…the fanbase is demoralized (and when the insecure Mizzou fanbase gets demoralized, it gets embarrassed ... and when it gets embarrassed, it gets angry).” Don’t be angry. Its still a good day to be a Tiger. And as one person on the list text messaged me: Third time’s a charm, right?
And now, the basketball links:
Why Painter ultimately brushed off Mizzou and what could have been: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/jeff-gordon/article_829c4d5e-5b93-11e0-9ac7-00127992bc8b.html
Key paragraph: Jeff Goodman, FoxSports.com: “Painter is a rare breed in the coaching fraternity, valuing toughness and defense over glitz and glamour. He’s a man’s man, a rare guy who actually looks good in black and maize. He's all about three-hour practices, no BS and the mentality that you win games by playing harder than the opposition. Painter is old school. Ultimately, that’s why he’s still at Purdue. Loyalty won. Sure, there are more bells and whistles at Missouri, the place Painter flirted with over the last few days. He could have gotten more money for himself and his assistants — and maybe even had a more realistic opportunity to go to a Final Four — in Columbia. Just imagine Painter coaching guys such as Marcus Denmon, Kim English and Phil Pressey at Missouri. But he couldn’t do it. Couldn’t leave home. Couldn’t leave (returning senior) Robbie Hummel.”
Why the people at CBS Sports are assholes and an explanation why they are saying our job is worse than NC State (which can’t get anyone to agree to go there) and only slightly better than Oklahoma: http://gregg-doyel.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/5881996/28162513
A good overall summary with some new names to add to the list (read this if you want it straight from them and not filtered through me: http://www.rockmnation.com/2011/3/31/2081483/mizzou-basketball-coaching-search-now-what
Key paragraph: You're Mike Alden. You almost pulled a humongous upset in the Matt Painter chase, but since you came up short, the fanbase is demoralized (and when the insecure Mizzou fanbase gets demoralized, it gets embarrassed ... and when it gets embarrassed, it gets angry).
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Now What (5:00 pm update)
E-mailed 3/30/11
I wasn't there for the fifth down but I had one foot on the wall for the kicked-ball Nebraska game and this feels shockingly similar. Mizzou did everything we needed to win the day, but fate seemed to get in our way. And, to piss us all off even more, Buzz Williams signed an 8-year deal moments after the Painter news got announced. The happiest people on the face of the earth: the family of the Purdue Athletic Director because he'll get to keep his job. If Painter left and he signed off on that letter to athletic donors, he was a goner for sure.
If you are looking to find some humor in this horrible situation: Perhaps the funniest thing in all of this is that no-one seems to know for sure where Painter is physically located. The Purdue press release about Painter signing an eight year contract says he is still in FL. Everyone reported he physically met with his players on campus. Some players also tweeted about being at a team meeting. Pretty funny if you ask me.
At any rate, time to move on, although a lot of people, me included aren't going to be too inclined to do so. Of the remaining options, everyone looks like shit. They aren't, but they sure look that way when compared to back-to-back-to-back-to-back 25 win seasons in a "power conference" (term used loosely). Its also hard because Painter was such a stand-up guy. At the end of all of this an un-named athletic department staffer responded "Not at all" when asked if Mizzou felt that Painter played them. Bottom line: there's not another Painter out there. Everyone looks like shit (sorry, already said that).
This list as it now stands:
Terrible Choices:
Shaka Smart -- Head Coach of VCU. Plays a similar style of defense as our team does now. Only been at VCU two years. He would jump at the chance to come to Mizzou. I think this would be a terrible choice. The next Quinn Snyder (says Jason Witlock)
Scott Sutton -- Head Coach of Oral Roberts since 1999. Taken Oral Roberts to the NCAA Tourney three times, exiting in first round each time. Another terrible choice.
Anthony Grant -- Head Coach at Alabama for two years, three before that at VCU. Two NCAA appearances (both at VCU). Pass. Not enough experience and a habit of jumping teams every 2-3 years.
