(03-28-2018 09:13 AM)Bobcat87 Wrote:  

(03-28-2018 08:48 AM)UTArlingtonMaverick Wrote:  I'm seein' this is a "high risk" move and the next coach will want to use us as the proverbial "stepping stone." Let me be devil's advocate.

It's all risky. There was risk staying with Cross. A risk of settling for 1 NCAA every 12 years; a risk for settling-in and getting comfortable; a risk of waiting no telling how many more years for him to possibly assemble the next most talented collection of players in school history and watch them oddly blow it, often acting like they didn't care, and not win a thing.

It may not even be the next coach that moves the needle for us; it might be the one after that. just a thought.

Also, the stepping stone argument. That's a problem we can only dream of. I hope the next coach is so darn successful he does, in fact, use us as a stepping stone to a huge salary somewhere else. That's the least of our problems. And, don't kid yourself. Although Cross was loyal, that loyalty only extended for lateral moves. He was never quite successful enough to get a job with a bigger program, but he absolutely would have used us as a stepping stone if he could have. If he had, for instance, gotten one upset win in an NCAA, he would have been gone. Nobody walks away from triple or quadruple compensation for "loyalty."

We know about where our upper limit is with Cross. If we want a CHANCE to move the needle, we need to shake things up with a new, hungery, up-and-comer from a proven program. A once a generation shake-up is in order.

Coach Cross is such an appealing man; that's what makes this harder. However, for the rest of his life, he will be able to walk the UTA campus as a famous and beloved man. Along with his cash settlement, not a bad deal. Also, he will land a nice job somewhere. Later, once the emotions of the moment are a distant memory, he will be honored by the University; he is a sure-thing as a future hall of honor member.

Just playing Devil's Advocate here . . . Yes, there was a risk staying with Cross .. . But I think that your risk rises significantly dumping Cross at this time.

First, Cross was/is a proven winner: 72 games in the last 3 years. There's no guarantee that "the next guy" will attain this level of success. And the odds say, he probably won't.

Second, The Belt is still a 1 bid league. With the Tourney Winner getting the nod to the Big Dance, and we all know how unpredictable Conference Tourneys are. Hell, y'all could resurrect Dean Smith or John Wooden, and there's no guarantee that you'd make the tourney any more than you did under Cross.

Third, The Sun Belt is not known as a Basketball Conference, and again there's that 1 bid thing . . . The Best/Brightest on the market (coaching wise) will hold out (and land) better situations (conferences). Which means you're probably hiring an Assistant from somewhere (unproven) and hoping that he can at least attain the same level of success that Cross did.

Personally, I see more "down side" to this move for y'all than "up." Of course, I could be wrong . . . in any event, you're on the path . . . hope it works out . .

Your 1-2-3 points are pretty much correct. No argument.

(03-28-2018 09:18 AM)SkullyMaroo Wrote:  

(03-28-2018 08:31 AM)giantbenmav Wrote:  

(03-27-2018 06:27 PM)Bobcat87 Wrote:  Now that the shock of the Coaching decision is starting to subside, any word or thoughts on talent (recruited by Cross) heading for the exit(s) ?

You may get lucky and not suffer much of a talent loss, but I would expect some of these guys, especially those fond of Cross to consider "other" options.

The current players have been fairly quite on Twitter at least ... the entire freshmen class red-shirted this past year and we had 2 D1 transfers sit out too ... if they were to transfer that would mean 2 years of sitting out, which might be OK for some and not OK for others ...

Best guess is they are waiting to meet the new hire, the AD says a new coach should be announced next week ...

If Cross was to be fired, the timing is suspect. Why not announce it at the conclusion of UTA’s season? The statement above “the AD says a new coach should be announced next week” is suspect as well. It sounds like the AD had a back door deal with another coach and when he reached a deal with that coach he suddenly fired Cross. That seems to be some shady AD-ing going on. However, it could mean a potentially home run hire for UTA.

Who would you consider to be a home run hire?

