Spoon as coach or not?

[coop1448]

What would be the reasons Spoon would not be named HC right now? I know DD said, bla bla bla, no distractions.....

HELLO, isn't it distracting not knowing who your coach will be? So, distracting, is a non issue for me. Nor is "concentrating" on NMSU or the tournament. I mean really, we can think of more than one thing at a time, can't we? So, what is the reason?

1. Does she REALLY want the job? I speak of that strictly from the standpoint of living in Ruston. Ruston is Ruston, it is what it is. And it is NOT New York or Los Angeles. It is a conservative, largely aged, population, and I will leave it at that.

2. Does she already have the job and they don't want the press right now?

3. Does the hiring freeze have any bearing on that position?

And there are unanswered questions. Does Weatherspoon want the job? How much does she love coaching? How committed is she to Tech? How will her lack of experience as a head coach affect the development a new team? Jimmy asked these questions.

I think she loves coaching. What else is she going to do? She retired from playing, so isn't that the next best thing?

There is no questioning her committment to this university. I mean, she is here, isn't she?

Lack of experience of head coach. We really can't do much worse, even with an experienced, re Budke, Long, Bicknell, Ritard etc etc. For me, the question is skirting the issue of non masters.

Next Questions:

If named HC, what would her assistant situ become?

1. Would she keep staff as is and bring in Barmore on consulting? I don't think he will entertain the idea of full time assistant, as long as we are in the WAC.

2. Would she bring in her own staff?

3. Since we obviously can't compensate as some can nationally, will she demand a 5 year contract? Will she demand we enter another conference regionally in basketball? Could that be what the hold up is in naming her? We are having to explore our conference possibilities?

So many questions.:bigcry:

[Bluebird]

I've seen the question of the master's degree on other threads, but I'm not sure that's an issue.

Yes, Chris Long and Kurt Budke has master's degrees, but although I DO NOT WANT TO START ANY MORE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT KIM MULKEY, I must point out that Mulkey does not have a master's degree. (Baylor's Web site credits her with a bachelor's degree, and she herself says in an online article by Scholastic that she began working on a master's degree, but never completed it.) I scrolled through several listings on the NCAA Web site and saw numerous listings for coaching positions with this word choice: "bachelor's required, master's preferred." After scrolling through the biographical info on Tech's Web site, I observed that--according to the biographical data provided--the softball coach and the volleyball coach at Tech have bachelor's degrees only--and others may fit that description as well . . . I just got tired of doing informal research on a beautiful Friday afternoon.

Therefore (and this is completely my opinion only), I think that we can take the question of the master's degree out of the mix unless that's a new requirement.

[rebelboi]

I heard T-Spoon got her masters when she was in the WNBA, I'm not worried

[champion110]

All of the questions raised above are exactly what Dooley is talking about being a distraction. Plus, you have girls on the team that LOVE Spoon, but were fiercely loyal to Long. I think it is best to let the year play out. I am inpatient and want the announcement now, but I do understand the reason.

Plus, contract negotiations take time. Spoon doesn't need to be preoccupied with negotiating a contract right now. There really is no hurry. Dooley stated that he was not even looking at the applications that had come in. The only problem could be recruiting, but we don't have to really worry about that right now. April 15th is recruiting time.

So, I am just fine with the wait. Spoon needs time to look at the contract. Dooley needs time to work on a contract. The girls need time to think about games and not worry about it. I think it will play out just fine. We won't go through another "national search" time and lose her. Dooley indicates that he and Spoon have talked and everything is cool. I have every reason to believe that is true.

Right now, it is time to think about NMSU and the WAC tournament.

Now, my personal opinion is that he should name her right before the WAC tournament. That would be sweet, but now I am expecting him to do it after the season is completely over.

[DocMarvin362]

I was looking for the right thread and time to voice my opinion about this.

A few weeks ago (pretty much as soon as she took over), there was a vocal minority that wanted her named the HC after 1 game... and some even before that one game.

