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boilerhorn

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Posts posted by boilerhorn

  1. 2 minutes ago, slorch said:

    So UNC offers Beard $5MM/ year and he giggles...

     

    He’s going to be a lot more expensive than he would have been a week ago, no matter where he goes/ stays.

    UT should have paid the $5MM buyout when they had the chance.

    Hard to disagree with this logic.  However, Roy Williams likely did not wake up this morning and decide to retire.  This must have been in the works for some time; agents, reps working back-channels.  Beard's reps must have known this was happening before today...

  2. 12 minutes ago, Machinator said:

    FCB

      Reveal hidden contents

    THE SILENCE IS DEAFENING

    Right after the news broke last Friday that Shaka Smart was leaving Texas to take over the basketball program at Marquette, we reported Texas Tech’s Chris Beard was UT’s top target. We also said if there’s eerie silence between last Friday and April 1, Texas fans who are hoping Beard is the one taking over the Longhorns’ basketball program should rejoice.

    Here’s why: While Texas has spoken with former player and current Brooklyn Nets assistant coach Royal Ivey about Ivey’s vision for the program as a possible coaching candidate, UT hasn’t spoken with Beard directly.

    Yet.

    That is expected to happen on Thursday, when a buyout in Beard’s contract for schools in Texas and/or the Big 12 (i.e. UT) drops from $5 million to $4 million. If anyone trying to hire Beard was talking to him before Thursday, Tech could argue that school would owe the $5 million.

    So, if things go well Thursday (and I’m hearing things SHOULD go well, because I’ve heard there’s mutual interest), Texas could have its new men’s basketball coach by the end of the week — if not sooner.

    Now, why would Beard, who is 48, want to leave Texas Tech, where he has developed a cult following from Red Raider Nation after leading Tech to the Elite Eight in his second year in Lubbock (2018) and to the national championship game in Year 3 (2019)? Tech students pack United Supermarkets Arena for home games and have a REAL home-court advantage.

    Why would Beard want to leave an athletic director like Kirby Hocutt, who gave Beard new contracts after the 2018 and 2019 seasons, making him one of the top-five paid coaches in college basketball?

    Beard had a base salary this season of $4.3 million, but he earned $5.1 million for the 2020-21 school year because he had a one-time, $750,000 retention bonus paid to him in September, plus other incentives reached. According to Beard’s latest contract, obtained by Horns247, he is set to earn base salaries of $4.4 million in 2021-22; $4.5 million in 2022-23; $4.6 million in 2023-24; and $4.7 million in 2024-25.

    After Tubby Smith’s surprise decision to leave Texas Tech for Memphis April 14, 2016, Hocutt believed in Beard and wanted to hire him so much that he found himself watching a live-stream feed of Beard being interviewed by UNLV regents, some of whom wanted the coach to justify why he’d been hired at UNLV on March 28, 2016.

    Hocutt, sensing Beard was less than happy with the line of questioning, called Beard after the meeting and said, “Can I fly to Vegas tomorrow to talk to you?”

    “Can you get here tonight?” Beard responded.

    Hocutt and Beard have been so tight, there’s a provision in his contract that all of Beard’s buyout money is cut in half if Hocutt is no longer the athletic director at Tech.

    In the past week, Lubbock businesses that sell barbecue, wings, pasta, beer and desserts have made "free for life" offers to Beard if he remains Tech's coach.

    Why would beard leave Tech for Texas? 

    Forget the new contract and likely raise to $5 million or more annually or even that Beard graduated from the University of Texas in 1996 after serving as a student assistant to Tom Penders. (You’ll hear from Penders about Beard in a second.)

    Beard is all about winning at the highest level and having no obstruction to recruiting the best talent in the country to his program.

    Beard will never admit this publicly, but according to sources close to the situation, it’s been harder for Beard to lure top recruits, such as Cade Cunningham, who ended up at Oklahoma State, because Tech is an Under Armour school as opposed to a Nike school like Texas and Oklahoma State.

    “In basketball, how schools align with shoe companies matter,” said a source close to the situation.

    There’s also the ability to recruit to Austin.

    Texas women’s coach Vic Schaefer may be the best testimonial for that. When 6-foot-1 forward Aliyah Moore, the No. 6 prospect in the 2021 class from Moore, Okla., signed with Texas, she said Schaefer had recruited her hard to go to Mississippi State, but Moore had no interest in going to school in Starkville, Miss.

    As soon as Schaefer got the Texas job, he called Moore, and because he was now headed to Austin, Moore was immediately interested in joining Schaefer at UT, which she’ll do this fall.

