It would be interesting to see a list of available coaches vs schools looking for coaches. I'm only aware of UCLA at the moment and LSU is more than likely already looking for their next coach. Unless there is a surprise departure I'm not aware of any top notch openings at the moment other than UCLA. The LSU dumpster fire will probably hamper their efforts to get a top notch coach and their probably going to have to go after the up-and-coming mid-major coach.
CECIL HURT: Sooner or later, things have to change for Alabama basketball
- Thread starter dayhiker
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Heard from a few different people the money for the buyout isn’t there. I just don’t get it.
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Perhaps we're rolling the dice to see if he makes a move so we don't have to pay the buyout?
Well this just proves where basketball stands with the people that can make a change. If this was football the buyout would be pocket change. Dont get me wrong I would certainly agree with paying the buyout in football if the program were down like basketball is but there is absolutely no excuse for Bama basketball to keep being just average year after year after year and it be accepted.
I’ve come to the conclusion that the state of our men’s basketball program is a business decision. Can’t get slapped on the wrist in men’s basketball by the NCAA as a setup to blast your football program if you run an impotent basketball program. And frankly, men’s basketball recruiting is a landmine of violations so I can’t blame that calculus.
I don't think that's it at all and I think the last 3 hires were all good hires at the time. Gottfried and Grant were both hot names that a lot of schools wanted. Both wound up being disappointments for different reasons. CAJ was a hot name in a sense, given his NBA resume, but definitely more of a gamble that has not paid off. We did waste too much time on Marshall but I still give the AD kudos for making the effort even though it should have been handled differently. Where we've really failed over the past 20 years is not keeping our facilities up-to-date and not promoting the program enough. We had the money but not the foresight. We were so blinded by the success of the football program that no one is thinking beyond the current time. Going back in time, we really screwed up by not naming Hobbs interim coach only, letting him coach 1 season, and then having a full-on search for the best basketball coach we could possibly get. We could have attracted a top-notch coach had we made the effort. I did not like him as an assistant coach and didn't have a good feeling about hiring him to replace Wimp. Not only did he run the program in the ground but we gave him WAY too long to do it.
Yes on all things... I would add that waiting until 2022 to begin renovations (Likely not complete until the 2024 season at best) is basically like giving this program a slow death. The suggestion by Byrne that we would likely play in a temporary gym while renovations were taking place is really a pretty good finishing touch to that death though.
I just really feel like if Avery is allowed to stay and coach next season. Then we as posters on this board will be having this same discussion this time next year.
If it is true they don't care about the basketball program.....just put it down like you would a horse with a broken leg.
I don't think it's a case of not caring. I think it's a case of not investing in something that, since 1990, has not proven its worth with the investments we have made.
It's also a realization that we're not going to be able to fundraise for hoops on the level that other programs do AND that football isn't spinning off enough extra cash (i.e. over and above what has already been expected and committed) to pay for hoops experiments in coaching, facilities, etc.
We went the successful mid-major coaching route with Grant. We went the big-time program assistant and successful mid-major and alum route with Gottfried. We went the NBA route with Avery. Which route do we now go? The way most contracts work now (rolling over year to year), buyouts on both sides are prohibitive in most situations to go out and pull a big name from somewhere else. A&M will probably do it. KY can do it. We can't and won't (I don't think)... Unless one of you deep pocket folks ponies up $20MM to get it done
I think that you need to stick with CAJ, but he needs to bring in better assistants and change his approach. He needs to learn to play everyone, and he needs to teach fundamentals. The NBA approach is not going to work. CAJ's teams are not even prepared to beat traps or inbound the ball under pressure. These are very basic fundamentals. CAJ assumes that his players have these skills because he comes from the NBA, where they have already been developed.I don't think it's a case of not caring. I think it's a case of not investing in something that, since 1990, has not proven its worth with the investments we have made.
