Bear Down Wildcats

Looks like we survived our annual "panic that Miller will leave for another job" in the off season

Pitt, Maryland, NC State

97cats wrote:

Beachcat97 wrote:97 said "no chance," so I'm putting faith in that.

zero chance

My bad, "zero chance."

Now, 97, I need a "right where we want to be post" on JJ!

NYCat wrote:Looks like we survived our annual "panic that Miller will leave for another job" in the off season

Pitt, Maryland, NC State

was never ever ever gonna happen -- wake me after the Final Four in Phx when UNC comes callin.

Irish27 wrote:According to the Pitt fans, we probably start looking for a new coach.
http://www.scout.com/college/pittsburgh ... e-now-says" target="_blank

Some of this (and other) threads on their board are pretty funny in retrospect.

Too bad Howland took a job last year. I bet he'd be interested.

Pitt should take a shot on an up-and-comer. How about Archie?

According to this, there's still hope.

http://www.scout.com/college/pittsburgh ... 141&page=3" target="_blank

So you're saying there's a chance?

I think when the UNC job owns up, a hot name will be former Tar Heel King Rice. He has done a great job at Monmouth and will probably be looking for a bigger coaching gig.

I've always liked the idea of getting healthy at the expense of a conference rival so for me if I was UNC I'd take a hard look at Tony Bennett to go along with the look at Miller.

I'm guessing Howland to Pitt.

Cuonzo Martin wants the Illinois job when Groce gets the can, but I don't think he has a chance with the current AD.

SCCats wrote:I've always liked the idea of getting healthy at the expense of a conference rival so for me if I was UNC I'd take a hard look at Tony Bennett to go along with the look at Miller.

Or if CSM moves on the Cats could offer Tony Bennett. I am not overly concerned about the Arizona program in the long term. We are storied now, have the facilities, money, and overwhelming fan support. in other words a destination school.

Catintheheat wrote:

SCCats wrote:I've always liked the idea of getting healthy at the expense of a conference rival so for me if I was UNC I'd take a hard look at Tony Bennett to go along with the look at Miller.

Or if CSM moves on the Cats could offer Tony Bennett. I am not overly concerned about the Arizona program in the long term. We are storied now, have the facilities, money, and overwhelming fan support. in other words a destination school.

Agree with you on all points, including the potential Tony look down the line.

Catintheheat wrote:

SCCats wrote:I've always liked the idea of getting healthy at the expense of a conference rival so for me if I was UNC I'd take a hard look at Tony Bennett to go along with the look at Miller.

Or if CSM moves on the Cats could offer Tony Bennett. I am not overly concerned about the Arizona program in the long term. We are storied now, have the facilities, money, and overwhelming fan support. in other words a destination school.

We have our coach. The first thing is to bring out every possible bit of ammo to keep him.

Catintheheat wrote:
Or if CSM moves on the Cats could offer Tony Bennett. I am not overly concerned about the Arizona program in the long term. We are storied now, have the facilities, money, and overwhelming fan support. in other words a destination school.

100% -- Arizona is in a different universe in terms of a potential coaching search than it was in 08/09

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

Catintheheat wrote:

SCCats wrote:I've always liked the idea of getting healthy at the expense of a conference rival so for me if I was UNC I'd take a hard look at Tony Bennett to go along with the look at Miller.

Or if CSM moves on the Cats could offer Tony Bennett. I am not overly concerned about the Arizona program in the long term. We are storied now, have the facilities, money, and overwhelming fan support. in other words a destination school.

We have our coach. The first thing is to bring out every possible bit of ammo to keep him.

I wouldn't underestimate the roots that Sean and his family are putting down in Tucson. They've been in town a while now and are no doubt enjoying themselves. Sean has young kids and, like any parent, would probably be reluctant to uproot them while they're in the middle of childhood, even for Chapel Hill.

