re: *** UPDATED (1:30PM 4/5) Avery Johnson to become UA Basketball Coach

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We don't know what has been discussed and with whom...but you don't want ESPN to be reporting that your first choice is Mark Few if you don't realistically think you'll get him, because then you've told the world that you are "settling" for anyone else.

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Absolutely no difference in what is going on with Marshall. Schools don't always get their first choice. Hell, Rich Rod was approached about the bama job before you hired saban.

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To hell with that, for $4.2 million, I'd get Sean Miller on the phone right now and make Arizona sweat some.

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Exactly my point. You could get a hell of a lot more for that kind of money than Marshall, IMO.

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I don't understand why bama isn't going after a bigger name than Marshall.

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Shaka Smart

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Marshall is easily as big (and probably bigger) name than Shaka Smart.

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Marshall is easily as big (and probably bigger) name than Shaka Smart.

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Sorry, I disagree......and Smart is about 15 years younger. Like I said previously, I think it would be easier for Smart to recruit better players for several reasons......one being style of play. Another being I think players would feel he could relate to them better. I personally would take Smart over Marshall.

I'm sure it's been said already so SIAP, but apparently Marshall is down to just Bama and Wichita St. with WSU trying to raise a little bit more money. Really impressed with what Bama did.

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With the money that is being mentioned, I don't understand why bama isn't going after a bigger name than Marshall. For that kind of money, I would make Mark Few turn me down several times first. The same goes for Shaka Smart. I could go on, but........

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TL;DR Version of my answer - We're not the premier conference in basketball nor do we have talent out the wazoo the way we do in football. That makes coaches pause even when there's more money to be made, especially when it comes to conference schools farther south. (UK and even UT's proximity to the Mid-south/East Coast and Midwest makes things a lot easier to recruit as both are ideally positioned and UK of course is a premier school that can get anyone it wants anywhere).

While the Deep South benefits from being talent rich in football, the Upper South and MidWest are talent rich in basketball. So if an established successful coach does go farther South he's taking a bigger risk than staying wherever he is not only because our conference doesn't have the best rep for hoops but also because the recruiting job is a lot harder.

That said, the new hires if successful in he conference will make us more respectable. And as that happens, we will all have more access to talent.

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Good post, prof.

We also tend to forget that the reasons for/against a move vary from person to person. Internet boards usually go in absolutes - "He's not going there no matter how much they offer him", or "Of course he'll go for X amount money". In reality, most major hires involve more than just location and money, and each coach values things differently. Money alone may not do the trick, but more money may offset some other concern.

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Thanks.

Absolutely. And timing is everything with coaching hires. A coach has to be ready to move, his family too, and there has to be more than just money to draw them. We lucked into Barnes butting heads with his AD and getting fired at exactly the right time. And with his wife being an ex-UT cheerleader and him being from NC and Western, NC at that, we couldn't have scripted better circumstances for a move. BUT had the timing not been right it would never have happened.

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With the money that is being mentioned, I don't understand why bama isn't going after a bigger name than Marshall. For that kind of money, I would make Mark Few turn me down several times first. The same goes for Shaka Smart. I could go on, but........

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There was obviously some serious interest in the job from Marshall as early as last week even while he was still in the tourny~ or else Battle would have moved on. Why spin your wheels on a guy that has no interest and make him "turn you down several times?"

To be frankly honest, I thought Marshall would shoot the whole thing down from the beginning. But here we are sitting a day removed from Battle laying an offer on Marshall's table.