Agree with the points with Morrell. He has improved each year while at UNCA, that's what you want to see in a coach. If you aren't happy with Morrell or Stradlin, then who do you want? Another lifelong assistant with 0 head coaching experience, like what we had in Shay and Oliver.

Whoever Doc hires I think we are going to see a dramatic improvement next year. Just with a proven head coach will make the biggest difference. If Haynes, Taylor , Seymour, King, Smith return together with a great transfer class of competent guards and coherent system in place I think we can compete for the SoCon championship next year. Go Doc and go Bucs!

(03-12-2023 12:38 PM)Bucster Wrote:  Agree with the points with Morrell. He has improved each year while at UNCA, that's what you want to see in a coach. If you aren't happy with Morrell or Stradlin, then who do you want? Another lifelong assistant with 0 head coaching experience, like what we had in Shay and Oliver.

I'm surprised more aren't interested in Thompson from E&H. He is local product and is building a successful program during a transition from no scholarships to scholarships in a really good D2 conference. His team played really hard when they came to Freedom, harder than we did and gave us all we could handle.

Him aside, Morrell makes a lot of sense. Also a local product and has built UNC Asheville up, obviously having a good year this year.

Kerns is also a local product who makes sense.

I would prefer to see someone from Northeast Tenn./Southwest Va. with Head Coaching success. We need someone that is tied to this region and not just a mercenary for hire.

My preferences are...

1. Thompson (local, championship pedigree as HC & Asst, SoCon/ACC experience)
2. Morrell (local, championship pedigree as HC & Asst, hot name based on season, CAA/Big 12 experience)
3. Kerns (local, championship pedigree as an Asst, SoCon experience)

Spradlin is interesting. Morehead has been a good program historically but it’s a true backwater of a place. JC is downright cosmopolitan by comparison. If he can bring in talent to there he could do it here too. Savage is impressive in his own right. I’m so glad Doc is the one making this hire and not Scott Carter. He will get it right.

I saw this article yesterday from WJHL where Doc Sander made a large point of hoping that the incoming coach would retain some of the current assistant coaches. I thought, "Well, that's nice. Very complimentary." Then (as one often does) I began to wonder what prompted an interview almost exclusively on that subject. Was it a dig at Oliver, suggesting that it was him and not his staff who was responsible for the poor showing by the team? It seems unlikely; that would be needlessly cruel and vindictive. And then I wondered if it might point to the incoming coach being someone without a great deal of experience at being a head coach, again possibly pointing to Morrell or Savage or someone with a similar resume. I have no idea, but something has to fill the anxious hours before we know something definitive,[/i] and this can pass for that.

(03-12-2023 03:13 PM)BigIslandBuc Wrote:  I saw this article yesterday from WJHL where Doc Sander made a large point of hoping that the incoming coach would retain some of the current assistant coaches. I thought, "Well, that's nice. Very complimentary." Then (as one often does) I began to wonder what prompted an interview almost exclusively on that subject. Was it a dig at Oliver, suggesting that it was him and not his staff who was responsible for the poor showing by the team? It seems unlikely; that would be needlessly cruel and vindictive. And then I wondered if it might point to the incoming coach being someone without a great deal of experience at being a head coach, again possibly pointing to Morrell or Savage or someone with a similar resume. I have no idea, but something has to fill the anxious hours before we know something definitive,[/i] and this can pass for that.

One way to (partially) interpret that would be him saying "I hope you can keep Joe Hughley around." Hughely is not ready yet to be a HC (other than of the Bucketneers), but perhaps in Sander's eyes, he *will* be by the time whoever he hires move on up (hopefully, if all goes well).

Any potential hire is *bound* to run it by Forbes and/or shay, and that could go either way, I guess. Keeping Hughley, and naming him interim HC, shows some continuity to a successful pedigree, shall we say. Meaning, beyond the obvious, that Hughley would also be someone who could help paint a more accurate and balanced picture, should the feedback from Forbes and shay differ.

That said..............Morrell has the *potential* advantage of being that rare HC who could be satisfied with sticking here for the long haul, due to strong family connections.

(03-12-2023 04:18 PM)posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Wrote:  

(03-12-2023 03:13 PM)BigIslandBuc Wrote:  I saw this article yesterday from WJHL where Doc Sander made a large point of hoping that the incoming coach would retain some of the current assistant coaches. I thought, "Well, that's nice. Very complimentary." Then (as one often does) I began to wonder what prompted an interview almost exclusively on that subject. Was it a dig at Oliver, suggesting that it was him and not his staff who was responsible for the poor showing by the team? It seems unlikely; that would be needlessly cruel and vindictive. And then I wondered if it might point to the incoming coach being someone without a great deal of experience at being a head coach, again possibly pointing to Morrell or Savage or someone with a similar resume. I have no idea, but something has to fill the anxious hours before we know something definitive,[/i] and this can pass for that.