    And then there’s the $388 million Moody Center, which will open for basketball for the 2022-23 season. Live Nation, considered “the global leader in live entertainment,” is part of the Oak View ownership group constructing the Moody Center and is already hailing it as the premier concert venue in the United States.

    For basketball, it will have 10,000 seats all right on top of the court, making it a premier ticket with great sight lines and acoustics.

    “This arena will set the standard for concerts and for college basketball arenas,” said a source directly involved with the Moody Center.

    Despite Texas constructing a $60 million basketball (and rowing) practice facility adjacent to the Moody Center, I’ve heard Beard will want to know how many practice hours per week he’d be able to get on the Moody Center floor, so his players have a second-nature feel for their home court.

    Beard will undoubtedly have other questions for Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte when they speak — most likely on Thursday.

    If Beard likes the answers to his questions, there could be a sea change coming in the direction of college basketball in the state of Texas.

    Before Chris Beard got to Texas Tech in 2016 and took the program to an Elite Eight and the championship game in 2018 and 2019, no one was talking about Tech as a “basketball school.”

    They are now.

    You know what makes a school a "basketball school?" The right coach. Beard has done for Tech what Lute Olson did for Arizona, which was a joke in basketball prior to Olsen’s hire in 1983.

    And based on Beard’s track record of winning everywhere he’s been, he’d undoubtedly have a chance to resurrect the prominence Texas basketball achieved at times under Tom Penders as well as the first decade under Rick Barnes — from 1999-2008.

    By the way, 2008 is the last time Texas made it out of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament — and 2014 is the last time UT won a game in the NCAA Tournament.

    Texas is ready to invest BIG in basketball. We’ll know soon if Beard is a part of that investment.

    TOM PENDERS’ PERSPECTIVE ON HIS FORMER STUDENT ASSISTANT CHRIS BEARD

    As a student at Texas in the early 1990s, Chris Beard went to then-UT basketball coach Tom Penders about being involved with the Longhorns’ program.

    “Chris wasn’t a bad player,” Penders told Horns247. “He wanted to walk on. We didn’t really have room for walk-ons at that time. He said he wanted to be a coach one day, so I kept giving him more duties.

    “We put him in the room next to mine — an 8-foot by 12-foot cubby hole — cutting up film.

    “Chris was always in that room,” Penders said. “If I had to do it over again, of course, film study has gotten more advanced, but I would’ve spent more time in the film room, because that was a great way to break down opponents.

    “By Chris’ senior year, he was like an assistant coach. We were able to give him a scholarship, and he earned it.”

    Penders said Beard was no pushover as a student manager and was always hanging around the coaches, whenever possible.

    “Being a manager can be tough,” Penders said. “The kids, the players, sometimes tease the managers. But if the kids were rude to him, Chris would just ignore them. He was nobody’s gopher, although he would’ve done anything for the coaches.

    “Chris always sat up in the front of the bus with us and listened and was a loyal — very, very loyal guy. He’s family to me. You get close to players, and in Chris’ case, because he was such a sponge, I got close to him as a manager. Like I said, as a senior, he was like an assistant coach.”

    Penders isn’t surprised Beard has gone on to be a success as a head coach and still stays in touch. Penders said before the 2019 season, he went to Lubbock and spent about a week observing Beard’s program, sitting in on meetings and practices.

    “It’s his preparation, time in the film room, and then his ability to communicate with the players without being overbearing or condescending,” Penders said. “He might get on a guy, but he’ll walk off the floor with his arm around the kid.

    “His players really respect him, because he really cares about his players, and that comes through in his day-to-day work.

    “People talk about five-star kids. He’ll take four-star kids and make them fives by his coaching. All of his players, without exception, get better every year. You see it, and it’s largely in the confidence area. Their skills improve, but their confidence really improves at an amazing level.”

    Penders said he likes that Beard’s teams are always mentally and physically tough.

    “It doesn’t do any good to win the recruiting wars if you don’t know what’s in a kid’s heart or how tough he is,” Penders said. “Chris finds those kids with skill who are tough, and then he brings toughness to his teams. In practices, he doesn’t blow the whistle every time there’s a touch foul.”

    I asked Penders about Beard’s ability to evaluate talent.

    “He’s excellent,” Penders said. “He always makes a pitch to the top kids. But it’s a tougher sell to get them to go to Lubbock then it is to go to Austin.

    “He’ll take a Jarrett Culver, a Lubbock kid, and turn him into a five-plus. If he gets a kid who is a legitimate Top 25 type player, the ceiling is very high in terms of where the kid can go. Chris is a teacher and really pays attention to detail, more so than most coaches.

