What level of faith do you have in Warde Manuel to not screw this up?

Submitted by 1201 on May 14th, 2019 at 12:41 PM

Will he open up the checkbook and hire a Tier 1 coach or will he go cheap and cite ethics as the reason. I'm tired of hearing about "culture fit" quite frankly because Michigan's basketball culture is winning, not having a nice guy as a head coach. I have a bad feeling this is going to be similar to the lacrosse search which may have ended with a decent coach but by all accounts was a disaster throughout according to those inside the lacrosse world. The fact that Porter Moser's name is anywhere near this search is a sick joke in and of itself. According to Sam Webb Warde is not even showing interest in Billy Donovan even though Webb has a source that says they would have a legit shot at him if they did. This is trending towards being a massive disappointment. We don't pay recruits so we better pony up and pay for a coach otherwise what the hell is a the point in operating an AD with a $185 million dollar revenue stream. 

ijohnb

May 14th, 2019 at 12:42 PM ^

He is going to make a solid hire.  We are going to continue having a good to excellent basketball program.

bronxblue

May 14th, 2019 at 3:06 PM ^

Not for nothing, but all of these insiders were also completely blindsided by Beilein leaving and are probably scrambling and repeating rumors they've heard.

My guess is UM will sign a good HC, and names being thrown out right now are wild ass guesses as much as anything else.

93Grad

May 14th, 2019 at 12:43 PM ^

Almost none.  I fully expect a mediocre to bad hire.  The deck is fully stacked against him, and I don't trust his judgment to begin with.

SAMgO

May 14th, 2019 at 1:07 PM ^

Zero as well - he's just a guy in charge of things. The plugged in guys at 247 have all stressed that Moser is under heavy consideration and Sam explicitly said that he'd be very surprised if we show interest in Donovan simply because Warde doesn't think he's the right "fit". If he thinks someone who won two national championships at a major conference school isn't the right "fit" but Porter Moser is, then that tells you all you need to know. Rumors are it goes all the way back to a grudge over Florida getting Al Horford, which is so painfully believable.

 

EDIT: And wait, there's more! The poster Dotman on 247, who at this point appears to be merely a plugged in anonymous mouthpiece for Warde, posted the following (this is an excerpt):

Al Horford committed to UM. Then a couple of days later decommitted and immediately named Florida as his leader AND HE HAD NOT YET TAKEN AN OFFICIAL VISIT.

From personal knowledge, his decommitment was under duress i.e. wasn't him making the call.

The stain from that recruitment has never left those involved with the hoops program. Only way he gets considered if if somebody comes in with a nuclear powered power cleaner.

So embarrasing that this attitude actually pervades the current AD, and yet it is so Michigan. Besides the fact that nobody in a position of power 15 years ago is still around, weren't we just so gosh darn lucky that father Horford decided to not sell off Jon to Florida too? Because any time we lose a recruit it's because of an opposing coach personally handing over a pile of cash, right?

We need a Tennessee/Schiano style fan backlash if this type of talk continues out of the plugged in guys, and I already wouldn't mind ending the Manuel experiment early.

93Grad

May 14th, 2019 at 2:41 PM ^

Ugghhh.  If that is the reason that we aren't considering Donovan then we really are screwed.  This is far less than even the supposed transgressions that got Les Miles blackballed from Michigan.  We all know how well that coaching search turned out.  

1201

May 14th, 2019 at 3:09 PM ^

Reminds me of the time Michigan was above hiring Les Miles and Jim Harbaugh so they settled on Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke instead. Oh and that Tommy Amaker, what a great guy. Seems the only requirement to get a job at Michigan is to be considered a nice person. This is the most Michigan thing ever and it is truly embarrassing. The Board of Regents should fire Warde Manuel if he manages to botch this. Pick up the phone and call Billy Donovan dumbass.

bronxblue

May 14th, 2019 at 3:24 PM ^

Michigan was never above hiring Jim Harbaugh - Dave Brandon didn't like him and so he hired Brady Hoke.  And that's because Dave Brandon was an out-in-front, "big time" AD that you're calling for, who swung his balls around and acted before he thought stuff out.  

Warde might mess this up, but preemptively freaking out about it, while totally on brand for Maizen, is just wasted energy.

