New coach search...

Ldlane

Hall of Fame
Nov 26, 2002
14,249
398
202
There is absolutely no way that we should have had such a bad second half of the season with this team. We started out averaging 80 pts. a game and he put a stop on our offense. Top that off with "illogical" substitutions and I'm starting think he tanked the second half of our season so he would be fired. We have talent on this team!


I keep seeing people saying the talent level in Alabama is bad. There is talent in Alabama every year that chooses to go elsewhere to school is the problem. Cousins and Bledsoe come to mid off the top of my head. We need to shut down the border and get every top kid instead of them ending up at UK or Uconn or where ever U. The good players we have gotten from inside the state either haven't panned out or haven't been developed. Alabama has always needed to get some kids from Mississippi to be successful like Hollywood, McDyess, Mo Williams and McKey. We are not getting those recruits now. It is closer for most kids in Mississippi to come to Alabama than either Ole Miss or State. We also have to be able to recruit Atlanta well.
 

RTR91

Super Moderator
Nov 23, 2007
39,407
7
0
Prattville
I am not on the Howland bandwagon, however going to multiple final fours is something only a handful of other coaches can claim. Whichever coach we hire I hope that a final four appearance is on his resume.
You're hoping for more than you're going to get if you expect Alabama to hire a coach with a final four appearance.

Here's a list of coaches who've been to the final four since 2000. Find me the guy that's coming to Alabama...

Kevin Ollie
John Calipari
Billy Donovan
Bo Ryan
Rick Pitino
John Beilein
Jim Boeheim
Greg Marshall
Bill Self
Thad Matta
Brad Stevens
Shaka Smart
Tom Izzo
Bob Huggins
Roy Williams
Jay Wright
Jim Calhoun
Ben Howland
John Thompson, III
Jim Larrañaga
John Brady
Bruce Weber
Paul Hewitt
Eddie Sutton
Rick Barnes
Tom Crean
Gary Williams
Mike Davis
Kelvin Sampson
Lute Olson
Bill Guthridge
 

pchil86

3rd Team
Feb 16, 2014
222
0
0
You're hoping for more than you're going to get if you expect Alabama to hire a coach with a final four appearance.

Here's a list of coaches who've been to the final four since 2000. Find me the guy that's coming to Alabama...

Kevin Ollie
John Calipari
Billy Donovan
Bo Ryan
Rick Pitino
John Beilein
Jim Boeheim
Greg Marshall
Bill Self
Thad Matta
Brad Stevens
Shaka Smart
Tom Izzo
Bob Huggins
Roy Williams
Jay Wright
Jim Calhoun
Ben Howland
John Thompson, III
Jim Larrañaga
John Brady
Bruce Weber
Paul Hewitt
Eddie Sutton
Rick Barnes
Tom Crean
Gary Williams
Mike Davis
Kelvin Sampson
Lute Olson
Bill Guthridge
Umm Ben Howland
 

CrimsonChuck

Hall of Fame
Nov 15, 1999
5,639
4
0
52
Philadelphia, PA
You're hoping for more than you're going to get if you expect Alabama to hire a coach with a final four appearance.

Here's a list of coaches who've been to the final four since 2000. Find me the guy that's coming to Alabama...

Kevin Ollie
John Calipari
Billy Donovan
Bo Ryan
Rick Pitino
John Beilein
Jim Boeheim
Greg Marshall
Bill Self
Thad Matta
Brad Stevens
Shaka Smart
Tom Izzo
Bob Huggins
Roy Williams
Jay Wright
Jim Calhoun
Ben Howland
John Thompson, III
Jim Larrañaga
John Brady
Bruce Weber
Paul Hewitt
Eddie Sutton
Rick Barnes
Tom Crean
Gary Williams
Mike Davis
Kelvin Sampson
Lute Olson
Bill Guthridge
We could probably get Paul Hewitt if we wanted him. Whether or not we would want him, I would have to think about it.

George Mason fires Paul Hewitt
 

KrAzY3

Hall of Fame
Jan 18, 2006
10,966
5,483
187
45
kraizy.art
Umm Ben Howland
It's also sad and ironic to see Shaka Smart on that list. He's who Alabama hoped Grant would turn out to be.

Anyway, there are a few guys on that list that Alabama could have a shot at. It's not just Ben Howland, there's Gregg Marshall who I think would listen to a 3 million a year offer (let's face it, he's kind of taken that program about as far as possible, it's kind of like Boise State in football). There's also a couple names on the list Alabama could get, but I'm not so sure Alabama would want them. A lot though clearly are out of reach.

But, to me it's not necessarily final four, but I'd like to at least see a Sweet 16 appearance. It takes more than one lucky game and a combination of an automatic berth and a weak conference to make it that far.
 

Alasippi

Suspended
Aug 31, 2007
12,875
2
57
Ocean Springs, MS
So nobody but me likes Amaker? I think he'd be perfect.Not saying we'd have a prayer, but I think he's the best young coach in America.Of course, Duke may feel the same, and that would kind of kill the deal.
 

