Let’s Speculate! Potential Valparaiso head basketball coach candidates

[justducky]

I think some of you will be surprised what Homer & Bryce think of Valpo & their home town. Why would they even talk to Dr. Small in the middle of a basketball season?

If Bryce could schedule us home and home with his B team and Scott home and home with his C D team then maybe we could compete and draw in a few fans just for the nostalgia value?

[JD24]

For those speculating on DII coaches moving up, the coach of Fairleigh Dickinson...who just knocked out Purdue as a 16 seed...came from St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkill NY a DII program. FDU won 4 games last season and have won 21 games this season thus far.

[Dr. T]

@JD24 - I'd say FD is progressing more than nicely 

[VULB#62]

They must believe in the process.

[historyman]

There was a writing contest involving one of Charles Dickens' children. Unfortunately the Dickens' child didn't win. But later it was discovered that the winner had plagiarized in their writing. An impartial judge was asked who he thought had won the contest and he said,


"Fairly, Dickens' son."

[usc4valpo]

I wonder if Enfield at USC is on the hot seat. It seems like they recruit well but underachieve on the court.

Also, is Painter considered one of the best coaches in the country?

[tjjvalpo]

Three Candidates that I would like to see interviewed are:

Roger Powell
Jared Nuness
Greg Tonagel

[usc4valpo]

Ben Mc Collum now!

[cmack]

Not interested in any Valpo alums or past coaches/assistants with all do respect to Tonagel, Powell, Diebler, Nuness, or any of the rest.  Valpo is in desperate need of a fresh start.  A new perspective and above all new leadership as the press release called it is in order.  A break from the past legitimizes Valpo as a serious basketball program.

Thank you Gore, Bowen, Drews, Powell, Tonagel, Diebler, etc.  Its time for a new era of Valpo basketball to begin.  We have tried to hang on to the past for far too long.

[tjjvalpo]

As far as I am concerned Lottich was an outsider and as far as I am concerned should never been considered after Powell turned down the job. It was very short sighted. We had a good team and the thought was the best way to continue the success that other programs like Butler and Gonzaga had was they hired from within. So, based on that, Lottich was hired. But, Lottich never had any intention of following coaching style that Bryce, Homer or Scott had. Under the Drews, players earned minutes based on Defensive effort. Lottich always emphasized offense first and as result at times he had very lazy players. Working your butt off was never rewarded. It is easy to play on the offensive end, it takes effort to play good defense. Defense travels, the offense will come and go. Also, good defense will lead to better offense.

As far as, Powell is concerned, I always loved his energy and enthusiam. That energy was contagious and it helps tremendously in recruiting. He has worked for exceptional programs, most recently Gonzaga. Nuness has been part of the Baylor program for 11 years now and has learned from probably the best turnaround program in NCAA history. He again has tremendous people and leadership skills. Tonagel has run a very successful D2 program, he was one of the best defensive players to ever play for Valpo and I would expect that is still very important to him. History has shown that Coaches from exceptional D2 programs translates well to D1.

[usc4valpo]

Tonegal is NAIA, not D2. Get McCullom.

[covufan]

Someone has JR Blount and Brandin Knight

https://twitter.com/low_madness/status/1639020287642443777?s=46&t=oTpFf3Ed9_YqiEoFBi4EpQ


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[tjjvalpo]

Brandin Knight is set to make $625,000 next year at Rutgers.

[wh]

Blount and Small were at Iowa State at the same time. Blount's 2022 salary as Asst. was $290,875. He could be within Valpo's budget.

[Valpo1993]

Not interested in any Valpo alums or past coaches/assistants with all do respect to Tonagel, Powell, Diebler, Nuness, or any of the rest.  Valpo is in desperate need of a fresh start.  A new perspective and above all new leadership as the press release called it is in order.  A break from the past legitimizes Valpo as a serious basketball program.

Thank you Gore, Bowen, Drews, Powell, Tonagel, Diebler, etc.  Its time for a new era of Valpo basketball to begin.  We have tried to hang on to the past for far too long.

Tonagel runs a good program.   Scholar athletes and a winning program.   VU bringing in Tonagel would be like Baylor bringing in Scott.   Time will tell but Tonagel recently lost in the 2nd round of the NAIA tournament.    Maybe related, maybe not.


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[VULB#62]

Paul just released his list of candidates in The Victory Bell. Check it out.

[David81]

I second VULB#62's tout of Paul's detailed look at possible hires, including short profiles, at The Victory Bell.

(And because I'm a big believer in journalists being paid for their writing, with the coming developments in the MBB program, and the optimism over the coming football season, among other things, now would be a great time to enter a paid sub to TVB. 😃🤓😜)

[mp91]

Paul just released his list of candidates in The Victory Bell. Check it out.

Who was on his list?

The usual names? Or anybody new/different?

[mp91]

https://twitter.com/low_madness/status/1639261206715170828

[tiny707]

I love all of those names listed from Major Madness.

[usc4valpo]

Tonagel over McCullom? seriously?

[NotBryceDrew]

It's only cause of the Valpo ties USC, they should at least be talked about in the same strain. What they have both done is nothing short of remarkable

[valpofb16]

Brandin Knight seems highly unlike , he made 600+ at Rutgers , would at least be asking for a 33% pay cut

[valpopal]

All the way back in the middle of December I wrote the following on this board introducing JR Blount:


If there is a coaching change, three criteria will be in play. 1) Charles Small will depend on his personal connections, and those Valpo connections of the past fans remember (Tonagel, Diebler, etc.) will matter much less than links to Small's background at Iowa State (or Arkansas and Pittsburgh). 2) Even if VU wanted them, Valpo will not have the money to consider top tier former head coaches (like Crean or Weber); and if the university did pay a large sum, the faculty would revolt. 3) Small's history as a Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, as well as Padilla's emphasis on DEI, would likely be a part of what shapes their decision.

For instance, the type of individual Valpo probably would seek would be a successful assistant coach like Iowa State's JR Blount, a former player at Loyola, a former assistant coach at Drake, and the leader for a social justice program while an assistant coach at Colorado State, where he also apparently had a good reputation as a recruiter. I'm not saying he would be hired; I am just speculating, citing him as an example of the level we might expect in a candidate.


In a follow-up post a month later, I suggested the name of Brandin Knight as a possible candidate for similar reasons, though I acknowledged there could be more difficulty with the economics and Knight would have to weigh that aspect against the opportunity to be a head coach.


I am sticking with Blount and Knight as two of the top candidates in the perspective of Charles Small and who likely would be approached first. If I were AD, I know I would want someone who has displayed success at a solid program, with whom I have worked in the past, who shares philosophies on coaching, whose personal character background and family life I know well, and whom I feel I can trust fully.     

[JD24]

Let's not forget the seance with Homer and Bryce towards the end of the season. Maybe less focused on Homer and Bryce specifically which some or a few tried to make a connection and more on who their recommendations would be.

Thus anyone with a Drew connection, including those of Scott, should be considered from the outside looking in.