re: When we fire Barbee, we need to hire someone like Nevada Smith

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I don't think we will fire Barbee this year. If we do I expect us to try to hire a Duke guy again and the only one early enough into his coaching career that would take the job is Bobby Hurley. He has done a good job in his 1st season as a head coach taking a team that was 14-20 last year and has never made an NCAA appearance. They currently lead their division in the MAC and are 16-8 overall and 10-4 in conference.

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Since I am a Duke guy I love me some Bobby Hurley. He would bring instant credability for a short time but would have to coach the team up to keep that credability.

Given the circumstances that come with theAU job right now I think you need a guy that would be able to bring in players despite the AU admin self banning recruiting from the South East AAU circuit even though Komara does not run it anymore and the disadvantages of being an Under Armor basketball school. The only guy I know available that could overcome those recruiting circumstances is Bruce Pearl. If he were to keep his nose clean I think he would be a great hire. 2 things though. I don't think Pearl is dumb (yes I am saying it would be dumb for a quality coach to take the AU job right now) enough to walk into a handcuffed job like AU. Also, based on Pearl's past I don't think an over-the-top cautious AU Admin would even consider Pearl in the first place.