Are you in favor of picking a successful mid major coach once again, or do we need a splash hire like we did in football? The Murray State coach has his team cruising.

Can we even get a splash hire here

wangus12 said:

---

Can we even get a splash hire here

---

Yes...assuming we have competent folks running the search. We have the money, we have the fan base (when we win, Aggie fans are great), and we have a recruiting hotbed in our back yard. All but one of the pieces are in place to have a very successful program. For the past 8 years, we've been missing that one piece. If our administrators can be allowed to do their jobs (i.e. - no interference from the big cigars), then I am certain we have what it takes to get a top-notch coach.

Deputy Travis Junior said:

---

Luke The Drifter said:

---

Uh...the last time we hired a Murray State coach, it didn't end so well. 6 years of terrible basketball with 2 good years sprinkled in.

Hard pass...

---

Problem was we hired Fran (Kennedy) while Patterson (Prohm) once again didn't come along.

Nothing wrong with hiring a low level coach who knows what he's doing.

---

Vetting would be the key. A number of folks knew Patterson was the true force.

Prohm was gonna come if he didn't get the HC job at Murray State, but he did.

And Prohm made sure to avoid being hired by Texas A&M when he commented on Kennedy's termination, too!!

And let's not forget that Turgeon resigned on us late in the game. Has he bolted in early March vs. late April, our pool or replacements would have been deeper. We hired Kennedy in part because he was the (alleged) best available in the month of May.

Luke The Drifter said:

---

And let's not forget that Turgeon resigned on us late in the game. Has he bolted in early March vs. late April, our pool or replacements would have been deeper. We hired Kennedy in part because he was the (alleged) best available in the month of May.

---

did Maryland know Williams was going to bolt or how did they snag turge that late in the game?

My opinion is bb was lazy with that hire. Didn't do his homework and went on the cheap.

Aston04 said:

---

Luke The Drifter said:

---

And let's not forget that Turgeon resigned on us late in the game. Has he bolted in early March vs. late April, our pool or replacements would have been deeper. We hired Kennedy in part because he was the (alleged) best available in the month of May.

---

did Maryland know Williams was going to bolt or how did they snag turge that late in the game?

My opinion is bb was lazy with that hire. Didn't do his homework and went on the cheap.

---

Because Williams retire that late. He retired May 5th

I think Maryland figured Williams was going to retire, but he drug his feet and didn't make it official until very late in the game. The, of course, Turgeon bolted for a "better" opportunity. When we started looking for a coach...after being given every assurance from Turge that he'd be back another year...we didn't have a lot to choose from. We had to settle on Kennedy...which, at the time...didn't look like an absolutely awful hire. Then he was diagnosed and other schools (re: Baylor) used his illness in negative recruiting. It was just a recipe for disaster.

We should have cut ties with Kennedy after his 3rd season (2013-2104), but we didn't. That was the big mistake. We didn't necessarily make a mistake in hiring him. We made the mistake of not letting him go after seasons of 14-18, 18-15 and 18-16. When we was 50-49 (.505) after 3 seasons, we should have clipped him.

Much like Melvin and Fran and Sumlin and Evans in softball and Corbelli in volleyball...the mistake wasn't hiring them. The mistake was holding on to them too long.

That's more context than I caught before. I always felt both Sherman and Kennedy were hires that essentially Byrne felt he couldn't do differently due to financial constraints. The fact is he did great with other sports because we had enough latitude to get very good coaches in T&F, WBB, and Women's Swimming and Diving. Those improvements and good runs by BCG, Childress, Evans, and frankly some of the the better of the Corbelli years as well as strong finishes by the unexpected team here and there got us in the Directors' Cup top ten and then repeated.

But he didn't crack the nut on football and the change to the SEC challenged his leadership at a bad time: when he was retiring. I btw don't believe he was that eager for the PAC-10+6 merger, either even though he had a stint as a Pac-10 AD so he knew the pre-Scott conference pretty well.

With solid football and men's basketball hires Woodward can fully monetize both programs to fund the whole platform AND keep up with improvement spend going forward.

In fact I'll state a wish: A&M needs to take much better care of its entire physical plant. When buildings like Rudder and the pre-redo Zachary look like they're 50 years old, or when the modular dorms have paint and mold problems so bad as to question safety of living in them, you're destroying your capital investments through short-sightedness.