Gregg Marshall -- Head coach of Wichita State. St. Louis media are obsessed with the Missouri Valley Conference and he's allegedly the best coach in that conference. I would file him under "Terrible Choices" but I hate the MVC. Greg Kampe -- Head Coach of Oakland since...1984. Not a misprint. 1984. 7 NCAA trips during that time. File under "Terrible Choices." The only things he has going for him are (1) He looks the part of someone from Missouri, and (2) Pat Forde (an ESPN Alumn) mentioned his name as a possible replacement.
Hopefully We Can Do Better:
Randy Bennett -- Head Coach at St. Mary's since 2001. Has shown he can run a program but the bottom line is he couldn't get over the hump and be better than Gonzaga. Can he really get over the hump and be better than kU?
Ben Jacobson -- Head Coach of Northern Iowa since 2006. Two NCAA appearances, one to the Sweet 16. Makes under 500,000 a year. Last time we hired someone from Northern Iowa to coach our team, we ended up naming out basketball court after him. Can beat Kansas.
Hopefully We Can Seal the Deal:
Mick Cronin -- Head coach of Cincinnati. The Big East has around 96 schools in their basketball conference and he is in the lower half in terms of pay and UC sucks so bad as a University they can't afford to pay him more. He turned around a program that under Bob Huggins hadn't graduated a single student. Oh, ya, he also out-coached Anderson this year in the tournament.
Dave Rose -- Head Coach of BYU for six years. Went to the NIT his first year, NCAA all years after. Currently in Sweet 16. Has won 20 games every year as head coach. He's coaching BYU and is Mormon. BYU is starting its own national TV network. No reason for him to leave. He's at his dream job. National media keeps saying he's interested...and would come.
Kevin Stallings -- Head Coach of Vanderbilt since 99. Coached IL State before that. 7 NCAA appearances and two Sweet 16's. The world wouldn't end, but I wonder if its better to chose someone with more upside than someone who is established, yet not spectacular.
Get Real:
Brad Stevens -- Head Coach of Butler. Four years as head coach, four NCAA tournaments, one final four. He can go anywhere he wants. He's not coming to Mizzou.
I can't even bring myself to type much more about these ass-clowns. But here goes...Anthony Grant. Word is he's not under consideration, so I'll take him off the list (meaning he'll be hired before the NCAA deadline of noon tomorrow). In my wildest dreams I can't see us hiring Greg Kampe. I'm confident in taking his name off the list. People are talking about the Colorado coach being an option. I'm not even bothering to look up his name. But if you hear that rumor, don't be surprised. People are also talking about Tubby Smith, who is over 60 and not coming. Don't be surprised if you hear that. KC Star first to name next up on Alden's list: Shaka Smart, Dave Rose, Mick Cronin, Ben Jacobson, Randy Bennett, and Tubby Smith. They are idiots for mentioning Tubby Smith. The Post Dispatch says we shouldn't aim lower and suggest Dave Rose, Brad Stevens, and Shaka Smart. If you're looking for humor in this, in that article a quote stands out: "There is no truth to the rumor that the UT athletic department runs the Big 12 Conference in its spare time. It just seems that way."
I don't even know how to reorganize the coaching list. I guess I would do it like this:
Next Targets:
Brad Stevens
Dave Rose
Mick Cronin
Kevin Stallings
Targets after the "Next Targets" all tell us no:
Shaka Smart
Scott Sutton (this one still just mystifies me)
Ben Jacobson
Randy Bennett
Gregg Marshall
The hardest to place on a list are Shaka Smart and Scott Sutton. The "Next Targets" list are all similar in that they have been at a "big time" (Butler, kind of) school and had some form of sustained success there. Sutton doesn't fit on there because his "sustained success" came at Oral Roberts. Shaka Smart doesn't fit on there because he hasn't had sustained success (only been at VCU two years). The "Targets after "Next Targets"" list are folks who are at smaller schools with varying degrees of success and would move up to a power conference.
Here are reasons folks would reject us or we should reject them:
Brad Stevens -- I would say the only other coach who was a hotter name nationally than Painter this spring is Stevens. He's a God at Butler and wants the Indiana job. He's not coming.
