Let’s Speculate! Potential Valparaiso head basketball coach candidates

[JD24]

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

Most assistants are on one year deals and you're an assistant. Whoever Valpo hires will be a head coach and likely have a 3-5 year deal worth a couple of mil. That might be felt by Knight as the better long range move.

Not everyone is going to have what happened at FDU happen over one season but Tobin Anderson went from Div II to coaching a downtrodden Div I in a weak conference to head coach at Iona.

[justducky]

I supported Matt to follow Bryce so this time around I'll just keep my mouth shut. 

[wh]

54% of D-1 men's bb players are black. Only 24% of D-1 coaches are black. Valpo's % of black and Hispanic faculty members is disgracefully low. A Hispanic President and an African American AD is a good start toward changing that dynamic. Let's keep it going.

[valpo64]

So it doesn't matter regarding qualifications, just meet the quotas?

[vu84v2]

54% of D-1 men's bb players are black. Only 24% of D-1 coaches are black. Valpo's % of black and Hispanic faculty members is disgracefully low. A Hispanic President and an African American AD is a good start toward changing that dynamic. Let's keep it going.

Black and hispanic coaches for teams in the top 12 conferences are also significantly more likely to be dismissed than their white counterparts...after controlling for many factors.

[VULB#62]

So it doesn't matter regarding qualifications, just meet the quotas?

No. Just color-blind recognize real coaching talent. That's all.

[AlaskaCrusader19]

54% of D-1 men's bb players are black. Only 24% of D-1 coaches are black. Valpo's % of black and Hispanic faculty members is disgracefully low. A Hispanic President and an African American AD is a good start toward changing that dynamic. Let's keep it going.

How about hiring the coach best suited to make Valparaiso competitive in the Missouri Valley regardless of color?

[historyman]

As far as I'm concerned it wouldn't bother me if our new coach was a female Russian named "Teddie Lassovich" as long as she won games and was a respectable person who grew the student athletes as human beings.

[Valpower]

How about hiring the coach best suited to make Valparaiso competitive in the Missouri Valley regardless of color?

In a society where systemic racism exists, color may have competitive value to the degree that it offers relatability to players and it creates a welcoming environment. If you believe systemic racism doesn't exist, then you'd certainly see no strategic value in hiring with color in mind, but you wouldn't necessarily believe it meant sacrificing the other coaching qualities. Are you against Valpo seeking Christian coaches because it reduces the pool of candidates or are you confident that the smaller pool still has enough quality candidates?

[wh]

54% of D-1 men's bb players are black. Only 24% of D-1 coaches are black. Valpo's % of black and Hispanic faculty members is disgracefully low. A Hispanic President and an African American AD is a good start toward changing that dynamic. Let's keep it going.

How about hiring the coach best suited to make Valparaiso competitive in the Missouri Valley regardless of color?

I'm all for that, but collectively I don't think college athletic departments have been doing a good job following that principle. Everyone, of course, says they are, but the numbers say differently. I'm not suggesting that it's Valpo's responsibility to bend the curve in a different direction, but I do believe that we need to be highly intentional and sensitive in considering African American candidates.

[vu84v2]

I think Dusty May would be a good get for Valpo...

[tiny707]

Wouldn't be surprised if Dusty May ends up at Penn State.

[JD24]

I think Dusty May would be a good get for Valpo...

He would but I have no idea why he'd leave FAU for Valpo. I'd think at least a couple of rungs up would be what he'd do.

[vu84v2]

I think Dusty May would be a good get for Valpo...

He would but I have no idea why he'd leave FAU for Valpo. I'd think at least a couple of rungs up would be what he'd do.

I was joking. Dusty May is looking at a seven figure salary from someone (agree about Penn State).

[historyman]

are you confident that the smaller pool still has enough quality candidates?

George Costanza always said that the pool causes shrinkage.

[tiny707]

Jermaine Kimbrough associate head coach at Arizona State checks all the boxes. Played at Cleveland State. Assistant Coach at Loyola and IUPU Ft. Wayne.

[historyman]

If you want some excitement you hire Indiana Wesleyan asst coach, Jeff Clark.

[mp91]

Wouldn't be surprised if Dusty May ends up at Penn State.

Penn State is reportedly hiring the VCU coach (around 3.5 million annually, according to sources, if true). VCU likely to hire internally.

So, that means right now California is the only major job opening. And that is dumpster fire. Interesting to see what he does -might be better off just waiting till next year (unless something opens up or someone retires).

[David81]

54% of D-1 men's bb players are black. Only 24% of D-1 coaches are black. Valpo's % of black and Hispanic faculty members is disgracefully low. A Hispanic President and an African American AD is a good start toward changing that dynamic. Let's keep it going.

How about hiring the coach best suited to make Valparaiso competitive in the Missouri Valley regardless of color?