AZ had a disappointing season. It happens. Happened to Lute plenty of times. Unless Sean has always dreamt of being in Chapel Hill or Lexington, I really, really doubt he's going to leave for another college job. AZ is a top 5 college job, and Tucson is a terrific place for Sean and his family.

Beachcat97 wrote:

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

Catintheheat wrote:

SCCats wrote:I've always liked the idea of getting healthy at the expense of a conference rival so for me if I was UNC I'd take a hard look at Tony Bennett to go along with the look at Miller.

Or if CSM moves on the Cats could offer Tony Bennett. I am not overly concerned about the Arizona program in the long term. We are storied now, have the facilities, money, and overwhelming fan support. in other words a destination school.

We have our coach. The first thing is to bring out every possible bit of ammo to keep him.

I wouldn't underestimate the roots that Sean and his family are putting down in Tucson. They've been in town a while now and are no doubt enjoying themselves. Sean has young kids and, like any parent, would probably be reluctant to uproot them while they're in the middle of childhood, even for Chapel Hill.

AZ had a disappointing season. It happens. Happened to Lute plenty of times. Unless Sean has always dreamt of being in Chapel Hill or Lexington, I really, really doubt he's going to leave for another college job. AZ is a top 5 college job, and Tucson is a terrific place for Sean and his family.

As a fan, I just don't have an interest in looking towards a time where Sean Miller leaves Arizona. I feel strongly we have the right coach and need to do everything in our power to ensure he retires in Tucson.

I've read and heard that Archie is waiting and/or wants the NC State job, and obviously they'd want him too. Would Sean not want to go up and compete with his brother if that's the case?

Sort of like a Eli & Peyton Manning not wanting to play against each other and always staying in separate conferences.

I think (no inside knowledge) if Archie gets that NC State job (sooner than Roy retiring), Sean would stay here and not go to UNC (i hope) if they offer.

97cats wrote:http://www.scout.com/college/pittsburgh ... ero-chance

There are some Pitt fans acting like jackasses in that thread.

How is it effective to tease us about going out in the first weekend when Miller has never gone out in the first weekend before and Pitt has never made it out of the first weekend during that same time period?

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

97cats wrote:http://www.scout.com/college/pittsburgh ... ero-chance

There are some Pitt fans acting like jackasses in that thread.

How is it effective to tease us about going out in the first weekend when Miller has never gone out in the first weekend before and Pitt has never made it out of the first weekend during that same time period?

Agreed, out of respect for CSM, his family and TJ, I'm going to give them a pass and ignore them like the irrelevant program they are to us. Bear Down Miller!

azcat49 wrote:Comical, Larry Smith bolted and retired to Tucson. Lute's family has never left and put deep roots down. Tomey gets canned and still owns a place. Stoops gets fired nut owns a few houses and is playing golf this week.

Dave Strack and Ced Dempsey owned hones here after the retired. Pretty good lifestyle and the fans are not to tough. Don't have to step over a bunch of really good schools to get players out west. Leaving for Pitt makes zero sense.

Has Dixon left anyway? Might be leveraging for an extension

Exactly. I can see if you were a young college kid looking for a place to meet women, with a better night scene, or for a place with a better job market/better pay/more advancement opportunities. But once you reach a certain age, have a family and kids, and have the perfect job with good pay, there is almost absolutely no reason to leave Tucson unless you are just hard-wired for the big city and a fast-paced life. Especially when the weather is unbelievable 8 or 9 months out of the year, it is affordable, slower paced, and you can get almost anywhere around town in 30 minutes or less. I have a coworker who constantly bitches and moans about how shitty Tucson is. He is constantly trying to transfer or apply for a new job elsewhere, in at least 5 or 6 different states. Always telling me Tucson is a dead-end city. He's a democrat and complains about how progressive/tolerant the city is I remind him he is just shy of $80k and how you can live like a king in Tucson on that salary, and he backs away from the ledge for a bit. If you think of Tucson's "problems", in my eyes they are minimal when compared to pretty much any other city - traffic, too cold, too humid, too expensive, too crowded, hurricanes/tornadoes, etc. There is only one other city I would consider transferring to, but I dont think I could give up my Arizona basketball.

rgdeuce wrote:

azcat49 wrote:Comical, Larry Smith bolted and retired to Tucson. Lute's family has never left and put deep roots down. Tomey gets canned and still owns a place. Stoops gets fired nut owns a few houses and is playing golf this week.

