Multiple media outlets reported Darrin Horn was in town today interviewing for Xavier's head coaching position. Again I think Darrin would be a great choice but I remain excited about Chris Mack as well.
I also have read that Doug Wojick (head coach at Tulsa) may be getting an interview. Gary Waters from Cleveland State is another name that keeps surfacing from guys like Jeff Goodman from FoxSports. I am not that big of fan of Wojick but I wouldn't mind Waters.
Whoever is ultimately hired will be stepping into a nice situation and to a job that is going to pay them well. Basketball is king at Xavier. The players, staff, and administration are supported accordingly. Bobinski will not speak on any candidates other than internal ones. I imagine he will interview another person tomorrow and make a decision sometime this weekend and an offer will be made to whom he decides is the best fit.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Some Other Names
The interest in the Xavier position is generating quite the internet 'buzz'. There are a couple of other names I heard today that I thought I would share my thoughts on.
KEITH DAMBROT (Akron Head Coach): Believe it or not this guy would bring a hell of a lot of street cred to our program. Far better than anything Book Richardson could accomplish. When your tight with Lebron James young ball players will listen to what you have to say. I have read that he has a 'Bob Huggins type of personality' which may not be an ideal fit for Xavier's administration.
JIM CHRISTIAN (Texas Christian Coach): He built up Kent State to a sustained level over a good period of time before taking the TCU gig. He hasn't been there long and has strong midwest ties. The ceiling for basketball success is quite a bit higher here on Victory Parkway over Fort Worth, TX.
TIM BUCKLEY (Assistant Coach at Indiana): A news station out of Louisville is reporting Tim has an interview lined up later this week. Two years ago he was asked to leave Ball State after an average five year run there. Last season he was at IU and the year before he was at Iowa. My hope is we can do better than this guy but in Bobo I trust.
RON EVERHART (Duquesne Head Coach): This one is getting a lot of play over on the A10 forum. The Dukes are scared as hell we will come calling. In my mind Everhart has been a program builder everywhere he has gone. First he turned around McNeese State, then Northeastern, and now Duquesne. I don't really see Xavier as a program that needs to be 'rebuilt'. You never know, but I just think this is internet jibberish.
BOB KNIGHT (Legend): No 'effin way!
As I type this Sean is having a press conference in Tuscon. If anybody sees the footage tell me his family looks happy to be there because from what I have seen they don't seem too damn happy. Also the state of Arizona does not approve seven year contracts, the max the state will allow is five. Further there will be no chartered flights for PAC 10 games, they view that as a competetive advantage. On top of that the board of regents in Arizona are mad as hell they have to pay a $2 million dollar buyout to Xavier. Sean I hope you aren't real close to the AD there (Jim Livengood) because his arse is about to be run out of town. After the twenty five year streak of consecutive NCAA tournament runs is over for the Wildcats next year I think you will find the 'heat' from the fanbase light years away from anything you felt here. Also the facilites in Tuscon are second rate and Arizona is strapped for cash. I wonder what your impressions were of them today as you seen them for the first time. My point? You shouldn't be feeling 'giddy' about this gig outside of the cash.
KEITH DAMBROT (Akron Head Coach): Believe it or not this guy would bring a hell of a lot of street cred to our program. Far better than anything Book Richardson could accomplish. When your tight with Lebron James young ball players will listen to what you have to say. I have read that he has a 'Bob Huggins type of personality' which may not be an ideal fit for Xavier's administration.
JIM CHRISTIAN (Texas Christian Coach): He built up Kent State to a sustained level over a good period of time before taking the TCU gig. He hasn't been there long and has strong midwest ties. The ceiling for basketball success is quite a bit higher here on Victory Parkway over Fort Worth, TX.
TIM BUCKLEY (Assistant Coach at Indiana): A news station out of Louisville is reporting Tim has an interview lined up later this week. Two years ago he was asked to leave Ball State after an average five year run there. Last season he was at IU and the year before he was at Iowa. My hope is we can do better than this guy but in Bobo I trust.