One way to (partially) interpret that would be him saying "I hope you can keep Joe Hughley around." Hughely is not ready yet to be a HC (other than of the Bucketneers), but perhaps in Sander's eyes, he *will* be by the time whoever he hires move on up (hopefully, if all goes well).

Any potential hire is *bound* to run it by Forbes and/or shay, and that could go either way, I guess. Keeping Hughley, and naming him interim HC, shows some continuity to a successful pedigree, shall we say. Meaning, beyond the obvious, that Hughley would also be someone who could help paint a more accurate and balanced picture, should the feedback from Forbes and shay differ.

That said..............Morrell has the *potential* advantage of being that rare HC who could be satisfied with sticking here for the long haul, due to strong family connections.

I also assumed he was referring to Hugley. I’d hate to see him go after one year. I think he is going to be a great head man one day.

I actually interpreted that interview as being aimed at the current players. Sander doesn’t want a mass exodus while he’s trying to bring in a new coach.

(03-12-2023 04:18 PM)posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Wrote:  

(03-12-2023 03:13 PM)BigIslandBuc Wrote:  I saw this article yesterday from WJHL where Doc Sander made a large point of hoping that the incoming coach would retain some of the current assistant coaches. I thought, "Well, that's nice. Very complimentary." Then (as one often does) I began to wonder what prompted an interview almost exclusively on that subject. Was it a dig at Oliver, suggesting that it was him and not his staff who was responsible for the poor showing by the team? It seems unlikely; that would be needlessly cruel and vindictive. And then I wondered if it might point to the incoming coach being someone without a great deal of experience at being a head coach, again possibly pointing to Morrell or Savage or someone with a similar resume. I have no idea, but something has to fill the anxious hours before we know something definitive,[/i] and this can pass for that.

One way to (partially) interpret that would be him saying "I hope you can keep Joe Hughley around." Hughely is not ready yet to be a HC (other than of the Bucketneers), but perhaps in Sander's eyes, he *will* be by the time whoever he hires move on up (hopefully, if all goes well).

Any potential hire is *bound* to run it by Forbes and/or shay, and that could go either way, I guess. Keeping Hughley, and naming him interim HC, shows some continuity to a successful pedigree, shall we say. Meaning, beyond the obvious, that Hughley would also be someone who could help paint a more accurate and balanced picture, should the feedback from Forbes and shay differ.

That said..............Morrell has the *potential* advantage of being that rare HC who could be satisfied with sticking here for the long haul, due to strong family connections.

Forbes and Shay — what are you talking about?

Speaking of their coach, the NIT likes Morehead State. Oops, guess they got in by winning regular season. But wait, Samford shared regular season SoCon title with Furman. But, who cares — back to the topic at hand.

(03-12-2023 04:18 PM)posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Wrote:  

(03-12-2023 03:13 PM)BigIslandBuc Wrote:  I saw this article yesterday from WJHL where Doc Sander made a large point of hoping that the incoming coach would retain some of the current assistant coaches. I thought, "Well, that's nice. Very complimentary." Then (as one often does) I began to wonder what prompted an interview almost exclusively on that subject. Was it a dig at Oliver, suggesting that it was him and not his staff who was responsible for the poor showing by the team? It seems unlikely; that would be needlessly cruel and vindictive. And then I wondered if it might point to the incoming coach being someone without a great deal of experience at being a head coach, again possibly pointing to Morrell or Savage or someone with a similar resume. I have no idea, but something has to fill the anxious hours before we know something definitive,[/i] and this can pass for that.

One way to (partially) interpret that would be him saying "I hope you can keep Joe Hughley around." Hughely is not ready yet to be a HC (other than of the Bucketneers), but perhaps in Sander's eyes, he *will* be by the time whoever he hires move on up (hopefully, if all goes well).

Any potential hire is *bound* to run it by Forbes and/or shay, and that could go either way, I guess. Keeping Hughley, and naming him interim HC, shows some continuity to a successful pedigree, shall we say. Meaning, beyond the obvious, that Hughley would also be someone who could help paint a more accurate and balanced picture, should the feedback from Forbes and shay differ.

That said..............Morrell has the *potential* advantage of being that rare HC who could be satisfied with sticking here for the long haul, due to strong family connections.

