If Hewitt goes, who might Tech target? Glad you asked
Both of these men are Tech legends, but they're not on my list. (AJC file photo)
I believe Georgia Tech will be in the market for a basketball coach within the month. I do not know this for a fact, but I work today on that assumption. But before I offer a half-dozen (or so) candidates I’d consider to replace Paul Hewitt, I should explain why some major names aren’t on the list.
• Brad Stevens isn’t on it because I’ll believe he’ll leave Butler only when I see it, and maybe not then. The same goes for Mark Few of Gonzaga.
• Tubby Smith isn’t on the list because the Tubby’s-coming-back-to-Georgia-to-coach-somebody rumor has become such an annual occurrence as to be discounted. (Didn’t take the Hawks job back in 2004, did he? Didn’t return to UGA in 2009, did he?) And Tubby Smith — who is, I should stipulate, among my all-time favorites as both a man and a coach — will turn 60 in June. I’m not sure you start over with a 60-year-old.
• Mark Price isn’t on the list because he hasn’t been a collegiate head coach and isn’t currently working in college basketball. (He’s the shooting coach for the Golden State Warriors.)
• Lon Kruger of UNLV isn’t on the list because he’s 58. Fran Dunphy of Temple isn’t because he’s 62. Blaine Taylor of Old Dominion isn’t because he’s 53. (Which is younger than I am, for the record.)
• Bobby Cremins isn’t on the list because you can’t go home again.
• Bobby Knight isn’t on the list because the great lure of Georgia Tech basketball — it plays in a prestigious conference and is based in the capital of a state that produces a slew of big-time basketball players (Dwight Howard, Josh Smith, Derrick Favors, Trey Thompkins) — would be rendered null and void. Because no big-timer would play for Bobby Knight.
• Randy Bennett of Saint Mary’s isn’t on the list because he has never worked east of the Mississippi. (Though he did spent two years as Lorenzo Romar’s assistant at St. Louis, which is pretty darn close to the Mississippi.)
• Jamie Dixon of Pitt and Jay Wright of Villanova aren’t on the list. I’d love it if they were, but they have better jobs. And the Big East is a hotter conference than the ACC.
Which leads me to this: Three ACC programs hired new coaches last spring, and none elicited a “Wow!” Clemson hired Brad Brownell of Wright State. Boston College hired Steve Donahue of Cornell. Wake Forest hired Jeff Bzdelik of Colorado. This isn’t to say any were bad hires — Brownell and Donahue have done well — but none had the sizzle of Bob Huggins heading to West Virginia or John Calipari going to Kentucky. (FYI, Calipari was interested in the Tech job back in 2000.)
There’s the preface. Here’s my list:
That's Mike Anderson is on left. On the right is Tony Greene, the Atlantan who's the best ref in the business. (AP photo)
Mike Anderson, Missouri: He’s close to Dixon/Wright status in that he presides over a Top 25 program in a major conference. (And Missouri can throw money at him to stay.) But he grew up in Birmingham and coached at UAB and worked under Nolan Richardson at Arkansas, and he might have a hankering to return to the South. And I for one would love to see his full-tilt style shake up the rather staid ACC.
Scott Drew, Baylor: He coached under his famous dad Homer at Valparaiso and has worked since 2003 in Waco, where he inherited a program leveled by a scandal involving the murder of a by a former player. He’s 84-43 over the past three-plus seasons. Last spring he took the Bears to the Elite Eight, after which he signed a 10-year extension. Not sure he’d leave for Tech, but how much longer is a coach this young (40) and skilled apt to stay in Waco?
Brian Gregory, Dayton: He doesn’t fit the definition of a Hot Young Guy. He’s 44, which isn’t that young, and his Flyers are 5-6 in the Atlantic 10, which isn’t hot. But he’s 167-89 in seven-plus seasons at a mid-major that takes the sport seriously, and he apprenticed under Tom Izzo at Michigan State.
Cuonzo Martin, Missouri State: Here’s your Hot Young Guy. Martin was Glenn Robinson’s wingman at Purdue when the Big Dog was the best player in college basketball. Martin played in Europe and survived non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and has become a coach of growing portfolio. He won 24 games last season at Missouri State, which as Southwest Missouri State perpetrated a memorable NCAA tournament upset of Clemson at the old Omni. Martin’s latest Bears are 20-6, tied with Wichita State atop the Missouri Valley Conference. Another reason to like Martin: He worked under Gene Keady at Purdue, and Keady assistants do well. Think Kevin Stallings at Vanderbilt, Bruce Weber at Illinois and now Matt Painter with the Boilermakers.
