Bryce Drew...

[FWalum]

Perhaps Bryce wasn't that good of a coach and was just shielded by Peters and Broekhoff. Not sure why we'd settle for a coach that hasn't won a tournament game in any capacity as a coach.

As I've hinted at and outright said a few times, I believe this to be a very good possibility.

One of the more difficult things to do for a program is to move on from the "family" of coaches. In this case, it was a real family. If a change is made, which I have my doubts will occur, a full search needs to be done. The problem is that there is very likely some institutional issues which hold back the program and will also likely hinder the coaching search itself or the new coach when he is in place.

Bryce's teams came within an eyelash of beating Maryland in the tournament and ran roughshod through the NIT after being screwed over by the committee until the rumors of his departure started to swirl before the final. His teams got us this MVC invite and even if he was shielded by Peters and Broekhoff those are players HE recruited. Lottich was shielded in year one by a player Bryce recruited (Peters) I have no doubt between his well demonstrated recruiting and player development abilities and the bumps in recruiting and competition in the MVC Bryce would have this program in position to win tournament games. Stop trying to defend Lottich by denigrating Bryce. It's a losing battle. Make a convincing argument for him based on his record or other meaningful factors. If you can't do that then you know which side of this debate is right.

Two events have drastically changed our perception of Matt.

• Alec Peter's injury
• Joe Burton's academic issues and pre-conference departure.

One of the reasons Matt got this job was because it appeared that without some continuity we may have lost some of the senior players.  As it turned out, that team played very well for him (24-9) considering he had no Carter, Skara, and Adekoya. 4 of those loses where without Alec. As I said in another thread, do you really think the Bryce led 2016 team wins 30 games without those guys? If Alec remains healthy, Matt probably has a NCAA tournament berth and a first season win total similar to Bryce and the previous season.

Hypothetically, if Alec (I know this would have never happened) flunks out after first semester of his Junior year, you don't think that would have had a far reaching effect on that season and the next?? Matt owns Joe's situation, I get that, but it amazes me that posters on this board with no recruiting experience can just think teams are so malleable that given a couple of weeks coaches should be able to adapt to the loss of a key player and that other players will "grow" into their new role. We had no replacement for Burton and because of when this occurred in the recruiting cycle we had little opportunity to replace him for the following year.

So now with Matt having a potential NCAA tournament berth, a first year upper half conference campaign and then a team competing for the top 3 spots in this years conference race, all of which I could see as being attainable, I think we would have a different perception of VU MBB. If these two events don't happen, we aren't having any of these discussions about firing coaches and players transferring.

If you are a Bryce fan, and I would consider myself one, you could most definitely point to a couple of things that have had similar impact on the Vanderbilt program. I personally don't think that Bryce should have been fired knowing what I know about Bryce. I also believe that Matt can turn things around if he can recruit the right players and he gets support from the Board of Trustees. Recruiting is where I think he really needs to step things up, Bryce made 16.3 million off of his recruiting chops.

[Just Sayin]

From Tennessean

Four-star basketball signee Austin Crowley has asked Vanderbilt to be released from his national letter of intent following coach Bryce Drew's firing, 247 Sports reports.

Crowley, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard is one of two signees from Drew's 2019 recruiting class, along with four-star forward Dylan Disu. Crowley is ranked as the No. 20 shooting guard in the 2019 class by 247 Composite ratings.

[usc4valpo]

FWAlum -

I respect what you are saying, but an 0-18 conference does give you a warm fuzzy to keep things as is. In the very competitive SEC, alums want to see their teams win, sometimes at all means necessary. Vanderbilt alums at the offices are liking taking grief with Tennessee alums. What happened to Bryce Drew is not surprising at all.

Valpo on the other hand has been overly patient and reactive in their decisions.

[JD24]

. Stop trying to defend Lottich by denigrating Bryce. It's a losing battle. Make a convincing argument for him based on his record or other meaningful factors. If you can't do that then you know which side of this debate is right.

When I start defending Lottich by denigrating Bryce maybe then I'll stop. I don't care if Valpo keeps him or fires him tonight but the bottom line is that the entire success of the program from B. Drew through Lottich was based essentially on one player and that player hid a lot of warts whether with the coaches themselves or the program and everything that goes into it as a whole.

[valpopal]

[tweet]1109541857682513920[/tweet]

[VU2014]

It's fascinating to read the different opinions, Valpo fans and alums have on Bryce Drew. I'd say the overwhelming opinion of him is quite positive but there is a small minority of people that are still a little bitter about him leaving for Vandy. Him leaving really cut deep with some people because they must have thought he never would leave Valpo because it's his hometown and alma mater. It's just interesting to read peoples opinions the last few days.

