Big 4 Hoops Blogger

This is great news for the MAC. Adding UMass is tremendous for basketball and also signals the conference might still want to add Western Kentucky to round things off. Can you imagine a MAC with: UMass, WKU, Akron, Toledo, Kent State, Ohio, Buffalo etc... That's a pretty good mid-major league most years!

Athletic programs shouldn't be making decisions based on what young, mostly unproven players want, especially in this climate of college athletics. I understand that many of them would've bolted if Whitesell wasn't the choice but UB was riding high at that point. Even if they lost the majority of their roster, a young up-and-coming head coach would've been able to fill the voids on their roster over time. It would've been a different story if we were talking about guys like CJ Massinburg, Jeremy Harris and Nick Perkins. That said, I understand why they ended up with Whitesell after their national search didn't lead to a hire. I've also been under the impression that the reason Alnutt didn't consider Hodgson was more about perceived maturity issues than how he left. I had a source very close to the program tell me UB basketball was in big trouble after everything played out in the months following Nate Oats departure. There's a lot that'll never get to the surface out of respect to my source but let's just say the mistakes that took place then have contributed to the downfall of their program and in some ways, continue to impact them today.

I would say the two are intertwined in this circumstance. Alnutt clearly doesn't like Bryan Hodgson and was likely turned off by the way things ended for him in Buffalo. However it's his pride that won't allow Alnutt to move past those circumstances when he had an opportunity to consider hiring a WNY native who was clearly qualified for the job. And while there are huge academic disparities between UB and Arkansas State, we've already seen the caliber of players Hodgson recruited to Buffalo during Nate Oats time here so that wouldn't factor into the decision in my opinion.

Disappointing game to watch but not unexpected given it being a road game against a hungry team looking to qualify for the MAC Tournament in Cleveland. Buffalo just didn't have it today and it was pretty obvious from the very beginning.

Another win for Arkansas State today. That's 5 in a row and 7 of 8 to get them to 15-14 (10-6) overall and up to 136 in KenPom. For comparison, this is where UB finished each season under Jim Whitesell: 2020: 148 2021: 77 2022: 130 2023: 211 Remember all the comments about Hodgson being out of control, not knowing the x's and o's and not being mature enough to be a head coach... All he's done in his first year is guide a historically weak program to a 151 spot improvement in their KenPom ranking and taken them from a 4-14 Sun Belt record to 10-6. For perspective on Arkansas State, this is where they finished in KenPom the last six years: 2018: 281 2019: 254 2020: 206 2021: 252 2022: 181 2023: 287 Hodgson knows how college basketball operates. It's a shame UB's athletic director put his pride above improving the program.

I shared this on Twitter earlier. This team keeps fighting. They could've hung their heads a long time ago but they continue to battle and have shown signs of improvement. It's not going to lead to an appearance in Cleveland but it least gives me hope that players enjoy playing under Halcovage III.

I'm assuming he would've left for SMU either way. Big time pay raise and competition increase from the MAC/Sun Belt to the American and soon to be ACC. Lanier was UB's top choice entering their search at the time according to people I spoke with back then.

After a 4-9 start, Hodgson has Arkansas State at 13-14 (8-6), winning 5 of their last 6 (only loss 77-73 to James Madison) and a KenPom ranking of 142 which is four spots back of Toledo (138) which is 2nd in the MAC. This is all one year after they went 13-20 (4-14) with a KenPom ranking of 287. If this is what they're getting right away while Hodgson is still extremely raw as a head coach, I think it's going to turn out well for him. Forget the reasons why UB didn't target him... One thing that is crystal CLEAR is that he was deserving of consideration and would likely have this team in a better situation than they currently are. **NOT USING THIS POST AS AN INDICTMENT OF HALCOVAGE III**

UB battled and gave a solid Akron team a tough fight which is encouraging. They do seem to be improving. That said, they just don't have the right collection of guys. Huge roster turnover will be needed following this season.

I'll take UB wins anyway I can get them at this point! Was happy to see the Bulls go out and battle. It wasn't pretty late but they found a way to get it done.

It's supposed to be happening again next year.

Having watched a few Arkansas State games this year, they'd be no worse than middle of the pack in the MAC. Their talent alone is better than half of our conference. Who knows what the future holds for them but they at least have plenty of reasons to be excited with the caliber of guys they're recruiting paired with their fun style of play.

Very well said!

I have never had communication with Hodgson in my life outside of the TBT media interviews a few years ago. I have sources that have personally told me UB wasn't blindsided by Nate Oats' departure so I guess we'll just have to disagree considering my sources dealt firsthand with the men's basketball program.

Hodgson is doing exactly what many of us thought he would. Recruit at a high level and hope it all comes together. It's been shaky but you can see the improvement overall at Arkansas State. We won't know for a while if it's sustainable or will work long term there. Given his ties to Buffalo, he probably would've had similar results here to what he's currently having down at Arkansas State. That program has very little history and he's already attracting four star recruits. I was fine with Cohen, McCollum or Calhoun during this latest search. Hodgson was my top target but UB never considered him. Alnutt and others inside the UB program think he's immature, reckless and a poor "face of the program." He's not known for the X's and O's and there's been stories about other things behind the scenes while he was at UB. Those are the reasons he was never considered. That said, I know UB was aiming for someone with a higher pedigree than George Halcovage III. I hope GHIII can turn things around but know for a fact he wasn't at the top of their list at the beginning.

I have first hand knowledge from multiple people involved with the UB program that Hodgson was told he wasn't getting the head coaching job prior to him leaving with Oats. He told them he was going to Alabama if he didn't get the position. The fuss people have made over this is about semantics and a lack of information of things already known inside the program.

Love this! My wife actually worked at a station he interned at lol

I'm a fan of the hire. I covered Ball State a little bit when I was a sports anchor in Fort Wayne. My BSU connections were all positive about Lembo at that time and thought he was a solid head coach. Buffalo is looking for someone to stabilize their program and be here for the long haul. Lembo knows how to run a D1 football team and has won at the MAC level with lesser resources than he'll have going forward. I think we're going to need to be patient but I'm confident Lembo has what it takes to win at UB.

They were targeting coaches with prior D1 head coaching experience. That's why I said they didn't have the budget to get anyone with a more impressive resume. Sources said UB was a mess under Mo. Alnutt wanted someone who has run a D1 program.

People were laughing when I first brought up Brian Polian but I had outside sources telling me to keep his name in mind. I think it was clear from the beginning what type of coaches UB was interested in. The fact that all three of the above candidates have G5 head coaching experience doesn't surprise me. Mo didn't know what he was doing. They're looking for someone that has experience running a D1 program but don't have the budget to hire anyone that has an impressive resume so they're going after retreads.

Polian’s coaching resume has nothing to do with his current job. it has everything to do with being a former Mountain West head coach, special teams coordinator at Notre Dame and LSU, two time assistant at UB and a person with local ties. Considering he’s already been a head coach at a higher level than the MAC and has familiarity with the Buffalo program, I’m assuming it wouldn’t be a difficult transition back into coaching. (Don’t even know how seriously he’ll actually be considered)

The route with the highest upside is probably hiring a successful, experienced head coach from a lower level. Question will be if any of the leading candidates at those levels think Buffalo is a worthy job that can help them move up in their careers? I think the Coach Mo experience makes it unlikely they hire anyone without a head coaching background but we’ll see. If they’re looking to make a “splash” hire the community will support, they’ll target Babers or Polian because both names will resonate more in Buffalo than a random FCS/D2 head coach regardless of their resume.

Get over yourself and grow up!