Coaching Search 2023 Edition

[DocCas86]

33 minutes ago, C1ubP1fanaticM7 said:

Wow, now that’s a chart. 53% of shots at the rim, 44% of shots from three, and only 3% from mid-range. Taking less than one mid-range shot a game.  No wonder there offensive efficiency is through the roof.

I’d be curious to see how that compares to ‘Bama or our ranked Bulls team.

Here is comparison to Oats UB 2018-19; Oats Alabama (2022-23) and UB (2022-23)

The percent of 3pt attempts to total is about the same for Oats and NW Mo St.  NW Mo St has even fewer far 2s than Oats. Maybe at D1 level you have to attempt a few more Far 2's as you have more size down low than at D2.

[trueblue32]

I have no idea how this is calculated but the Massey Ratings has a composite ranking of all basketball teams across divisions. NW Missouri was #126 this past season while UB was #181.

https://masseyratings.com/cb/ncaa/ratings

2022: 131

2021: 106

I'm not sure what year that quote from the Lipscomb coach was about NW Missouri being a top-100 team nationally, but it doesn't appear far fetched.

 

[MuchMany]

Come on ADMA, let's wrap this thing up before the weekend. I'm getting a touch nervous that we didn't land McCollum on his visit.

The stats and strategy discussion is exciting, but his philosophy is just as intriguing to me. He outright refuses to recruit "moody" players or "energy vampires" as he calls them. That would be quite a change for our roster (and fanbase 😂). From the fantastic 2021 profile of him in The Athletic:

Quote

On the bus ride home, McCollum called his mom, Mary Timko. He told her he was going to quit. He just wasn’t cut out to coach. He’d been selected to coach his alma mater at age 27, after just four years of experience as an assistant at Emporia State. Now he was failing in the most important part of coaching: getting through to players. And he was letting down his school. It was time to return to his original plan of working in the financial world.

Timko did what moms do. She tried to get him to settle down. Don’t quit just yet. And she asked what happened. He told her about the great scout, and how his team played frustrated.

“What did you say to them when they were frustrated?” she asked.

“I said, ‘Stop! Stop playing so frustrated.’ What do you think I told them?”

“Oh,” McCollum remembers blurting out after he heard himself. “I was infecting them with my bad energy.”

McCollum had stumbled upon one of the greatest lessons he’d learn as a coach: Be the change you want to see in others. He decided to turn into Mr. Positivity and eliminate the negativity in his program. He benched one of his starters who was putting off bad vibes. He embraced his inner Ted Lasso. And it worked. Nine days later, the Bearcats pushed the best team in the league. It was a loss, but the progress was evident. 

They finished that season winning five of their final seven games. The next season, with essentially the same roster that had gone 10-16, the Bearcats won the MIAA and made the NCAA Tournament. They’ve won the league every year but once since. 

The formula, McCollum will tell you, starts with the program’s culture. That’s every coach’s favorite buzzword, only McCollum has taken some drastic steps that most coaches would envy but be scared to actually adopt. For one, he refuses to recruit anyone without a positive outlook. He calls them energy vampires. With every recruit, he asks the people around that player if they are moody. Doesn’t matter the talent, he stays away if the answer is yes.

“I’ve learned to understand that I’m not that special,” he says. “And so once you kind of get over yourself and realize the importance lies in everybody else around you, then you get pretty good.”

 

[UBinMD]

59 minutes ago, MuchMany said:

Come on ADMA, let's wrap this thing up before the weekend. I'm getting a touch nervous that we didn't land McCollum on his visit.

The stats and strategy discussion is exciting, but his philosophy is just as intriguing to me. He outright refuses to recruit "moody" players or "energy vampires" as he calls them. That would be quite a change for our roster (and fanbase 😂). From the fantastic 2021 profile of him in The Athletic:

 

Damn, I want to play for this guy!

