Gonebarongone wrote: ↑2 years ago
Blue Man wrote: ↑2 years ago
It had nothing to do with keeping the roster. It had to do with keeping the culture.
Successful programs promote from within. Xavier is a perfect example.
Cox was the sound, logical, and best decision for projected long term stability and success.
The only way to know if a guy can transition to the lead chair is if he transitions to the lead chair.
He didn’t work out. I don’t begrudge Thorr for the process I think he made the right decision at the time.
I’d have an issue if knowing what we know and the contract situation being what it is if we didn’t move on at the end of this year.
But Thorr made the right call on Cox at the time, just didn’t work out. He made the right call on Hurley too. I have faith.
First of all, Xavier is apples and oranges from URI. Can we at least admit that? They have an institutional dedication and support to the program that is on a way, way different level. In my opinion, URI needs a coach that can win despite that, which is not easy. And, frankly, maybe more than 50% of the problem. But that's another story. I also think you need to go way further back to Pete Gillen (not a Xavier guy) who really turned it around. Handed it to Skip Prosser (had been a Xavier asst but left to take Loyola MD to the dance). Handed it to Thad Matta (not a Xavier guy) who had proved himself at Butler. You want to give me 20 years of that before handing it to Sean Miller (and then Mack) while at the same time giving them everything they need to win? Sure. And, btw, Travis Steele took a team that was a #1 seed (with a lot of graduations) and has not danced yet. At Xavier.
We can call it a process or whatever. And say it wasn't roster or that recruiting class. It would be nice if people were honest and were like, yeah, we don't want to have eight people leave (they did anyway) and have a tough season or two with the better candidate. Culture is important but it is also an immeasurable bogus buzzword. Plenty of guys can do it. Just because you're a seat away you can do it better?
Agreed. But Xavier is an easy comp because within the last 2 decades they were both top of the A-10 powers. We made the wrong hire with Baron, they made the right hire with Matta, and the rest is history.
I'm pretty sure I wrote in detail about Xavier in the other thread about URI's institutional deficiencies and how they hold us back.
RIFan's point about VCU, and Dayton have at least some sort of a "system" in place with an infrastucture that supports basketball and gives coaches a chance to achieve sustained success is the model we'd like to have - but we fall really, really short in the "institutional support" part that they have.
I'm assuming RIFan's other point about Hurley wanting Cox as AHC because he knew he would be bad for URI is sarcasm.
Again, armchair quarterbacking it's very easy to say "look at all these guys who left and we have nothing to show for it" but that's total BS. No one expected what happened here. It defies logic.
Culture isn't an immeasurable buzzword in this case. Hurley called it "understanding how to win games" to some extent. And yes, we're talking about players - but players who have won, and been a part of winning, and seen the focus and precision it takes to hold onto a lead late in a game.
It's funny, because it seems like that's our biggest problem right now. Closing out games. Holding onto leads.
That roster had 5 major role players - starters and off the bench (Dowtin, Russell, Thompson, Langevine, Preston) who were a part of the highest level of winning this program had seen in 2 decades. Even the bench and practice guys were aware and had experienced what those expectations looked like.
You want to keep that together. That plus good coaching is how you sustain success.
How could anyone have imagined that a guy with 20+ years of experience under some of the most hard-assed coaches in the NCAA wouldn't be able to make hard decisions? He knows basketball. He was just here to watch the process unfold.
The only way you were finding that out is by giving it a shot. We did. It missed. Now we move on.
Yeah of course there are coaches that could've out of the box done it better, like Pitino. But if you're trying to build a program - hire from within, follow the same process, develop talent, dance, repeat.
Now again, hindsight is 20/20 - but the hope was with the money you saved not getting a Pitino, that would've meant you could've invested in things like a larger assistant coaches pool (we didn't), charter flights for all our away games (we didn't), practice faculty (maybe) - but to just MMQB like the Cox hire was doomed from the start is flat disingenuous.