It seems like the seasons of the teams of all of our known candidates are over at this point. One would think we would have a decision by now...

However, no news mean some news,

No news mean we are negotiating, Lance doesn't need negotiating. So Lance is out, probably Rising.

Probably hashing out details like assistant coaches.

All of you, where is your INSIDER? it is time to call your INSIDER!

(06-06-2018 04:15 PM)junrice Wrote:  All of you, where is your INSIDER? it is time to call your INSIDER!

I am afraid YOU are the closest thing I have to an insider.

The more I think about it, the more interesting Jose Cruz, Jr., seems to become. He has a lot of the advantages that Lance has, without the bathroom bill baggage. I'm not sure what the negatives are, but I'm sure someone will respond with them.

I still like Riser, have liked everything I've read or heard about him. Just not sure that's a fit.

Back up plan if the top choice is out - bring back Wayne for 1 final season, with a successor in waiting as an assistant (somebody like Cruz Jr. or Janish, if JK thinks either would make a good coach, would be ideal). I assume this was at some point the plan, must've been considered, and perhaps it's not too late for all parties involved to re-consider now.

I am asking for some help here. For the last few years, there has been a lot of criticism on this board about the performance of baseball. In reading this board, no excuses are allowed. With that in mind, can someone explain why the favorite candidate in the "experience group" is someone whose team did not make a regional this year and was eliminated in regionals the previous 2 years by the team you say was average? What about his experience convinces you that he is hosting and winning regionals at Rice?

Note: This post is intended as an honest question of why people believe that Riser is the best candidate in consideration of all of the other people available with experience that would want the job. This is not an endorsement of any candidate. Also, maybe mrbig can comment if SEL is able to "get extra scholarships" for baseball thru TOPS.

(06-06-2018 03:48 PM)JOwl Wrote:  

(06-05-2018 08:00 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(06-05-2018 07:56 AM)Tiki Owl Wrote:  

(06-05-2018 07:53 AM)Owl1998 Wrote:  

(06-05-2018 07:33 AM)junrice Wrote:  Tcu is not even top 25, why do we love their assistant coach that much? or there is sth I don't know? Please educate me.

Saarloos is widely regarded as a major reason TCU has become the prominent program they are...he’s a tremendous pitching coach and has the “it” factor that many programs are looking for. Tremendous pedigree. And, btw, he’s a really cool guy to visit with.
Just because they struggled a little this year doesn’t wash out the fact that they’ve become a true national power. LSU had a rough year by their standards as well but I’m fairly certain most people still consider them a top 5 baseball program.

4 straight CWS trips until this year.

Just one more indicator of how amazing Wayne's run was.

Wayne never hit that mark.

(Don't get me wrong, Wayne's most certainly in the running for best college baseball coach ever, and Rice may well have been the best program in the nation in the '00 decade, but on this one measure -- most consecutive appearances in Omaha -- Schlossnagle bested him.)

Wayne has 5 trips to Omaha over a 7 year period, during which we participated in 6 super-regionals and were nationals seeds 6 of those years. And in the two years we missed Omaha, both times we were hit with the late injury bug (in 2004 to Pendleton and Korkurst; in 2005 to Savery and CSC). If you include 2001, we made super-regionals in 7 of 8 consecutive years. They may be unprecedented in the super-regional era.

(06-06-2018 04:13 PM)Frizzy Owl Wrote:  Probably hashing out details like assistant coaches.

Yes, I think this is the more likely scenario. If the pick is Riser, I'm sure JK is trying with everything he's got to get him to hire Lance as an assistant....and if that's the case (all speculation), one would think Riser would want a sit-down with Lance before committing.

(06-06-2018 06:38 PM)Owl Is In Chains Wrote:  I am asking for some help here. For the last few years, there has been a lot of criticism on this board about the performance of baseball. In reading this board, no excuses are allowed. With that in mind, can someone explain why the favorite candidate in the "experience group" is someone whose team did not make a regional this year and was eliminated in regionals the previous 2 years by the team you say was average? What about his experience convinces you that he is hosting and winning regionals at Rice?

Note: This post is intended as an honest question of why people believe that Riser is the best candidate in consideration of all of the other people available with experience that would want the job. This is not an endorsement of any candidate. Also, maybe mrbig can comment if SEL is able to "get extra scholarships" for baseball thru TOPS.

Because that coach overachieved with the talent pool and resources he had at SELA. He is widely considered one of the very top up and coming college coaches in the country.

Yeah, I haven't seen any clear difference between SELA before Riser and with him.

(06-06-2018 07:08 PM)At Ease Wrote:  Yeah, I haven't seen any clear difference between SELA before Riser and with him.

Maybe the AD has figured a way to recycle that Rice Rising slogan ...

What is the most important factor to select the next "right" coach?

I care about record while in April 2019.

If we choose Riser, even some donor are not happy. As long we have good season in 2019, they will come back support the university, because they realized, Rising is the right choice.

On the other hand, If Lance cannot make good result in the first 20 games of 2019, everyone start complaining.


