Curious to see where everyone is on their coaches so far this season, and what kind of movement you all expect from your coaching staffs in March. This is a random ranking from an outsider, just based on how I see it. Would love to get input from other fans.

Hot Seat
1) Ron Sanchez - Charlotte - KenPom has the 49ers as the #123 program overall, but Sanchez has never even sniffed that ranking. Seems like he's in the hottest seat in the conference.
2) Steve Henson - UTSA - This one I'm kind of generalizing because UTSA seems like they want to show that they're the new UCF type of big spender in the AAC, and seasons like the one Henson is having isn't going to cut it.

Warm/Move Wouldn't Surprise
3) Jeff Jones - ODU - Similar to Charlotte, Jeff Jones is at the helm of KP's #109 program and has only made one tournament. This team is #203 overall, just seems like it might be time for a breakup.
4) Dan D'Antoni - Marshall - Seems like Marshall fans have been predicting this as the last season for him. I thought he might be a lifer here, but my guess is that he gets forced out.
5) Rick Stansury - WKU - Western seems so up and down this season that they might want someone new this year. Rick seems like he always brings in great talent, but isn't consistent enough. It's year #6 in Bowling Green and he hasn't made the dance, seems like that might be long enough to have waited.
6) Jay Ladner - So Miss - I truly have no idea here. Barely putting out top250-300 teams, but the last guy also left to take an assistant coaching job so maybe that's their new ceiling.
7) Jeremy Ballard - FIU - Seems like a young guy at a bad program. FIU Program rank is #238, and he's been right around that wheelhouse during his tenure. Though it looks like they fired Anthony Evans after 5 years of similar performance (Ballard is in year #4).

Safe
8) Joe Golding - UTEP - First year seems maybe a bit disappointing, but the guy has a good track record so it feels like this is a good one to watch over the years.
9) Nick McDevitt - MTSU - remember when Middle fans thought the sky was falling? Seems like he's finally figured things out a bit in year 4.
10) Dusty May - FAU - teams have improved in KenPom each of the past 3 seasons, now has FAU at their highest KP ever (147).
11) Scott Pera - Rice - Seems like a pretty good coach that meets Rice's current level of care for its athletics. I'm curious to see what he could do if they ever step up their commitment to the program.

Untouchable
12) Andy Kennedy - UAB - Finally brought life into Bartow. In year 2 AK has UAB at its highest KP ranking ever.
13) Eric Konkol - LA Tech - Really good coach with maybe the player of the year
14) Grant McCasland - UNT - Seems like probably the most untouchable guy after what he did last season, and then deciding to return.

1. Rick Stansbury---not close, Year 6 now....Has the the record in WKU history of never making an NCAA appearance. He is literally only coach in WKUs history who has not gotten us to NCAA tournament in a 5 year span.

I agree with Jones at 3. If he's not enjoying his retirement and focusing on hid health next season The odu boards might be a no fly zone.

I'm hoping Ladner's seat is burning him.

Golding is certainly safe. He needs to recruit a solid and seasoned big man. UTEP has little to no inside game right now. His hire came after most recruits were spoken for so we'll see how he does this time around

Totally agree on Henson, though I feel kinda bad for him in a way. When basketball recruits visit other universities, and then see UTSA’s basketball facilities, there’s no doubt they go back home with the impression that we just don’t value our basketball program. We’ve spent a lot on football to get that going, but until we now spend and build for basketball also, I think the best almost any coach can do in our circumstance is .500 or just above, and Henson is actually right at that .500 mark in conference play since he has been with us. It’s just really hard for us to draw competitive talent right now.

Although Konkol is not getting fired this year (barring something crazy happening), I think he's going to lose his "untouchable" status unless something changes. This is his 7th year and so far he has yet to win the league or make it to the dance. Last year was great as we won 3rd place in the NIT and a division title but that's not too much to show in 7 years. I think if he doesn't get either a championship or NCAA tournament birth by the time Lofton is gone, he may see his bags packing. I like the guy and he has done well but Tech needs to get the monkey off its back and he has had a while to make it happen.

(01-24-2022 03:01 PM)dawgonit Wrote:  Although Konkol is not getting fired this year (barring something crazy happening), I think he's going to lose his "untouchable" status unless something changes. This is his 7th year and so far he has yet to win the league or make it to the dance. Last year was great as we won 3rd place in the NIT and a division title but that's not too much to show in 7 years. I think if he doesn't get either a championship or NCAA tournament birth by the time Lofton is gone, he may see his bags packing. I like the guy and he has done well but Tech needs to get the monkey off its back and he has had a while to make it happen.

This may be the toughest thing about CUSA - we've got at least 4 programs that expect to make the tournament every year, and only one bid to share. So guys like Konkol, who has objectively done a terrific job the past 3 seasons, might get let go because he doesn't have enough of the odd luck needed to win the conference tournament.

(01-24-2022 11:08 AM)Auburn_Blazer Wrote:  Safe

9) Nick McDevitt - MTSU - remember when Middle fans thought the sky was falling? Seems like he's finally figured things out a bit in year 4.

