Coaching Search

[kreed5120]

12 minutes ago, Zippy87 said:

The LeBron hate is so tired. The man does tons of wonderful work in the Akron community. I'm not going to hate on him for not donating to our NIL fund. I would be surprised to see Dru leave Duquesne, too. And honestly, while I respect him as a great Akron player, I'm not really impressed with him as a head coach.  

 

I'm not hating on him for not donating. I'm not going to tell anyone how they should spend their money. I'm just pointing out that I find it unlikely he'd ever contribute in a meaningful way and we shouldn't really factor that into the hiring discussion.

 

I agree, nothing about Dru excites me. If we were an EMU, Ball State, etc getting a .500 coach who was a former player to excite the fanbase might be a decent move. We instead need someone who keeps the engine moving. To me that's Ford.

Edited 1 hour ago by kreed5120

[dirtyolcrowe]

I’d go hard after Hubert Davis!!!!

[ZippyRulz]

FWIW it's rumored there's a good chance LBJ will be living and playing full time in NEO again this fall.

 

[Captain Kangaroo]

My replacement hot list -

 

Leader - Dustin Ford.

Positives: He's paid his dues as the top assistant under the most successful coach in UA history. Culture stays in place. Bud likes him.

Negatives: Coleman Crawford paid his dues under Bob Huggins, and that didn’t work out so well. We need to interview at least 3 candidates.

 

Bobby Hurley:

Positives – Won big in the MAC with Buffalo. Available. Nationally recognized “splash” hire (AD’s like this kind of hire).

Negative – Wholly unlovable crybaby…but people tend to overlook that if you win. And at the mid-major level he's a proven winner.

 

Dru Joyce:

Positives: Lebron's buddy...although in 20 years Lebron hasn't given the Zips program much, other than some shoes and a logo patch. Dru will be championed by favorite son Keith Dambrot. He's a former Zips point guard with extensive professional playing experience. Presently Duquesne's HC with "moderate" success. He's a formidable opponent to Ford for this opening...should he want it.

Negatives: The Lebron association doesn't seem to produce any tangible help to the Zips program. Dru hasn't exactly caught lightning in a bottle at Duquesne. His hire would take the Zips in a completely different direction.

 

Long Shot Outside-the-Box Hire – Easton Bazzoli HC at Gannon

Positives – Coaching Gannon in the D2 finals this Sunday. “Local-ish” guy. Took Gannon from a 3-23 record 2 years ago to 32-3 this season.

Negatives – Not a “splash” hire. New culture install. Is he worthy of a D1 "high mid-major" job like Akron’s?

 

This is where the rubber meets the road and we see what Goodrich is made of!

[zippy5]

@Captain Kangaroo Jordan Fee deserves the Gannon credit - he's off to Lamar for his first D1 head coaching gig next year too.

[NWAkron]

Kehres!  or that guy from Hoban.

[LZIp]

Not advocating for Dru,  but without looking at numbers, I am pretty sure KD was a middle of the road coach (maybe slightly above .500)  at Duquesne over his career as well. 

[Captain Kangaroo]

7 minutes ago, zippy5 said:

@Captain Kangaroo Jordan Fee deserves the Gannon credit - he's off to Lamar for his first D1 head coaching gig next year too.

You're saying he's Gannon's "Stan Heath"? 

[UAZipster0305]

4 minutes ago, LZIp said:

Not advocating for Dru,  but without looking at numbers, I am pretty sure KD was a middle of the road coach (maybe slightly above .500)  at Duquesne over his career as well. 

Notably though, he won his only NCAAT game there too. That's where we all want to be but with the conference track record of Groce.

[kreed5120]

12 minutes ago, LZIp said:

Not advocating for Dru,  but without looking at numbers, I am pretty sure KD was a middle of the road coach (maybe slightly above .500)  at Duquesne over his career as well. 

 

Dambrot inherited a 10-22 program who for 1-2 years didn't even have a home arena because it was under renovation. He had 1 disastrous year immediately following covid. Other than that year he was consistently hitting his 20 wins and going 10-8 in conference.

 

Dru inherited a team coming off its first NCAA win in decades. Optimism for the program was never higher.

 

Edit: Also, it's worth noting the A10 is weaker now compared to 5-10 years ago as can be evidenced by fewer at-large bids.

 

Edit 2: I am not completely against Dru as the next coach. He would just be down my list if other options failed.

Edited 18 minutes ago by kreed5120

[zippy5]

It's been awhile since we discussed KD winning 20 games. Feels nice 

[NWAkron]

14 minutes ago, NWAkron said:

Kehres!  or that guy from Hoban.

The St V crowd is gone.  Let's make a move on the Hoban contingent.

[NWAkron]

Men's basketball is the most successful program at Akron.  The new A.D. will be making a decision that will follow his career.  A bad hire away from being pretty much every other MAC school.

Edited 7 minutes ago by NWAkron

[zippy5]

2 minutes ago, NWAkron said:

Men's basketball is the most successful program at Akron.  The new A.D. will be making a decision that will follow his career.

When was the last time we couldn't call the AD the "new AD"

[UAZipster0305]

2 minutes ago, NWAkron said:

Men's basketball is the most successful program at Akron.  The new A.D. will be making a decision that will follow his career.

 

Men's basketball is very successful, and I enjoy its entertainment value and the community here that it contributes to. However, objectively, men's basketball is definitely not the most successful athletics program at UA.