Iffff we were to look for a coach who would be realistic targets?

Michigan Basketball
1475

Multiple posters have answered your question in a number of different ways. Just because you don’t like the answer, doesn’t mean you have to keep asking the same question.

We get it - you don’t like Shaka. Move along. Many here have come around on him as we dive deeper into the analysis. You don’t have to like him. Just because others do, doesn’t mean you need to rant and rave about it.

Let’s face it - all of the candidates have serious flaws and it will be difficult for Warde to sort it out and determine who gives the program the best chance for success moving forward. We just have to sit back and see what happens and support whoever gets the job.

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1476

Wow! I agree with mgl! Take it to the message platform!

1477

Yeah @Inmycourt, you have made your point clear. No need to pollute the thread with the same thing over and over and over.

1478

He can have eyes on the NBA. If he sustains where we are at for the next 3-5 years (which he will need to in order to be a legit NBA candidate) then bolts then that gives us much more data on realistic replacements. Just imagine how much more we would know about Yak, LaVall, Saddi, Shaka would still be in his 40’s, could P. Beilein be a candidate, etc.

I get a strong Izzo-like connection from Yaklich. Say he stays in the program/with Howard, if/when Howard moves on we could easily promote him and I could see a run out of him like what Izzo has had. Still don’t think we can roll the dice on that now but in a few more years within the program? Sure!

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1479

Well if bad timing isn’t to blame for the absurdly short list of candidates, what is? I mean, the only publicly mentioned names without Michigan ties are Shaka Smart, Porter Moser and Ed Cooley. That is a terrible list for a program like Michigan.

To me that means either Warde isn’t being aggressive enough, they are being cheap, or they simply keeping the field too narrow because they are set on hiring someone with Michigan ties. I am not sure which of those scenarios is more depressing.

1480

Not to continue this argument, but here’s my take on Shaka, phrased, I think, in a way I don’t recall having seen it phrased on here.

I don’t think we are making a fair comparison when we compare a 42 year old Shaka Smart with a 54 year old John Beilein (his age when we hired him). At 42, even though he has already been a successful head coach at a mid major and a somewhat less than successful, at least by Michigan standards, coach at a high major, Shaka really is quite young in the coaching profession. He is still growing, and evolving, and learning.

I do know that realizes knows he needs to continue to grow. He’s taken steps to do that with some of the people he has put around him. He is a very smart (no pun intended!) young man, and he will learn, he will grow. Of that I am confident.

Now, there may be some Michigan fans who are not interested in hiring a young man who is still growing and evolving to be our coach at Michigan. They want the finished product. But guess what, the finished product is not out there, and if he were, we’re not getting him. John Beilein, himself, continues to grow and evolve, he continues to learn, to adapt, and to change where necessary.

I think Shaka Smart can do that, too. I think he can evolve, learn, grow, adapt, change when necessary, and become a better coach tomorrow and tomorrow’s tomorrow, than he is today. If he becomes our coach, you can be sure I will give him that chance. I will be there supporting him. I hope others will, too.

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1481

As I said above, some of you are expecting Michigan to spend on its basketball coach like it is football. There’s literally nothing that has happened over the last few decades that should make you think like that. Take the candidates that would need 6-7 mil off the table IMO.

Beyond that, where are you suggesting that Michigan expand its list? I’m open for ideas but frankly it is just hard to find a lot of great fits IMO.

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1482
1483

So to me that means they are just being cheap which is a terrible look for the administration. Michigan has as much if not more money available than any other program in the country. If they want to limit themselves because of some antiquated and frankly stupid belief that they are a “football school” and that means we can’t prioritize both programs then we are screwed and have only ourselves to blame. .

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1484

Multiple posters have tried to answer the question, in ways that are inadequate, and some have dodged it.

And no, you don’t “get it”. There’s nothing about “like” or “dislike” here. I look at his record as a major college coach, given four years and coming into a program that was already in decent shape, and it is objectively unimpressive, certainly below the standards we should be setting. I’m still waiting for someone to justify him as a hire, based on something other than “his luck is bound to change” or “he’ll probably get better”.

Is the Texas BB fan base in a meltdown panic over possibly losing Smart? Are they advocating that the Texas AD do whatever it takes to keep him? Funny how that’s not being discussed.

1485

Here’s the problem. Suggest any coach that Michigan could get for $6-7M that would be worth it. Just my opinion, but Michigan would be very willing to pay that for any of the top coaches. Instead we’re looking at giving big raises and paying big buyouts for promising, but unproven coaches. No other school would shell out $6-7M for those candidates either.