Chris Mooney, Richmond: Good young coach — he’s 38 — at another pedigreed mid-major. He played under the legendary Pete Carril at Princeton, which means, surprisingly enough, that he runs the Princeton Offense. Mooney led the Spiders to the NCAA tournament last season, but they were upset (Richmond was actually the better seed) by Bennett and Saint Mary’s. Richmond is 20-6, tied with Temple for second in the Atlantic 10 . Possible disqualifier: Richmond played Tech in December and lost. If you go by RPI, that’s the Spiders’ worst loss of the season.
Mark Turgeon, Texas A&M: Played under Larry Brown at Kansas, coached under both Brown and Roy Williams there. Turgeon also signed a contract extension after last season, in which he took the Aggies to the NCAA tournament for the third time in three tries. This appears to be his best A&M team — it’s 19-5 and ranked No. 21 in the Associated Press poll. Not sure he’d leave for Tech, either, unless he just wants out of College Station and into the ACC. (A&M is rumored to be bound for the SEC, which might or might not be a consideration.)
OK, there are six candidates, three of whom would surely see Tech as a step up. And you’ll notice I included only current head coaches. This kept me from including assistants Mark Montgomery of Michigan State, Steve Masiello of Louisville and Joe Dooley of Kansas, all of whom should be head coaches soon. But there’s one assistant coach who bears special consideration, and he is …
Good ol' days: That's Craig "Noodles" Neal in the background, his hand on Mark Price's head. (AJC file photo)
Craig Neal, New Mexico: Known as Noodles when he played at Tech, where he first served as Price’s backup before becoming an outstanding point after Price departed. He has been Steve Alford’s chief assistant in Albuquerque since 2007, and last season the Lobos were 30-5 and entered the NCAA tournament as a No. 3 seed. This year they’re 17-8. I cannot imagine a circumstance in which Neal would not crawl to Atlanta for a chance to coach his alma mater.
Oh, and one more name, this one a long shot but nonetheless intriguing:
Herb Sendek, Arizona State: He’s the dullest guy in the world, and he’s not a great recruiter. He left N.C. State in a snit because Wolfpack fans weren’t satisfied with five consecutive NCAA tournament appearances. But things haven’t gone great for him in Tempe — he’s 85-70 in four-plus seasons and has reached the Big Dance only once — and his Sun Devils are 9-15 and hold last place in the Pac-10. There’s a chance Sendek could get fired this season. It’s not often a big-time program hires a coach who has just been canned at another school, but Sendek does have a history of winning in the ACC. He was 46-34 in league play his final five seasons at State.
And that’s it — a long post regarding a short list. And if you’re asking which of these names fascinates me the most, I’d think really hard and say:
Cuonzo Martin.
By Mark Bradley
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
387 comments Add your comment
Dadgum.....
February 16th, 2011
11:31 am
Smarty….. No, the problem is that you GT, NC State, Wake, Virginia, Miami, Boston College, and pretty much Clemson that have pretty much been irrelevant on the national scene for quite a while. That is over half the freakin conference. You need look no further than VT as a prime example of how the ACC ranks. Last year VT finished with 10 conference wins and won 23 games but were not invited to the dance. It wasn’t long ago that those numbers were automatic entry into the tourney and probably no worse than a 6 seed.
Let me also add the ACC is even worse this year. To wit: prior to Jan. 1st the ACC collectively lost 51 games to non-conference opponents. Think about that one. What makes it even worse is that was with Duke at #1 during that time. The ACC is in big trouble and until the lower half gets better it will continue to languish on the national scene.
JimO
February 16th, 2011
11:48 am
A major problem with bringing in Mark Price (other than his lack of experience in being a head coach and recruiting) is that like NC State, if he doesn’t work out, how do you fire a legend?
GoJackets!
February 16th, 2011
11:59 am
If Mark Price doesn’t work out, he’ll resign himself. He actually cares about this program like many former players under Cremins do. He would never put Tech in an uneasy situation like Hewitt has been doing. All the Hewitt supporters would be really surprised how those players think of Hewitt. If it’s up to them, Hewitt would never set a foot on Cremins Court again.
And Hewitt Fan, please do not post lies. You can depend Hewitt all you want and that’s fine. But saying Favors wanted to stay more than a year is flat out lie. He wouldn’t even have come to Tech for a year if NBA didn’t have that age limit.
Paul in RDU
February 16th, 2011
12:02 pm
Dadgum..
