Coaching candidates

[ollienanyes]

That's funny because 4 years ago seems everyone was saying it is a top job - some said Top 50, better than some of the BCS jobs, good enough that we got almost 100 people pursuing it in 2011...some even said that hiring the right guy could turn Bradley into Gonzaga or Butler...
What has made it change so drastically the past four years so that now it's an undesirable position?

My guess is that your last question is rhetorical. But there is even one more thing: the new coach will be accepting a position at a university where we do not know who the next president will be.

I went to last night's campus Presidential Search Committee forum; two members of the BOTs were running the forum.

Someone spoke out strongly in favor of getting someone like the outgoing president!

Yes, it was a student who did so and her reasons were, IMHO, terribly bad reasons. I hope that the BOTs understand how to evaluate a student's opinion.

The larger point is that our next hire will be walking into a "more uncertain than normal" situation and that has to drive the value of this position down.

[midstateknowitall]

Just my opinion (and I think Jerrance is a great guy) but why would you hire him. Because he is from Peoria? Because he played at Illinois? Because he has been at Illinois, SMU & Kansas as the lead recruiter? None of those strike me as dang that would be legit Head Coach Hire.

I think Jerrance does have some great qualities (he is a young go getter, tireless worker, super outgoing, likable guy, legit recruiter-but recruiting at BU is alot different than IL, SMU, KU). But none of that says HC to me that says -great recruiter!

I want a guy that has had to make decisions as the man in charge, has some X&O's background, and has a track record of making guys he has better.

Brian Wardle- I think would be a legit get

And I will say it again:

Chris Jans (Bowling Green)- I think would also be a great target as well!

http://www.bgsufalcons.com/staff.aspx?staff=351

[tornado]

OK midstate - I'll play devil's advocate....

which would you rather have...

A) the head coach that is the #1 pick and favorite of the great guy we just hired as AD - the guy we feel we are very fortunate to have and who will surely know more than most of us & hire a TOP guy?

B) or would each of us relatively uninformed fans prefer his own favorite pick even if that guy isn't even on our AD's radar - ?

Tough question - as fans we're certainly entitled to want what we want & pull for our own favorites - or do we just trust our new AD and stand behind his choice 100%?
I don't know that there's a "right" answer to my question - just curious what you think...

[Da Coach]

... I hope that the BOTs understand how to evaluate a student's opinion.

The larger point is that our next hire will be walking into a "more uncertain than normal" situation and that has to drive the value of this position down.

I am pretty sure that one of the least important factors the Board will consider in the new President is how well liked he or she will be by the students.

[Da Coach]

And for the record, I would be OK with a coach like Grey Giovanine. He wins games with his coaching, something we haven't had for a while. I think adjusting to the recruiting and dealing with D1 players (and they are completely different than typical D3 players) are skills that would probably come with time and with good assistants. But I just don't know if the style of a D3 coach would work with D1 players.
Jim Whitesell (former outstanding D2 coach at Lewis) is an example of a great lower division coach making the jump to D1 head coach. He was touted as a great coach when he got the Loyola job in 2004. But his teams got worse every year after Larry Farmer's players all left, and it was apparent he couldn't recruit well enough to compete at D1, and his coaching skills couldn't overcome the lack of talent. That kind of story is not rare with lower division coaches. I actually believe juco coaches tend to do better when they jump to D1, because they have much more beneficial recruiting connections.

[midstateknowitall]

That is a tough question:

Picking a fan favorite, hometown favorite, and some what of friend I guess is a very slippery slope IMO. It could be a home run hire or a job ending hire. If Jerrance had any HC experience under his belt I would feel different about him as next HC at BU. However, he doesn't have any, zero, none. Thats a tough hire in itself - plus marijuana charge will come up no matter what people think.


Yes, if it was my decision to make Chris Jans would be high on my list. But I put his bio up there because of the past success he has had during his coaching career. He has coached at multiple different levels (D3, NAIA, JUCO, D1) and has won where ever he has been. Been HC at multiple spots and also won at those spots. He knows how to build a program.

Is the new AD going to listen to me? No...! Should he? Thats debatable

But I don't know how he wouldn't be on a list of candidates... I have always said I don't need THE NAME, I need the guy that wants THE NAME.....

Too me Jans is that under the radar guy that has potential to be great hire.

But like you stated & I stated my choices don't me SH*T when it comes down to the real hire.

I will support whoever it is!!!

[wizard1]

Coaching Candidates

I remember what Al McQuire said. "Coaches are like cowboy gunfighters. When things get bad in a town and the wrong guys take over, the townspeople hire a cowboy/gunfighter who comes in & cleans things up, shoots a few people, stays a while then leaves. Things are OK for awhile but eventually start to go bad again and a new cowboy/gunfighter is hired to clean things up." We need a cowboy/gunfighter.
Wiz

[tornado]

per Dave Reynolds-

Chris Reynolds is in Chicago today interviewing
"3 or 4" gunfighters - ah I mean coaching candidates...

[bradleyfan124]

I think you are spot on Vent--but--I also have some faith/hope that C.Reynolds (having a much stronger basketball background that Cross) will be able to land a person (albeit either a fall back landing OR a hungry young up and comer) that can work with him to eventually pull our program out of the crapper

I do not agree with either one of you on this. I think Bradley is a good job for a capable coach. And I think they are out there for Chris to find. My misgiving is once we get a coach is keeping him if he proves himself. Missouri Valley is notorious for a coach to come into a program and prove himself then a bigger school comes along and steals him away. Eddie Fogler, Nolan Richardson, Kevin Stallings, Mark Turgeon,etc.

