Purnell, Haith may not be only candidates for UGA
Word is the Bulldogs are going to talk to Clemson’s Oliver Purnell and Miami’s Frank Haith in Detroit. That’s just who we know about right now. Surely there will be others on Damon Evans’ to-do list in Motown. They could be still waiting on Baylor’s Scott Drew, whose team plays Penn State in the NIT finals tonight. Other names that have been discussed here — Xavier’s Sean Miller and Butler’s Brad Stevens, to name two — remain possibilities.
So would you want to see Georgia get Purnell or Haith? Some of those other guys? What about an assistant coach from one of the powerhouse programs? Let us know what you think?
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233 comments Add your comment
SoCal Dawg
April 2nd, 2009
2:12 pm
Almost a decade ago? Come on you clemson guys aren’t that dumb.
Josh
April 2nd, 2009
2:13 pm
Hey clemson joe….UGA owns clemson…. 45 -17 series last time i checked for football and ever since Harrick screwed us over I have lost interest in our basketball program other than our cinderella tournament last year in Atlanta.
rlinaug
April 2nd, 2009
2:14 pm
What I have a problem with is the firm Evans hired to help with the coaching search. Certainly, Evans didn’t pay them a LOT of money to only identify candidates–people reading this post could do that. He should have been paying them to FIND a coach and HANDLE the PR, so when the time came to announce a prime candidate, the candidate would be studying tie patterns in red and black. Instead we get an announcement that UGA has offered the job to a coach, who then uses that offer to get more money to stay where he’s at. Georgia has no clout as a basketball school. Repeated public spurnings will be ruinous to the program and result in a weak hire. I forget how much Evans paid the firm to run and organize this search, but I could do better sitting at my desk. And I work on the cheap.
Dawgs97
April 2nd, 2009
2:14 pm
I have been a Damon Evans fan since we named him Athletic Director. If after all the Bullsh– time he wasted with that “search firm” leads him to hiring Miami’s Frank Haith, Evans should step down IMMEDIATELY as the Athletic Director.
I actually don’t think Purnell would be a bad hire. He’s won rather consistently. Frank Haith is a joke. He’s no better than Dennis Felton. He must show up to interviews with Lane Kiffin’s wife or something. Sheesh, Damon.
nola dawg
April 2nd, 2009
2:15 pm
I disagree gbal… i am glad Chip is reporting on who UGA is interested in. It is going to get reported one way or another in this age of technology. And what’s to say that some people at UGA don’t leak the info on who their interested in…
Chip – just read your original post… are you hearing anything about top assistants? Like maybe Collins or Wojo at Duke? Got to be some great ass’t under Roy Williams? I’d be more excited about that then the 2 ACC head coaches above..
Dawgs97
April 2nd, 2009
2:17 pm
Nola Dawg-
Honestly, I’d rather have a top Roy Williams or Coach K assistant than Frank Haith.
Bravedawg
April 2nd, 2009
2:18 pm
Chip–something about these guys just doesn’t do it for me. Purnell’s teams always seem to be there at the start of the year, because they play a poor non-conference schedule. Then they get beat up in the ACC and end up making the tourney but losing in the first round.
And Haith…I don’t even know who he is.
I realize that plenty of teams get beat up in the ACC–it’s one of the top leagues in the country. But from all indications we were looking for a “big name,” and Purnell doesn’t do it for me.
Nick
April 2nd, 2009
2:20 pm
Mike Davis anyone?? Drew would be okay too!
Haith and Purnell would be disasters. They have not accomplished anything were they are. If that was the direction the program was going to go we should have kept Felton. The program desperately needs some excitement and these guys are not it.
Hey clemsonjoe your just mad about the but kickin you just got in baseball the last two days.
nola dawg
April 2nd, 2009
2:21 pm
agree 100% Dawgs97. and per the post from Chardog, Izzo is an amazing coach and anybody who learned from him for 10+ years works for me. That plan worked alright with our football coach learning under a legend right?
reservoirDAWG
April 2nd, 2009
2:23 pm
I don’t want Haith or Purnell. They are both mediocre at best.
dbc
April 2nd, 2009
2:25 pm
When all is said and done and Georgia has their coach, guess what’s gonna happen. We’ll all wish we had Felton back. Nobody out there will bring the kind of instant credibility this program needs besides Bobby Knight. The really good coaches are tied up now and Evans will settle for some no name with a somewhat decent record and zero sex appeal. And that just won’t cut it. Evans screwed the pooch on this one from the very beginning, and his choice will leave everyone flat. I hope I’m wrong but really doubtful at this point.