However, Lance may delieve better result than Riser, what I said here is just assumption. So our criteria here should be "Who could deliver better result next year"

(06-06-2018 07:52 PM)junrice Wrote:  What is the most important factor to select the next "right" coach?

I care about record while in April 2019.

If we choose Riser, even some donor are not happy. As long we have good season in 2019, they will come back support the university, because they realized, Rising is the right choice.

On the other hand, If Lance cannot make good result in the first 20 games of 2019, everyone start complaining.


However, Lance may delieve better result than Riser, what I said here is just assumption. So our criteria here should be "Who could deliver better result next year"

And if Riser is the choice and his Owls struggle early next year, there will be plenty of "supporters" complaining it should have been Lance.

OO is correct. Whoever the choice is, just win.

It's JK's call, and it's up to him to get it right. That's what he's paid to do.

I guess we should be getting a decision in the next two days, probably.

(06-06-2018 10:09 PM)Ranger Wrote:  

(06-06-2018 10:07 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  I'm thinking that if it isn't announced by now, it's not going to be Berkman.

I think the bathroom bill stance is a big problem. If that in fact costs him the job, then I wonder how he would respond to a question of whether he would do it again, knowing that would cost him the Rice job.

I'm no fan of political correctness. To me it is George Orwell's Thought Police. But it's a fact of life, particularly in government or academia, and we ignore that at our peril.

If it is not Berkman or Riser, I think Ausmus or Cruz would be the best of the remaining names bandied about on the board.

Ausmus and Lance would be a very interesting combo; almost as good as Saarloos and Lance. I'm assuming they, too, have a relationship from their Astros days.

You say that Riser has overachieved with the talent pool and resources he had at SELA. I don't have time to look this up, so maybe you can help me. Regarding the talent pool, does he not have access to the same players as other schools in Louisiana? By the way, I see a lot of Jucos on the roster, which I have heard on this board is a way to reload quickly. There are always multiple schools from Louisiana in regionals. If the players are not as good, is that a recruiting issue? Regarding resources, can you explain what they don't have? I don't know how to compare their budget to Rice.

Again, not questioning Riser's success, just questioning if he is really the best candidate of those in the "experience" group.[/quote]

(06-07-2018 07:43 AM)Owl Is In Chains Wrote:  You say that Riser has overachieved with the talent pool and resources he had at SELA. I don't have time to look this up, so maybe you can help me. Regarding the talent pool, does he not have access to the same players as other schools in Louisiana? By the way, I see a lot of Jucos on the roster, which I have heard on this board is a way to reload quickly. There are always multiple schools from Louisiana in regionals. If the players are not as good, is that a recruiting issue? Regarding resources, can you explain what they don't have? I don't know how to compare their budget to Rice.
Again, not questioning Riser's success, just questioning if he is really the best candidate of those in the "experience" group.

JuCos are different in baseball from other sports. A guy who goes to a JuCo to play football or basketball usually either doesn't have the grades (which means we can't touch him) or doesn't have the ability to play. There are a few late bloomers who have the grades and develop in JuCo to a level that they can play D-1. We've had a few of those, including at least a couple who contribute on here. Ruowls and 53 both had the smarts (one is a doctor and the other is a lawyer today) and they certainly had the ability to play. But in football and basketball, those are the exceptions.

Baseball is very different. Since it's a partial scholarship sport, money matters to a lot of people, and a JuCo can be a lot cheaper, particularly if he can live at home, than covering the difference at a 4-year university. A lot of families can afford 2 years at a JuCo and 2 years at a university. Plus even a talented kid is likely to spend a lot of time on the bench in his first couple of years at a 4-year school, whereas at a JuCo he can play immediately and develop faster. Plus if he signs with a 4-year school, it will be 3 years before he can be drafted, whereas signing with a JuCo means he can be eligible to be drafted after 1 or 2 years. So JuCo keeps a lot of options on the table for baseball, that don't apply for football or basketball. Wayne has used a lot of JuCos in baseball, because that fits our profile, whereas JuCos don't fit our football or basketball profiles very well.

I think that JK understands that he has a limited platform and limited number of bullets to build his brand quickly and get out of Rice before our lack of significant commitment to athletics impairs his ability to grow much beyond a certain point. Coaching decisions are the most obvious way for him to build a name for himself, and as has been noted, his WBB and football hires have been very well received. The Pera hiring so far is a disaster. This is a very big opportunity for him, and I think that because of the bathroom issue, it will be very easy for him to NOT select Lance and quietly point to the bathroom issue/university reception when key donors question him about it. A Lance selection just doesn't seem Joe's style. I don't see him putting a lot of credence in Lance's background and can see him potentially having valid and not valid concerns about personality conflicts with a coach that doesn't need him, the university, etc. because of who they are and what they already have accomplished. Something like an Ausmus hiring seems right up JK's alley if he can pull it off, even though you can argue that Ausmus also doesn't need JK or the university, but I could see their personalities fitting better and JK giving credit to a seemingly more cerebral Ausmus than Lance. I just don't know if hiring Ausmus is really within the realm of possibility.