Ratto on UA's coaching opening

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Sure Calipari was, its a pretty easy claim to make since there's no way to prove it one way or the other.

You can either choose to follow logic (Cal making his recruits put sections in their LOI's that allowed them to follow him, Cal leaving about 24 hours after losing to Mizzou) that points to Cal having every intention of leaving Memphis after this year or not. That's your decision. He was gone to the highest bidder this offseason which was Arizona until UK opened up.

Im glad you're OK with Floyd, personally I think its a garbage hire. If I were a UA fan Id be throwing myself off of whatever 10 story building is the highest in Tucson. If Floyd couldn't dominate the Pac 10 at USC, a better school, with better facilities, and a much better location, I can't see him doing much better at UA. Sure UA has better tradition than USC, but that only goes so far, the 1997 team is fading further and further into the memories of recruits and UAs tradition was soley tied to Lute.

I'm not okay with Floyd, I have high expectations for Arizona Basketball and realize that those expectations will never be met as long long as he's on the sidelines. That being said, it would be completely false and ignorant to suggest Tim Floyd is bad or even mediocre. One can be a good coach while at the same time being a bad hire.

As an ASU fan, I'm over the moon about the Floyd hiring. ASU fans were legitimately nervous about UA getting someone great, I guess the job wasn't quite as appealing as UA fans crowed that it was.

Wasn't Floyd 4-2 against ASU the last couple years? We won't be kicking you guys around like we did in the Lute days but Floyd is still better than any coach in the Pac-10 not named Ben Howland and Mike Montgomery. Romar might be the only one with an argument.

A sad fact you ASU fans fail to realize in your glee is Livengood and Arizona screwing up this hire won't make Herb Sendek a great coach overnight. You're stuck in the same boat we are - eternally looking up to UCLA and soon to be Cal (and maybe USC if they get Dixon).

 

[ajcardfan]

And "Tim Freaking Floyd" has a better resume in almost every possible facet than Herb Sendek so go to sleep tonight knowing that our seventh choice and a guy Arizona fans almost universally rip the hiring of is better than your Messiah.

Mao, you really crack me up some times. Your posts on this thread are awesome, and a great way to end my day. Thanks!

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Mao, you really crack me up some times. Your posts on this thread are awesome, and a great way to end my day. Thanks!

It's the least I could do. This is like you laughing at the arrogant neighbor you despise when he crashes and totals his Mercedes when sitting in your garage is a Ford Taurus. Yeah, it makes you feel better to take pleasure in the a-hole's misfortune but at the end of the day you still drive a Taurus.

 

[Gee!]

Yah Im the one who's an unrealistic dreamer, you're schools the one settling for Tim Freaking Floyd after you head cases thought you'd get someone like Calipari, Izzo, Dixon, or Pitinio.

Oh quit being a troll.. You only come into here to cause trouble..

 

[splitsecond]

Why the hell would Dixon go to USC if he would not come here? The only real answer to that would of course be, "because they have a real AD, not Livengood."

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Why the hell would Dixon go to USC if he would not come here? The only real answer to that would of course be, "because they have a real AD, not Livengood."

Ding! Ding! Ding!

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Well, it appears the Floyd thing isn't done yet so there's still time left for Livengood to crap the bed.

At this point I could care less what happens as long as it means things completely imploding and Arizona getting a real AD and brand new football and basketball coaches shortly thereafter.

 

[HooverDam]

Why the hell would Dixon go to USC if he would not come here? The only real answer to that would of course be, "because they have a real AD, not Livengood."

Well Dixon was once an assistant at UC SB, so maybe he wants to go back to SoCal. I believe his wife went to SC as well. Plus Dixon is a SAG member for whatever thats worth

 

[splitsecond]

Well, it appears the Floyd thing isn't done yet so there's still time left for Livengood to crap the bed.

At this point I could care less what happens as long as it means things completely imploding and Arizona getting a real AD and brand new football and basketball coaches shortly thereafter.

I am starting to like Stoops

 

[splitsecond]

Well Dixon was once an assistant at UC SB, so maybe he wants to go back to SoCal. I believe his wife went to SC as well. Plus Dixon is a SAG member for whatever thats worth

Or maybe he wants another chance to take long walks on the beach with Ben Howland.

 

[Mr. Boldin]

No matter what anyone says JL blew this search by not securing enough money the past two years to BUY a top coach.

Considering basketball is this school's money maker by a huge margin, especially nationally, money should not have been an issue considering some of the boosters we have.

