Who would be your next coach

[TitanVoiceofReason]

I would like for the titans to at least interview Montana's head coach Travis DeCuire, his team played very disciplined against Michigan in the NCAA tournament and actually had the wolverines down 10-0. If he can get players to sign with him to attend school in Missoula, Montana, he should able to do really well getting players to Detroit. I am sure he wants to get the heck out of Montana too.

https://gogriz.com/coaches.aspx?rc=192&path=mbball

One of my nephews lived in Missoula. He and his wife loved it. It's a college town. They compared it to Ann Arbor. If he loves the outdoors, it may be harder than you think to get the DeCuire family to pull up stakes and move here.

[titanmac]

if i had to guess, i guess vowels keeps jj. for those worried about a salary hit from the ba contract, im fairly certain that vowels has an “out” clause. this based on conversations had during the mccollum era.

[udballer]

One thing is clear. Some posters here will not be happy with whatever Vowels decides.

Look who has turned into the negative Nancy on the board now. Cheer up, PTC. We are in the process of correcting our prior mistakes. Things are looking up.

[udballer]

if i had to guess, i guess vowels keeps jj.

Agreed. I'd guess Vowels makes a poor decision also.

[ptctitan]

One thing is clear. Some posters here will not be happy with whatever Vowels decides.

Look who has turned into the negative Nancy on the board now. Cheer up, PTC. We are in the process of correcting our prior mistakes. Things are looking up.

I thought my statement was true given that several posters believe that Vowels should be fired and not be part of hiring a new coach.

[The-Dude]

Let’s get this thread back on track. Of all the names I have seen mentioned the last couple of days, I would say that Michael Thomas may be the best and most fitting candidate for this job.

[udballer]

Let’s get this thread back on track. Of all the names I have seen mentioned the last couple of days, I would say that Michael Thomas may be the best and most fitting candidate for this job.

Well said, Dude! You've made me a believer. Now, all we have to do is convince the administration. Based on what I've read here in the past, a simple email should get an immediate response.

[R.B.J1]

Let’s get this thread back on track. Of all the names I have seen mentioned the last couple of days, I would say that Michael Thomas may be the best and most fitting candidate for this job.

I disagree, Decuire is clearly a better choice than Thomas. Decuire has played,coached and recruited on a higher level than Thomas. We dont have the time or money to gamble on a rookie D1 coach. We need to start a "Decuire to Detroit" campaign.

[titandave]

Here's commentary (Detroit News, 3/27) regarding Andy Bronkema as a candidate for the head coaching job at UDM:

Few coaches’ star has risen us much this season as Bronkema, 34, the heavily bearded coach at Ferris State, which just won the Division II national championship — the first Michigan team ever to do so. He’s spent five years as head coach in Big Rapids, after serving as an assistant the six before that. He’s a Michigan native who played high-school and college ball in the state, and most importantly from Detroit Mercy’s perspective, he has a strong recruiting record around here. The Division II coach of the year had Drew Cushingberry (Romeo), Noah King (U-D Jesuit) and Jaylin McFadden (East English Village) among impact players this season.

[Tacitus651]

I hope we hire Bronkema. And, we should petition the NCAA to allow the Ferris players to transfer to UDM and play immediately due to tragic circumstances. Kind of like Marshall's football team in 1970.

[uofdfan1983]

Tac, I shouldn't complain about an attempt at humor, and I am swamped at work but I gotta stop to write this: we should never joke about an event such as the Marshall football team disaster.

[JDetroitTitan]

I hope we hire Bronkema. And, we should petition the NCAA to allow the Ferris players to transfer to UDM and play immediately due to tragic circumstances. Kind of like Marshall's football team in 1970.

It is a no brainer. He is in are backyard and knows the landscape. He recruits in Michigan and the Midwest (14 of the 17 from Michigan the other 3 from the Midwest and 3 of them from Detroit). He also knows how to win in Calhan Hall 1-0 record (check the link)

http://www.ferrisstatebulldogs.com/sports/mbkb/2016-17/releases/20161107wi140q

[JimmyChitwood]

It seems like in so many of these threads we suggest or hope for former players, either from UofD or elsewhere as our next coach.

In a general statement, I would like to see a basketball guy, probably not a former player, who has been coaching under a great head coach with a winning system. On paper, BA was a guy like that, but due diligence on BA would have raised some warnings. Someone who lives and breathes the finer points of the game. Of course, you never know how these assistants will be as head coaches, but if I was looking for a guy I would start with the assistants of the top 20 teams.

[R.B.J1]

It seems like in so many of these threads we suggest or hope for former players, either from UofD or elsewhere as our next coach.

In a general statement, I would like to see a basketball guy, probably not a former player, who has been coaching under a great head coach with a winning system. On paper, BA was a guy like that, but due diligence on BA would have raised some warnings. Someone who lives and breathes the finer points of the game. Of course, you never know how these assistants will be as head coaches, but if I was looking for a guy I would start with the assistants of the top 20 teams.

There were plenty of well know red flags about BA, there were complaints about his ability as a strategist and his scouting of future opponents when he was a titan assistant. I was captivated by the big smile, flashy suit,the quick wit of a stand up comedian and his outstanding introductory speech which was the high point of his career as the titan coach.

