Observations from Wyoming-CSU Game

[IdahoAlum]

The Wyoming-Colorado State game tonight was a good G5 matchup that triggered some NU-related thoughts. Wyoming won in overtime to go to 17-3, while former NU recruit David Roddy had 23 points in the loss for CSU. My observations:

—Roddy’s a darn fine player. He would start for anybody in the BIG. Physical, smooth and a great shooter. (Had 4 threes tonight).

—If I were in charge of a coaching search at NU (let’s say the Lakers fire their coach and hire Chris Collins 😉), I’d certainly take a look at Wyoming’s Leff Linder.

He’s young (44), he recruited Damien Lillard to Weber State as an assistant, was in charge of the offense for two Boise State teams that went to the NCAA tournament, took a Northern Colorado program that was decimated by NCAA sanctions to three straight 20-win seasons, and he won the CIT, which is a significant accomplishment for a Big Sky school.

Linder then took over a flailing Wyoming program, went 14-11 their first season with one of the best offenses in the Mountain West, and now they are 17-3 this year. He’s flexible— at UNC the Bears were always one of the best three-point shooting — and three-point defending — teams in the league. Because that’s what teams in the Big Sky do.

At Wyoming, his offense is centered around a 6-9 post who averages 19.5 points and a 6-6 guard whose forte is posting up smaller matchups. He had 35 points tonight.

Oh and Linder makes $475 K a year. Peanuts compared to BIG coaches. I suspect Linder will be one of the hot names on the coaching carousel this spring if Wyoming continues to play well. (No guarantees, of course. They get Boise State, unbeaten in the league, next).

Just some food for thought as we wonder who could replace Collins when the Lakers come calling this spring.

 

[Catdude]

That’s an interesting suggestion and a name I had not heard before. In looking at his resume, his team’s record improved dramatically in year 2 at both Northern Colorado and Wyoming. So very good and very quick results.

I’d love to see NU turn it around this year and finish on a extended hot streak, make the tourney and save Collins’ job. But that is extremely unlikely so it is helpful to see names of potential successors.

 

[GatoLouco]

The Mountain West has been a really interesting conference for 2 or 3 years now.

I believe that, if you are paying attention to a conference, there are intriguing names for coaching in most cases. The mid majors I paid some attention to over the last couple of years were the Horizon League and Mountain West.

I believe that in the Horizon League there are two intriguing names: Dennis Gates and Scott Naggy.

I believe that in the Mountain West there are three intriguing names: Niko Medver, Leon Rice and now I'll add Jeff Linder. Craig Smith left the Mountain West last year to go to the Pac 12. I watched a fair amount of USU ball the last couple of year and believe Craig Smith benefited more from recruiting two NBA talent players than any great basketball skills.

 

[7th Cir. Cat]

The Wyoming-Colorado State game tonight was a good G5 matchup that triggered some NU-related thoughts. Wyoming won in overtime to go to 17-3, while former NU recruit David Roddy had 23 points in the loss for CSU. My observations:

—Roddy’s a darn fine player. He would start for anybody in the BIG. Physical, smooth and a great shooter. (Had 4 threes tonight).

—If I were in charge of a coaching search at NU (let’s say the Lakers fire their coach and hire Chris Collins 😉), I’d certainly take a look at Wyoming’s Leff Linder.

He’s young (44), he recruited Damien Lillard to Weber State as an assistant, was in charge of the offense for two Boise State teams that went to the NCAA tournament, took a Northern Colorado program that was decimated by NCAA sanctions to three straight 20-win seasons, and he won the CIT, which is a significant accomplishment for a Big Sky school.

Linder then took over a flailing Wyoming program, went 14-11 their first season with one of the best offenses in the Mountain West, and now they are 17-3 this year. He’s flexible— at UNC the Bears were always one of the best three-point shooting — and three-point defending — teams in the league. Because that’s what teams in the Big Sky do.

At Wyoming, his offense is centered around a 6-9 post who averages 19.5 points and a 6-6 guard whose forte is posting up smaller matchups. He had 35 points tonight.

