Assistant Coach Candidates 2022

[LCPolo18]

At this point it's pretty clear that Coach Ewing will be back next year, but with 2-3 new assistant coaches. So I put together a list of possible candidates based on what I've seen mentioned by Hoya fans so far. I can try to keep this updated as people have other suggestions. More details on the candidates are on the link.

docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_pP8AlUOmq9077VV-AYLgflAKuUsfIsE6h7SEle3J1w/edit?usp=sharing

New Names
Mike Jones
Jordan Brooks
Tony Skinn
Christian Webster
Patrick Baldwin Sr
Mike Pegues
Bill Courtney
Karl Hobbs
Duane Simpkins
Ulric Maligi
Kevin Nickelberry
Raphael Chillious
John Carroll
Jamal Brunt
Brenden Straughn
Steve Clifford
Bruce Weber
Cuonzo Martin
Frank Martin

Familiar Names
Kenya Hunter
Tyler Adams
Clinton Crouch
Austin Freeman
Kevin Broadus
David Cox
Chris Wright
Reggie Cameron
Bill Howze
Mike Riley
Ronny Thompson
Jaren Jackson
Chuck Driesell
Sydney Johnson
Mike Brennan
Scott Greenman
Tavaras Hardy
Kevin Sutton
Anthony Solomon

[hoyalove4ever]

I like:

Jones
Skinn
Pegues
Martin
Adams
Freeman
Jackson

[hoyaboya]

How about Frank Martin? He and Ewing seemed to get along very well when we played SC earlier this season. You can go all in on GG Jackson and let Martin be de facto head coach, if you’re determined to keep Ewing as a $4M/year figurehead.

[RockawayHoya]

Great list. Again, because of who is still in the room at McD, I don't necessarily have a lot of faith that they'll shift their thinking away from the second half of your list. But I do think if they could somehow pull off a big-bang approach (assuming Orr is reassigned), they could potentially fix this if they move fast.

One hypothetical: if you're able to pull Jones/Webster from VT who brings Rice, Brooks from Xavier who brings Ward, and convince PBS to bring his son to rehab his draft stock for a year... maybe then you have the makings of a staff that on average younger, hungrier, better positioned to recruit the DMV long-term, and may even bring along some immediate help with them, which will be critical in terms of avoiding languishing towards the bottom third of the conference. Throw in Tyler Adams as a qualified DOBO who connects the recent past with the present and maybe you start to have something that resembles a functioning staff for a change.

Know VT/OSU are still in the NCAA, but there's definitely some phone calls that can/should be made right this second to start gauging interest.

[bostonfan]

Whoever they are going to hire for these spots I just hope they do it quickly and get these guys out on the road looking for recruits/transfers as soon as possible. There is always a lot of activity and movement this time of year so if they wait too long to make an offer, some of the options will take positions with other schools.

[iowa80]

Jamal Brunt VCU. Might be easier than pulling from Tech, but he has an Associate HC title. He’d need to get paid but he’d be worth it. Defensive guru. 

I’m taking this as a request for recommendations, not necessarily successful hires.  

[hoyaguy]

I cannot imagine these new ones will be anything other than retreads or yes-men. The influence a Jones type might bring would be too much for the goons upstairs to handle and it has been noted multiple times that there is anything but a positive relationship between the program and recent alums. Can only hope for some amazing turn around of stubbornness. Xavier falling apart could open the door but let’s just hope they are on top of this purely from an intellectual standpoint instead of bringing back old squad

[rhw485]

Mar 14, 2022 15:09:28 GMT -5 bostonfan said:

Whoever they are going to hire for these spots I just hope they do it quickly and get these guys out on the road looking for recruits/transfers as soon as possible. There is always a lot of activity and movement this time of year so if they wait too long to make an offer, some of the options will take positions with other schools.

I agree the timing here is probably just as important as the names.  Did they, you know, have a reasonable plan for who they thought would fill these spots when they made the decision.

Because to me the more interesting question is did Ewing hire Kirby and Waheed because he "had to", or because he didn't have a viable network to fill the spots himself.  I guess we'll find out based on who comes in the door this time.

[prhoya]

Mar 14, 2022 15:31:03 GMT -5 rhw485 said:

Mar 14, 2022 15:09:28 GMT -5 bostonfan said:

Whoever they are going to hire for these spots I just hope they do it quickly and get these guys out on the road looking for recruits/transfers as soon as possible. There is always a lot of activity and movement this time of year so if they wait too long to make an offer, some of the options will take positions with other schools.

I agree the timing here is probably just as important as the names.  Did they, you know, have a reasonable plan for who they thought would fill these spots when they made the decision.

Because to me the more interesting question is did Ewing hire Kirby and Waheed because he "had to", or because he didn't have a viable network to fill the spots himself.  I guess we'll find out based on who comes in the door this time.

He has been quoted as saying he didn’t want to coach college basketball until JT2 offered him, and that he spoke with some NBA assistant coaches to join him, but they were not interested. He didn’t mention asking college coaches.

[madgesiq92]

Brenden Straughn, St. Joe's assistant -- ex-Takeover should be added to list

sjuhawks.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/brenden-straughn/748

[RBHoya]

Great post. On first glance, I think literally everybody in that first group would be an upgrade., and I don't really want anybody from the second group as a recruiting assistant. I think it'd be great to have someone like Austin or Chris in the DoBO or Assistant DoBO role (and let's be clear--WE NEED A NEW DoBO), but I think they'd need a few years of seasoning before being a full assistant. And I have no interest at all in the retreads.

