Jai Lucas?
- Thread starter HunterMcClintock
- Start date
Do you remember when we could have had Jai Lucas with Patrick Patterson? That was under BCG's last season yeah? or first?
The best established coaches and hot risers are not as interested as eras past.
Just by nature of how the game has grown and evolved. It used to be a handful of programs got media, tv, could recruit elite talent, had the resources, and paid.
Now with the explosion of the sports entertainment media complex mid tier mid majors are on tv, can recruit a couple studs via portal, NIL and the coach can make a couple million.
What exactly is our pitch?!
Houston and FAU can get to FFs.
Tradition, prestige, fans?! Hahahaha that’s code for “you got two years before we run you out of town”
Nobody is interested in that.
I’ll take a gig at a football school make as much money, get as much tv time, have access to as much talent.
when the football team looses a single game nobody will care that I didn’t land the #1 recruiting class or win 28+ games. I’ll be hero for getting to the big dance.
Just by nature of how the game has grown and evolved. It used to be a handful of programs got media, tv, could recruit elite talent, had the resources, and paid.
Now with the explosion of the sports entertainment media complex mid tier mid majors are on tv, can recruit a couple studs via portal, NIL and the coach can make a couple million.
What exactly is our pitch?!
Houston and FAU can get to FFs.
Tradition, prestige, fans?! Hahahaha that’s code for “you got two years before we run you out of town”
Nobody is interested in that.
I’ll take a gig at a football school make as much money, get as much tv time, have access to as much talent.
when the football team looses a single game nobody will care that I didn’t land the #1 recruiting class or win 28+ games. I’ll be hero for getting to the big dance.
I actually think there's a possibility we could get Golden. I think a guy with his ego and attitude would prefer to be at a blue blood program. If they somehow win it all again this year, that may change.
I think Florida is a very good job, but it's a step below Kentucky still.
Same goes for Oats. And he doesn't have proof of concept that he can win it all at Bama.
I think Otzelberger would be very much in play. ISU is always fighting for a top 4 seed. I think he'd have more resources at Kentucky.
I think Pearl wanted it forever. I just think he's done with coaching. Maybe that's wrong.
I'd rather have all of the above guys than Donovan. I don't think Donovan wants to leave the NBA. And if he does, he has zero experience navigating NIL. He hasn't had to recruit in today's world.
I think Lloyd is a west coast guy and while UK represents a step up--I don't think he leaves the West.
McCasland is a Texas guy.
I'd need to see more from Lucas before buying in. We know he can recruit. Can he win?
I think Florida is a very good job, but it's a step below Kentucky still.
Same goes for Oats. And he doesn't have proof of concept that he can win it all at Bama.
I think Otzelberger would be very much in play. ISU is always fighting for a top 4 seed. I think he'd have more resources at Kentucky.
I think Pearl wanted it forever. I just think he's done with coaching. Maybe that's wrong.
I'd rather have all of the above guys than Donovan. I don't think Donovan wants to leave the NBA. And if he does, he has zero experience navigating NIL. He hasn't had to recruit in today's world.
I think Lloyd is a west coast guy and while UK represents a step up--I don't think he leaves the West.
McCasland is a Texas guy.
I'd need to see more from Lucas before buying in. We know he can recruit. Can he win?
I feel like we said this before. We were going to pay Drew and Hurley more than they were getting. They both turned us down.
The reality is--these guys already have a lot of money. So offering them a lot of money isn't always the draw we'd like to believe it is.
Let's not go with a coach that has a significant losing record against UK over the last sixteen years (Pitino) or a coach that hasn't coached college basketball I'm a decade (Donovan).
I'm not really for Pearl either.
No. This job is way too big for him. He is in no way, shape or form ready for this. Where do you all come up with this stuff?
Guess you learned nothing from the Pope hire.
UK is still one of the top 3 jobs in basketball, and you want to hand it over to Jai f'ing Lucas?
