I want to start this thread by stating that not everything I am going to say is a set in stone fact. Some of my points are influenced by my opinions....
1). Top notch assistant basketball coaches grow on trees.
I see a lot of posts that suggest that hiring a guy like DG makes sense because you can just compensate for his lack of coaching experience by going out and getting some of the top assistants in college basketball. Just step back and think about this for a minute. Those guys are very few and far between. The best assistants either get offered jobs as head coaches, or work for a proven coach for a long time with hopes that they program will fall to them when said coach retires. Some of them look to leave a current position to take a job with someone like Self or Coach K where they can learn from 1 of the best prior to getting a HC offer. How many of those guys do you think would be excited to work for a totally unproven head coach who has fewer skins on the wall than they do?
2). We can just hire a guy by offering a 2-3 year contract and then decide if we want to keep him for longer.
It just doesn't work that way. If your coach isn't under contract for at least the next 2 seasons, it destroys your ability to recruit. Kids don't want to commit to a coach that might be gone 1 or 2 years after they arrive on campus. Just look at the Ford situation to see an example of what I am talking about. He was originally signed to a 3 year contract. After 1 year, Holder was pretty much forced to extend it to prevent other coaches from using Ford's contract status against him in recruiting. (obviously he extended it much longer than he should have, but that is a different discussion). I suspect that our next coach will be signed to a 4 year contract. Anything less will only give Holder 1 year to evaluate the job he is doing before he is forced to renegotiate.
3). The most important thing is that the attendance issue be fixed immediately.
The only way to consistently fix the attendance problem is to win games. DG or BS might bring a significant immediate attendance bump, but if OSU were to consistently be one of the 2 worst teams in the Big 12, attendance numbers would quickly drop back to where they currently are. You have to hire the guy that you think gives you the best chance to improve the W/L record in both the short and long term.
1). Top notch assistant basketball coaches grow on trees.
I see a lot of posts that suggest that hiring a guy like DG makes sense because you can just compensate for his lack of coaching experience by going out and getting some of the top assistants in college basketball. Just step back and think about this for a minute. Those guys are very few and far between. The best assistants either get offered jobs as head coaches, or work for a proven coach for a long time with hopes that they program will fall to them when said coach retires. Some of them look to leave a current position to take a job with someone like Self or Coach K where they can learn from 1 of the best prior to getting a HC offer. How many of those guys do you think would be excited to work for a totally unproven head coach who has fewer skins on the wall than they do?
2). We can just hire a guy by offering a 2-3 year contract and then decide if we want to keep him for longer.
It just doesn't work that way. If your coach isn't under contract for at least the next 2 seasons, it destroys your ability to recruit. Kids don't want to commit to a coach that might be gone 1 or 2 years after they arrive on campus. Just look at the Ford situation to see an example of what I am talking about. He was originally signed to a 3 year contract. After 1 year, Holder was pretty much forced to extend it to prevent other coaches from using Ford's contract status against him in recruiting. (obviously he extended it much longer than he should have, but that is a different discussion). I suspect that our next coach will be signed to a 4 year contract. Anything less will only give Holder 1 year to evaluate the job he is doing before he is forced to renegotiate.
3). The most important thing is that the attendance issue be fixed immediately.
The only way to consistently fix the attendance problem is to win games. DG or BS might bring a significant immediate attendance bump, but if OSU were to consistently be one of the 2 worst teams in the Big 12, attendance numbers would quickly drop back to where they currently are. You have to hire the guy that you think gives you the best chance to improve the W/L record in both the short and long term.
