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 2 hours 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 1 hour 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 1 hour 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.

[UAZipster0305]

26 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.  A bad hire away from being pretty much every other MAC school.

 

You are indicating that you are confused by my initial response. Men's soccer, swimming and diving, T&F, and rifle all have performance records that exceed men's basketball in terms of success within their sports.

 

Now, if you want to say that men's basketball has the most value because of the combination of its visibility and success, that's debatable but also reasonable.

Edited 41 minutes ago by UAZipster0305

[Valpo Zip]

Does anyone know where Brian Walsh is nowadays?

Last I remember, he was an assistant at Indiana.

[Hilltopper]

1 hour ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

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.

 

 

Huggins told the AD not to hire Crawford. Peggy Elliot overrides the AD because she thought it was important for UA to have it's first diversity hire. 

[Zip Watcher]

5 minutes ago, Valpo Zip said:

Does anyone know where Brian Walsh is nowadays?

Last I remember, he was an assistant at Indiana.

Assistant @ tOSU.  Not the top assistant I don't think.

[Captain Kangaroo]

8 minutes ago, Hilltopper said:

Huggins told the AD not to hire Crawford. Peggy Elliot overrides the AD because she thought it was important for UA to have it's first diversity hire. 

Muse was the President when Crawford was hired?

 

I recall from a Terry Pluto article in the ABJ that a big part of Crawford being hired was - He sent the UA AD a Christmas card every year after he left Akron (Crawford assisted Huggins for 3 years, then left in '86 to be an assistant at Tennessee). True story.

[akzipper]

1 hour ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

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!

 

59 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.

 

I live in Erie and follow Gannon somewhat. Fee definitely turned the program around, but Bazzoli took them to another level and a national championship appearance. He's a very smart dude and will be a D1 coach someday. Just not sure if that time is now. 

[AkronAlumnus]

Ford might be the guy, but I'd still run a national search.  He lacks necessary head coaching acumen. 

 

Ford should be the guy if he keeps our big 2 though!

Edited 26 minutes ago by AkronAlumnus

[dirtyolcrowe]

If Ford is hired, do any of the assistant coaches stay?

 

[ZippyRulz]

What are Dustin's fundraising credentials?

 

[Let'sGoZips94]

12 minutes ago, AkronAlumnus said:

Ford might be the guy, but I'd still run a national search.  He lacks necessary head coaching acumen. 

 

Ford should be the guy if he keeps our big 2 though!

 

If your main donor, former players, probably current players, etc., are all calling for Ford to be hired, why in the world would you risk losing Ford?