Well, I'm not too worried about what Shay would say about this program to his assistants. I met those guys many times, and I can safely say BJ McKie is a much different person than Shay. He would have been a *much* better choice than Jason (using your asterisks for emphasis).

Although Morrell is from here, if he wins at a level I think most of us want to win at, he probably won't be here long. The same goes with Preston "Izzy" Stradlin (I'll see who gets that reference).

I'm probably one of the few on here that is ok with that. We're a mid-major. Not a major. Not a thing wrong w/ that, but that means if you have a winner head coach, they're going to go P6. I've used this example before, and I'm sure it falls on deaf ears, but years ago Tulsa was a big-time player amongst mid majors, with Nolan Richardson, Tubby Smith, & Bill Self as former head coaches. All 3 went on to win national titles. I get it - Tulsa stinks now, but they were a factory for producing quality head coaches on the way up and had a reputation for winning games in the NCAA. I'm fine with that. We are never going to compete with places like Wake Forest in terms of salary. However, we can be that 11, 12, 13 seed that no one wants to see in the tournament. We have that reputation for that a bit now, but the next coach needs to come in and win, gets us back to the dance, and win in the NCAA. It ain't easy, but it can be done here.

(03-13-2023 09:09 AM)GoBucsGo Wrote:  

(03-12-2023 04:18 PM)posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Wrote:  

(03-12-2023 03:13 PM)BigIslandBuc Wrote:  I saw this article yesterday from WJHL where Doc Sander made a large point of hoping that the incoming coach would retain some of the current assistant coaches. I thought, "Well, that's nice. Very complimentary." Then (as one often does) I began to wonder what prompted an interview almost exclusively on that subject. Was it a dig at Oliver, suggesting that it was him and not his staff who was responsible for the poor showing by the team? It seems unlikely; that would be needlessly cruel and vindictive. And then I wondered if it might point to the incoming coach being someone without a great deal of experience at being a head coach, again possibly pointing to Morrell or Savage or someone with a similar resume. I have no idea, but something has to fill the anxious hours before we know something definitive,[/i] and this can pass for that.

One way to (partially) interpret that would be him saying "I hope you can keep Joe Hughley around." Hughely is not ready yet to be a HC (other than of the Bucketneers), but perhaps in Sander's eyes, he *will* be by the time whoever he hires move on up (hopefully, if all goes well).

Any potential hire is *bound* to run it by Forbes and/or shay, and that could go either way, I guess. Keeping Hughley, and naming him interim HC, shows some continuity to a successful pedigree, shall we say. Meaning, beyond the obvious, that Hughley would also be someone who could help paint a more accurate and balanced picture, should the feedback from Forbes and shay differ.

That said..............Morrell has the *potential* advantage of being that rare HC who could be satisfied with sticking here for the long haul, due to strong family connections.

Well, I'm not too worried about what Shay would say about this program to his assistants. I met those guys many times, and I can safely say BJ McKie is a much different person than Shay. He would have been a *much* better choice than Jason (using your asterisks for emphasis).

Although Morrell is from here, if he wins at a level I think most of us want to win at, he probably won't be here long. The same goes with Preston "Izzy" Stradlin (I'll see who gets that reference).

I'm probably one of the few on here that is ok with that. We're a mid-major. Not a major. Not a thing wrong w/ that, but that means if you have a winner head coach, they're going to go P6. I've used this example before, and I'm sure it falls on deaf ears, but years ago Tulsa was a big-time player amongst mid majors, with Nolan Richardson, Tubby Smith, & Bill Self as former head coaches. All 3 went on to win national titles. I get it - Tulsa stinks now, but they were a factory for producing quality head coaches on the way up and had a reputation for winning games in the NCAA. I'm fine with that. We are never going to compete with places like Wake Forest in terms of salary. However, we can be that 11, 12, 13 seed that no one wants to see in the tournament. We have that reputation for that a bit now, but the next coach needs to come in and win, gets us back to the dance, and win in the NCAA. It ain't easy, but it can be done here.

Totally agree. We have been a mid-major with a very high ceiling with the right coach. The successful coach will move to a big after he wins here. We just have to be more analytical and scientific in our hiring to keep it going. Sonny Smith, Les Robinson, Ed DeChellis and Steve Forbes were all highly regarded and won big time at ETSU. After each one we failed to make a proper hire and hired terrible coaches who wrecked our program. It is just a matter of having someone like Doc in charge of doing the hiring.