[Fetz86]

I do not agree with either one of you on this. I think Bradley is a good job for a capable coach. And I think they are out there for Chris to find. My misgiving is once we get a coach is keeping him if he proves himself. Missouri Valley is notorious for a coach to come into a program and prove himself then a bigger school comes along and steals him away. Eddie Fogler, Nolan Richardson, Kevin Stallings, Mark Turgeon,etc.

Having a successful coach who is hired away would be a good problem to have compared to our recent run of firings. If they leave the program a better job then when they started getting the next coach should be even easier.

[Braves2006]

per Dave Reynolds-

Chris Reynolds is in Chicago today interviewing
"3 or 4" gunfighters - ah I mean coaching candidates...

Waiting outside of DePaul's building to try to catch whoever may be coming from an interview.

[Braves2006]

I do not agree with either one of you on this. I think Bradley is a good job for a capable coach. And I think they are out there for Chris to find. My misgiving is once we get a coach is keeping him if he proves himself. Missouri Valley is notorious for a coach to come into a program and prove himself then a bigger school comes along and steals him away. Eddie Fogler, Nolan Richardson, Kevin Stallings, Mark Turgeon,etc.

Bill Self, Tubby Smith...

[Vent]

I do not agree with either one of you on this. I think Bradley is a good job for a capable coach. And I think they are out there for Chris to find. My misgiving is once we get a coach is keeping him if he proves himself. Missouri Valley is notorious for a coach to come into a program and prove himself then a bigger school comes along and steals him away. Eddie Fogler, Nolan Richardson, Kevin Stallings, Mark Turgeon,etc.

I don't remember saying Bradley wasn't a good job. I said it isn't a high profile job and it isn't. Bradley could be a very good job for the right coach. The problem is, as more prominent jobs are available, the better coaches will be taking those jobs. It's a number situation. For example, I would rather have our next coach be someone with successful head coaching experience at Indiana or Alabama as opposed to Wisconsin-Green Bay. To win in the Big Ten or SEC is more impressive to me than the Horizon.

I would love to be in a position where the coach is successful and moves up to the next level. What would be better yet would be to have an assistant step right into his shoes at Bradley and not miss a beat. That is what the successful mid-majors do. Butler did it for years.

[afan]

love affair

Can you quote one reference that rates Jerrence Howard as a top ten assistant coach and or a top five recruiter? Easy to say....can you back it up? I have a feeling that there will be no reference.

[Da Coach]

There are lots of references about him being a great recruiter. I think you know that already. Every coach he has worked with acknowledges he is an outstanding recruiter, and he's paid over $300k, which is among the top handful of assistants nationwide.


"Ace recruiter Jerrance Howard"

http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/smu-mustangs/20130529-report-larry-brown-smu-lose-ace-recruiter-jerrance-howard-to-kansas.ece

I'll try to find a few more, but its not easy on a cellphone while driving.


But (Larry) Brown doesn't look at Howard as simply a recruiter.
"He's a head coach now in my mind," Brown said. "He has everything you want in a head coach. He had a tremendous background with coach Weber, Bill Self, Billy Gillispie. He loves basketball. He loves coaching.
"If you look at everywhere I've been, everyone has become a head coach. I look at Jerrance the same way. If someone had a coaching opening, I would recommend him in a minute. He has the whole package."

http://m.espn.go.com/general/blogs/blogpost?blogname=chicagocolleges&id=8970&tag=jerrance-howard&city=chicago

Howard was as an assistant to former Illinois coach Bruce Weber for five seasons, and he was the lead recruiter on a majority of the players on the team’s current roster...
“Obviously, it’s been a difficult decision,” Groce said. “It’s hard. There were two or three routes I could have gone. I have made the decision that I’m going to hire outside....His work speaks for itself. He’s a done great job coaching, recruiting...
“I know Jerrance is going to be successful no matter who he’s working for and where he goes."

http://m.espn.go.com/general/blogs/blogpost?blogname=chicagocolleges&id=5990&tag=jerrance-howard&city=chicago

The superlatives have been thrown Jerrance Howard's way. The Illinois assistant coach, in a rather short period of time, has established himself as one of the elite recruiters in the country. And his value to the Illinois basketball program is so vital and obviously immeasurable.
It's no wonder why Howard has been such a prized commodity and wanted by some of the elite college coaches and programs in the country -- some that have been public and some that have been behind the scenes. Howard has gone from a young, energetic, wet behind the ears assistant coach to a recruiting force and presence in the business. And his energy and passion are contagious.
He meets and exceeds so many of the standards that makes a great recruiter: tireless worker, connected, respected and as personable and easy to relate to as anyone out there. As one recruit's father recently told the Hoops Report: "He just makes you feel like you've known him for so long and are long-lost pals as soon as you meet him."
As with any business, there are some out there in the coaching profession with a bit of jealousy towards Howard. There are assistant coaches, some who have been on the job many years longer than Howard, who do get a little tired of the hype thrown his way and the attention he has received from a few of the elite college programs in the country. But those coaches also find it nearly impossible to dislike Howard. That's where the magnitude of Howard's personality -- the down-to-earth, fun-loving, lack of arrogance -- shines through.

http://blogs.suntimes.com/hoopsreport/2011/05/djimde_makes_it_7_for_illini_j.html

University of Illinois assistant basketball coach Jerrance Howard has earned a reputation as a great recruiter. Jerrance loves recruiting and loves that reputation

http://www.cinewsnow.com/sports/Jerrance-Howard--More-than-a-recruiter-126556853.html?m=y&smobile=y

"Recruiter extraordinaire"

http://www.illinoisloyalty.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=13128

There are many more, including from the Kansas media, but anyone who wants to look them up can do it as easily as me.