News link on potential head Coach

Flipper · Post by **Flipper** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 10:30 am

I think Giacoletti and Gillen were rumored to be in the mix at NIU.

JoeFalcon · Post by **JoeFalcon** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 10:33 am

Rollo83 wrote:How about Pete Guillen? He had a nice run at Xavier adn had some success at Virginia. Plus, he knows the recruiting circut here in Ohio and the Midwest.

I'd take Gillen in a second. His age would be offset by the instant credbility he'd bring in both coaching and recruiting. It would be comprable to Ohio hiring Frank Solich as their football coach.

He'd have to amend his famous "Duke is Duke. They're on TV more than Leave it to Beaver re-runs"comment to "Kent is Kent..."

IlliniHoopsNut · Post by **IlliniHoopsNut** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 11:24 am

Hey BGSU fans, just wanted to chime in on the candidacy of Jay Price. I used to be the basketball moderator of the Illinois Rivals.com site, and I can tell you that in my couple years of doing that work, Jay Price was the biggest jerk I ever came across. He's much like his boss, Bruce Weber, in that he's a good Xs and Os guy, but has a very bad personality and always blames other people when something goes wrong. A poor recruiter on a staff of poor recruiters, there's a reason Price hasn't been hired as a head coach for any of the jobs he's recently applied for (Northern Illinois, Illinois State, Ball State, and Evansville to name a few). I'm certain Price wouldn't even be considered were there not the Purdue connection to the current BGSU athletic director. If the AD is dead-set on hiring a Purdue guy, Cuonzo Martin would be a much better choice, as would Paul Lusk, although Lusk is considered to be in the mix for SIU should Chris Lowery leave for a bigger job.

Anyway, if you have any questions about the guy, post them and I'll respond.

JoeFalcon · Post by **JoeFalcon** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 11:38 am

IlliniHoopsNut wrote:Hey BGSU fans, just wanted to chime in on the candidacy of Jay Price. I used to be the basketball moderator of the Illinois Rivals.com site, and I can tell you that in my couple years of doing that work, Jay Price was the biggest jerk I ever came across. He's much like his boss, Bruce Weber, in that he's a good Xs and Os guy, but has a very bad personality and always blames other people when something goes wrong. A poor recruiter on a staff of poor recruiters, there's a reason Price hasn't been hired as a head coach for any of the jobs he's recently applied for (Northern Illinois, Illinois State, Ball State, and Evansville to name a few). I'm certain Price wouldn't even be considered were there not the Purdue connection to the current BGSU athletic director. If the AD is dead-set on hiring a Purdue guy, Cuonzo Martin would be a much better choice, as would Paul Lusk, although Lusk is considered to be in the mix for SIU should Chris Lowery leave for a bigger job.

Anyway, if you have any questions about the guy, post them and I'll respond.

Thanks for the input. Price's name was speculated by the Illinois media simply because of the Purdue connection. We don't know how much weight this carries or whether he's a legitimate candidate.

Our new AD has brought in two Purdue people (well qualified, IMO) for athletic department positions which has caused some to believe that this might carry over into coaching positions. I hope it doesn't; if we limit ourselves to current/former Purdue basketball coaches, it's a monumental disservice to the program and the community.

What was your opinion on Rob Judson, the former Illinois assistant under Self who was just canned by NIU. He seemed to have the total package on paper but it didn't work out.

IlliniHoopsNut · Post by **IlliniHoopsNut** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 11:48 am

Was surprised that he didn't do better at NIU. At the end of the day, he didn't recruit as well as he probably should have, especially given the new facility in DeKalb. Add to that some increased pressure given the football team's recent success, and an AD who is considered an up-and-comer and likely first choice as the eventual replacement for Ron Guenther at Illinois, and there wasn't much patience for Judson, especially with a disastrous season this year. Judson was the key guy recruiting the "Peoria trio" (Sergio McClain, Frank Williams, and Marcus Griffin), Brian Cook and Luther Head while at Illinois. So it's a pretty big mystery why he wasn't more successful at NIU.

As for Price, it is the Illinois beat writers that seem to be floating his name. I think part of it is that Weber wants to open a position on his staff for a better recruiter, but he considers himself too loyal to run off a guy like Price. He's trying to give Price some publicity so his name gets out there, because the other coaches on the Illinois staff (Wayne McClain and Tracy Webster) haven't generated much interest for head coaching jobs either. If I had to pick a guy from the current Illinois staff as a potential head coach, I'd take Webster, as he's got a dynamic personality and has been the lead recruiter for the few strong recruits in the Weber era. Webster is also well-respected in Chicago, where Price's name is mud.

Flipper · Post by **Flipper** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 1:44 pm

If I were Greg Christopher I would be looking for a guy who a track record as a recuiting ace in a mid major enviroment with the X's and O's being a secondary concern. Dusan may not come back...we need an infusion of talent.

It does not sound like Price is our guy...how can you work for the Illini and be hated in Chicago? Tommy Amaker never recovered from the hex Perry Watson put on Michigan in the Detroit area. That and the inability to make real inroads against Tom Izzo instate spelled his doom.