Im not saying we should have been able to offer Kentucky money, but going after Pitino with an similar base offer to what he is making (minus longevity clauses, ect) and not even being able to be in the ballpark to counter Kentucky's offer (or one from Memphis if we would have been so lucky) is going to be the downfall of this athletic department.

If you cant secure enough money from Jim Click, George Kalil Arte Moreno, Bob Baffert, Todd Pletcher, ect. to make a very enticing package to Pletcher and Baffet's buddy Pitino, then you have failed.

Livengood, dont let the athletic department fall down upon you on the way out.

P.S. thanks for balancing the budget year in and year out...

FAIL

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Shouldn't blame Livengood on Pitino, that ship sailed when UK threw that ridiculous amount of money at Cal. Once Cal got that cash Pitino wasn't settling for less and we don't have it. Blame Livengood for...

- not having the foresight to see that Gillispie was toast months ago at Kentucky

- living in the moment of the Sweet 16 in Indianapolis and not hurrying the process of nabbing Calipari (while he was in Glendale Arizona for god's sake) during UK's primary flirtation with Donovan

- failing to sell the program to Few and Capel, two guys at schools with much less opportunity and salary when compared to Arizona

When you over-promise and under-deliver you have to reap the consequences. And unless Floyd pulls off a miracle in these first couple years you can almost be sure that Livengood's contract will not be renewed if he even makes it that long. People are extra pissed and that's not even mentioning the boosters who coughed up a ridiculous amount of cash for this fiasco. And if Floyd decides to stay at USC tomorrow (which wouldn't shock me, the guy's a slimeball who could use his rebuffing of Arizona on the recruiting trail as long as he's a Trojan) it will get even more messy. Livengood at that point would be toast upon Mike Stoops missing a bowl game this fall.

 

[Gee!]

Well Dixon was once an assistant at UC SB, so maybe he wants to go back to SoCal. I believe his wife went to SC as well. Plus Dixon is a SAG member for whatever thats worth

No wonder you know so much about trolling.. You do it quite well..

 

[splitsecond]

Shouldn't blame Livengood on Pitino, that ship sailed when UK threw that ridiculous amount of money at Cal. Once Cal got that cash Pitino wasn't settling for less and we don't have it. Blame Livengood for...

- not having the foresight to see that Gillispie was toast months ago at Kentucky

- living in the moment of the Sweet 16 in Indianapolis and not hurrying the process of nabbing Calipari (while he was in Glendale Arizona for god's sake) during UK's primary flirtation with Donovan

- failing to sell the program to Few and Capel, two guys at schools with much less opportunity and salary when compared to Arizona

When you over-promise and under-deliver you have to reap the consequences. And unless Floyd pulls off a miracle in these first couple years you can almost be sure that Livengood's contract will not be renewed if he even makes it that long. People are extra pissed and that's not even mentioning the boosters who coughed up a ridiculous amount of cash for this fiasco. And if Floyd decides to stay at USC tomorrow (which wouldn't shock me, the guy's a slimeball who could use his rebuffing of Arizona on the recruiting trail as long as he's a Trojan) it will get even more messy. Livengood at that point would be toast upon Mike Stoops missing a bowl game this fall.

I agree with this analysis, BUT I think Livengood needs to be kicked out the door first thing tomorrow morning. Pipe dreams, I know.

 

[Mr. Boldin]

Either way going after Pitino with a similar package he is already receiving was bound to fall off the deep end.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

I agree with this analysis, BUT I think Livengood needs to be kicked out the door first thing tomorrow morning. Pipe dreams, I know.

Livengood should have and maybe would have been fired with the Mackovic mess he created years ago but Lute went to bat for him (a favor Livengood paid back a few years later when he tried to kick Lute to the curb) and here we are. The guy's terrible. If Floyd says no tomorrow or USC gets Dixon no booster will give him a dime ever again.

 

[HooverDam]

No wonder you know so much about trolling.. You do it quite well..

Are you the stupidest person alive? My last post was information about Jamie Dixon, how is that in any way trolling?

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Its obviously not Rick Pitino or Tom Izzo but everyone loved Floyd as the next big thing (see Capel, Wright) before he went to the NBA. I am interested to see the level of recruits he brings in.

This is probably a Lavin type hire. He does have potential to be better though. Hopefully Tim brings in enough talent and success the next 5 years that a then proven Pastner can then come in and take us over the top

B

 

[DWKB]

I think the fact that all of the Memphis players had outs in their LOIs

-- I didn't even know you could do that, what good are they really? Why would a top 10 sign before April now? --

is a very telling sign that Cal was open to moving and UofA would have been a tempting option.