1201

May 14th, 2019 at 3:35 PM ^

Dave Brandon and Michigan are/were one in the same, so please quit arguing semantics. There were a lot of people at Michigan seriously butthurt over Harbuagh's comments in regards to Michigan's academics. There were questions about his personality fit. It was more than just "Dave Brandon didn't like him." Leave it to UM to self sabotage for the pettiest of reasons. They did it with Miles, they did it with Harbaugh, and it sounds like they are doing it with Donovan. 

WorldwideTJRob

May 14th, 2019 at 3:42 PM ^

...or maybe Horford left because the coach he committed to was on shaky ground. Donovan has never been implicated in any NCAA probe and is actually friends with Beilein. This holier than thou act that goes on in the administration is getting worrisome. “Let’s cut the home run hire off the list...but that guy who had two decent seasons in the valley, is our choice!”

FatGuyTouchdown

May 14th, 2019 at 3:54 PM ^

Nearly everyone in college basketball pays players, that doesnt make them a slimy piece of shit unless they harbor domestic abusers in their basements, blatantly ignore rapes committed by players, buy prostitutes for players, or any of that. 

I could not give any less of a shit if Billy Donovan paid each of the players on his title teams a literal truckload of money. In fact, if it means well win back to back titles, I highly encourage it. I'll even donate.

FatGuyTouchdown

May 14th, 2019 at 3:54 PM ^

Nearly everyone in college basketball pays players, that doesnt make them a slimy piece of shit unless they harbor domestic abusers in their basements, blatantly ignore rapes committed by players, buy prostitutes for players, or any of that. 

I could not give any less of a shit if Billy Donovan paid each of the players on his title teams a literal truckload of money. In fact, if it means well win back to back titles, I highly encourage it. I'll even donate.

mjv

May 14th, 2019 at 4:02 PM ^

No thanks.  I'm old enough to have been on campus during the Fab 5, and while that was fun, the wreckage left by Chris Webber wasn't worth it.  

At some point, people are going to stand up and either allow the players to get paid or some programs are going to get curb stomped.  

Brian Griese

May 14th, 2019 at 1:01 PM ^

And he didn’t fuck it up. Brandon was handed Harbaugh on a silver platter and fucked it up. Martin was handed Les on a silver platter and fucked it up.

Look, I have no idea how Warde stacks up compared to his contemporaries. But the things people complain about with him are a bit comical to me, frankly. No, he hasn’t lowered ticket prices. Neither will the next AD or anyone else. No, he hasn’t openly ripped (insert person/ref/organization) we’re mad at. Honestly, what would ripping an official in public as an AD do for anyone? Do you think Michigan football has received better officiating since Harbaugh ripped the refs in 16?

If we end up with a garbage basketball coach, I’m all for being pissed. But the ‘Warde is clueless’ takes, as of today, get a bit old. 

stephenrjking

May 14th, 2019 at 1:03 PM ^

This is even more pitiful than normal, Maizen. You were the lead hater. You insisted that he would "never change" and that things would "never get better." Here, for example:

The recruiting, defense, and rebounding are issues that have been around 10 years and are never going to get better as long as he's still here IMO. Michigan hasn't won a true road game since February 2016. West Virginia has been better off since he left. Beilein had a nice two year run with a whole lot of "blah" before and after. Unfortunately, it feels like the program will be stuck in purgatory until a change is made.

But things did get better, and you have never had the integrity to admit that you were wrong or even that you were the one making those posts. And still (this past spring is representative) you never pass up a chance to take a shot at him.

And now you've gotten what you wanted and you're panicking. 

TheCube

May 14th, 2019 at 4:19 PM ^

Look I know you’re a 50 year old that has the time to type monologues and internet stalk people, but I’m not Maizen. Full stop.

I figured my occams account either got banned or deleted since I couldn’t sign in anymore and took a break before getting back into it with the OC rumblings. 

That’s the truth. Sorry, your creepy ass has an Internet fetish with Maizen but that’s 1201, not me. 

BeatOSU52

May 14th, 2019 at 12:44 PM ^

My confidence scale in him right now is about a 6/10

 

Edit:  actually, now it's 4/10 after seeing that Sam is saying he's probably not going to call Billy