While I agree with you that the ACC as a conference is in trouble (this is the worst year I have ever seen) I have to quibble a little with your assesment that the teams at the bottom need to improve.
The Big East has some real dogs (DePaul, USF, Seton Hall, Providence, Rutgers) but the top half of the conference is so strong that that is all anyone thinks about when they think of the conference. In the ACC, the 6 teams immediately behind Duke and UNC need to improve and be consistently good. MD, FSU and VT look like they have the coaching to do it but much of the rest of the conference have major issues.
Brit Massey
February 16th, 2011
12:05 pm
It must be a Coach that is comfortable attending our Tickle Piles. That tradition is not going to change.
UGA=YAWN
February 16th, 2011
12:10 pm
Hewitt should have gone 4 years ago! I really don’t care anymore. And, regarding your list . . . I never heard of any of them! Get a coach from the Big Ten. Even though they won’t admit it publicly, the ACC is a step up and Atlanta is the jewel of the South. Anyone would want to coach here.
Doug
February 16th, 2011
12:21 pm
Getting robbed or mugged on campus on your way to work probably isn’t on any good coaches agenda. And GT can’t afford to kick in an armor plated SUV and bodyguards.
TaterJacket
February 16th, 2011
12:42 pm
How are Mark Price and Bobby Knight not on your list?
Price was a candidate to coach the Hawks last year and I think would really consider coming to his alma mater to take a head job. I think he could recruit some great shooters and build a playbook that would get those guys open. It’s very open as to what he could bring.
I think Knight would be the basketball version of Paul Johnson. Recruit lesser-known players (but better than you’d think since he’ll have ATL and the ACC as leverage; you’d think academic standards would be a deterrent but it’s not) and build a program that consistently wins on gameplan rather than just talent. He’s fiery like PJ and would be a student-exciting coach. Personally, I think he’s a perfect hire (just like PJ was).
JoeFan
February 16th, 2011
1:03 pm
Price will unify the fanbase. Only concern is whether he has the drive and energy for the job.
greenjacket
February 16th, 2011
1:11 pm
i think Price will be the choice. There will be no debating his passion for the program and his skills as an instructor. just a question of recruiting.
Blewitt
February 16th, 2011
1:25 pm
With a good set of assistants, Price would not have an issue with recruiting.
Supersize that order, mutt
February 16th, 2011
1:31 pm
Price was a great ball player and I admire and respect him tremendously, but I would not start buying tickets again if he is hired. There is not the unity among the fan base that some of you think there is regarding Price as coach. We need somebody with experience on the collegiate level, either a current head coach, or an outstanding relatively young assistant.
HBTD
February 16th, 2011
1:33 pm
Sad times down on the flats………….again! Ahahahahahahahaha!! The powers that be down there apparently don’t have a clue as to how to run a succesful athletic program. Kinda funny watching all the nerds whine.
Montrell
February 16th, 2011
1:38 pm
Tech needs to bring in another African-American coach to get the players from the minority communities to come to Tech. If they hire mark price, he will not be able to recruit in the African-American areas very well.
Supersize that order, mutt
February 16th, 2011
1:39 pm
HBTD, you can call it whining if you want to, although I haven’t seen any whining going on here. Nevertheless, don’t you wish you had a basketball program that anybody gave a damn about? Even if Fox is any good, he won’t stay in Athens. Nobody ever has before; why would anybody now? And that’s pretty bad when even the coaches you hire don’t give a damn.
The Anti-BuzzDraft
February 16th, 2011
1:48 pm
Whoever the new coach is I think they need to keep Daryl Labarrie on staff. I loved watching him play at Tucker High and at Tech. He is a local player and coach that can continue to recruit the Atlanta area. I saw a quote from Hewitt that said Labarrie was a key reason for Julian Royal coming to Tech. Labarrie also won a State Championship playing for David Boyd. Tech needs to keep that pipeline open because Boyd can recruit talent.
ga_tech_92
February 16th, 2011
1:52 pm
SuperB – False. Mark B did not start this. Most of the bloggers have been screaming for someone (like Mark) to HELP us keep this going. Hewitt is horrible as a coach. He is a great recruiter, seems like a nice guy, but horrible x’s and o’s guy who doesn’t have the honor that Coach Cremin’s did to leave when he’s killing the program.
ga_tech_92
February 16th, 2011
1:54 pm
Montrell – I want us to hire someone who seems to have GT Basketball as their number one goal, not someone who’s number one goal is putting minorities into coaching, the NBA, or anything else. I don’t care if the guy is purple, black , or white, but I want his number one focus to be GT basketball. (Hewitt for example, seems to have the black coaches association and putting guys in the NBA as his number one goal.)
bvga
February 16th, 2011
1:55 pm
I truly think if the current coach of Tech was white, he wouldn’t be here…That being said, the next coach will be…Too many old crackers donating money to have another black guy come in and run “our” program…Keep Coach Hewitt one more year to lead, but put stipulations on his re-hire for the following season (20 wins, tourney bid, three road ACC wins) and if he doesn’t meet the goals, he goes.
