Here We Go Again...

[steviep123]

Here's my take and some of this I also put in the potential next coach thread. I think imho that Hurley should stay here. Next season with what we have returning and what we have coming in for recruits could be special. An NCAA tourney is definitely a more than reasonable expectation. Hurley if he does what he's expected can finish rebuilding the program to good point. We are almost there. I want URI to be like Xavier, VCU, Dayton, etc. Teams where they can change a coach and not miss a beat. I think we are almost there and I want Hurley to stay and lead us through it.

If Zags is being Hurley's mouth piece that sucks. I respect Zags, but that pisses me off.

[Billyboy78]

But wait, I thought there was zero chance he was leaving?

[Iggy1979]

Zags needs to do his research signed NLI is binding....

When a coach leaves most schools let the recruits out of their NLI.

[Billyboy78]

Here's what I think is going on. Dan is holding out for a deal that he can't refuse. Hobbs is saying he wants something done this week. I think that is Hobbs trying to get Dan to make a decision with Rutgers not having to give up the farm. If nothing is done this week, Rutgers starts looking at other coaches, many who still have teams playing right now.

[Iggy1979]

Be careful when you hear "interview" and "negotiations." I wouldn't call it either. What happened was more Hurley gathering information -- years and money in contract; commitment to the program from administration etc.
Then he goes back and talks to his family and others he trusts and makes a decision. If he's still interested, then the negotiations begin. If he's not, he says no thanks. It's why Rutgers is talking to other candidates -- because the AD is not in negotiations with Hurley.

[TruePoint]

Here's what I think is going on. Dan is holding out for a deal that he can't refuse. Hobbs is saying he wants something done this week. I think that is Hobbs trying to get Dan to make a decision with Rutgers not having to give up the farm. If nothing is done this week, Rutgers starts looking at other coaches, many who still have teams playing right now.

I don't know that Dan is holding out for anything. I think that he'd rather be here than there in the short term and his plan is to be here. Having said that, is there some amount of money that exists that could make him opt for Rutgers? Sure. This is his job. I don't know what that amount is, or if Rutgers can pay it. My hope is that the number would be so absurdly high that it is not reasonable anyone would pay any coach that, ever, because I honestly think that going to Rutgers will hurt his career. He stands to make more money over the next 10-15 years if he waits for a good job than if he cashes out now. Also, by cashing out now, he will be guaranteeing that he will never preside over a national program during his career. Just seems like it would be shortsighted. I know he is from NJ, but I don't think a smart guy would put himself in that position.

[Iggy1979]

It's not about the money. If he goes to Rutgers it will be a raise between 50 and 100 percent of his current salary. What it's about is an even playing field. He will not take a job where he won't have what everyone else in the conference has (if not immediately, at least eventually).

[TruePoint]

It's not about the money. If he goes to Rutgers it will be a raise between 50 and 100 percent of his current salary. What it's about is an even playing field. He will not take a job where he won't have what everyone else in the conference has (if not immediately, at least eventually).

He will never have at Rutgers what the upper-echelon teams in the Big 10 have. They can build him a 24 karat gold-plated practice building, a brand new arena, they could fly to road games in a tricked-out personalized Concorde jet. Rutgers will always be a bottom-feeder because they have no tradition and no fan base and are competing against some of the truly elite programs in the sport. If he goes there, he will never coach a team that could contend for a national championship. I think that is a lot to give up, considering what I think his career trajectory is.

[Billyboy78]

The last two posts combined were kind of what I meant by an offer he can't refuse, getting the money, the years and the school's promise of the commitment to the program.

[Gonebarongone]

It's not about the money. If he goes to Rutgers it will be a raise between 50 and 100 percent of his current salary. What it's about is an even playing field. He will not take a job where he won't have what everyone else in the conference has (if not immediately, at least eventually).

He will never have at Rutgers what the upper-echelon teams in the Big 10 have. They can build him a 24 karat gold-plated practice building, a brand new arena, they could fly to road games in a tricked-out personalized Concorde jet. Rutgers will always be a bottom-feeder because they have no tradition and no fan base and are competing against some of the truly elite programs in the sport. If he goes there, he will never coach a team that could contend for a national championship. I think that is a lot to give up, considering what I think his career trajectory is.

