Coaching Carousel 9 - People die climbing mountains

kg01

kg01

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slugboy said:
Not a clue on that topic, Hoss.
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Yeah, that's why I wondered what Joanna thinks and not you. :cautious:

Wake us when you become a maven of style and a universally accepted icon.

GIF by Boo! A Madea Halloween
 
GTRX7

GTRX7

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RamblinRed said:
If i'm Hurley there's not a chance in the world that I take the KY job.
UConn is a better job than KY - the Fanta twitter points that out. 6 NC's by 3 different coaches in 25 years. Double the next closest program.

I don't think Hurley will seriously consider it. He has a better job and is in an area that he has spent his entire life in. Both his wife and he are from the NE. He's already talking about trying to 3-peat.

UConn has proven it is in a tier by itself.
After UConn i'd put UNC, Duke, Kansas and KY on a 2nd tier.

After those 5 i'd say it is largely an issue of having the right coach at the right school, though I think you could make arguments for AZ, L'ville maybe being on a slightly higher tier than others.
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I am not going to argue that KY had been the better program the last 25 years, but the Fanta tweet looking at only titles and only since 1999 is misleading, if not disingenuous. In the three years prior to 1999, Kentucky went to 3 straight Finals and won two titles with two different coaches. So that same tweet, taken back to 1996 instead of 1999 has UK in the group with 3 titles. More than that, titles are hard to win and a bit random once you reach the Final Four (at least for everyone not named UConn). If one instead looked at Final Fours since 1996 (or since 2009), I suspect UK would have the same or more Final Fours than UConn. That said, what UConn has done by winning six titles in 6 appearances has been extremely impressive and certainly makes UConn a very top program in the country.
 
GTRX7

GTRX7

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MtnWasp said:
Unless they can pull a young Rick Pitino out of a time machine, the only guy that will excite Kentucky fans is Dan Hurley and I would be shocked if he moved. The only way he leaves UCONN is if there is some NCAA violation clouds, or behind the scenes personal conflicts going on the the AD or President.

Kentucky just ran off the perfect coach for them. If you are not satisfied with perfect, then you are destined for some butt hurt. And that is what we are going to see. They will be disappointed with their hire and the next coach's tenure will represent a few years for the Kentucky Kingdom to cool their collective jets of unrealistic expectations.
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This shows a lack of attention to recent history. Yes, the first 10 years of Cal’s tenure at UK were amazing. Despite winning only 1 title, arguably as good as any 10 year stretch in the history of the program. And a ton of fun to watch! The last 4 years tell a very very different story. Arguably one of the worst four year stretches in program history. UK’s 9-16 record in 2020 was arguably the worst ever season in UK history. In 2021, Cal had the team lose to #15 seed St Peters in the worst tourney loss in UK history. In 2022, with the returning national player of the year, Cal managed to lead the team to one NCAAT win and again failed to get past the first weekend. This year, in 2023, he led them to the second worst upset in UK history, falling to #14 seed Oakland in the first round. Also the worst four year stretch in SEC tournament history for UK. That is a lot of, not just lows, but historical lows.

So, in the last 4 years, UK won 0 SEC regular season titles, a total of 1 SEC Tournament games (1!), and a total of 1 NCAAT games, while also having the worst season in program history and the two worst NCAAT losses in program history. Notably, in those 10 post-season games where they went 2-8, UK was favored in every single game.

In addition, at the same time, he lost his relationship with the UK administration, lost his relationship with all local media, and turned off a huge portion of the fanbase with his demeaning attitude towards his own fans.

UK has won titles with 5 different coaches. They were ok before him and will be okay after.

As for Cal, I suspect that he gets reenergized and finally makes some of the changes that UK fans have been begging him to make and does very well at Arkansas (though nowhere near the level of his first 10 years in Lexington). But it became painfully clear that he was never going to regain those magical years in Lexington. I honestly think this will be a good thing for all parties, UK, Calipari, and Arkansas.
 
kg01

kg01

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RamblinRed said:
Not surprised by Drew's decision.
That is the second job in KY he has turned down in a month.

KY should be able to get a very good coach but I don't think it is the best job in the country. The pressure cooker there is sort of insane.
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I'll probably answer my own question but I wonder if they go the route of identifying a young up and comer. Find the 'next' Billy Donovan instead of overpaying for the washed one.

But I guess, at this point, there's too much money on the line to gamble like that. Then again, that's better than twisting in the wind like they are rn.
 
slugboy

slugboy

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kg01 said:
I'll probably answer my own question but I wonder if they go the route of identifying a young up and comer. Find the 'next' Billy Donovan instead of overpaying for the washed one.

But I guess, at this point, there's too much money on the line to gamble like that. Then again, that's better than twisting in the wind like they are rn.
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“Let’s get rid of Calipari, and let’s get someone who can WIN” is a bold move by the Kentucky AD and fan base.
 
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