Ldlane

Hall of Fame
Nov 26, 2002
14,249
398
202
I like him, but I don't want someone that will use Bama for a "stepping stone".

So nobody but me likes Amaker? I think he'd be perfect.Not saying we'd have a prayer, but I think he's the best young coach in America.Of course, Duke may feel the same, and that would kind of kill the deal.
 

TitleWave

All-American
Dec 3, 2012
3,279
928
132
How did Amaker make out in his "younger" years at Seton Hall and Michigan, before he learned the Ivy League art of recruiting at Hahvud? Wouldn't touch him with a 10-foot slide rule, myself. Grant at least had integrity.
 

BamaMTA06

All-SEC
Sep 9, 2007
1,911
12
57
Amaker is big fish in a small pond. I remember his time and Seton Hall and Michigan.
 
Last edited:

derek4tide

Hall of Fame
Jan 19, 2005
11,492
1
0
Daphne, AL
Is our only choice a mid-major HC? Are we stuck with another Grant-type hire that may pan out and may not? Will we be doing this process again after another 3-4 sub-par years? Just curious.....
 

pchil86

3rd Team
Feb 16, 2014
222
0
0
Is our only choice a mid-major HC? Are we stuck with another Grant-type hire that may pan out and may not? Will we be doing this process again after another 3-4 sub-par years? Just curious.....
Seems to be going that way.....seems like we'll most likely get Steve Prohm or maybe Mike White from Louisiana Tech.....those are risky because their success is skewed somewhat given the talent of the teams they have beaten in their conference
 

RTR91

Super Moderator
Nov 23, 2007
39,407
7
0
Prattville
Is our only choice a mid-major HC? Are we stuck with another Grant-type hire that may pan out and may not? Will we be doing this process again after another 3-4 sub-par years? Just curious.....
I believe Grant's tenure at Alabama scares fans away from the idea of getting a mid-major coach. That's the most likely scenario, though.

There's three options with every college coaching search:

Hot mid-major coaches
Power 5 coaches about to be fired or at a lower-tier P5 program
Out of work P5 coaches

Have to look at coaches at Power 5 schools and consider any of them leaving or worth our consideration. I'm not sure that list would be very long.

The last option seems popular among fans because of Ben Howland. I'm not big on the hire, but some are.

I made the below post in the "End of Season Poll" thread two weeks ago. With the NCAA tournament, coaches have the luxury to stay at a school longer than football coaches, which makes getting guys harder.

I disagree that "movin on up" is the mantra of many modern day coaches. If that was the case, Mark Few wouldn't still be at Gonzaga. Why wouldn't Shaka Smart go onto a bigger job? Why should a coach go to a Power 5 school in basketball? With 68 teams in the tournament, coaches can stay at a smaller school and still succeed. Greg Marshall proved last year a mid-major other than Gonzaga can be a #1 seed.

If I'm a coach, why would I want to leave a smaller school to go to a bigger program with more pressure? Not to mention if my wife and kids enjoy living in the area? The only reason I can tell is money, so if a coach is fine not making $2 million a year and working at a mid-major, I don't blame him for not taking a big job.
 

RTR91

Super Moderator
Nov 23, 2007
39,407
7
0
Prattville
Last week folks immediately knocked down the idea of Steve Prohm.

One thing complained Grant didn't do was promote the program. This letter by Prohm last week is a pretty big example of promoting a program.

Murray State coach Steve Prohm continued the team’s call to be included in the NCAA tournament this year despite a heartbreaking loss to Belmont in the OVC tournament finals, which may have cost them one.

In a letter in the Sporting News, Prohm argued that his team deserved a spot because they went 16-0 in their conference, 4-0 against Missouri Valley Conference teams and barely lost out on their conference’s automatic bid in a close and well-played game.

The letter came less than a week after his sophomore guard, Justin Seymour, made an impassioned plea on Twitter for his team to be included in the tournament. Currently, according to most bracketologists, the team is not predicted to be included in the tournament field.
 

Ldlane

Hall of Fame
Nov 26, 2002
14,249
398
202
There is actually no problem with getting a "Mid-Major" coach. All coaches know the same X's and O's. It's not like it's a jump from Jr. High to HS sports. It comes down to intangibles such as teaching, personality, recruiting, selling the program, and style of play. Those make the difference from coach to coach. CAG obviously didn't have those "intangibles".
 

pchil86

3rd Team
Feb 16, 2014
222
0
0
There is actually no problem with getting a "Mid-Major" coach. All coaches know the same X's and O's. It's not like it's a jump from Jr. High to HS sports. It comes down to intangibles such as teaching, personality, recruiting, selling the program, and style of play. Those make the difference from coach to coach. CAG obviously didn't have those "intangibles".
True, and it depends on whose on your staff as well......I mean look at Texas a&m coach....they've been pretty good since coming to sec and next year I think they have number 4 rated recruiting class and their coach came from Murray St
 

New Posts

Latest threads