The unofficial online home for fans of the Kent State University Golden Flashes. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

The reporter in that link of yours wrote the biggest non-story I have read in a while. Very vague junk about who the frontrunner is now and how favorite has shifted, etc. That's just in his mind. He must just read message boards and stick his finger in the air because there were no sources for any of it, just blank speculation.

I have no idea what they are doing in that job search, but neither does that guy.

Reno79 Wrote:Looking at it from here the potential downside risk with a new coach is much greater than the upside potential.

Exactly. Hope he stays.

My take on this season is that we about maxed out on our talent and experience and under another coach could have been close to a .500 team or worse. I say that seriously, not just to praise JC, because I think the continuity has played a key factor.
I really fear for us either if one of the assistants takes over, or if we hire someone from outside. Things could crumble in a hurry.

<a href='http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/mens_basketball/articles/2005/03/22/ford_is_now_in_front/' target='_blank'>Christian withdraws from UMass consideration</a>

Quote:UMass's interest in Ford is what made Christian back off after he expressed a strong interest in the position. Contacted last night, Christian confirmed he met with UMass officials last weekend but said he had not heard from them since. Although Ford has no direct UMass ties, he played for Rick Pitino at Kentucky. Pitino is a UMass graduate and has expressed a strong interest in the fortunes of his alma mater.

Good move. Why be part of a cat and mouse game by UMass? Better offers will come his way in the future. That is no plum job anyway, ieven if the money is good. ($300k + another $100k+ in side income and endorsements.)

axeme Wrote:<a href='http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/mens_basketball/articles/2005/03/22/ford_is_now_in_front/' target='_blank'>Christian withdraws from UMass consideration</a>

Quote:UMass's interest in Ford is what made Christian back off after he expressed a strong interest in the position. Contacted last night, Christian confirmed he met with UMass officials last weekend but said he had not heard from them since. Although Ford has no direct UMass ties, he played for Rick Pitino at Kentucky. Pitino is a UMass graduate and has expressed a strong interest in the fortunes of his alma mater.

Good move. Why be part of a cat and mouse game by UMass? Better offers will come his way in the future. That is no plum job anyway, ieven if the money is good. ($300k + another $100k+ in side income and endorsements.)

Coaches of this ilk will get one big cash-in. They are better off waiting for a great offer, not just a better offer.

Waters is signed through 2010. He has to be set for life, even if things aren't working out that well in NJ. Funny how much his stock dropped this season, as tOSU wanted to talk to him about their opening last off-season and were denied by Rutgers.

Similarly, Stan Heath is signed through 2009.

If Christian can lead Kent into the dance, he will be looking at a chance from a BCS Conference school. That's probably what he should strive for.

Face it. We are on the backside of our run. Every MAC team has one, ours was longer then most. We will backslide for few years and another confrence team will rise. That's not the coach's fault. The poor shooting may be; but what I do see as his fault, was the inability to finish games. They blew so many big leads late in games.

This could be the inability of the coach to use his bench properly, or not instilling that desire to finish a team off.

imradioboy Wrote:Face it. We are on the backside of our run. Every MAC team has one, ours was longer then most. We will backslide for  few years and another confrence team will rise.

We have been on the backside of our run for the last three seasons but we somehow managed to win 20+ games in each of them. :rolleyes: We have everyone back next year except for J. Edwin and add a couple of solid recruits. Our schedule should be as difficult if not more next year but I bet we manage to reach the 20 win plateau as well as contend for the MAC title. :blueeek:

According to <a href='http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=katz_andy&id=2019802' target='_blank'>ESPN</a>, UMass will announce the hiring of EKU coach Travis Ford on Thursday.

Bullet dodged.

Kind of slow on the Board lately so I thought I would post this. Article from the today's Record Courier about Christian and the UMASS job. Has a little new info. A couple of quotes from Kennedy. Says Chrisitian has been recruiting in FLA. Recruitng or a warm weather vacation



<a href='http://www.recordpub.com/article.php?pathToFile=/articles/sports/&file=_sports1.txt&article=1&tD=' target='_blank'>Chrisitian Record Courier Article</a>

This is all good.