[Jeseph]

You guys have me SOLD on McCollum. Can you do the same for Cohen now? I feel like the pedigree is there but as an associate/assistant we don't know as much as what he brings to the table as a program leader.

[UBinMD]

13 minutes ago, Jeseph said:

You guys have me SOLD on McCollum. Can you do the same for Cohen now? I feel like the pedigree is there but as an associate/assistant we don't know as much as what he brings to the table as a program leader.

I did my Cohen breakdown a week or so a go. Not sure if want to scroll back.😂

Edited March 24, 2023 by UBinMD

[MuchMany]

43 minutes ago, UBinMD said:

Damn, I want to play for this guy!

I'll still be thrilled with Cohen, but I'm basketball smitten with this guy to the point I'll follow his career regardless of where he ends up.

It's to the point I'm combing the NWMO roster for guys who might make the jump with him. Can I interest anyone in a Bennett Stirtz, 6'4 freshman PG who led them in minutes and shot 60/44/84 on good volume? 

[Jeseph]

3 minutes ago, MuchMany said:

I'll still be thrilled with Cohen, but I'm basketball smitten with this guy to the point I'll follow his career regardless of where he ends up.

It's to the point I'm combing the NWMO roster for guys who might make the jump with him. Can I interest anyone in a Bennett Stirtz, 6'4 freshman PG who led them in minutes and shot 60/44/84 on good volume? 

If you make the jump from DII I think you just have to grow interesting facial hair and take on the gritty "average joe" persona to make it work.

[bullsbball]

With it taking this long, you have to figure it no longer is McCollum . We shouldn't have to wait for his kids to be in college to get him to decide.

Edited March 24, 2023 by bullsbball

[DocCas86]

Idk, a couple days to talk over the opportunity with your family / friends, and mull it over yourself doesn't seem like an unreasonable amount of time.  That said, I am right there with everybody in wanting an answer...hoping we hear mid afternoon.

🤞

[MuchMany]

Just now, DocCas86 said:

Idk, a couple days to talk over the opportunity with your family / friends, and mull it over yourself doesn't seem like an unreasonable amount of time.  That said, I am right there with everybody in wanting an answer...hoping we hear mid afternoon.

🤞

I'm with ya. Also thinking (hoping) they want to get Cohen in Buffalo for a visit once the X-Men lose. Should be this weekend. Then hopefully they choose the best fit from between those two and we have a new head coach by Monday. 🤘

[Jeseph]

6 minutes ago, DocCas86 said:

Idk, a couple days to talk over the opportunity with your family / friends, and mull it over yourself doesn't seem like an unreasonable amount of time.  That said, I am right there with everybody in wanting an answer...hoping we hear mid afternoon.

🤞

The post-interview quiet period reminds me of the stretch right before Rob Lanier signed with Georgia State. I guess the difference here is that outside of UMass fans we don't really have much evidence that McCollum is being targeted elsewhere?

[everlast2504]

12 minutes ago, MuchMany said:

I'm with ya. Also thinking (hoping) they want to get Cohen in Buffalo for a visit once the X-Men lose. Should be this weekend. Then hopefully they choose the best fit from between those two and we have a new head coach by Monday. 🤘

In situations like this once you find your guy your don. Wait and see if the next guy is better could make UB losing out on both. 

[MuchMany]

9 minutes ago, Jeseph said:

The post-interview quiet period reminds me of the stretch right before Rob Lanier signed with Georgia State. I guess the difference here is that outside of UMass fans we don't really have much evidence that McCollum is being targeted elsewhere?

Not evidence, but I've seen some chatter that if/when Grant McCasland moves from North Texas to Texas Tech after their NIT run, McCollum would be the Mean Green's ideal candidate. Would fit their defense first DNA. 

1 minute ago, everlast2504 said:

In situations like this once you find your guy your don. Wait and see if the next guy is better could make UB losing out on both. 

How do you know he's your guy when the next guy who hasn't interviewed yet may actually be your guy? 