Oh and Linder makes $475 K a year. Peanuts compared to BIG coaches. I suspect Linder will be one of the hot names on the coaching carousel this spring if Wyoming continues to play well. (No guarantees, of course. They get Boise State, unbeaten in the league, next).

Just some food for thought as we wonder who could replace Collins when the Lakers come calling this spring.

This is an interesting out the box idea. How do you think he would do when it comes to being constrained by admissions standards? There's a reason we hired a former Princeton coach (Carmody) and former Duke Coach (Collins). Knowing how to navigate when you a huge portion of potential recruits are off the board is an important skill for our coaches. Also, does he have any ties to the midwest?

 

[IdahoAlum]

Just one other tidbit to add about coaching changes: they come with the possibility of leverage for change. Just as an example, Idaho State’s football staff was woefully underpaid, even by Big Sky standards, and was down two coaches below what was allowed. When they fired their guy this fall and hired a PAC-12 assistant, they had to significantly increase the pay pool and add the two assistants.

Just as NU increased Collins’ pay and promised facility improvements when they hired him. So a new coach could, conceivably, negotiate more flexibility on academics, for example.

Of course all of this predicated on that Lakers call….

 

[IdahoAlum]

This is an interesting out the box idea. How do you think he would do when it comes to being constrained by admissions standards? There's a reason we hired a former Princeton coach (Carmody) and former Duke Coach (Collins). Knowing how to navigate when you a huge portion of potential recruits are off the board is an important skill for our coaches. Also, does he have any ties to the midwest?

See comments above about academics. As to the Midwest ties, I don’t know that he has any but NU recruits nationally. Lander’s two best players are now from Colorado (although he does have a starter from Mattoon, Ill.). So you hire an assistant with Illinois connections. (Say Amorrow Morgan from Loyola).

 

[JournCat]

This is an interesting out the box idea. How do you think he would do when it comes to being constrained by admissions standards? There's a reason we hired a former Princeton coach (Carmody) and former Duke Coach (Collins). Knowing how to navigate when you a huge portion of potential recruits are off the board is an important skill for our coaches. Also, does he have any ties to the midwest?

We shouldn't discard a strategy with good fundamental assumptions. However we feel about either of those coaches now, both of them achieved unprecedented success here. So it may make sense to hire another Ivy League coach (I doubt we'd get Amaker, but ... ) or a suburban Chicago native with academic school credentials.

 

[phatcat]

These G5 guys exist. Now, they might be successful because of lack of admissions standards (cue willy) but they can clearly coach and win. Another example is Toledo (my wife's alma mater), where the coach took a horrendous team - 4-28 his first year, and is averaging 21 wins for the last 8, and is 17-4 so far this year. Now, they don't win the MAC tourney ever, so perhaps he's the wrong guy, but I believe there are multiple G5 achievers available every year. It's Gragg's job to choose the right one. And if he choose the wrong one, make sure the contract isn't such an albatross that he can't try again in 4 years. I'm getting too old to wait out any more bad 8 year extensions.

 

[Catdude]

I think the first look should be Drew Valentine at Loyola. He’s down the road and obviously is very familiar with the high school coaches and players in Chicago and Illinois, has been an assistant under Moser, and maintained the success rolling in his first year as head coach.

 

[NUCat320]

Medved is from the Twin Cities and was an assistant for several years at Minnesota. In one instance, he also outrecruited Collins. He’d be a good fit.

I also mentioned Jeff Boals from Ohio U in an earlier thread. (Salary $571k) He won a game in the NCAA tournament last season, took Stony Brook to two CBI’s, and is at 16-3 this year. Spent seven years under Thad Motta at OSU.

He is, however, an Ohio U grad, which could complicate things.

Speaking of college-to-pro coach transitions, I noticed this weekend that the court at Florida is labeled Billy Donovan Court. If Collins gets the OKC Thunder job, I’d happily advocate for putting CCC’s signature between the stripe and the arc. It’s the court that CCC built, after all.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

With all this talk of coaching prospects in the Mountain West, it made me wonder...

