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Old Freak Nasty

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Posts posted by Old Freak Nasty

  1. 1 minute ago, SwanderedTalent said:

    Underwood needs to worry about winning at Illinois before he thinks about any other jobs.

    John Groce pulled a Mack Brown on that program.  The record looked okay to outsiders but he left that thing rotten from the core.  That said, it's easier to do a quick turnaround in basketball and he better show results next year otherwise he'll be on the hot seat.

    11 minutes ago, Machinator said:

    Illinois is Underwood's dream job. I've heard this from someone who knew him when he was at SFA.

    I'm shocked by that.  He doesn't appear to have any ties to the area personally or career wise.  He spent a decade as an assistant at Western Illinois but that might as well have been another world compared to Chicago and it ended 25 years ago.  I'd guess Kansas would be his dream job seeing that he's from there (although with no ties to the school).

  2. Just throwing another name out there.  Brad Underwood.  He was a rising star at SFA and OSU, then made a stupefying career decision to take over one of the worst "high" D1 programs around at Illinois.  He should have made a home at OSU.  I think he's a good coach who made a really bad choice and as such is probably undervalued.  If he made some tangible progress at Illinois next season I'd consider him.  He's also older than I thought he was.  55.  We should be able to do better but putting his name in the blender.  I think the takeaway is that Shaka's tenure has really knocked the stature and allure of this program.  The difference in the kind of coaches being floated during the post-Barnes cycle and this theoretical one is stark.  There's no way a coach with the shine of 2015 Shaka even looks at us today.  2015 Shaka had a better resume over every single rumored guy this year and it's not even close in some instances.

    Gregg Marshall reported wanted our job in 2015.  The only reason he'd be in the mix this go around is he hasn't been so good lately.  If he were performing at the same level he was back then he'd laugh at us calling today.

     

  3. 37 minutes ago, SwanderedTalent said:

    It's both and they're tightly interrelated. His health keeps him from recruiting as actively as he did 15 years ago. He also just plain doesn't like it, and what coach in his 50s would, unless you're a kiss-the-ring type like Calipari or Coach K. 

    I think your stance is clear in your original reply, but in your opinion IF he is 100% and the health problems are fully in the rear view mirror, does he have the fire to put together a roster and OSU type run in the next 6-8 years?

    I've also read about him that he tried and succeeded in running about as clean a program as you can in today's CBB environment (which I find attractive personally) and that may also play a part with his apparent disinterest in recruiting.  Is that accurate?

    As to his age, there are many coaches at his age and older that aren't past their expiry date and tolerate recruiting enough to put together good rosters.

    Honestly, the more I read up on him the more I want him.  But I admit I may be falling in love with the idea of Thad Matta than actual Matta.

  4. 17 minutes ago, Machinator said:

    Which candidates would interest you? Because realistically, Beard and Buzz are the two that we have even a remote chance of landing, and we're not poaching coaches from blue bloods or the next tier down.

    None really.  A bad year to be in the market for a coach.  Look at all the shitty candidates rumored for the UCLA job (they aren't getting Tony Bennett), which for all it's thankless nature and bad pay IS a blue blood job.  I'd keep Shaka for another year, wait and see what some promising mid-major guys and lower level P5 guys do (Mike Hopkins, Kevin Keatts, Chris Beard, among others), and see what attractive candidates might surprisingly shake out in the mid to upper P5.

  5. 31 minutes ago, SwanderedTalent said:

    Matta had a outstanding run at Ohio State, but as effective as he was as a recruiter, he really lost his taste for it towards the end of his time there. Their recruiting classes went from normal attrition to red-flag level and that was partly because Matta wasn't (and his staff weren't) as discerning in who they brought in. 

    The health concerns are real. As his health became more challenging, the recruiting issues got worse and the on-court performance dropped. I just don't see how anyone can characterize that as coincidental. If you bring him in, you run the risk that with his health compromised, the amount of time he can put into recruiting will cause him to bring in the highest-caliber kids he can get easily. That is not a recipe for success because one-and-done is a lot more disruptive when the player is staying for part of a year and then transferring, versus giving you a year of lottery-caliber play. 

    Matta is a funny, outgoing guy and he's comfortable working in a football-first environment, but I think he's lost his fastball. 

    Agree with all of this.  Thought of him because I'm underwhelmed by all of the rumored candidates.  I don't like any of them and think that all of them have a similar band of outcomes here as Shaka continuing does (around 18-21 wins/year, 3rd-7th in conference).  Certainly not worth dumping $15-20mil into for.  I was thinking of Matta after another year of Smart, hoping to get clarity on whether the health problems are persistent or if they are in the past.  Most, if not all, of the decline in performance *could* be explained by health.  Of course it could also be because he's lost his edge as you suggest.  That's what CDC get paid for.  Figure out which it is.  Coaches at his age and track record aren't available to anyone but the blue bloods if there aren't some concerns.  I would say it's worth probing if still available next year but too risky now.

  6. There's really no good attainable coach that's worth Shaka's buyout + getting locked into for 4 years hell or high water.  I don't think Beard, Williams or any of the other guys give me enough reason to think we'll be in any different of a position 3 years from now to pull the trigger.  Sucks that we will be subject to this atrocity of a program for 12 more months but such is life.

    Is Thad Matta looking for a job yet?  If healthy he's a sure thing and only 51.  I think he turned down Georgia last year because he said he wasn't quite ready to get back in the grind.

    • Like 1
  7. 1 hour ago, WhatTheBuck said:

    Yes he does. It's a pity, really. 

    Trump's playing the long game.  He's going to need a Dem president to declare a climate change national emergency to save that fucking property one day.

  8. according to kenpom, of the top 70 teams in the country only four (arizona, baylor, k state, and penn state) have a worse offense than Texas. 


    So we have the 8th best offense in the conference. I’ll take what I can get with this squad.


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  9. 5 hours ago, LTtxfan said:

    Hope Urban loses the rest of the games this year, but based on remaining schedule (including this week's current bye week) the only possible loss left for ohio state is probably the Michigan game......

     

    DATE OPPONENT TIME TV TICKETS
    Sat, 11/3
    vsNEBNEB
    TBD   1,604 tickets as low as $46 
    Sat, 11/10
    @MSUMSU
    TBD   2,901 tickets as low as $61 
    Sat, 11/17
    @MDMD
    TBD   2,188 tickets as low as $48 
    Sat, 11/24
    vsMICH5 MICH
    11:00 AM
    FOX
    1,738 tickets as low as $238 

    I don't watch much CFB.  Maryland is good, right?

    • Like 1
    • Fuck You 2
  10. Side note, Soso was a healthy scratch in the Washington game.  He's slipped to our 4th RB at best, maybe 5th.


    More importantly, is he enjoying the Asian women?


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