Expensive decision ... must have their eyes on someone big https://t.co/tI07s4aSS7— Mike Barber (@RTD_MikeBarber) March 12, 2016
Oklahoma State expected to part ways with Travis Ford, source told ESPN — https://t.co/awAvKHyC5M— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) March 12, 2016
Buzz is going to be a hot name for every open coaching job but none more than a job back in Oklahoma. There is defiantly going to be teams calling him the question is does he pull up stakes at VT.
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http://www.richmond.com/sports/college/schools/virginia-tech/article_8fc...
Sounds like a very tight culture in Blacksburg right now. Of course, professional opportunities usually outweigh happy feelings and all, but I have to imagine that building a program in the ACC would have to make Buzz strongly consider staying put for a few years. We're on the right track, for sure, but I'm sure he would like to hang his hat on some greater accomplishments in the best basketball conference.
That's the way I'm leaning but I think we have to get used to these rumors for both Buzz and Fuente from here on out.
I don't think Ok State is that attractive of a destination. More money in an easier conference to get to the dance is the only thing in a think of. Now other bigger time schools might have an opportunity to sway Buzz.
Fuente in the other hand could have went anywhere he wanted this season and he chose us. He seems to be a small town guy and family man.
I think he only leaves for his alma madar. He's not going to get the knocks for bigger schools until he gets to the big games, but he has everything he needs to win here.
More money. Better arena. Better history. Better fanbase.
Even if you want to argue the ACC is better, tough to deny the b12 has KU, OU, WVU and ISU right now.
OSU is a better job by almost any measure.
In basketball? I'd say we have a lot of work to do.
Yep. Games with less than 25 students there when school was in session. Season tix holder sections 1/3+ empty vs top 10 opponent in a Saturday afternoon in March. ACCT hokie fans can teach NRV fans a lot.
OSU has had attendance problems this year because their performance dipped so low. Big reason Ford was fired was because Iba looked like Cassell in the Miami game.
Hopefully VT fans will pick it up next year. Clearly ACCT fans made an impact on buzz.
If one year of underperforming can be used as an excuse for Oklahoma State's poor attendance, I think it's fair to explain our poor attendance with the same reasoning. Except we've struggled on the court much more than they have in recent years. "Better" fanbase is very subjective and in my opinion we have a much "better" fanbase than Oklahoma State.
Are you talking about the Miami game in which we crushed the #7 team in the country? The game where the student section was full and loud even though spring break had started and freshman had to leave their dorms? The game that was rocking start to finish where the crowd intimidated a top ranked opponent even though it wasn't a sellout? If you're talking about that game maybe consider that Buzz waved to the crowd and thanked them over and over as Cassell roared for him and his team. Yeah, that was the best Tech basketball game I've been to.
Yeah, I was there. Sitting in those student tix that VT wisely sold for $10 to the public. But there was a ton of empty season-tix holder seats, or a lot of season tix we never sold. I know we have a lot of problem getting the season tix holders to fill those seats on week nights when they live in NOVA or 757, but on a Saturday afternoon? Gotta fill those seats.
The students were also very slow to respond to the momentum of the season. Early in the year, you could literally count the students who walked the few hundred yards required to attend the games. By Pitt, they were there with much better numbers but still nothing compared to the competition to get student tix in the 90's.
Our fanbase has been hibernating for years. Seth got them fired up then lost his momentum. James Johnson made sure that Cassell was as quiet as possible with his teams lack of success. The ACC-T was a huge success for VT fans, Buzz was clearly pleased with the fervor of the VT crowd. But, honestly, that NoVA VT fanbase can teach the NRV VT fanbase a lot about turning out for VT hoops.
I expect VT will be very good next year, like top 4 in the ACC good. The fans have every reason to show up. We still have an inherent problem with out-of-town season tix holders, but the students and locals should fill that place up, even for the OOC season.
NOVA fans can rarely see the team so it was special for them. VT BBall has to market better to Roanoke/Salem, its biggest local market. If you can get those people to care, it's not too far for them to show up. As for students, there are a lot of other options these days, but I don't doubt that next year student tickets will be hard to come by. They were this year too for some games. Creating a student fan base is important, and no stand-by line to allow students in where they could experience a game and make a connection with the team hurt that ability. Other factors include the fact that most students live off campus and have to drive to get to Cassell. With difficult parking and Blacksburg weather it usually wasn't worth it to see a crappy team. That will change, but it is not the easiest thing in the world, and if students are anything, they're lazy (like me). However, the real key remains filling out the non-student sections.
In terms of NOVA fans, many love their Hokies but don't have many chances to see them, and a trip to Tech isn't easy. I think that we should play every year in the DC area. A home-and-home with Georgetown and a home-and-home with George Mason (alternating years, so that each year VT plays one of those teams away and one of them at home) would mean that each year the team would play in NOVA/DC. Both the Verizon Center and the Patriot Center don't fill up very often allowing for VT fans to flood the place. It would be an away game but look like a home game. Those NOVA/DC fans would build a connection with the team and then maybe some would be influenced to go see a game in Cassell. Just an idea I had that I think has a lot of benefits.
If anything that says it right there. Students don't have to drive. There are plenty of busses that go right by Cassell and they run til 1245am during the week and 245am on Fridays/Saturdays.
"have to" is a strong phrase, not meant literally. But buses can be more inconvenient, only come every half hour, and don't go to Cassell. My post was more of a criticism of the parking situation and the off-campus housing location/Blacksburg area urban planning.
I remember back in the day, it was nothing to walk, jog or bike everywhere in Bburg. Literally everywhere, North Main to South, Jefferson Apartments to Hethwood.
I didn't think anything of it, other than planning the travel time.
Time to go take care of my lawn.
I think you are forgetting what is was like in January/February, when wait for the bus became skip class on the walk to the bus stop.
I forget many things, but I'll never forget what it's like there in Jan/Feb.
I'm just saying there are alternates to the mess that is VT parking. CRC goes right next to Cassell and UCB/UMS goes right in front of it. Currently there are also Basketball shuttles from the Lane lot and from the parking garage. I do agree parking is bad though and really if the ticket office/athletic department wants more of the Roanoke/Salem market to come more they will need to work with Blacksburg and the campus to make better options. Unfortunately, all I keep hearing is that parking is only going to get worse as the campus looks to expand.
I love the idea of doing a home-and-home with Georgetown and George Mason.
GMU would sign up for that type of series yesterday, and given our upward trajectory plus G'town sliding a bit that series makes a lot of sense now too. The only hang-up I could see from G'town is that they might reasonably expect a home court disadvantage in DC. But hey, money talks...