[ptctitan]

It seems like in so many of these threads we suggest or hope for former players, either from UofD or elsewhere as our next coach.

In a general statement, I would like to see a basketball guy, probably not a former player, who has been coaching under a great head coach with a winning system. On paper, BA was a guy like that, but due diligence on BA would have raised some warnings. Someone who lives and breathes the finer points of the game. Of course, you never know how these assistants will be as head coaches, but if I was looking for a guy I would start with the assistants of the top 20 teams.

Just hire the best candidate. Since we don't really know the list of actual applicants, it's hard to rule out anyone at this time. I don't care who he or she is as long as the person hired is the best possible choice available. I'm not for or against former players including Jackson. Just get it right this time.

[upbasketballfan]

It seems like in so many of these threads we suggest or hope for former players, either from UofD or elsewhere as our next coach.

In a general statement, I would like to see a basketball guy, probably not a former player, who has been coaching under a great head coach with a winning system. On paper, BA was a guy like that, but due diligence on BA would have raised some warnings. Someone who lives and breathes the finer points of the game. Of course, you never know how these assistants will be as head coaches, but if I was looking for a guy I would start with the assistants of the top 20 teams.

If you want to learn to play piano it usually helps if the person giving the instruction can play the piano. If you take German the instructor should be able to speak German. Why is it we think someone can coach an athlete who read a book or had someone else tell him the different experiences. Usually works better if you have been in the situation yourself and know from experience how to correct it. It takes a lot of the guessing out of the equation. However I am a slight fan of the old " Those that can play,play. Those who can not play teach and those who can not teach administrate." We need to add those who are incapable playing,coaching or administrating can second guess. In some sports our age limits the time we can play so at that point we need to pass the experience along to the next generation. Its not to often in an in an interview that a retiring player looks back and tells how his typing teacher made him the player that he is today. I am sure if BA stayed around long enough he could produce a lot of clowns. He was turning the program into a bad joke. Now AB might be the right guy to coach the House of David baseball team.

[JimmyChitwood]

If you want to learn to play piano it usually helps if the person giving the instruction can play the piano. If you take German the instructor should be able to speak German. Why is it we think someone can coach an athlete who read a book or had someone else tell him the different experiences. Usually works better if you have been in the situation yourself and know from experience how to correct it. It takes a lot of the guessing out of the equation.

I would bet almost all head coaches, assistants, grad assistants, director of basketball operations and posters on this board have played the game at some point, and some at the college level. But I don't want to hire JJ, Valentine, Willie, Rashad, Marjle etc because they were good players, they coach, and we know their names. I wasn't suggesting hiring someone who never played the game. I want to hire the best coach out there, not a guy who was a good player. Our problem would be attracting a good assistant coach from a big school. Ours will not be an easy job especially when we will likely have limited talent to start with. I wouldn't say BA or Ray were good game coaches. Their teams often underachieved.

It would funny if Kevin Mondro got hired, who's now the associate head coach at EMU because their was talk that when he and BA shared an office BA would take Mondro's ideas to PW and claim them as his own. I'm not saying we should hire Mondro but if we are looking at former players his name should be included. EMU had 22 wins, and beat (and lost to) OU this year.

[titandave]

I understand Joe Dooley (head coach at Florida Gulf Cost University) is looking for a new opportunity. He has an excellent resume and is in the prime of his career. The UDM coaching job certainly offers a challenge and the salary would be approximately 2X what's he's paid at FGCU.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Dooley_(basketball)

[upbasketballfan]

I would bet almost all head coaches, assistants, grad assistants, director of basketball operations and posters on this board have played the game at some point, and some at the college level. But I don't want to hire JJ, Valentine, Willie, Rashad, Marjle etc because they were good players, they coach, and we know their names. I wasn't suggesting hiring someone who never played the game. I want to hire the best coach out there, not a guy who was a good player. Our problem would be attracting a good assistant coach from a big school. Ours will not be an easy job especially when we will likely have limited talent to start with. I wouldn't say BA or Ray were good game coaches. Their teams often underachieved.

It would funny if Kevin Mondro got hired, who's now the associate head coach at EMU because their was talk that when he and BA shared an office BA would take Mondro's ideas to PW and claim them as his own. I'm not saying we should hire Mondro but if we are looking at former players his name should be included. EMU had 22 wins, and beat (and lost to) OU this year.

Ray had an eye for talent. I wasn't suggesting we hire a coach just on his playing ability. I have found the best coaches to be individuals who were better than average players but not due to their ability but due to their hard work, dedication and problem solving.

[NC Titan]

Two comments:

When PW stepped down Mondro was among the candidates to succeed him, especially as Kevin had been running the team when PW was out on medical issues. The decision then was to bring in an outsider as coach, start fresh. I don't disagree that a clean break from a troubled team (PW's final years were pretty mediocre) is often the right move.

It's hard to find a successful head coach who didn't play before moving into coaching. I'm certain there are examples, but John Wooden (three-time All-America), Dean Smith, Bobby Knight, Coach K, John Thompson, Brad Stevens, Joe Dolley and legions more all had successful college playing careers. I don't necessarily think that playing success leads to coaching success, but I think playing under a good coach helps breed a good coach.