(03-13-2023 06:52 AM)Buc66 Wrote:  

(03-12-2023 04:18 PM)posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Wrote:  

(03-12-2023 03:13 PM)BigIslandBuc Wrote:  I saw this article yesterday from WJHL where Doc Sander made a large point of hoping that the incoming coach would retain some of the current assistant coaches. I thought, "Well, that's nice. Very complimentary." Then (as one often does) I began to wonder what prompted an interview almost exclusively on that subject. Was it a dig at Oliver, suggesting that it was him and not his staff who was responsible for the poor showing by the team? It seems unlikely; that would be needlessly cruel and vindictive. And then I wondered if it might point to the incoming coach being someone without a great deal of experience at being a head coach, again possibly pointing to Morrell or Savage or someone with a similar resume. I have no idea, but something has to fill the anxious hours before we know something definitive,[/i] and this can pass for that.

One way to (partially) interpret that would be him saying "I hope you can keep Joe Hughley around." Hughely is not ready yet to be a HC (other than of the Bucketneers), but perhaps in Sander's eyes, he *will* be by the time whoever he hires move on up (hopefully, if all goes well).

Any potential hire is *bound* to run it by Forbes and/or shay, and that could go either way, I guess. Keeping Hughley, and naming him interim HC, shows some continuity to a successful pedigree, shall we say. Meaning, beyond the obvious, that Hughley would also be someone who could help paint a more accurate and balanced picture, should the feedback from Forbes and shay differ.

That said..............Morrell has the *potential* advantage of being that rare HC who could be satisfied with sticking here for the long haul, due to strong family connections.

Forbes and Shay — what are you talking about?

I don't want to speak for TheDoctor, but I assume he means run it by them to see what it is like to work in Johnson City.

(03-13-2023 10:43 AM)BucDoctor Wrote:  

(03-13-2023 06:52 AM)Buc66 Wrote:  

(03-12-2023 04:18 PM)posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Wrote:  

(03-12-2023 03:13 PM)BigIslandBuc Wrote:  I saw this article yesterday from WJHL where Doc Sander made a large point of hoping that the incoming coach would retain some of the current assistant coaches. I thought, "Well, that's nice. Very complimentary." Then (as one often does) I began to wonder what prompted an interview almost exclusively on that subject. Was it a dig at Oliver, suggesting that it was him and not his staff who was responsible for the poor showing by the team? It seems unlikely; that would be needlessly cruel and vindictive. And then I wondered if it might point to the incoming coach being someone without a great deal of experience at being a head coach, again possibly pointing to Morrell or Savage or someone with a similar resume. I have no idea, but something has to fill the anxious hours before we know something definitive,[/i] and this can pass for that.

One way to (partially) interpret that would be him saying "I hope you can keep Joe Hughley around." Hughely is not ready yet to be a HC (other than of the Bucketneers), but perhaps in Sander's eyes, he *will* be by the time whoever he hires move on up (hopefully, if all goes well).

Any potential hire is *bound* to run it by Forbes and/or shay, and that could go either way, I guess. Keeping Hughley, and naming him interim HC, shows some continuity to a successful pedigree, shall we say. Meaning, beyond the obvious, that Hughley would also be someone who could help paint a more accurate and balanced picture, should the feedback from Forbes and shay differ.

That said..............Morrell has the *potential* advantage of being that rare HC who could be satisfied with sticking here for the long haul, due to strong family connections.

Forbes and Shay — what are you talking about?

I don't want to speak for TheDoctor, but I assume he means run it by them to see what it is like to work in Johnson City.

I don’t live there, never have after all these years since graduating, and can’t relocate there now in retirement. However, my numerous visits there over these years have been really pleasant. While living in a rather rapidly changing suburban-Atlanta — NE Tennessee looks rather nice to me as a destination place to live and work, especially for a coach with a family.

What say you?

Robert Jones at Norfolk State. His salary is around 300K a year and I believe he signed a lengthy contract. I can't imagine he'd leave the talent-rich area he's in to come here for similar money. The big programs will be knocking soon.

(03-13-2023 12:02 PM)Buc66 Wrote:  

(03-13-2023 10:43 AM)BucDoctor Wrote:  

(03-13-2023 06:52 AM)Buc66 Wrote:  

(03-12-2023 04:18 PM)posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Wrote:  

(03-12-2023 03:13 PM)BigIslandBuc Wrote:  I saw this article yesterday from WJHL where Doc Sander made a large point of hoping that the incoming coach would retain some of the current assistant coaches. I thought, "Well, that's nice. Very complimentary." Then (as one often does) I began to wonder what prompted an interview almost exclusively on that subject. Was it a dig at Oliver, suggesting that it was him and not his staff who was responsible for the poor showing by the team? It seems unlikely; that would be needlessly cruel and vindictive. And then I wondered if it might point to the incoming coach being someone without a great deal of experience at being a head coach, again possibly pointing to Morrell or Savage or someone with a similar resume. I have no idea, but something has to fill the anxious hours before we know something definitive,[/i] and this can pass for that.