I'm hesitant to concede "better fanbase" to anyone and it sure as hell isn't gonna be Oklahoma State
A move to a Big 12 school other than KU would professionally be a lateral move, at best. If he was to move, it would have to involve moving to a location he considers to be "home" (more so than Blacksburg), and more $$$. It's not like VT and the ACC are second rate to many schools, and he has the job security and resources here to grow something big. Usually can't stop someone from going where they ultimately want to go, but I think Buzz knows he has a good gig here, and wouldn't leave this soon in the process.
When you talk about leaving for his alma mater, are you talking about Buzz or Fuente? I ask because one of the reasons I've been so pleased with both of those hires is that I don't think the allure of the alma mater is a real threat to us retaining those guys. There's no way an NAIA school like Oklahoma City College can afford Buzz, and neither can Murray State afford Fuente. One might argue that Oklahoma, not Murray State, could be that dream school for Coach Fu, but everything I've read about his departure from OU leads me to believe that there's too much bad blood to overcome.
Yeah, I was thinking the same, unless with respect to Fuentes, they were thinking OU, since he started his collegiate days there. Don't think we need to worry about Buzz or Justin leaving us for their alma maters, unless there is mutual agreement from both parties (coach and school).
I was thinking OU for Fuente.
As for Buzz, I think he only leaves for a name recognition school.
It seems that Fuente did not leave OU on good terms. I think that bodes well for us if they ever did come calling. I guess it really depends on whether Fuente harbors any ill will toward the Sooner program, or just one coach in particular.
An anecdote about Fuente/OU. I was at Tunica in November when Memphis played Houston. I was spent about 4 days playing poker with people from Memphis, and was asking question about CJF. Even though VT was a rumor, nobody seemed to mind a VT guy asking questions as "the only way Fuente was going to leave the program was if Stoops went to USC and OU offered him the job".
They actually were ribbing me that I thought we had a chance at getting him. He was well liked as a person as well as a coach. Might not be as welcome wearing VT gear there now.
T. Boone Pick-somebody else. BUZZ IS OURS!!!
I don't think it will be a huge issue with Fuente. With Buzz, there are dozens of better programs than VT Basketball he could conceivably move up to. VT Football is easily a top 25 program in the country, if not higher. There just aren't going to be too many job openings that are an improvement for Fuente.
Seriously though, I love you Fireman but I don't think that leads to productive discussion. It's just claims on why someone wouldn't leave because of how great we are vs how great someone else is. If it happens, both Fuente and Buzz are amazing human beings. I wish amazing human beings were in demand all the time. I'm more concerned if Whit decides to leave. He's an allstar AD and I trust him more than I can vocalize.
This is absolutely it. If Buzz or Fuente find "better" jobs, or something back in Oklahoma, if that is where they want to go, then there isn't anything we can do to stop it. I think Whit has made some great hires, knows how to grow the brand, and has some innovative ideas. If he leaves then that would be much harder to replace.
Kinda like Tony Bennett was going back to Wisconsin was such a fact. I expect Buzz will have Tech as a back to back good program in year 6 of his contract and probably leave a year early, but I would be excited if he got/stayed for a 2nd contract
Few coaches will again stay for 30 years, but there's nothing bad in being a Memphis (Calipari) or George Mason (Jim Larraaga)
If it wasn't year two of a rebuild of which he is having massive success, I'd be biting my nails a little more. However, if Buzz is the type of person that his words and actions have lead me to believe he is over the past two years, then he isn't going to abandon what he is trying to build. We can only hope that he means what he says. I think there would be a lot of devastated people if that turns out to not be the case.
When your most famous/Richest alumni has donated $500 million to the Athletic Dept alone money doesn't (have to) matter
Don't have to worry about Buzz leaving this offseason.
Buzz ain't leaving.
If we see the jump we saw this year, could be a Sweet 16 team we're looking at.
Instead of talking about Buzz leaving, how about talking about tearing up his old contract and giving him a new one? I believe we are potentially in the beginning stages of a very prosperous time in Hokie basketball, hope Whit sees that also.
It should also be noted that WVU's play-by-play guy, Tony Caridi, said (reported?) at the Big XII tournament that Buzz Williams is making a push to become the new OK State coach.
I would lose a ton of respect for Buzz if that happened. I mean I'd understand if we were still where we were and it was year 5-7 or something but it's year two. You're going to jump ship that quick?? After all that he has talked about and said he's just going to abandon it????
If he leaves then I don't how anyone could trust what he says. I have a lot of respect for Buzz and what he's doing in Blacksburg. To just up and leave at the drop of a hat in year two would go against almost everything he has seemed to speak towards and stand for.
i think that is an older rumor
Nope has come up multiple times in last two weeks and is heating up with Ok St firing a coach and paying him 7.2 million to be fired.
Ok State, would be close to home for buzz though, and if that's his goal to make back closer to home this could be a prime opportunity.
Well I'm fairly confident that OK ST will at least try and talk to Buzz.
They will target Chris Mack from Xavier and Chris Beard from Arkansas Little Rock before Buzz. You also have to factor in the fact that Buzz and his family literally just purchased a brand new home.
I didn't say I think he will leave but #sauces say OK ST wants to talk to him.
I'm sure they do, but he isn't their top target or anywhere near the top of their wish list at this point.
I am fairly confident that Whit will do everything he can to keep BUZZ at Tech.
I just don't see him leaving this rebuild at this point, not with the progress he worked so hard to accomplish.
In BUZZ I TRUST!
there is a recruiting insider with his panties in a wad re: VT that gave legs to the rumor that Buzz is pursuing Ok St.
that rumor has been pretty much put to rest by others in the VT circle
i won't debate that Buzz may be on OSU's radar. he would be if I were them
He was mentioned as a candidate for Memphis and Illinois as well by SI. Memphis makes no sense, Buzz's one logical explanation for leaving Marquette for VT was because we have the stability of being in a P5 football conference. He won't leave for Memphis.
Illinois and Okie St are both good jobs, but it just doesn't seem like the right time for him.
Agree. I think who you work for is a really big deal and was the reason that Buzz left Marquette. As long as Buzz and Whit are good and the money being offered isn't insane, I think he stays. But if I'm VT, I'd be looking to update the contract, especially if the TV revenue increases this summer.
Ahh, good point. I forgot about the AD/President dynamic at Marquette at the time.
In Whit we trust.
Buzz saw the handwriting on the wall at Marquette. Administration didn't like him there to begin with, they were replacing the AD who had hired him, he had just missed the postseason and wasn't bringing in any first year impact freshman for a big turnaround the next season. We came in with a huge contract offer and an even bigger buyout. It made sense for him to go if he didn't believe in the next seasons team (which ended up going 13-19)
I think Buzz is a better fit temperament-wise with VT.
Maybe not right now, but in a season or too if Buzz can get the Hokies to the dance and go deep then he will probably have the choice of any program in the country. We are not exactly known for our basketball prowess. ON the football side, fuente is still too much of an unknown to see what will happen. If he gets us winning ACCCG's and BCS bowls (whatever their name is now) then maybe he will start getting calls to the big boys too. We shall see, no point in speculating too much now.