Figured what out? How to schedule an OOC slate he can beat?
Here's who we've beaten with their current Pomeroy ranking(if applicable)

Brescia-NAIA
Bethune Cookman-343
Winthrop-193
Rider-289
Mercer-207
Bryan-NAIA
Tennessee Martin-315(twice)
Coastal Carolina-165
FAU-147
FIU-245
USM-317

(01-24-2022 03:01 PM)dawgonit Wrote:  Although Konkol is not getting fired this year (barring something crazy happening), I think he's going to lose his "untouchable" status unless something changes. This is his 7th year and so far he has yet to win the league or make it to the dance. Last year was great as we won 3rd place in the NIT and a division title but that's not too much to show in 7 years. I think if he doesn't get either a championship or NCAA tournament birth by the time Lofton is gone, he may see his bags packing. I like the guy and he has done well but Tech needs to get the monkey off its back and he has had a while to make it happen.

It would be crazy to fire the man, but UAB fired Mike Davis under similar circumstances years ago. Minus one year of catching lightning in a bottle come tournament time, nothing about that worked out tremendously for us.

(01-24-2022 04:08 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  

(01-24-2022 11:08 AM)Auburn_Blazer Wrote:  Safe

9) Nick McDevitt - MTSU - remember when Middle fans thought the sky was falling? Seems like he's finally figured things out a bit in year 4.

Figured what out? How to schedule an OOC slate he can beat?
Here's who we've beaten with their current Pomeroy ranking(if applicable)

To add heat to McDevitt's seat, I hear Ole Miss is about to fire Kermit. Would MTSU hire him back on a moment's notice?

(01-24-2022 04:37 PM)blazers9911 Wrote:  

(01-24-2022 03:01 PM)dawgonit Wrote:  Although Konkol is not getting fired this year (barring something crazy happening), I think he's going to lose his "untouchable" status unless something changes. This is his 7th year and so far he has yet to win the league or make it to the dance. Last year was great as we won 3rd place in the NIT and a division title but that's not too much to show in 7 years. I think if he doesn't get either a championship or NCAA tournament birth by the time Lofton is gone, he may see his bags packing. I like the guy and he has done well but Tech needs to get the monkey off its back and he has had a while to make it happen.

It would be crazy to fire the man, but UAB fired Mike Davis under similar circumstances years ago. Minus one year of catching lightning in a bottle come tournament time, nothing about that worked out tremendously for us.

I seriously doubt Konkol is laughing off players' final exam attendance and wearing out his thumbs texting players already on scholarship at other universities. He still looks like a dork, though.

(01-24-2022 06:21 PM)Luckyshot Wrote:  

(01-24-2022 04:08 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  

(01-24-2022 11:08 AM)Auburn_Blazer Wrote:  Safe

9) Nick McDevitt - MTSU - remember when Middle fans thought the sky was falling? Seems like he's finally figured things out a bit in year 4.

Figured what out? How to schedule an OOC slate he can beat?
Here's who we've beaten with their current Pomeroy ranking(if applicable)

To add heat to McDevitt's seat, I hear Ole Miss is about to fire Kermit. Would MTSU hire him back on a moment's notice?

My gut reaction is that money would be the only thing that would prevent it from happening. Don't know the details of getting out of McDevitt's contract. I would think Kermit would be willing to be realistic in salary negotiations, but I wouldn't fault him if some other program wanted to pay him more and he took it

Looking at it a bit more deeply, it took Kermit a decade to eclipse 20 wins in a season in Murfreesboro. Would he be able to get things ramped up faster the second time? I would think so and I don't know that we're going to do any better with a new hire, so... speaking for myself, I'd be on board.

To the OP, I’m sorry but McDevitt is a clown show and has proven himself as much in three and a half years. He shouldn’t be anywhere near a head basketball coaching position right now.

He has parlayed one of the easiest schedules in the nation to something that gives the appearance of decent by cobbling together a roster of JCs and transfers. But when your best wins are low majors around .500 and a .500 Sun Belt and then a .500 FAU team how is that figuring things out?? The best thing we can say about Nick in year four is at least he isn’t losing to all those ****** programs like he did the first three years.

Nick McDevitt, if he finished this season around 18-20 wins, should get another year. I feel like the schedule has been friendly to him and I’m worried that will result in an extension. If he follows this year up with more improvements next year then I’d be willing to let go the first three years.

I really love Dan D'Antoni, and his quirky post game musings. This one's tough to swallow. We had started to build a mentality and an identity, it just may be time for Coach D to retire.

We would never fire him, with such a close connection to the family. This is a crazy tough season to get through.

1) Ron Sanchez - Charlotte - KenPom has the 49ers as the #123 program overall, but Sanchez has never even sniffed that ranking. Seems like he's in the hottest seat in the conference.

This one may actually be a warm seat for a few reasons.

1) I think Sanchez's contract runs through 2026. I don't know the language, but that is a long time to pay a coach to not coach.