RON EVERHART (Duquesne Head Coach): This one is getting a lot of play over on the A10 forum. The Dukes are scared as hell we will come calling. In my mind Everhart has been a program builder everywhere he has gone. First he turned around McNeese State, then Northeastern, and now Duquesne. I don't really see Xavier as a program that needs to be 'rebuilt'. You never know, but I just think this is internet jibberish.
BOB KNIGHT (Legend): No 'effin way!
As I type this Sean is having a press conference in Tuscon. If anybody sees the footage tell me his family looks happy to be there because from what I have seen they don't seem too damn happy. Also the state of Arizona does not approve seven year contracts, the max the state will allow is five. Further there will be no chartered flights for PAC 10 games, they view that as a competetive advantage. On top of that the board of regents in Arizona are mad as hell they have to pay a $2 million dollar buyout to Xavier. Sean I hope you aren't real close to the AD there (Jim Livengood) because his arse is about to be run out of town. After the twenty five year streak of consecutive NCAA tournament runs is over for the Wildcats next year I think you will find the 'heat' from the fanbase light years away from anything you felt here. Also the facilites in Tuscon are second rate and Arizona is strapped for cash. I wonder what your impressions were of them today as you seen them for the first time. My point? You shouldn't be feeling 'giddy' about this gig outside of the cash.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Next Coach?
Who should the next coach be? This decision will be made by Mike Bobinski here the next several days and it wouldn't suprise me if we have another coach in place by this weekend. Who are the candidates?
CHRIS MACK (current Xavier assistant): this hire would certainly be welcomed by many in 'Xavier Nation' including the current players. There is no question our roster turnover would be minimized by hiring Chris. He is also a 'Xavier guy' who graduated from the school in the nineties and is a native Cincinnatian. He may be inclined to make X his lifetime job. The question would be is he ready?
FRAN MCCAFFERY (Siena Head Coach): Fran was in play when Skip Prosser left. Back then he was the coach at UNC-Greensboro. His Saints squad destroyed Vanderbilt in the NCAA tournament two years ago. He also beat Thad Matta's OSU squad in this years NCAA first round. He has been a program builder everywhere he is gone. Questions I would have for Fran would be how long would he stay? Of course that seems to be the question with every Xavier coach but in Fran's case Notre Dame is said to be his dream job. Mike Brey is lucky Charlie Weis is around to take some heat off his seat currently in South Bend.
BRAD STEVENS (Butler Head Coach): He is a fast rising young (32) star in the coaching ranks. He has been at Butler since 2000 and he just signed a contract extension. We know how much those mean to coaches these days. I like his approach on the sidelines and he seems to be solid on the X's and O's. Another plus with Brad is that he plenty of recruiting connections right here in the midwest. I would say he is a 'longshot' to get away from the Bulldogs. A couple more years in Indianapolis like his first two and programs at the highest levels will come calling.
JEFF BATTLE (Wake Forest assistant): Jeff knows Xavier as he was an assistant here during the Skip Prosser years. He is a fabulous recruiter and I will always remember he is the guy that turned Skip onto Mr. David West. His reputation as a recruiter has not been sullied during his time in the ACC. Reportedly he was considered before Sean was hired but his wife had grievous health concerns at that time. The only down side is Skip and that coaching tree has never won much in the NCAA tournament. I don't think most people realize Skip only won one NCAA tournament game in his seven years at X.
BRAD BROWNELL (Wright State Head Coach): Brad was white hot during 'carousel season' last year. A sub par year at WSU cooled him a bit this year. However he is another coach who has several intangibles that would make him attractive to X.
JOHN GROCE (Ohio University Head Coach): John is in his first year at Ohio U. after serving under Thad Matta all the way back to Thad's Butler days. He was not overly successful his first year with the Bobcats, but Miller wasn't overly impressive his first year with X either. Also John is bringing high level recruits to Athens already. He conceivably could bring along a few of those guys if he comes.