Byrne famously coined the expression that money is the oxygen of intercollegiate sports. It was partially a reaction to at least the Slocum shortcomings which he viewed as a result of SEVERE underinvestment on facilities. And who knows: maybe the SWC cheating was also more about underinvestment than anything.

I'm not a huge fan of Buzz. I think people like him for comfort reasons not because he's the right answer. He knows us. He was an assistant for Gillispie. He's made a serviceable career out of a couple of HC spots, though his VT run is much less impressive than the Marquette tenure. But for me the key is really putting together key measurements that he and the athletic department constantly track AND re-validate and improve that puts players on a trajectory of personal and athletic growth.

He clearly can do that if he can repeat some of especially the Marquette experience. I suspect his deal will make parting with him expensive. So I hope we get that review process working early...to make it work and make it worthwhile.

Quote:

---

how did they snag turge

---

He was looking to leave. Maybe not just anywhere but he would jump at any good opportunity.

Hop said:

---

AgsNguyen said:

---

It's jist like us to hire the only bad Murray state coach in a sting of very good coaches.

---

Kennedy has a better overall winning percentage and conference winning percentage at Murray St. than the current coach everybody is drooling over today after the Marquette win. But don't let me slow down your schtick.

---

Overall -- not according to Wikipidia. Is the record on there incorrect?

Murray State Basketball

The conference difference is less than a percent. Belmont, who has made the NCAA tournament 8 times in the last decade and a half joined the OVC after Kennedy left -- 3 or 4 times since they joined the OVC. At worst, that's a wash in the conference stats you referenced.

Not advocating one way or the other, but lets be accurate.

Hop said:

---

AgsNguyen said:

---

It's jist like us to hire the only bad Murray state coach in a sting of very good coaches.

---

Kennedy has a better overall winning percentage and conference winning percentage at Murray St. than the current coach everybody is drooling over today after the Marquette win. But don't let me slow down your schtick.

---

At Murray state Bk 107-53 Win percentage .669
McMahon 86-41 Win percentage .677

But don't let facts gets in the way of your schtick hop.

Put Cronin prohm Bk and McMahon on a list and one guy is clearly getting picked last. Unless the job is for who can get the most Aggie message board love after getting fired for sucking.

Kennedy wasn't a bad hire.

But we kept him way too long, for various reasons, IMO.

91AggieLawyer said:

---

Quote:

---

how did they snag turge

---

He was looking to leave. Maybe not just anywhere but he would jump at any good opportunity.

---

agreed. My point is it's not impossible to make a really good hire late in the game. Should have been ready for scenario to go after interested stud coaches with how much turge complained.

The only reason why Murray St is good is Ja Morrant. Even with him they weren't even able to win the conference.

Hard pass

NO NO NO
We are above that type of hire lets act like we belong and pay someone to coach basketball which hasn't been done here in 8 years.

Why are you guys still talking like who our next coach will be is in significant doubt ?

Because until he is announced everything is speculation at this point. Too many things can happen until the contract is signed.

GrayMatter said:

---

Because until he is announced everything is speculation at this point. Too many things can happen until the contract is signed.

---

The only thing that can happen is he can change his mind. There is always going to be a chance that could happen, but I don't think it's a significant one.

More to the point, many people are still talking like there are other candidates. There is one candidate. Only IF that falls thru will there be another candidate.

GrayMatter said:

---

Because until he is announced everything is speculation at this point. Too many things can happen until the contract is signed.

---

this situation seems to have gone a bit beyond the 'speculation' point.

Pumpkinhead said:

---

GrayMatter said:

---

Because until he is announced everything is speculation at this point. Too many things can happen until the contract is signed.

---

this situation seems to have gone a bit beyond the 'speculation' point.

---

Agreed. But until we see Buzz getting off the plane at Easterwood with the maroon carpet on the tarmac and Aggie Band in the background, I'm going to be nervous/skeptical. I'm sure everything is in place...but you just never know what can happen in that 11th hour.

He's the only Murray State coach who's done a terrible job at A&M...which is all I care about.

I think we need about 30 more posts on this riveting argument about the relative quality of Cronin, Prohm, Kennedy, Gottfried, etc

Kennedy is the only Murray State coach since the 1970s to not make postseason play in his first three seasons...