Coaching Carousel

[yoda]

Doug Gottlieb, who was hired by Wisconsin-Green Bay last May as their head coach, is not off to a very good start. ...

Green Bay at 2-13 and on an 11-game losing streak - is trying something pretty unusual...

They are bringing in a 23 year old freshman Euro player who has been playing in the European pro leagues for 5-6 years
and who has never averaged more than 4-5 ppg...
He has apparently been ruled immediately eligible

https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/sports/college/uwgb/2025/01/02/uwgb-mens-basketball-adds-center-yonatan-jonathan-levy-to-roster/77410070007/

https://x.com/KyleMalzhan/status/1874968149499716015

.

BUT - unfortunately, it didn't help much.
They still got hammered by Wright State 74-51
Levy played 23 minutes, was 2-10, and had 5 pts, 6 reb

Green Bay has two former MVC guys,
Preston Ruedinger from Valpo scored 8 pts
Foster Wonders who was highly touted at SIU had 5 pts
...both at pretty much right at their averages.

[Da Coach]

Gottleib thought it would be easy to win as a Division I coach. He's learning it's not and now he's getting desperate to try not to embarrass himself.

[yoda]

a couple of his players have now left the team, including one that was said to have NBA potential

https://x.com/KyleMalzhan/status/1873451366724882598

[egib52]

Gottleib thought it would be easy to win as a Division I coach. He's learning it's not and now he's getting desperate to try not to embarrass himself.

I think he has sufficiently embarrassed himself. However, based on the way he has lived his life I am not sure he has much shame.

[yoda]

Tony Bennett at Virginia has retired effectively immediately.....

Miami head coach, Jim Larranaga, suddenly & unexpectedly quits

Was just checking some scores right now...

Virginia is getting hammered by 21 pts with a couple minutes left vs Louisville
and Miami is getting annihilated by SMU, 60-20 with a minute til halftime...

I have to believe both Tony Bennett and Jim Larranaga are sitting home thinking,
"whoa, did I ever get the he** outta there in the nick of time"...

[yoda]

Green Bay at 2-13 and on an 11-game losing streak - is trying something pretty unusual...

They are bringing in a 23 year old freshman Euro player .....

Their new guy Levy had a good game today, 18 pts, 4 reb but it didn't result in a win, as he turned the ball over a bunch and was in foul trouble.
Green Bay drops their 15th straight to go 2-18. Hey - someone tell them that FORMER Green Bay assistant Jimmie Foster has endless Milwaukee and Wisconsin connections and is available?

[yoda]

Stephen F Austin just fired their head coach Kyle Keller - they are 1-7 to start their conference season (Southland Conference)
(FWIW, Missouri State is 0-9 in the MVC, but I doubt Cuonzo is getting fired)

[64NIT]

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/43680556/florida-state-leonard-hamilton-stepping-end-season

[64NIT]

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/43998940/sources-utah-firing-men-basketball-coach-craig-smith

[yoda]

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...ch-craig-smith

yet another big job opens up...
Craig Smith still had 2 years left and so Utah will have to pay him over $4 million while spending plenty more to look for & sign a new coach.

Former Valparaiso head coach and current head coach at Grand Canyon, Bryce Drew, is said to be one of the top candidates, Other names mentioned include assistants from BYU, UK, some NBA assistants, and even Porter Moser & Ben McCollum's names have been mentioned.
If McCollum moves on, he's sure to take a couple of his studs with him, leaving the MVC wide open next year.

[Da Coach]

yet another big job opens up...
Craig Smith still had 2 years left and so Utah will have to pay him over $4 million while spending plenty more to look for & sign a new coach.

Former Valparaiso head coach and current head coach at Grand Canyon, Bryce Drew, is said to be one of the top candidates, Other names mentioned include assistants from BYU, UK, some NBA assistants, and even Porter Moser & Ben McCollum's names have been mentioned.
If McCollum moves on, he's sure to take a couple of his studs with him, leaving the MVC wide open next year.

I don't see a big money program like Utah, who is trying to compete in a Top 3 conference like the Big 12, hiring another mid-major coach like they did with Craig Smith. And in the case of McCollum, who is just one year out of Division II, he's not even proven as much as Smith did in D1 at Utah State.
And if McCollum did get another job somewhere, it's possible that Stirtz could follow him, though I don't think that will happen. But, of the other three Drake starters who transferred from Northwest Missouri State, Daniel Abreu, Mitch Mascari, and Isaiah Jackson, are all in the 5th and final seasons of eligibility.

[egib52]

I don't see a big money program like Utah, who is trying to compete in a Top 3 conference like the Big 12, hiring another mid-major coach coach like they did with Craig Smith. And in the case of McCollum, who is just one year out of Division II, he's not even proven as much as Smith did in D1 at Utah State.
And if McCollum did get another job somewhere, it's possible that Stirtz could follow him, though I don't think that will happen. But, of the other three Drake starters who transferred from Northwest Missouri State, Daniel Abreu, Mitch Mascari, and Isaiah Jackson, are all in the 5th and final seasons of eligibility.

I personally think if McCollum gets a job it would be a midwest school, and a school like Iowa is possible. Iowa is going to be a tough job with NIL because a majority of their money will always go to football and possibly women's basketball. They will need a good Xs and Os coach that can get the most of their players.

[Afreck2430]

Utah reportedly does not have a very good NIL situation for basketball

[yoda]

Chicago State fires head coach Scott Spinelli, he was head coach only one season, and was asst at Chicago State one season before that.
In 2020-21 he was an assistant & interim head coach at Boston College, then when he left in spring of 2021, he was replaced at Boston college by Earl Grant & Jim Molinari.
His two sons, Gabe Spinelli & Joe Spinelli, both play for him at Chicago State, Valley fans might recall that Gabe was formerly at Evansville.
One odd note as I read their bios on the CSU Athletic website- that each player's page denotes their preferred pronouns...

(just a question out of left field- what if they offer the position to one of the Bradley assistants??)

[yoda]

This one really surprises me....
Sports analyst Jeff Goodman is reporting that Murray State is parting ways with head coach Steve Prohm