[121Merrimac]

Could easily be a bit of both.  Coach A wants time with fam, and School wants time for coach B.  The sky isn't necessarily falling.

[DaBulls99]

10 minutes ago, MuchMany said:

Not evidence, but I've seen some chatter that if/when Grant McCasland moves from North Texas to Texas Tech after their NIT run, McCollum would be the Mean Green's ideal candidate. Would fit their defense first DNA. 

How do you know he's your guy when the next guy who hasn't interviewed yet may actually be your guy? 

Most likely the Associate HC at North Texas will get the gig. Will be a huge push locally for that, but anything can happen for sure. 

[stevenpub]

Hey, folks. 

I hope you don't mind hearing from a Northwest Missouri State University graduate here. I apologize in advance for the length. I bolded a couple of TL;DR passages. 

It doesn't sound like I need to spend a lot of time selling you on Ben McCollum; and truthfully, I probably couldn't bring myself to do it. Losing him (and I realize it will, at some point, become inevitable) is going to hurt.

But this is what I wanted to say to you.

If we are going to lose Ben, I feel strongly that THIS is the job. It's a perfect fit for him and the school. He never brought Division I talent to Maryville. But he helped develop one (Ryan Hawkins) into a guy who took his COVID year to help lead Creighton to the NCAA Tournament and another (Trevor Hudgins) who signed a two-way deal with the Houston Rockets. 

I never got the sense that he was even looking at how many stars a kid had. He wants kids capable of running his system. Toughness on defense. Good shooters on offense. And intelligent on both ends. I suspect ALL KINDS of those kids fall through the cracks on the east coast as schools hunt for the next freak athlete. 

I cannot promise you he would stay forever, but I know he stayed in Maryville longer than I ever thought he would. 

He turned over his entire starting lineup after between the first and second national championship. He didn't leave when all five starters were gone from the title team. He rebuilt and won another national championship two years later. COVID cost him one, but he picked up his third the following year.

He lost Ryan Hawkins to Creighton after that one. That would have been another reason to leave. But he stayed. 

And won his fourth the following year before losing Trevor Hudgins to the Houston Rockets. 

He had to leave at that point. But he stayed. 

I know this guy, like all of us, is going to do what is right for his family. And that could mean taking a higher paying job at some point. But I genuinely believe that he is just as likely to decide that a healthy environment is more important for his family than a bigger paycheck. 

Thank you for indulging me. Good luck in your search.

 

[JoeyRattlesnake]

Chiming in for the first time, and apologize if it's been said before... a Ben McCollum hire would feel awfully Lance Leipold-ish.  Established, middle-aged guy with tremendous success at a lower level.  We can only hope it yields similar results.  His absence of D1 coaching experience at any level is a bit concerning, but I remain steadfast that the only way to have success at a mid-major level, like UB, is to hire rising stars.  You've got to hope for a few years of excellence while the young coach establishes themselves, rinse and repeat.  Hiring veteran coaches with .500 records will get you... well, .500 records.  And ain't nobody got time for that.

 

Go Bulls

[dutchcountry7]

On 3/13/2023 at 2:29 PM, DooleyBull06 said:

Doubt Oats would let Hodgson interview while trying to make a title run.

You're right.  Under normal situations...

On 3/14/2023 at 11:40 AM, DooleyBull06 said:

Wow I stand corrected about coaches interviewing.

Both of Alabama's assistants interviewing during their tournament run is because Alabama is cleaning house due to the PR issues of their murder.  As a result, the staff members responsible for recruiting and monitoring the activities of the players have been asked to seek other employment.  They will be supported as they move on if they move on willingly.  This allows Oats and the administration to point to the changes when supporters question the program.  "We made changes to address the culture problem."  They are keeping them on to not disrupt the tournament run, which is also why they never too action against the players and treated it like it wasn't a big deal.

