MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Next Man Up]

An assistant coach promoted to head coach? How can that be possible? Especially when itsnotmeitsyou has repeatedly advised us that such a move virtually guarantees a last place finish. Shocking! 

[Gregory Sager]

Well... the AD had exactly THREE other candidates to measure the Coach in question against - and he was deemed to be last in comparison.

This is a mischaracterization of how Chaplin approached that job search.

  If the AD didn't like the search results, he could simply started over. If there were ONLY 4 people that applied, then you're right - the pool wasn't large enough. However, you know that wasn't the case.

Didn't say it was. I said that the pool was missing quality applicants. Completely different thing.

Hell, there were 65-70 applicants when they made
the worst hire in program history: Dylan Howard (who was just fired recently from his most recent gig).

He's nowhere close to being the worst hire in program history. Dylan Howard's lone season as head coach of the Vikings was just a speed bump between the losing end of Paul Brenegan's tenure and the losing start of Tom Slyder's. His grade was incomplete.

I don't say that as someone motivated to back Howard, whom I never really got to know all that well and who didn't really wow me as a coach during his brief pit stop at NPU. I say it because it's simply the truth. Nothing bad that's ever happened to the North Park men's basketball program even distantly approaches the disaster that happened on Keith Peterson's watch.

Also, this was the statement Alabama A&M released on March 22, re: Howard's departure:

Alabama A&M Athletics has announced a change in leadership of the men's basketball program. Below is a statement from Director of Athletics Bryan Hicks regarding that change.

"After conferring with head men's basketball coach Dylan Howard and consulting with the Alabama A&M University administration, we were not able to come to terms on a contractual agreement. Therefore, we are moving forward immediately with a search and selection process for a new head men's basketball coach."

"Not able to come to terms on a contractual agreement." Doesn't sound like a firing to me; sounds like a mutual parting over money. The fact of the matter is that Alabama A&M won more games this past season than it had since 2013-14 -- and if you don't count that year, because all of those 2013-14 wins were vacated due to department-wide NCAA violations, then you have to go all the way back to 2010-11 to find more wins for the Bulldogs. Plus, Howard's team won those games despite AAMU being hamstrung by the recruiting sanctions and scholarship reductions imposed by the NCAA as a result of those violations. Hard to believe Howard would get fired in light of that accomplishment ... but very easy to believe that that accomplishment would in turn provoke a salary dispute.

An assistant coach promoted to head coach? How can that be possible? Especially when itsnotmeitsyou has repeatedly advised us that such a move virtually guarantees a last place finish. Shocking! 

In 2019 North Park's showcase program, men's soccer, saw its head coach take a new job on campus and the assistant coach get promoted to head coach. How's the former assistant done? A .733 winning percentage, two CCIW championships in his two years at the helm, and a Sweet Sixteen national tourney finish followed by an Elite Eight finish this past fall.

Of course, we're all kicking ourselves at NPU, because if the school had hired a new coach from the outside like it's apparently supposed to do, the Vikings would've gone undefeated both years and brought home a couple of Walnut & Bronzes after winning every game by five or six goals.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

An assistant coach promoted to head coach? How can that be possible? Especially when itsnotmeitsyou has repeatedly advised us that such a move virtually guarantees a last place finish. Shocking! 

You're close! (Looks like your "Hooked on Phonics" reading program is starting to work well for you - keep it up... you'll get there... eventually.)

My THREE points that you don't seem to fully comprehend:
1) NCC has a hiring process that is exceedingly slow (NPU just took 10 days to do a search.)
2) In CCIW basketball, hiring coaches w/ NO prior HC experience has proven over the long term to not be a good decision. (Tangentially, this also applies to winning with young players... you gotta be OLD to win in this league.)
3) IF promoting the assistant coach is the BEST/only/right/correct thing to do (i.e. NCC), why hasn't it happened already (i.e. NCC football; NPU wbball).

Btw - as long as Elmhurst womens team competes in the CCIW for the next couple years, nobody has to worry about finishing last.

(Unfortunately your responses are a case study in the fundamental flaw of the "learn to read fast" programs currently on the market: Reading Comprehension is such an afterthought so as to realistically place these programs into the "waste of money and time" genre)

[robertgoulet]

An assistant coach promoted to head coach? How can that be possible? Especially when itsnotmeitsyou has repeatedly advised us that such a move virtually guarantees a last place finish. Shocking! 

You're close! (Looks like your "Hooked on Phonics" reading program is starting to work well for you - keep it up... you'll get there... eventually.)

My THREE points that you don't seem to fully comprehend:
1) NCC has a hiring process that is exceedingly slow (NPU just took 10 days to do a search.)
2) In CCIW basketball, hiring coaches w/ NO prior HC experience has proven over the long term to not be a good decision. (Tangentially, this also applies to winning with young players... you gotta be OLD to win in this league.)
3) IF promoting the assistant coach is the BEST/only/right/correct thing to do (i.e. NCC), why hasn't it happened already (i.e. NCC football; NPU wbball).

Btw - as long as Elmhurst womens team competes in the CCIW for the next couple years, nobody has to worry about finishing last.