Here is the thing. No successful person, in any walk of life, thinks like that. Baylor was coming off a murder scandal, playing in a big boy conference, in freaking Waco, TX. 4 NCAA appearances in 100 years. Scott Drew turned it around. In basketball, especially, the coach is the program. They don't view it as "cashing in". He views it as "I will be king of my home state in the NYC media market if I turn this around".

[TruePoint]

It's not about the money. If he goes to Rutgers it will be a raise between 50 and 100 percent of his current salary. What it's about is an even playing field. He will not take a job where he won't have what everyone else in the conference has (if not immediately, at least eventually).

He will never have at Rutgers what the upper-echelon teams in the Big 10 have. They can build him a 24 karat gold-plated practice building, a brand new arena, they could fly to road games in a tricked-out personalized Concorde jet. Rutgers will always be a bottom-feeder because they have no tradition and no fan base and are competing against some of the truly elite programs in the sport. If he goes there, he will never coach a team that could contend for a national championship. I think that is a lot to give up, considering what I think his career trajectory is.

Here is the thing. No successful person, in any walk of life, thinks like that. Baylor was coming off a murder scandal, playing in a big boy conference, in freaking Waco, TX. 4 NCAA appearances in 100 years. Scott Drew turned it around. In basketball, especially, the coach is the program. They don't view it as "cashing in". He views it as "I will be king of my home state in the NYC media market if I turn this around".

There is a difference between being confident and being delusional. Successful people also know how to put themselves in a position to succeed.

[ramster]

Comment from article:

"The university's willingness to invest in men's basketball is the critical piece in negotiations to entice top coaching prospect Dan Hurley from the University of Rhode Island. Both sides were believed to be close to closing a deal as of Monday night."

http://www.app.com/story/sports/college ... /81750982/

[Seawrightspostgame]

Colin Cowherd pointed out before the selection show that Big10 only has 1 national title over the past 20 years. They have been there obviously. But they haven't won. Big10 is a big deal, but not that big. Once you enter the Big10 you aren't only competing against the league but the other leagues with much more intensity.

Which is to say Rutgers needs to enter that 9-5 range in the standings, but also be better than a NC State, an Iowa State, stuff like that.

J Williams! My god how could you say he doesn't have the chops?!!?? That game at Maryland that he saved was like the most unbelievable performance I ever saw. Final 13 seconds? Wow!

I find his story very interesting. Especially considering his wife left him once he had the health issues. He really bounced back.

I honestly hope DH stays, but I don't care about the Rutgers program so as soon as he leaves I don't care.

I find fan bases silly that think it only takes 3 things to displace the king of the hill in their standings. Michigan State and those schools not only sit atop the hill but are actively trying to hold on to that perch.

It is very unlikely that schools change their position because of those things. Even if a school pops for 5-6 years, the landscape is always heading towards the status quo.

[Seawrightspostgame]

OH NO! LAST MINUTE! OFFER DAN A SPOT ON THE KEANEY BLUE BANNER!! COULD SAVE THE DAY!

interesting that if DH leaves he would have never beat PC.

[Blue Man]

No matter what - every single time this happens, the program gets better. Everything Dan has done during his renegotiating has made this program better, and a better job for the next coach that will come on board down the line when Dan takes a plum job, not a rebuilding dumpster fire project like Rutgers this year.

I know we're not used to having a coach who is a hot commodity, but give me a week of "will he or won't he" rather than 10 years of NO ONE wanting our coach because he sucked. This is what good programs go through every year - like VCU every year with Shaka, Dayton every year with Archie, etc.

As for the 10 year contract thing with Baron - that was awful because Baron never had a pedigree, never turned around a program, he never was anything but mediocre and just below .500 his whole career. I don't even think Virginia Tech looked at him, and I have no idea as to why he was given that contract.

Dan is a completely different animal. He's already proven he can turn this program around, and even with this season's injuries if 1 shot in 6 different games goes in for us or out for them we're dancing and more people on this board sound like me.

Obviously if I had wheels I'd be a wagon, but the fact that Dan's name for 2 years in a row is at the top of P5 program target lists should tell you that everyone else doesn't need the definitive proof that the negative voices on this board do to understand what we have with Hurley leading this program.