(03-28-2018 09:54 AM)leofrog Wrote:  

(03-28-2018 09:18 AM)SkullyMaroo Wrote:  

(03-28-2018 08:31 AM)giantbenmav Wrote:  

(03-27-2018 06:27 PM)Bobcat87 Wrote:  Now that the shock of the Coaching decision is starting to subside, any word or thoughts on talent (recruited by Cross) heading for the exit(s) ?

You may get lucky and not suffer much of a talent loss, but I would expect some of these guys, especially those fond of Cross to consider "other" options.

The current players have been fairly quite on Twitter at least ... the entire freshmen class red-shirted this past year and we had 2 D1 transfers sit out too ... if they were to transfer that would mean 2 years of sitting out, which might be OK for some and not OK for others ...

Best guess is they are waiting to meet the new hire, the AD says a new coach should be announced next week ...

If Cross was to be fired, the timing is suspect. Why not announce it at the conclusion of UTA’s season? The statement above “the AD says a new coach should be announced next week” is suspect as well. It sounds like the AD had a back door deal with another coach and when he reached a deal with that coach he suddenly fired Cross. That seems to be some shady AD-ing going on. However, it could mean a potentially home run hire for UTA.

Who would you consider to be a home run hire?

I don’t know - but UTA might have some other form of motivation for the coaching change. A big hire for them could be the start. You just don’t get rid of a coach like Cross for someone less than stellar.

(03-28-2018 10:03 AM)SkullyMaroo Wrote:  

(03-28-2018 09:54 AM)leofrog Wrote:  

(03-28-2018 09:18 AM)SkullyMaroo Wrote:  

(03-28-2018 08:31 AM)giantbenmav Wrote:  

(03-27-2018 06:27 PM)Bobcat87 Wrote:  Now that the shock of the Coaching decision is starting to subside, any word or thoughts on talent (recruited by Cross) heading for the exit(s) ?

You may get lucky and not suffer much of a talent loss, but I would expect some of these guys, especially those fond of Cross to consider "other" options.

The current players have been fairly quite on Twitter at least ... the entire freshmen class red-shirted this past year and we had 2 D1 transfers sit out too ... if they were to transfer that would mean 2 years of sitting out, which might be OK for some and not OK for others ...

Best guess is they are waiting to meet the new hire, the AD says a new coach should be announced next week ...

If Cross was to be fired, the timing is suspect. Why not announce it at the conclusion of UTA’s season? The statement above “the AD says a new coach should be announced next week” is suspect as well. It sounds like the AD had a back door deal with another coach and when he reached a deal with that coach he suddenly fired Cross. That seems to be some shady AD-ing going on. However, it could mean a potentially home run hire for UTA.

Who would you consider to be a home run hire?

I don’t know - but UTA might have some other form of motivation for the coaching change. A big hire for them could be the start. You just don’t get rid of a coach like Cross for someone less than stellar.

That is the only thing I can think of ... not sure who he thinks is "stellar" but the AD's job better be tied to this hire ... if this fails it sets UTA basketball back significantly

(03-28-2018 10:44 AM)giantbenmav Wrote:  

(03-28-2018 10:03 AM)SkullyMaroo Wrote:  

(03-28-2018 09:54 AM)leofrog Wrote:  

(03-28-2018 09:18 AM)SkullyMaroo Wrote:  

(03-28-2018 08:31 AM)giantbenmav Wrote:  The current players have been fairly quite on Twitter at least ... the entire freshmen class red-shirted this past year and we had 2 D1 transfers sit out too ... if they were to transfer that would mean 2 years of sitting out, which might be OK for some and not OK for others ...

Best guess is they are waiting to meet the new hire, the AD says a new coach should be announced next week ...

If Cross was to be fired, the timing is suspect. Why not announce it at the conclusion of UTA’s season? The statement above “the AD says a new coach should be announced next week” is suspect as well. It sounds like the AD had a back door deal with another coach and when he reached a deal with that coach he suddenly fired Cross. That seems to be some shady AD-ing going on. However, it could mean a potentially home run hire for UTA.

Who would you consider to be a home run hire?

I don’t know - but UTA might have some other form of motivation for the coaching change. A big hire for them could be the start. You just don’t get rid of a coach like Cross for someone less than stellar.

