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
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387 comments Add your comment
GR82BAG8R
February 16th, 2011
7:51 pm
As far as Hewitt being replaced after this year, isn’t Tech still paying Gailey? When does that end?
Supersize that order, mutt
February 16th, 2011
7:52 pm
Apparently the Gailey payoff has ended, or ends this year. At least that’s what has been posted on here by several posters.
Tech'84
February 16th, 2011
7:55 pm
Oh, Hewitt’s still here? I’ll check back in a couple of hours. But, seriously, here’s hoping that DRad is already making behind-the-scenes inquiries and that the moment the season is over the axe falls and interviews begin.
Wilson Dunkit
February 16th, 2011
8:02 pm
We don’t need another BCA wannabe activist/politician as head coach, and whatever color he is, his only agenda and top priority needs to be rebuilding the Tech basketball program. Hewitt got distracted at some point in the last five or six years, and whether it was his BCA presidency or his numerous social causes, he neglected the young men in his charge and the program and Institute they represented.
Wilson Dunkit
February 16th, 2011
8:04 pm
Hewitt has squandered all the good will he built up early in his career at Tech and the last straw was his attack on the fans via Twitter last year.
Dadgum.....
February 16th, 2011
8:05 pm
Hewitt will be fired on or before March 14th. You can bet the behind the scenes searching has begun.
Joe
February 16th, 2011
8:09 pm
Perhaps Krzyzewski or Bill Self. They’re about as easy to get as Tubby Smith.
pcb mike
February 16th, 2011
9:41 pm
Mark Price as head coach with Noodles as assistant head coach. If Price isn’t interested, offer Noodles the job. A Tech man would be a nice change.
brent cunningham
February 17th, 2011
6:02 am
who
pay the money
February 17th, 2011
11:47 am
tech needs to get tubby smith–for a ton of money he would come to atlanta from minnesota.
Spearpark
February 17th, 2011
12:24 pm
Mark Price could give rebirth to the program again, like he did in the 80’s. He was not highly recruited then, but look how he ended up. A second time around at GT would be awesome for the fans.
Ce J
February 17th, 2011
1:41 pm
Mike Davis at UAB is the guy Georgia Tech needs. He is about to lead UAB to it’s FOURTH consecutive 23-24 win season. He can recruit. He was about to sign Demarcus Cousins(Kentucky) AND Bledsoe(Kentucky) before UAB administration screwed that up. He took Indiana to National Championship game in only his second season(Knight hadn’t done it in the previous decade). He is a great offensive coach though he doesn’t get enough credit for it. He wants back in a big time conference. He needs SERIOUS consideration. The only reason they haven’t been to NCAA’s lately is due to conference and nobody hardly in America could beat Memphis. This year Conference USA is good and deep. Mike Davis is the guy!
Spearpark
February 17th, 2011
5:55 pm
Anyone who thinks Mark Price can’t recruit is WRONG!! He can recruit because he has played at the highest level. If you were a talented high school player, wouldn’t you want to play for someone who knows how to develop your skills and knows what it takes to play in the NBA? He wasn’t just a player, he was an All Star. Mark has worked with Rajon Rondo, Lou Williams, Al Harford, Thaddeus Young and 25 other active NBA players. Doc Rivers sends his own son to Mark. If Mark Price were coaching at GT, the players would be improving. Wouldn’t that be a nice change?
T-man
February 17th, 2011
7:28 pm
Mark Price is the best choice out there. Don’t mess around and not use the best.
The Anti-BuzzDraft
February 17th, 2011
8:20 pm
If Price is the hire, Tech will be the laughing stock of college BB. Real coaches will remember that Tech overlooked all current bead coaches and all current assistant coaches in college. The coaching profession is a close-knit community. Coaches start as grad assistants and then become assistants at a small school and work their way up from there. You five are going off of emotion with this Price nonsense. He would not be a good hire.
Big Fan
February 17th, 2011
9:33 pm
GT was a laughing stock before Bobby Cremins, Mark Price and team showed up and turned the program around. I have seen what Mark Price did at GT and with the Cavs. I am a believer.
