USC hires Kevin O'Neill
by muircoach on Jun 20, 2009 10:02 AM PDT
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USC has just announced that they have hired Kevin O'Neill, from the Memphis Grizzlies. Most everyone will remember him as the guy who Lute Olson screwed last year at Arizona. He was the interim coach two years ago, and then Lute bad-mouthed him and made him out to be the bad guy for the horrible showing Arizona made. As a basketball coach, I know alot about him. He is a solid coach, a decent guy, and should run a clean program......if Garrett will let him. However, he surely isn't a sexy hire and for that I am happy as he doesn't quite have the connections and other things that would lure recruits away from our Bruins. A decent coach, but surely nothing to write home about. One thing I guarentee you he won't do, is pronounce that Arizona is the "standard" which excellence is set in basketball. O'Neill is well aware that their is only one "standard" in the Pac-10......and all he has to do is walk into Pauley, look up, and he'll understand.
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.
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that's a good hire for them
and the type of coach they should have hired to succeed Bibby in the first place. Its almost impossible to go from irrelevance to greatness in college sports unless you hire someone with a stellar resume (Butch Davis at UNC) or you cheat (Carroll at SUC). Floyd cheated, but still didn’t quite get there as it all came down around him right before they took that next step.
ONeill will make them a legitimately good, not great Pac 10 team, run a clean program, and coach a fundamentally sound program. After 5 years or so of that, they should be able to be respectable enough to hire a name to take them to the next level.
"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"
by silverlakebruin on Jun 20, 2009 10:40 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Huh?
Do we have any evidence that O’Neill “make them a legitimately good” team? He was a fill-in for one year who didn’t do much with what he had—and he didn’t have any recruiting to do. And basketball isn’t football. Lots of young coaches take over programs and make them national—Pitino at Providence, after years of nothing; Calipari at UMass, on and on.
by Herodotus on Jun 20, 2009 12:38 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Your example of Calipari and Pitino just prove my point
Cheaters can make unrecognized programs great. Calipari did it by paying Camby and getting him hookers at UMass. You will find the same things at Memphis when it all comes out. Floyd tried to do the same but got caught
Pitino was at Providence for only two years. One year they were an NIT team. The next year they did get to the final four. He didn’t build anything there. He had one great season.
Can Oneill build a program ? Don’t know. But he is a good x and o coach, and with just by getting good LA players Howland doesn’t want should be able to field a good team.
"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"
by silverlakebruin on Jun 20, 2009 1:43 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Here's more
Miller at Xavier. Crean at Marquette. Howland at Pitt. The evidence is that the coach rarely builds the program, but a good young coach can make it national before he moves on.
And I absolutely disagree that O’Neill is a good x and o coach.
by Herodotus on Jun 20, 2009 1:57 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I will give you Howland at Pitt
Miller took over Xavier from Thad Matta, who went on to coach at Ohio State. Matta averaged 26 wins a season at Xavier. Miller took them no further than where Matta had them. Here are Matta and Miller’s tourney experiences.
2001 First Round
2002 Second Round
2003 Second Round
2004 Elite Eight
2006 First Round
2007 Second Round
2008 Elite Eight
2009 Sweet Sixteen
In regards to Crean, same thing Here is his record at Marquette. Had a great 2003 season, other than that, good not great team.
ead coaching record
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Marquette (Conference USA) (1999–2005)
1999–2000 Marquette 15-14 8-8 4th (American) NIT 1st Round
2000–2001 Marquette 15-14 9-7 3rd (American)
2001–2002 Marquette 26-7 13-3 2nd (American) NCAA 1st Round
2002–2003 Marquette 27-6 14-2 1st (American) NCAA Final Four
2003–2004 Marquette 19-12 8-8 8th NIT Quarterfinals
2004–2005 Marquette 19-12 7-9 9th NIT 1st Round
Marquette (Big East Conference) (2005–2008)
2005–2006 Marquette 20-11 10-6 T-4th NCAA 1st Round
2006–2007 Marquette 24-10 10-6 T-5th NCAA 1st Round
2007–2008 Marquette 25-10 11-7 T-5th NCAA 2nd Round
Marquette: 190-96 90-56
Sometimes you are lucky and find the coach who can take you from crap to excellence, but usually its a longer more drawn out process
"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"
by silverlakebruin on Jun 20, 2009 11:49 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
For what it's worth
He seems to be almost universally disliked by Arizona fans.