This talk about our lack of basketball prowess, history or whatever as a reason for leaving a program is so SHALLOW! If you want to leave a program for those reasons, then LEAVE, cause that says ZERO about your CHARACTER and AMBITION. A program is what you make it. Alabama football wasn't Alabama football before Bear Bryant, just like UCLA basketball was nothing before John Wooden. That's crazy talk, boss!
You misunderstood my point. If a school with a lack of basketball prowess suddenly starts making multiple appearances to the dance then the coach that lifted that program out of nowhere has shown what he can do so he will be greatly desired elsewhere.
...but we are the big boys...in fact in some circles we are quite easily referred to as the big BOY (singular) and in said circle are also considered Sugar Bowl champions, I enjoy those circles...
Danny Coale caught that ball!
When I see this statement it makes me happy but also very sad. I'm not over it yet.
After everything he has preached here, it would be more than slightly hypocritical of him to leave now. I don't doubt he will leave but not yet.
Crossing my fingers that OSU just got LSU'd.
Why would he leave?
He wanted a challenge in the best basketball conference. He took the last place team, and is partway through a complete makeover, which is showing significant signs of success. If he makes it into something, which he is, he gets all the credit.
So this conversation makes no sense at all.
Marqutte fans were asking the same question two years ago.
But he led to them to two Sweet 16's and one Elite Eight. By many measures, he helped them reach their peak as a program and accomplished pretty much all he set out to accomplish when he got promoted when Crean bolted for Indiana. He hasn't done that at VT yet, and I don't see him leaving until he does.
Maybe you are right. I imagine that Marquette fans might think that a program with multiple Final Fours wasn't at its peak with a single Great8.
What made sense when Buzz left was his desire to be in a p5 conference for the stability that football money brings (especially if there is ever a NCAA split). But he choose one of the 10 worst basketball programs in p5 so it is logical that people seem him bolting for a better p5 program like OSU or Illinois.
Don't forget about Al McGuire. Buzz was great at Marquette, but definitely the 2nd best coach they have had by most measures. Al Mcguire has a national championship, a 2nd national title appearance, a 10 percent better win percentage.
It makes little sense, but not for the reasons you mention. If he's anything, Buzz is a forward thinker. A big reason, albeit not the only reason, he left Marquette and the Big East was because he saw the writing on the wall for the separation between the haves and have nots in college athletics and that football was going to be writing the checks. Do people think it's an accident that Buzz chose a football school with an underdeveloped basketball program?
Other than the anti-ACC all-the-time chicken-little crowd over at TSL, any reasonable person would look at the combination of basketball prowess and conference viability over the next 5-10 years and would see the ACC as the better bet over the Big 12.
OK St may be closer to home, but it's still not home. And OK St may have the better basketball history (actually not "may" have...), but going from 2 to 3 seasons in rebuild mode to 4 to 6 seasons in rebuild mode in the prime of one's career would have to wear on anyone with a competitive streak in them; there is only so much enjoyment one can get from being patient and having teachable moments. At some point you want to see the efforts come to fruition.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I just don't see Buzz going in that direction right now. Buzz may seem impulsive, but I think he's far more calculating than meets the eye.
Oklahoma is not closer to home because This is Home.
#WhitIsGonnaLoveYou
He not leaving any time soon..... The reason he cane to tech was to rebuild and hes not done rebuilding so
I don't think Buzz leaves this year, but keep in mind that every coach that does leave:
- preaches "togetherness" and "commitment" right before he leaves,
- has talented players returning that he recruited and has a close relationship with,
- has a new house,
- has a wife who is involved in the community and looks happy at the grocery store.
Buzz will leave one day and the day before he leaves, all of these things will be true. Two years just doesn't seem like much time so this probably isn't the year. But Okie St is a tough job to turn down.
Buzz may not be motivated by money (he said his family lives off of $500k/yr) but the more he makes, the more he can put to Buzz's Bunch.
Yea I think many people are missing the point of my post. I don't think he is going to leave either BUT it is a conversation that will come up every time a high profile job opens especially in Texas or Oklahoma.
Agreed, and Fuente will have the same attention if he succeeds in an equivalent manner as Buzz in his first couple of years.
Just a new world we live in. Nobody wanted Johnson and Seth got very little interest. Frank had been off the market for 15 years.
Buzz and Fuente are immently hireable.
It makes no sense, though.
If Buzz had wanted a program like one of those, he could have had it two years ago.
He specifically picked VT for the opportunity and potential. That's what he wanted, and that's what he's got. He's building VT not from scratch, but from a pretty bad situation to a pretty good one.
This is what i've been saying for a while:
*If it was about the money there were higher paying jobs
*If it was to coach at another level there were opportunities
*If it was about a historically good program VT isn't even close
I'm not saying that he'll stay forever but he came here for a reason and he's becoming entrenched here more and more I just wouldn't understand it if he left.
I love Buzz and I love what he is doing in Blacksburg! But if/when he does leave, the world still turns. I know it's difficult to see when we consider life as Hokie B'ball fans over the past few years, but the program is bigger than Buzz (no disrespect in that statement).
Whit has been making good moves since taking over (one of those being the Buzz hire), so I trust him to keep that going, regardless of weather or not Buzz decides to make a move.
People are already talking about Fuente leaving? Lmao jesus
Where did anyone say that?
The entire thread? lol
Not a single comment says Fuente will leave. Multiple comments including mine talk about other school pursuing the VT basketball and football coaches in the future.
Dude is undefeated. That's just hard to ignore.
He hasn't even coached a game yet smh
If Buzz stays, I hope he matures like he wants his players to. He needs to realize that the fans are the ones that pay his salary thru Witt. Be more accessible. He also needs to realize that the media is the connect between VT basketball and the public and be more accessible and respectful. Grow up, Buzz!
I'm not sure what you're talking about, but based on what I've seen, he knows how to handle the media.
Are you really blasting the guy who likely got VT basketball team into the NIT tournament this year, as announced later tonight? I think you picked the wrong day to do that.
Buzz is a great coach. Just want him to be kinder to the media. Have you guys watched his press conferences after the games or his interaction with Burnop and Laaser on Hokiextra? If so, you will see what I mean.
He's blunt and honest. He says what he's thinking. I don't want a coach that is trained to speak in sound byte sentences.
He is rough with the media, but I think he has a good relationship with Laaser and Burnop from the videos I've seen. He seems to think they are different. He's made comments about their intelligent observations and questions compared to the rest of the media. I also think he genuinely cares about his players and they are his first responsibility and he has been frustrated that the media gives him a hard time for not always being punctual with them.
Berman, nice to have you!
/s?
Yea, the sarcastica font didn't come out on my screen, but it must be there.