On 3/17/2023 at 11:21 AM, Bluebird96 said:

If you’re Hodgson, do you get bigger offers than just UB if Alabama gets to the Final 4 and maybe even wins the title?  Even realizing he’s never been a HC before, but I would think he’d draw interest from bigger names than UB if they make a deep run but I could be wrong

Yes, probably.  

On 3/18/2023 at 1:07 PM, MuchMany said:

I don't think it was ever going to be Hodgson. Too much baggage from the last go 'round and maybe too much baggage from the current 'Bama situation.

Correct. 

On 3/18/2023 at 10:04 AM, Bluebird96 said:

The same Arkansas State who went 13-20 in the Sun Belt (10-20 vs D1 opponents) with a 288 Kenpom ranking?  So much for my theory that Hodgson might be getting offers from bigger fish than UB 😂

You take what you can get when you need to move quickly.

[UB Horns Up]

I would be very concerned that university athletics department spends $500,000 to have Jim Whitesell to go away only to hire a Division 2 head basketball coach what’s the point? Regardless of how successful the coach is. Division I has NIL and transfer portals now so it’s not the same equivalent to Lance Leipold. Just because UB got lucky with Nate Oats doesn’t mean you should keep going that route. Ben McCollum has no ties to Buffalo and we see how Lance Leipold turned out his wife wanted out of Western New York. You don’t build a stable athletics department this way. Going on the cheap maybe hitting lightning in a bottle for a year or two then coach runs away. The local connection helps we lost a good one in Bryan Hodgeson. I hope it’s not McCollum he would be one foot out the door before he got here. Either we want him gone Jim Whitesell or McCollum or his wife wants back to the Midwest. Reggie Witherspoon was a ECC head coach that worked out horribly.

I am glad the St Bonaventure Bonnies basketball spend the money on a basketball coach so we don’t have to go through this nonsense every few years with them. I think it’s sad UB athletics is begging a Division II basketball coach to accept the UB Bulls head coaching job? BSF plan how about get off your knees and spend $2 million dollars a year hire Bonnies Mark Schmidt that is a better UB athletics long term plan. You get a great proven successful head coach and you knock down a Western New York opponent in the sports turf battle. That is smart plan because you want UB to be the king of Western New York that is what you do. But UB isn’t a contender there a pretender even in Western New York circles fans see UB isn’t serious about athletics not spending the money to get a Mark Schmidt a proven head coach. Just more bull from UB athletics the New York Public Powerhouse that can’t even win a sports turf battle in there own backyard never mind the nation. Trying to get to a Power 5 Conference with a Division II basketball coach is the same messed up idea. As hiring “Mr. Wonderful” Danny White we change our name to New York Bulls with NYBI we are sure to get to a Big Ten Conference bid we have the New York name the Big Ten Conference will be begging UB because there New York now what could go wrong? UB athletics is ridiculous always a get rich quick scheme being cheap with no game plan in my opinion. UB Horns Up! Go Bulls! Let’s Go Bulls 

Edited March 24, 2023 by UB Horns Up

[Jeseph]

1 hour ago, MuchMany said:

Not evidence, but I've seen some chatter that if/when Grant McCasland moves from North Texas to Texas Tech after their NIT run, McCollum would be the Mean Green's ideal candidate. Would fit their defense first DNA. 

How do you know he's your guy when the next guy who hasn't interviewed yet may actually be your guy? 

Somewhat unrelated but man do I envy UNT. Gained a lot of respect for them in our hard earned victory down there and have really been impressed with their program since that point (friends with a booster so it's been easy to follow).

[UB Horns Up]

7 minutes ago, JoeyRattlesnake said:

Chiming in for the first time, and apologize if it's been said before... a Ben McCollum hire would feel awfully Lance Leipold-ish.  Established, middle-aged guy with tremendous success at a lower level.  We can only hope it yields similar results.  His absence of D1 coaching experience at any level is a bit concerning, but I remain steadfast that the only way to have success at a mid-major level, like UB, is to hire rising stars.  You've got to hope for a few years of excellence while the young coach establishes themselves, rinse and repeat.  Hiring veteran coaches with .500 records will get you... well, .500 records.  And ain't nobody got time for that.

