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Who Is Our Next Basketball Coach?

FreeStateDeac said:
Yeah, Kentucky sure couldn't attract any "big name" coaches after how they treated Gillispie!!!

Those big name coaches in the "coaching frat" sure want nothing to do w/ an AD who has a quick trigger finger against one of their frat brothers.
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Kentucky? You're comparing our basketball program that has been reduced to rubble by Wellman and Bz to fucking Kentucky?!? Are you fucking kidding me?
 
Les Grossman said:
I dont believe any of this. Coaches know it's a matter of when, not if, you get fired in this business. Plus, they all have big enough egos to think they'll never get fired.

Not to mention, coaching at Wake isnt exactly synonymous with high stress. This isnt Kentucky or UNC we're talking about where national championships and final fours are expected. Heck, any coach that would take us to a final four at this point would probably have a job for life.

Any coach that would be "scared" to take this job because Dino got fired probably doesnt have the chops to hack it anyway.
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I agree with all of this and agree that Wellman's presence likely would not prevent or even deter a candidate from considering WF. However, I think his purported reason for firing Dino after only 2 seasons--Dino's refusal to change his recruiting focus and management style of his players--could cause some coaches pause. Coaches with big egos expecting big paychecks probably won't want to be told who they can and can't recruit and how they are and are not supposed to discipline their own players.

Regardless, I think whenever we undertake our next coaching search, t'll ultimately come down to the standard factors: money, current roster, incoming players, recruiting advantages / disadvantages, weather, and money.
 
Les Grossman said:
I dont believe any of this. Coaches know it's a matter of when, not if, you get fired in this business.

Not to mention, coaching at Wake isnt exactly synonymous with high stress. This isnt Kentucky or UNC we're talking about where national championships and final fours are expected. Heck, any coach that would take us to a final four at this point would probably have a job for life.

Any coach that would be "scared" to take this job because Dino got fired probably doesnt have the chops to hack it anyway.
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Cocahes know getting fired is part of the job. That doesn't mean they don't expect a fair shake. Based on numerous things we've heard and read in the media, there is definitely a perception that Dino didn't get a fair shake.
 
If we can pick our coach then how did we end up with Coach Bz ?
 
KidA23 said:
I agree with all of this and agree that Wellman's presence likely would not prevent or even deter a candidate from considering WF. However, I think his purported reason for firing Dino after only 2 seasons--Dino's refusal to change his recruiting focus and management style of his players--could cause some coaches pause. Coaches with big egos expecting big paychecks probably won't want to be told who they can and can't recruit and how they are and are not supposed to discipline their own players.

Regardless, I think whenever we undertake our next coaching search, t'll ultimately come down to the standard factors: money, current roster, incoming players, recruiting advantages / disadvantages, weather, and money.
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If this is true and Wellman is dictating the types of players we should be recruiting - i.e., four year players with "fundamentals" instead of one/two and done 5 star athletes - it doesnt matter who our coach is. We wont be winning with any consistency anytime soon with that approach in today's game.
 
Les Grossman said:
If this is true and Wellman is dictating the types of players we should be recruiting - i.e., four year players with "fundamentals" instead of one/two and done 5 star athletes - it doesnt matter who our coach is. We wont be winning with any consistency anytime soon with that approach in today's game.
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If true, then #WellmanOUT
 
wfumike02 said:
Cocahes know getting fired is part of the job. That doesn't mean they don't expect a fair shake. Based on numerous things we've heard and read in the media, there is definitely a perception that Dino didn't get a fair shake.
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I'm sorry, but I just have a hard time believing our program has a reputation amongst coaches as being a place with unrealistic expectations and a place where you wont get a fair shake.
 
Les Grossman said:
I'm sorry, but I just have a hard time believing our program has a reputation amongst coaches as being a place with unrealistic expectations and a place where you wont get a fair shake.
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Agree with this. Yes, there are certain difficulties about coaching at Wake, but unrealistic expectations is clearly not one of them. Funny thing is, the right coach could just about build an empire here. I don't think people appreciaet how close we were with Skip and Dino. I have to believe coaches could look at that and think they could go to a final four here.
 