The most obvious, layup choice to me has always been Jordan Brooks. He's the exact kind of guy we should be looking for in that he's young, energetic, and connected in the area. We need more guys with that profile if we ever hope to gain any clout in the area again. Plus he's not a full assistant as is so this would be a promotion, and his current boss may not last the month so he's likely looking for a new opportunity.

Most of the other guys in the first group would come with steeper price tags, and I hope we're willing to shell out for that. Jones or Pegues would be excellent. If we gave Jones even a small raise and let him be associate coach in DC instead of Blacksburg it might be appealing, although I can see him getting some looks for the head coaching job if some local schools come open (GW, Mason, American). Tony Skinn is the guy we SHOULD have hired in 2017, but he's probably too expensive to poach from OSU at this point.

The most important thing is that this hire is not made from "the inner circle". One of the few good things about this last month or so is that I think a lot of our fans are wising up to what's happening behind the curtain. This time last year, how many of our fans knew (or cared) that Ronny had an office in the TAC and an important role in running the team, or that Bill Howze is his BFF and was his assistant when he was a head coach, or could have even named our DoBO? But a lot more people are aware of it now, and as "Tommy Amaker for next head coach" or "Bring Broadus back as an assistant" rumors float, people are skeptical of how much power the inner circle has. They've worked hard to keep everything very hush-hush, and it worked when the program was doing alright, but some of that is being peeled back now and I don't think they can get away with foisting some retread Ronny picks on us again. Time for some different perspectives.

[LCPolo18]

[bluegray79]

Mar 14, 2022 15:11:07 GMT -5 iowa80 said:

Jamal Brunt VCU. Might be easier than pulling from Tech, but he has an Associate HC title. He’d need to get paid but he’d be worth it. Defensive guru. 

I’m taking this as a request for recommendations, not necessarily successful hires.  

Is it possible that one glaring need and main focus will be on a defensive coach?  PLEASE go out and get the best person available and make that happen!!!

If recruiting is the other big need, let's do that.  I yearn for a great X's and O's guy who can give our offense an identity.  Look around -- there are plenty of teams that run and gun and aren't playing an NBA style that doesn't fit our roster.

If they can't get the HC thing right, I hope and pray they can get out of their own way and get people who will put us in the best position to succeed (win some conference games, play defense, play like a team with a sense of identity and direction, etc.)

Let's go!!!

[guru]

What makes us think there will be any announcement if/when any hires are made? This program has zero interest in providing fans and media any information in a timely fashion. Maybe we find out who the new coaches are at next season's opening game.

[blazeshoya]

Why would any assistant worth anything want to come in to this dumpster fire? It’d be career suicide.

[bamahoya11]

I won’t pretend to be an expert on many of these assistant coaches. I think our two biggest areas of need are in roster construction and in defensive X’s and O’s. To fill those needs, I think it’d be helpful to bring in a recently fired head coach and then maybe 1-2 other faces. While I don’t think it was a terrible strategy to hire someone like Orr who was a former head coach, I think the program might benefit from a more recent head coach who has dealt with the same challenges Ewing faces like the transfer portal.

I will say, of the names here, Frank Martin stands out. He was a relatively successful head coach, and my sense is his teams play hard, tough defense. I also think his personality might square with Ewing’s.

The bottom line for me, though, is, can we get some top candidates, meaning people other schools would want. I don’t sense we have invested a ton in our assistants historically. I think that has been a missed opportunity.

[iowa80]

Mar 14, 2022 19:32:17 GMT -5 blazeshoya said:

Why would any assistant worth anything want to come in to this dumpster fire? It’d be career suicide.

I'm not cynical enough (yet) to think that everyone has a price, but I don't think an established assistant with a great rep would be committing suicide coming here for a serious bump in pay.  There's a big opportunity to come here and turn one of the worst defensive teams in the country around.  Assuming, of course, that one was allowed to do so.  That's a prescription for the next job. 

Defensive Efficiency

Rank Team       2021
1 San Diego St 0.856
2 Texas Tech.   0.864 
3 Houston        0.867
4 Gonzaga       0.869 
5 VCU              0.873

What would it take to get #5's main guy to move 90 miles up 95?  We obviously have it, if we're tossing around 12m guarantees.

[professorhoya]

Mar 14, 2022 15:06:24 GMT -5 hoyaboya said:

How about Frank Martin? He and Ewing seemed to get along very well when we played SC earlier this season. You can go all in on GG Jackson and let Martin be de facto head coach, if you’re determined to keep Ewing as a $4M/year figurehead.

I can't see a head coach downgrading to become an assistant coach.
Especially someone like Martin who has flair and was fired. He should be able to sit out the rest of his contract and get double paid by being on ESPN or Fox as an analyst or color commentator.

[professorhoya]

You need an elite recruiter and then an elite defensive guru (Pack line or No Middle savant)

And then you have to let go of Orr and bring in an offensive wiz.

[LCPolo18]

Mar 14, 2022 20:51:52 GMT -5 professorhoya said:

Mar 14, 2022 15:06:24 GMT -5 hoyaboya said:

How about Frank Martin? He and Ewing seemed to get along very well when we played SC earlier this season. You can go all in on GG Jackson and let Martin be de facto head coach, if you’re determined to keep Ewing as a $4M/year figurehead.

I can't see a head coach downgrading to become an assistant coach.
Especially someone like Martin who has flair and was fired. He should be able to sit out the rest of his contract and get double paid by being on ESPN or Fox as an analyst or color commentator.

Yeah I think there's very little chance Frank Martin would take an assistant job at this point in his career. However Phil Martelli took an assistant job after St. Joseph's fired him in 2018, so it does happen.