Skeeter, ditto. In his own way, this guy has just as big a personality as Pearl -- without the sleaze and without the sweat.
Uh, in basketball. And Pete Carroll had been a college assistant before he ever coached a pro game.Pete Carroll
That's not just the bright side, but it's factual. A controlling type of head coach usually plays better in the college gameThis is a good point. Some have alluded to him being Grant 2.0 based on his micromanaging style. However, Avery's personality is much different and his controlling coaching may fit the college ranks better.
Trying to find the bright side!
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Agreed. I don't know when collegiate recruiting and coaching experience ceased to be important.
I agree with this. Honestly, the prospect of Avery as our coach makes me feel the best I have about the future of Bama basketball since Grant was let go.IMO, Avery is the best choice of the names being bandied about. With Pearl to the south, Howland to the west, and Barnes to the north, guys like Prohm and White--who in other times might make a nice little hire--would be viewed as lightweights, not only by the fan bases but by recruits in the southeast.
Avery is a risk (they all are) but he is a presence at least equal to Pearl/Howland/Barnes, and for various reasons I would pick him over all three of them.
I have a big hunch we let Avery and his agent know he needed to be very interested in the position before they lined up the meeting. I do not think it is a courtesy chat but that does not mean he would not turn it down. I believe if he is very interested we will make the offer and he will accept. I will be excited with the hire.He hasn't said yes, and the program in Tuscaloosa bears little resemblance to what Johnson described in that post a few pages back. But this has me excited about the future of our team for the first time in four years. This also would be highly disappointing if it turns out to be nothing more than a courtesy chat.
LikedSkeeter, ditto. In his own way, this guy has just as big a personality as Pearl -- without the sleaze and without the sweat.
Bama has a pretty controlling coach in football and it has worked out pretty damn good!That's not just the bright side, but it's factual. A controlling type of head coach usually plays better in the college game
Yep, recruiting...truly top-level recruiting...is more important than Xs and Os acumen in basketball. Players will win more games than coaches in basketball. It is a sport about flow and few strategic stops unlike football where your team can mostly regroup between each 5-6 seconds of action. A coach's fingerprint is on almost every single play in a football game...in basketball, they can call a set but if the action is defended then it is up to the players to make something happen on their own ball skills.One tweet summarizes my feelings: "Look I have no idea if Avery Johnson is a good college coach but I'm willing to find out."
About recruiting - not only does he have an NBA resume including a championship as a player, finals appearance as a coach, NBA coach of the year award, and plenty of connections, his son also recently went through the process. If he surrounds himself with veteran college coaches and perhaps even consults with Saban, I think his recruiting potential dwarfs that of Prohm and Pitino. Maybe even Marshall. And in CBB, recruiting is king.
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I agree recruiting is the lifeblood of any top program, but would anyone here think Anthony Grant would have Kentucky where John Calipari has Kentucky all things being equal? Not me!Yep, recruiting...truly top-level recruiting...is more important than Xs and Os acumen in basketball. Players will win more games than coaches in basketball. It is a sport about flow and few strategic stops unlike football where your team can mostly regroup between each 5-6 seconds of action. A coach's fingerprint is on almost every single play in a football game...in basketball, they can call a set but if the action is defended then it is up to the players to make something happen on their own ball skills.
I'd rather take a chance that the NBA grind has made him aware of things at a high enough level that his Xs and Os are not a liability against other college coaches but bet on his pedigree to land big name players who see his tutelage as a pathway to the NBA. Avery Johnson has played high-stakes basketball and coached it too...this guy isn't some chump. Recruiting is a selling point but it isn't like this guy doesn't know how to draw up a set or two.
I don't know but if you gave Grant John Wall, Demarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe, and Patrick Patterson, he would probably do okay. I have a hard time seeing Prohm convincing that kind of player to come to Bama. AJ might not either, but I could see him doing it.I agree recruiting is the lifeblood of any top program, but would anyone here think Anthony Grant would have Kentucky where John Calipari has Kentucky all things being equal? Not me!