[Gonebarongone]

[quote="TruePoint"

There is a difference between being confident and being delusional. Successful people also know how to put themselves in a position to succeed.[/quote]

Is it being delusional, though? Basketball is a different beast. Just need 6 guys in the first two years to say yes to your pitch and then you build enough momentum to build something sustainable. Their 2015 recruiting class, per Rivals, is two 4* and two 3*. There is talent around there to be had. I just don't think it's him throwing himself a cliff.

[ramster]

No matter what - every single time this happens, the program gets better. Everything Dan has done during his renegotiating has made this program better, and a better job for the next coach that will come on board down the line when Dan takes a plum job, not a rebuilding dumpster fire project like Rutgers this year.

I know we're not used to having a coach who is a hot commodity, but give me a week of "will he or won't he" rather than 10 years of NO ONE wanting our coach because he sucked. This is what good programs go through every year - like VCU every year with Shaka, Dayton every year with Archie, etc.

As for the 10 year contract thing with Baron - that was awful because Baron never had a pedigree, never turned around a program, he never was anything but mediocre and just below .500 his whole career. I don't even think Virginia Tech looked at him, and I have no idea as to why he was given that contract.

Dan is a completely different animal. He's already proven he can turn this program around, and even with this season's injuries if 1 shot in 6 different games goes in for us or out for them we're dancing and more people on this board sound like me.

Obviously if I had wheels I'd be a wagon, but the fact that Dan's name for 2 years in a row is at the top of P5 program target lists should tell you that everyone else doesn't need the definitive proof that the negative voices on this board do to understand what we have with Hurley leading this program.

Agree. 4 years should be enough to tell you what Hurley is capable of doing.
As for Baron's 10 year contract, the worst of all moves was extending it, even if for only a year
But URI Administration made the hire in the first place but then nothing says we had to keep the guy on for as long as we did - contract or no contract. A lot was lost over that realm. process, excuse laden era, etc. Baron is to blame but the real blame goes to his Superiors

[TruePoint]

There is a difference between being confident and being delusional. Successful people also know how to put themselves in a position to succeed.

Is it being delusional, though? Basketball is a different beast. Just need 6 guys in the first two years to say yes to your pitch and then you build enough momentum to build something sustainable. Their 2015 recruiting class, per Rivals, is two 4* and two 3*. There is talent around there to be had. I just don't think it's him throwing himself a cliff.

Here is the thing I don't get. You spent the whole season telling us how you weren't sure the guy is a good enough coach to win in the A10 with, at worst, A10-level talent. But if he goes to Rutgers suddenly he can win in the Big 10 with a roster that probably wouldn't have won 5 games in the A10 this year? He's going to step up to a league where there are hall-of-fame coaches with rosters full of high-end recruits and into a situation where his roster and facilities are substandard for his league, and suddenly he's going to be a good enough coach to make that a winning formula? What am I missing?

[Gonebarongone]

There is a difference between being confident and being delusional. Successful people also know how to put themselves in a position to succeed.

Is it being delusional, though? Basketball is a different beast. Just need 6 guys in the first two years to say yes to your pitch and then you build enough momentum to build something sustainable. Their 2015 recruiting class, per Rivals, is two 4* and two 3*. There is talent around there to be had. I just don't think it's him throwing himself a cliff.

Here is the thing I don't get. You spent the whole season telling us how you weren't sure the guy is a good enough coach to win in the A10 with, at worst, A10-level talent. But if he goes to Rutgers suddenly he can win in the Big 10 with a roster that probably wouldn't have won 5 games in the A10 this year? He's going to step up to a league where there are hall-of-fame coaches with rosters full of high-end recruits and into a situation where his roster and facilities are substandard for his league, and suddenly he's going to be a good enough coach to make that a winning formula? What am I missing?

Here you go again twisting the truth, first of all. Second of all, I am not saying he will win in the Big Ten. We are talking about A. What he might be debating internally and B. Whether you can win at Rutgers. I believe if you can win in the wasteland of Texas after a murder scandal at a school with zero hoops history, you can win at Rutgers. Basketball is unique that way. It's coach-centric. Lastly, for four years now, I have been saying the same bleeping thing. I was naturally skeptical that he could coach well enough in games to win at a high level. People gave him a pass because (I believe) of his last name. He's been great, otherwise. Energy, program building, even recruiting for the most part. In my mind, he hasn't earned the assumption that he will press the right buttons at the right time. I don't know why this is so hard to understand.

