What are the needs in slecting a new hoop assistant?

[williamspo]

Those of you have more insight to Griz hoops might want to comment on what you think Larry should be looking for in terms of an assistant to replace Coach Huse.

I think he should consider (maybe not hire, but certainly consider) someone who coaches in Montana at this time. It would be nice to give a Montanan a chance to move up. Another thought would be a former Griz player. Your thoughts?

 

[grizd]

How about Shawn Huse...current head coach at Northern. Might as well keep it in the family.

 

[Mslacat]

Those of you have more insight to Griz hoops might want to comment on what you think Larry should be looking for in terms of an assistant to replace Coach Huse.

.I think he should consider (maybe not hire, but certainly consider) someone who coaches in Montana at this time. It would be nice to give a Montanan a chance to move up. Another thought would be a former Griz player. Your thoughts?

A coaching staff needs diversity to be successful especially with the limited budget that Big Sky schools have. Looking at the strengths and weakness of a staff you try to plug holes. When I say diversity I do not mean simply ethic diversity but diversity in the the true meaning of the word. If I had to guess, I think Huse gone your recruiting base with the existing coaches would be Oregon, Washington, California Montana and the surrounding States. Huses strong point was that he had recruiting connections in the Midwest from Minnesota down through Colorado to Texas, and that complimented the other coaches and Gave the Griz a wide recruiting base. When Larry starts coaching again in the fall he needs people out there making contact and connections while he is with the team. You might also need to look at position coaches, do you really need another big man coach.

Overall Larry and Tinkle have Montana covered recruiting wise in spades so I don't know if a "Montana Coach" is all that of an priority. If the guy can compliment the other coaches and fill a void they that Larry feels needs filling and he is from Montana than great, but I don't think you need to limit yourself just for the sake of a Montana hire. That's why I think Huse was such a great hire for Larry.

 

[citygriz]

talk about the ghosts of black guys. how bout the ghost of black coaches in the basketball department--men's or women's? robin is hopeless, but how about on the men's side leroy washington, jim sampson, spike lee, lagriz2...anybody? i mean, it seems odd to me that we don't have even one assistant coach of the same racial persuasion as six key players that will be on our team next year, or about the same number we've had on our team for years and years, who just always happen to be hanging around playing key roles whenever we're going for a big sky title or challenging the top dawgs at the big dance. lame, weird, give me beer.

 

[CerealCityGriz]

I agree with what city says. I think it would be great for UM to bring in an African-American as an assistant coach. It is a known fact that having a black coach would help with black players on the team. During the Fab Five days at Michigan Webber, Rose, Howard, King, and Jackson all turned to Perry Watson. Stack and Sheed sought the guidance of Phil Ford at UNC.

 

[beastie]

Wow, some interesting perspecives.

"It is a known fact that having a black coach would help with black players on the team"

How exactly does that work? Help in what ways? A known fact? Do all blacks get along because they are black?

"we don't have even one assistant coach of the same racial persuasion as six key players that will be on our team next year"

The next assistant coach needs to have strong recruiting ties outside of Montana (has shawn huse ever left the state, even for a vacation?) He should have proven skills which demonstrate that he can connect with prospective athletes, black, white, brown, yellow or a mix of all. Relationships are all about respect and trust. Kids get a sense of that quickly, regardless of color. The best qualified and available should get it. If he happens to be black, great. If he happens to be....great. Has Larry hinted about any candidates?

 

[shahan]

Thank you beastie. :clap: :clap: :clap:

It's best man for the job, regardless of race. Plain and Simple.

 

[Mslacat]

Thank you beastie. :clap: :clap: :clap:

It's best man for the job, regardless of race. Plain and Simple.

May be, but I promise you 95% of every D-1 programs who you recruit against will use that against you when recruiting black players. It has some resonance with high school players, but it is a very big factor with parents and High school coaches. Take what you consider to be the high road all you want but you are just shooting yourself in the foot.

 

[CerealCityGriz]

From Fab Five by Mitch Albom:

"More than just missing an assistant coach, Fisher didn't have anyone black on his staff, and in recruiting, that can be death. College basketball is a racially charged sport, with a tinderbox balance.You often have predominantly black teams at predominantly white universities, where predominantly white coaches construct staffs that have at least one black assistant coach. This, as ridiculous as it sounds, is to keep some slight mirror image between those who play and those who coach them. Is it tokenism? Of course. It is also considered a recruiting imperitive. Without at least one black coach on the staff, other schools may quickly suggest, to black recruits, that you are a racist school, or the last guy left because the head coach "had a problem with blacks." It didn't have to be true. It never had to be true. All you needed was the appearance of somrthing. And the fact was Fisher now had a staff of three white assistants."

Later in the book Webber talks about Perry Watson joining the Michigan staff:

"Two years later Webber would admit, "I believed Coach Watson was going to Michigan, I'm not gonna lie. And that had a big affect on me, because I got along better with him than I did Coach Fisher"