GssiT
February 16th, 2011
2:26 pm
Dip (Darren) Metress w/his Va/Australia pipeline. Shock the world,DRad.
Jay
February 16th, 2011
2:30 pm
What about bringing in BOTH Price and Noodles? Not sure who would be the head or assistant but it sure would be interesting.
Tubby or Masiello At Georgia Tech? | Rick Bozich
February 16th, 2011
2:54 pm
[...] It’s an interesting read and also includes a mention of U of L assistant coach Steve Masiello. Click here. [...]
Supersize that order, mutt
February 16th, 2011
4:00 pm
GssiT, I LOVE that idea, but no division 1 school will ever hire a division 1 coach. The man CAN recruit and coach though, can’t he?
Supersize that order, mutt
February 16th, 2011
4:16 pm
correction, no division 1 school will ever hire a division 2 coach. Dip Metress coaches at Augusta State in Augusta
BYRDDAWG
February 16th, 2011
4:18 pm
Supersize, how’s the pocket protector your boyfriend gave you for Valentine’s day doin?? Fox will be @ UGA for a LONG time!!!!
Supersize that order, mutt
February 16th, 2011
4:29 pm
BYRDDAWG, the only way Fox will be at THUGa for a long time is if he’s no good. You have an ok team this year, but the jury is still out on just how good he is. And if he IS any good, why would he want to stay there and play in a barn in a no-count basketall conference? KY is the only consistently decent team in the conference. THUGa has never been a basketball school and never will be.
BYRDDAWG
February 16th, 2011
4:41 pm
Supersize, you’re correct that UGA & the SEC will NEVER be basketball first. Football is and will always be #1…notice the 5 consecutive National Championships! That generates revenue which allows to hire and fire big name basketball coaches! Truthfully would you not swap Hewitt for Fox given the chance???
Doug
February 16th, 2011
4:44 pm
They sure manage to take down your basketball team don’t they Supersize that order, mutt ? And GT is a basketball school. Damn sure isn’t a football school. So what is your claim to fame Superdumb…I mean Supersize?
Doug
February 16th, 2011
4:45 pm
No he wouldn’t BYRDDAWG. He’s too damn dumb.
Supersize that order, mutt
February 16th, 2011
4:46 pm
BYRDDAWG, yes, I probably would swap Hewitt for Fox, but if Hewitt does indeed get fired, I don’t think Fox would be at the top of the list of candidates, even if he were not in Athens. Hell, you would probably be better than Hewitt, and I don’t even know you. lol
Supersize that order, mutt
February 16th, 2011
4:49 pm
Doug, it’s true that Hewitt has fared miserably against the mutts, but look at the series history. Until Hewit arrived, Tech owned THUGa in basketball; Tech still leads the series by about 20 games, I believe. Since that’s such a bragging point for you mutts in football, then it’s just as valid a bragging point for Tech in basketball. As far as the fact that Tech hasn’t won in Athens since 1976 under anybody, that is a little bit misleading, because for about 10 of those years, either Tech and THUGa didn’t play at all, or they played in the OMNI. And when those games were played in the OMNI, which was about 15K in capacity, Tech fans outnumber THUGa fans about 3-1 each year.
gt4ever
February 16th, 2011
5:32 pm
If we were lucky enough to get Bobby Knight, he would have NO problem recruiting………. I can hardly understand the statements about one of the best Coaches to ever coach the game….. My suggestion to YOU Mark…… Don’t talk about things you obviously have NO clue…… It just makes you look silly!
gt4ever
February 16th, 2011
5:36 pm
Mark Price would be a perfect hire…..
Joe
February 16th, 2011
5:38 pm
Why on earth would Tubby Smith leave the Gophers for Georgia Tech? It’s like leaving Google to be a gym teacher.
Dadgum.....
February 16th, 2011
5:40 pm
Don’t fool yourselves into believing Mark Price can’t recruit. He is well connected. Indeed his assistants will do a lot of the recruiting but the head coach goes after the big recruits. Price would do just fine in that role. not saying he will be selected but that if he is I am not worried about recruiting in the least.
