hypothetically speaking, if we move on from Hubert, who would be the top choices for our program to target? i’ve seen Bama coach mentioned, Wes Miller, etc. Who would be ideal?
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- Thread starter GoNtheDistance
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In the end Hubert may be to classy for this new era of College Hoops.. Probably need a little bit of a slime ball like the teams scoring recruits ..
Why would Bama coach leave Bama with all that NIL money and come to Chapel Hill where there purse is tighter than hush puppies two sizes too small. I keep hearing Wes Miller but I'm not convinced he's ready. I could be wrong. Lebo and Stackhouse are intriguing. Are we at the point where we get out of the family tree for a basketball coach? May be closer than ever..
Don't know that "slime ball" would be on my list of desirable coaching traits but having the ability to actually coach, and get both improvement and consistent effort from a team in games and practices would be required and we're not seeing that over time with Hubert. This years group look like weekend YMCA pick up game players in their on court performances. The GT game was just awful and we're almost a third of the way in the season.
The best available. Period. Conduct a real coaching search that genuinely considers all qualified candidates.
Go outside the box and bring in new blood to the program. Jim Crutchfield-1 National Championship and has won over 500 games.
If the assumption is there will be a head coaching change in the relative near future (let's say within 2 years), the question is what do you want from your coach? Because I don't think it's as simple as "try to get the best head coach" for this particular program. I really don't.
First off, I don't care if the coach has any UNC roots and I don't think it should have any impact on the next head coach. I don't view UNC as such a special place that only a UNC person can handle it. I might be wrong. I mainly focus on the basketball part of this equation. I don't know what other things are involved.
But if it's purely about getting the best coach in the country who might realistically consider, I would call Kelvin Sampson. I think he's the best head coach in the country right now (either him or Hurley). He's had really bad injury luck going into and during the NCAA Tournament. Also, not off to the best start this season (close losses to Auburn and Alabama), but I'd be hard pressed to find a better head coach right now. The question with him is will the fans accept a slow tempo team? Kelvin Sampson teams don't run. Does that matter? Does UNC need to find a particular style of basketball to fit their program? Or would you accept a pretty substantial coaching upgrade regardless of style? It wouldn't be a longterm solution, but who cares? It isn't a longterm economy anymore.
My other shortlist would be the somewhat usual suspects: Mark Few, Nate Oats, and Scott Drew
Then there are the other good coaches that you wonder can they handle this kind of program? Someone like Shaka Smart who really struggled at Texas and seems to have found a good fit at Marquette.
The only UNC connected one that's a candidate is Wes Miller right? Idk, doesn't really excite me but who knows. I just think it's really unlikely that of all of the coaching candidates out there, the best one for this program is someone who played at UNC.
The Roy situation was different. He proved to be an elite coach before coming here. His candidacy was probably an easier one to connect to UNC. He had UNC connections, plus he was churning out big time seasons at a big time program. So which of those qualities do you want at UNC? Because you can't have them all unless Wes Miller turns Cincinnati into something they're probably not. I would prefer a coach who has some big program and big expectations experience over someone who just has UNC connections.
I think UNC can win without being such a nepo baby.
My other things is please for the love of god... Hire a schemer and not a scheme.
First off, I don't care if the coach has any UNC roots and I don't think it should have any impact on the next head coach. I don't view UNC as such a special place that only a UNC person can handle it. I might be wrong. I mainly focus on the basketball part of this equation. I don't know what other things are involved.
But if it's purely about getting the best coach in the country who might realistically consider, I would call Kelvin Sampson. I think he's the best head coach in the country right now (either him or Hurley). He's had really bad injury luck going into and during the NCAA Tournament. Also, not off to the best start this season (close losses to Auburn and Alabama), but I'd be hard pressed to find a better head coach right now. The question with him is will the fans accept a slow tempo team? Kelvin Sampson teams don't run. Does that matter? Does UNC need to find a particular style of basketball to fit their program? Or would you accept a pretty substantial coaching upgrade regardless of style? It wouldn't be a longterm solution, but who cares? It isn't a longterm economy anymore.
My other shortlist would be the somewhat usual suspects: Mark Few, Nate Oats, and Scott Drew
Then there are the other good coaches that you wonder can they handle this kind of program? Someone like Shaka Smart who really struggled at Texas and seems to have found a good fit at Marquette.