Dave Rose -- Told our old friend Joe Castegilone (sp) at Oklahoma no yesterday. Jimmer coming back for his senior year and they are giving him a new contract. Deets here: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700122629/BYU-basketball-Dave-Rose-not-interested-in-Oklahoma-job.html
Kevin Stallings -- When your wikipedia page notes "Stallings has been the subject of heavy criticism for inconsistent performances and weak season finishes," you have some problems. Clearly he's taking some heat at Vandy and would probably love to jump ship but I don't know if Alden would be interested. I don't think Alden would be interested. His stock is falling.
Shaka Smart -- His team is a on a run, but he's unproven. Only two years at VCU. Alden probably interested, but shouldn't be.
Scott Sutton -- Because he's a Sutton and because he coaches at Oral Roberts.
Ben Jacobson -- Not even the best coach in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). He beat Kansas. That doesn't make you a great coach.
Randy Bennett -- If you can't overcome Gonzaga you can't overcome Texas and Kansas.
Gregg Marshall -- Supposed "best coach" in MVC but never led his team there to the NCAA tourney.
That leaves us with Mick Cronin. He almost made the list because he published a Children's book after he go to Cincinnati entitled "Hello, Bearcat!" Start praying that we get Mick Cronin. I think we'll get Scott Sutton or Ben Jacobson. There could be a wild card out there who no one is talking about and will step up at the prospect of 2 mill/year. I don't know nor can imagine said person.
Among a lot of frustrations today is the fact that we'll hear no more about new coaches until Tuesday when the Final Four is...um...finalized.
I'm headed out in the cold rain to walk to my car and take a long, cold, wet car ride home.
I wasn't there for the fifth down but I had one foot on the wall for the kicked-ball Nebraska game and this feels shockingly similar. Mizzou did everything we needed to win the day, but fate seemed to get in our way. And, to piss us all off even more, Buzz Williams signed an 8-year deal moments after the Painter news got announced. The happiest people on the face of the earth: the family of the Purdue Athletic Director because he'll get to keep his job. If Painter left and he signed off on that letter to athletic donors, he was a goner for sure.
If you are looking to find some humor in this horrible situation: Perhaps the funniest thing in all of this is that no-one seems to know for sure where Painter is physically located. The Purdue press release about Painter signing an eight year contract says he is still in FL. Everyone reported he physically met with his players on campus. Some players also tweeted about being at a team meeting. Pretty funny if you ask me.
At any rate, time to move on, although a lot of people, me included aren't going to be too inclined to do so. Of the remaining options, everyone looks like shit. They aren't, but they sure look that way when compared to back-to-back-to-back-to-back 25 win seasons in a "power conference" (term used loosely). Its also hard because Painter was such a stand-up guy. At the end of all of this an un-named athletic department staffer responded "Not at all" when asked if Mizzou felt that Painter played them. Bottom line: there's not another Painter out there. Everyone looks like shit (sorry, already said that).
This list as it now stands:
Terrible Choices:
Shaka Smart -- Head Coach of VCU. Plays a similar style of defense as our team does now. Only been at VCU two years. He would jump at the chance to come to Mizzou. I think this would be a terrible choice. The next Quinn Snyder (says Jason Witlock)
Scott Sutton -- Head Coach of Oral Roberts since 1999. Taken Oral Roberts to the NCAA Tourney three times, exiting in first round each time. Another terrible choice.
Anthony Grant -- Head Coach at Alabama for two years, three before that at VCU. Two NCAA appearances (both at VCU). Pass. Not enough experience and a habit of jumping teams every 2-3 years.
Gregg Marshall -- Head coach of Wichita State. St. Louis media are obsessed with the Missouri Valley Conference and he's allegedly the best coach in that conference. I would file him under "Terrible Choices" but I hate the MVC. Greg Kampe -- Head Coach of Oakland since...1984. Not a misprint. 1984. 7 NCAA trips during that time. File under "Terrible Choices." The only things he has going for him are (1) He looks the part of someone from Missouri, and (2) Pat Forde (an ESPN Alumn) mentioned his name as a possible replacement.
Hopefully We Can Do Better:
Randy Bennett -- Head Coach at St. Mary's since 2001. Has shown he can run a program but the bottom line is he couldn't get over the hump and be better than Gonzaga. Can he really get over the hump and be better than kU?