It's also a realization that we're not going to be able to fundraise for hoops on the level that other programs do AND that football isn't spinning off enough extra cash (i.e. over and above what has already been expected and committed) to pay for hoops experiments in coaching, facilities, etc.
We went the successful mid-major coaching route with Grant. We went the big-time program assistant and successful mid-major and alum route with Gottfried. We went the NBA route with Avery. Which route do we now go? The way most contracts work now (rolling over year to year), buyouts on both sides are prohibitive in most situations to go out and pull a big name from somewhere else. A&M will probably do it. KY can do it. We can't and won't (I don't think)... Unless one of you deep pocket folks ponies up $20MM to get it done
CAJ is a great recruiter, but he needs help coaching fundamentals.
This alone is a reason to scrap the plan. Building a new arena allows Bama to use Coleman, as it is, to at least not have to play games off campus for a year or two.
What recruits are going to want to have to play their home games in B'ham while Coleman gets a remake?
EDIT: This might work if we are winning 25 games a year and making the dance and competing for SEC titles, but it'll be death to what seems a sick program right now.
I really and truly don't understand why we aren't building purpose built basketball arena for the men and women teams. Give the relatively recently renovated Foster Auditorium to some of the non-revenue indoor sports that can be hosted in it and do a slight renovation to Coleman to help it better serve any of the remaining non-revenue indoor sports.
I agree with everything that you said, except for “He needs to learn to play everyone”
That’s one of his big issues. He substitutes way too often, and the players can never get in a real rhythm on the floor.
If CAJ is staying there are a few major changes that I would like to see.
1.) A larger focus on developing mental toughness (this can be done through your S&C program)
2.) Stronger player accountability from the coaching staff. (I feel like the coaches are just the players friends)
3.) Stronger focus on player development and fundamentals (guys, we can’t even run a 3 on 2 fast break)
4.) Go into the season with an identity. (What type of team are we going to be? We had zero identity this season)
I could go on and on, but my post is too long already.
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This triggered a thought. One of the problems with Mike Shula's tenure at Alabama was trying to coach as if the players were NFL players, in large part because that was his experience. Could Avery Johnson have an analogous problem? (I don't follow basketball, especially the NBA, to have an opinion there.) That by itself doesn't mean he has to go, if he can make changes. My understanding what led directly to Shula's firing was a refusal to change.
I admit that I have sentimental reasons for hoping Avery succeeds. I was in San Antonio when he was an incredible fan favorite with the Spurs.
Really only one thing to do, if you follow B1G's guidance for on-the-job learning [not teaching!] by Avery, and the interregnum between now and the Coleman lipsticking-a-pig facelift: 'Bama hoops needs to apply to the SEC for a leave of absence, with special dispensation to join the Sun Belt Conference (basketball-only) for the next four years...
Avery's current assistant coaches could go to agricultural co-op programs in the Gulf South Conference as more attuned to their own level of basketball learning, meaning a peach baskets meme for at least one of them...
Avery's current assistant coaches could go to agricultural co-op programs in the Gulf South Conference as more attuned to their own level of basketball learning, meaning a peach baskets meme for at least one of them...
Well said. Basketball needs it’s version of the 4th qtr program. Also agree with bringing in coaches who will make practice tough and productive.
If Alabama was serious about basketball then Pearl would be here and not Auburn. Alabama basketball is just a tax write off. I honestly think Bama is actually more behind softball and golf than basketball for spring sports, and if Bohannan continues to improve baseball then baseball will also overtake them.
People keep mentioning Pearl, but Pearl was NEVER a realistic option for us. 1) He was hired at Auburn the year before we made a change. 2) Even if we would have made a change Pearl was still under show cause when the barn hired him. There was no way in Haitis that we were going to hire someone that the NCAA was going to be keeping a close eye on.
This is also just my opinion and an educated guess, but I think Pearl, very well, could be the next coach at UCLA.
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This is also just my opinion and an educated guess, but I think Pearl, very well, could be the next coach at UCLA.
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