Buzz can do whatever he damn well pleases as far as I'm concerned (except leave us). Not sure what you want from him but Buzz is very accessible to fans on Twitter. More than any coach I've seen. Then again I don't follow any other coaches' Twitter accounts but he does a great job of making himself available to fans.
I think this is very harshly worded. If you had said something like "I think it would help our broadcast image if he played a little nicer with the @$$*$ in the local media", I could have agreed. This just looks like you are trying to find fault and be insulting about it based on one incident where he kept you waiting.
Mark Berman? Is that you?
Just to help you understand coaches involvement in media, even at other levels, lets provide an example. Gregg Popovich. Oh forgot to mention, he has 5 rings.
As someone who has interacted with Buzz all season, I want to comment on this.
Has Buzz done an incredible job with this basketball team? Without a doubt.
Is Buzz, at times, rude and/or disrespectful to some members of the local media? Yes.
Has that negative attitude towards some members of the local media affected how some of the local media views the Virginia Tech basketball program? Probably.
Is it wise for Buzz to, for lack of a better term, piss off a sizable portion of the local media, the very people responsible for communicating what goes on within the program to their readers? Probably not.
But, as someone who is first charged with mentoring young men and winning basketball games, do I think Buzz cares? Not in the slightest.
Take that for what you will.
Looks like he already got a job offer. Here is footage of him leaving town.
Buzz pushing a Ford truck just like he pushed Travis Ford out of the OK State job so he could get it
There seems to be some confusion on the contract that Buzz currently has.
1) The initial length of the contract is for seven years. As long as Buzz is still here in June of 2017, it is a rolling seven year contract unless VT informs Buzz that they intend to stop that rollover at the end of the season making the buyout enormous. If you decide to fire Buzz after 2017, you could be looking at having to pay him in the neighborhood of $20mil. and it continues upward per year.
2) Buzz essentially wrote the contract himself, with some very special clauses and perks not seen in many basketball coaches contracts at this point. The first is the structure of the rollover. The second is the structure of the buyout Buzz would owe Tech if he leaves. He also has two cars, country club membership, tickets to both football and basketball games, additional seats on the plane for away travel. There is also an extensive bonus structure. The most unusual clause that VT gave Buzz is in regards to camps and the use of his name when associated with Virginia Tech.
I have seen estimates that this could bring Buzz between $200K to as high as $1Mil per year in additional income.
3) Salary wise Buzz is somewhere in the top 20 paid coaches annually in NCAA basketball. His salary for next season will be $2.5mil base plus his other incentives and bonuses (technically its about $700K base plus $1.8mil for appearances and other media relations). His contract is designed to go up $100K per year in perpetuity, so if he works the 7th year, he will be making $3mil a year. Top of the market is of course Coach K around $9mil and Coach Calipari and Pitino in the $6Mil per season area. Surprise names that make more than Buzz are guys like JTIII at Georgetown making roughly $3mil, Matt Painter at Purdue making about $2.7mil and Josh Pastner at Memphis making $2.7 with as much as $750K in potential bonuses.
All of that said, the only thing I could see bringing Buzz back to the table is if he has a much bigger offer on the table for consideration or he is asking for more money to divide amongst assistant coaches. Currently that number is around $800K. Not sure how that stacks up but I imagine its not at an even level compared to his salary amongst peers.
TIL that Coach K makes $9 million a year. wow
Reading this I'm like
Overall,
You bring up some awesome numbers to support your point. I'm really thinking he's financially set living in Blacksburg with millions of dollars per year and it doesn't appear there are tons of schools that could offer him more at the current moment without a tremendous buyout.
Like ltrepeter2000 said, Buzz's Contract is pretty relaxed on his end of the buyout. I believe on March 24th, Buzz will enter the 3rd year of his contract so a $1.5M buyout (and quickly declining) isn't much for a school that's serious about snatching up Buzz. That being said, I think and hope that Buzz hangs around Blacksburg for a good while.
Babcock said he is aware that Williams could be mentioned for vacancies. He plans to meet with Williams this week and again after Tech's NIT run ends.
"I can think of nobody in the country that I'd rather have as the coach here, and I believe he likes it here," Babcock said. "We'll talk and hopefully we'll be fine there."
From everyone's favorite munchkin
clicky
The one thing we should also remember is that the ACC basketball coaching carousel will start in earnest in a few years. Coach K and Williams will both likely retire in a few years. Also, Pitino is 63 as well and could have his days at Louisville numbered. Also, Larranaga is 66 so he will likely retire in a few years as well. I am sure some of those coach replacements will be splashy hires. My point is that Buzz staying at VT will show a stable, high quality coaching scenario to recruits if he stays for the long haul (I know I'm being optimistic). If VT players coached by Buzz start getting into the NBA draft, that will secure that foundation. This could create an excellent ACC basketball brand here in Blacksburg that could last for a very long time. I am sure he saw all this when he came to the ACC. Also, if the cash flowing from the basketball program really rolls in, then a new facility would be in the mix in the near future as well. If that is to happen (and we all agree the rebuild is ahead of schedule). his mindset could be to stay here for a long time to create what I just described. He is such a detailed strategic thinker, the above certainly is in his plan. If he keeps jumping from ship to ship every 2 years, the time required to build that never happens.
I guess we'll see.
Dang, I forgot, Boeheim is 71, he will retire soon as well. That just emphasizes the point further.
Boeheim already set the clock in motion. He has two years left unless he changes his mind. This is why he didnt hesitate to make such a fuss about not punishing his Orange more and in my opinion worked the committee to get them in the tourney this year.
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/12506613/jim-boehe...
The other team to keep an eye on is NC State. I can imagine Gottfried will be Gottfired pretty soon if he cant get the talent he brings in to translate to winning.
Leonard Hamilton at FSU is two years older than Roy Williams so he is another one that is in that gray area to hang it up.
So as you touched on, we probably see changes at:
Syracuse
Louisville
Duke
UNC (although I could see Roy Williams coaching another 10 years)
Miami
NC State
Possibly FSU
That leaves:
Tony Bennett at UVA
Jamie Dixon at Pitt
Danny Manning at Wake (assuming he gets them to improve)
Buzz at Tech
Brian Gregory at Georgia Tech
Mike Brey at Notre Dame
Jim Christian at Boston College (if he can get the wheels on the program)
Brad Brownell at Clemson
Mike Hopkins will likely take over Syracuse barring major changes
Of those remaining, I think you have three Hall of Fame coach locks in Bennett, Dixon and Buzz. Brey is close with what he has done at ND. Not sure that Hopkins at Syracuse will have enough time to build HOF credentials. Even with all those HOF coaches retiring, still going to be a formidable coaching group in the ACC.
Roy can't even stand up without fainting. He's on his way out soon for health reasons, but UNC fans expect Hubert Davis to take over. Whether or not that happens, there is no way Roy coaches another 10 years, can maybe go 5 at the most.