1) According to The Insiders, we are in the hunt for one of the Top 50 unsigned players in the country, a 6'7 230 forward named Carlos Monroe from Coral Springs.
Maybe J.C. does have business in Florida.

2) There seems to be a bit of impatience about getting on with it next year.

3) J.C. staying is a vote of confidence in the potential of this squad. GF68 reports he thinks it the '05-'06 squad could be his best team ever. So do I.

Other than a few minor facts screwed up ( e.g. it's Isaac, not Travis, Knight and I'd argue the point on the A 10 as a better conference), this is a pretty good summary of the reason's J.C. should stay at KSU from the RC :

Quote:The University of Massachusetts may have done Jim Christian an enormous favor by choosing someone else to fill the vacancy at the top of its men’s basketball program.

That may sound strange, considering the job in Amherst, Mass. would have nearly doubled Christian’s Kent State salary by moving him into the $350,000-$400,000 per-year range. It also would have moved Christian closer to his East Coast roots and into a more prestigious conference.

But the UMass job was far from perfect.

Take the fickle fans who filled the school’s 9,493-seat arena to less than 40 percent of its capacity despite the Minutemen’s first winning season in six years. Those attendance numbers in an athletic department that expects men’s basketball to be its primary revenue sport add instant pressure to the job.

Recruiting will only intensify that pressure, with UMass a small fish in the menacing recruiting waters of the East Coast.

Travis Ford is in for a difficult transition. Despite a 61-80 record in five seasons at Eastern Kentucky, Ford was chosen for the UMass job in large part because of his former Kentucky coach and UMass alumnus Rick Pitino.

While Ford, who has little-to-no East Coast ties, could be in for a difficult transition, Christian happily returns to a Kent State program that is in pretty good shape.

As Christian continues to win in Kent, his resume gets stronger and stronger, and so does the potential for an offer from a far more prestigious program than UMass.

He was already on the radar screen of an Atlantic-10 conference school this offseason after posting his third 20-win season in 
three years at Kent State. Who knows what opportunities will arrive with a 22-to-24 win season and his first trip to the NCAA tournament.

Christian could have his best chance to accomplish that NCAA goal in 2005-06, when he’ll coach arguably the most talented team in his four seasons in Kent.

The Golden Flashes return four starters, including budding star candidate Jay Youngblood.

The roster will also add a shot-blocking, inside force in redshirt freshman Travis Knight, a likely junior college transfer, and two freshman recruits.

If the Mid-American Conference makes the expected move from its brutal 18-game schedule to just 16 conference games next year, Christian’s team will find an easier road to 20 wins. The goal of reaching the NCAA tournament could also get a boost with the addition of KSU athletic director Laing Kennedy as a MAC advocate on the NCAA tournament selection committee.

Christian is already happy at Kent State. An easier schedule and the potential for the MAC to become more than just a one-bid league in the NCAA tournament could make Christian content to stay in Kent until the perfect opportunity arrives.

If he is tempted, Christian can learn from the fate of Gary Waters, who left KSU five years ago for what he considered greener pastures - and now hears the boos regularly in his impossible job at Rutgers University.

Instead of being the coach to lead the Flashes on their celebrated 2002 NCAA tournament ride, and parlaying that into a job with a more prestigious program like Arkansas or Ohio State, Waters learned that when you take a job for money, money is sometimes all you get.

A few random thoughts:

Wonder who the JUCO transfer could be?
Sounds like LK is dead serious about the 16 game MAC schedule starting next year
I agree with next year offering the biggest upside since '02. Get those guards working in the off season!

I loved that article. Thanks for posting Flashfan. I don't care what our detractors say, this team is going to be loaded next year. Handing out the minutes might be a problem but it will be a long season and Christian will have his best record yet. Not only will the coaching questions be replied to, but he will finally be recognized for his recruiting as well. The only downside is that he is probably gone after he does all that. Nevertheless next year looks pretty good for us in almost every sport. In fact I would venture a predicition that we could have our greatest finish ever in the Resse/Jacoby and Sears cup

What a great time to be a KSU Flash Fan! The anticipation is killing me!!