Don Gill
April 2nd, 2009
2:25 pm
UGA is going to have a tough time. A few of us are old enough to remember when a young Vince Dooley took over a very sad football program. Except for 1959-60 they had not had a good team since 1948. Tubby Smith was what I thought was going to become basketball’s VD. With all love and respect to Hugh Durham who had several good teams and good players no one has had the charisma to consistently recruit good or great players. Except Harrick.And he ruined us in more ways than one. He came to UGA because he had no other place to go. Even after a national title. Kinda like Bobby Knight. Who has several. Except Bobby doesn’t have the corruption of Harrick. We can’t woo a good coach from a good program. Even with big money. The Clemson and Miami possibilies are just assurance for more mediocrity. DG
Dawgs97
April 2nd, 2009
2:25 pm
Nola-
Great point about a certain Georgia Football coach. There are head coaches out there that are great who still could be had such as sean Miller or Brian Gregory. Those would be great hires. And again, the top programs are filled with ready-made head coaching stars to be.
Plus, say you hire a Dukie assistant. Even if Coach K retires in 5 years, there’s no guarantee Duke won’t say go first to Capel.
The bottomline is an SEC job with the fertile recruiting base of Atlanta and amazing new practice facilities is a great post for the right guy.
gg
April 2nd, 2009
2:25 pm
I want a coach at UGA who can stand side-by-side with any coach in the country…Calipari, Pitino, Donovan, Tubby, K-whatever and not get lost in the crowd!
I want a coach who is well-known on a national scale and media savvy!
I want a coach with a resume equal to or better than anyone else!
I want a coach who recognizes the real potential that UGA offers, who can really take advantage of that potential, and, most of all, WANTS to be the UGA coach!
I want a coach with integrity and honesty, who runs a clean program, graduates his players and doesn’t use the one-and-done players the NCAA allows! (What a joke!)
I want BOB KNIGHT!
Fred
April 2nd, 2009
2:26 pm
It is time to implode the Stegesauras and put in a soccer field. If we are settling for scrubs like Pernell and Haith, we might as well give up. It is over.
gdawginkalamazoo
April 2nd, 2009
2:26 pm
Me thinks it is time to start looking at some assistants at the top schools. You know the guys that are holding the clipboards for Coach K, Roy W, Tommy I. Maybe one of these cats are looking for a job. It won’t cost 2 mill. It will give them a shot at building a program and making their own. Hell if they are successful they might want to stay and see it through. Give them a solid base contract with a lot of incentives. But don’t go after the 2 guys mentioned above. The first one is too old and the Miami guy hasn’t done a lot of winning.
tdawg
April 2nd, 2009
2:26 pm
Purnell,Haith? Those are the top shelf candidates that the “Search Firm” has come up with??
Watch how quickly Memphis moves to get a name candidate.
Please call Tubby,today.
slick
April 2nd, 2009
2:27 pm
scott drew, scott drew, scott drew! he has resurrected a program where one player murdered a teammate. plus probation and lack of scholarships. this is the character and x’s and o’s coach the dawgs need.
DawginLex
April 2nd, 2009
2:27 pm
If Pearl goes to Memphis, UGA should go after UTEP’s coach Barbee who was Calipari’s assistant at Memphis and was thought to be the successor to Calipari.
If you want to get real crazy and satisfy Terence Moore, offer the job to a Smith, SAUL SMITH. Currently on Tubster’s staff at gopherville.
dawg fan
April 2nd, 2009
2:29 pm
Maybe I missed something here… didn’t one of the most successful college basketball coaches of all time (Bob Knight) express a desire to coach at UGA? Damon, what the heck are you doing? Hire him already!
RUKiddin?
April 2nd, 2009
2:31 pm
Join me in e-mailing our athletic director, who uses his blackberry to check e-mails at devans@sports.uga.edu. We must let him know we will NOT support Haith, Hamilton, or Purnell. Why fire Felton if this what you get?
nola dawg
April 2nd, 2009
2:32 pm
Great points by slick – Drew would be great. Per Chip’s post above, we could be just waiting for him to finish NIT.