Take off your black and gold glasses because our rep ain't what it used to be
 
deaclite said:
Take off your black and gold glasses because our rep ain't what it used to be
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Which is why Ron should have manned up following Skip's death and made better decisions for the future. Although he has done alot of other good things for the athletic program, RW took a huge shit on Basketball.
 
Les Grossman said:
I'm sorry, but I just have a hard time believing our program has a reputation amongst coaches as being a place with unrealistic expectations and a place where you wont get a fair shake.
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There was a game last year - I don't remember who was playing but it wasn't us, which is why it got my attention - where Dick Vitale absolutely went off about the coaching change. It was only a few games into the season, too. Vitale brought up Wake and went on and on about how Dino went 61-31 and did such a fantastic job and then was fired, and then Wellman brought in [Redacted]. He lamented what a travesty had happened to the program. The way he said it was not at all complimentary of either Wellman or [Redacted].

That's just an example. We also saw journalists questioning Dino's firing right and left based on his record. There was absolutely an insinuation that he was not given a fair shake.

Obviously, there were problems that those of us who followed the program saw. There were more that came out later. But to the mainstream media and casual observers who didn't look further than 61-31 and a #1 ranking, there was absolutely a perception that Dino wasn't treated fairly. I wouldn't be surprised if it affected the last hiring cycle - and if this is the case then it probably means Wellman will be ultra-careful about not firing Bz prematurely. And yes, I think it will likely be hanging over the program for the next hiring cycle.

I get that people want to give Wellman the benefit of the doubt based on a lot of good things he has done in his tenure. But I really question whether our last coaching change has damaged both his and Wake's reputation within coaching circles to the point that parting ways may be the only way to fix it.
 
Turd Ferguson said:
Agree with this. Yes, there are certain difficulties about coaching at Wake, but unrealistic expectations is clearly not one of them. Funny thing is, the right coach could just about build an empire here. I don't think people appreciaet how close we were with Skip and Dino. I have to believe coaches could look at that and think they could go to a final four here.
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I agree to the extent that Wake's bball program is a potential sleeping giant. And I don't think there's a reputation for unrealistic expectations. I do fear that Wellman has given himself a bad reputation in the minds of potential coaches.
 
Turd Ferguson said:
Which is why Ron should have manned up following Skip's death and made better decisions for the future. Although he has done alot of other good things for the athletic program, RW took a huge shit on Basketball.
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I have a lot of issues with Wellman over the state of the basketball program, but this isn't one of them.

Based on the timing of Skip's death, we weren't going to get anyone good that late in the game. That means that at best, Dino gets the job on an interim basis. And I think you have a hard time making the argument that Dino didn't do enough his first year to keep the job.
 
wfumike02 said:
I have a lot of issues with Wellman over the state of the basketball program, but this isn't one of them.

Based on the timing of Skip's death, we weren't going to get anyone good that late in the game. That means that at best, Dino gets the job on an interim basis. And I think you have a hard time making the argument that Dino didn't do enough his first year to keep the job.
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An interim is an interim. The great thing is you don't need an excuse not to hire him. I guess I'm working under the assumption that it wasn't Dino's record/recruiting etc. that Wellman had a problem with. We should have hired Dino for 1 year and hired the best coach we could find after that. I think at that time we could have aimed pretty high. There may have been concern about keeping the recruiting class together (hopefully we will not make that silly mistake again), but I think most would have stayed.

In the end, though, it was Ron who hired Dino who apparently couldn't run the program that Ron thought we should have, then Ron extended his contract and then fired him and then lied about why.

ETA: Point is Ron can only blame himself if he didn't like the direction Dino was leading our program. He hired him, and compounded the problem by extending him. Unbelievable there's not more outrage about this. Buzz In or Out, Wellman fucked this up bad.
 
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Les Grossman said:
I'm sorry, but I just have a hard time believing our program has a reputation amongst coaches as being a place with unrealistic expectations and a place where you wont get a fair shake.
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Uh, we fired someone with the best record in WFU history after 3 years.
 
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