[NYGFan_Section208]

if only he had sucked a little bit worse than so many have been saying all year (granted, that would be hard to do)...there would not be this conundrum...

[TruePoint]

Here you go again twisting the truth, first of all. Second of all, I am not saying he will win in the Big Ten. We are talking about A. What he might be debating internally and B. Whether you can win at Rutgers. I believe if you can win in the wasteland of Texas after a murder scandal at a school with zero hoops history, you can win at Rutgers. Basketball is unique that way. It's coach-centric. Lastly, for four years now, I have been saying the same bleeping thing. I was naturally skeptical that he could coach well enough in games to win at a high level. People gave him a pass because (I believe) of his last name. He's been great, otherwise. Energy, program building, even recruiting for the most part. In my mind, he hasn't earned the assumption that he will press the right buttons at the right time. I don't know why this is so hard to understand.

I actually don't totally disagree that he needs work on the in-game stuff. He came from a HS where he beat most opponents by 30+ points, and he has spent the first 6 years of his college coaching career trying to stabilize programs and work on big picture things. He is a smart basketball guy and eventually he will figure out all the in-game stuff, because it isn't quantum mechanics, but I agree it is probably his weakest area right now as a coach.

But here is the thing: if you know that, do you want to go to a place where you KNOW for a fact that you cannot get the best players? At URI, he can build the program to where he is able to have the best roster in conference, allowing him to overpower a lot of teams and obscure some of the in-game stuff as he gets better at it. If he wins here, he can name his next job at a place where he can out-recruit his league (and maybe he'll be decidedly better on the bench by then). That cannot happen at Rutgers. It never will. They will never out-recruit Michigan State, Ohio State, Michigan, Indiana, Maryland. Even Purdue and Wisconsin. So by going to Rutgers he is going to be mitigating his biggest strength and fighting one hand behind his back for however long he can mentally take being there.

I acknowledge the argument for why he would choose to go there, I just cannot look at it in any way that doesn't lead me to seeing it as a bad decision for him.

[rambone 78]

TP, nice to see that you agree Dan needs work on the in-game stuff.

But the rest of your post, I also agree that Rutgers will be a HUGE challenge to win at.

Dan though would have the advantage of being at a school that could draw from the best HS talent base area in the country.

[TruePoint]

The best HS players in NJ get recruited by national programs - Duke, UNC, Kansas, Kentucky. Those kids are not staying at home to play at Rutgers.

[Billyboy78]

From a very reliable source that I just spoke to, I can tell you that whoever thinks there is zero chance Dan leaves is wrong. Although it's still unlikely, it is not zero.

[bressler3south]

The best HS players in NJ get recruited by national programs - Duke, UNC, Kansas, Kentucky. Those kids are not staying at home to play at Rutgers.

Ummmm, hate to disagree, TP, but Briscoe's the only player from New Jersey who's on a UNC, Kansas, or Kentucky roster this season.

[Gonebarongone]

The best HS players in NJ get recruited by national programs - Duke, UNC, Kansas, Kentucky. Those kids are not staying at home to play at Rutgers.

Interestingly, while I was kicking around Rivals, I wondered if Rutgers current roster is part of the draw for DH. I could see it being really hard to go through another rebuild. There are two 4* and 6 3* that are frosh and sophs and it looks like five or six of them are the highest scorers on the team. Who knows....they could leave, too, I guess. So many variables but maybe there is enough of a talent base that competitive isn't that far away with a few new pieces.

I'll be the first to admit I didn't see a second of Rutgers. Those recruits might be terrible in reality but that's the type of recruiting that gets you to middle of the road in a major conference. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kyrie Irving, Jay Williams back in the day, plus many others are not going to Rutgers. We can agree to that. Plenty of three and four star guys would. They just did, in fact.

[NYGFan_Section208]

The best HS players in NJ get recruited by national programs - Duke, UNC, Kansas, Kentucky. Those kids are not staying at home to play at Rutgers.

Ummmm, hate to disagree, TP, but Briscoe's the only player from New Jersey who's on a UNC, Kansas, or Kentucky roster this season.