One way to (partially) interpret that would be him saying "I hope you can keep Joe Hughley around." Hughely is not ready yet to be a HC (other than of the Bucketneers), but perhaps in Sander's eyes, he *will* be by the time whoever he hires move on up (hopefully, if all goes well).

Any potential hire is *bound* to run it by Forbes and/or shay, and that could go either way, I guess. Keeping Hughley, and naming him interim HC, shows some continuity to a successful pedigree, shall we say. Meaning, beyond the obvious, that Hughley would also be someone who could help paint a more accurate and balanced picture, should the feedback from Forbes and shay differ.

That said..............Morrell has the *potential* advantage of being that rare HC who could be satisfied with sticking here for the long haul, due to strong family connections.

Forbes and Shay — what are you talking about?

I don't want to speak for TheDoctor, but I assume he means run it by them to see what it is like to work in Johnson City.

I don’t live there, never have after all these years since graduating, and can’t relocate there now in retirement. However, my numerous visits there over these years have been really pleasant. While living in a rather rapidly changing suburban-Atlanta — NE Tennessee looks rather nice to me as a destination place to live and work, especially for a coach with a family.

What say you?

It is changing quickly. Right now the housing inventory is very low. Folks are moving to Tennessee because they don't want to pay taxes. They don't realize that while Tennessee is a low tax state, it is also a very low service state. The cost of living here is no longer "low" -- if it ever was.

Johnson City is thriving, Kingsport is declining, and Bristol is probably holding its own.

There are limited job opportunities for trailing spouses. Several PreK-12 school systems are shifting focus to vocational education so with a few exceptions, I'm not sure schools are all that good for the academically focused students.

ETSU is nationally recognized as a good place to work and probably the best place in the TriCities by far. That said, ETSU was the second lowest paying doctoral research institution in the nation (haven't seen recent data). If ETSU can get a candidate to visit campus, they have a good chance of a hire, but sometimes candidates decline visits because they already have offers with much higher salaries.

The outdoor amenities are good but the climate is rapidly changing. We are now down to an annual average of 9" of total snow and the summer temps/heat indexes are brutal.

ETSU has 25% diversity, the area has less than 7% diversity. That causes tension.

All just my opinions. If you have specific questions I'd be glad to add to these opinions.

Savage and Mckie should have plenty of availability to interview considering Wake whiffed on the post season again. Joel Justus would be another guy to look at again too.

(03-13-2023 06:52 AM)Buc66 Wrote:  

(03-12-2023 04:18 PM)posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Wrote:  Any potential hire is *bound* to run it by Forbes and/or shay, and that could go either way, I guess. Keeping Hughley, and naming him interim HC, shows some continuity to a successful pedigree, shall we say. Meaning, beyond the obvious, that Hughley would also be someone who could help paint a more accurate and balanced picture, should the feedback from Forbes and shay differ.

Forbes and Shay — what are you talking about?

???? I thought it was obvious. If *I* was gonna be considered for the ETSU job, considering the recent turmoil, I think I'd wanna hear Forbes's and shay's take on it. One could imagine Forbes would give positive input; and quite possibly(?) shay's would be less glowing? And of course that might be tempered one way or t'other, depending on if I already knew, or had a relationship with both or either.

(03-13-2023 10:43 AM)BucDoctor Wrote:  

(03-13-2023 06:52 AM)Buc66 Wrote:  Forbes and Shay — what are you talking about?

I don't want to speak for TheDoctor, but I assume he means run it by them to see what it is like to work in Johnson City.

Correct. Although at least as importantly, the "university environment", vis-a-vis the overseer situation, esp. Sander and Noland. But perhaps BucDoctor was including that in his response.

(03-12-2023 09:01 PM)Efan Wrote:  I actually interpreted that interview as being aimed at the current players. Sander doesn’t want a mass exodus while he’s trying to bring in a new coach.

I went and found that interview and watched it. He refers to the players obliquely, something like "I would hope he can retain some of the assistants, as they have good relationships with the players". [paraphrased slightly]
So I think your take on that isn't wrong - so maybe both our interpretations have validity. He indeed in the earlier interview expressed the opinion that the large amount of player turnover was a concern. Clearly, tho, his naming Hughley as acting HC showed confidence in him.