Dawg97, good post. Chris Collins and Steve Wojciechowski are K’s top ass’ts now and yeah, I’d say they have learned under a pretty damn good coach. I’d be jacked if we got someone like that, or that guy Montgomery from MSU
gdawginkalamazoo
April 2nd, 2009
2:32 pm
You know Chip, WTF is UGA doing here? If we are looking for top shelf coach WHY the hell even mention looking at those two clowns? That just depreciates the job even more. I guess I liked it better when nothing was said about it. What when this thing is announced are we going to have Gomer Pyle there going suprise, suprise, suprise?
TROTTINGHOMETUDD
April 2nd, 2009
2:36 pm
ONWARD DAWG FANS. THOSE NAMES REEK WITH…”WHY AM I GETTING MY BUTT KICKED EVERY FRICKING NIGHT?”
ANSWER: YOU CAN NOT RECRUIT GREAT PLAYERS THAT KNOW YOU COULDN’T COMPETE IN THE ACC.
ArkyTech
April 2nd, 2009
2:37 pm
Why would any of these coaches mentioned come to UGA? It would be a step down for all of them.
slick
April 2nd, 2009
2:37 pm
drew has baylor yes baylor in the NIT final. think about this. baylor is no man’s land. they get what’s left over from texas, a&m, texas tech, houston, oklahoma, etc. waco texas is NOT a destination. athens is the mecca. drew is the man!
Dawgs97
April 2nd, 2009
2:38 pm
Is the comments section down now?
Final Word Please, Chip?
April 2nd, 2009
2:39 pm
Chip,
Do you think Tubby is even anywhere on the radar? If the asnwer is no, please tell me, so I can quit wishing. I’m sure I’ll get lots who disagree, but he would be a great choice for lots of reasons: great coach (only coach we might have a shot at who has won a national title); been to the mountaintop of programs and would have no reason to leave–been there, done that; old enough to want to finish his career in Athens, but still young enough for us to get at least 10 years out of him; and I’d think he’d at least consider it. What do you think? Is there no chance? If so, is it because you think he’s not on our radar, we’re not on his, or both?
blufftondawg
April 2nd, 2009
2:43 pm
The top assistants dont always make the best coaches. buzz peterson, quin snyder, tommy amaker, jeff lebo (although he seems to be getting better), matt doherty, ron jirsa. Yeah, some have made it but we dont have any room to gamble here.
Hire Purnell and you get 16 wins before Jan 1 and 6-8 afterwards. Still, i’d take that at this point. Problem, he has a big time retirement buyout at klimpson. He’s OK, i’d be happy even with his downside.
Haith, please just kill me before you hire that guy. Mark Gottfried, Billy Gillispie, Lon Kruger, Rick Stansbury – all these guys would be better than Haith.
We won’t have a hire until Tuesday at the soonest.
Dawgs97
April 2nd, 2009
2:43 pm
(sorry, I put a comment earlier that didn’t show up)
re: Bob Knight
Too old – he’s 68. Also, he’s a bully. No thanks. It would be a stupid hire. So, we’d fill the building, win 18, 19 games and get into the tourney as a 10 seed because we have a famous coach and then lose. How does that advance the program?
Either a top flight Coach K or Coach Roy assistant would be great, or we’ve mentioned a host of small school wonders…Drew, Butler’s Brad Stevens, Sean Miller of Xavier and Gregory from Dayton. All our great hires. Just because Dennis Felton was a small school success turned SEC failure, doesn’t mean that happens again.
Hire withing where we are right now. If the right guy is hied (re: not Bob Knight, not Haith, not Purnell), he can buil a great program with our Atlanta recruiting base and new practice facilities. And a few NCAA trips may finally see some serious overhaul money into Stegausaurus.
RAMBLE ON!!!
April 2nd, 2009
2:46 pm
Chip is it true D. Evans has contacted John Wooden, and he’s very interested so long as he doesn’t travel with the team?
He’ll twitter the plays to his Asst. for the away games.
Dawgs97
April 2nd, 2009
2:48 pm
Ramble ON,
I’ll take whomever we end up with over Paul Hewitt. JUST A guess, but you’ll be shopping next year.
freshd
April 2nd, 2009
2:49 pm
If UGA wants a coach with name recognition, why don’t they go after former UCLA coach Steve Lavin. He would give GA. national exposure from working at ESPN, and he would be able to recruit national talent.