Not sure that takes away from the fact that they are not going to Rutgers and they consider even more other schools to be better options? Or, are they going to RU? (Am too lazy to look it up)

[PeterRamTime]

Him being that interested in such a crap job should tell us he'd more than likely be gone within the next couple years if he doesn't leave for Buttgerz now.

[rambone 78]

From a very reliable source that I just spoke to, I can tell you that whoever thinks there is zero chance Dan leaves is wrong. Although it's still unlikely, it is not zero.

78, at least most of us can now agree that Dan didn't dismiss the Rutgers job out of hand.

If he's seriously considering it, then it's a hell of a lot more than 1%.......

If he's just using it as leverage with URI, we'll know pretty soon.

All we can do now, is watch and wait.....

[rjsuperfly66]

I think Rutgers has been inspired by the run Seton Hall has gone on the past couple of months. Granted, there's some strange, some may even call it shady stuff going on, but the core up there is from the NY/NJ area.

Whitehead - Brooklyn
Carrington - Brooklyn
Rodriguez - Bronx
Delgado - Patrick School, NJ
Gordon - Plainfield, NJ
Sanogo - Newark
Nezi- NY, NY
Singh - St. Peter's Prep, NJ

Those are their top 8 scorers this season.

[ElmCityRhody]

ATP - you need to talk me off the ledge now...

ughhhh

can't believe this is going down again w/ this effin rutgers

[TruePoint]

The best HS players in NJ get recruited by national programs - Duke, UNC, Kansas, Kentucky. Those kids are not staying at home to play at Rutgers.

Ummmm, hate to disagree, TP, but Briscoe's the only player from New Jersey who's on a UNC, Kansas, or Kentucky roster this season.

I think what would be more relevant is how many kids on Rutgers' roster had offers from UNC, Kansas or Kentucky. I used those programs as examples, there are lots of national programs and only so many national recruits from NJ. My point was those national recruits won't be headed to Rutgers.

To illustrate, this year NJ only has one 5-star recruit and he is going to Arizona. Last year they had one and he went to Kentucky. 2014 they had one - Kentucky. 2013, one and he went to Syracuse. 2012 had one and he went to UCLA. 2011 the five star went to Kentucky. In 2010, they had two and they went to Duke and Syracuse. In that time period, Rutgers has had three top-10 players in NJ commit - one of those was Gil Biruta in 2010 - and none since 2011. They are so far off the radar in NJ that even having Hurley would only get them back into the discussion with the kinds of kids that are in the 4-10 range, who are now going to A-10 and BE level programs. That isn't enough to get it done in the Big 10.

[rambone 78]

TP, we can argue that point all day, but if Dan Hurley takes the job, that tells me he thinks he can get it done there, no matter what you or I think. Or what's happened before with recruiting top kids.

Why would he take it otherwise? It would be career suicide.

[NJRhodyFan]

The best HS players in NJ get recruited by national programs - Duke, UNC, Kansas, Kentucky. Those kids are not staying at home to play at Rutgers.

Ummmm, hate to disagree, TP, but Briscoe's the only player from New Jersey who's on a UNC, Kansas, or Kentucky roster this season.

You're correct in that the few schools listed above don't currently have any NJ players on their roster, but let's not be shortsighted. There are in fact plenty of players from NJ who have prominent roles on some of the best programs in the country (see below).

Myles Davis - Xavier
Malachi Richardson - Syracuse
Sterling Gibbs - UCONN
Steve Vasturia - Notre Dame
Charles Cooke - Dayton
Quentin DeCosey - Temple
Wade Baldwin - Vanderbilt

[TruePoint]

TP, we can argue that point all day, but if Dan Hurley takes the job, that tells me he thinks he can get it done there, no matter what you or I think. Or what's happened before with recruiting top kids.

Why would he take it otherwise? It would be career suicide.

I am under no delusion that my thoughts on this matter at all. Coach Hurley is going to do what he thinks is best for him and his family. I'm just weighing in with my perspective, which is that going to Rutgers would be shortsighted. As many of you guys like to point out, this is a message board, it is what we do. I can't control or even influence what ends up happening here.

[Billyboy78]

From a very reliable source that I just spoke to, I can tell you that whoever thinks there is zero chance Dan leaves is wrong. Although it's still unlikely, it is not zero.