 

Go Bulls

It isn’t the same there are a lot more Division I basketball schools over 300 than Division I football schools over 100. Ben McCollum isn’t that young he is middle aged. John Beilein had connections here and plus Canisius College was in no position to be picky with the low money they were offering. This UB candidate Ben McCollum is more a Canisius College replacing Reggie Witherspoon candidate than a UB candidate. But UB spends like Canisius College so here we are. John Beilein also had Buffalo Memorial Auditorium and no NIL or transfer portals to deal with. UB spending $500,000 only to hire potentially a Division II basketball coach with no area ties and no understanding of the UB program is concerning. Nate Oats started as a assistant to Bobby Hurley so he had a understanding of the workings of a Division I UB Bulls basketball program so it isn’t the same.

UB Bulls basketball went from the top of the mountain in the lowly MAC basketball to begging Division II coaches wonderful what could go wrong? UB is taking all the risk on the potential Ben McCollum hire I say no if it was my choice which it isn’t. The Ben McCullom is just a wreck less potential hire because of cancel culture around UB and some of the UB Donors anything but Alabama basketball insanity you don’t run a winning big time Division I basketball program like that. But what do I know I was only in Division I college basketball with the Canisius Golden Griffins in my opinion. UB Horns Up! Go Bulls! Let’s Go Buffalo 

[C1ubP1fanaticM7]

20 minutes ago, UB Horns Up said:

It isn’t the same there are a lot more Division I basketball schools over 300 than Division I football schools over 100. Ben McCollum isn’t that young he is middle aged. John Beilein had connections here and plus Canisius College was in no position to be picky with the low money they were offering. This UB candidate Ben McCollum is more a Canisius College replacing Reggie Witherspoon candidate than a UB candidate. But UB spends like Canisius College so here we are. John Beilein also had Buffalo Memorial Auditorium and no NIL or transfer portals to deal with. UB spending $500,000 only to hire potentially a Division II basketball coach with no area ties and no understanding of the UB program is concerning. Nate Oats started as a assistant to Bobby Hurley so he had a understanding of the workings of a Division I UB Bulls basketball program so it isn’t the same.

UB Bulls basketball went from the top of the mountain in the lowly MAC basketball to begging Division II coaches wonderful what could go wrong? UB is taking all the risk on the potential Ben McCollum hire I say no if it was my choice which it isn’t. The Ben McCullom is just a wreck less potential hire because of cancel culture around UB and some of the UB Donors anything but Alabama basketball insanity you don’t run a winning big time Division I basketball program like that. But what do I know I was only in Division I college basketball with the Canisius Golden Griffins in my opinion. UB Horns Up! Go Bulls! Let’s Go Buffalo 

Is it a joke that you end every post with “ Go Bulls! Let’s Go Buffalo,” because the dichotomy between that ending statement, and the negativity of every one of your posts is incredibly humorous. It’s stand-up comic worthy 

[everlast2504]

26 minutes ago, UB Horns Up said:

It isn’t the same there are a lot more Division I basketball schools over 300 than Division I football schools over 100. Ben McCollum isn’t that young he is middle aged. John Beilein had connections here and plus Canisius College was in no position to be picky with the low money they were offering. This UB candidate Ben McCollum is more a Canisius College replacing Reggie Witherspoon candidate than a UB candidate. But UB spends like Canisius College so here we are. John Beilein also had Buffalo Memorial Auditorium and no NIL or transfer portals to deal with. UB spending $500,000 only to hire potentially a Division II basketball coach with no area ties and no understanding of the UB program is concerning. Nate Oats started as a assistant to Bobby Hurley so he had a understanding of the workings of a Division I UB Bulls basketball program so it isn’t the same.