If we look at the top names that have been mentioned; Stevens, Wright, Donovan, Beard, Bennett, there’s no reason to think they would come for that kind of price. It’s possible, even likely, that Warde started his search with some of them.

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1486

Are you somehow under the impression that if you just say something often enough and loud enough it will change people’s minds? No one is listening any more.

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1487

You only mentioned 5 names. I have no idea what established coaches would come here for $6-7 million, but I have to think its a list far greater than Shaka Smart, Val Jordan and Ed Cooley. And frankly, that is not my job to identify those candidates. Its Warde Manuel’s job. If he is not going to do that job because of money concerns than that is an abject failure at a school with the resources of Michigan. ,

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1488

Rick Pitino was close to signing. He would have commanded a salary close to Carr’s.

Michigan has only really being willing to spend on football with Harbaugh. Even though RR got a decent contract, they were very stingy with his assistants pay and made him go through a bad PR buyout fight trying to save money.

The year before hiring Harbaugh there seemed to be a concession that Michigan needed to loosen the purse strings to compete. That’s when Doug Nussmeier was paid far more than any assistant coach here ever had been. I think that’s the attitude we’ll see moving forward, not a return to the old days when Michigan thought they should win because they were Michigan and paying top dollar was beneath us.

1489

Totally agree with you on that one. 2 factors stick out to me in this search, Timing and Money. Coach Beilein put this program back on the map. But it didn’t start that way, his first couple of years were rough to watch. He was still running the 1-3-1 defense and his offense was all 3 point based. It took time to get the recruits that fit his system and bring a winning mentality back to Michigan. Coach Beilein left the program in great shape. Some things that people dont look at is the other things he did, no practice facilities, becoming a Jordan brand team. These things all factored into the overall success the last couple of years. Whoever Michigan decides to get will have huge shoes to fill, but they need to come and make the program their on.

1490

Only two college coaches make over $5M/year. Beilein was in the top ten at less than $4M. So yes, Michigan can get an established coach for $6-7M. But if you’re looking for coaches that are near the top of the profession and merit that kind of salary, it’s a short list of names. You could add Mark Few. Everyone else, established coach or no, is going to have some kind of shortcomings that we could pick apart. Many will just be a bad fit for Michigan anyway.

There’s a difference between being cheap and not willing to pay far more than anyone else would for the same coach. If you look at other recent coaching searches, UCLA, UConn, OSU, nobody has paid over $4M/year.

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1491

People are so whiny around here since Beilein left. Whenever this wraps up, there is no way everyone is going to be happy. People are bitching about things that they know nothing about. Nobody is privy to who Warde and the search firm have vetted and reached out to. If coaches give them a quick no, why would we ever even hear about it? So what’s the sense in complaining about something you don’t know about?

The college basketball landscape has changed a lot in recent years and people are comfortable staying where they are because they are paid a lot of money. Also a lot of logical popular names already took other jobs recently (Mack, Cronin, Holtmann, Miller, Hoiberg) or have gotten pay raises (Beard). I’m just not sure there is a candidate who fits what you’re looking for.

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1492

Call it “whiny” if that makes you feel better, but acknowledge the fact that our current situation is probably worse that anyone could have imagined a couple of months ago. We were looking at the possibility of getting everyone back except Matthews, and adding Wilson and Bajema, which would certainly have been a top 10 level team. As it turned out, we lost Poole AND Brazdeikas, and the best coach the program has ever had, and a highly rated and signed recruit, with replacements for any of them looking very up in the air right now,

Are you surprised that people are unhappy?

1493

There is a difference between being unhappy versus whining about things that you can’t change. There is a lot of uncertainty around the future of the program, but we won’t know for a few years the direction that it is headed so no sense prematurely panicking.

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1494

Lol, this has been a fun thread the last few days!

It seems like it’s down to Howard, Smart, and Lavall and/or our current assistants.

Frankly, given the high risk in all candidates I say we just promote Yak :wink: He’s never run a college program, and was last a head coach at the high school level. But, he learned from the best the past two years, seems to have unique talent (and as a high school coach myself I tend to inflate his abilities…) Let him find a younger, offensive minded assistant to help.

Otherwise, it’s looking more and more like Smart or Howard. Smart at least gives us a clearly defined floor that doesn’t suck and elite recruiting. I’m no fan of his X’s and O’s, but as everyone is pointing out–our options are limited–and none will meet our unreasonably high expectations. We just have to strap in for the ride folks.

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