    “I sat in his meetings, and his preparation is exceptional. He could coach in the NBA and do well in the NBA, because he relates well to players and can adjust to any type of player.

    “At Tech, he knows he has to develop and recruit hard. He’s real. And when you’re real, you’re a good recruiter. He’s got a great sense of humor and knows how to deal with all kinds of different kids.”

    Penders brought up the Eyes of Texas controversy that hit the UT campus last summer and speculated about how Beard might handle that situation.

    “It’s a tough time now for the coaches with a lot of different issues,” Penders said.

    “But if the kids respect and believe in you as their coach, you’ll get through it.

    “You have to be honest with your players and try to keep them from getting into situations where they might have to compromise their own beliefs. You have to realize these are kids — 18 and 19 years old. You have to treat ‘em like they’re your own kids — like family. And if they trust in you and believe in you, you’ll be fine.”

    I asked Penders if Beard would be a good fit for Texas.

    “Chris would be a great fit anywhere - for all the reasons we’ve discussed,” Penders said. “What he’s built at Tech in five years is amazing with the student following.

    “It was empty when he took it over, and now they line up the day before games to be the first ones in. You need the kids and need the students. It’s been sad for me to see the fan base at Texas basketball games disappearing. That wouldn’t happen if Chris Beard was there.”

     

    That's a lot of words to say, "No news on Beard."  $9.95, please.

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    • Haha 1
  3. Assuming Beard is the guy...

    All of the "Texas will talk to Beard today" messages should probably add "in an official capacity."  To this point, I suspect all work has been done verbally using intermediaries.  Today would be the "official" interview, so as to mitigate any claim of the additional $2mm buyout.  Today, they'll work out details like shirt size, new tie, stapler colors (he cannot use the red one any more), etc.

    As for aesthetics, it was aesthetically pleasing to see Shaka hop in that Grand Cherokee at the airfield in Milwaukee.

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  4. 2 minutes ago, Laxtonto said:

    That has got to be one of either the greatest trolls of all time by a UT fan in Lubbock or one of the largest wtf concepts I have ever seen

    https://www.sameerislam.com/about/doctor/

     

    He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Texas in Austin where he graduated with honors. He completed both his medical degree (MD) and masters of business association (MBA) at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and Texas Tech Rawls School of Business, respectively.

  5. 1 hour ago, Pancho said:

    People do realize Beard can get the NBA Horns back aligned too, right? I don’t get the sense our NBA Horns are saying only Ivey can bring back their support. I do get the sense they just want a coach who knows what the fuck he’s doing.

    This was mentioned a while back.  NBA guys know a bad coach when the see it.  As was mentioned here a while back (by you?), a lot of those guys were disgusted by the way Smart ran practices.

    39 minutes ago, Burt Macklin said:

     He has good off ball movement and I remember enjoying watching the Tech team that made a run set really good back door screens creating good looks for the cutter. And watching wonderfully executed defense and discipline can also be very entertaining. 

    Anyone who coaches off-ball movement is a significant improvement over Smart.  Having it accompanied by good fundamentals and discipline will be fantastic.  The on-court product will be night and day better with Beard.

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  6. 22 minutes ago, Herpa Derpa said:

    Rapaport is a super-thirsty twat that lives for this kind of attention. KD is a thin-skinned twat that can't walk away from those beneath him. The ocean is wet.

     

    Two twats tweet --> Twatter.

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  7. 2 minutes ago, Texas St. Armadillos said:

    Stevens makes $3.7M with the Celtics.  Throw $5M (with no state income tax) at him and make him say no.

    That's the best "way out there" suggestion I've seen so far.

    I *think* he's under contract though 2022, but a $3.7M buyout is feasible.

    If "we" are going to break the bank, break it for Stevens, not Beard.

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  8. 40 minutes ago, Hornlover said:

    Yeah. Who would have ever guessed Indianapolis would be a hotbed for basketball?

    Butler's been competitive since the late 80s and I think much of it is geography and strong coaches.  Since then:

    • 1989-2000 Barry Collier (left for Nebraska and is now AD at Butler)
    • 2001 Thad Matta (left for tOSU)
    • 2002-2007 Todd Licklater (left for Iowa)
    • 2008-2013 Brad Stevens (left for the Celtics)
    • 2014 Brandon Miller (lasted 1 year after 14-17 record)
    • 2015-2017 Chris Holtmann (left for Ohio State)
    • 2018-present LaVall Jordan (Butler Alumnus, played for Collier and Matta - has been so-so)

    Their first finals runs combined a generational coach (Stevens) with a first round NBA player (Hayward) and a 2nd rounder (Mack).  The 2nd was with Stevens and Mack.