UB Bulls basketball went from the top of the mountain in the lowly MAC basketball to begging Division II coaches wonderful what could go wrong? UB is taking all the risk on the potential Ben McCollum hire I say no if it was my choice which it isn’t. The Ben McCullom is just a wreck less potential hire because of cancel culture around UB and some of the UB Donors anything but Alabama basketball insanity you don’t run a winning big time Division I basketball program like that. But what do I know I was only in Division I college basketball with the Canisius Golden Griffins in my opinion. UB Horns Up! Go Bulls! Let’s Go Buffalo 

I would say a top flight DII coach is better then a low major head coach.  

Oats was a high school math teacher before UB...

Area ties don't mean much. There like bonus points at the end of a test.

I have no idea what your pont is about cancel culture.

[MuchMany]

1 hour ago, stevenpub said:

Hey, folks. 

I hope you don't mind hearing from a Northwest Missouri State University graduate here. I apologize in advance for the length. I bolded a couple of TL;DR passages. 

It doesn't sound like I need to spend a lot of time selling you on Ben McCollum; and truthfully, I probably couldn't bring myself to do it. Losing him (and I realize it will, at some point, become inevitable) is going to hurt.

But this is what I wanted to say to you.

If we are going to lose Ben, I feel strongly that THIS is the job. It's a perfect fit for him and the school. He never brought Division I talent to Maryville. But he helped develop one (Ryan Hawkins) into a guy who took his COVID year to help lead Creighton to the NCAA Tournament and another (Trevor Hudgins) who signed a two-way deal with the Houston Rockets. 

I never got the sense that he was even looking at how many stars a kid had. He wants kids capable of running his system. Toughness on defense. Good shooters on offense. And intelligent on both ends. I suspect ALL KINDS of those kids fall through the cracks on the east coast as schools hunt for the next freak athlete. 

I cannot promise you he would stay forever, but I know he stayed in Maryville longer than I ever thought he would. 

He turned over his entire starting lineup after between the first and second national championship. He didn't leave when all five starters were gone from the title team. He rebuilt and won another national championship two years later. COVID cost him one, but he picked up his third the following year.

He lost Ryan Hawkins to Creighton after that one. That would have been another reason to leave. But he stayed. 

And won his fourth the following year before losing Trevor Hudgins to the Houston Rockets. 

He had to leave at that point. But he stayed. 

I know this guy, like all of us, is going to do what is right for his family. And that could mean taking a higher paying job at some point. But I genuinely believe that he is just as likely to decide that a healthy environment is more important for his family than a bigger paycheck. 

Thank you for indulging me. Good luck in your search.

 

 

22 hours ago, Alfred33 said:

I live in Maryville, MO, home of Northwest Missouri State University. I see the questions, so I thought I'd give a little insight on what you will see offensively if Ben becomes your next coach. They don't play fast, but they play efficient. NWMSU has led or been near the top of all levels of college basketball in offensive efficiency the last several years... points per possession. You will see a lot of player and ball movement, ball screens, and some isolations when there are mismatches. NWMSU's scoring has typically come from getting to the basket and/or making 3s... you don't see a lot of mid range shots taken. They will take the break off of a turnover or a long rebound if it's there, but they don't really attempt to push the ball off of made baskets. You will probably never see a guy come down the court and immediately pull up off the dribble, but that doesn't mean his teams are always trying to run clock... they'll take an early shot if it's a good shot. He doesn't want players turning down shots or penetration when its available. I've always been kind of a push the ball guy... play fast, but NW plays with some of the prettiest unselfish ball movement that makes it just as fun to watch. He's had exceptional point guards that can score and control the pace during his time in Maryville, so that will probably be a key for him to make happen wherever he lands. On the defensive end, his teams always guard hard... the intensity and intelligence that his teams play defense with is exceptional. We hate to lose him, but it is inevitable that we will... you're getting a good one if he ends up as your coach.

 

Thanks both for the insight. Any chance we could get you to transfer in as fans if Coach McCollum ends up here? 😂