I don’t know man. We are in a different era and not one favorable for a relatively poor university in a poor state. All power 4 teams can match our salaries and being a blue blood means little to nothing. Those at the top may prefer less pressure than what would and has been applied here. I have been listening to the pundits talk about the NFL draft and keep talking about the lack of SEC players in the top 20. I think in one of the forecasts was a single player as contrasted with 10 years ago and SEC players dominated. Why? The other conferences are willing and able to pay. If this conference has lost its foothold in football then other conferences which also historically produced excellent basketball teams will prosper and that will also aid basketball. I have been very disappointed in Pope this year but fail to understand the criticism that many on this board dished out for last year. I thought we had a much better year than I expected given there were no players left on the roster, the timing of the hire, the difficulty of the conference and the injuries. He got further than our previous hall of famer in his last five years. That’s the type of pressure that many would just avoid with the availability to earn just as much and recruit enough quality players to be very successful at other schools.
Good post. We need to measure twice and cut once to get a great coach. Nothing exciting to me about Oats or Pearl.
I think there are others out there (not sure where they are) who could be really good here.
We need to be exhaustive in our search and not pick a name.
Whoever comes may well struggle for a year or until they get their players too.
I don't see a magic wand holder out there.
I somewhat agree with you but, in todays climate, a best program can fade away pretty quick. There are so many programs you can look back on that were good to great for many years and then fell hard. I am a very biased UK guy but, I am not sure how attractive our program is right now to other coaches.
You gave an example of DeBoer and Alabama. I remember Alabama being fairly irrelevant until Saban arrived. They took a nose dive after Bear. Picked up under Gene Stallings but then fell hard until Saban was hired 20 years later. 5 head coaches between Stallings and Saban. I really dont want that.
McCasland is really good too. For me, Otzelberger has a longer track record and I love the fact that he builds great defenses. The last couple of years and the last several under Cal were hard to stomach all the uncontested baskets. For me, I like a defense that doesn't give you a **** thing, make them earn every pass let alone basket
I was thinking about it then I remembered he turned us down twice, first time with Florida then with Duke
Exactly what I was thinking. Do we really want a third spurn from this guy? Left us for the same position at Duke.
Forget this guy.
Apparently Golden wants to leave Florida because no one on campus recognizes him. Not even his own mom.
He'd do well here because nobody gives a ratshit about football.
We've got some of the worst fans
True, but that isn't the only example either of course. There's Kiffin and LSU, Riley and USC (despite leaving an already pretty major football program), among others. Seems basketball schools recently want to hire alumni for some reason.
I do think it'll be easier to get a guy after Pope than after Cal though. Just easier to follow one of the worst in school history than a guy who (at the start at least) had pretty great results.
F*ck no. This isn’t some job you just hand out like candy.
Jai has been a head coach for 6 seconds. Absolutely not.
UK is the bluest of the blue bloods, to get this job, you need to have a great resume and there needs to be a Final 4 on it.
Jesus, Jai hasn’t even coached a tournament game yet and you have him getting the Kentucky job?
I'm so ready for these new fans to move on. Holy hell
I don't understand how fans don't understand this. Why would a guy at the NBA level, leave to come back to college and have to deal with recruiting, NIL and limited practice time?
Guys… .Billy Donovan ain't coming back to college and he already told us NO, twice. Just stop.
Because Florida fans don't give a rip about basketball.
It’s all about football down there.
Yeah, they pack the O'Connell center, but that's not hard to do, it's small.
Yeah, in a garbage conference and even then, Miami isn’t ranked.
This job would chew JL up and spit him out.
If you're the AD at UK, you hit him up on back channels and make him an offer he can’t refuse.
If you're serious about basketball, you better go after the guys that have proven they’re great and Golden is great.
Chances are he won’t come, but you should always shoot your shot before going for realistic options. Problem is, Mitch Barnhart went from Scott Drew and Hurley to freaking Pope without ever going after guys like Ozelberger or Lloyd. Just complete laziness.
I actually think it's far more likely than Hurley, Lloyd, McCasland, and even Donovan.
For a multitude of reasons, I believe Scott Drew had told Mitch he would take the Kentucky job well in advance of Calipari leaving. Then when the time came, Scott couldn't/wouldn't do it. We actually lucked out getting Pope instead of Drew. I'm not certain of why Baylor has fallen off, but I question how much has to do with Alvin Brooks III leaving.
