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
Hugh Durham
April 2nd, 2009
4:32 pm
Let me throw my name into the hat!
bartram
April 2nd, 2009
4:36 pm
you people that are down on miami’s haith haven’t looked at his body of work at miami. last year he won 23 games this year 19 at a school that was in far worse shape than georgia when he took over. oh ya and he came into atlanta last year and recruited dquan jones one of the best players in atlanta to go to miami.
DENNIS
April 2nd, 2009
4:42 pm
HAS ANYONE THOUGHT ABOUT PAT SUMMITT AS THE MEN’S BASKETBALL COACH ? SHE HAS PROVEN SHE CAN WIN AND MAYBE SHE COULD BE THE FIRST COACH TO WIN 1000 GAMES IN WOMEN’S AND MEN’S BASKETBALL. MAYBE ANDY LANDERS COULD ALSO WATCH AND GET POINTERS ON HOW TO WIN SOME NATIONAL TITLES.
THIS IS JUST A THOUGHT.
Say It Ain't So!!!!!
April 2nd, 2009
4:44 pm
Either one and Damon should be fired. From Anderson to Purnell or Haith? Dear Dawg so it ain’t so. If it happens we will NEVER be more than we already are, which is nothing. They will be giving away free seats with every Varisty hotdog order in hopes of filling a 10th of the Stegasaurus up. I’d rather Meadowlark Lemon come give it a try that Oliver Twist Purnell or Frank Stale Haithbar.
UGA
April 2nd, 2009
4:44 pm
I have to agree with RAMBLE ON, what does Damon have against “white” candidates? I understand if you hire Capel and Anderson b/c of their resumes, but the other two coaches have done nothing to warrant interest other than being african-american. We need to hire the “best” coach regardless of color and I would believe anyone would put Miller, Lavin, Stevens or Kruger ahead of those two. If Evans hires either of the two….it will be a HUGE letdown! PLEASE don’t screw this up Damon!? We don’t need another Jirsa.
Marcus
April 2nd, 2009
4:49 pm
At the top of the list would be Xavier’s Sean Miller, but I don’t think he would be interested. I would sit down and talk with Baylor’s Drew, Butler’s Steven’s, and Dayton’s Gregory. I’d also look at UTEP’s coach too.
I think Oliver Purnell would be a horrible fit. He’s proven he can win at Clemson which is nice, but the man is 57 years old, and it seems like he’s great at going 1 and done in the NCAA’s. Does this excite you? Nor does it me.
Way down the line, and he may not be ready for this position either would be Jacksonville Univeristy’s Cliff Warren. He used to be an assistant at GA Tech, and he would probably be able to recruit Atlanta very well.
Go Tech
April 2nd, 2009
4:50 pm
Please go after Hewitt !!!!!!
Georgia Dog
April 2nd, 2009
4:51 pm
Clemson Joe is telling us to leave his coach alone. First of all we do not want Purnell. 2nd if he was offered the job, he would be in Athens in heartbeat. Clemson sucks as a town and at sports. Damon please go get Tubby. If for some reason Tubby turns us down. Go get Bobby Knight. At least it would be fun for the next 3 years.
GoBama
April 2nd, 2009
4:53 pm
Bama was looking for another coach before Georgia was. Gottfried was fired, then Felton. Bama said they were looking for a proven winner, so did Georgia. Bama just hired a coach. Will Georgia ever get a clue?
dawgs2002
April 2nd, 2009
4:53 pm
With names like Purnell and Haith I’d say UGA needs a refund on their search firm purchase.
Grant was the best choice. Obviously (to me) Evans wasn’t that interested. Anderson was his choice, that’s clear.
Sean Miller would be an excellent choice. He won’t get a call.
Pitino would be a good choice. He won’t get a call.
Gillispie? Nooooo. But he won’t get a call anyway.
Bobby Knight would electrify the fan base and get UGA competitive. The problem with him, I think, (his temper aside) is that he won’t stay more than a year, two at most. It would be fun, just not long lasting. But he won’t get a call either.
Probably going to end up with some mediocre coach like Haith. Maybe an assistant coach (though no names have surfaced other than Blog Wish Lists). Or may even end up with a coach from some Div II school.