Then came the weekend sweep and it grew. At that time after 2 wins, some of those same people were driving themselves insane trying to figure out why she hadn't been named the real HC already.

I thought that they were operating solely on the emotion of having a former TECHster be in charge. Maybe some of it is fear that after the KMR situation, that we'd screw this one up too and they wanted to get some ink on the paper before it's too late.

I have to say that I thought YOU were crazy for feeling this way!! It was 2 wins against the weak of the WAC. Rather than rushing to any judgement, I think that the ONLY smart option was to have the rest of the regular season be her "trial run" at the HC job. You can't only judge this on the court stuff. While we know that she is fiery and intense, will it be so much that she drives people away from the program?? Will they eventually block her out?? It may take us quite some time to figure that out.

Well a couple things happened here recently that have changed my stance a little. First off, we had the win against Fresno on the road that the TECHster's seemed to play with the energy and just ANNOYING, PESTERING, FRUSTRATING defense again. The talent may or may not be as good as it has been in the past..... the height and weight of the Forwards may not be the same.... the atmosphere may not be the same, but that night felt like the TECHsters of the late 90's (when I was there and started paying attention).

Over the last couple of days here at work, I've had 3 different Police officers that I rarely talk to stop me in the hallway and ask me about the TECHsters and how T-Spoon looks. They are kind of amazed how well she has turned on the switch. At least 2 of these have daughters that are from 9 to 13 years old and expressed interest in attending a couple of games with their daughters to check things out.

In the past, I said that the former coach may or may not have been the problem, but he damn sure wasn't the solution. Well, I'm starting to change my tone. With the comment that he made to his hometown paper about us and just HOW FAST Spoon has seemed to turn around the output, I'm starting to feel that he was MOST of the problem.

That said, in my own opinion, it's all about the post-season. Getting the WAC title is nice, but if we get knocked out in the first or second round of that, then I'm not all that impressed (depending on how they play). Business wise, it may be wise to get her signed before we go too far because we all know that the better she does in the post-season, the more bargaining power that she would have in the contract negotiations. My fandom beating heart says to wait until AFTER the WAC tourney and just see what happens. There really isn't a reason to move too quick and react to this recent success.

So, let's take a deep breath and let things play out. I think that we ALL (Dooley, Vandevelde, and DR included) know that she's going to be the next coach. It's just a matter of time.

[champion110]

I was looking for the right thread and time to voice my opinion about this.

A few weeks ago (pretty much as soon as she took over), there was a vocal minority that wanted her named the HC after 1 game... and some even before that one game.

Then came the weekend sweep and it grew. At that time after 2 wins, some of those same people were driving themselves insane trying to figure out why she hadn't been named the real HC already.

I thought that they were operating solely on the emotion of having a former TECHster be in charge. Maybe some of it is fear that after the KMR situation, that we'd screw this one up too and they wanted to get some ink on the paper before it's too late.

I have to say that I thought YOU were crazy for feeling this way!! It was 2 wins against the weak of the WAC. Rather than rushing to any judgement, I think that the ONLY smart option was to have the rest of the regular season be her "trial run" at the HC job. You can't only judge this on the court stuff. While we know that she is fiery and intense, will it be so much that she drives people away from the program?? Will they eventually block her out?? It may take us quite some time to figure that out.

Well a couple things happened here recently that have changed my stance a little. First off, we had the win against Fresno on the road that the TECHster's seemed to play with the energy and just ANNOYING, PESTERING, FRUSTRATING defense again. The talent may or may not be as good as it has been in the past..... the height and weight of the Forwards may not be the same.... the atmosphere may not be the same, but that night felt like the TECHsters of the late 90's (when I was there and started paying attention).

Over the last couple of days here at work, I've had 3 different Police officers that I rarely talk to stop me in the hallway and ask me about the TECHsters and how T-Spoon looks. They are kind of amazed how well she has turned on the switch. At least 2 of these have daughters that are from 9 to 13 years old and expressed interest in attending a couple of games with their daughters to check things out.

