I think Bobby has been well aware of the timeline for this move and has given his input on the search. I think that is why JK has said he will conduct the initial search himself...he already has input from Tudor and others. Every game that both JK and Tudor were at you could see them together for some part of the game.

Agree that this had to happen and may have been a year late. Ultimately Braun was undone by his inability to recruit and develop talent. The fact that he had to entrust a shady character like Morcos is all we need to know.

As for people to consider as a replacement, there's a lot of talk of Auburn going after Bruce Pearl, but I'd love to see him at Rice. I think he's the type of character who could do well on South Main. Obviously Dr. K should reach out to JVG, but I think we pretty well know what the answer will be.

(03-13-2014 04:12 PM)Tiki Owl Wrote:  I think Bobby has been well aware of the timeline for this move and has given his input on the search. I think that is why JK has said he will conduct the initial search himself...he already has input from Tudor and others. Every game that both JK and Tudor were at you could see them together for some part of the game.

I believe that unless there was the committent of $$ to actually place Rice in position to improve its place in the athletic community, JK would not be here. With his pedigree, at his young age, he would not have come here to be a placeholder. With Tudor as the chair, I've felt it was a slam dunk that resources would either go into the athletic programs, or tents would be folded. No board chair w the arena named after himself is going to sit around idly and watch the results of the past 2 years

(03-13-2014 12:36 PM)mrbig Wrote:  Anyone else happy that Braun didn't leave after 2012-13? I mean, now we get JK choosing his replacement instead of RG! Wonder how much the buyout decreased (if at all) by waiting until after the season ended instead of making an in-season change.

Yes, you are right again, Big. Some say he should have been fired last year, and that may well be, but it has got to be far better for Joe Kaarlgaard to make the new hire here than RG. Could you imagine? No....let's not even go there.

During today's presser/announcement, when a reporter asked Karlgaard directly what impact the 2 years left and buyout in his contract had on the decision, Karlgaard responded simply with, "There was nothing in his contract that prevented this[decision] from happening."

That really doesn't answer whether there was a buyout or what happened financially, but the way everything went down, this appeared to be a decision that had been in the works for a while so they most likely reached an amicable settlement beforehand and then went through the steps after the loss to NTex in the Tournament:
meeting in morning for 20 minutes,
accept resignation,
formally inform assistants,
gather team,
pizza (according to JK!)
and announce Braun's resignation,
applause for Braun's service,
presser.

Just got home from a long day of basketball so I really haven't had time to read this whole thread. But in general, this doesn't surprise me. But it also won't excite me if we don't make the right type of hire (and relatively quickly too).

A couple of questions - did Braun resign on his own (and if so, does that effect the buyout)? And did anyone ask Karlgaard about Greg Williams? Sorry if these are repeat questions.

The report on the story by CSN Houston says that Russell Turner of UC Irvine is the frontrunner.[/align]

If I believed media reports, JK wouldn't be the AD at Rice...

(03-14-2014 12:13 AM)RiceFootball2K5 Wrote:  The report on the story by CSN Houston says that Russell Turner of UC Irvine is the frontrunner.[/align]

The two-time D-III All-American is a magna *** laude, Phi Beta Kappa grad of Hampden-Sydney, a small (1,106 undergrads), all-male D-III college in rural central Virginia. Before taking the healm of the Anteaters, Russell's been an assistant coach at Stanford and the Golden State Warriors.

(03-14-2014 12:13 AM)RiceFootball2K5 Wrote:  The report on the story by CSN Houston says that Russell Turner of UC Irvine is the frontrunner.[/align]

No thank you. NO.

There is not a single solid coach in the Big West. I know of what I speak.

As for Bruce Pearl, I think he's good, but he has major background issues. I don't think we want to go down that road again with any of our hires.

(Disturbing that we live in an age where the middle part of "magna *** laude" gets auto-censored.)

(03-14-2014 12:31 AM)Almadenmike Wrote:  ... magna *** laude ... ,

LOL!!

He's a member of Phi **** Kappa too. ******* impressive.

Stints at Wake Forest and Stanford...worked under Mike Montgomery and Don Turner at Golden State... Record at least trends in the right direction...

Russell Turner (basketball) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Tu...asketball) Wrote:

Code:

Season    Team    Overall    Conference    Standing    Postseason
UC Irvine Anteaters (Big West Conference) (2010–present)
2010–11    UC Irvine    13–19    6–10    T-7th    
2011–12    UC Irvine    12–20    6–10    T–6th    
2012–13    UC Irvine    21–16    11–7    4th    CIT 2nd Round
2013–14    UC Irvine    22–10    13–3    1st    
UC Irvine:    67–65    35–30

You must remember that Big West basketball is bad nowadays. Really bad. UCI won the conference almost by default simply because they managed to recruit a couple of redwoods.