I think Floyd might be the last "name" guy on the list before some directional school up-and-comer is brought in. I think in the long run an up-and-comer might have been the better option despite the greater risk at collapse. How long is Floyd going to stay at UofA? He's a known quantity that's going to bring to the table the same things he did at USC and ISU.

Going back to the Arkansas/Arizona comparisons, after Nolan was essentially booted from Fayetteville the university was being charged with outright racism. They had a seriously interested Bill Self, but ended up hiring the up-and-comer from Kent St Stan Heath to suppress the accusations.
Although it's a miss for much different reasons, Calipari could end up being Arkansas' Self.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

I think Floyd might be the last "name" guy on the list before some directional school up-and-comer is brought in. I think in the long run an up-and-comer might have been the better option despite the greater risk at collapse. How long is Floyd going to stay at UofA? He's a known quantity that's going to bring to the table the same things he did at USC and ISU.

Going back to the Arkansas/Arizona comparisons, after Nolan was essentially booted from Fayetteville the university was being charged with outright racism. They had a seriously interested Bill Self, but ended up hiring the up-and-comer from Kent St Stan Heath to suppress the accusations.
Although it's a miss for much different reasons, Calipari could end up being Arkansas' Self.

I don't think Floyd is Stan Heath. Heath was a head coach for one year at Kent State where he took somebody else's players to the Elight Eight before taking the Arkansas gig. He had no track record of program building or sustaining at any level let alone in a major conference like Floyd does. If I had to compare this situation and predict it out seven or eight years from now to a recent coaching change I'd say Tubby at Kentucky without Floyd getting any talent to start with.

And I'm guessing Floyd will end the same way - Arizona will perform decently over the next six or eight years usually making the Tournament but never being a factor at which point we'll try somebody else with more upside.

 

[DWKB]

I don't think Floyd is Stan Heath. Heath was a head coach for one year at Kent State where he took somebody else's players to the Elight Eight before taking the Arkansas gig. He had no track record of program building or sustaining at any level let alone in a major conference like Floyd does. If I had to compare this situation and predict it out seven or eight years from now to a recent coaching change I'd say Tubby at Kentucky without Floyd getting any talent to start with.

And I'm guessing Floyd will end the same way - Arizona will perform decently over the next six or eight years usually making the Tournament but never being a factor at which point we'll try somebody else with more upside.

No I don't think Floyd = Heath at all either, just that Cal = Self.

Arizona seems now at the fork in the road that they go with new coaching blood or a re-tread. Arkansas went with new blood, Arizona went with re-tread.

I think Arizona would be better off in the long run if they went with an up-and coming coach as opposed to Floyd, but then I don't have to worry about the risk of collapse should that coach fail or live through the poor seasons.

If not a Bennett or Fox then a Miller, Jankovich, or McCaffery.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

I think that's what went through Arizona's head. It was either rolling the dice now with an up-and-comer or going with Floyd and treading water for the next few years until the timing is right to land that next guy who will be here for 20+ years.

The fact that the Floyd package comes with two top 30 players and another top 100 probably helped as well.

 

[Mr. Boldin]

If its Floyd it seems its all the more certain that Pastner accepts a coaching gig by next year in order to build his resume to be a top candidate for the UA job in 5-7 years.

If Floyd turns us down is it really that far out of the question to just hire Pastner and surround him with one of the better staffs in the conference?

Paster would be far from winning the press conference or meeting any of JL's goals, however at least the fan bas could get behind Paster and we definitely would not be short on high profile players coming to UA.

Either way this is a disaster and right now we are in recovery mode in order to stabilize the program for a while.

 

[Mulli]

I am an ASU fan that always resisted wanting UofA to succeed in anything. After the past two years, I am resigned to end my futile hate of the school. I will now hope UofA gets a sweet coach that plays an up-tempo style.

This is not easy for me, but neither is the alternative.



(this only applies to basketball at the moment. That might change.)

I might have to rescind this now.

 

[ajcardfan]

It's the least I could do. This is like you laughing at the arrogant neighbor you despise when he crashes and totals his Mercedes when sitting in your garage is a Ford Taurus. Yeah, it makes you feel better to take pleasure in the a-hole's misfortune but at the end of the day you still drive a Taurus.

Nope, that's not even close. It's your style of talking about topics pertaining to UofA sports that cracks me up. This is another example that I find funny.