Couple of my UNC buddies are expecting a big drop off next year. They wouldn't be surprised if nearly all of their players who are contributors that aren't seniors declare for the draft (Meeks, Jackson, Hicks.)
Do you think Louisville could have interest in Buzz once Pitino hangs it up? That's not a bad fit and we know Pitino has strong admiration for Buzz.
I don't see Buzz ever being the HC at UNC or Duke or Syracuse.
I don't want to seem presumptuous enough to say that Miami, NCSU and FSU are true lateral-moves, but there isn't a lot of advantage at any of those three schools that VT doesn't have. NCSU has a nice arena and a good recruiting base. Miami has a good recruiting base but a distant arena. FSU has the FSU brand. But all three have flaws.
In guessing where Buzz would be a good fit, I think of p5 schools only, of football schools that have that gritty personality, of places that could sway him with money or security (good work on identifying how secure he is at VT). It would have to be a school with a significant upgrade to recruiting brand/history than VT. That's not a huge list.
Okie St, OU, Texas, aTm, LSU, Florida, Arizona, Illinois, MichSt, Michigan, Wisky, Indiana, Louisville.......maybes: Iowa St, Iowa, UGA, Bama, Arkansas, TCU, Ariz St.
A lot of those schools won't be in the market anytime soon (Texas) or probably have internal options (Mich St).
VT isn't remotely in the same area code in terms of basketball support that NCSU has. Seriously, the one problem that NCSU has is that they get in their own way too often, but from a support level they are lightyears ahead of where we are. They, much like UVa was before Bennett, are one very good hire away from being a perennial Top 10 team.
I'll give you Miami and FSU being relatively similar to us (though, we are still desperately trying to play catch-up facility-wise) but don't think for a second we're comparable to NCSU in basketball.
Yeah, I like NCSU as well. In football too. They have good fans, good facilities, solid brand recognition, good geography. But they never win anything, it's perplexing.
But the question is if you were Buzz, would you bounce to NCSU? I would say probably not. Maybe that Little Brother Syndrome is just too strong in their DNA. And I'm not sure NCSU has the $$$ to back a truck up like Okie St, UGA or Ohio St could.
If we were still in the Big East, absolutely, I would bounce from VT to NCSU and not think twice about it. There is potential at NCSU to climb faster than there is at VT, and there is far less building from within that would need to happen to sustain the level at which he'd take them. Yes, Duke and UNC dominate the region when it comes to basketball acumen, but don't forget that NCSU has boatloads of money as well. They might not necessarily have the revenue streams of the others, but they have a fairly large endowment, and they would much rather go for broke in basketball than in football, something those others would never consider.
Buzz has plenty of money.
What he seems to want is to build a program from scratch. For some reason, he chose VT. Seems to me he'll see that through until VT has reached the pinnacle of the ACC. That's the challenge the way I see it. Don't know why he'd jump off that to go to a different ACC program unless he started to sense that he isn't going to be able to do that, or didn't get along with the administration at VT. So far, no signs of any of that.
Seems to me that VT has the right mix of challenge and potential for a guy like Buzz. With the success he's had so far, I don't know why he'd abandon that at this point.
Semi-tangent here, but I would say NCSU and UVA were pretty different. NCSU is a Tobacco Road blueblood which has won multiple NCAA titles and has quite an extensive basketball history. UVA has a ton of bandwagoners who suddenly became basketball fanatics because Bennett finally made them relevant. Historically, yada yada Ralph Sampson, and that's about it for the Hoos. They do have a wonderful facility in JPJ, but as someone who has been to a few UVA games at JPJ, it's nauseating to see the big season ticket holders show up late and wander around and have social hour during breaks. It's just such a commercial/corporate atmosphere fostered by the elitist culture there. NCST at least has some traditional basketball credibility and a much more rabid/devoted fanbase to fall back on. UVA just throws money at a problem until it works (or doesn't: see UVA football).
In this particular area, if you come to NC State and call them "bluebloods," put your track shoes on because you'll be running for your life.
(Your main point's not wrong at all though.)
Honestly, I dont see Buzz leaving Tech for another ACC school. Not even UNC or Duke. I think that if he goes somewhere else it will be a Big12 school or a Big10 school, since he hasnt yet left his mark on either of those conferences. I expect that he will stay at Tech at least until we make a good run at the tournament and possibly even beyond that. I would imagine alot will have to do with who remains in charge above him. If Tech keeps Whit and Dr Sands, then that becomes less of an issue in terms of Buzz leaving. If either leave, than it will probably depend on their replacements approach to the game and team before he makes a decision.
If UVA can make it to the dance as 1 seed, we sure as hell can with the right team and coach.
Why do you need a new facility? Updated Cassell maybe. Hahn Hurst will need to be updated every decade or so. Maybe a basketball dorm/apartments. New facility only happens if we get a hockey team, and that's doubtful. Cassell is a classic college gym that has more character and is more intimidating than any modern arena.
Why are people bringing Fuente in to this discussion? He hasn't even coached a game yet. I'd imagine he stays here 10 years before he even thinks about a bigger job at a Oklahoma.
As much as we want to believe that it's on the rare side for a coach to be somewhere ten years. A coach with ten years with the same team places them in a group of about 15 coaches at the FBS level. (As of the end of last season)
http://footballscoop.com/news/re-ranking-length-current-fbs-coaching-ten...
Oh wow, I didn't know that. I'm just so accustomed to Frank and his 29 years. Thanks!
And not to point out the obvious, but the 1st, 4th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 10th most tenured college football coaches at this time last year are all now gone. That leaves 9 active coaches who have been in the current job for 10 seasons, with another 5 who will be coaching their 10th season in the fall. It's hard to believe, but David Cutcliffe is now the most tenured football coach in the ACC and will be heading into his 9th season this fall.
I have a gut feeling that Buzz, in addition to being a badass, is also grooming Issac Chew for the top role. He's Buzz's right hand man and rumor has it he's turned down some head coaching offers before (Non P5). If I'm not mistaken I think CBS Sports also named him one of the top assistants in the country fairly recently, so it's only a matter of time before he bails to get a head coaching gig somewhere. So whenever Buzz does leave us to go back to the midwest (hopefully years and years down the line) Chew could come back home to Blacksburg and keep the train rolling along. By then he would have some head coaching experience to go along with the Buzz culture and teachings. Anyway, that's my theory. Zero sauces involved. Also: Chew coached at Murray State. That seems to translate to good things at VT.
edit: post removed- misplaced it in the thread
Buzz is coaching in the best conference in college basketball. Doesn't get any better than ACC bball so idk why everyone thinks he's just gonna jump ship this quick. Usually I put more thought into my posts but this kinda seems like a no-brainer. Of course the rumors are gonna heat up but for now...