2) Sanchez has had some success with a program that was really really bad.
a) In year two doubling the wins total from year 1.
b) Year 3 was a total disaster, but that was also the year of cancellations, no fans, etc.. Not sure how much the AD counts that against him.
c) Year 4 - so far they have won 10 games with 13 games remaining. Only 6 of those games are against teams .500 and higher. If he wins 17 games and up I think they keep him at least one more season.

3) While we have seen some transfers out of the program it has not been a mass exodus like with previous coaches. It seems he is running a better program than previous coaches, and the players want to play for him.

4) He has had the top or near the top recruiting class in CUSA each year. Like #3 it seems the kids want to play for him despite the slow paced game he prefers.

All of that said the big wild card here is the AD. This was the first big hire the AD made when he came to Charlotte. He has not been in the position to pull the trigger on his guys yet. He was pretty quick with the former coaches hired by the former AD, but we don't know what he will do with his staff. Will he give him more time to bring a dead program back to life? Will he let him recruit based on the team playing in the AAC in the future? Or will he ride with a new head coach going into the AAC?

I think right now it is 70% he stays, 30% he's gone. I know a lot of fans want him gone, but those fans don't write the big checks.

(01-24-2022 09:24 PM)ThreeifbyLightning Wrote:  To the OP, I’m sorry but McDevitt is a clown show and has proven himself as much in three and a half years. He shouldn’t be anywhere near a head basketball coaching position right now.

He has parlayed one of the easiest schedules in the nation to something that gives the appearance of decent by cobbling together a roster of JCs and transfers. But when your best wins are low majors around .500 and a .500 Sun Belt and then a .500 FAU team how is that figuring things out?? The best thing we can say about Nick in year four is at least he isn’t losing to all those ****** programs like he did the first three years.

He will beat WKU at least once this season, maybe twice...

(01-24-2022 09:24 PM)ThreeifbyLightning Wrote:  To the OP, I’m sorry but McDevitt is a clown show and has proven himself as much in three and a half years. He shouldn’t be anywhere near a head basketball coaching position right now.

He has parlayed one of the easiest schedules in the nation to something that gives the appearance of decent by cobbling together a roster of JCs and transfers. But when your best wins are low majors around .500 and a .500 Sun Belt and then a .500 FAU team how is that figuring things out?? The best thing we can say about Nick in year four is at least he isn’t losing to all those ****** programs like he did the first three years.

**** dude your KenPom rank is #136 right now and your program rank is #139, that seems like a hell of a turnaround for a guy that put a #300+ team on the court last season. Middle is also the #289 team for average experience, so if he can keep guys from transferring then it's not like this is his ceiling.

(01-25-2022 06:46 AM)Dowless Wrote:  1) Ron Sanchez - Charlotte - KenPom has the 49ers as the #123 program overall, but Sanchez has never even sniffed that ranking. Seems like he's in the hottest seat in the conference.

This one may actually be a warm seat for a few reasons.

1) I think Sanchez's contract runs through 2026. I don't know the language, but that is a long time to pay a coach to not coach.

2) Sanchez has had some success with a program that was really really bad.
a) In year two doubling the wins total from year 1.
b) Year 3 was a total disaster, but that was also the year of cancellations, no fans, etc.. Not sure how much the AD counts that against him.
c) Year 4 - so far they have won 10 games with 13 games remaining. Only 6 of those games are against teams .500 and higher. If he wins 17 games and up I think they keep him at least one more season.

3) While we have seen some transfers out of the program it has not been a mass exodus like with previous coaches. It seems he is running a better program than previous coaches, and the players want to play for him.

4) He has had the top or near the top recruiting class in CUSA each year. Like #3 it seems the kids want to play for him despite the slow paced game he prefers.

All of that said the big wild card here is the AD. This was the first big hire the AD made when he came to Charlotte. He has not been in the position to pull the trigger on his guys yet. He was pretty quick with the former coaches hired by the former AD, but we don't know what he will do with his staff. Will he give him more time to bring a dead program back to life? Will he let him recruit based on the team playing in the AAC in the future? Or will he ride with a new head coach going into the AAC?

I think right now it is 70% he stays, 30% he's gone. I know a lot of fans want him gone, but those fans don't write the big checks.

Thanks for the post. I had just been assuming he was gone based on the scores I was seeing this year. It'll definitely be interesting to see what happens.

(01-25-2022 08:11 AM)WKUFan518 Wrote:  

(01-24-2022 09:24 PM)ThreeifbyLightning Wrote:  To the OP, I’m sorry but McDevitt is a clown show and has proven himself as much in three and a half years. He shouldn’t be anywhere near a head basketball coaching position right now.

He has parlayed one of the easiest schedules in the nation to something that gives the appearance of decent by cobbling together a roster of JCs and transfers. But when your best wins are low majors around .500 and a .500 Sun Belt and then a .500 FAU team how is that figuring things out?? The best thing we can say about Nick in year four is at least he isn’t losing to all those ****** programs like he did the first three years.

He will beat WKU at least once this season, maybe twice...

Would be our best win of the year...