- UL's last two hires were Scott Satterfield and Chris Mack, and the Satterfield hire wasn't on the heels of a program scandal. So many programs have an inflated sense of worth. In this regard, I see UL basketball like UT football. What you WERE isn't necessarily what you ARE. And in terms of UL basketball, what you ARE is a trainwreck playing in a (usually) brutal conference with a cloud still hanging over your program, waiting for the next shoe to drop. Oh, and interim leadership on multiple levels.
- That's why Pearl doesn't make sense. It's a lateral move. Almost the same salary right now, and Pearl is obviously due for a big bump. He's taken the state's "little brother" program (though Auburn's following is broader than UL's) to a #1 ranking and a Final Four. It's not as if he's maxed out at Auburn and can't reach the highest level there. And he's got a great pipeline of talent from Atlanta, especially since Pastner and Crean are both weirdos who can't win games OR pull talent. I guess some guys would want the challenge of restoring a once-great program, but at Pearl's age, why spend your next 2-3 years trying to climb that hill, when you've already got things rolling where you are?
- We've seen it with football (and to some degree, with basketball as well). You can get paid anywhere, and especially in the portal era, you can get talent everywhere. It's why Mark Few hasn't left Spokane. If you're comfortable in a place, and you make relatively comparable money, and have the same access to talent and postseason success, why leave a good thing, unless it's an obvious step up? Baylor gave Scott Drew all the time he needed to get that thing built, and he's had six double-digit loss seasons in the past 10. But they'll build a statue of him there. That's why I think he only leaves for a TRUE blueblood...namely, Indiana, if that job becomes available.
- Kenny Payne would be wise to consider the struggles of recent guys whose first CBB head coaching jobs were at their alma maters....Penny, Ewing, Chris Mullin, etc. Plus, if he was THAT intent on being a CBB head coach, why wouldn't he have just stayed under Cal until a starter job opened up? If he's making 1.5/per, dealing with grown men and not having to recruit teenagers, why would anyone assume he'd chomp at the bit to leave that life to take his first head coaching job at a trainwreck, opposite his good friend and former mentor?
- I mean, MAYBE they pull off a great hire. But they have so many strikes against them right now. Maryland is looking for a coach, and it's already a better situation. And there are bound to be other appealing openings. I just think UL ends up with a boring, but proven steady hand, as the hire. And that'll disappoint the fan base, but ironically, boring/proven/steady is exactly what they need right now.