And to whoever mentioned Knight as a possibility, well, seriously? Probably the very single last person in the order of candidates. Exactly what Tech doesn’t need. At all. Seriously!
gt4ever
February 16th, 2011
5:40 pm
Joe,
You shouldn’t start drinking so early, it will destroy your life…. GT is a HIGH profile job… The Gophers, not so much….
BYRDDAWG
February 16th, 2011
6:04 pm
Rueben Houston said you’re right gt4……to the tune of some 90 lbs!!!!!! gt is high…..puff puff!!!
Joe
February 16th, 2011
6:05 pm
Not sure what makes the Georgia Institute of Technology so much more HIGH profile than the Gophers, but fans will be fans. Since ‘94 Minnesota’s been to the tournament more times and had an equal number final fours. Anyways, no need to get too deep into this. Suffice to say there’s no reason to go through all the strife and pain for what at best would be a small step down.
gt4ever
February 16th, 2011
6:10 pm
Joe
It has nothing to do with being a fan…… It’s all about basketball IQ…. But you keep drinking that kool aide…. Minnesota is a nice school, but it’s not the ACC, and it’s not GT….
gt4ever
February 16th, 2011
6:13 pm
thanks byrddawg…..90 lbs….. that would be a very good payday…. lol…
Joe
February 16th, 2011
7:09 pm
The Big Ten’s not the ACC? OK, I’m the one drinking KoolAid.
GR82BAG8R
February 16th, 2011
7:16 pm
Joe, consider this: Minnesota in January vs. Atlanta in January.
Now, you would have a point if Tubby has the freedom to go after any athlete he wants for Minnesota. He would not have that option at Tech. Even Duke has less challenging majors to attract, and keep, the best athletes. Perhaps that is why even Cremins could not build a deep bench when he was at Tech, and why he prefers Charleston. If you want to win you have to have the ability to recruit any athlete you think will fit your system. Hewitt is facing that problem today.
Supersize that order, mutt
February 16th, 2011
7:27 pm
GR82, Cremins did not want to build a deep bench at Tech. That was his style, as learned from Frank MacGuire at South Carolina. It was awesome to watch when he had players with the stamina and ability to work, but a key injury or a lazy player would ruin it. Not too many players today, at least whom Hewitt has recruited, could survive Cremins’ style of play.
GR82BAG8R
February 16th, 2011
7:32 pm
As far as Duke and UNC working the refs to their advantage, their may be some truth to that. Since 2001, Duke has led the ACC in free throws twice, been second three times, and only finished as low as 7th one time, in 2006-7. UNC has led the ACC in FT twice, was second three times, third twice. Tech has never been higher than fifth, finished 9th three times and is 10th this year. All things being equal, it gives the appearance that Duke and UNC work the refs to their advantage.
GR82BAG8R
February 16th, 2011
7:33 pm
oops….change their to there.
GR82BAG8R
February 16th, 2011
7:36 pm
Super, that system also falls apart if as Hewitt fan suggests, the strategy of the other coach, with help from the refs, is to get your key players in foul trouble early. Without a deep bench, you are in trouble.
GR82BAG8R
February 16th, 2011
7:38 pm
Hewitt’s troubles are fundamentals. I remember a game when Tech had problems getting an inbounds pass play executed against a press. That is something taught in middle school.
GR82BAG8R
February 16th, 2011
7:41 pm
The Size Integer Conference needs to decide what it is going to call itself.
Supersize that order, mutt
February 16th, 2011
7:43 pm
GR82, don’t you think it’s funny that, in spite of what Hewitt Fan says, Cremins, with his system, beat Duke and UNC FAR MORE than Hewitt has done, and the refs didn’t ever do Cremins any favors either. And GR82, you only have to look back as far as the Miami game this year when there were FIVE times when Tech couldn’t inbound the ball. Amazingly though, Miami had even more times than that when Tech’s press prevented them from inbounding. THAT was something I never thought I would see.
Tech'84
February 16th, 2011
7:49 pm
I was amused to hear a local radio sports b.s. show talking about the new controversey of Mark Bradley Vs. Paul Hewitt. There is no controversey: Hewitt is (and for some time, has been) a lousy coach and Bradley has simply documented his performance over the years. If anything, Mark Bradley and the AJC staff have been overly generous in their treatment of and patience with Hewitt. Indeed, Tech fans have been more than patient with Hewitt, hoping his earlier promise and success return. Hewitt has driven down the program and even directly insulted fans.