Sounds like our Basketball program is going to remain steady (losing) state for 5 or more yrs.
YoungDawg
April 2nd, 2009
4:53 pm
NO! TO Haith, Purnell & Mike Davis!
Stork
April 2nd, 2009
4:59 pm
Go Tech,
We’ll take Hewitt if you’ll go back and hire Chan-the-man as head FB coach.
Jimmy
April 2nd, 2009
5:07 pm
Isn’t DE violating some kind of federal law by not even interviewing a white candidate?? Oh wait, I forgot in the Obama administration that nobody cares about reverse discrimination.
MillerTime
April 2nd, 2009
5:09 pm
Billy Freaking Gillispie, go get him now.
Thomas
April 2nd, 2009
5:09 pm
Chip,
I don’t get it I thought we were going after a guy who has proven he can win at a major program, not just one year. I am extremely unimpressed with both Purnell and Haith’s coaching records, as I was with Anderson. We need to get a big name coach who does it year in and year out. Why are we looking so far down the food chain? As a booster, none of the names I have heard are even slightly interesting, even Capel. Capel’s record – 148 -74, at VCU and OU. He has only been to the elite eight once (only because he has the POY), and only at a big program for three years, hardly a proven commodity. Why are we talking Izzo, Tubby, or Matta We need a hire to get everyone excited. I am so disappointed with the names I am hearing. With Georgia’s resources and potential we can do much better.
Kunta Plenty
April 2nd, 2009
5:11 pm
Evans is the Obama of college ADs: all style, no substance.
Men’s basketball aside, Evans inherited one of the healthiest collegiate sports programs in the nation. To his credit, he hasn’t screwed things up, but what, exactly, has he done to make things better and earn the rave reviews he continues to get from the media?
Of course, Evans could hire the JV coach from Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy, and Towers would praise it as an inspired, courageous choice.
BTW, does Evans use a teleprompter, too?
EG
April 2nd, 2009
5:13 pm
Tubby smith would do more for this program imediately than anyone they could get. He would keep the recruits in state, win games, unite the fan base and fill up Stegman
Dawg1
April 2nd, 2009
5:15 pm
Let me say this first, there was a time that UGA either could have cared less or turned a blind eye when it came to Academics and it’s athletes. That changed about seven years ago, with the University seeing steady improvement with every sport, especially basketball.
UGA’S APR for 2008 was 958, trailing only Vanderbilt in the SEC. By comparison, Clemson’s was 920. 925 is the ‘water mark’. You are subject to penalties and scholarship reductions when you are below 925. So why UGA is even talking with Pernell is a mystery to me.
And before all the sniping starts, here are some comparisons:
Clemson 920
Tech 931
Miami 948
UGA 958
Duke 984
If you come to Athens, you have to go to school. No, you literally HAVE to go to school or you will be held out of games. It’s the schools policy. So, hypothetically, if you plan to be around a year or two before moving on the NBA – you can ’skate’ through a lot of schools, but not at Georgia.
It took Coach Krzyzewski 8 years to turn Duke around. I’m not saying UGA Athletes face the same challenge a Duke Athlete faces, but I am saying that if Georgia holds to these standards, then they need to find a coach who can uphold the academic requirements, while winning. It will not be an easy putt. And it is something that the Clemson coach doesn’t even begin to comprehend.
It can be done; the Football team has the number one APR in the conference for 2008. UGA has been doing the right thing; they should not take a step back for the sake of a winning basketball program. Let’s make sure these kids can began a career after they leave the University.
DBasham
April 2nd, 2009
5:15 pm
For Pete’s sake, hiring either Purnell or Haith would be the equivalent of Auburn hiring Chizik in football.
SoCal Dawg
April 2nd, 2009
5:17 pm
I thought a search firm would come up with some unheard of talent. They just looked at the NCAA bracket and picked some of the top coaches. When that didn’t work they went to the bottom of the ACC. Where is this firm located? GAINSVILLE FL?!?!?!?!
lawzoo
April 2nd, 2009
5:18 pm
Houston County, we have a problem. Nobody likes our dawgs!!
