CC: Ryan Saunders
I thought about this and hear me out. If we are going to go young and inexperience why not give a guy a shot who’s been an assistant longer than Juwan on the NBA level and comes from good basketball DNA. I actually liked the turn around he made in what could be described as him being thrown into a terrible situation mid-season with the T-Wolves. He also has player development work with the Wizards, where he helped develop players like Wall, Beal, and Porter. I think he is a future star in the coaching ranks and if we strike out with bigger name candidates, he is a name that should be on the radar...if the T-Wolves decide not to retain him.
So a coach that's 33, and has never coached in college above a GA, with no ties to the state of Michigan, no experience recruiting, a below .500 winning percentage in the NBA, and the strongest tie him having is his last name should be a candidate? I swear coaching search season is the worst because allllll the bad ideas come out.
The dumpster fire that was the Timberwolves situation when he took over can’t be forgotten. Plus KAT missed a bunch of games during that stretch as well. He has the chops and frankly how is his resumé worse than Yaklich. At least he has set in the big chair and gained the respect of all his players when he was called up. The guy will be a star! I’m not saying don’t kick the tires on better candidates, but you can do much worse than Saunders.
Things that make Yaklich better than Saunders:
1. Has actual college experience.
2. Has actually recruited players
3. Has actual ties to the university.
Saunders may be ok, but he has no college ties, and has never been hired by an organization that his dad wasn't already working for. He also went 17-25 which isnt good lol, especially considering they were a playoff team the year before and, oh yea, Tom Thibodeau went 19-21 before he got fired. So he didnt actually stabilize the TWolves, he actively made them worse if were looking at record.
He worked for the Wizards after Flip left! Everybody has to start somewhere. He was cutting his teeth in the western conference. And he held his own(beat the Warriors on the road) and his players rave about him. T-Wolves fans are angry today they are even considering interviewing other candidates.
Angry? No were not. We want to look at all candidates and not just go with the Glen Taylor Country Club guy. There are better candidates for the Wolves than Saunders and for Michigan. But, odds are the Wolves will retain him.
I think 'area ties' are overrated, especially in basketball. Just hire the best coach.
I think they're a tad overrated when considering an experienced coach, because they know how to make in roads and build those connections. But for a new coach, especially at a school like Michigan that's a bit more selective in recruiting, I think you absolutely need to know the area and the coaches if you don't want a lapse in recruiting that first year. The head coach doesnt necessarily need it, but his head assistant absolutely does.
I can see that argument more in football, where recruiting classes are larger and a bad year can really hurt. But basketball has so much turnover anyway, and classes are often 2-3 guys. If he's a good coach with charisma he will recruit well, especially if - as you said - his assistants have local familiarity. Many of the most successful coaches in NCAA history (John Wooden, Coach K, Bobby Knight) had no school or state ties upon arrival. They were just flat out good coaches.
Right. If we're going for random NBA assistants, we might as well hire Juwan.
it's been a smorgasbord of stupidity here, but the "let's drop to division 2" idea takes the cake.
You do realize that WWTrob, is actually Ryan Saunders, don't you?
If Ryan Saunders had my life he’d jump off a bridge
Call or text Warde and let him know. I do like this idea. Great pedigree.
He does deliver a devastating pedigree. I'd love to see him hook Izzos arms and drop him on his stupid face.
He (and Flip was) is a good friend of Izzo's.
PLEASE. STOP.
Why, every post on this board should be a speculation post or a random person sharing their snowflakes. It is OT season.
Exactly what rock did you look under to find him? Did Yaklich turn us down?
Think this falls below the clear bright Yak line. The situation I think we are in is one in which we have an option available that is a higher-risk, low experience guy but with all the upside of being an up and coming hotshot with recruiting chops and demonstrable impact on the program who ALSO provides continuity from the current regime. That the Yalkich line. If a candidate isn’t demonstrably better than that, you hire Yak and roll the dice. So if the thing he’s lacking is substantial head coaching success, any candidate who lacks that is a non starter because they are as likely or less likely to succeed as Yak
Steve Kerr. He has Midwest ties and is probably sick of Kevin Durant’s 2019-2020 fee agent speculation.
Kerr wants to coach UM to get away from Draymond. He knows that loony Draymond can show up at any given moment and ruin a title run. Problem is, koo-koo Draymond will just retire and follow him back to his home StAEE.
Phil Jackson. He could probably recruit the Chicago area ok enough.
Has any coach ever had exclusively NBA experience and come to college and done well? I can't think of a single one. Maybe it'll work this time though!
Not sure but his age makes him more appealing for an NBA assistant than say a guy who has been on Pop’s staff for 17 years, and is getting his first crack at a head coaching gig.
Fred Hoiberg did pretty well at Iowa State. Most coaches from the NBA were an assistant in college at some point though.
Along those lines, what about Jay Larranaga? He has been on the short list of nearly every NBA coaching search the past few years. His dad has been a very successful college coach for the past 30 years. He has spent the past few years as Brad Stevens lead assistant. And he went to high school at St. John's in Toledo, then BGSU, so he is comfortable with the area. I admit that I knew him there and will say on a personal level, he is an incredibly good person and someone we would be proud to represent us.
This would be a significantly better move, but the issues with him are: no experience coaching in college, hasn't recruited in years, might leave Michigan for an NBA job relatively soon.
WTF else does Yaklich have to do ? The defense was smothering.... just the jump in the kenpom rating is proof enough.. what was it, a jump of 100 slots ?
Be a head coach that’s a big leap for a guy who wasn’t even second in command last year. The turnaround also came when we had the best defensive personnel in Beilein’s tenure
I'm surprised nobody has started a "CC: Animal from The Muppets" thread yet.
I mean, there's a chance.
I nominate you.
HEAD COACHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
Yaklich > this Saunders guy
LOL.
No. Just no.
John Wall is fat. Not a good point guard either.
Lol...he had him earlier in his career when he was slimmer.
24 hours and we are at the stupid portion of the search already
did he develop wall? wall is the most overpaid and most disappointing guard in the league given his hype coming out of school
Actually John Wall is fine. The most disappointing and overpaid guard in the league is Andrew Wiggins, who thankfully Ryan Saunders has also coached!!
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He's the right hire for the bottom of the conference not a school usually in contention for the B1G title.