That is the only thing I can think of ... not sure who he thinks is "stellar" but the AD's job better be tied to this hire ... if this fails it sets UTA basketball back significantly

there is never a good time to fire a well liked coach and all around good guy like coach cross, but last year he applied for the job at new mexico, maybe thinking that this might be coming. he may have applied other places as well, I dont know about that. next season was going to be a rebuilding one with a lot of new faces but there are/were some talented new players on the roster. dont know how that will look after the dust settles and new coach is announced.

It was already reported by a guy from Dallas Morning News that the reason Cross tried for the UNM job was because he believed the AD had set expectations without putting money forward to make it happen. He was expecting to get fired after the tourney, but had hopes he would get 1 more year. He was out recruiting the day he got fired. Rumor is the AD has had a guy who played at Texas and is now an assistant at Texas Tech in his pocket this entire time. No one is happy about this. I don't think I'll be parting with my money for the school as long as the current AD and president are in place. I've seen too many questionable decisions about the school and our programs.

(03-28-2018 09:18 AM)SkullyMaroo Wrote:  

(03-28-2018 08:31 AM)giantbenmav Wrote:  

(03-27-2018 06:27 PM)Bobcat87 Wrote:  Now that the shock of the Coaching decision is starting to subside, any word or thoughts on talent (recruited by Cross) heading for the exit(s) ?

You may get lucky and not suffer much of a talent loss, but I would expect some of these guys, especially those fond of Cross to consider "other" options.

The current players have been fairly quite on Twitter at least ... the entire freshmen class red-shirted this past year and we had 2 D1 transfers sit out too ... if they were to transfer that would mean 2 years of sitting out, which might be OK for some and not OK for others ...

Best guess is they are waiting to meet the new hire, the AD says a new coach should be announced next week ...

If Cross was to be fired, the timing is suspect. Why not announce it at the conclusion of UTA’s season? The statement above “the AD says a new coach should be announced next week” is suspect as well. It sounds like the AD had a back door deal with another coach and when he reached a deal with that coach he suddenly fired Cross. That seems to be some shady AD-ing going on. However, it could mean a potentially home run hire for UTA.

BINGO. That was my very first thought as well.

(03-28-2018 04:44 PM)airtroop Wrote:  

(03-28-2018 09:18 AM)SkullyMaroo Wrote:  

(03-28-2018 08:31 AM)giantbenmav Wrote:  

(03-27-2018 06:27 PM)Bobcat87 Wrote:  Now that the shock of the Coaching decision is starting to subside, any word or thoughts on talent (recruited by Cross) heading for the exit(s) ?

You may get lucky and not suffer much of a talent loss, but I would expect some of these guys, especially those fond of Cross to consider "other" options.

The current players have been fairly quite on Twitter at least ... the entire freshmen class red-shirted this past year and we had 2 D1 transfers sit out too ... if they were to transfer that would mean 2 years of sitting out, which might be OK for some and not OK for others ...

Best guess is they are waiting to meet the new hire, the AD says a new coach should be announced next week ...

If Cross was to be fired, the timing is suspect. Why not announce it at the conclusion of UTA’s season? The statement above “the AD says a new coach should be announced next week” is suspect as well. It sounds like the AD had a back door deal with another coach and when he reached a deal with that coach he suddenly fired Cross. That seems to be some shady AD-ing going on. However, it could mean a potentially home run hire for UTA.

BINGO. That was my very first thought as well.

An on the ball AD better have candidates in progress at the point. So, I sincerely hope so. No deals struck, yet. He is entertaining lots of expressed interest at this moment. I do expect quick movement.

This isn’t going to be measured in wins and losses. What’s attendance gonna do? What’s the donations gonna be like? What’s gonna happen to Maverick club membership? What’s gonna happen to area recruiting with many former players now coaches? Hard to see much upside in many of the ancillaries.

(03-29-2018 02:46 AM)FoUTASportscaster Wrote:  This isn’t going to be measured in wins and losses. What’s attendance gonna do? What’s the donations gonna be like? What’s gonna happen to Maverick club membership? What’s gonna happen to area recruiting with many former players now coaches? Hard to see much upside in many of the ancillaries.

