Hope Floyd stays at JustSC
by Nestor on Apr 2, 2009 4:32 AM PDT
Email
PrintSo Floyd has 24 hours to decide what to do per the LA Times:
Tim Floyd, who took USC's basketball program to new heights, was offered the Arizona job Wednesday, a source familiar with the situation said.
The source, who asked to remain anonymous as he was not authorized to speak about the situation, said that Floyd met with Arizona Athletic Director Jim Livengood and was offered the position. Floyd is believed to have 24 hours to make a decision.
Floyd could not be reached for comment and did not respond to a text message.
Arizona asked for permission to speak with Floyd on Tuesday. At the team banquet that night, Floyd gave an impassioned speech to players about staying at USC to win a national title, and not jumping to the NBA. He flew off to interview at Arizona on Wednesday.
"Arizona called me and asked for permission. I gave them permission to talk to him," USC Athletic Director Mike Garrett said. "I know that was in the process."
Asked if he had spoken to Floyd, Garrett said, "He'll come to me and tell me what he's decided. That's how it works."
Uhm, I am not sure how Floyd took JustSC to "new heights" given the fact that Bibby was just as successful than him in the tournament (making one run to Steve-16) and Raveling was more consistent (per their "standards") during regular seasons.
That said I like Floyd where he is ... underachieving one season after another. Because if Floyd leaves that will probably open the door for Jamie Dixon to Southern Cal. Jamie Dixon to Southern Cal would be a major move. It will also make (at least for this Bruin) it very difficult to dislike that basketball program, given his character and former ties to Howland. Oh and don't think Dixon will not take the job because he doesn't want to compete against his former mentor or that he is afraid of sanctions (you think NCAA will grow a spine against SC?).
Any Californian (west coaster) living out in East will always jump at a good opportunity to come home by the Pacific Ocean.
Ultimately it doesn't really matter for us given with Howland we will keep getting recruits, keep the program on the right path and compete for conference titles almost every season and for the NC on a regular basis. But Jamie at Southern Cal would be interesting. He is a good guy and very different from the characters that have led their major programs in recent decades. He would change my feelings towards their program.
So if I were a UCLA fan, I'd root for Floyd to keep "coaching" at JustSC.
GO BRUINS.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.
28 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
that was not
a post that was very pleasant to read…i hope you’re very wrong, as I would be shocked if Floyd turned down $ from U of A.
they're both our rivals in basketball
arizona more so than sc
i haven’t seen the dixon to usc thing anywhere or is that just speculation? i wonder why zona would go after floyd, they were looking at top tier coaches a second ago.
Great holy mother
I hope this isn’t true. Jaime Dixon is too high class of a coach to take the job at that horrible JC.
Victory or until next year!
Dixon to $C
Andy Katz mentioned in a Sports Center blurb that if Floyd does to to Arizona, Dixon could go to $C.
Personally, I can’t imagine why you would leave a program like Pitt where the program is flourishing, has a great new arena and you isn’t going to be perpetually in the shadow of a dominant program across town.
On the other hand, I wonder if Dixon might relish the possibility of becoming the arch rival of his former mentor.
This seems so very strange to me because I thought Dixon was the better fit for Arizona, not Floyd. But maybe Floyd’s recent pattern of dirty recruiting appeals to Arizona in the wake of the recruiting disaster that they have recently been experiencing.
But then again, I also can’t understand why Bennett would leave WSU for Virginia when he had passed on what seemed to me to be a far superior position at Indiana, or even LSU. I mean, I can certainly understand wanting to get out of Pullman, but Virginia doesn’t seem like a massive upgrade over WSU when other, more attractive positions have been available. So what do I know?
At any rate, Tim Floyd can bring his slime to Tucson and will likely have a good degree of success there with the Arizona program and its superior pedigree. But either way he is going to have a hard time resurrecting the “standard” while Coach Howland is in Westwood.
And hey…with $C’s history of hiring old UCLA guys (Bibby), maybe they will go after Lavin! Or maybe they can hire Majerus for another 24 hours.
We think alike
Not just about it being hard to root against a Jamie Dixon team but that Dixon is an elite coach where Timmeh is not. SUC WILL benefit in this deal if Timmeh leaves and Dixon replaces him. I guess the only good news for Bruins is that it’s unlikely that Dixon, class act that he is, would continue the dirty and seedy recruiting tactics that Timmeh is known to employ (package deals and one and dones for hire).
I hope Gillespie comes to U$C.
That way, we don’t have to worry about any mixed feelings in the CBH coaching tree.
M
"In this program your passion bucket must be full to play SC." -- CRN, to Dan Patrick, 1/2008
I agree with you Nestor
Might be Dixon (ugh), might be Few, might be Gillespie…
Any of those 3 are an upgrade over Timmeh, and I think a lot of people are especially undervaluing Few who’s taken a mediocre program into the tournament often, and would more than likely thrive if given more resources and a better recruiting tree.
I don't really care about Few or Gillespie ..
I am not worried about Dixon either as the HC of Southern Cal.
What matters is that Dixon going to Southern Cal will probably mean he will never coach at UCLA. If he stays at Pitt or makes a move to another major D-1 program, at least the possibility of him being the next UCLA coach would remain open. If he ends up at Southern Cal (which is a real possibility should Timmeh run to Arizona) that will close the door for Dixon to UCLA.