78, at least most of us can now agree that Dan didn't dismiss the Rutgers job out of hand.

If he's seriously considering it, then it's a hell of a lot more than 1%.......

If he's just using it as leverage with URI, we'll know pretty soon.

All we can do now, is watch and wait.....

10%

[NYGFan_Section208]

ATP - you need to talk me off the ledge now...

ughhhh

can't believe this is going down again w/ this effin rutgers

Buddy! Chillax...you can't impact the situation in any way. Try not to let it steal your joy.

[Obadiah]

This does not confirm he is not leaving, but for the record, Hurley's discussions with Rutgers have been over the telephone only. Anyone who says he has been to Rutgers, met with their AD and the President is just engaging in a form of taunting.

[rambone 78]

Billyboy, we should start our own "odds board" on the chances he leaves.

Or have a quickie poll.

I'll throw mine in, at about 25% he goes. That's higher than yesterday, but it's just a guess as is everything right now.

[TruePoint]

2.62%

[Seawrightspostgame]

Big10 isn't really big in the basketball recruiting grounds. Some years they rise above Big12/ACC/SEC/PAC12, but I think they generally recruit out of the next tier. Not to say that those teams don't get a couple awesome prospects, but it is less than the others to me.

Offers from UNC, Duke, KU don't really matter when you consider that those offers are likely not committable.

IF you follow football recruiting the offers are everywhere and teams look for more to stick. In basketball the coaches or I should say Coach K and his peers mostly identify what they want and get it. Although, sometimes there are recruiting battles. But it seems that those battles are generally won early.

All this to say that a 4 star 3 star roster is just what a Big10 roster generally is if you are measuring it that way.

[josephski]

Billyboy, we should start our own "odds board" on the chances he leaves.

Or have a quickie poll.

I'll throw mine in, at about 25% he goes. That's higher than yesterday, but it's just a guess as is everything right now.

Should have an over under for how many more days this goes on...

[rambone 78]

This does not confirm he is not leaving, but for the record, Hurley's discussions with Rutgers have been over the telephone only. Anyone who says he has been to Rutgers, met with their AD and the President is just engaging in a form of taunting.

Hope you're right, that to me means that it's not gotten serious [yet].

SPG, that's what Izzo gets at Michigan State for the most part, and he does a pretty good job of finding diamonds in the rough, and coaching them up......

Of course, imo he is about as good as its gets when it comes to a college BB coach. He gets his teams of 3 and 4 stars to the FF a lot.....Guys like Calipari and K don't do much better with all 5 stars....

[NYGFan_Section208]

Billyboy, we should start our own "odds board" on the chances he leaves.

Or have a quickie poll.

I'll throw mine in, at about 25% he goes. That's higher than yesterday, but it's just a guess as is everything right now.

Should have an over under for how many more days this goes on...

maybe it can stretch to opening day of baseball...would be a good side by side filler with NCAAT.

[rambone 78]

Billyboy, we should start our own "odds board" on the chances he leaves.

Or have a quickie poll.

I'll throw mine in, at about 25% he goes. That's higher than yesterday, but it's just a guess as is everything right now.

Should have an over under for how many more days this goes on...

I hope this is over soon...like today or tomorrow.....one way or the other...but probably no such luck

[ElmCityRhody]

0%

[hrstrat57]

There remains plenty of Hurley chatter on the Stanford forum..... I've got no opinion but it's out there.

This is a wild ride will it end soon?

[NJRhodyFan]

For what it's worth, most of the fans on the Rutgers message boards are pining for Mike Lonergan. Evidently he interviewed with Hobbs yesterday, if you believe what you read of course.

[rambone 78]

57, they want Dan after that act last year in the NIT game?

Have to admit, if his last name wasn't Hurley, none of this would be happening.

We would have to get to the Dance a couple times first, or go on a run the first time otherwise....

[hrstrat57]

57, they want Dan after that act last year in the NIT game?

Have to admit, if his last name wasn't Hurley, none of this would be happening.

We would have to get to the Dance a couple times first, or go on a run the first time otherwise....

Bone there's a couple of recent posts I just read discussing exactly that.....I'm on the run at the moment it's in the Dawkins thread on the Cardboard forums.....

Again it's forum chatter but his name is coming up as is Archie Miller and McDermott....