Calhoun
- Thread starter Chauncey1986
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I think in conversation with him you just nod a lot, wave your hands, and say "fugetaboutit" now and then. You'll have a good talk.
How can ESPN pay guys like him and Walton to mangle really good college basketball games?
Another case of a guy who never had to pay a price for his transgressions...he cheated...he was caught...he elected to "retire" rather than answer for it...and he was rewarded by being hired by ESPN despite not being any good at what it is that he is supposed to do.
Never mind that you can't understand him at all, he does not follow B1G basketball at all and it is abundantly clear anytime that he does a game.
ESPN seems to hire A LOT of former athletes/coaches who made very questionable choices/decisions in life. Not sure why they feel the need to hire these people.
I would say 10% is accurate. However I will say that what little I do understand makes sense. I bet he was a pretty good coach
So I guess that raises a good question. Can you win a title without being a great coach? Is Roy Williams a great coach because he has won titles? I feel his teams consistently underperform with the talent level they have.
Very few, if any, have done less with as much to work with.
To answer your own question...look no further than the guy that replaced Calhoun (Kevin Ollie).
Between Calhoun and Roy Williams, Calhoun is the better coach IMO. The only place where Williams may have an edge is recruiting (slight) and staying out of trouble (big).
Williams has been at UNC long enough that some people forget some of his "underperforming" Kansas teams. I liked Roy a lot more when he was at Kansas.
UConn's last two title teams, 2011 (Kemba Walker) and 2014 (Napier and Boatright) are a prime example of lower-seed teams with backcourt talent getting hot at the right time (along with some bracket help) and getting big-time performances from guards who could deliver in crunch time. They were a 3-seed in 2011 (playing no better than a 4-seed the entire tournament) and a 7-seed in 2014. Doesn't happen very often, but they rode their talent all the way....good coaching and good fortune. Calhoun recruited most of that, but you gotta give Ollie some credit for getting them across the finish line. How much? Many will disagree on that I suppose.
Candidly, I'm on the fence with Calhoun. He knows the game and can certainly coach, but I don't like the stuff that went down....he did have some health issues too.
I agree he could be much better prepared.....I somewhat can follow him at times.....he does have some unique insights, but it's too much trouble at times to follow with the pace of the games....closed captioning would probably short out, but I haven't tried it.
Last night, my translator failed, but I was enjoying the ending of the game, so I didn't mind too much.
Good thoughts, Texas. I agree. Guys like Calipari or Williams or Pitino who win 35 games with an NBA roster dont really impress me. Izzo won a lot of games when he didn't have the best talent in years past. In my mind that makes him a very good coach. Ironically he seems to have done worse as of late by getting better recruiting classes.
Calhoun was able to pull a lot of talent but not on the level of some of the NBA factory schools. I would love to see what Keady or Calhoun could do with the UK or Duke recruits on a ten year term...
Calhoun was able to pull a lot of talent but not on the level of some of the NBA factory schools. I would love to see what Keady or Calhoun could do with the UK or Duke recruits on a ten year term...
Thanks, Frankie.....to supplement:
Pitino > Calipari > Williams
However, with all the "extracurricular dancers and entertainment" shenanigans that went on with Louisville and Pitino playing "Sergeant Schultz" along with his table-side after-hours dining fiasco, it's extremely difficult for me to drum up any respect for him personally. Regardless, he can certainly coach. Calipari in some ways is college basketball's version of Pete Carroll (I thought he was possibly underrated for his x's and o's until what I thought were some huge personnel fateful decisions in the '15 FF)....but these guys are absolute maestros.....that's right, Baby.....absolute masters at playing the recruiting game.
This is total speculation on my part, but I think Izzo saw some of that was the missing piece and started going after/competing for more of those types of recruits thinking it could get him over the hump....he's taken a couple of beatings in the FF, and I could see where that might lead to frustration and a change of tactics. It appears to also require a corresponding adjustment to his teams' playing/practice/preparation styles as well as how to respond to/motivate them. Will it pan out? Time will tell, I suppose.
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This x1000000. They've simultaneously become a de-facto jobs program for those types of people as their consumer base has steadily declined. Coincidence?
Yes. I'm half Irish and 100% drunk though.
I think coaches that win at every level (and at DI "lower-level" or "mid-major" programs) on their way up to high DI HC gigs are the ones that are easiest to praise as very good or great coaches, because they've proven it. Some that fit that description and come to mind in recent history are Rick Majerus (RIP), Bo Ryan, John Beilein, Gregg Marshall, Tony Bennett (he helped make Washington State a respected program for a few years: Washington State!), and Rick Pitino (don't like the guy and staffs of his have gotten away with stuff regarding recruiting, but I think it's undeniable that he's a very good coach).
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