Current Journalistic Free Agent, used to work for Marquette Tribune. Broke Myles Jack knee injury, Bo Ryan retiring, and Wojo at Marquette news.
Response from an OK St insider (no idea if he actually knows anything):
He tweeted this yesterday:
I would love for Doug Gottlieb to not be a Media personality anymore.
Using a picture of Seth Greenberg for Buzz Williams? So ESPN...
Why in the world would you want Gotlieb as your coach over Buzz? Has Gotlieb coached anywhere before? Granted, I'd be happy to keep Buzz for a long time, I just don't get where this guy is coming from
If true, it would feel like the Tom Brand thing all over again.
But we hear all kinds of bizarre, untrue stuff during coaching searches. I'll hold off on the ledge jumping for now.
If he TRULY broke all those things he would have a job and more than 191 followers.
Edit: did some more research. "Broke" the news in March when Ryan retired in December.
Of course, this was after the real rumors broke in June that he would retire after 1 last season.
And as for the Miles Jack ACL? He has no connection there. Just shows he takes shots in the dark.
Myles Jack injury would be an odd shot in the dark. Writers can have connections anywhere. Not saying I'm sold on it, but having connections at Marquette could mean connections to Buzz.
Well here's more to that. Never heard of Kevin Griffin but this is not fun news
Don't understand why TCU is such a "hot commodity" all of a sudden. When have they like ever been good at basketball?
Fran is a Big 12 homer (has a ton of ties to the conference) so him praising the TCU job is not a surprise.
Don't fall for it though, TCU is not a very good job and is nowhere near as attractive as the OK State job.
Times are changing quickly at TCU. Moving to the Big 12 has been huge for them and they want to be relevant in men's basketball too. Lots of wealthy donors too.
They just spent $72 upgrading their arena and hiring a coach like Buzz Williams would signal their intentions to everyone that they aren't satisfied with just being a football school. They want to be up considered alongside Texas & Oklahoma in the region.
Whoa, 72 dollars? We're screwed.
Damn! That's what I get for posting so late...
They spent $72 MILLION.
If that's all it takes to upgrade a basketball arena, I'll donate $100 to VT. Make Virginia Tech Basketball great (idk if it's appropriate to say again though, so I'm just gonna leave that out...)
Also broke Shaka to Marquette two years ago after Buzz left but later deleted it after he was wrong. Pretty sure most Marquette fans consider this guy a troll as well.
He also once said that Barry Switzer was coming out of retirement to coach Oklahoma State. There is a reason he has so few little Twitter followers, and it's not because people don't know who he is.
Thanks, Wikipedia.
I'm not buying stock in what this guy is saying.
Ahh. Would explain the lack in followers. But like I said, not sold on it and I don't think Buzz leaves (yet), but thought I would share.
One more thing on this hack:
After we poached Buzz he made quite a similar tweet about Ben Howland being hired at Marquette. Obviously that didn't happen. Heck, Howland didn't even coach in 2014-2015 so I am sure he would have jumped at the Marquette offer. Marquette would have also taken him over a guy who had no HC experience.
I also did a little lurking on the Twitter accounts that retweeted the two Buzz-related tweets from @KAGriff22 above (don't ask why) and found that out of the 28 total retweets, only 3 are not fans of Oklahoma State, Marquette, or UVA. Of course they all want it to be true.
Nice trolling, Kev.
I actually heard rumors during football season (before basketball even started) that Buzz was on his way out. The source said that his wife was not happy at all in Blacksburg. If the wife's not happy, nobody's happy.
I think if he ultimately decides to leave it will have less to do with money/career and more to do with family.
I have heard that rumor about every coach's wife in the history of college sports. Any rumors of that nature aren't worth the time it takes to read them.
Well that settles it is Doug Gotlieb available?
Still haven't seen anything official, so not sure what is settled. In fact, I have seen some who want Doug for OK State. So who knows.
Just figured it's not too early to get conversation started on replacement for BUZZ.
We will know shortly after the NIT. Unfortunately the guy tweeting appears to have accurately reported a few stories first with his sources. We'll see.
I agree with what someone else pointed above. If he was really in the know, I feel like a bunch of others would be following him. Seems a lot of other insiders are throwing out names too. I've seen a few mentioned by others.
The weirdest thing is that the Travis Ford discussion happened at 9am this morning and still no announcement that he is fired, still just rumors and speculation that he is out at the moment as well.
I tend to agree. Seems like he's thrown 2 things to the wall that have stuck. Who knows if he's had other tweets that turned out wrong and were removed. I can certainly see a scenario where he hears Myles Jack had a knee injury and throws out that it's season ending and happens to be right. As for Bo Ryan retiring, it looks like he said that in March and it didn't come true until this fall. Hard to say that was a definite victory as well.
I'm glad we're getting this discussion out of the way now, so we won't have to repeat it when it actually happens.
Interesting article about Travis Ford and interest in another job at another school, which would help OK State not have to pay the buyout. In addition, it mentions that OK State has created a committee to find a replacement. Which leads me to believe that Buzz is not a done deal there.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/osusportsextra/source-says-travis-...
No clue about how real any of this could actually be; however, if it did end up happening we should all chip in for one of the sweet Casper mattresses for Whit. Talk about a lot to navigate in your first three years...
I just got a coupon for this today. Are Casper mattresses worth it? First time hearing bout them.
Honestly, I have no clue. I listen to a lot of podcasts and it seems they advertise on all of them. Going to be buying a new bed soon so wouldn't mind knowing myself.
I very nearly bought one but got a Leesa instead which is another online mattress delivery system and it is amazing. I probably would have spent over 3 grand to get a traditional mattress of similar quality (this was ~$800). I try to prevent everyone I know from buying the old way, you'll pay 1/3 of the price or less for better quality.
This is why you don't fall in love.
Don't worry, be happy. What can we do to change this? If it is meant to be, it will be.
This thread is a little...
...for my tastes.
Buzz will leave at some point. If it's now, he's stupid.
Whit will build VT into a force to be reckoned with in basketball. That is clearly on his agenda, evidenced by what he did to get Buzz here. When Buzz leaves, Whit will go out and make another kickass coaching hire who will continue the climb.
But if Buzz leaves now, it's a public acknowledgement that everything he preaches is crap. Do I expect him to stay at VT in perpetuity? No. But when you talk as much as he does about service, honor, respect and finishing what you start, you don't bolt after two years of a rebuild. He came here to do a job, and he's about 60% of the way through doing it.
This isn't to say that every coach who moves jobs after two years is stupid. But Buzz does not market himself as a typical basketball coach. His brand is loyalty and decency. He's the one pushing that image, so if he breaks it, that's on him.
Either way, we're fine. We have both a president of the university and an athletic director whose vision for VT I trust implicitly. I just hope Buzz follows through on his word, because I think it will be Buzz's brand that suffers from a jump after two years way more severely than our basketball program does.