    In the Stevens (and earlier) days, about 2/3 of the team is from Indiana.  It dropped to around 1/2 in 2013-2014 and now it's more like 1/3.  Recruiting has evolved since then and with Butler's success, Power5 teams cannot afford to ignore who they are recruiting.  There may be other factors, but there has been a shift away from Indiana.

    Hayward was a 3* who received offers from Butler, IUPUI, and Purdue.  Hayward would have seen little playing time as a freshman at Purdue (behind Hummel).  Mack was also a 3* and Butler was his best offer.  Combine those talents with Stevens and....

  9. On 3/28/2021 at 3:28 PM, RiceOwl said:

    I'm planning on applying to B-School though for the Fall '22 cycle though and have GMAT scores that should get me into a top 15. So line of site to 175-ish (assuming I do consulting post-MBA) is there before I'm 30.

    Is the opportunity cost worth it?  B-School will cost $100k+ and you'll lose 2 years at $100k+.  Is the credential actually a necessity for the role and comp you seek?

    Of course, I am assuming the "quit your job and go full time" path.  Executive/weekend MBA has a different calculus.  Corporate sponsorship is a no-brainer.

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  10. Conradt did the same thing at Texas in the mid-to-late 80s.  My BIL's roommate's team won the UT intramural basketball championships as "independent."  That team would often scrimmage the women's team and could handle them fairly easily.  And that was a women's team that was consistently makings its way to the elite 8.

    I should point out that the intramural champs had to beat a team that included Keith and Kerry Cash.

  11. 44 minutes ago, jinx said:

    I actually went to look it up since I was just talking from memory. I remembered a loss in the national championship, but didn’t realize it was way back in 2002. They have four Sweet Sixteen appearances since 94, which seems to be the year they really fell off.  Last National Championship was 87.

    They've really struggled for quite some time and have not been consistent winners since Knight left.  Aside from the trip to the finals, Davis underperformed, but I never thought he was up to the task at Indiana.  Sampson was on his way to rebuilding the juggernaut, but he got punted for cheating.  I thought Crean and Miller would be good there, but they also failed.

    Purdue has won 9 in a row and 13 of the last 14 against IU.  Miller won 0 against Purdue.  You have to beat your rival on occasion, but I am fine with that. :)

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  12. 9 minutes ago, MonkeyDoughnut said:

    Dude... seriously?? ok... yeah he signs the most players every year... I guess if that's you measure he's had success there.

    He can't get the talent there that he could at a place like Texas, its just facts.

    Bob Weltlich - raging asshole of all raging assholes - was able to recruit Texas.  Penders' first roster included Mays, Blanks, Wright, and Heggs.

    Beard - or anyone - will be fine recruiting to Texas.

    EDIT: @MonkeyDoughnut should have replied to the same message you replied to...  I was agreeing with you.

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  13. Painter makes $2.9M and that goes a lot further in West Lafayette than in Austin, even when you consider state income tax.  Plus, he's a bit of a legend at Purdue.  So, I do not think he leaves Purdue under just about any circumstances.  Perhaps if someone dangles $6M - and Texas is not going to do that for Painter.

    Since 2015, Painter's average recruiting ranking is around 42.  Texas is around 11.  (I dropped the years where Texas (Brown) and Purdue (Carsen Edwards) signed only 1 player and were ranked ~100).  He's definitely done more with less.

    @jimmyjazz - yes.  Left off intentionally :)

  14. 14 minutes ago, Underdog said:

    IIRC, took a Cavs miracle to beat them in the EE. 

    That is also true.  Purdue was up at half and trailed most of the 2nd half, with Carsen Edwards keeping them in the game.  They were up 3 and missed a FT to go up 4 with 17 seconds left.  Purdue fouled w/ 5 seconds left (right call).  Virginia made the first, intentionally missed the 2nd, got the rebound and a tying bucket with 1 second left.  Virginia won in OT.

    In retrospect, I should have left Painter off the list.  It was a foolish emotional response of someone who has followed Purdue hoops since the 80s.  I've viewed Purdue as a chronic underachiever in the tourney.  The data does not support it for Painter.  Keady's #1 seeded teams (88, 94, 96) won 2, 3, and 1 game in the tournament.  That was influencing my comment.  Having Painter on that list was a bad take.

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  15. 17 hours ago, Machinator said:

    Matt Painter is a good coach.

    You are correct.  It was an emotional response to my perception that his teams consistently exit the tournament too early.  Painter's Purdue teams are 15-12 in the NCAA tourney, which is not bad.  His Purdue teams have outplayed their seed 3 times and had "early exits" 4 times.  One of the losses was to a #3 as a #2, so it's splitting hairs.

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