2025 Coaching Carousel

[MuMark]

It's perfectly fine to be ok with the portal and still want guardrails and not think unlimited free agency every season is good for the sport.

Maybe they have to be employees .....I don't really care ....but this free for all every offseason isn't my preference and I don't know any fans that I have talked to who particularly like it.......even if they are fine with players making money which most are.

Find the middle ground.

[Uncle Rico]

College basketball just isn't the same without Roy Williams and Tony Bennett roaming the sidelines.

Tom Oates is still incredulous the sport is being played without Tony

[WhiteTrash]

So, you've decided to go the disingenous route. Gotcha.

Thank you. 

[Pakuni]

Whatever the case, ratings are up and the level of play has been as high as it's been for a long time.  Long live the portal.  Guess the old heads who retired bemoaning the sport they once knew were wrong.  Like usual.

Two things can be true.
The game is different and if a guy doesn't want to coach in that environment, that's fine. It's pretty clear MU's coach doesn't want to coach in that environment either. He's just trying to succeed doing it the old way.

And it's not so much the portal that's improved the level of play as it is NIL money giving borderline pro prospects incentive to stay in college + the COVID year. Guys like Mark Sears and Johni Broome probably aren't still in college if their schools couldn't compete with Euro league salaries.

[Uncle Rico]

Two things can be true.
The game is different and if a guy doesn't want to coach in that environment, that's fine. It's pretty clear MU's coach doesn't want to coach in that environment either. He's just trying to succeed doing it the old way.

And it's not so much the portal that's improved the level of play as it is NIL money giving borderline pro prospects incentive to stay in college + the COVID year. Guys like Mark Sears and Johni Broome probably aren't still in college if their schools couldn't compete with Euro league salaries.

Shaka is coaching his way in this era.  If he didn't want to coach, he'd stop.

[The Sultan]

Shaka is coaching his way in this era.  If he didn't want to coach, he'd stop.

He's one of many who are still coaching. And for every one who doesn't want to coach any longer, there are dozens who will gladly take their place.

[Pakuni]

Shaka is coaching his way in this era.  If he didn't want to coach, he'd stop.

Right, but that's not what I wrote.

[Uncle Rico]

Right, but that's not what I wrote.

There are multiple ways to coach in any era.

[BM1090]

I can't for the life of me understand why Villanova wants this dude to be their coach.

I mean, he won consistently at f*cking seton hall and got Maryland to a S16 in year 3. I can understand it.

[WhiteTrash]

I mean, he won consistently at f*cking seton hall and got Maryland to a S16 in year 3. I can understand it.

I agree. Maybe he's an ass but his resume is pretty damn good.

[MUBurrow]

Indeed, and I don't blame them.  They don't owe it to anyone to adapt to the new rules. 

But failing to understand the sport constantly evolves and will move on without them is pure arrogance.  It's no different than old baseball players complaining about modern baseball. 

I completely agree with this. But for the sea change NIL and the portal are to the sport, a vast majority of coaches, fans, and university athletic departments have adjusted well. Sure there are some holdouts, but they aren't a cultural or institutional obstacle to players' wellbeing anymore, and I think Jay Bilas's primary motivation for framing it that way is to try to score lazy points.

[wadesworld]

I agree. Maybe he's an ass but his resume is pretty damn good.

He'd be a good hire for a program that hasn't recently won 2 national titles. Nova should want better than a guy with 1 Sweet 16.

[Johnny B]

He'd be a good hire for a program that hasn't recently won 2 national titles. Nova should want better than a guy with 1 Sweet 16.

Who else is available

[wadesworld]

Who else is available

Nobody now. They knew all year (and last year to be honest) that Neptune was a dead man walking. Why they wanted to wait for Willard to be done this year is crazy for a program like Nova.

[tower912]

We keep acting like you can get those guys at your local CVS.  By that logic, Nova should have gone after Crean, as at least he has a final 4. DeVries and McCollum have how many D1 sweet 16's between them?  Shaka was a guy Texas no longer wanted.  Every coaching choice is a gamble.  Willard is a gamble.  But he is an experienced D1 coach.  That puts Villanova ahead of the game.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

He'd be a good hire for a program that hasn't recently won 2 national titles. Nova should want better than a guy with 1 Sweet 16.

This is basically every program who's trying to replace a transformative coach.  I mean UConn 'settled' for Dan Hurley with this line of thought. 

[Shaka Shart]

Whatever the case, ratings are up and the level of play has been as high as it's been for a long time.  Long live the portal.  Guess the old heads who retired bemoaning the sport they once knew were wrong.  Like usual.

I find all change terrifying and the world should change to better suit my comfortable mundane life, not the other way around.

[wadesworld]

Hurley, Devries, McCollum didn't have 15 years of Power 5 coaching to try to get to more than 1 Sweet Sixteen. Or a single Elite 8.

Give me Chris Mack over Kevin Willard every single day of the week.

[Shaka Shart]

We keep acting like you can get those guys at your local CVS.  By that logic, Nova should have gone after Crean, as at least he has a final 4. DeVries and McCollum have how many D1 sweet 16's between them?  Shaka was a guy Texas no longer wanted.  Every coaching choice is a gamble.  Willard is a gamble.  But he is an experienced D1 coach.  That puts Villanova ahead of the game.

Not everyone has a pipeline like MU and Wardle

[Pakuni]

Not everyone has a pipeline like MU and Wardle

MU and Wardle?
What do you know?

[Uncle Rico]

Not everyone has a pipeline like MU and Wardle

#COW

[Shaka Shart]

MU and Wardle?
What do you know?

I heard dentists who are in the know whispering about it in the corner of my local militia meeting.

[tower912]

MU and Wardle?
What do you know?

How to stir the pot.

[The Sultan]

Hurley, Devries, McCollum didn't have 15 years of Power 5 coaching to try to get to more than 1 Sweet Sixteen. Or a single Elite 8.

Give me Chris Mack over Kevin Willard every single day of the week.

Yeah I don't know about that... Was handed a good situation at X and was way over his head at Louisville.

[MU82]

It's perfectly fine to be ok with the portal and still want guardrails and not think unlimited free agency every season is good for the sport.

Maybe they have to be employees .....I don't really care ....but this free for all every offseason isn't my preference and I don't know any fans that I have talked to who particularly like it.......even if they are fine with players making money which most are.

Find the middle ground.

Yes, to really get guardrails within this industry now, you need to let the employees unionize and then agree to terms via collective bargaining.

But at this point, maybe basketball and football players don't even want to unionize. They now have total freedom of movement and no limit on the amount of $$ they can earn. Should they agree to concessions to help out an industry that happily took advantage of them for 100+ years?

At this point, it certainly can't be changed by decree.

Capitalism and freedom at their finest!