Again, give up the Purnell worries,read any other publication except dawgdroppings and you will see that there’s not a snowball’s chance of his making AT BEST a lateral move….and I don’t like orange.
gp295
April 2nd, 2009
5:19 pm
Hire the best AAu in the atlanta areas and we will win in the second best basketball talent in the south.
RAMBLE ON!!!
April 2nd, 2009
5:24 pm
OK, Buyout Hewitt and it will only cost you $6,999,980.00
I’m throwing in the extra $20.
freshd
April 2nd, 2009
5:40 pm
do you guys think that the players that calipari is gonna bring to kentucky will go to class. these guys are one and done. if uga wants to get the top players in ga. they are gonna have to deal with the aau coaches and the high school coaches who know these players. either you want to be major college with top talent or you want to be a major college with mid-major talent like you have right now. the top players want to play pro ball. do you think richt gets top players because he is selling class work. he is selling the nfl. go get a top level coach in basketball.
JB
April 2nd, 2009
5:41 pm
ClemsonJoe hit the nail on the head! Get away from the coach of the Orange and White!!!!
bill_in_atl
April 2nd, 2009
5:43 pm
If it’s Haith or Purnell I might vomit, or I might just hit the snooze button and go back to sleep on the program for another 5 years.
Damon can do several things that will make me pay attention and may potentially get the fans excited about UGA basketball.
1.He can find a way to get a REALLY top notch guy. We know that will be tough but get creative and make a sale. Offer percentage of the gate, big incentives for NCAA appearances and SEC titles. Give an arrogant coach a chance to make $3-4M per year but ONLY if he wins big (which will assure the revenue to cover the pay).
2. Hire Bobby Knight. He is a jerk but so what. He wins. He graduates his players. He is NOT a rules violator. He’ll never be a “nice guy” but he has softened for sure. He would raise the level of UGA basketball immediately and would get UGA into a position where we may have an easier chance to land the guy we really want a few years down the road. You can bet you last nickel he would win right away and consistently for the time he stayed.
3. Find the BEST assistant coach there is and hope it works out as well as the Richt and Perno hires. Seems to me both of them are doing alright. This would NOT be a popular move in the short term for sure and it wouldn’t excite folks right away, but it would be much smarter than making a choice for a known loser.
I can’t for the life of me understand why Evans would want to hire someone who has PROVEN already that they are mediocre. Both Haith and Purnell are way under .500 in their own conference and have had very limited success getting to postseason play.
CalDogg
April 2nd, 2009
5:44 pm
Oh, goodness, call me an idiot. It never occurred to me to consider the color of the next UGA B-ball coach. But, when the odd combination of Haith and Pernell popped up (that is a list you want to actually publish when you’ve been so hush-hush about the whole process — two b-level coaches — made no sense), I checked them out. I honestly didn’t know that much about either one but, surprise, they’re black, too (a/la Capel, Anderson).
I’m just a dummy. Why did I not get this? UGA is bound and determined to hire a black coach. Hey, if they’re the best choice, fine by me. Who really cares what color they are.
But, I doubt if color is the guarantee of greatness, or the obvious answer to UGA’s basketball woes.
I mean, I guess that would mean these guys aren’t good enough for UGA: John Wooden, Adolph Rupp, Phil Jackson, Red Auerbach, Pat Riley, John Calipari, Roy Williams, Bob Knight, Phog Allen, Rick Pitino.
Mixed them up on purpose to avoid comparisons. They are in no particular order.
Wow. If that’s what’s going on, I’m astounded. I truly hope it isn’t. My admiration for baby A.D. Evans is already down in the low single digits. It could well evaporate.
Maybe Knight can get himself over to a Body & Soul Tanning Salon and get his bronze on, get himself on the UGA candidate list.
PTC Jacket
April 2nd, 2009
5:49 pm
Stay away from the ACC coaches. Kthanks.
Mr Realist
April 2nd, 2009
5:52 pm
Sources say??? Is this from the family of Sources?? You know, Reliable, his brother, Unidentified, and his sister, Undisclosed……
Geez, quit just printing crap to make yourself appear “in the know”. This is equivalent to the National Enquirer. You, Schlabach and the rest of the yahoo reporters know as much as we “commoners” know….