Do we really need to "Pound the Rockies" to find a Collins successor?

 

[CappyNU]

I think the first look should be Drew Valentine at Loyola. He’s down the road and obviously is very familiar with the high school coaches and players in Chicago and Illinois, has been an assistant under Moser, and maintained the success rolling in his first year as head coach.

Not sure I'd want to stake my first big hire as a new AD on a guy who's coached for 2/3 of a season with Porter Moser's recruits..

 

[NJCat]

This is an interesting out the box idea. How do you think he would do when it comes to being constrained by admissions standards? There's a reason we hired a former Princeton coach (Carmody) and former Duke Coach (Collins).

Collins wasn't hired because Duke faces academic restrictions similar to NUs.............

 

[Catreporter]

Credit to these coaches, but I must point out that quality of opponents matters. Wyoming lost by 30 at Arizona; lost to Stanford (a team much like NU) on a neutral floor. WAC is a fairly deep league, but not like the Big ten. Ohio U lost at Kentucky by 18 and to LSU (decent, but not great SEC team) by 15. The MAC has a handful of gimme games. Would these guys thrive at the next level, perhaps, but would they want to stake their futures on a job at NU with all its disadvantages relative to the rest of the Big Ten?

 

[IdahoAlum]

Credit to these coaches, but I must point out that quality of opponents matters. Wyoming lost by 30 at Arizona; lost to Stanford (a team much like NU) on a neutral floor. WAC is a fairly deep league, but not like the Big ten. Ohio U lost at Kentucky by 18 and to LSU (decent, but not great SEC team) by 15. The MAC has a handful of gimme games. Would these guys thrive at the next level, perhaps, but would they want to stake their futures on a job at NU with all its disadvantages relative to the rest of the Big Ten?

Again hiring a new coach brings leverage. If a school wants you badly enough, they can make concessions. And if you get in early on a guy like Linder, who is making $ 475 k, and offer him $2 M, I’d say there is a chance you can entice him with a long enough contract.

Of course there are no guarantees any of these guys will be successes at higher levels. But Coach K came from Army. John Calipari from UMASS. Scott Drew coached at Valparaiso. Jay Wright coached at Hofstra. Everybody has to come from somewhere.

 

[DaCat]

The Wyoming-Colorado State game tonight was a good G5 matchup that triggered some NU-related thoughts. Wyoming won in overtime to go to 17-3, while former NU recruit David Roddy had 23 points in the loss for CSU. My observations:

—Roddy’s a darn fine player. He would start for anybody in the BIG. Physical, smooth and a great shooter. (Had 4 threes tonight).

—If I were in charge of a coaching search at NU (let’s say the Lakers fire their coach and hire Chris Collins 😉), I’d certainly take a look at Wyoming’s Leff Linder.

He’s young (44), he recruited Damien Lillard to Weber State as an assistant, was in charge of the offense for two Boise State teams that went to the NCAA tournament, took a Northern Colorado program that was decimated by NCAA sanctions to three straight 20-win seasons, and he won the CIT, which is a significant accomplishment for a Big Sky school.

Linder then took over a flailing Wyoming program, went 14-11 their first season with one of the best offenses in the Mountain West, and now they are 17-3 this year. He’s flexible— at UNC the Bears were always one of the best three-point shooting — and three-point defending — teams in the league. Because that’s what teams in the Big Sky do.

At Wyoming, his offense is centered around a 6-9 post who averages 19.5 points and a 6-6 guard whose forte is posting up smaller matchups. He had 35 points tonight.

Oh and Linder makes $475 K a year. Peanuts compared to BIG coaches. I suspect Linder will be one of the hot names on the coaching carousel this spring if Wyoming continues to play well. (No guarantees, of course. They get Boise State, unbeaten in the league, next).

Just some food for thought as we wonder who could replace Collins when the Lakers come calling this spring.

He's hired! The sooner the better.