Dave Strack and Ced Dempsey owned hones here after the retired. Pretty good lifestyle and the fans are not to tough. Don't have to step over a bunch of really good schools to get players out west. Leaving for Pitt makes zero sense.

Has Dixon left anyway? Might be leveraging for an extension

Exactly. I can see if you were a young college kid looking for a place to meet women, with a better night scene, or for a place with a better job market/better pay/more advancement opportunities. But once you reach a certain age, have a family and kids, and have the perfect job with good pay, there is almost absolutely no reason to leave Tucson unless you are just hard-wired for the big city and a fast-paced life. Especially when the weather is unbelievable 8 or 9 months out of the year, it is affordable, slower paced, and you can get almost anywhere around town in 30 minutes or less. I have a coworker who constantly bitches and moans about how shitty Tucson is. He is constantly trying to transfer or apply for a new job elsewhere, in at least 5 or 6 different states. Always telling me Tucson is a dead-end city. He's a democrat and complains about how progressive/tolerant the city is I remind him he is just shy of $80k and how you can live like a king in Tucson on that salary, and he backs away from the ledge for a bit. If you think of Tucson's "problems", in my eyes they are minimal when compared to pretty much any other city - traffic, too cold, too humid, too expensive, too crowded, hurricanes/tornadoes, etc. There is only one other city I would consider transferring to, but I dont think I could give up my Arizona basketball.

Denver?

The way things are progressing in my personal life and job I can't imagine living anywhere other than Tucson in the near future. The exception would be Denver...but Denver is at least twice as expensive of a city to live in as Tucson so unless I get someone to pay me twice as much for the same job that isn't happening any time soon!

Good guess, but it's Charleston SC. Even then you have hurricanes, humidity (which I really dont mind too much), and the golf ball sized mosquitos. I spent two months there in the dead of summer, so I got it at its worst and still loved it. Denver would probably be #2 on my list, but its just too damn cold for me and I hate snow. Awesome city, awesome place to raise a family.

azcat49 wrote:Comical, Larry Smith bolted and retired to Tucson. Lute's family has never left and put deep roots down. Tomey gets canned and still owns a place. Stoops gets fired nut owns a few houses and is playing golf this week.

Dave Strack and Ced Dempsey owned hones here after the retired. Pretty good lifestyle and the fans are not to tough. Don't have to step over a bunch of really good schools to get players out west. Leaving for Pitt makes zero sense.

Has Dixon left anyway? Might be leveraging for an extension

didn't livengood also move back to tucson after he left unlv?

i'm not sure if "it's a good place to settle or retire" does tucson any favors, since it's had that rep for some time. appealing to coaches, maybe, but perhaps not to recruits... though i'm aware there are heavier factors that sway their decisions. i like positioning the city as a "real college town" like ann arbor, columbus, ithaca, madison, athens but with awesome weather and the cultural diversions and energy of a larger city. this is based off of things i've heard about tucson's development and the comparisons being made with places like portland and austin. it's difficult to trump family roots and personal preference for big city life, but outsiders probably don't give tucson the credit it deserves.


also - nice to see dawk land on his feet at ucf. no shame in moving to a smaller program or the aac. closer geographically to where he ultimately wants to be, too.

so who is 'furd looking at?

rgdeuce wrote:Good guess, but it's Charleston SC. Even then you have hurricanes, humidity (which I really dont mind too much), and the golf ball sized mosquitos. I spent two months there in the dead of summer, so I got it at its worst and still loved it. Denver would probably be #2 on my list, but its just too damn cold for me and I hate snow. Awesome city, awesome place to raise a family.

