Pastner cleared of Ron Bell lies

Peacone36

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If we have the money to hire another coach I’d still let him go if we make the dance either of the next two seasons.
 

RamblinRed

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i think it would be a no brainer for those on this forum, I don't think it will be a no brainer for the general fanbase or for the AD.
If he makes the NCAA then interest from both students and casual fans will likely increase leading to short term revenue gains - especially if you go from an NIT bid in yr 4 to an NCAA bid in year 5. Whether that could be continued would still be an open question, especially if he can't make good with 2021 recruiting.

My belief is that if Pastner makes the NCAA Tourney in year 5 he is likely extended as I don't think the AD will want to have to deal with the financial fallout while paying a pile of money to try to upgrade the FB program. GT has never really wanted to fund the BB program at market rate, not sure I see that changing. If you can him in yr 5 you are talking about $4M to pay him off as well as whatever you are willing to spend to hire a new coaching staff.
 

RamblinRed

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I think the move-on decision (if your nightmare scenario happens, RR) is a no-brainer and no one in the fanbase would bat an eye.

I am sure that is what you meant. But, I think this season is the one where Pastner has to succeed. The turmoil in the program due to Pastner's "friendship" with Ron Bell and the lack of a 2021 successful recruiting class would be the warning sign that Pastner is going to fail after year 5. My worry is that the NCAA cloud hanging over the program is seriously hurting our ability to recruit right now. That is not all on Pastner, but he is the HC and should be held accountable. If we are not cleared by the NCAA, and your scenario plays out, Pastner will not be here for year 5. TStan can see the cupboard empty as well as anyone.

i doubt we would fire him after this year. We simply don't have the money to fire him and hire a new coach. You are talking over 6M plus hiring expenses for a new coach. We emptied our account for the FB program, there isn't really any left over for the BB program right now and honestly we won't get a new coach for less than we are paying Pastner.

The team could do poorly and it might make the decision after year 5 easier, but a decision to fire won't be made after year 4 as it would likely negatively impact any new coaching hire we could make. We need to get more money in the coffers first.
 

ESPNjacket

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I agree with the sentiment that Pastner is here two more years. The only way he isn't is if something happens that would get anyone fired. That isn't going to happen.

The interesting dilemma haunting GT Athletics is that GT is indeed a football school. GT football severely under performs in revenue compared to other football schools. This is the primary problem on Stansbury's plate. He has to figure out how to fix that.
 

lv20gt

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One interesting thought that gives me sort of nightmares. What if GT misses the Tourney this year but makes the NIT, has a poor 2021 recruiting class in the fall of 2020, but makes the Tourney in Spring 2021. Then what does TStan do? He's got a coach coming off the first NCAA Toruney appearance in over a decade, but likely with a depleted roster heading into 2021-2022. Very similar to what MBob had to deal with in year 5 of Gregory. Though that was just an NIT bid, not an NCAA bid. TStan has to make a keep or start over decision after year 5. Pastner's buyout drops to 75% after

There's no way you fire him in that situation unless he pulls a literal gregory and has a two man class with 5 openings. Pastner was hired with the understanding he was inheriting a complete dumpster-fire and was going to be given time to right things. Fire him after making the NCAAT in year 5 and that turns into just an outright lie, which is going to make attracting coaches hard even if there wasn't monetary issues. What would the sales pitch even be? We'll pay you bottom third in the league to come here, inherit a team we think has little talent, and expect you to rebuild to an NCAAT but you're not allowed to look like you might have a step back afterwards?
 

joehamiltonfan14

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AJC article says we project a significant revenue bump in a couple years which will replenish the reserve fund. Hopefully by that time Collins has the football program humming and we can afford to turn to basketball. Stansbury is committing financial resources to the football program which is great. I hope he also sees the importance of having a top flight basketball program
 

orientalnc

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i doubt we would fire him after this year. We simply don't have the money to fire him and hire a new coach. You are talking over 6M plus hiring expenses for a new coach. We emptied our account for the FB program, there isn't really any left over for the BB program right now and honestly we won't get a new coach for less than we are paying Pastner.

The team could do poorly and it might make the decision after year 5 easier, but a decision to fire won't be made after year 4 as it would likely negatively impact any new coaching hire we could make. We need to get more money in the coffers first.
I agree that we will not fire him after this season unless the NCAA sanctions the program in some way. Then it would have to be "with cause."
 

orientalnc

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And even then, do we have the money to make a good hire?
I agree that we have financial constraints and I seriously doubt we can do better than CJP in the short term. But, there are costs with doing nothing. If the cupboard is truly empty after the 5th year, which desirable coaching candidate would likely agree to take over facing 2-3 years of rebuilding? Maybe I am coming around to Red's point. If we are where we are now in 2 years, why switch to another coach with pretty much the same expectation? That would make a "with cause" dismissal look better after after year four while there is still talent on the team.
 

Connell62

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Therein lies the problem(s).

No, that is why I don't understand why certain people (ahem..P36) keep banging that drum. He's my boy though, and I respect his opinion, but don't necessarily agree with it.

As we have discussed, it ain't like we got the funds to make a better, more effective hire. People should be rooting their asses off for Pastner to succeed on the court and on the recruiting trail.

Barring some infusion of $$, Winning and getting to the tournament is only way that things are going to get better.
 

brandon_cox

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I'm not positive of this because the Pima County website is so awful, but it looks like the case might have settled. I'll keep an eye on it and report back when it's more definitive. If it has settled, there's no clue what the terms of the settlement are.
 

GTHomer

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I'm not positive of this because the Pima County website is so awful, but it looks like the case might have settled. I'll keep an eye on it and report back when it's more definitive. If it has settled, there's no clue what the terms of the settlement are.

If the case is settled in lieu of a trial, wouldn't there likely be an NDA in place? That seems to be the norm for cases like this.
 
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