(03-21-2019 10:27 AM)TribeInTheBurg Wrote:  My theory, made of whole cloth, is that Huge looked at Coach Shaver as a coach that was losing his team and that there wasn't going to be a next year with the current team. This wasn't in the press release because it reflects poorly on Shaver for getting his next job and the players who would come off as entitled/spoiled/etc. Again, I have nothing to back this up aside from my own feelings.

So if you're the AD and you're looking at the men's basketball team, you see some potential instability because Pierce and Milon are graduating, which opens up the possibility that they could transfer. Plus you know Knight has NBA ambitions and "upside" helps his draft stock more than experience. If things go sideways, your three key cogs are down to zero in a hurry. At this point, if you're trying to hold the team together, how does firing the coach make sense?

All you have done is added an additional incentive for players to transfer. Now, every player on the team has to consider that he will be playing for a new coaching staff next fall, REGARDLESS of whether he transfers or not. I know I would rather pick my new coach than have my new coach appointed above me.

And why should Huge be desperate to win next year? She doesn't care that this is our "best" shot since five years ago. She hasn't even been here five years. "Our best chance in a while" means chickenfeed to her. And it's not like this is the dream team--look at Rocco's stats on returning win shares. We would probably be getting a solid team next year, barring transfers and injuries, not a runaway favorite. There's no reason to put all your chips on the 2020 Moonshot Team if you're a new AD anticipating many future years building up the program. You MIGHT get a better coach, because the old coach MIGHT be blowing one opportunity with a team that MIGHT be good? It's a triple-bank-shot I would attempt in the pool hall after a few beers, not something I would try as a sober and well-salaried university leader.

So if I'm Huge, and I'm anticipating a player-led shakeup of the men's hoops team, I sit back and wait. If Shaver holds the team together and they run the table next season, it's a win for me. If Shaver holds the team together and they disappoint next season, it's also a win for me because now I have a tailor-made justification for releasing him. If Shaver doesn't hold the team together, and players begin transferring, it's also a win for me because, again, I now have my justification for canning Shaver and getting my own guy in the door. Win-win-win, all by doing nothing.

Instead, she chose to fire the coach preemptively, taking all the fan/alumni/media unrest and blowback on her own head. I think what Huge is "saying" by her actions is "2020 be darned, I'm going to reboot the basketball program and I'm going to start right away." So if we win six games or twenty-six games next year, she owns it. I don't think it was the right decision but it was a brave decision, I'll give her that.