Credit to MBob

[RamblinCharger]

Damn, 6 years.

 

[Peacone36]

1.4MM. That's a good first detail to be released. So far so good. If we were offering baby nuts 2.7MM we should have a nice staff budget.

 

[franklinjacket]

I'd like to see the buyout terms next. Looks like Pastner wanted out almost as much Memphis wanted him gone. He is taking a big pay cut to come here.

 

[GTHomer]

Given this is a 6 year contract, it shows potential recruits we are committed to him. For this length of a term, I wonder if the buyout will be the equivalent of 2-3 years of salary. I'd also be interested in seeing bonuses he is eligible for.

 

[jacketup]

There are 2 sides to every story, so I take the commentary coming out of Memphis with a grain of salt. They want the second coming of Calapari, and it's not likely to happen.

I see an energetic guy who is not afraid of a challenge, He deserves a chance. All hires are risks, and I prefer this one to Drew. Pastner has a better coaching tree and he wants the job. This is make or break for Pastner--and he knows that. If he fails, his career is substantially over, and he is a young guy.

As I said in another thread, I am less concerned about the hire than the contract. If the contract is six years fully guaranteed, I am not happy. If the guy is failing after 3 years, we are stuck for another one or two years minimum. Hewitt and Johnson all over again. If the buyout for the last 2 or 3 years is a reduced amount, like the current Johnson contract, then I am OK with it.

 

[GTRX7]

I am fine with a 6 year deal at that cost, particularly if the buyout is reasonable after 4. Heck, the numbers we were hearing for B. Drew were that we would have paid him more than $9.2M in 4 years!

 

[4shotB]

There are 2 sides to every story, so I take the commentary coming out of Memphis with a grain of salt. They want the second coming of Calapari, and it's not likely to happen.

I see an energetic guy who is not afraid of a challenge, He deserves a chance. All hires are risks, and I prefer this one to Drew. Pastner has a better coaching tree and he wants the job. This is make or break for Pastner--and he knows that. If he fails, his career is substantially over, and he is a young guy.

Make or break decision for MBob as well.

 

[jacketup]

Make or break decision for MBob as well.

If Kim King was still around, I'd agree. With Bud and this Board, I am not so sure that's true.

 

[Vespidie]

I like the sound of all of this...I can't wait to see CJP on the recruiting trail....Go Jackets!!!

The acronymns of CJP and CPJ are going to make my head explode.

 

[Vespidie]

I appreciate your optimism but I'm not sure I'm ready to give MBob any kudos for this whole process and ultimate outcome of Pastner. The way this whole thing has played out would indicate he was ill prepared to make a quick hire after firing Gregory and for a guy that supposedly had been getting his ducks in a row since January he did a poor job selling our program to any of the top candidates that have been rumored for the job. I mean Chris Mack is one of his guys and it is now being reported that he is interested in the Memphis job.

Bottom line he struck out every where he looked whether it be because of his ability to sell GT or money issues or possibly people don't want to work for him and we end up with a guy whose former employer was desperately trying to rid themselves of him and his Hewitt type contract. The fans hated him. They are dancing in the streets in Memphis much like we would've been had Hewitt taken the St. Johns job. We've resorted to spinning this hire by putting all our hope in the assistant coaches he hires with connections in Atlanta and praying that one of them is strong enough with the X's and O's to keep Pastner afloat in the ACC. My God if that's the case why do we even need Pastner? Maybe it will all work out in the end but right now knowing what we know this whole damn thing is just pathetic.

When it comes right down to it, there are NO guaranteed hires. The deal is done and we just have to wait and see whether it was a brilliant move on GT's part or an attempt by our current AD to salvage what the many geniuses have basically attributed to being a CYA move. Only time will tell.

 

[JacketFromUGA]

The acronymns of CJP and CPJ are going to make my head explode.

We have CPJ and CPast

 

[GTrob21]

I am going to reserve judgement. At first I really didn't like this hire, but after giving it the day and reading up, I think it actually might work out well for us. The guy is a proven recruiter, and at only 38 I'm hopeful that he can learn from mistakes and hire some good player development coaches.

I'm going to support the new coach, who knows I might even show by getting season tickets!

 

[Fatmike91]

I listened to his press conference with an open mind, and I have a good feeling about this hire.

We needed to make a change - I appreciate CBG, and I supported him - but we weren't going anywhere as a program.

We just hired a guy who can recruit. If he figures out how to recruit Atlanta (I think he will), then we will start to make some sustained progress as a program. We need ACC level talent.