I've been trying to put this into words exactly what you said ever since this post started but was unable to do so without sounding as logical as you did, thank you sir. But to add on, Buzz seems to model himself after Coach Jerry Wainwright. When he was at Richmond, Wainwright ended every day of their summer basketball camp by talking to the campers. He never talked about basketball, he always talked about life and hard work, very much like Buzz does. If Buzz leaves now, I agree, it damages his brand more than anything.
As you said, if he leaves, he invalidates everything he's been preaching since Day 1. He doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who would do that.
I really think he's going to stick with this until around 2020. At that point, he'll probably move on, but I can't see him doing it earlier. In fact, if he does that, it'll only damage his reputation as a coach for other schools, as others would be hesitant to hire him thinking there's a better than average chance he leaves within 3 years. Short term, it may be good, but long term it would be damaging.
I had the chance to speak with Mike Burnop at the Hokie Club event in Arlington, VA a few weeks ago and after asking him about Buzz his exact response was, "Whit needs to find a way to keep that man around now..."
He said there is going to be a number of schools with a lot of money in the Big 12 (read: Oklahoma State) that are going to come calling after the biggest turn around a program has seen in the ACC. Not only that - but also look down Tobacco Road... Coach K and Roy are both getting older and within the next few years could be moving on to retirement and straight into the HOF. The pockets of both those alumni bases are even bigger and could lead to an even scarier possibility of Buzz staying in conference...
As much as I like to think Buzz is a man based on principal after everything he's said on and off camera...it's a painful reality that he's not going to be the Frank Beamer of our basketball team. We just better pray that we can find a guy to keep the culture moving in the right direction when the next opportunity presents itself to Buzz & Co.
Prediction:
IF Buzz goes to Oklahoma State
Buzz then pummels Texas constantly
Texas fires Shaka Smart
VT hires Shaka Smart
The best indicator I see that Buzz isn't going anywhere is he hasn't said "I'm not going anywhere". As soon as he does, we should start talking about replacement candidates.
Why can't we wait until after March to discuss?
Because the rumors and articles are being written now. Would you just rather we ignore them?
Better to ignore than to clutch pearls over the twitter feeds of editors at a student newspaper in Milwaukee
Except he isn't the only one to have brought up the possibility of Buzz being attractive to other schools. Multiple national and team sports writers have brought up his name when talking about job openings.
Look I get we gotta discuss it and all, but at this point it just feels like we're feeding into it.
Hey, I've got an idea.
Since this is the first time VT has been in a tournament in a while, let's have a thread to capture any unsupported rumors that might be out there about losing the coach we like, no matter how obscure and lame.
That way we can focus on that instead of our team being a number 3 seed in the NIT tournament...
http://www.thekeyplay.com/content/2016/march/15/buzzketball-brink-relevancy
http://www.thekeyplay.com/virginia-tech-basketball/2016/03/11785/princet...
http://www.thekeyplay.com/virginia-tech-basketball/2016/03/11781/virgini...
I lolsnorted in a conference at work reading this post. Probably looking like this.....but with less alcohol.
I think this is the one you need for this thread:
All of this is giving me heartburn... I'm not used to having coaches people wanted
via GIPHY
via GIPHY
The nervous one in that first gif should be Abed. Danny Pudi is a Marquette alum and a huge Marquette fan. He saw Buzz leave his school. WHAT DO YOU KNOW THAT WE DON'T, BEAMERS AUTO GARAGE????
via GIPHY
You sir, are giffing your ass off today.
Well aren't you the best thing since warm beer on a cold winters day!
via GIPHY
"Yeah, they're hicks Rita."
Ned? Ned Ryerson?
And just think, all he had to do in order to get out of that cycle was nail Andie McDowell.
And there's certainly nothing wrong with taking your sweet time about doing that.
He didn't though!
I think we all know what happened the day AFTER Groundhog Day, though.
Wait... Conspiracy theory here, but I remember seeing a quote from Buzz that said that Isaac Chew would be a D1 head coach after the end of this season... and this may be a large reach without sauces, but maybe he was giving VT a foresight into its own future? I don't want Buzz to leave ever, but I'd feel confident with Chew around for a while too. Just my opinion and connecting dots that may or may not be present.
But for now let's just win the damn NIT with who we have with us now.
Whit will want an established coach if and when Buzz leaves, which I am hoping isn't for a while. Therefore IMHO Chew will not be the next MBB HC at VT.
Any chance at getting Ace Custic back on staff in some capacity.
He's currently 2nd asst. on Bobby Collins' staff at UMES. Can't imagine it'd take much to tear him away from that, especially an offer from VT. Typical MEAC assistants are only around the $45-70K range, depending on the school and which # asst. one is. He tried to get on prior to Frankie Allen's final year there and he turned him away. SMDH. Ace knows his stuff.
http://www.umeshawks.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/adrian_custis_918864.html
I agree with this if Buzz were to leave, but how long has Chew worked under Buzz? I'm sure he would at least deserve a look for learning under him for so long, even though the last time we tried that with JJ, it didn't necessarily work. Buzz is on a much different level than Greenberg was as a coach though, and if Chew has been there too then I would expect he knows what it takes to be a head coach, albeit inexperienced.
I dont know how to embed a tweet so will link it but Greg Swaim posted that neither BIll Self or Buzz will be OK States head coach.
https://twitter.com/GSwaim/status/709784115352973313
https://twitter.com/GSwaim/status/709784115352973313
Greg Swaim has a radio show and has some connections in the Big 12. Here are a few more tweets that are relevant:
Referring to Doug Gottlieb here.
Bill Self? Do people at Oklahoma State actually think that's possible? Shit, if Buzz does leave after this year, maybe we should go after Bill Self too. If that doesn't work, I'd settle for Tom Izzo...
Edit: Just looked it up - didn't realize Bill Self went to Oklahoma State. Still, not a chance.
Wait, they actually thought they could get Bill Self?
Oklahoma State has been backing up truckloads of money to Bill Self's house for years now. I still don't think it'll ever actually happen but Okie State can make him a filthy rich man if he wants it.
As an update Swaim is now talking about how it is a real possibility.
https://twitter.com/gswaim
Comments such as:
Youbetcha Mark Berman believes Buzz could leave.
wow dont have the warm and fuzzies after hearing buzz dodge Kyles question.
I saw someone tweet the way they interpreted it was that Buzz is going to listen to any offer and see if it makes sense for his family. Which is a 100% fair way to look at it. I don't think he's going anywhere this year, but if he does I won't be surprised. Especially if he thinks it's to the benefit of his family because that's who Buzz is. He is very outwardly christian and a family man. If he does happen to leave, then I will bid him farewell and trust in Whit to make another good hire.
I tried to give you more legs for this because I agree with everything you said, but that would have broken all of space and time if I had found a way to do that.