I don't care much about Gillespie either
But I really do think Few, given more resources, would drastically improve $C’s program in a hurry. While I don’t think it would happen (as I had thought Kent was gone this year, and Few would go replace him up there) I don’t think you can dismiss that he took a mediocre program to 10 straight tourneys and 4 sweet 16s. Would have been 3 sweet 16s and 1 elite eight+ if it weren’t for them running into pure magic on the way.
By reading your comment, are you concerned about CBH leaving in the short term, or more the long term? I’ve always assumed that once he “takes care of business” he would be open to leaving just like any coach in this era would, but I never saw him as someone who would leave with work to be done.
by bruinhopeful on Apr 2, 2009 10:08 AM PDT up reply actions
Few didn't build the Gonzaga program
His predecessor Munson established the foundation and Few was helped along by Bill Grier (who later left the Zags). I am not all that impressed with Mark Few.
2006-2007
Is the season when I thought Few was in the upper echelon of “prospect coaches” (meaning, might be ready for the bright lights of a major program). Remember, he took a team who lost their star player (Morrison), lost their second best player to some criminal offense, and booked a ridiculous out of conference schedule with the assumption he would have both of these intact, into the tourney. While making it into the tourney isn’t a big deal around here, he did a fantastic job that season and I don’t think you can totally discount that.
But yes, Dan Monson was the architect there in the early years, but post-2001 I do give Few the bulk of the credit. Grier, while being probably the longest tenured coach and a holdover from the Monson regime, still was an assistant, so you can’t dismiss Few’s later success to an assistant coach, just like you can’t attribute all of Phil Jackson’s success to Tex Winter.
by bruinhopeful on Apr 2, 2009 10:22 AM PDT up reply actions
Gillespie>Few or Dixon
He has built programs. The other two havent’. He got a raw deal at Kentucky, and I don’t think he would be a great fit at SUC because he is pretty country, but he can build a program.
"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"
by silverlakebruin on Apr 2, 2009 12:06 PM PDT up reply actions
Few is pretty unlikely
Mark Few has passed on several other jobs that are WAY better than $C. In fact, I recall when UCLA was looking for Lavin’s successor, they sought out Few and had no interest.
I’ve heard from Gonzaza alum that Few is very happy at Gonzaga and isn’t going anywhere. Having said that, I believe he is an Oregon alum and may be waiting for Ernie Kent to get the axe (I’m actually somewhat shocked it didn’t happen this year).
Few
I recall when the UCLA job was vacant, Few made it clear he wasn’t interested. That’s all. I wasn’t working at the Morgan Center at the time, so I don’t know if DG contacted him directly or not.
I think people forget
Just how huge of a “get” Howland was. I was a student when that happened, and I remember my friends and I couldn’t believe how fortunate we were, coming off the Lavin era.
by bruinhopeful on Apr 2, 2009 10:09 AM PDT up reply actions
Howland was UCLA's first tier target
There were only two other coaches in Howland’s tier.
Mark Few was in the second tier of UCLA’s target list along with Tom Crean and Mike Brey.
The third tier included people like Pat Douglass and Brad Holland.
People have no idea how methodical DG was in this search for our hoops coach.
Don't forget that article
That came out a couple years ago about how Few’s no longer friends with Howland because of wanting the UCLA job.
About Floyd
For all the ridiculous aspects of the Floyd era it’s worth noting that he has been our toughest coaching opponent in the Pac 10 on a consistent basis.
Over the last four years our record against USC is 7-3. Only two of those victories weren’t extremely tough. The only other remotely close opponent is Home Washington.
I don’t care if he stays or goes. To me, the most formidable opposition would be a coach with a different style that tempts recruits.
HA!
You guys are funny. Dixon coaching at JustSC won’t change my opinion of SUC, but it will change my opinion of Dixon.
For all this talk of what a great coach Dixon is, I am missing what exactly he did at Pittsburgh? CBH built a team that was back to back big east champions in his four year tenure. Before CBH, they had four losing seasons out of five.
Dixon inherited this, and took them no further. This years team struggled in the NCAA tournament and did not get to the final four, even though they were a number 1 seed.
I see no evidence to think Dixon knows how to build a program, and that’s what will be needed at SUC. He can’t walk into what CBH has already built like he did at Pitt.
And, I do think chosing to coach in the same conference as your mentor when you have other options is pretty weak sauce.
So, My opinion of SUC will stay very low, and my opinion of Dixon will move from ok to below average if he coaches there.
"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"
by silverlakebruin on Apr 2, 2009 11:59 AM PDT reply actions
I Will Lose Respect for Anyone Who Chooses to Coach at sc Unless
there is a culture change — and there won’t be.
“Cheat On” is so deeply rooted in the structure of the entire athletic department that it will take major sanctions and some kind of Dead Period to clean up the mess. sc is high on the list of toxic waste sites and survives because the NCAA takes the same attitude toward clean up as that taken by the EPA during the last 8 years.
This is the perfect place for the Timmeh’s of life — the people who hire parents to get their kids and rappers to get their friends. The place where agents and runners who deliver players maintain access to the locker room. And, the place where integrity and rectitude have no meaning.
If Dixon goes to sc, I will lose respect for Dixon.
sjh
Man, remember when Pitt fans killed Howland for leaving?
I can’t imagine how bent they will be if the lose Dixon…especially if it is to SC.
Floyd in the running for Memphis job, too
per Jeff Goodman at Fox. I think this would be a much better fit for him.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
