A UCLA BB question

[NMCard]

Russ,

What are your thoughts on Kerry Keating as a head BB coach for New Mexico?
From what I have read is that he is a good recuiter and is able to communicate well with todays players. Is he ready to be a head BB coach?

The search firm has these guys on the short list:

-- Chris Lowery, Southern Illinois
-- Larry Eustachy, Southern Miss
-- Mike Dunlap, Metro State (now Denver Nuggets assistant)
-- Kerry Keating, UCLA assistant
-- Larry Shyatt, Florida assistant
-- Rob Evans, former Arizona State coach


Not sure if anyone would want to coach here due to the tough demands.
I hope the AD scratches off the Rob Evans name on the list as his first move.

 

[Dback Jon]

Lowery - great coach

Any Howland assistant is likely to be good.

 

[Russ Smith]

his rep is very good. It's weird, UCLA lost Ziegler last year, Donny Daniels name is coming up places now(former head coach now a UCLA assistant) and Keating too.

Ben Howland is such a control freak it's really hard to know how much any of his assistants do. I know Keating is a big recruiter and I think he typically works with the guards so you see the improvement in Collison and the impact Westbrook has had and Keating probably has something to do with that.

He's probably a good choice but again Howland is a complete control freak so it's really impossible to know what the assistants do. From what I've read Ziegler has strugged at Central Michian this year and there's some rumblings that he may have been a better recruiter than coach. But then he's trying to put in a new system there so it may just be players not buying in.

 

[Dback Jon]

Jamie Dixon has done quite well at Pittsburgh.
Mike Adras has done decent at NAU

Both were former Howland assistants.

 

[Russ Smith]

Jamie Dixon has done quite well at Pittsburgh.
Mike Adras has done decent at NAU

Both were former Howland assistants.

Yeah I nearly mentioned Dixon as an example of a Ben assistant that succeeded.

I'm sure Keating can coach, if he couldn't, UCLA wouldn't be where they are as a program.

 

[Russ Smith]

also I'd highly recommend they stay away from Eustachy. he's a Floyd protege and was a total embarassment at Iowa State. He got caught drinking with college kids on a rival campus during a road trip, pics were all over the internet. Wound up having to go to rehab over it.

Maybe everyone deserves a 2nd chance but the fact that even Floyd didn't try to hire him at USC probably says something.

Edit,I don't remember who got hired first, Floyd at SC or Eustachy. Pretty sure it was Floyd, he took the job after Majerus changed his mind,
but then declined to take over midseason so he was recruiting, while an interim(Jim Saia) was coaching USC.

 

[NMCard]

Looks like it may be Steve Alford that the lobos hire. Not a good hire IMO.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Looks like it may be Steve Alford that the lobos hire. Not a good hire IMO.

New Mexico certainly is not the destination it's fan base thinks it is, but I thought the hire could've been better. I'll take an unproven up-and-comer over proven mediocrity any day of the week.

 

[Russ Smith]

Looks like it may be Steve Alford that the lobos hire. Not a good hire IMO.

Yeah but he has great hair.