2 hours ago, bugatti said:

It's crazy, but Billy Donovan has been in our lives as a coach now for 30 years (going back to Marshall) and he is still just 58. 10 years have been in the NBA. Normally, once these guys get out of the college coaching game and in the NBA mix, they remain there. Given the hand he has been dealt, he has proven to be a solid NBA coach.

I saw Billy Donovan coached by Rick Pitino in the NCAA tournament at Freedom Hall. I believe 1987? 

4 minutes ago, futurecoach said:

The Thunder did move on from him, and currently about to finish below .500 for the second year in a row now with the Bulls. That’s why I wouldn’t be surprised if both he and the Bulls look to move on after this year. With that said though the NBA does love to recycle coaches, so he probably would get another NBA job if he wanted to stay. I just for some reason believe for the right job he would come back to college now after 10 years. Which UL or UK would be jobs I think he would strongly consider. 

Maybe.... I would like to see it.

The grind of college seems so much worse for me than the NBA. The college game is cratering with diminishing prestige for coaches. It ain't the same college landscape he was once coaching in.

1 minute ago, Voice of Reason said:

I saw Billy Donovan coached by Rick Pitino in the NCAA tournament at Freedom Hall. I believe 1987? 

That would be about right. A few years later he ended up on UK's bench.

Just now, bugatti said:

Maybe.... I would like to see it.

The grind of college seems so much worse for me than the NBA. The college game is cratering with diminishing prestige for coaches. It ain't the same college landscape he was once coaching in.

It honestly is sort of becoming an NBA type thing. With basically free agency with the transfer portal, NIL, etc. So depending how a coach wants to approach things. You don’t have to go out and recruit as much, if you are a coach that likes having veteran players and uses the transfer portal more. Which Donovan was never really a one done type coach. Plus he is use to the NBA game now, so may not be that hard of an adjustment for him, as it has for coaches that basically have always been in college. 

I don't listen to a ton of talk radio but the name I keep hearing as the guy they SHOULD go after is Drew.   But I can't see him leaving the Big XII, which is clearly on the rise, to come to the ACC, which is clearly heading in the opposite direction.

But then again, he could come to the Ville and when the ACC falls apart, he could end up right back in the Big XII.

13 hours ago, TheDeuce said:

Look at us! Here we are, nearing the end of the cataclysmic failure that is the Kenny Payne era. We are less than two weeks away, so I figured we could start discussing who the replacement will be. A few names that are consistently being thrown around as a possible replacement:

Mick Cronin

Chris Beard

Eric Musselman 

Nate Oats

Scott Drew

Bruce Pearl

Shaka Smart

I am pretty confident UofL's next coach will come from that group, but I honestly have no idea who it will be. Drew and Pearl seem like extreme longshots to me, and I don't really consider them realistic options. 

Let's discuss. 

Assuming that Drew and Pearl are on the list only because they will get a call, but not be interested, I'd like Shaka Smart or Nate Oates.  They've been successful at every stop, and they are the 2 youngest on that list.

13 hours ago, Tranquility Base said:

I don't listen to a ton of talk radio but the name I keep hearing as the guy they SHOULD go after is Drew.   But I can't see him leaving the Big XII, which is clearly on the rise, to come to the ACC, which is clearly heading in the opposite direction.

But then again, he could come to the Ville and when the ACC falls apart, he could end up right back in the Big XII.

If I thought Drew were a realistic option, he’d be at the top of my list. He’s been at Baylor way too long to leave, IMO. 

10 hours ago, Tranquility Base said:

Assuming that Drew and Pearl are on the list only because they will get a call, but not be interested, I'd like Shaka Smart or Nate Oates.  They've been successful at every stop, and they are the 2 youngest on that list.

Oats has been getting a lot of chatter recently. I wouldn’t mind Shaka I guess, but he has literally no tournament success outside of his one run at VCU. 

On 3/2/2024 at 9:52 AM, TheDeuce said:

Oats has been getting a lot of chatter recently. I wouldn’t mind Shaka I guess, but he has literally no tournament success outside of his one run at VCU. 

I'd prefer Oates as well.  Shaka was great during the run at VCU and he seems to be just on the verge at Marquette...It's that mediocre stop at Texas that worries me.   They were good, but it could have been better.

On 3/1/2024 at 5:50 PM, futurecoach said:

It honestly is sort of becoming an NBA type thing. With basically free agency with the transfer portal, NIL, etc. So depending how a coach wants to approach things. You don’t have to go out and recruit as much, if you are a coach that likes having veteran players and uses the transfer portal more. Which Donovan was never really a one done type coach. Plus he is use to the NBA game now, so may not be that hard of an adjustment for him, as it has for coaches that basically have always been in college. 

I do wonder if the NIL and transfer stuff gets regulated in some way (either by the NCAA or Washington) if that might open the door for a return to college by some guys who have moved on to the NBA and NFL. If I'm someone like Billy Donovan, who hasn't been in college in ten years, now isn't the time I want to return with so much uncertainty in the stuff surrounding college sports.

On 3/2/2024 at 9:52 AM, TheDeuce said:

I wouldn’t mind Shaka I guess, but he has literally no tournament success outside of his one run at VCU. 

 

10 hours ago, Tranquility Base said:

Shaka was great during the run at VCU and he seems to be just on the verge at Marquette...It's that mediocre stop at Texas that worries me. They were good, but it could have been better.

Shaka has been very successful at schools without football and performed quite poorly at the one football school where he coached. Louisville is known for basketball but they have a very successful football program, a local coach, and a typically engaged fanbase. Could Shaka handle that?

1 hour ago, gchs_uk9 said:

 

Shaka has been very successful at schools without football and performed quite poorly at the one football school where he coached. Louisville is known for basketball but they have a very successful football program, a local coach, and a typically engaged fanbase. Could Shaka handle that?

Despite the football team's success over the years, and now Brohm returning and bringing us back, Louisville is still very much a "basketball school." 

Scott Drew at Baylor is the #1 target, if he wants it, it's his. 

There is a "clear second choice" lined up that would apparently take it if Drew says no. 

While definitely a longshot, the possibility of Billy Donovan is out there, but still pretty unlikely at this point. 

Some folks seem to think Dusty May is the mystery second choice, which would be a huge dud for me. 

8 minutes ago, TheDeuce said:

Scott Drew at Baylor is the #1 target, if he wants it, it's his. 

There is a "clear second choice" lined up that would apparently take it if Drew says no. 

While definitely a longshot, the possibility of Billy Donovan is out there, but still pretty unlikely at this point. 

Drew is an interesting choice. I think he'd do a really good job. He's also been consistently mentioned as a replacement for Calipari if/when Cal decides to retire. If he went to Louisville, not only would he make the Cardinals better, he'd likely be altering the future plans of their biggest rival in the process.