Mitch panicked. Hurley was never going to say yes. And I said that all along. The problem with Hurley was we had nothing to offer him. UCONN has forced itself into the blue blood conversation. He had everything he needed to win at the highest level (FFS, he was coming off of back to back national championships). And people love to say "GIVE HIM ALL THE MONEY. MAKE AN OFFER HE CAN'T SAY NO TO." But, when you already make a ton of money, or you can make a ton of money staying where you prefer to be--more of it isn't that great of a selling point. I get it. 12 million is a TON of money. But if you WANT to be at UCONN, and they're giving you 8 million--is your life THAT much better with another 4 million? To the point you'd give up your established and already happy life? I also don't think Hurley wanted to deal with Mitch. Hurley is a far bigger A-hole than Cal. And Cal couldn't get along with Mitch.
KSR has said over and over that a lot of the "good" candidates couldn't get past the board. I believe that's probably the case. But it's stupid, if so. We're not running a church or teaching ethics. Nate Oats hasn't done anything THAT bad. Pearl had some previous NCAA violations that wouldn't be violations. I don't even begin to understand why we didn't go after Otzelberger.
The new AD needs to have feelers out through back channels knowing who would truly be open to interviewing and taking the job. If the feedback isn't positive, don't waste time.
But assuming they're open to it, I'd cast a net that includes:
Golden
Oats
May
Oztelberger
I honestly don't think Pearl, Lloyd, McCasland, or Donovan are in play. I'm not against checking on them. Keep in mind, Bruce is 66 years old this month. Donovan is 60. You don't have a long tenure with either. And I think there's a ton of value in getting a coach 10+ years younger.
If Pearl had the desire to coach, he'd have a top 10 team at Auburn right now. I know they've struggled, but they have very talented basketball players. Bruce Pearl would do a lot better than nepotism hire Steven Pearl. We kind of went through the "Can Kentucky get Jay Wright?!" We couldn't.
Lloyd is a West coast guy. He's competing at Arizona.
McCasland is a Texas guy. He's doing very well at a Texas school. Maybe he'd move up to the University of Texas. But given his connections and history in Texas schools, I worry he's not looking to leave the state.
Donovan wants to be in the NBA. Donovan could have easily communicated his desire to take the Kentucky job during the coaching search.
People keep saying "Make them say no." "Make them an offer they can't refuse." I think the only offer Billy Donovan "can't refuse" involves an NBA job. McCasland involves a Texas job. Lloyd involves a West Coast job.
Rumor has it Self out at Kansas end of year. They might go after Golden, could lose out on our shot.
Why do you think that? Donovan had been at Florida quite a while before we went after him. He made a home at uf before he won any title. Apples to oranges comps. Golden didn’t go to Florida to make the gators a stud team. It was a stepping stone. Donovan had a family who had grown in Florida. I don’t know if Todd golden is married but I doubt his wife is going to make him stay at UF like Hurley. Golden is a west coast guy who knows the history at UK. He wasn’t on the map last time. I Think he’s very getable. The guy is making 6-7 million. Offer him 10-12 million. If Florida tried to match then push the offer a signing bonus 5-10 million and if we don’t land him Florida will be up to its eyes on a basketball contract. Fans won’t be happy with that
Blashphemy! Just because you’re an insecure, attention seeking narcissist with daddy issue doesn’t mean the next coach needs to be.
But they can’t match what Kentucky can offer. That’s the issue, Florida might have won 3 titles but it’s all hit and miss. It’s not a blue blood, it’s not a top job. And it never will be. They might not win another title for 50 years if ever. They landed a few coaches and really, just hit some streaks of luck. After Noah turned down the top pick, nobody ever dreamed of doing that again. Donovan really should have been at UK anyway. Golden was just a luck situation. Florida doesn’t have the history, aura, they don’t have the rep, they dont give coaches that game and glory. Golden can go anywhere in Florida even in Gainesville, probably never even gets asked for an autograph. Kentucky is an entirely other animal. It’s just too good of a job to turn away unless you’re a minority few who can’t for family reasons really.
Florida fans understand this, or the ones I’ve seen. They think it’s blue blood or NBA for Golden. I agree. Blue blood programs will always be coveted.