[VU2014]

Perhaps Bryce wasn't that good of a coach and was just shielded by Peters and Broekhoff. Not sure why we'd settle for a coach that hasn't won a tournament game in any capacity as a coach.

As I've hinted at and outright said a few times, I believe this to be a very good possibility.

One of the more difficult things to do for a program is to move on from the "family" of coaches. In this case, it was a real family. If a change is made, which I have my doubts will occur, a full search needs to be done. The problem is that there is very likely some institutional issues which hold back the program and will also likely hinder the coaching search itself or the new coach when he is in place.

Bryce's teams came within an eyelash of beating Maryland in the tournament and ran roughshod through the NIT after being screwed over by the committee until the rumors of his departure started to swirl before the final. His teams got us this MVC invite and even if he was shielded by Peters and Broekhoff those are players HE recruited. Lottich was shielded in year one by a player Bryce recruited (Peters) I have no doubt between his well demonstrated recruiting and player development abilities and the bumps in recruiting and competition in the MVC Bryce would have this program in position to win tournament games. Stop trying to defend Lottich by denigrating Bryce. It's a losing battle. Make a convincing argument for him based on his record or other meaningful factors. If you can't do that then you know which side of this debate is right.

Two events have drastically changed our perception of Matt.

• Alec Peter's injury
• Joe Burton's academic issues and pre-conference departure.

One of the reasons Matt got this job was because it appeared that without some continuity we may have lost some of the senior players.  As it turned out, that team played very well for him (24-9) considering he had no Carter, Skara, and Adekoya. 4 of those loses where without Alec. As I said in another thread, do you really think the Bryce led 2016 team wins 30 games without those guys? If Alec remains healthy, Matt probably has a NCAA tournament berth and a first season win total similar to Bryce and the previous season.

Hypothetically, if Alec (I know this would have never happened) flunks out after first semester of his Junior year, you don't think that would have had a far reaching effect on that season and the next?? Matt owns Joe's situation, I get that, but it amazes me that posters on this board with no recruiting experience can just think teams are so malleable that given a couple of weeks coaches should be able to adapt to the loss of a key player and that other players will "grow" into their new role. We had no replacement for Burton and because of when this occurred in the recruiting cycle we had little opportunity to replace him for the following year.

So now with Matt having a potential NCAA tournament berth, a first year upper half conference campaign and then a team competing for the top 3 spots in this years conference race, all of which I could see as being attainable, I think we would have a different perception of VU MBB. If these two events don't happen, we aren't having any of these discussions about firing coaches and players transferring.

If you are a Bryce fan, and I would consider myself one, you could most definitely point to a couple of things that have had similar impact on the Vanderbilt program. I personally don't think that Bryce should have been fired knowing what I know about Bryce. I also believe that Matt can turn things around if he can recruit the right players and he gets support from the Board of Trustees. Recruiting is where I think he really needs to step things up, Bryce made 16.3 million off of his recruiting chops.

I think you make some good points about Matt have some very tough luck with a few key things but I'm not sure he has the coaching chops that Bryce Drew has. I actually think Matt is a pretty good recruiter and is a solid defensive minded coach but as for the offensive side not so much... This isn't just based on my own personal thoughts, this is after talking to people who have a much higher Basketball IQ than myself. It's tough to give Matt a fair grade or assessment on the job he's done here because of all the genuine tough luck but there are some areas of concern that are fair to question. I'm for giving him at least next season to prove himself but he needs to show he's made strides as a coach and start winning. If the arrow is clearly pointing up for the program after next season then give him an extension if he's earned it.

[usc4valpo]

Valpo fans still pissed about Bryce Drew leaving Valpo need a serious reality check.

[GoldenCrusader87]

Will be interesting to see how his recruiting is potentially impacted by the mass exodus ... and two straight losing seasons. Or - for that matter a combined 30 total wins in the post-Peters injury world. Keeping in mind we lost to Milwaukee and were ousted from the HL Tournament before getting whooped by Illinois 82-57. Other than an urge to potentially have immediate playing time, what's the sell to bring in solid recruits at this point? Asking for a friend.

[may know]

"Valpo fans still pissed about Bryce Drew leaving Valpo need a serious reality check."

And the masquerading it as he somehow didn't how to coach at Valpo and was masked by 2 players is unintentionally transparent.

[VU2014]

Will be interesting to see how his recruiting is potentially impacted by the mass exodus ... and two straight losing seasons. Or - for that matter a combined 30 total wins in the post-Peters injury world. Keeping in mind wCe lost to Milwaukee and were ousted from the HL Tournament before getting whooped by Illinois 82-57. Other than an urge to potentially have immediate playing time, what's the sell to bring in solid recruits at this point? Asking for a friend.

Valpo can certainly offer a opportunity of playing time and could sell kids on playing a significant role. If you're a big man we could sell kids on developing bigs. I'm wondering if the brand is damaged a bit also, but I don't know. I think we could still land some nice players.