Ben Jacobson -- Head Coach of Northern Iowa since 2006. Two NCAA appearances, one to the Sweet 16. Makes under 500,000 a year. Last time we hired someone from Northern Iowa to coach our team, we ended up naming out basketball court after him. Can beat Kansas.
Hopefully We Can Seal the Deal:
Mick Cronin -- Head coach of Cincinnati. The Big East has around 96 schools in their basketball conference and he is in the lower half in terms of pay and UC sucks so bad as a University they can't afford to pay him more. He turned around a program that under Bob Huggins hadn't graduated a single student. Oh, ya, he also out-coached Anderson this year in the tournament.
Dave Rose -- Head Coach of BYU for six years. Went to the NIT his first year, NCAA all years after. Currently in Sweet 16. Has won 20 games every year as head coach. He's coaching BYU and is Mormon. BYU is starting its own national TV network. No reason for him to leave. He's at his dream job. National media keeps saying he's interested...and would come.
Kevin Stallings -- Head Coach of Vanderbilt since 99. Coached IL State before that. 7 NCAA appearances and two Sweet 16's. The world wouldn't end, but I wonder if its better to chose someone with more upside than someone who is established, yet not spectacular.
Get Real:
Brad Stevens -- Head Coach of Butler. Four years as head coach, four NCAA tournaments, one final four. He can go anywhere he wants. He's not coming to Mizzou.
I can't even bring myself to type much more about these ass-clowns. But here goes...Anthony Grant. Word is he's not under consideration, so I'll take him off the list (meaning he'll be hired before the NCAA deadline of noon tomorrow). In my wildest dreams I can't see us hiring Greg Kampe. I'm confident in taking his name off the list. People are talking about the Colorado coach being an option. I'm not even bothering to look up his name. But if you hear that rumor, don't be surprised. People are also talking about Tubby Smith, who is over 60 and not coming. Don't be surprised if you hear that. KC Star first to name next up on Alden's list: Shaka Smart, Dave Rose, Mick Cronin, Ben Jacobson, Randy Bennett, and Tubby Smith. They are idiots for mentioning Tubby Smith. The Post Dispatch says we shouldn't aim lower and suggest Dave Rose, Brad Stevens, and Shaka Smart. If you're looking for humor in this, in that article a quote stands out: "There is no truth to the rumor that the UT athletic department runs the Big 12 Conference in its spare time. It just seems that way."
I don't even know how to reorganize the coaching list. I guess I would do it like this:
Next Targets:
Brad Stevens
Dave Rose
Mick Cronin
Kevin Stallings
Targets after the "Next Targets" all tell us no:
Shaka Smart
Scott Sutton (this one still just mystifies me)
Ben Jacobson
Randy Bennett
Gregg Marshall
The hardest to place on a list are Shaka Smart and Scott Sutton. The "Next Targets" list are all similar in that they have been at a "big time" (Butler, kind of) school and had some form of sustained success there. Sutton doesn't fit on there because his "sustained success" came at Oral Roberts. Shaka Smart doesn't fit on there because he hasn't had sustained success (only been at VCU two years). The "Targets after "Next Targets"" list are folks who are at smaller schools with varying degrees of success and would move up to a power conference.
Here are reasons folks would reject us or we should reject them:
Brad Stevens -- I would say the only other coach who was a hotter name nationally than Painter this spring is Stevens. He's a God at Butler and wants the Indiana job. He's not coming.
Dave Rose -- Told our old friend Joe Castegilone (sp) at Oklahoma no yesterday. Jimmer coming back for his senior year and they are giving him a new contract. Deets here: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700122629/BYU-basketball-Dave-Rose-not-interested-in-Oklahoma-job.html
Kevin Stallings -- When your wikipedia page notes "Stallings has been the subject of heavy criticism for inconsistent performances and weak season finishes," you have some problems. Clearly he's taking some heat at Vandy and would probably love to jump ship but I don't know if Alden would be interested. I don't think Alden would be interested. His stock is falling.