Big Fan
February 17th, 2011
9:46 pm
So it is better to be a grad assistant and work at a small school than be a point guard leading and coaching your team from the floor at the highest level? What does a point guard in the NBA do? Convey what the coaches want the team to do to the players on the floor – 100 games per season. That sounds like it might help someone work his way up the ladder. Working as an assistant in the NBA with the best players in the world in player development doesn’t count as working your way up? You were probably one of the ones who also said that Price could never make it as a player in the NBA.
The Anti-BuzzDraft
February 17th, 2011
9:48 pm
There is a huge difference between being a player and a coach. Stop thinking like a fanatic a start thinking about what is the right thing for the school and program. He has no success as an assistant coach or as a head coach overseas. You think he would be great because you read it on the hive or TOS. That group is a small population with very little sports management knowledge or athletic skill. They are also fanatics like most posting on Bark’s blog.
The Anti-BuzzDraft
February 17th, 2011
11:01 pm
Fan you are missing the point because your emotions are getting in the way. I never said anything about him not making it in the NBA. Emotions once again mate.
gtfan
February 17th, 2011
11:11 pm
If i win the mega drawing Sat night I’ll glad give GT 7 million to fire Paul Hewitt. That stupid Coach needs to be locked up for stealing GT’s money.
gtfan
February 17th, 2011
11:13 pm
If I win the Mega drawing Sat night I’ll give GT the money to fire Paul Hewitt.
garrett
February 18th, 2011
12:15 am
http://georgia.mugshotlist.com/roth-matthew-richard/
Stan the Man
February 18th, 2011
9:09 am
How about Tech putting together a package deal:
1) Bring back Bobby C as head coach for three years, as previously suggested,
2) Bring on both Mark Price and Craig Neal as assistant coaches to groom for the head coach position when Bobby’s contract is up. (This might have problems depending on their egos, but it would make for an interesting dog fight (sorry GT fans)to see who would prevail.)
3) Other possible assistant considerations – Dennis Scott, Brian Oliver, Matt Harpring or John Salley (I’m sure there are others). Old time Tech supporters would probably enjoy this situation and relive the past glory days of GT Basketball.
Something has got to be done now. It is really sad and frustrating to go to a home game, where the stands are half (or more)empty. It is especially discouraging to attend an ACC game (North Carolina) where the visiting team’s followers seem to be in the majority and more vocal than the home crowd (???), until Tech broke away for a great win.
On another note – the Tech Band is one of the best and most entertaining in the country. All Tech fans need to experience the fun and enthusiasm of the band, as they, at jolt at full speed and intensity,to spread out in the Thriller Dome to play the post game finale – those dancing students who remain are a pure joy to watch. If only we could find a way to instill the same effort and intensity with the team and its coach. Keep up the good work. You provide a great diversion to a disappointing situation. GO JACKETS!
Stan the Man
February 18th, 2011
9:49 am
Mark Strauss – sorry about repeating your suggestion. I just read your blog – and am in total support of your choices – I guess great minds think alike.
Bill
February 18th, 2011
5:59 pm
Know you think Stevens isn’t interested, But I sure would make him number one on my “Things-to-do-List”. Fits all of your criteria. Money well spent if you can get him. Dooley and Neal would be nice choices. Both would be able to recruit Georgia and have national ties. Don’t think Anderson will leave Missouri, but Martin isn’t going to come here.Forget any Big East coach with zero ties to ACC, They won’t leave BEast. Jay Wright isn’t going to replace his friend Hewitt…..Hewitt has killed the lure of Tech being a big time program. Wonder how many of you remember how close Tech was to hiring Purnell right before Hewitt came here?
The first "Tubby Rumor" of the year, but this one is different | Minnesota Gophers Tailgating | Minnesota Golden Gophers Football News, Updates, Polls
February 18th, 2011
8:11 pm
[...] The first "Tubby Rumor" of the year, but this one is different 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. [...]