I would guess that like when football was dropped many area fans and donors like myself will be less enthusiastic about the school and pull back on their support for a while. it may take the new guy a while to get on the good side of local coaches and mav boosters. many of us oldtimers have never gotten over the football debacle. I can tell you there are many of us that used give plenty of our money and time to the sports programs that have dialed that support way back but at least we are not dropping the sport. the new guy will have to mend fences and will have to produce a good product in order to win back the folks. I know Baker is trying to elevate the program and if he is successful the fans and supporters will come back around and maybe even some new ones. Also if in fact they hire this tech guy, I doubt he will be there very long..seems to not stay anywhere very long. was recently at Tenn and only his second year at tech.

Quote:the new guy will have to mend fences

Seems to me it should be the AD's responsibility to mend fences.

I disagree. He will he not only the face of the basketball program, but the entire athletic department. That’s one reason this move is so puzzling.

And quite frankly, the AD’s record of hires hasn’t been that great. Kristine Fox had one winning season before departing. The golf team had their worst finish this past season in over 25 years. The volleyball team didn’t do much in the new coaches first year. Only women’s basketball has done something, but they’ve had less success than the men’s team, which clearly wasn’t good enough for Coach Cross.

(03-29-2018 09:21 PM)FoUTASportscaster Wrote:  I disagree. He will he not only the face of the basketball program, but the entire athletic department. That’s one reason this move is so puzzling.

And quite frankly, the AD’s record of hires hasn’t been that great. Kristine Fox had one winning season before departing. The golf team had their worst finish this past season in over 25 years. The volleyball team didn’t do much in the new coaches first year. Only women’s basketball has done something, but they’ve had less success than the men’s team, which clearly wasn’t good enough for Coach Cross.

All of this. Now he's hanging around the baseball team which means that staff is next on his radar.

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(03-26-2018 07:54 PM)Vobserver Wrote:  

(03-26-2018 07:48 PM)GaSoEagle Wrote:  What school in this league really prioritizes basketball?

Appearantly UTA.

South used to.

Apparently the settlement talks with Cross has hit a snag due to a reassignment clause in his contract. They need to just pay the man and let him go and not try and play games.

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(03-30-2018 09:20 PM)grumpdoggMav Wrote:  Apparently the settlement talks with Cross has hit a snag due to a reassignment clause in his contract. They need to just pay the man and let him go and not try and play games.

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they need to just pay him. after all the time he has spent there and the way they have handled things he should just get a check. in the grand scheme of things his salary was not very high and haggling over a settlement might just alienate a few more supporters. IMHO

(03-31-2018 07:22 AM)runamuck Wrote:  

(03-30-2018 09:20 PM)grumpdoggMav Wrote:  Apparently the settlement talks with Cross has hit a snag due to a reassignment clause in his contract. They need to just pay the man and let him go and not try and play games.

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they need to just pay him. after all the time he has spent there and the way they have handled things he should just get a check. in the grand scheme of things his salary was not very high and haggling over a settlement might just alienate a few more supporters. IMHO

Yeah, haggling over a few bucks not really a good look for a school already not looking too good for the way it summarily dismissed a proven winner . . . .

. . . on the other hand, it does enhance your new "mercenary" image. So there's that.

Say, you couldn't point Cross in our direction could you? I bet he'd look pretty good in Maroon . . .

The odds are way better than 50/50 that the AD's new hire won't be as good as Cross. Not being pessimistic; just stating the odds.

Penny Hardaway is looking for an experienced HC to serve as Assoc HC at Memphis. He wants someone who has taken their program to multiple 20+ win seasons...multiple NCAA/NITs...and has won conference COTY awards.

Scott Cross checks off all of those boxes and he was only making like 200-250k at UTA...Memphis could offer him 300k+ to be Assoc HC.

I kinda hope Penny grabs him up quick.

Scott Cross was only making 200-250k? And he got fired after 70 something wins? Hmmm. Do not compute.

This move only makes sense if UTA plans to spend millions to attract a proven winner from the P5 level.