No, no and no again. Buzz should have thought of his family before taking the VT job and thereby acquiring a much larger family that depends on him. His immediate biological family is financially taken care of, provided with privilege and prestige far outpacing any normal person's needs and well compensated in every way. Buzz owes us nothing more than a job of work, I know that, but he does owe us that, in my opinion. All that feel good Christian stuff is fine and dandy, but there is more to life than those in your household. To me, the job he took made VT and Blacksburg important in his life, he in theirs, and he should honor the community at large.
Like I said above, I'm not worried until he says "I'm definitely not leaving". Then we worry.
Give up a chance to build a program that wins the ACC?
I hate this thread.
I hate the idea of it.
I cannot stand to look at the header.
The header screams pessimism from the top of the steeple.
We can't enjoy a season without the sky is falling stuff?
Sorry, my $.02.
I wish we could nominate threads for "Worst of the Month"
Now with two different threads talking about this what are y'all to do in voting!!! Split the vote.
Make that $0.04, because you have so eloquently stated what I have thought every time I have looked through this thread. So much Chicken Little shit.
damn this thread
Buzz's Interview on Kyle Bailey's show today. Buzz talks about NIT and Coaching rumor.
Wellp...I don't know how you hear that and not initially think 'he gone'...
Before the interview Id put money he'd be back next year. After, I'm thinking 'well who's Whit going to get to replace him?'
I agree. Before I heard that, I thought "it makes no sense for Buzz to consider other opportunities. After all, he came here specifically for the type of opportunity and challenge that he has here".
After hearing the interview, I'm wondering why he mentioned his family, but not his team and why he didn't go on and on about why he came here and what he hopes to accomplish.
Wow, that was a lengthy read. This is the ONLY sure thing I got from the 200+ posts:
If Buzz leaves it is 100% Hokie Fireman's fault for jinxing us with this thread.
/s
#CaneSauce Buzz is already saying he wasn't convinced until he saw "that comment by that fireman guy on The Key Play" and now he has to take another job.
I thought firemen were supposed to put out fires...
Aw, snap!
Well if he read my comment he would be staying, since I stated I think he is staying.
Pandora's Box my friend. You let it out, now that stink is on you FOREVER. even if Buzz leaves 10 years from now it will still all have stemmed from this thread.
So should my next thread be about Fuente taking the team to the playoffs?
Well at some point we are going to have to have a conversation about it, might as well start now.
Dear God man, NO! of course not! that would only jinx us to NEVER reach the playoffs and again all be your fault. Opening Pandora's Box only leads to bad, never good. That's the rule.
Just to be sure, you better spin counter clockwise 3 times, spit over your right shoulder and give the secret anti-jinxing hand signal.
you do know the anti-jinxing hand signal, right?
Firedude just can't catch a break.
you can really tell who is left handed in this gif
I think the fourth and fifth guys down are testing the Silicon Valley scene. Two shake weights...
This one?
Wait, I think I've seen something like that before...
Is that Dr. Evil?
You're the tango to my cash.
You're the Laverne to my Shirley.
Well, we have to talk about something, so if we're going to talk about complete nonsense, I'd rather it have a positive spin.
Even better, maybe we should stick to actual analysis and Emma Watson gifs.
Yes, that would please me very much.
You forgot to include some actual analysis!
One or the other is fine.
You have to take what you can get in this world.
Hmm... not sure I agree. Analysis without Emma isn't something I'm interested in.
Aright, fine
Analysis: We play good when things go right for the team
This thread is a frickin Pit of Despair. I see it's blown up with 30 new comments in the last hour and naturally assume the worst...
http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/college/big-12/texas-christian-unive...
The TCU job would piss me off more than Okie St. At least Okie St makes sense, that's a job I would take. I understand that.
But there aren't a lot of p5 jobs worse than VT, but TCU is one of them. Sure, "new commitment to basketball." Maybe its for family. But when you are a basketball coach, you have already signed up for a nomadic existence.
The good news if it's TCU is that fewer of our players may be interested in transferring. It's fucking Texas, after all.
Potential transfers:
We would have an advantage with any kids that they may not want to go be a part of such a major rebuild.
We would have an advantage in keeping Clarke and Rob, two Virginians.
Hudson and Bibbs weren't Buzz recruits.
Leday and Allen have already transferred once, may not want to do it again. And they would need to be graduates to be eligible.
Maybe Blackshear leaves? Not a Virginia native, has a redshirt year.
The hardest situation is Hill. He's a Buzz guy, close relationship, Buzz said "I will make the decision on his redshirt year, not Med or his mom." Now, if he transfers, he has to sit out another year? I don't see it. In fact, Buzzs relationship to Med is a big factor in why buzz may stay.
Final point: buzz thinks Chew is ready. I would interview him, especially if he keeps the team together. It's not a Whit hire, but Buzz did well taking over for Crean at Marquette (he had one year as a HC for UNO but bolted after Katrina).
CBS reporting that TCU may have zeroed in on Pitt's Jamie Dixon, who is a TCU alum.
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/eye-on-college-basketball/255...
You like that!
If Buzz leaves, you have to understand that this is the process of becoming a good team. If you hire a good coach and he completely turns around a program, other schools are going to be in his ear 24/7, especially if you're a non-traditional basketball school like Tech. With a good AD like Whit, though, he will bring in another solid coach who will build the program a little more and then he might leave. Once the program is built to an elite (or somewhere pretty close) level, a coach will be looking to get the job and lock it up for a long time, and we will have our Roy Williams or Coach K. Trust in Whit.
"non-traditional basketball school"
The thing is though, Tech has been recently relevant. Matching or exceeding in year 3 is what will tell the tale.
Guys, lay off fireman. Personally I agree that some conversations have to happen eventually and it often makes sense to jump the gun. For instance, eventually Fuente is going to leave us and be replaced by Rich Rod....DISCUSS!!
Yes, and we might as well get this out of the way...
Late to the party I know, but I heard from a somewhat reliable source that Buzz is building a new house on a golf course in the Burg. How much of an indicator is this that he's staying (or isn't staying), given that he's making boatloads of money and his buyout drops this month?
Someone brought up a great point earlier, every coach is building a new house. It's part of the game so don't read a ton into it unless you want to open the door to potential soul crushing despair and late nights of sorrow drinking that are made much easier with your new ergonomic TKP bottle opener!
Good point. I guess building a house is different for someone in his position compared to mine.
Will be getting a bottle opener sometime between now and Spring Game.
If Buzz is leaving, it means he can afford a $1.5 million buy out. I'm guessing he can also afford to lose a little on a house.
No! I wanted to hire underwood if Buzz left!
Nailed it, Kevin Griffin (@KAGriff22) of the Marquette Tribune
We may one day have to worry about Buzz Williams leaving Tech, when postseason hopes and NCAA tournament dreams come crashing down..