(Unfortunately your responses are a case study in the fundamental flaw of the "learn to read fast" programs currently on the market: Reading Comprehension is such an afterthought so as to realistically place these programs into the "waste of money and time" genre)

Re:
1) What's the rush? Are you worried about it hurting recruiting? With this new world of the transfer portal in the NCAA the borderline guys who might want a D1 roster spot or guys who are low D1 bench guys are going to have to wait a little longer to see what their own situation is. D2 and D3 are historically late to settle rosters anyway and it's only going to be later now, especially at schools with good programs. I wouldn't be concerned about being without an HC in April as a D3 school.
2) I agree
3) There's nothing wrong with being thorough, especially with someone who doesn't have HC experience on the table. As a hiring manager, there are times I really like someone who's interviewed but doesn't have the experience I want. You know what I do? Interview more people WITH experience just to make sure I am willing to risk my job (because ultimately if they fail, it puts me at risk) on someone that needs to learn on the job.

[kiko]

From my POV:

1. I couldn't care less how long the process takes.  Who cares, when we are sitting in March 2025, that the hiring process took 10 days versus 45 days?  Getting it right is better than being first to the post.

2. You seem to be confusing a very small number of data points with a blanket truth.  The fact that the coaches you are citing were assistants before being elevated may not necessarily be the primary variable driving their relative level of success.  And how they were mentored for success in a higher level role may be completely different from how another coach is prepped for this elevation.

3. Essentially I agree with what robertgoulet is suggesting -- looking at outside candidates when filling an open role is not necessarily a bad thing even if you eventually choose to go with an internal candidate.  Looking at external candidates will give you a good benchmark to calibrate your internal candidate against as you make your decision.

Bonus #4 - This will be unpopular with some, but what Carthage did is essentially not comparable to the process at any other school.  That was nepotism, full stop.

[Next Man Up]

From my POV:

Bonus #4 - This will be unpopular with some, but what Carthage did is essentially not comparable to the process at any other school.  That was nepotism, full stop.

Indeed. Even prior to Bosko's retirement, it was pretty widely known around the CCIW that once he hung it up his son Steve would assume the head position.

[Next Man Up]

CARTHAGE RECRUIT

Griffin Daun, 6'3" 160 pound guard from Wauconda will play at Carthage.
He averaged 13.6 PPG, 3.5 APG, 5.4 RPG, 3.0 SPG, and 1.1 BPG this season.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

Hearing about interesting happenings on the coaching carousel... should hear more soon.

[Next Man Up]

ELMHURST RECRUIT

Sebastian Blachut from Lake Park HS in Roselle, IL has committed to Elmhurst. Various reports list him as a 6'2" SF.
Can't find any stats, but he was Honorable Mention All-State.
Don't know how much of a true forward he'll be in the CCIW at 6'2. More likely a SG or "wing" F at the next level.

[Next Man Up]

Hearing about interesting happenings on the coaching carousel... should hear more soon.

Yep, Jon Scheyer is giving up the Duke gig in order to return to his home territory, and assume the reigns at North Central. 

[Gregory Sager]

Hearing about interesting happenings on the coaching carousel... should hear more soon.

Yep, Jon Scheyer is giving up the Duke gig in order to return to his home territory, and assume the reigns at North Central. 

When asked about his change of heart after spending a season preparing to inherit Mike Krzyzewski's mantle as head coach of the Blue Devils, Scheyer replied, "Duke, schmook."

[CardinalAlum]

Hearing about interesting happenings on the coaching carousel... should hear more soon.

Yep, Jon Scheyer is giving up the Duke gig in order to return to his home territory, and assume the reigns at North Central. 

When asked about his change of heart after spending a season preparing to inherit Mike Krzyzewski's mantle as head coach of the Blue Devils, Scheyer replied, "Duke, schmook."

I heard Coach K decided not to retire but rather settle down into a nice D3 job and will take over at NCC....

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Hearing about interesting happenings on the coaching carousel... should hear more soon.

Yep, Jon Scheyer is giving up the Duke gig in order to return to his home territory, and assume the reigns at North Central. 

When asked about his change of heart after spending a season preparing to inherit Mike Krzyzewski's mantle as head coach of the Blue Devils, Scheyer replied, "Duke, schmook."

I heard Coach K decided not to retire but rather settle down into a nice D3 job and will take over at NCC....

A rumor that Coach K is taking a job at any school that begins with NC is highly suspicious...

[Next Man Up]

Hearing about interesting happenings on the coaching carousel... should hear more soon.

Yep, Jon Scheyer is giving up the Duke gig in order to return to his home territory, and assume the reigns at North Central. 

When asked about his change of heart after spending a season preparing to inherit Mike Krzyzewski's mantle as head coach of the Blue Devils, Scheyer replied, "Duke, schmook."

I heard Coach K decided not to retire but rather settle down into a nice D3 job and will take over at NCC....

A rumor that Coach K is taking a job at any school that begins with NC is highly suspicious...

Like wine, he's mellowing with the advancing years. 

[Next Man Up]

North Park conducting additional follow-up phone interviews this week with finalists who were on campus last week.

North Central conducting phone interviews this week to select finalists from the applicants who made the first cut. On campus finalist interviews next week.