New Coaches - Who Got the Best of It?

[Ukosumu]

With all the coaching changes that have taken place this year. Which school made the best choice? Who missed out?

Check out all the changes on the Coaching Carousel (http://collegebasketball.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=1146&CID=775184#nonbcs)

IMO Travis Ford was a "steal" for OSU (If you have to pay that much to steal something is it really a steal?)

Also of interest, Sean Woods is up for the Mississippi Valley State open HC position.

[Will Lavender]

Cal, LSU, and Oklahoma State were big winners.

Florida Atlantic and Stanford both took pretty substantial risks. Jarvis is a Kelvin Sampson-esque figure with the NCAA stuff, and Duke's assistants have had rocky track records in the past.

It'll be interesting to see how Ken McDonald does at Western.

[I. Melvin]

LSU? You may be right, but I felt like he got out just before the posse started to form ...

[Will Lavender]

LSU? You may be right, but I felt like he got out just before the posse started to form ...

Shouldn't have formed at all. Stanford had back to back solid seasons. This past year they were very good in a brutal conference. Not sure what more Stanford fans could possibly want.

[SouthwestWildcat]

Cal, LSU, and Oklahoma State were big winners.

Florida Atlantic and Stanford both took pretty substantial risks. Jarvis is a Kelvin Sampson-esque figure with the NCAA stuff, and Duke's assistants have had rocky track records in the past.

It'll be interesting to see how Ken McDonald does at Western.

Will, I usually appreciate and agree with what you say but you missed the boat with one of these. There is no way that Cal hiring Montgomery is good. The game has passed him and he will get eaten up recruiting against the other schools in the Pac-10. AZ (even though they are down), ASU with Herbie there is coming on strong, USC, UCLA, Washington and others are ahead of going to CAL.

Also, don't overlook what Horn did at Western. South Carolina will be a tough beat in the next few years. He has a very good system that many recruits will like. He is a steal for them.

Travis was a great pick up for Oklahoma State and I would not be surprised if he were to land Orton and Wall. Orton's brother played there and Wall would like to play with Orton. Wall is a bit of stretch but the comments were made. Orton is a real possibility and I think the likely choice for him once he sees what Travis does this year.

[Will Lavender]

^ Well, I guess we'll see. I'm not sure how the game could've "passed" Montgomery -- who is, let's remember, one of the finest coaches in the history of the Pac-10 -- in such a short time. Not like he doesn't know the area. Not like he's been out of basketball for decades.

The man, by all accounts, is pretty much a basketball genius. I think he'll do fine.

[SouthwestWildcat]

^ Well, I guess we'll see. I'm not sure how the game could've "passed" Montgomery -- who is, let's remember, one of the finest coaches in the history of the Pac-10 -- in such a short time. Not like he doesn't know the area. Not like he's been out of basketball for decades.

The man, by all accounts, is pretty much a basketball genius. I think he'll do fine.


"The Man" has lived in the same home for 20 years. He has gone from Stanford, the pro's and now Cal and never left his house. That does not come across as someone that wants to travel and grind it out for the recruits. Hopefully he can get a guy that wants to work his tail off to prove himself as a recruiter. For guys that want to play in the Pac-10, there are better choices than Cal. This lends itself to getting lesser talent and he better be a "genius" if he wants to pass that test. I like the guy, but believe if he would have known that the Stanford job was going to come up, he would have held out for it. At least their academics is an appeal to many "fine" players. We will see.

[Will Lavender]

^ That logic might hold if he had struggled at Stanford. Obviously he didn't. So he was doing something right. And many very good players came through there, so he was getting them somehow. Inviting them to that house, maybe?

I doubt he's going to win 25 games out of the gate, but it wouldn't surprise me if Cal weren't right in the thick of things in a couple of years in that league. Cal has always managed to have strong talent, even though they don't have much of a tradition to show for it. Reminds me a bit of Florida's situation.

I have liked Mike Montgomery after a friend of mine told me that Hubie Brown was asked at a clinic who the best Xs and Os coach in the game was. He answered Montgomery.

[Ukosumu]

Even if Montgomery knew the Stanford job was coming open, he was wise to go elsewhere. When you have success someplace and leave, it is hard to catch the "old magic" again. At Cal, he can start fresh. With his NBA connections and past success in college, he should be able to make Cal very respectable in a short time. IMO