Greenville Dawg
April 2nd, 2009
6:00 pm
Who said Damon was in Detroit? Come on Chip, you can do better than this.
ahowie13
April 2nd, 2009
6:09 pm
What about Lon Kruger? He is a much better candidate than the Clemson/Miami coaches. I wouldn’t mint Xavier’s coach either.
Algonquin J. Calhoun
April 2nd, 2009
6:14 pm
No, actually, you can’t do better than Oliver Purnell. He was a great college player and as a coach his teams have become impressive winners under his guidance. He’s also a guy with a sense of ethics. i went to college with him and he was as great a person as he was a player. I doubt UGA will hire him but they should!
Dawg Tired
April 2nd, 2009
6:17 pm
Chip – Got to disagree with you on this one. My oldest son played with Capel at basketball camps growing up. I know the family well enough to have predicted from the get go on these blogs that he would not come to UGA. Said the same thing about Anderson. The flaw is in failing to properly evaluate whom we could SUCCESSFULLY go after. If DE’s “game plan” was to pursue coaches he had very little chance of actually hiring, he had a bad plan, i.e., he made a serious mistake that may have long term, and bad, consequences. He is possibly putting the program even further behind than it already is, if that’s possible. It’s like Pee Wee Reese (remember him?) going up with two out in the bottom of the ninth with men on 1st and 3rd and three runs behind. If Pee Wee decides to swing for the fences, he’s got a stupid plan. Pee Wee needs to get on base and let Duke Snyder (sp?) swing for the fences. This ain’t rocket science, but DE is close to failing the test.
Why do you think I’m wrong on this?
Rabun Dawg
April 2nd, 2009
6:21 pm
Somehow me thinks our A.D. overestimated the value of the job in Athens. I hate to say it, but , the job is a step down for a”big name” coach. Someone from a mid-major might see it as a step up, that’s why the not hiring of Grant stings! These other guys, Miller of Xavier, for example,has a very good program at a non-football school, and he probably is the “King Bee” around there. Same with Few at Gonzaga, and he would be way away from where he is well known to recruits. Now, that being said, what about the guy at Miss. State, Stansbury. He seems to run a pretty good program, and surely the lure of Atlanta talent and getting away from Starkeville might be appealing to him. I guess the “Search Firm” didn’t consider someone in the near area? I fear we are in for a big letdown, and we will be the “laughing stock” of the BBall world. Please Damon, prove me and all of the Bulldog Nation wrong!! Make us proud, and most of all, make me want to drive 160 miles round trip on a rainy Thurs. or any week night to see the Dogs play!! I did when Tubby and Harrick’s teams played!!
Georgia Also Interested In Drew, Miller, Stevens | MrSEC.com
April 2nd, 2009
6:21 pm
[...] to Chip Towers of The AJC, Oliver Purnell (Clemson) and Frank Haith (Miami) might not be the only candidates up for Georgia’s head coaching job.Also on the list might be Baylor’s Scott Drew [...]
FLDAWG
April 2nd, 2009
6:22 pm
Damon should have identified his top three candidates (Capel, Anderson, and Grant) and gone after the first available (Grant) and paid whatever it took to outbid other schools. We could have and should have had Grant. Congrats to Bama for getting a great coach.
As for the search firm, I see where a lot of people are criticizing it, I won’t go that far since apparently they did identify some very solid candidates. We just don’t know all the details of what they were suppose to do. The buck stops with Damon Evans. He should have been able to see the very real possibility of many schools looking for coaches and he did not. I don’t think this should be the end for Damon, but it is certainly a black mark on his record.
standupifyourUGA
April 2nd, 2009
6:41 pm
I’ll say it again and again. Mark Montgomery…Mark Montgomery…Mark Montgomery. Tom Izzo and his staff and turned MSU into a national power. Izzo is not leaving. He is an alum whose dream is to leave MSU basketball the equivalent of Kentucky, UNC, Duke, etc… He will retire at MSU. So if you can’t get Izzo, get the guy ready for a chance. Since the big names are drying up, lets be smart and give the reigns to Montgomery.
Gregg
April 2nd, 2009
6:43 pm
NOT real excited about Purnell and less excited about Haith!!