In the past, I said that the former coach may or may not have been the problem, but he damn sure wasn't the solution. Well, I'm starting to change my tone. With the comment that he made to his hometown paper about us and just HOW FAST Spoon has seemed to turn around the output, I'm starting to feel that he was MOST of the problem.

That said, in my own opinion, it's all about the post-season. Getting the WAC title is nice, but if we get knocked out in the first or second round of that, then I'm not all that impressed (depending on how they play). Business wise, it may be wise to get her signed before we go too far because we all know that the better she does in the post-season, the more bargaining power that she would have in the contract negotiations. My fandom beating heart says to wait until AFTER the WAC tourney and just see what happens. There really isn't a reason to move too quick and react to this recent success.

So, let's take a deep breath and let things play out. I think that we ALL (Dooley, Vandevelde, and DR included) know that she's going to be the next coach. It's just a matter of time.

Good post

[TechsasDawg]

Hey, Doc: Can you boost the size of your font? I like your posts, but my old eyes don't, and if they don't like it, I have a hard time reading them.

Thanks


TD
~~

[DocMarvin362]

Hey, Doc: Can you boost the size of your font? I like your posts, but my old eyes don't, and if they don't like it, I have a hard time reading them.

Thanks


TD
~~

Sure.... for a green dot!! :icon_wink:

[hambone29]

First time posting in WBB thread. What was the comment he made to his local paper???
I haven't seen them play recently, so I can't comment on Spoon's in-game coaching strategies (though they appear to be working according to wins-losses), but I would think she would be a good recruiter with her resume and background.

[champion110]

First time posting in WBB thread. What was the comment he made to his local paper???
I haven't seen them play recently, so I can't comment on Spoon's in-game coaching strategies (though they appear to be working according to wins-losses), but I would think she would be a good recruiter with her resume and background.

Just that Tech fans have unrealistic expectations. He said it the day after he was let go. Budke said it 3 years after he was let go.

Doesn't really matter. We need to keep our expectations exactly where they are - to be the best at everything we do.

[Soonerdawg]

Ritard

I stopped reading your post right there. ... And, I will never read another of your posts. There is no call for that crap.

[HogDawg]

Just that Tech fans have unrealistic expectations. He said it the day after he was let go. Budke said it 3 years after he was let go.

Doesn't really matter. We need to keep our expectations exactly where they are - to be the best at everything we do.

Don't you wonder what Chris Long is thinking NOW???

First, Long gets fired because his team was totally underachieving.

Next, Long goes off and says something stupid about LA Tech fans' expectations being too high...(as if we're supposed to settle for mediocrity!)

THEN Long watches his replacement go 7-0, win a WAC co-championship and run through the the top tier WAC teams (Fresno, etc...) like crap through a goose. Long has GOT to be feeling like a real loser right now. He had the talent and team to win the WAC, but preferred to make excuses instead.

HD

[markay714]

Don't you wonder what Chris Long is thinking NOW???

First, Long gets fired because his team was totally underachieving.

Next, Long goes off and says something stupid about LA Tech fans' expectations being too high...(as if we're supposed to settle for mediocrity!)

THEN Long watches his replacement go 7-0, win a WAC co-championship and run through the the top tier WAC teams (Fresno, etc...) like crap through a goose. Long has GOT to be feeling like a real loser right now. He had the talent and team to win the WAC, but preferred to make excuses instead.

HD

I'd say he went beyond feeling like a loser. He definitely has a loser attitude...maybe it will be a wake up call for him. I wouldn't pick him for another head coaching job with his attitude.

[HogDawg]

Same here. IMO, Long comes out of this firing thing looking like a bad coach AND a whiner. I'm guessing that there's probably not a lot of schools wanting to sign up for that. :icon_wink:


HD

[Abominable Gorilla]

It is interesting how the team turned around. Might we be the first team to fire a coach in the middle of a season without a breach of contract or something like that and make the NCAA tournament? We'll see.