by SuperBruinMan on Jun 20, 2009 12:50 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Kevin O'Neil
has been a FAIL everywhere he coached.
by Nestor on Jun 20, 2009 1:44 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
HahahaHahahaha
Best news I’ve heard all day.
by Karl II on Jun 20, 2009 11:15 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
All I care about.....
….Is that this is not Jamie Dixon, thank god!
by haster123 on Jun 20, 2009 11:25 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
favorit bit from ESPN's article
“O’Neill takes charge of a USC program that won at least 20 games and made the NCAA tournament each of the last three seasons, both school records, at a university best known for its powerhouse football program, which is also being investigated by the NCAA.”
They also mention that his overall win loss record is 171-180. So he has a losing record, but I am glad that ESPN snuck in a reference to u$c*s football team actually still being under investigation. ESPN loves u$c* and they still brought up the football investigation? Maybe it’s serious? I hope so!
by sponkey21 on Jun 21, 2009 6:40 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Irrelevant
just like SUCs basketball program.
by godblesstyus95 on Jun 21, 2009 8:46 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Awesome
It’s great to see that Al Bundy is gonna be back on TV and talking about his 4 TDs in a single high school game.
by UCLA4Life on Jun 22, 2009 1:49 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Who had the emptiest cupboard?
just$c*’s new basketball coach, whose name I’ve already forgotten, or Coach Neuheisel?
by Fox 71 on Jun 22, 2009 8:16 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Easy answer
No matter who the coach is and whatever nefarious methods he uses to bring in questionable players, as J R Sakuragi “It’s just ’sc”
by UCLA4Life on Jun 22, 2009 9:58 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
At least Neu inherited a decent defense
O’Neill is inheriting a starting point guard named Little Romeo. Heck, maybe Little Romeo is also the starting 2-guard. Do they even have 5 people on scholarship?
by bornagainbruin on Jun 24, 2009 8:26 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
This is the best you can bring?
“BoringBen?” I’ll take Boring Ben any day. We had another boring coach when I was a student. It was so boring when we won all those games and all those championships. Coach was one of the all time boring coaches.
Is Ben boring because of his offense? Here’s a fact – last year Boring Ben’s offense averaged 75.5 points a game. You prefer Timmeh’s brand of non-boring ball? just$c* averaged 68.5 points a game.
Do you truly think the Bruins basketball cubpoard is bare? Is that your point? I would be interested in hearing the facts that caused you to form that conclusion. If that’s just your opinon, that’s fine. It doesn’t shine a very flattering light on your thought processes, but that’s OK. You’re certainly entitled to an opinion, even one without foundation. But let’s hear the facts that back up your opinion about how boring Coach Howland is, and how empty the UCLA basketball cupboard is.
by Fox 71 on Jun 27, 2009 11:59 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
He is gone
He was clearly here just to troll.
by Nestor on Jun 27, 2009 12:09 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
You're right. No great loss.
I was trying to evangelize just a little, trying to get the kid to abandon the dark side. But he was too far gone. I fully expected him to play his trump card very soon – “well, you suck! so there.”
by Fox 71 on Jun 27, 2009 1:50 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
You Have To Admit...
…he was hilarious, with his “keen insight,” and intimate “details” about Timmie’s delicate ticker.
Love My Bruins
by Bruingirl83 on Jun 28, 2009 11:42 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I must also confess ...
… that I hoped some of the big words I used would get him a little flustered.
by Fox 71 on Jun 28, 2009 5:13 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Is it just me...
Or does the new u$c* coach combine two celebrities in looking like Larry David and named like Al Bundy’s brother?
Bob O. (Signholder #3)
by TuneMan7 on Jun 23, 2009 7:04 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
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