New head coach search

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technoCat
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Re: New head coach search

Post by technoCat » Fri Mar 22, 2019 12:11 pm

Bobcat4Ever wrote:
Fri Mar 22, 2019 11:58 am
technoCat wrote:
Fri Mar 22, 2019 9:58 am

Because it is the MOST IMPORTANT GAME!! What game averages 2x the number of people actually walking through the doors over all the others?? Losing every single year in that game kills the energy and those 3000 people that only show up for that game don't come to any others. '

Fish was 0-8 against WSU and 3-6 against EWU so he its not like he was getting the job done against them either.
Hi, Techno. Oh, we totally agree on that. This was not meant in any way to be a Fish apology. Beating um is too short a measuring stick. I want a new coach (and an administration) who says "being a 15 seed and getting trounced by Michigan is not good enough!" Let's be better than that. And then beating um will come naturally.

I'm thinking sort of the current football model — eyes on a bigger prize and beating the griz will come naturally!

Go, Cats, Go. Beat the griz, and keep on going.
Yeah I wasn't taking that as a Fish apology, I was more just thinking that you need to play better against our rivals to get fan support. That's step #1 of getting to your greater vision. I didn't really state that properly but that was where I was trying to go with that.

I think that beating the griz 3 times in a row was a MAJOR contributor to keeping fans interested which lead to holding the momentum for Choate's regime. But to get to where everyone wants to be we need to beat the EWUs and NDSUs of the world at least 50% of the time.


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imacat
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Re: New head coach search

Post by imacat » Fri Mar 22, 2019 12:45 pm

Costello has known he may not renew Fish’s contract for some time. I am sure he had a list of potential coaches ready to call.



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Re: New head coach search

Post by imacat » Fri Mar 22, 2019 10:32 pm

Ken Bone had an impressive Big Sky run at Portland State.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Bone



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Re: New head coach search

Post by grizzh8r » Fri Mar 22, 2019 10:39 pm

imacat wrote:
Fri Mar 22, 2019 10:32 pm
Ken Bone had an impressive Big Sky run at Portland State.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Bone
I had that same thought quite couple of days ago.


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Re: New head coach search

Post by homeytennis » Fri Mar 22, 2019 10:55 pm

Irvine's assistant coach is a former Montana and Old Dominion head coach. He hired Krysko as an assistant at ODU. The Irvine staff is part of the Mike Montgomery coaching tree. Trent Johnson is a guy that is part of that tree and might deserve a look. Head guy at Nevada, LSU and TCU and made the sweet 16 at Nevada.



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Re: New head coach search

Post by Helcat72 » Sat Mar 23, 2019 12:00 pm

homeytennis wrote:
Fri Mar 22, 2019 10:55 pm
Irvine's assistant coach is a former Montana and Old Dominion head coach. He hired Krysko as an assistant at ODU. The Irvine staff is part of the Mike Montgomery coaching tree. Trent Johnson is a guy that is part of that tree and might deserve a look. Head guy at Nevada, LSU and TCU and made the sweet 16 at Nevada.
Why is he an assistant now? Is he in the Mick Durham rehab program?


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Re: New head coach search

Post by homeytennis » Sat Mar 23, 2019 1:02 pm

I don't know what Trent is doing now. Last season he was an assistant coach at Louisville to David Padgett after the Pitino mess. He knew Padgett from his days at UNR. Blaine Taylor is the assistant coach at Irvine.



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Re: New head coach search

Post by mslacat » Sat Mar 23, 2019 1:39 pm

I would cry if Blain Taylor was named Bobcat head coach. This is not so much a basketball thing but more a Hellgate student thing!



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Re: New head coach search

Post by mslacat » Sat Mar 23, 2019 2:36 pm

So this is the fourth MSU head basketball coach (including Women's Program), hiring process that I/We have gone through in the past 13 year, and I am burnt out on the process, for the main reason I suck at picking out coaches.

