Merchant Gets Second Interview

Rollo83 · Post by **Rollo83** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 7:53 pm

I said a few weeks ago that the rumor mill was saying that UM preferred a female coach. That must be the case.

Because let's look at Merchant versus Miller as coaching candidates...

The only advantage I think She has over Curt is the fact she has recruiting connections in the state of Michigan that maybe go a little deeper. But, didn't Curt go get Mann and Thornburg out of Michigan?

Someone please tell me how she is a better candidate than Curt from a coaching perspective?

Jacobs4Heisman · Post by **Jacobs4Heisman** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 8:01 pm

You said it -- she's a woman and she has recruited Michigan very well.

Mann and Thorburn were not highly recruited at all. They were not "gets". We saw something in them, Mann especially, that nobody else did.

greg1 · Post by **greg1** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 8:04 pm

Rollo83 wrote:I said a few weeks ago that the rumor mill was saying that UM preferred a female coach. That must be the case.

Because let's look at Merchant versus Miller as coaching candidates...

The only advantage I think She has over Curt is the fact she has recruiting connections in the state of Michigan that maybe go a little deeper. But, didn't Curt go get Mann and Thornburg out of Michigan?

Someone please tell me how she is a better candidate than Curt from a coaching perspective?

She's not "better" from a coaching perspective at all......but she's had very good success. She's no slouch when it comes to coaching a basketball team.

It boils down dollars plus the fact that already living in Ypsilanti means that she can start working at U of M the day she gets hired.....no contacting movers, finding a house, etc. She can pour 100% of her attention into the new job immediately and while that probably seems like grasping at straws a bit, that plays a very huge role.

Whatever makes Merchant a better candidate to U of M, does it really matter? Isn't that better for BG?

Rollo83 · Post by **Rollo83** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 11:38 pm

Believe me I am thankful if Miller doesn't go to Michigan. I am just curious what the AD is thinking if he is comparing the two candidates and goes with Merchant.

BGDrew · Post by **BGDrew** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 12:02 am

Rollo83 wrote:Believe me I am thankful if Miller doesn't go to Michigan. I am just curious what the AD is thinking if he is comparing the two candidates and goes with Merchant.

Merchant = Female
Miller = Male

greg1 · Post by **greg1** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 12:02 am

Rollo83 wrote:Believe me I am thankful if Miller doesn't go to Michigan. I am just curious what the AD is thinking if he is comparing the two candidates and goes with Merchant.

I hear you!!

My main curiosity is....why has an interview with Miller not taken place (I'm assuming this is the case because if he has interviewed, it would be a topic on this board) before they interviewed Suzy for a 2nd time? Especially if U of M had any sincere interest in Miller in the first place. I know they asked for permission to talk to him which BG is required to grant because Michigan is covered as one of the schools in his out clause....but I'm starting to think that they are only interested in talking to him if things with their top candidate (Suzy Merchant by all accounts I've heard anywhere) fall through.

This has been a bizarre time period. Both men's and women's. Coaches who were nowhere on the radar getting jobs, Coaches in solid positions leaving for different jobs, coaches who were hot commodities not even getting interviews, coaches getting obnoxious big dollar, long term contracts or extensions. All I've learned over the last 10 days is that whatever is expected...the opposite lkely will happen. Really, the interest shown in Miller so far.....ranging from slightly colder than luke warm all the way to non existant....has shocked me. I wonder if scools are assuming that they are going to have topay him big dollars to get him and without the first discussion with him he's been priced out of a big school job?

Rollo83 · Post by **Rollo83** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 10:22 am

Are we sure Curt hasn't been in for an interview with Michigan? I assumed since they had requested permission to talk with him, and were granted that permission, the meeting had taken place and we just weren't aware of it.

greg1 · Post by **greg1** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 10:43 am

Rollo83 wrote:Are we sure Curt hasn't been in for an interview with Michigan? I assumed since they had requested permission to talk with him, and were granted that permission, the meeting had taken place and we just weren't aware of it.

I'd think that it would be a hot topic on this board if he had actually interviewed. A lot of times, teams will cover their bases with the permission to speak requests because if the person they want to hire declines, they can move on to the next person on their list. It happens every year that schools request permission to speak to coaches and then never do so.

On the flip side, if he HAS interviewed and Suzy is doing a 2nd interview, it still shows that their interest in him is passive at best.

murph · Post by **murph** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 10:55 am

Just because there's not enough yet:

MacGuy · Post by **MacGuy** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 12:08 pm

Detroit Free Press said today that UM is looking hard at the Wisconsin-Green-Bay coach, a man.

transfer2BGSU · Post by **transfer2BGSU** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 12:25 pm

Jacobs4Heisman wrote:Mann and Thorburn were not highly recruited at all. They were not "gets". We saw something in them, Mann especially, that nobody else did.

Women's Basketball Signs Six
Miller's recruiting class includes players from five different states.

Nov. 19, 2002
.....
Thorburn is a 6-1 forward at Mason H.S. A two-time All-Capital Circuit League First-Team selection, she averaged 17 points, 8.7 rebounds and three steals as a junior while shooting 50 percent from the field and 44% from three-point range. This year, she is averaging 20 points and nine boards per contest.

Thorburn is rated as the 11th-best returning player in the state of Michigan by the Detroit Free Press. The All-Star Girls Report listed her as one of the top 35 senior wings in the country and the third-best senior wing in the state of Michigan. This past summer, Thorburn helped her club team, the Livingston Sting, to a state championship. In track and field, She had a high jump of five feet in the Michigan H.S. state meet as a sophomore.

"Meghan is the most highly touted and nationally recruited signee of our 2003 recruiting class," said Miller. "She is a versatile wing with good size, and will be an excellent replacement to All-MAC performer Francine Miller. Thorburn is an efficient scorer from the arc and driving to the basket. In our system, Thorburn will play anywhere from the 'two' through the 'four' positions. We are excited that Meghan chose us over outstanding programs in the Big Ten, SEC and Conference USA."

http://bgsufalcons.cstv.com/sports/w-ba ... 02aaa.html

-------------------

Ali was still considering going to Dartmouth or trying to walk on at BG at this point.

Jacobs4Heisman · Post by **Jacobs4Heisman** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 12:39 pm

I stand corrected -- I forgot Megan was that highly recruited.

greg1 · Post by **greg1** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 1:45 pm

MacGuy wrote:Detroit Free Press said today that UM is looking hard at the Wisconsin-Green-Bay coach, a man.

is there anybody that the Detroit Free Press has missed? They're naming anybody they can. This way, they can go back and say that they reported the story correctly.

Flipper · Post by **Flipper** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 2:36 pm

Based on what I saw of them as freshman, I thought Thorburn had the most complete set of skills of the bunch.

threestooges · Post by **threestooges** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 8:37 pm

I had forgotten that she used to spell her first name "Meghan" - she changed the spelling between the time she signed and the time she started her freshman year at BG.

Merchant Gets Second Interview

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