I think the floor for the program is about the same -- but we've raised our ceiling considerably.

(I specifically put this in this thread -- I appreciate the OP for starting one with some positive comments)

/

 

[Fatmike91]

I personally think CJP will fit in better with the GT student body and in turn with the student athlete at GT.

Yep - I think you nailed it.

/

 

[collegeballfan]

I believe this is a good solid hire with much upside. If CoachP does what he says he will do in the press conference, GT basketball is on the upswing.

My bride of 46 years is in the other room watching the Judy Garland version of "The Wizard of Oz".
If I may quote Dorothy:

"Somewhere, over the rainbow, skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true."

Good luck CoachP.! Lotta Jackets are with you.

 

[AE 87]

I believe this is a good solid hire with much upside. If CoachP does what he says he will do in the press conference, GT basketball is on the upswing.

My bride of 46 years is in the other room watching the Judy Garland version of "The Wizard of Oz".
If I may quote Dorothy:

"Somewhere, over the rainbow, skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true."

Good luck CoachP.! Lotta Jackets are with you.

This post would be better if we had hired Self.


Not in KS anymore, get it? funny.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

The way this whole thing has played out would indicate he was ill prepared to make a quick hire after firing Gregory and for a guy that supposedly had been getting his ducks in a row since January he did a poor job selling our program to any of the top candidates that have been rumored for the job.

MBob implied that this was his first choice all along and that the process required taking his time and making sure all options were explored and every consideration to the hire was given. Again, implying that the media speculation was at least 90% wrong from the get go. For what this is worth.

 

[lv20gt]

I think MBob handled the process well.

People say that he needed to have someone lined up before making the move and it sounded like that was the case with Drew, but as was told to people before, you can't finalize anything until everyone's season was done. So while he looked to have had Drew in line for a while, until Drew was out of the NIT then a move couldn't be made. And unfortunately during that time, pitt hired Stallings from vandy, creating an opening that nobody really foresaw. That in turn caused a hangup that couldn't have foreseen, or if it had there would always be potential for a conflicting opening to come up whoever he had lined up. Had valpo made the NCAAT, they likely don't make it out of the first weekend, in which case he would have been available as soon as we made the hire. We fired gregory on the 25th, and it's possible we would have locked in drew before Pitt got Stallings on the 27th. Instead he went to the NIT, made a deep run, and the delay caused an outside factor to throw a wrench into the mix. And at the end of the day Vandy looks looks like they were willing to pay him more, and I'm not sure it was because we didn't have the money, but instead thought the price was too much for the product.

With Capel we don't really know how serious things got. If we thought we had drew then the interest in Capel was probably cursory and when both sides realized they were too far away from making a deal work, they both moved on.

The search was a bit of a circus, but only so because the media constantly put out reports that were little more than speculation while MBob was remaining more or less tight lipped. As it stands we got a moderate risk coach who has a pretty high upside on a contract that does a good job of minimizing the downside of the risk not going in our way, meaning if we have to fire him we won't be that hamstrung by cash.

 

[Sebastian GT]

MBob implied that this was his first choice all along and that the process required taking his time and making sure all options were explored and every consideration to the hire was given. Again, implying that the media speculation was at least 90% wrong from the get go. For what this is worth.

Of course he is going to say that but you know that's bull****. Do you really believe that the first choice to replace Gregory was a guy whose team was in decline with kids transferring left and right and whose fan base had turned on him and would have already been run out of town were it not for a $10 million buyout that his bosses couldn't afford was our top choice? Surely you're not that naive. Hell Memphis is chipping in to pay him to go away on top of what we are paying him. Like I said I hope it works out but I'm not holding my breath that it will and I'm sure not going to throw roses towards MBob on a job well done.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

If CP is believed to have become very stubborn, set in his ways, unwilling to recognize the need to listen to assistants with better basketball sense, etc., etc. at MU, then I would hope that MBob had some serious straight talk sessions with him about ground rules for this hire.

I noticed in the press conference an indication from CP that he was going to work with MBob on hiring assistants, hence, we can judge MBob's bball street cred by those hires as well. He also said he would be careful and take his time with that. I guess that means he won't run out and offer jobs to elite recruits' dads or to former Arizona teammates like Luke Walton at the drop of a hat.

The bottom line is that when one is declared a wunderkind one could begin to believe one's own press clippings and mature development can be stalled. So if MBob lays down the law, really spells out that this move benefited CP the most, he basically got a golden parachute, a mulligan, and a better job, then this could be a very good hire given the way the contract seems to be structured.