In 2015 my choice was Smallwood and I was a little disappointed in Binford's hiring. In my defense Binford's public interview was the only interview I could not attend.
In 2006 my choice was Brad Huse period. No one else Huse. I was worried that Fields would drag its feet too long and we would lose him to the Griz. At the time, there was a rumor (which turned out to be truth) that Larry Krystowiac would leave Montana for the NBA. A lot of power boosters in Missoula wanted Huse more than Tinkle for the Griz. Fields made his decision we got Huse and Tinkle went on to get the Montana.
In 2014 My #1 choice was not Fish but Fish was in the top 3 of the coaches that I really liked. My #1 went on to get the San Diego job the next year, only to lose it after a few years to a sexual harassment scandal and my #1 went on two years later to get the the South Dakota State job (hot prospect to move up this year)

There are so many factors that the coach has to excel not only in general but more importantly do it in/from Bozeman. Recruit, public relations, player relations (for lack of a better term), step up in play/responsibilities (either D-2 to D-1 or from Assistant to head Coach), being the boss of a staff 4-8 personnel not to mention come up with his own ideas on Offensive and defensive scheme (maybe more). You could great most of them but if you fail at 1 your whole program fails. It is quiet evident I don't know how to do it!

I am hearing rumors of candidates, but have been asked to keep some on the QT. A candidate was mentioned to me by a a former coach, and they told me they thought would be the perfect for MSU. I mentioned the name to another coach who is familiar with MSU basketball, and they came back with a "No! would be a terrible choice for MSU". That is the only negative comment about another coach that this person has ever said to me.

I is a ****** Crap shoot picking a new coach. I love the selection committee having Starner and Frey on the board. Not only is Frey our best and most respected player but he comes from a basketball family. His dad is a very well respected coach in Europe. Frey eats, drinks and breaths basketball. I think he brings a lot of credibility to the committee and players, Great opportunity to get him on the board.

Right now I have some names that intrigue me but I do not have 100% confidence (hell I would settle for 66% )in anyone. Ryan Looney the head basketball coach at Point Loma Nazarene University stands out to me. He has built multiple program from nothing to 20+ wins FAST. I have doubt as to whether MSU can actually land him, though. After Looney my confidence level drops quickly, but maybe I am jaded.

What I want is a coach:
#1 Players Coach (enough hard ass, I want MSU to be a place players like to play for. Example looked 200 miles N.w. of Bozeman)
#2 An up tempo offence (even if they are losing they are fun to watch)
#3 Proven recruiter (recruit the country but occasionally take a chance on a Montana Kid)
#4 A coach who will engage (happily) with the fans, boosters and news folks
#5 Court decorum (never thought of this before about 5 years ago)

So go to work Committee, I will trust you to do your job, When you make your choice I will support it with Cautious optimism and fingers crossed.



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Re: New head coach search

Post by homeytennis » Sat Mar 23, 2019 5:55 pm

For what it's worth Ryan Looney's team Point Loma Nazarene is in the elite 8 of D2.



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Re: New head coach search

Post by mslacat » Sat Mar 23, 2019 7:48 pm

homeytennis wrote:
Sat Mar 23, 2019 5:55 pm
For what it's worth Ryan Looney's team Point Loma Nazarene is in the elite 8 of D2.
And that is the reason he intrigue me so much.



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Re: New head coach search

Post by GrizgradCatFan » Mon Mar 25, 2019 9:02 am

How soon will we hear about the finalists for the job do you think?



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Re: New head coach search

Post by thefrank1 » Mon Mar 25, 2019 10:03 am

if its anything like football, in about 10 days or less.


