USF should hire Al Skinner???

[Vega]

At least this guy thinks so

mark blaudschun â€@blauds 

South Florida should run, not walk to make Al Skinner its next coach

 

March Madness is a day away from going viral, which is great, with bracketology giving way to actual games.
But there is a second season about to begin–the silly season of coaching hirings and firings.
We have already had several firings and even a few hirings.
The latest vacancy opened in the American Athletic Conference where cellar dweller South Florida fired Stan Heath.
South Florida is a good job in a major conference. There will be lots of candidates.
To have fun, let’s take a look at one candidate the same way the selection committee looks at
“bubble†teams.
Let’s do a blind comparison, using the other coaches in the American as measuring sticks.
Here are some salient facts about the careers of the 9 current head coaches in the American, counting this season (minus the post season appearances of this season).
At the bottom is the record of a coach who has the experience and the success ratio which should make him a contender, if not the favorite.
me Experience. Ws 20plus W years NCAA, NITs
1. Rick Pitino, Louisville, 30 yrs 695 20 16 4
2. Mick Cronin, Cincinnati 9 years 231 5 4 1
3. Kevin Ollie, UConn 2 years 46 2 0 0
4. Josh Postner, Memphis 5 years 129 5 3 1
5. Larry Brown, SMU 9 years 215 8 7 0
6. James Dickey, Houston 14 years 228 3 2 1
7. Fran Dumphy, Temple 25 years 165 15 15 0
8. Eddie Jordan, Rutgers 1 year 12 0 0 0
9. Donnie Jones, UCF 7 years 110 4 0 1

10. Coach X 22 years 385 9 9 3

 

Coach X is former Boston College and Rhode Island coach Al Skinner, who spent the past season on Tim O’Shea’s staff at Bryant University.
Look at Skinner’s resume. Other than Rick Pitino, he has more wins than any of the other coaches in the American. Other than Pitino and Temple’s Fran Dunphy, who piled up a rash of NCAA appearances while coaching at Penn in the Ivy League, Skinner has more 20 win seasons than any other coach in the American. He also would be third in NCAA and NIT appearances.

 

Quality candidate? You had better believe it.
Skinner won in the Atlantic 10. He won in the Big East. He won in the ACC. He has beaten Duke, North Carolina, Syracuse and UCLA.
He was fired four years ago following a down “15-16 season, which had been preceded by a string of 7 NCAA tournament teams in 10 years.
Since his departure four years ago, BC has not been to the NCAA tournament and has a pair of 20 LOSS seasons. Wonder if BC fans wouldn’t mind have some back to the future seasons that Skinner provided for more than a decade.
There is no mystery in this. Skinner can coach. He wants to be a head coach again. He has proven he can win at the highest level.

Some people might point out age as a factor. Really. Larry brown is 73 years old and on Sunday will guide SMU back into the NCAA tournament for the first time in a generation.
Jim Calhoun will be 74 years old in May and could probably come back to the bench next season and win 20 games.

 

Al Skinner will be 64 in June. He can and will do the same thing, given the opportunity.
Using whatever criteria you want, it looks like a slam dunk move for South Florida.
Whether the Bulls administration is bullish or chooses to wallow in mediocrity will be the question that will be answered as this job opening is filled.


http://ajerseyguy.com/?p=9538

Edited March 15, 2014 by Vega

[Bear]

Interesting analysis. Sounds good to me. 

[Brad]

Major conference?  Maybe this season due to numbers, not next season.

[Bull Matrix]

Major conference?  Maybe this season due to numbers, not next season.

 

I dont think the AAC is a bad basketball conference even with UL leaving. Temple is usually pretty good in hoops and I expect them turning it around. Tulsa has a good history in hoops and they are coming in next season.  SMU has emerged with Larry Brown and the fan base is excited in Dallas. The AAC will be fine in hoops. 

[Vega]

 

Major conference?  Maybe this season due to numbers, not next season.

 

I dont think the AAC is a bad basketball conference even with UL leaving. Temple is usually pretty good in hoops and I expect them turning it around. Tulsa has a good history in hoops and they are coming in next season.  SMU has emerged with Larry Brown and the fan base is excited in Dallas. The AAC will be fine in hoops. 

 

Good lord Danning Manning just led Tulsa to the NCAAT. They beat Mike White's La Tech team. Both of those coaches are very worthy of getting looks from Harlan about the USF opening. Either one would be jumping at the chance to take the helm.

Edited March 15, 2014 by Vega

[Skingraft]

I like it

[hbryan]

Meh, I don't like it.  Need someone splashier to draw donors and fans back.  I'm sure like Stan, he's a very nice guy but we need someone on a higher level.

Edited March 15, 2014 by hbryan

[Bull Matrix]

I dont like it either as I think USF can do better. I really do. 

[South_Florida_Flip]

Major conference?  Maybe this season due to numbers, not next season.

 

I dont think the AAC is a bad basketball conference even with UL leaving. Temple is usually pretty good in hoops and I expect them turning it around. Tulsa has a good history in hoops and they are coming in next season.  SMU has emerged with Larry Brown and the fan base is excited in Dallas. The AAC will be fine in hoops.

Good lord Danning Manning just led Tulsa to the NCAAT. They beat Mike White's La Tech team. Both of those coaches are very worthy of getting looks from Harlan about the USF opening. Either one would be jumping at the chance to take the helm.

Why would Danny Manning jump ship to a team in the same league?

[SANJAY]

Pass. I want an old guy if he comes with some hardware like Larry brown. Even then I would be leery of guys coming to retire here. Otherwise I would prefer younger guys.