Topper wrote:As of this a.m. it looks like Lanier is the most likely new HC. Can anyone put his less than impressive won/loss record into perspective? It looks like he is being judged mostly on his assistant coaching credentials. Of course we may be in a new world and NIL may have much more to do with future success than whoever is calling timeouts and coaching on the floor.
Siena was a long time ago, and he said he didn't have the experience at the time to handle it. That last year was terrible.
The alumni at Tenn loved him. He gets massive support from Barnes. He was second in command there. While I wouldn't overexaggerate his recruiting history, I wouldn't disregard it either. He has fantastic relationships in Texas, and while people focus on the blue chips he was involved in, he also was very involved in identifying and recruiting high end 3 star players who ended up being stars at Tenn, and that is exactly what we need to recruit be successful at SMU - bring in the Shake, Brown, and Moores of the world and sprinkle transfers on top. The fact that he is already connected to some key transfers for next year is a really good sign. Our path to the top 25 is getting Alex, Todo, Phelps, and Smith on board and then adding high-end transfers like the Louisville kid on top of it. I think that matches his recruiting philosophy, while we will also swing for the fences with the big recruits out of high school as well.
I don't think it is a home run, and I am a little meh on it, but I completely see why SMU made the move, and the fact that the industry experts really like the hire is improving my outloook.