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Re: New head coach search

Post by kennethnoisewater » Mon Mar 25, 2019 10:41 am

mslacat wrote:
Sat Mar 23, 2019 2:36 pm
What I want is a coach:
#1 Players Coach (enough hard ass, I want MSU to be a place players like to play for. Example looked 200 miles N.w. of Bozeman)
#2 An up tempo offence (even if they are losing they are fun to watch)
#3 Proven recruiter (recruit the country but occasionally take a chance on a Montana Kid)
#4 A coach who will engage (happily) with the fans, boosters and news folks
#5 Court decorum (never thought of this before about 5 years ago)

So go to work Committee, I will trust you to do your job, When you make your choice I will support it with Cautious optimism and fingers crossed.
I love this list. I think us old guys get too hung up on a hard-ass because that's what we were coached by. Some guys can still pull this off, but not many. Tom Izzo is getting absolutely crucified right now (by some, and defended by many others) for yelling at a player the other day. And that's Tom freaking Izzo. Everybody knows that's who he is and how he operates AND how much he cares about his players. But it still doesn't matter. We can argue about whether that's right or wrong, but that's the way it is these days. Gone are the days when kids just did whatever the coach said because he's the coach. Kids need to know a coach loves them, and kids need to have fun. I personally don't think there's anything wrong with that necessarily, but an athletic program needs to recognize that programs with these types of coaches are the ones succeeding. Granted, there are some blue blood programs with old-school coaches who are still doing it, but I don't know of any programs being built without being players-first.

And speaking of being players-first, most players want to play an up-tempo offense. They don't mind pressuring the ball and playing great defense, but only inasmuch as it translates to transition opportunities, IMO.

Proven recruiter is a no-brainer and should be on anybody's list.

I like the last two a lot too. I think a guy who's "cool as the other side of the pillow" will do well. Somebody who can glad-hand donors and not piss off media members will be important. MSU needs more from donors, plain and simple. And donors want to get behind something they believe in and somebody they see doing good things. I think we could get behind a person who's just an impressive human being. Most successful people we know are impressive in more ways than just their expertise at their job. They're highly disciplined, they're charismatic, they're energetic, they're intelligent, and they're cool under pressure.

MSU is a really tough job. Montana is irrelevant in high school basketball on a national scale, as much as I hate to say it. The facilities are not awful, but nobody is making a decision based on Brick Breeden Fieldhouse. Football is able to get some country boys from out of state because they love to fish and hike and hunt or whatever, but those kids don't play basketball. If MSU is able to land somebody good, they won't be here long, because everybody will know they did something incredible in a place that's hard to do anything. We can just hope for coaches moving the needle steadily and for each coach to leave MSU better than it was when they got there. I believe Brian Fish did that and I believe the next coach will do it too.


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Re: New head coach search

Post by WalkOn79 » Mon Mar 25, 2019 1:03 pm

kennethnoisewater wrote:
Mon Mar 25, 2019 10:41 am
mslacat wrote:
Sat Mar 23, 2019 2:36 pm
What I want is a coach:
#1 Players Coach (enough hard ass, I want MSU to be a place players like to play for. Example looked 200 miles N.w. of Bozeman)
#2 An up tempo offence (even if they are losing they are fun to watch)
#3 Proven recruiter (recruit the country but occasionally take a chance on a Montana Kid)
#4 A coach who will engage (happily) with the fans, boosters and news folks
#5 Court decorum (never thought of this before about 5 years ago)

So go to work Committee, I will trust you to do your job, When you make your choice I will support it with Cautious optimism and fingers crossed.
I love this list. I think us old guys get too hung up on a hard-ass because that's what we were coached by. Some guys can still pull this off, but not many. Tom Izzo is getting absolutely crucified right now (by some, and defended by many others) for yelling at a player the other day. And that's Tom freaking Izzo. Everybody knows that's who he is and how he operates AND how much he cares about his players. But it still doesn't matter. We can argue about whether that's right or wrong, but that's the way it is these days. Gone are the days when kids just did whatever the coach said because he's the coach. Kids need to know a coach loves them, and kids need to have fun. I personally don't think there's anything wrong with that necessarily, but an athletic program needs to recognize that programs with these types of coaches are the ones succeeding. Granted, there are some blue blood programs with old-school coaches who are still doing it, but I don't know of any programs being built without being players-first.

