Given the limited pool of proven coaches and the outside perception of what a shite show this program has been since BBQ gate, I think it's a slam dunk hire.

We weren't getting Shaka, Marshall, or Archie. We're not a basketball school or have dump trucks of football money to entice you with and make you forget that you'll be living in Tuscaloosa. If you're Dave Hart what do you do? You just fricked up trying to shop in the discount aisle on your last hire and you paid the price. Your arse and the future of the program is on the line for this hire. Drop the ball on an Anthony Grant type mid major hire and you set the program even farther back another 5 years and most assuredly will be ostracized/asked to leave town. As you should be. I don't think he's the long term answer, but I think he brings stability and credibility back to the program immediately. He will leave us in a much better position to make a better hire once his tenure with us is complete.

Any coach whose been to the tournament 22 times, 5-6 Sweet Sixteens, 3 elite 8's, a final 4, won Big 12 COY 3x, and built every program that he's been to is good enough for me at this juncture.

Who would you rather we have hired given the circumstances?

This post was edited on 4/1/15 at 10:43 am

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Posted by InVolNerable

Member since Jan 2012

10204 posts

Posted on 4/1/15 at 11:59 am to TRUERockyTop

quote:
Who would you rather we have hired given the circumstances?

I'm fine with it, and it's better than I expected - though that's not saying much considering I was expecting Dumpster Diving Dave to bring in someone like Jimmy Patsos. I was just noting that hiring a 60 year old who's won one outright regular season conference championship and 1 conference tournament title in 28 years isn't exciting.

Of his 22 NCAA appearances, he's lost his first game 11 times and hasn't made it past the first weekend 16 times.

As for building every program he's been to:
- He was at George Mason for 1 year.
- Pitino took Providence to a final four a couple years before Barnes, and Pete Gillen led them to an elite 8 after him. Barnes was 0-3 in the tournament while there.
- Tom Penders was doing pretty well at Texas before Barnes got there.
- He hardly built those programs, but he did do a nice job at Clemson. The only other time they've made at least 3 tournaments in a row was 08-11.