When I start a new life under the name Dr. Tyrone Biggums, I'm headed for the Oregon coast.

Sean Miller to Stanford.

rgdeuce wrote:Good guess, but it's Charleston SC. Even then you have hurricanes, humidity (which I really dont mind too much), and the golf ball sized mosquitos. I spent two months there in the dead of summer, so I got it at its worst and still loved it. Denver would probably be #2 on my list, but its just too damn cold for me and I hate snow. Awesome city, awesome place to raise a family.

Charleston is nice. Denver really isn't that cold, imo. For some reason people lump it in with the midwest, but it rarely reaches those kinds of temps. When it does snow, its usually not around for long. Yesterday it was 72 and sunny. Right now we are get slammed with snow, over a foot of snow on the ground so far, but it will be in the 60's and sunny tomorrow. Usually when it snows here its melted and gone the same day.

Stanford basketball coaching search: Assessing Muir’s options

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegespo ... s-options/" target="_blank

azcat34 wrote:Stanford basketball coaching search: Assessing Muir’s options

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegespo ... s-options/" target="_blank

Stanford should go after Herb Sendek.

So is Mick Cronin really going to UNLV? Might have to get them back on the schedule. I bet CSM would love to beat the snot out of them.

UAB coach Jerod Haase to Stanford.

Hated that dude when he played for Kansas, so it will be nice to beat the crap out of him twice a year.

Chicat wrote:UAB coach Jerod Haase to Stanford.

Hated that dude when he played for Kansas, so it will be nice to beat the crap out of him twice a year.

First round loser in the NIT.

Extremely underwhelming hire.

Why does Stanford care so little about basketball, compared to their football program?

catgrad97 wrote:Unfortunately, this conference, nor our beloved university, has enough backing nor infrastructure to keep Sean Miller from going to North Carolina.

I've resigned myself to this and it's all good. As long another perfect fit great hire is made I'll always be grateful to Sean and his family. Let's get that Final Four and 'ship with Sean before it happens. Let's face it with our shitty conference and the climate of one and done and two and done it's just that much easier at UNC to get to the promise land.

Don't sell Arizona short. Nothing wrong with being the king of a geographic area that comprises nearly half of the United States. When you compare fanbase size to pressure/expectations, we are doing pretty well. While I agree that UNC is the better job speaking generally, it may not be the better job for Sean Miller and his family. It may. Who knows. A lot of people are publicly acknowledging that Arizona is a top 5 job. 5 to 1 or 2 is not always that big of a jump. I will continue to say that I want Larry Scott outed though, and him continuing to hang around as a thorn in Miller's side, be it overtly or covertly, will make Miller's decision to bounce a whole hell of a lot easier.

I'll probably get crucified for saying this, but BOTH Lute Olson and Sean Miller are bigger than Arizona basketball. Lute has cemented his legacy and Miller is cementing his. Outside of some people, there is no "this is Lute's team.' Miller has the chance to take a top 5-10 program to UNC, DUKE, Kansas heights. That is a challenge and a huge reward if he gets there. UNC has already reached its heights. He also had the enjoyment of pulling a powerhouse from the ashes and rising it to glory. Dean Smith is UNC basketball and nothing will change that. There really isn't a return to glory story here either, as Roy Williams has had that program doing well since he has been there. Both UNC and Dean Smith are bigger than Roy, both by a significant margin.

Miller's product is being littered all over the NBA and it's only going to get bigger. He is Heisenberg, getting his blue meth all over the streets. Eventually, Tuco and Gus Fring are going to be gone. You don't necessarily switch your blue meth to Carolina blue when they are out of the picture, do you?

Chicat wrote:So is Mick Cronin really going to UNLV? Might have to get them back on the schedule. I bet CSM would love to beat the snot out of them.