The only UNC connected one that's a candidate is Wes Miller right? Idk, doesn't really excite me but who knows. I just think it's really unlikely that of all of the coaching candidates out there, the best one for this program is someone who played at UNC.
The Roy situation was different. He proved to be an elite coach before coming here. His candidacy was probably an easier one to connect to UNC. He had UNC connections, plus he was churning out big time seasons at a big time program. So which of those qualities do you want at UNC? Because you can't have them all unless Wes Miller turns Cincinnati into something they're probably not. I would prefer a coach who has some big program and big expectations experience over someone who just has UNC connections.
I think UNC can win without being such a nepo baby.
My other things is please for the love of god... Hire a schemer and not a scheme.
I was hoping when Roy retired it would have been Mark Few….Instead we did the Carolina Way BS…
I think you have to call Few. Make him say no but at least make the call. Same with Jay Wright. Probably a waste of time but at least make the call. Tommy Lloyd should be considered, maybe the third call you make.
Not going to matter unless we get competitive in the $$$$. As today's actions have shown it is not about university, the traditions, or even the team. It is about the $$$$ and the chance of progressing to the lottery. It is very sad to see.
Assuming he even wants it still, I feel it has to be Wes because they've established that maintaining tradition is worth risking short term loss if it means winning with "the right guy". To claim it had to be kept in the family for Hubert just to give it away after one bad coach would be a spit to the face of Wes and mean not only was it nepotism, but also that UNC tradition never meant a damn.
Who do you even call otherwise? All the Hall of Famers are old or retired and the future HOFers are too entrenched at their current schools. That's why it was crucial to get it right the first time before NIL took over. Instead UNC decided to do the worst thing possible.
Who do you even call otherwise? All the Hall of Famers are old or retired and the future HOFers are too entrenched at their current schools. That's why it was crucial to get it right the first time before NIL took over. Instead UNC decided to do the worst thing possible.
we literally hired the least experienced of the “keep it in the family” crowd. i could definitely see it being a slap in Wes’ face not to get the next shot if we went down that path. all that to say, im not a fan of that he requirement that it be a UNC guy. go hire the best guy we can get. we clearly didn’t do that last time. Hubert is no bueno.
Mark Few's name comes up every time. I think he's good not great. Good for the conference he's in and the schedule he plays. As my grandma would say "he don't knock my socks off none.." . Is he better than HD? Of course with much more experience. Of course its just my opinion, not law. Maybe Wes Miller isn't such a bad option.
Absolutely have to go outside the family in next coach, you cant sit there and bring in Wes and "hope" it works out. You need an established legit coach that's going to give you 10 years of success and keep us relevant. If you bring Wes in and its a miss , I am not sure that is recoverable.
Hubert would do much better if he wasn't stubborn & stuck in 1990 like kids don't want $$ to play ball anymore... I think HD would do great with top 5 class yr after yr ... it's new age & has been for yrs unc just refuses to move into the new era
He's still at the mercy of how much NIL money they will give a kid. UNC has the resources but they are tight with the money. That's been proven in football as well.
I think HD is a great person and a great representative of UNC ... but I don't see anything on the court that makes me think he spent a decade playing in the NBA under multiple big-time coaches and another decade sitting on the bench beside Roy. If he's a great coach then I'm not sure why. His players like him and I believe he genuinely cares about his players ... but I'm a little underwhelmed by what I'm watching on the court. Go Heels!!!
Who else is coming to save us? Like I said, most of the top options people wanted the first time around are pushing 70 or out of the game. Jay Wright's not coming out of retirement for a worse situation than he was in at Villanova. Guys like Hurley and Oats have it too good at their current programs to quit now.
Kentucky has a much better NIL program than we do and they couldn't lure any big names to them.
Wes isn't the perfect hire, but the top guys aren't likely coming here. Mark Pope wasn't Kentucky's first choice, but it seems to be working for them so far in year one. Our chance to get an elite coach was squandered on Hubert. Now you have to cut your losses. If our NIL isn't going to change, it's better to have someone who's shown he can build a program back from nothing and be competitive with less.
We'll know better by the end of next season whether Wes is truly that guy for us, which I imagine will also be the season the excuses for Hubert run out unless something changes soon. But we'd better "hope" Wes is that guy and does still want it. Because an "established legit coach" is not likely to walk through the door this time around.
Absolute proof that even a blind squirrel can find a nut at times...