BBall Idiots
February 19th, 2011
2:30 pm
Tubby Smith was totally foolish in leaving UGA for Kentucky. He could have built UGA into a basketball power. I’m a Tech fan but I really thought at the time Tubby was making a huge mistake leaving UGA. He had their program on the right track, but instead chose to leave. Sometimes building a dynasty is better than leaving for one . He could have have made a huge name for himself. It was sad to watch how the Kentucky fans treated him. Now for the subject at hand. I would chose Mark Price. Even though he’s never coached before he’s been around B ball long enough to know how to do the job. Be honest ,how many of you thought he would make it in the NBA? I bet none of you bloggers. I believe he could do anything he put his mind to and be sucessful. I vote for Mark Price hands down.
bh
February 19th, 2011
5:38 pm
what do we need to do to let our alien AD know that we tech fans are not happy with our basketball program and NEED A NEW COACH?
Don’t slow down the discussion, Techies!
GT is in trouble
February 20th, 2011
9:33 am
B ball coach about to be dumped and next year, after a 5-7 season or another 6-6, CPJ will be too. History reveals that GT goes through football coaches every 4.3 years and CPJ is beginning year # 4. Since Dodd in 67, after Florida ran him off in the Orange BOwl, there have been about 11 coaches, counting him. Sad.
GT is an unstable program right now.
TheUniversityofGeorgia Tech
February 20th, 2011
6:42 pm
out of coaching option: Bobby Knight! – he can’t get the best players….well mark last time i checked hewitt was getting the players…lets get a coaches coach!
nba option: Sam Mitchell – he was the nba coach of the year!
Assistant Coach option: hire Wojo from Duke or Chris Collins
Off the wall options: Bring back Cremins! or Harrick! – both will get you wins!
From the lower ranks: Donnie Tyndal is a great name from morehead state but what about even lower yet very successful: dip metress, augusta state
Former Tech Hoops Fanatic
February 20th, 2011
11:28 pm
Sad to say that I was once an intense GT hoops fan – I even camped out for ACC tix back in the day and shelled out $$$$ for season tix as an alum. However, Hewitt has killed my spirit as a fan of the game I loved at the college level. His 2004 run was a flux, and we were embarrassed in the final game. His wins today raise an eyebrow, that’s all. His tenure is past due by about 3 years. To rekindle interest, DR will have to get Craig Neal or a blockbuster name like Rick Pitino.
To GT is in trouble, you are insane. “GT goes through” means the same thing when Curry leaves to fail at Bama, Ross leaves for NFL, Lewis gets fired, O’Leary leaves for ND resume-gate, Gailey gets fired…? Go back to your board Dawg.
The General
February 21st, 2011
1:30 am
Bobby Knight wants back into coaching and will take the tech job for only a few mil per year. The Tech AD needs to make the call and get the General in Atlanta!
oskar
February 21st, 2011
8:23 am
Mark, Sendek would at least be great for his honest and erudite interviews (I’m pretty tired of “Our shots didn’t fall.”) I never understood how the fans in Raleigh hated Sendek and loved Chuck Amato.
....
February 21st, 2011
10:12 am
Mark – I’ve never been more reminded of your lack of college basketball knowledge than after reading this article. Wow. You really have no idea what you’re talking about do you? When will you wake up and realize that it is extremely difficult to win at Tech. They had a wonderful coach in Bobby who took them to a final four and then when he hit a rough spot (which everyone does) they forced him out. Now you have a coach in Hewitt who has had some success but also hit a rough spot and surprise surprise, they want him out.
You will understand how hard it is to win at Tech when the next coach experiences the same ups and downs that Hewitt and Cremins did before him. Maybe, HOPEFULLY, then you will shut up about things that you are not educated on.
VJacket
February 21st, 2011
2:54 pm
Just let Paul Johnson coach the basketball team.
jay
February 21st, 2011
11:51 pm
I would like to see Steve Fisher. Been there, done that coach, making magic at San Diego State, formerly of Michigan, a winner all around. A little older, but…
BBall Fan
February 22nd, 2011
9:00 am
Dip Metress…Augusta State. Has had the most successful basketball program in the state of Ga for the past 5 years bar none. If Tech wants a winner the would do well to consider him. To say no way they would hire or consider a D2 coach would be ignorant and a mistake.