MARK SCHMIDT(St. Bonaventure Head Coach): I think 'Schmitty' is a dark horse candidate after being away from campus for 10 years. He left when Skip went to become Wake's head coach. He served 8 years at Robert Morris in a rebuilding project and he has been in Olean only two.
MIKE RICE (Robert Morris Head Coach): This guy deserves a loooonnnnggg look. He was an assistant at Pitt under Jamie Dixon and has done very well with the Colonials the last two seasons. He is an intense, fiery competitor (sound familiar) whose teams are built on defense.
Certainly there are others out there and I heard Jerry Wrainwright from DePaul has called to express interest. I say NFW to that guy and if Bobo hires him he truly is tired of the coaching carousel because that jokester (JW) is past his prime. My preference would be for our new coach to be more defensive minded versus offense because I think defense produces wins in March. I am excited to see what the future of X basketball holds. As always it has been about the program on Victory Parkway and I am sure several guys in the coaching ranks are excited about the opportunity to coach it.
CHRIS MACK (current Xavier assistant): this hire would certainly be welcomed by many in 'Xavier Nation' including the current players. There is no question our roster turnover would be minimized by hiring Chris. He is also a 'Xavier guy' who graduated from the school in the nineties and is a native Cincinnatian. He may be inclined to make X his lifetime job. The question would be is he ready?
FRAN MCCAFFERY (Siena Head Coach): Fran was in play when Skip Prosser left. Back then he was the coach at UNC-Greensboro. His Saints squad destroyed Vanderbilt in the NCAA tournament two years ago. He also beat Thad Matta's OSU squad in this years NCAA first round. He has been a program builder everywhere he is gone. Questions I would have for Fran would be how long would he stay? Of course that seems to be the question with every Xavier coach but in Fran's case Notre Dame is said to be his dream job. Mike Brey is lucky Charlie Weis is around to take some heat off his seat currently in South Bend.
BRAD STEVENS (Butler Head Coach): He is a fast rising young (32) star in the coaching ranks. He has been at Butler since 2000 and he just signed a contract extension. We know how much those mean to coaches these days. I like his approach on the sidelines and he seems to be solid on the X's and O's. Another plus with Brad is that he plenty of recruiting connections right here in the midwest. I would say he is a 'longshot' to get away from the Bulldogs. A couple more years in Indianapolis like his first two and programs at the highest levels will come calling.
JEFF BATTLE (Wake Forest assistant): Jeff knows Xavier as he was an assistant here during the Skip Prosser years. He is a fabulous recruiter and I will always remember he is the guy that turned Skip onto Mr. David West. His reputation as a recruiter has not been sullied during his time in the ACC. Reportedly he was considered before Sean was hired but his wife had grievous health concerns at that time. The only down side is Skip and that coaching tree has never won much in the NCAA tournament. I don't think most people realize Skip only won one NCAA tournament game in his seven years at X.
BRAD BROWNELL (Wright State Head Coach): Brad was white hot during 'carousel season' last year. A sub par year at WSU cooled him a bit this year. However he is another coach who has several intangibles that would make him attractive to X.
JOHN GROCE (Ohio University Head Coach): John is in his first year at Ohio U. after serving under Thad Matta all the way back to Thad's Butler days. He was not overly successful his first year with the Bobcats, but Miller wasn't overly impressive his first year with X either. Also John is bringing high level recruits to Athens already. He conceivably could bring along a few of those guys if he comes.
MARK SCHMIDT(St. Bonaventure Head Coach): I think 'Schmitty' is a dark horse candidate after being away from campus for 10 years. He left when Skip went to become Wake's head coach. He served 8 years at Robert Morris in a rebuilding project and he has been in Olean only two.
MIKE RICE (Robert Morris Head Coach): This guy deserves a loooonnnnggg look. He was an assistant at Pitt under Jamie Dixon and has done very well with the Colonials the last two seasons. He is an intense, fiery competitor (sound familiar) whose teams are built on defense.