Paul Hamilton
April 2nd, 2009
6:46 pm
Memphis is trying to lure pearl away from tenn. and evans is begging second tier coaches to come in and run the show??? Evans really struck out standing there, while everyone else locked in their target and sealed the deal. Bob Knight looks like a real steal now. Evans could have looked this bad and still saved a couple hundred thousand on the search agency.
Frank Phillips
April 2nd, 2009
6:56 pm
OK. Here it is in a nut shell. My dad was a manager in the insurance business. He was very successful because HE was allowed to hire the men on his staff. He went after people he thought would do well in the business and at the same time make him money too. He performed a “thing” called “qualify”. He did not employ some outsider to SEE if those he hired would be “interested.” Damn Damon go get the guy you want as long as he is a good fit.
Sven Ottke
April 2nd, 2009
7:00 pm
The day a coach from the ACC, other than Haith (you can have him), leaves to coach in that inferior wrech of a league (other than Ky and those clowns will have the NCAA on their doorstep with Calicheesy) is the day hell freezes over. Take your lumps, mutts. I hear Jirsa is still available. When you changing your name to the UGa C Listers?
kauai dawg
April 2nd, 2009
7:13 pm
I was unsure of the Gilespie direction but that might not be so bad after all. He would want to prove he didn’t get enough time to finish the job. He wouldn’t have to be the face of Georgia since that is Mark Richt so that may be a better situation than earlier thought???? I am concerned of his non personality it seems but could be a possibility. Go DAWGS!
NGaDave
April 2nd, 2009
7:16 pm
I would be thoroughly disappointed if we hired either Purnell or Haith (I’d rather have Dennis than either of those guys… for that matter I’d rather have Obama’s brother-in-law here, at least we’d get a lot of TV exposure w/that which would probably be good for the program). Next step up, I’d be ok w/Lon Kruger, Tubby Smith, the current Baylor coach, or Gillespie. Top-shelf wise, I’d be glad to have Sean Miller or Mark Few as the UGA coach.
RedGADawg
April 2nd, 2009
7:22 pm
Unfortunately for DE this is a huge hire that is not going in a good direction, why settle for mid tier ACC coaches, might as well take Hewitt off Tech, I am sure the Yella Bugs would like that! It would be a huge relief for them. At least he can recruit, go to where coaching talent is really good, Big East! A Big East assistant is leagues ahead of the ACC coaches after Williams and Coach K! Tired of hearing that DAWGS will not support BBall, we need/want a reason to fill up the STEG and the names mention will not move me to buy tixs.
Bulldogs Setting Sights A Little Lower? UGA Considering Oliver Purnell and Frank Haith | GeorgiaBulldog.com - Georgia Bulldogs News, Discussion, Schedules & More
April 2nd, 2009
7:25 pm
[...] Towers suggests there are more names being tossed about. He mentions Baylor’s Scott Drew, Xavier’s Sean Miller and Butler’s Brad [...]
Jimmy in Gainesville
April 2nd, 2009
7:44 pm
Haith is not the one for Georgia. We have enough losers with Felton, Martinez, etc. Let’s go for Tubby. He’s well traveled but probably ready to settle down now. He’s a recruiter, a coach and a motivator.
Damon, Haith is a loser and we’ll go through another five or six years as losers. Go pay someone who can win whatever big bucks it takes. Don’t settle for a loser.
TRD
April 2nd, 2009
7:47 pm
Georgia needs to take a look at Greg Matta with Kennesaw State. It would not cost them $2 million dollars and this guy can coach. His brother Thad is the head coach at Ohio State.
Hey Damon, give Greg a call.
freshd
April 2nd, 2009
7:51 pm
Damon please don”t hire the guy from PENN STATE. Big 10 basketball is like Big 10 football, slow and ugly. And we don’t need Joe Pa. as head cheerleader.
Clemson fan
April 2nd, 2009
7:52 pm
No big name (and I am not just talking about Clemson’s coach) would want to coach at Georgia. Terrible area and nothing to get excited about. Cab’t believe Ga does not have a coach yet….what 2 months. They need to look at a mid major….don’t see lightening striking twice….but look at what UT did getting Bruce Pearl.
DamnTheButcher
April 2nd, 2009
8:03 pm
The Clemson and Miami coaches are jokes. This is a total f-ing joke. I just as soon keep Pete Herman vs hiring one of this SOB’s