Shaka Smart -- His team is a on a run, but he's unproven. Only two years at VCU. Alden probably interested, but shouldn't be.
Scott Sutton -- Because he's a Sutton and because he coaches at Oral Roberts.
Ben Jacobson -- Not even the best coach in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). He beat Kansas. That doesn't make you a great coach.
Randy Bennett -- If you can't overcome Gonzaga you can't overcome Texas and Kansas.
Gregg Marshall -- Supposed "best coach" in MVC but never led his team there to the NCAA tourney.
That leaves us with Mick Cronin. He almost made the list because he published a Children's book after he go to Cincinnati entitled "Hello, Bearcat!" Start praying that we get Mick Cronin. I think we'll get Scott Sutton or Ben Jacobson. There could be a wild card out there who no one is talking about and will step up at the prospect of 2 mill/year. I don't know nor can imagine said person.
Among a lot of frustrations today is the fact that we'll hear no more about new coaches until Tuesday when the Final Four is...um...finalized.
I'm headed out in the cold rain to walk to my car and take a long, cold, wet car ride home.
DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN; PAINTER REJECTS MIZZOU
E-mailed 3/30/11
Well, that was certainly a 180 wasn't it. Here is what happened:
(1) Painter called Alden say "we're a go" and went to travel to Purdue to tell his players.
(2) At meeting this afternoon with his players, had a change of heart, decided to stay.
(3) Accepted Purdue's 8 year contract.
Those outlets that called him going to Mizzou and the inter-office e-mails within Mizzou athletics weren't incorrect. He made the call to come. And then decided not to. Don't be mad at him. No anger here. Disappointment, but no anger. Great man. Hell of a coach. Don't be mad at Alden either, he did his job.
This feels an awful lot like the 5th down play or the Nebraska kicked ball. We did what we were supposed to, fate just got in our way. For those interested, below is what I was in the process of typing out and sending before this all happened, it was under the heading "What's Next." New e-mail coming under that heading. Man, that one is going to be tough to write. At any rate...I now present the e-mail that never was:
"Now What"
The day has dawned, the great news has arrived. Now what?
Here is where we stand:
(1) Everyone running on silent mode, except for Purdue athletic donors who are ready to kill the AD for sending out a snarky communication about how if they had given more money, Painter wouldn't be looking at other jobs.
(2) Depending on who you talk to Painter is at Purdue or in transit to Purdue. Will meet with players now, this afternoon, or evening.
(3) After that its on to BoCoMo, presumably to meet with team and hold some type of presser.
(4) Odd, but cool reports, stating he'll be on hand and introduced to crowd on Cards opening day (Thursday).
What to watch for:
(A) How does Painter say "I hate the Purdue Athletic Director and that's why I left" politely in front of media.
(B) Which players react. If pressed they will all say "excited" but who steps forward and who doesn't will be interesting. Under CMA everyone played b/c everyone ran their ass off. Under Painter more emphasis on precision and execution. That would lend to lesser playing time. Some players have to know they are looking at some bench time.
(C) How quickly Flip Pressley withdraws from classes and heads south. Unfortunate for us. He could have had an outstanding career in Columbia. I think he will leave for style of play concerns.
Well, that was certainly a 180 wasn't it. Here is what happened:
(1) Painter called Alden say "we're a go" and went to travel to Purdue to tell his players.
(2) At meeting this afternoon with his players, had a change of heart, decided to stay.
(3) Accepted Purdue's 8 year contract.
Those outlets that called him going to Mizzou and the inter-office e-mails within Mizzou athletics weren't incorrect. He made the call to come. And then decided not to. Don't be mad at him. No anger here. Disappointment, but no anger. Great man. Hell of a coach. Don't be mad at Alden either, he did his job.
This feels an awful lot like the 5th down play or the Nebraska kicked ball. We did what we were supposed to, fate just got in our way. For those interested, below is what I was in the process of typing out and sending before this all happened, it was under the heading "What's Next." New e-mail coming under that heading. Man, that one is going to be tough to write. At any rate...I now present the e-mail that never was:
"Now What"
The day has dawned, the great news has arrived. Now what?