And speaking of being players-first, most players want to play an up-tempo offense. They don't mind pressuring the ball and playing great defense, but only inasmuch as it translates to transition opportunities, IMO.

Proven recruiter is a no-brainer and should be on anybody's list.

I like the last two a lot too. I think a guy who's "cool as the other side of the pillow" will do well. Somebody who can glad-hand donors and not piss off media members will be important. MSU needs more from donors, plain and simple. And donors want to get behind something they believe in and somebody they see doing good things. I think we could get behind a person who's just an impressive human being. Most successful people we know are impressive in more ways than just their expertise at their job. They're highly disciplined, they're charismatic, they're energetic, they're intelligent, and they're cool under pressure.

MSU is a really tough job. Montana is irrelevant in high school basketball on a national scale, as much as I hate to say it. The facilities are not awful, but nobody is making a decision based on Brick Breeden Fieldhouse. Football is able to get some country boys from out of state because they love to fish and hike and hunt or whatever, but those kids don't play basketball. If MSU is able to land somebody good, they won't be here long, because everybody will know they did something incredible in a place that's hard to do anything. We can just hope for coaches moving the needle steadily and for each coach to leave MSU better than it was when they got there. I believe Brian Fish did that and I believe the next coach will do it too.
Agreed!


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Re: New head coach search

Post by mslacat » Mon Mar 25, 2019 2:21 pm

Question:

Does anyone know if the 3-5 shortlist candidates will be announced, or will they just name the head coach when done?



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Re: New head coach search

Post by Willneal » Mon Mar 25, 2019 4:05 pm

homeytennis wrote:
Sat Mar 23, 2019 5:55 pm
For what it's worth Ryan Looney's team Point Loma Nazarene is in the elite 8 of D2.
Ryan is a very good coach, I would also be ok w Stev Lutz a name I’ve heard recently.



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Re: New head coach search

Post by Willneal » Mon Mar 25, 2019 4:28 pm

Willneal wrote:
Mon Mar 25, 2019 4:05 pm
homeytennis wrote:
Sat Mar 23, 2019 5:55 pm
For what it's worth Ryan Looney's team Point Loma Nazarene is in the elite 8 of D2.
Ryan is a very good coach, I would also be ok w Stev Lutz a name I’ve heard recently.
Article last week on format Cat asst coach Justin Wetzel, hope he’s in the mix.

http://406mtsports.com/college/basketba ... b1a19.html



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Re: New head coach search

Post by Joe Bobcat » Mon Mar 25, 2019 10:52 pm

Willneal wrote:
Mon Mar 25, 2019 4:28 pm
Willneal wrote:
Mon Mar 25, 2019 4:05 pm
homeytennis wrote:
Sat Mar 23, 2019 5:55 pm
For what it's worth Ryan Looney's team Point Loma Nazarene is in the elite 8 of D2.
Ryan is a very good coach, I would also be ok w Stev Lutz a name I’ve heard recently.
Article last week on format Cat asst coach Justin Wetzel, hope he’s in the mix.

http://406mtsports.com/college/basketba ... b1a19.html
I agree and hope Justin gets a real good look. Each of these three have some intriguing qualities.


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Re: New head coach search

Post by imacat » Mon Mar 25, 2019 11:11 pm

If MSU is able to land somebody good, they won't be here long, because everybody will know they did something incredible in a place that's hard to do anything. We can just hope for coaches moving the needle steadily and for each coach to leave MSU better than it was when they got there. I believe Brian Fish did that and I believe the next coach will do it too.
[/quote]

If whoever is hired is lured away from Montana State and takes another coaching opportunity I will be overjoyed. The last time I recall this happening was in the 1960s - Jim Sweeney (football) left MSU to coach Washington State.



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