I'm all for that, but collectively I don't think college athletic departments have been doing a good job following that principle. Everyone, of course, says they are, but the numbers say differently. I'm not suggesting that it's Valpo's responsibility to bend the curve in a different direction, but I do believe that we need to be highly intentional and sensitive in considering African American candidates.

Equally important for a racially diverse candidate is how comfortable they feel at Valparaiso -- the school and the town. That situation is better than when I was at VU c.1980, but it's still part of the mix of any decision. That said, I agree that Dr. Small's presence, in particular, sends a positive signal to African American coaching candidates.

I'm not tossing bricks from behind a glass house, either. Living in Boston, where racial issues remain sensitive despite genuine advances, some (hardly most or all) African-American athletes are not enthusiastic about playing in Boston. Boston is known to be listed in no-trade clauses for that reason. This topic recurs periodically in the Boston sports press.

This hire may well determine whether VU's fall from relevance among mid-majors during the past five seasons was a temporary decline or a sign of things to come for the long haul. Fingers crossed that the right person shows up soon and, equally important, stays on.

[VULB#62]

David, from a former MassHole,  you have made a great point 😉

[humbleopinion]

No one has talked about religion.

Over the past three decades, Valpo has been coached by someone who has worn religion on his sleeve, and it seems that has increased with each coach -- not a trait associated with Lutheranism.  The coaches seem to have been the most fundamentalist group on campus.  While the entire football team has a special service at the beginning of their season at the chapel (and it's clear that many have never darkened the door of a church before), even with its Christian bent, I can't remember seeing an athlete in one of the pews.

I have often wondered about the religious chatter and its impact on recruiting. Clearly there was a recruit from Sheboygan who came here because of it (and left because Valpo wasn't conservative enough), and it may be of comfort to parents sending their kids off to college.  I wonder how much that has been used to make Valpo stand out in recruits minds either positively or negatively.

[Valpo Joe]

Come on - open your eyes  here's the next Head Coach for Valpo.  Bring back a Drew  Dana Drew-Shaw.

Dana Drew lettered in basketball as a point guard from 1990-1995, leading UT to three NCAA appearances and one WNIT berth. She guided UT to three regular season MAC Championships and three MAC Tournament Titles. Drew was first-team Academic All-American twice (1994 and 1995). She was also Academic All-MAC three years from 1991 to 1994.Drew was named MAC Player of The Year and first-team All-MAC in her sophomore and junior years. She was second-team All-MAC as a senior in 1994-95. She also led her team in scoring as a sophomore and junior. She averaged 11.7 ppg as a freshman, 15.0 ppg as a sophomore, 20.1 ppg as a junior and 19.0 ppg as a senior. She sat out the 1992-93 season due to knee surgery, playing just three games that season. Drew was named to the MAC All-Tournament team on four occasions and was the MAC Tournament Most Valuable Player three times. Drew is currently ranked first on the all-time career assists leaders with (659) and fourth in scoring (1,919). As a sophomore she played on the United States Olympic Festival team. As a freshman, she was named to the MAC All-Freshman team. She was MAC "Player of The Week" six times. Drew is married to former UT Academic All-America basketball player Casey Shaw. They live in Italy, where Shaw is a professional basketball player.

[historyman]

Bring back a Drew   Dana Drew-Shaw.

As I said previously it could be a woman for all I care. A few years back Kampe at Oakland had a woman asst coach. I'm wondering if Dana might be earning enough in the Italian law business these days. Maybe not as a lawyer but there has got to be something she could be helping Italians with. But I could be wrong.

[VU2014]

Jake Diebler makes a lot of sense. But my gut says Dr. Small will want to get away from the Valpo Coaching Tree.

Something to keep in mind. If the next HC is Jake Diebler or Roger Powell, I think the chances of Coach Gore staying we Valpo rises. Coach Gore is a very good assistant Coach and an excellent Big Man coach! Not only that but he provides a connection to Valpo Basketball Alums for the past +20 years. He's more than an assistant coach. I really hope Coach Gore stays with the program somehow.

https://twitter.com/toddickow/status/1640193799451295745?s=46&t=cNk7taMAYtxNl1Q0_O79Gw

[FWalum]

Jake Diebler makes a lot of sense. But my gut says Dr. Small will want to get away from the Valpo Coaching Tree.

Something to keep in mind. If the next HC is Jake Diebler or Roger Powell, I think the chances of Coach Gore staying we Valpo rises. Coach Gore is a very good assistant Coach and an excellent Big Man coach! Not only that but he provides a connection to Valpo Basketball Alums for the past +20 years. He's more than an assistant coach. I really hope Coach Gore stays with the program somehow.

https://twitter.com/toddickow/status/1640193799451295745?s=46&t=cNk7taMAYtxNl1Q0_O79Gw

For completely selfish reasons I second this idea. Having Luke there would still give me some connection back to the Homer days and he is a good coach of extremely high integrity and moral  character.