Here is where we stand:
(1) Everyone running on silent mode, except for Purdue athletic donors who are ready to kill the AD for sending out a snarky communication about how if they had given more money, Painter wouldn't be looking at other jobs.
(2) Depending on who you talk to Painter is at Purdue or in transit to Purdue. Will meet with players now, this afternoon, or evening.
(3) After that its on to BoCoMo, presumably to meet with team and hold some type of presser.
(4) Odd, but cool reports, stating he'll be on hand and introduced to crowd on Cards opening day (Thursday).
What to watch for:
(A) How does Painter say "I hate the Purdue Athletic Director and that's why I left" politely in front of media.
(B) Which players react. If pressed they will all say "excited" but who steps forward and who doesn't will be interesting. Under CMA everyone played b/c everyone ran their ass off. Under Painter more emphasis on precision and execution. That would lend to lesser playing time. Some players have to know they are looking at some bench time.
(C) How quickly Flip Pressley withdraws from classes and heads south. Unfortunate for us. He could have had an outstanding career in Columbia. I think he will leave for style of play concerns.
PAINTER TO MIZZOU
Shocking. Unbelievable. Too good to be true. All of those things and more: PAINTER IS THE NEXT HEAD COACH OF YOUR MISSOURI TIGERS.
I'm calling it based on inner campus emails between athletic staff. Game over. This time we happen to win. Let's not forget, though, those folks on another campus feeling what we felt not too long ago. Keep them in your thoughts, it doesn't feel good to be where they are at right now.
Details on the announcement/introduction will be unfolding. Clearly a statue of Alden needs to be built outside of Mizzou Arena. What an incredible move.
I'm speechless.
I'm calling it based on inner campus emails between athletic staff. Game over. This time we happen to win. Let's not forget, though, those folks on another campus feeling what we felt not too long ago. Keep them in your thoughts, it doesn't feel good to be where they are at right now.
Details on the announcement/introduction will be unfolding. Clearly a statue of Alden needs to be built outside of Mizzou Arena. What an incredible move.
I'm speechless.
Zero Hour has Passed (1:22 update)
E-mailed 3/30/11
Alright, I have a meeting from 1:30-2:30 pm so I'm out for a bit. If the world ends or we secure a head coach someone text me. Where we stand:
(1) Competing reports as to if Painter has called Alden
(2) Competing reports as to where Painter is physically located (either FL or Purdue's campus)
(3) No second news outlet confirming Painter's acceptance of Mizzou (St. Louis Post Dispatch) and no second news outlet confirming no call to Alden or Purdue has been made (Indy Star)
The wait continues...
Alright, I have a meeting from 1:30-2:30 pm so I'm out for a bit. If the world ends or we secure a head coach someone text me. Where we stand:
(1) Competing reports as to if Painter has called Alden
(2) Competing reports as to where Painter is physically located (either FL or Purdue's campus)
(3) No second news outlet confirming Painter's acceptance of Mizzou (St. Louis Post Dispatch) and no second news outlet confirming no call to Alden or Purdue has been made (Indy Star)
The wait continues...
Something is not quite right (12:22 update)
E-mailed 3/30/11
I haven't ever known Bernie to call something wrong before, but...no other reports about this are going out. Any other mention references his report. Additionally, Purdue assistant coach says he's "heard nothing."
I also don't see Painter being a guy who wouldn't tell his team/coaches first and then call Alden. Gene Keady, Painter's coach and mentor said he would "be shocked" if Post Dispatch's reports are true.
In fact, Jeff Rabjohns of the Indianapolis Star is confirming neither Purdue nor Mizzou have been called by Painter.
Something is not quite right about all of this...
I haven't ever known Bernie to call something wrong before, but...no other reports about this are going out. Any other mention references his report. Additionally, Purdue assistant coach says he's "heard nothing."
I also don't see Painter being a guy who wouldn't tell his team/coaches first and then call Alden. Gene Keady, Painter's coach and mentor said he would "be shocked" if Post Dispatch's reports are true.
In fact, Jeff Rabjohns of the Indianapolis Star is confirming neither Purdue nor Mizzou have been called by Painter.
Something is not quite right about all of this...
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)