Dawgs97
April 2nd, 2009
2:50 pm
Steve Lavin = NO.
Dawgs97
April 2nd, 2009
2:51 pm
Steve Lavin = NO
Gen Neyland
April 2nd, 2009
2:52 pm
DTW is becoming a job fair event for finding a BB HC for UGA..?
Sensible Dawg
April 2nd, 2009
2:52 pm
Neither Haith nor Purnell would excite the fan base. At least Purnell would be a slight improvement over what we had. I would prefer a young upcoming coach like Sean Miller. I don’t blame Damon for aiming high and going after Anderson but it is risky if you have to wait around until other good candidates are scooped up.
Mac
April 2nd, 2009
2:54 pm
Drew, Stevens and Miller are not qualified.
slick
April 2nd, 2009
2:56 pm
how is drew not qualified? he’s got his team in the nit final. baylor of all teams
NCMTNDawg
April 2nd, 2009
2:57 pm
No offense to Purnell or Haith, but that isn’t the direction UGA needs to go in. My pick is still Miller. Good X & O coach, good guy, very energetic and can RECRUIT. Next, I believe Drew at Baylor isn’t such a bad option. Third, and this is a REACH, Bob McKillop from Davidson. There isn’t a better person in the profession. He’s a solid coach who knows the game inside-and-out and I just think he’d fit in Athens.
We’ll see…GO Dawgs!!!
Rick
April 2nd, 2009
2:58 pm
What UGA BB needs more than anything else right now is credibility and (positive) exposure. There are only two guys being mentioned that provide those two things – Bob Knight and Tubby Smith. Either one would be an excellent hire and a step in the right direction. We need to give these recruits a reason to come to Athens to play BB and a reason for the TV networks to show our games (or at least our highlights!!). Purnell, Haith, etc, aren’t going to that game-changer that Damon Evans is looking for. They just aren’t. I’m an alum and I follow and support all UGA sports, but those names don’t get me excited – not one bit.
jim
April 2nd, 2009
2:58 pm
How about going after Rick Petinos TOP assistant…whoever he is… That coaching tree has been fertile for years…i.e. Donovan, Tubby to name a couple… They all have NC’s on their resumes. Invading Louisville can’t hurt.
goodenough
April 2nd, 2009
2:59 pm
Billy Gillispie is unemployed right now. And I am 100% serious. He did win at Texas A&M and UTEP, and won big. Plus, he won 22 games this year. I understand that’s not good enough for psycho UK fans, but we’d take those results in Athens in a second. Also, we’d get great media coverage at least twice next year for the UK/UGA showdowns.
It’s becoming readily apparent that Damon’s initial desire to lure an established, successful D-I coach is unrealistic. Mike Anderson didn’t even take us seriously enough to drive the price up on Missouri. We need to look for someone who is also looking for work.
slick
April 2nd, 2009
3:00 pm
mckillop from davidson. interesting. i’m for new and young. fresh dawg meat!
DawgNation
April 2nd, 2009
3:02 pm
What about putting up $3-4M for AVERY JOHNSON. He’s won in the NBA as a head coach. He’s well known around the country. He’s from the South. He fits Damon’s overwhelming need to find a “diverse” coach.
WinderDogg
April 2nd, 2009
3:05 pm
Clemson and Miami are not top notch basketball schools. We can do better…
Paul
April 2nd, 2009
3:07 pm
What ever happened to Bob Knight?
Chip Towers
April 2nd, 2009
3:08 pm
Final Word Please: Have you heard me mention Tubby Smith? All indications are that won’t happen.
Monvol
April 2nd, 2009
3:08 pm
Mac, Miller not qualified? Really? He’s better than either Purnell or Haith or almost anyone else who MIGHT come to uga. Xavier would have rolled uga at any point in his tenure there. I think most SEC folks would be very impressed if you could pull Miller, so don’t go after him.
WinderDogg
April 2nd, 2009
3:09 pm
Memphis wants Pearl to hold their team together. I think they are done! Pearl to Memphis for the money – they will not win, because the recruits will be in Kentucky blue so we should be able to get Pearl in two years. Someone contact Memphis and make sure the buyout is low! Go ahead and take one of T. Moore’s choices, just add a firing clause so we can get rid of them.