Solid Replacements

[Duke Blue Blood]

Here are my four replacements. These guys are all realistic possibilities and none of them are a shot in hell kind of list.

SIU - Matt Painter
Western Michigan - Steve Hawkins
Kent. St. - Jim Christian
Utah State - Stew Morrill

Not sure we can even get them!

DBB

[PonyTales]

OK, assuming we aren't going to talk John Wooden or Dean Smith out of retirement, there's this to consider:

Would we be better off going after a mid-level head coach, or an assistant from a top program? A mid-major head coach doesn't necessarily have D-I experience, and a top-level assistant doesn't necessarily have head coaching experience. Which is more valuable?

[CA Mustang]

SIU - Matt Painter
Western Michigan - Steve Hawkins
Kent. St. - Jim Christian
Utah State - Stew Morrill

Interesting list. In this week's issue, SI talked positively about Painter.

The only name I'd question is Morrill. I believe he left CSU to take the USU job for personal reasons. Because of that, I'd be surprised he would be interested in coming to Dallas.

[PonySnob]

Hard to say what is the way to go. In football, we once hired a Div 1-AA coach, who could not get things done at the Div 1 level. After we fired him, a Div 1 assistant was hired and so far, it looks like he can't be a head coach in Div 1 either. Maybe basketball is different?

[Peruna_Ate_My_Rolex]

I don't think Morrill will be available. From what I understand, he's the top choice to replace Majerus at Utah. Being that he's coached in that part of the country for so long, I doubt he'd even want to venture out East, so to speak.

[Duke Blue Blood]

These are all D-1 schools in basketball.

DBB

[Waz]

In hoops D-I is D-I. In football the number of scholarships dictate D-I or D-I AA. It doesn't have anything to do with size, just commitment: See Villanova

[DiamondM]

DBB,

We hired a up and coming head coach from a mid-level program with a couple of good years in a mid level conference last time. I like Mike Dement personally, and don't think it was a particularly bad hire except in retrospect with the benefit of hindsight.

However, we either need to make a big splash with a "name" assistant from a perennial winning program or we need to go with Jimmy Tubbs. Just hiring one of a handful of promising head coaches on the "hot list" but with no real name recognition (either the person or the school) will not help this program as quickly as we need to. If you can't get a Sean Sutton or similar (or perhaps even if we can), then we HAVE to go with someone who knows SMU, knows Dallas, even knows the kids on the current roster. We have to go with someone that will energize both the alums and/or the greater Dallas community -- and that is either a big name or Tubbs (though they might be energizing different segments of the greater Dallas community -- the alums and the Park Cities ilk may prefer a "name" brand and the places from where we should be consistently recruiting may prefer Tubbs).

[Duke Blue Blood]

Sutton appears to be a logical choice, with his recruiting. He will most likely have a clause in his contract that if OSU comes knocking, then he can leave.

DBB

[LA_Mustang]

We either have to get someone who can come in here and demand that things are changed (JUCOs, recruiting, improving facilities, ect.), i.e. a "name" coach, or as Diamond M said, someone who knows and can recruit Dallas, i.e. Jummy Tubbs.

BTW, the four coaches DBB listed are not only from D-1 schools but they are all about to do something SMU hasnt in 11 years, go to the NCAA tourney.

[Duke Blue Blood]

Just so everyone knows, Sutton (Jr. ) is in charge of Texas recruiting.
Looks like they have two on the roster.

DBB

[Dooby]

Just so everyone knows, Sutton (Jr. ) is in charge of Texas recruiting.
Looks like they have two on the roster.

DBB

To be fair, both texans on the roster are transfers.