BGSUVA · Post by **BGSUVA** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 2:14 pm

I'm not sure what to think about Gillen. He did a good job at Providence, but didn't do a whole lot at UVA. He was a good recruiter, but not much of a developer (which is pretty much why he was bought out at UVA). He's a great guy, a great personality. Everyone liked him as a person. He may do better in the MAC than in the ACC. he didn't really coach much defense, but the offense was pretty fun to watch. just my .02

OptionQB · Post by **OptionQB** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 3:12 pm

Think of the hand that Gillen was dealt at Virginia. We have this brand new building on the way, but you can't play with it, so you're stuck with 2nd tier recruits while Carolina, Duke and Maryland have their names and top-level talent everynight.

I think he did a pretty admirable job at Virginia, while most of the resources were being spent on the football program.

OptionQB · Post by **OptionQB** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 3:24 pm

The idea of Giacoletti making Utah worse is a bit far-fetched as well. He lost the #1 pick in the NBA draft as a sophomore and his recruits were not able to cylce through even one graduating class yet. I think that it's premature to say a guy that had tremendous success and got to the NCAA Tournament at a school that most people in the upper Northwest couldn't pick out on a map all of a sudden made a team worse is a bit misunderstood.

http://utahutes.cstv.com/sports/m-baskb ... ray00.html

doughash · Post by **doughash** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 4:32 pm

They could do a lot worse than Ron Niekamp. Regardless of the level he's coached at he's a proven winner. His last losing season was 1976. He's won a couple times at Anderson Arena as a matter of fact. There have been coaches who have made the successful transition from small college ball to D-1. Dick Bennett at Wisconsin comes to mind. I know a lot of people want to hire a young assistant from a top program but that is no guarantee of success. All you have to do is look at a few of the names mentioned in this thread.

Niekamp's age is a valid concern but I'm certain he wouldn't accept the position if he wasn't 100% committed to doing it the right way.

CrazyFan · Post by **CrazyFan** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 4:36 pm

doughash wrote:They could do a lot worse than Ron Niekamp. Regardless of the level he's coached at he's a proven winner. His last losing season was 1976. He's won a couple times at Anderson Arena as a matter of fact. There have been coaches who have made the successful transition from small college ball to D-1. Dick Bennett at Wisconsin comes to mind. I know a lot of people want to hire a young assistant from a top program but that is no guarantee of success. All you have to do is look at a few of the names mentioned in this thread.

Niekamp's age is a valid concern but I'm certain he wouldn't accept the position if he wasn't 100% committed to doing it the right way.

Doesn't matter because he'll NEVER be offered the position. I would hope Christopher is at least that smart.

Flipper · Post by **Flipper** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 4:37 pm

Greg Christopher seems to be running off the grid on this one ...you aren't hearing a lot of names getting floated with any credibility. We're hearing some wilder suggestions like Amaker, Heintschel, Niekamp and Welling...I fully expect someone to come on here and state that Dog the Bounty Hunter is a candidate.

Either he really hasn't started looking very hard yet, or GC is keeping a VERY tight lid on the process.

Post by **ZiggyZoomba** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 4:39 pm

CrazyFan · Post by **CrazyFan** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 4:44 pm

Flipper wrote:Greg Christopher seems to be running off the grid on this one ...you aren't hearing a lot of names getting floated with any credibility. We're hearing some wilder suggestions like Amaker, Heintschel, Niekamp and Welling...I fully expect someone to come on here and state that Dog the Bounty Hunter is a candidate.

Either he really hasn't started looking very hard yet, or GC is keeping a VERY tight lid on the process.

And I think most of the above stated names have been thrown out there by people on this board that think since a VERY local coach has had success that if qualifies him as a replacement for a Division 1 head coach. I kind of find that as stupid as the Curt Miller as the head coach logic! I haven't read one official article or heard one piece of "first hand" info that Christopher has named any candidates. I personally think he's a little to focused on our Lady Falcons right now as he should be.

hammb · Post by **hammb** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 4:56 pm

I know next to nothing about these local names that are being thrown around, but jumping from Findlay to D1 is a pretty big jump. To go from the Toledo City league to D1 would be an even bigger jump.

I know in football Tressel & maybe some others have jumped from D1AA to D1A, but I don't think that would even be as big of a jump as Findlay to BG in hoops. Tressel also had previous experience at OSU, so he was familiar with the inner workings of a D1A program...has this Findlay guy EVER coached D1 hoops?

Anyone who said that basketball is basketball, is completely wrong IMO. The level of athletes make a big difference in the type of coaching that is required, in basketball moreso than other sports probably. For the same reasons that I find women's basketball almost unwatchable it is ludicrous to expect a women's coach to jump to men's basketball. It's a completely different game.

I don't know for sure, but I'm betting that the brand of hoops that Findlay & St. John's play is a completely different game from D1 hoops as well. Maybe they'd be capable, but I'd find it pretty hard to get excited about that sort of candidate. I know that hiring an assistant from a big program is no guarantee of success, but it seems to me it's the most likely scenario for success. The fact is there is no one route that is the guarantee for success...if there were everyone would be following it. To find a great coach is luck more than anything, but I do believe you have a greater chance of finding the next great coach by hiring assistants or a previously successful HC than you do trying to bring up a guy from a HS team or lower division of college.

News link on potential head Coach

Jay Price...believe me, you don't want him

Re: Jay Price...believe me, you don't want him

Personally, I liked Judson a lot