Certainly there are others out there and I heard Jerry Wrainwright from DePaul has called to express interest. I say NFW to that guy and if Bobo hires him he truly is tired of the coaching carousel because that jokester (JW) is past his prime. My preference would be for our new coach to be more defensive minded versus offense because I think defense produces wins in March. I am excited to see what the future of X basketball holds. As always it has been about the program on Victory Parkway and I am sure several guys in the coaching ranks are excited about the opportunity to coach it.
Thanks Sean
Earlier today I thought this post would be 'thanks' for staying and turning down Arizona. Now it is 'thanks' for the great job you have done the last five years with the Xavier program. Many of us loyal fans are hurting with the news you are indeed leaving for Tuscon. Sincere best of luck resurrecting the program for the Wildcats. You are one of the top 10 college basketball coaches in the country in my opinion and now you are certainly paid like it. Of course this has happened to me before and I knew you wouldn't stay forever. As a matter of fact this morning I thought 'great he turned down Arizona, could UCONN be calling next?'.
Again many 'thanks' and the only thing disappointing to me is how our current players were handled during this whole situation. I am sure that is not how you envisioned that going down. Ten minutes before a press conference -and why in the hell did we do a press conference anyway? - is not the way they should have been told. However things seemed to be happening very fast today and again the point of this post is to say 'thanks'. I hope you and your family nothing but the best. Good luck in the PAC 10.
Again many 'thanks' and the only thing disappointing to me is how our current players were handled during this whole situation. I am sure that is not how you envisioned that going down. Ten minutes before a press conference -and why in the hell did we do a press conference anyway? - is not the way they should have been told. However things seemed to be happening very fast today and again the point of this post is to say 'thanks'. I hope you and your family nothing but the best. Good luck in the PAC 10.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Famous Visit/Other Updates
Jarrid Famous is set to visit Xavier on the weekend of April 10th. Adam Zagoria has reported this is in his blog. Famous has already visited Seton Hall, Missouri, and most recently South Florida. He has also 'unofficially' visited UCONN, St. John's, and Villanova. Famous is quoted in zagsblog as saying he will make his decision after the X visit.
NONCONFERENCE SCHEDULE 09-10 SEASON:
This is what we know so far about next year's nonconference schedule:
HOME-
Louisiana State
Cleveland State
Miami (OH)
Kent State
Cincinnati
NEUTRAL-
Old Spice Classic at the Milk House in Disney (Florida State, Marquette, Alabama, Iona, Michigan, Creighton, & Butler)
AWAY-
Kansas State
Butler
Wake Forest
I would imagine you will see a couple more 'guarantee' games added to the home schedule. Also there is a hot rumor that we are working on a series with Billy Donovan's Florida Gators. Big time baby, big time.
RAYMOND NAMED TO NABC ALL STAR TEAM:
BJ Raymond will play in the annual NABC all star game before final four weekend this year. The game will be played this Friday at 4:30 and be televised on CBS College Sports (Time Warner Ch. 176). Bruce Weber will coach his team with Matt Painter assisting.
NONCONFERENCE SCHEDULE 09-10 SEASON:
This is what we know so far about next year's nonconference schedule:
HOME-
Louisiana State
Cleveland State
Miami (OH)
Kent State
Cincinnati
NEUTRAL-
Old Spice Classic at the Milk House in Disney (Florida State, Marquette, Alabama, Iona, Michigan, Creighton, & Butler)
AWAY-
Kansas State
Butler
Wake Forest
I would imagine you will see a couple more 'guarantee' games added to the home schedule. Also there is a hot rumor that we are working on a series with Billy Donovan's Florida Gators. Big time baby, big time.
RAYMOND NAMED TO NABC ALL STAR TEAM:
BJ Raymond will play in the annual NABC all star game before final four weekend this year. The game will be played this Friday at 4:30 and be televised on CBS College Sports (Time Warner Ch. 176). Bruce Weber will coach his team with Matt Painter assisting.
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