It sounds like we're going to be going for guys who are immediately eligible.

[JD24]

"Valpo fans still pissed about Bryce Drew leaving Valpo need a serious reality check." And the masquerading it as he somehow didn't how to coach at Valpo and was masked by 2 players is unintentionally transparent.

Or perhaps more accurately stated, instead of the inaccurate characterization of "not knowing how to coach at Valpo", is that the difference between the two coaches isn't all that great.

This is particularly apparent when you put the one or two players mentioned on their respective rosters and they had similar results.

[NativeCheesehead]

I think you over simply the emotions with Bryce:

I am pissed he left
I expected him to leave
I would have done the exact same thing in his position.

[VUGrad1314]

"Valpo fans still pissed about Bryce Drew leaving Valpo need a serious reality check." And the masquerading it as he somehow didn't how to coach at Valpo and was masked by 2 players is unintentionally transparent.

Or perhaps more accurately stated, instead of the inaccurate characterization of "not knowing how to coach at Valpo", is that the difference between the two coaches isn't all that great. This is particularly apparent when you put the one or two players mentioned on their respective rosters and they had similar results.

We'll never know for sure and of course itsi different to play them in cinfconfer vs the non con but given Bryce's ability to beat MVC and P5  team a skill Lottich hasn't consistently shown yet I feel very comfortable and confident saying that Bryce would have fared better in the MVC than Lottich has thus far.

[bigmosmithfan1]

You can make the argument that Bryce should have gotten one more year and his firing was unfair. I might agree, but I would also argue that when you sign the nearly $17m contract, normal definitions of "fair" and "patience" no longer apply. You're at the whims of your latest W/L record. Bryce knew the score when he signed on, or should have. That's the price of prestige.

[JD24]

You can make the argument that Bryce should have gotten one more year and his firing was unfair. I might agree, but I would also argue that when you sign the nearly $17m contract, normal definitions of "fair" and "patience" no longer apply. You're at the whims of your latest W/L record. Bryce knew the score when he signed on, or should have. That's the price of prestige.

Problem with Bryce's teams is that the record got progressively worse and, as you point out, in the SEC that's not going to work.

Somebody mentioned Tulane and, while the program level might be a good fit for Bryce, he'd be a tough sell to Tulane fans after Dunleavy's team went winless themselves this season in conference. They are apparently hiring Ron Hunter from Georgia State. I think Bryce takes an assistants job for a season or two and maybe in the pros.

[usc4valpo]

It is no surprise he got axed. You are what your record shows, especially when you are in a major conference.

[VU2014]

Mike Krzyzewski's Conference win totals his first 3 seasons at Duke. Yeah that guy can't coach 

1980–81: 6–8
1981–82: 4–10
1982–83:    3–11

[VUGrad1314]

If Lottich comes anywhere near Coach K I'll eat every hat I own and every negative word I ever said about him.

[FWalum]

FWAlum -

I respect what you are saying, but an 0-18 conference does give you a warm fuzzy to keep things as is. In the very competitive SEC, alums want to see their teams win, sometimes at all means necessary. Vanderbilt alums at the offices are liking taking grief with Tennessee alums. What happened to Bryce Drew is not surprising at all.

Valpo on the other hand has been overly patient and reactive in their decisions.

I understand and absolutely agree with what you're saying. From the Vanderbilt alum side I can definitely see Bryce being fired. What I am saying is that because of our long history with the Drew family and Bryce's success at Valpo, our perception of the situation and Bryce's potential to remedy things would be very different.

[valpotx]

Unfortunate to see, but Vandy had to do it.  I assume that their big money donors got the AD to act fast.  That is really unprofessional that he asked for a plan to be brought, and didn't even hear him out.

[VU2014]

Unfortunate to see, but Vandy had to do it.  I assume that their big money donors got the AD to act fast.  That is really unprofessional that he asked for a plan to be brought, and didn't even hear him out.

It was a brand new AD and it sounds like he wanted to get his guy in there.

[valpotx]

I get it, but you don't tell a guy that he needs to come in and plead for his job with an elaborate plan, and then just say, 'F U.'

[bbtds]

Valpo fans still pissed about Bryce Drew leaving Valpo need a serious reality check.

I can't be mad at Bryce for leaving a university (majority of students & board of directors) that didn't appreciate much what he did as a student and coach, in coordination with Homer, for the university AND it's mission to increase enrollment.

[bbtds]

Unfortunate to see, but Vandy had to do it.  I assume that their big money donors got the AD to act fast.  That is really unprofessional that he asked for a plan to be brought, and didn't even hear him out.

It was a brand new AD and it sounds like he wanted to get his guy in there.

I think he didn't want stick with Bryce and maybe have a worse record and find himself out of a job in one year.