UCSB, the 2-seed in the Big West tourney, got decapitated by 7-seed Cal Poly today, 69-38. That result does not just indicate parity; it also indicates conference-wide rottenness.

Cal Poly was led in scoring and rebounding (for the 2nd straight year) by Chris Eversley (who played his first year at Rice). They play UC-Irvine in the semis of that tournament tonight.

My first impression of Turner is color me impressed. His team has one senior and their leading scorer is a freshman from England. His top assistant is originally from Turkey and they have a few foreign players of note (including a 7-6 freshman from Senegal who played high school hoops in Orange County). But the majority of their players are from California or the west coast.

I'd be surprised if we can get someone like Turner, but it's not like UCI draws fans to their games either. And California's economic issues probably means a school like UCI might not have the deep pockets to keep a coach of this stature either.

(03-14-2014 12:32 AM)Wiessman Wrote:  

(03-14-2014 12:13 AM)RiceFootball2K5 Wrote:  The report on the story by CSN Houston says that Russell Turner of UC Irvine is the frontrunner.[/align]

No thank you. NO.

There is not a single solid coach in the Big West. I know of what I speak.

As for Bruce Pearl, I think he's good, but he has major background issues. I don't think we want to go down that road again with any of our hires.

(Disturbing that we live in an age where the middle part of "magna *** laude" gets auto-censored.)

They're overblown. He essentially broke the omertà code and called out some of his conference competitors on their cheaters and when he did something minor, he got smoked as a comeback. Ignore the headlines and do some homework.

(03-14-2014 01:05 AM)I45owl Wrote:  Stints at Wake Forest and Stanford...worked under Mike Montgomery and Don Turner at Golden State... Record at least trends in the right direction...

Russell Turner (basketball) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Tu...asketball) Wrote:

Code:

Season    Team    Overall    Conference    Standing    Postseason
UC Irvine Anteaters (Big West Conference) (2010–present)
2010–11    UC Irvine    13–19    6–10    T-7th    
2011–12    UC Irvine    12–20    6–10    T–6th    
2012–13    UC Irvine    21–16    11–7    4th    CIT 2nd Round
2013–14    UC Irvine    22–10    13–3    1st    
UC Irvine:    67–65    35–30

How's he going to recruit in Texas, the biggest hotbed of HS basketball at this point?

We can have an out of state coach as long as he hires some assistants with local ties (which is something we never have done with most coaching staffs I can recall for the past 25 years for some reason). Tamir Jackson isn't a local Texas person, but he's absolutely someone who would be a valuable assistant possibility for whomever we hire. Another one off the top of my head would be Byron Smith at Prairie View who played for UH and an HISD school I believe.

As a coaching model for Rice, I would propose a DEFENSIVE-minded coach. Tony Bennett at Virginia has taken them from irrelevant to winning the ACC in five years with a stifling defense and solid but not spectacular offense. If it can work in the ACC it should certainly work in CUSA. And the fans have come to appreciate the defensive intensity - now the loudest cheers from a sold-out house are when Justin Anderson blocks a shot. Just my two cents.

(03-14-2014 07:18 AM)Riceman2004 Wrote:  

(03-14-2014 12:32 AM)Wiessman Wrote:  

(03-14-2014 12:13 AM)RiceFootball2K5 Wrote:  The report on the story by CSN Houston says that Russell Turner of UC Irvine is the frontrunner.[/align]

No thank you. NO.

There is not a single solid coach in the Big West. I know of what I speak.

As for Bruce Pearl, I think he's good, but he has major background issues. I don't think we want to go down that road again with any of our hires.

(Disturbing that we live in an age where the middle part of "magna *** laude" gets auto-censored.)

They're overblown. He essentially broke the omertà code and called out some of his conference competitors on their cheaters and when he did something minor, he got smoked as a comeback. Ignore the headlines and do some homework.

So you're absolutely sure your version is correct then? It might be, but even so, you can take your smug little "homework" comment and shove it, ace.

I've heard plenty about the situation at Iowa, and I also have ties to Wisconsin-Milwaukee. I'm willing to bet that at worst, I know as much about Pearl as you do.

Do I think he is the most unscrupulous coach in college basketball? Hell no, not by a long shot. However, he did get busted for something involving a lack of honesty (which he admitted to), and there is now a show-cause clause tied to hiring him. If Rice goes after Pearl, the athletic department will have plenty of its own homework to do.

Yeah, that's it from me. Anyway, I hope we hire a good coach; I do trust Karlgaard and his people to get it right this time.

My #1 choice would be the same as it was when we hired Braun--Bob Marlin.

Winner everywhere he's been, stickler for academics, can recruit Texas. Except I'm not sure we could get him any more.