Hey folks - as a member of the DawgNation community, please remember to abide by simple rules of civil engagement with other members:
- Please no inappropriate usernames (remember that there may be youngsters in the room)
- Personal attacks on other community members are unacceptable, practice the good manners your mama taught you when engaging with fellow Dawg fans
- Use common sense and respect personal differences in the community: sexual and other inappropriate language or imagery, political rants and belittling the opinions of others will get your posts deleted and result in warnings and/ or banning from the forum
- 3/17/19 UPDATE -- We've updated the permissions for our "Football" and "Commit to the G" recruiting message boards. We aim to be the best free board out there and that has not changed. We do now ask that all of you good people register as a member of our forum in order to see the sugar that is falling from our skies, so to speak.
- Please no inappropriate usernames (remember that there may be youngsters in the room)
- Personal attacks on other community members are unacceptable, practice the good manners your mama taught you when engaging with fellow Dawg fans
- Use common sense and respect personal differences in the community: sexual and other inappropriate language or imagery, political rants and belittling the opinions of others will get your posts deleted and result in warnings and/ or banning from the forum
- 3/17/19 UPDATE -- We've updated the permissions for our "Football" and "Commit to the G" recruiting message boards. We aim to be the best free board out there and that has not changed. We do now ask that all of you good people register as a member of our forum in order to see the sugar that is falling from our skies, so to speak.
Comments
Lol. If he can “roll away the stone” he da resurrect the program
I'd agree if it had been shown that players were being paid and recruiting violations...he was let go for other stuff and he's still vehemently fighting that. No it's not ideal, but man if you want a coach with instant cache for the game it doesn't get any better. Just have clauses in his contact that stipulate if there's any violations or misconduct he can be immediately fired for cause without compensation or buyout. Nobody else on the list that has any legitimate success will even move the excitement meter. Just watch him close. I know lots of players still love him and think he's being vilified in his current situation.
I don't think Pitino had the same big-name status with recruits he once had, even before his latest scandal, feel like he's done. Tom Cream has one big problem, his brother-in-law is Jim Harbaugh. Earl Grant looks good as a up and coming mid-major coach. Jonas Hayes could be a fall-back option, might be able to attract some talent.
Stay away from Pitino and Hardaway. Crean or Matta should be the first two calls made. After that if Memphis fires Tubby Smith then bring him back. You could do worse in my mind.
I don’t think Crean would do any better than Fox did tbh. Matta would be a great hire if his health is good and he would actually be interested. Pitino would definitely be a controversial selection, but if you distill everything down to coaching and recruiting ability, he’s the best candidate who would bring the most to the table in terms of the game. We’ve all seen what a “safe pick” with a clean record gets us...7-11 and 11th in the SEC. UGA athletics are better than that. We should expect better results than what the “safe bets” have given us. Just keep Pitino on a short leash, like I said, and see what happens. Or is anyone else tired of only 2 early exits and in the NCAAs and no b-ball pulse whatsoever?
Provided his health is good I would go all out for Matta.
We’ve all seen what a “safe pick” with a clean record gets us...7-11 and 11th in the SEC.
I think Pitino could get us NCAA probation. He may end up with one of those things with the NCAA where he can't be hired for a certain # of seasons. Those have been handed out for far less. Don't forget, there is still that FBI investigation going on. Crean did recruit some good players to IU and Matta brought excellent talent to TOSU.
I think with opposing teams questioning our stellar class in football (which doesn’t have any validity) that adding Pitino would only add fuel to the fire.
There is ZERO chance that President Morehead would ever allow Pitino. Morehead is as deliberate as it comes, analyzing everything, assessing the risks and benefits. Pitino is the antithesis of Morehead. It won't happen!
Time to move on to other coaches.
Agree with this and as an alumni, I would be embarrassed if we hired this scum bag. He has no business being around college kids and hiring him would put us in the same category as Auburn and Lville. I want the BBall program to be great and think it has a lot of potential with the right coach. However, I would not want to get there with Pitino. I also have faith that our admin would not make such a bad hire.
What I like about Matta is not only his winning track record but a significant part of it was winning at a high level at a school where football is clearly the first priority. That's exactly what we need. No matter who we bring in and how much they win UGA isn't turning into Duke, Kentucky, etc where basketball is the primary focus.
I want to win and win badly. But I don’t want us hiring Pitino either. It would cost us in the long run - we learned our lesson with Herrick. Plus, there’s the whole FBI issue, and the history with how he recruits. We all know the arguments. I agree President Morehead has too much integrity and intelligence to roll the dice, and so does GM. Look for us to chase after a high profile coach, one stretch surprise hire, and have a few safes.
As much as I like Fox as a person, the idea of a new basketball coach is exciting.
The excitement of the search will be short of football recruiting but the feeling of energized anticipation is present.
I really hope we land a 5 star basketball coach.
I think Thad Matta would be my first pick also. But that's going to take a greater commitment than UGA has shown to bball in the past. And what about his ability to recruit Georgia? We'll see what happens. I wish Pitino wasn't a scumbag and we could get him just for his ability to coach and recruit but who knows whether he's learned from past mistakes. After more thought I agree with others that it might be too big a risk. I'm hoping for Matta, but hoping regardless who it is that UGA bball becomes a force to be reckoned with rather than simply a distraction between football and baseball.
My top 2 choices would be Matta and Crean, but if we miss out on either of those guys I would go off the board a little and reach out to Sam Mitchell. Former NBA coach of the year with the Raptors. Coached all those young guys at Minnesota and taught them how to become winners.
He is from Georgia, has coached an won at the highest level, and I so personable, parents and kids when he sits down with them will come away very impressed.