I have said this many times that if it absolutely had to be a former UNC player my first call would be to King. But if I was able to bring in the best guy for the job and that is what I pray UNC would do, I would make ONLY 1 phone call and it would be to Kelvin Sampson, just tell me how big the check needs to be Kelvin, the private jet is on the way to Houston as we speak. For the record, I have HUGE Respect for Kelvin !!!
And folks on this site are hitting F-5 on their key board every few minutes right now to see if a press conference has been set up to announce Bill Belicek as our next head football coach. Kelvin may be 69 now but he had not dropped off as a coach. I think he would LOVE to come back home and coach a program that he has a special place in his heart for.
There are a couple of guys, college head basketball coaches, that have always had a special relationship with the UNC program. Neither played or coached for UNC but both just had a closer than realized relationship with the program, both are very good men. Those 2 are Kelvin Sampson and Levell Moten.Now Levell is exactly where he should be, I hope he is able to retire from UNCC when he decides to hang up his whistle, he reminds me in many ways of Hubert. But if you want a head basketball coach that personifies Play hard, play smart, and play together; the foundation stones that this UNC program is built on you want Kelvin as bad as I do. I think Hubert is a wonderful man, his players love him and I do think they play hard for him, they just don't always play smart or together.
I disagree. Money talks 💯. You mentioned a lot of guys names and said they weren’t coming. They haven’t been asked. Ky got who they wanted. Why? I have no idea lol but when UNC decides to play the nil crap show game, I think there will be some legit contenders in the mix. My opinion of course, but they have to figure out the pay for play of get left behind.
I think there’s something to the nil not being driven to success. They may be waiting for the dust to settle and rules to be made. If so then we are drastically behind because I don’t think rules are coming.
Rose hit the nail on the head with his sentence about squandering the opportunity for all the big names back when we hired Hubert the first time. That was my biggest gripe. You make a ballsy move and hand the keys to the program to a guy who had no business getting the job and if it didn’t work out, it would set us back 5-7 years and look where we are. It’s an absolute shame what the program has become and half the problem is all the blowhards who are making excuses for a guy that is 4 years in and has us averaging 10 loss seasons as if that’s OK by any standard created by those before him. He’s not the guy and he never was the guy outside of Roy force feeding the decision down Bubba’s throat.
I’d expect at worse Hubert gets this and next year. At that point, Pat Kelsey should be on the realistic short list (I’m assuming guys like Few, Sampson, Oats have zero interest leaving their current situations). Watch how quickly Kelsey elevates Louisville in the next year and a half from what it was. Kelsey’s been a winner everywhere he’s been, having already taken 2 schools to the tourney. He’s more appealing than Wes (ignoring UNC connection).
If we absolutely refuse to hire outside the family, Wes is as ready as anyone and would be my choice.
I also think UNC wouldn’t fire Hubert without Roy’s blessing, and I’m not quite sure he’d give it to them, so I doubt Hubert is going anywhere. He’s as good of a human as there is on the planet, but I’ve never felt like he is the guy.
If we absolutely refuse to hire outside the family, Wes is as ready as anyone and would be my choice.
I also think UNC wouldn’t fire Hubert without Roy’s blessing, and I’m not quite sure he’d give it to them, so I doubt Hubert is going anywhere. He’s as good of a human as there is on the planet, but I’ve never felt like he is the guy.
The whole sham interview process was a joke and who could blame Wes if he is salty about it.
And shame on bubba for allowing Roy to be the AD. It was bubba’s decision to make and he should’ve conducted a real coaching search.
Jay Wright wasn't interested the first time. The other two names are coaches that turned down Kentucky. Hurley turned down the Lakers and an extra 20 Million. I doubt the Alabama Football Complex will have any trouble outspending us. What incentive do they have to come here instead? To a coach outside of the family, we are pretty similar in name recognition, basketball tradition, success and probably donor power.
1 million %
Boosters have less than zero confidence in Hubert and not willing to give him even a leash in fear that it may extend his stay. He’s not the guy.
I definitely don’t hunt at Hurley coming here lol. There’s very few guys that would make me quit watching but he’s one of them. Trash. Idk jay wright turned us down.
Edited to add, big Bill will draw a ton of attention, money, talent, and not just for football. Maybe there’s stuff in the works for basketball too. I do know that the Sec has football money, which led to hiring a lot better coaches, which led to a lot better players and on to winning. It took a few years but they did it.
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Make no mistake if Hubert doesn’t get this turned around he is in trouble….
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