Nope, back at Cincy.

rgdeuce wrote:Don't sell Arizona short. Nothing wrong with being the king of a geographic area that comprises nearly half of the United States. When you compare fanbase size to pressure/expectations, we are doing pretty well. While I agree that UNC is the better job speaking generally, it may not be the better job for Sean Miller and his family. It may. Who knows. A lot of people are publicly acknowledging that Arizona is a top 5 job. 5 to 1 or 2 is not always that big of a jump. I will continue to say that I want Larry Scott outed though, and him continuing to hang around as a thorn in Miller's side, be it overtly or covertly, will make Miller's decision to bounce a whole hell of a lot easier.

I'll probably get crucified for saying this, but BOTH Lute Olson and Sean Miller are bigger than Arizona basketball. Lute has cemented his legacy and Miller is cementing his. Outside of some people, there is no "this is Lute's team.' Miller has the chance to take a top 5-10 program to UNC, DUKE, Kansas heights. That is a challenge and a huge reward if he gets there. UNC has already reached its heights. He also had the enjoyment of pulling a powerhouse from the ashes and rising it to glory. Dean Smith is UNC basketball and nothing will change that. There really isn't a return to glory story here either, as Roy Williams has had that program doing well since he has been there. Both UNC and Dean Smith are bigger than Roy, both by a significant margin.

Miller's product is being littered all over the NBA and it's only going to get bigger. He is Heisenberg, getting his blue meth all over the streets. Eventually, Tuco and Gus Fring are going to be gone. You don't necessarily switch your blue meth to Carolina blue when they are out of the picture, do you?

I agree with this to a large extent. Carolina is its own brand, and that brand overcomes whatever is going on at the time. Heck, despite the academic scandal and all the embarassment from that, UNC still retains some air of respectability. That's due to a half century of building that legend.

Arizona was Lute. After Lute left, there was a real question about what it would be after that. Miller has made the program in his image, and that transition is complete. He would never have that chance at UNC. At UNC, you don't remake the program.

UNC is a really good job. The dynamic is just apples and oranges with Arizona. We are the power in the west. UNC is one of the powers within a 15 mile radius. They have a program legacy that we don't. Our legacy would be centered on Miller in a way it never would be at UNC.

97 has posted about a final four or a NC and what that would mean for Miller at Arizona. I want that badly to try to create that effect of cementing what he can do here.

I worry about the Scott issue. Right now, Miller is bigger than Scott on a national scale. So long as Alford keeps UCLA in neutral, Arizona only consolidates its place. I think we are close to being to the Pac what Kentucky is to the SEC. It boggles my mind that Scott doesn't do what he can to show love to the program that is his flagship and has the largest, most easily mobilized fan base.

Oh man....

Chicat wrote:

Oh man....

wtfffffff

What a chump if true. Don't think Livengood would fuck up this bad.

Merkin wrote:What a chump if true. Don't think Livengood would fuck up this bad.

Why would you ever admit that? Sure it makes Cronin look like a prick, but it makes her look like an incompetent idiot. Why would you let him get back on the plane without signing anything if you truly thought he had agreed to be your next coach?

Coop Cat wrote:

Another verbal!

Don't let him get on the plane!

Georgia Tech job just opened up

That would be a decent hire by the rebs. Menzies is a solid recruiter and an OK tactition. I think that's a good fit

The rebs need to hire Randy Bennett

MrBug708 wrote:The rebs need to hire Randy Bennett

Very solid coach but something about him has not allowed bigger programs to make that move. Have always wondered why?

azcat49 wrote:

MrBug708 wrote:The rebs need to hire Randy Bennett

Very solid coach but something about him has not allowed bigger programs to make that move. Have always wondered why?

I'd wager a lot of programs are scared by the sanctions. If you hire a midmajor coach, you've got to be leery about one with recruting violations already out there.