Is Texas Hiring the Best Coach Available?

It was disturbing that Nort Texas lost 7 of their last 9 games this past season (or something similar to that number) . .
 
I don't think you can look at Aston's resume, or even how she stacks up against other Charlotte coaches, for clues as to why she was hired. Obviously there has been mention of winning 15 games vs. 5 the season before at UNT, but a losing season even given the turnaround probably didn't play much of a factor in her hire. This decision seems to be more about relationships, and her history with the program. And as far as her stints with Charlotte and UNT go, those are important only in that she spent five years as a HC, and did well at both places. No coach was going to make an NCAA championship run at either school, so that type of success is irrelevant with respect to her resume. It's more that her lack of HC experience is likley what prevented her from being considered a viable candidate in the past; now that she has that, it makes this a safer, or more justifiable decision. And in particular when combined with the other factors under consideration. In other words, they like her as a coach for a variety of reasons (toughness, recruiting ability, relationships, program history), but those traits weren't going to be enough to land her dream job without head coaching experience on her resume. And I took some of the comments in the press conference to mean she didn't necessarily understand this at the point she left Texas to join Mulkey's staff, but in hindsight she "gets it." And I guess you could say all's well that ends well because she finally has the job she's always wanted. I also think she would have been a likely candidate someday regardless, even though it's doubtful anyone expected the opening to come at this point in time. A liltle longer track record as a HC would have probably made this an easier decision, or lessened the criticism coming from some quarters, but it's the hand they were dealt by virtue of Gail's sudden, and unexpected departure. And Karen would have probably left UNT for greener pastures, and perhaps been unavailable if this had happened several years down the line. But none of that really matters because she has the job, and returns a great team to boot. And she is also done on the recruiting front through 2013, unless of course something changes between now and then. But given that we currently have 17 on the roster for the 2013-14 season, she can focus most of her attention on that all important 2014 class. We have 6 openings and there are a lot of highly ranked Texas recruits that year, most of whom are considering the Horns. There is certainly a lot of time to build, and nurture relationships, which should bode well for us.
 
I'm a bottom line person. Aston's the new coach, and I see a good bit to like about her. Solid recruiter, some solid mid-major head coaching experience, close ties with Texas high school coaches, and she brings both a UT pedigree and inside knowledge of one of the two main in-state rivals, the one that just went undefeated and won the championship.

To me, if there are any gripes about the hire, they should be directed in the direction of Chris Plonsky. I'm sure she probably talked to some other people, but just really interviewing only one coach looks from the outside like she didn't do her due diligence in this coaching search.

It's not Karen Aston's fault that no one else was interviewed, and it's more than likely, as was stated above, that Aston really was the best AVAILABLE candidate to get the head coaching job. I'd prefer to give her the benefit of the doubt starting out, rather than to try to find warts in her coaching background.
 
Well, Plonsky said she was impressed by UNT's performance in Austin this past season. Well, did she watch any of UNT's other games this season, especially toward the end of the season during that tailspin?

Again, no one is faulting Aston for accepting her dream job. But, Plonsky said a lot of things in the presser that when you think about them, leave a lot of gaps regarding the actual coaching search and job criteria . . .
 
I still don't know if you understand the point I was trying to make. Obviously, in a traditional search, Karen's resume wouldn't have even got her looked at, much less interviewed. Four years at Charlotte and one at UNT are not calling cards for the position at Texas. Her stints at both schools only matter in that they gave her head coaching experience, and that she did well enough at each to allow Texas to hire her for all of the other reasons they wanted to. As far as whether she did better or worse than someone else might have at either school is irrelevant, and there's no way any of us can make that determination anyway. The point is she did good enough, and that's what matters with respect to her selection. No question, if she had been unsuccessful at either place, she wouldn't have been considered, and that's even if there might have been good reasons for why that happened. I would guess the late season losses at UNT didn't help, but Texas likes Aston for a lot of reasons, and her time at Charlotte and UNT gave her just enough on her resume to make her a viable choice. As far as CP's comment about the Texas-UNT game is concerned, I think she was just pointing out they played us tougher than might have been expected based on the respective rosters. Now I hardly think that matters in terms of Karen's hire, but it's one of those nice things you say during an introductory press conference.
 
We might be saying the same thing.

Plonsky had zeroed in on Aston from the get-go, and she established requirements in the job posting that fit Aston's resume. She clearly didn't state "10 years head coaching experience at a D-1 school", or "NCAA tournament wins".

And, she said what she could at the presser to justify the hiring.
 
Aston may have been zeroed in on, but I don't think you can say this was solely CP's decision. As far as I know there is a committee, and in particular with respect to Aston, it would probably best be characterized as a Texas decision. Meaning that she has long term relationships here, with a lot of people, and I believe she even thanked Deloss during the press conference. So Dodds, Conradt, Plonsky and likely others were involved in this decision. And obviously they worked with her for a long time, and know her capabilities better than anyone. None of that is to say there aren't other coaches who would have been as good, or better choices, or successful here, but (as has been pointed out) none of us knows who was interested, or even available. And as I've said many times, I believe the team we have in place is going to be very successful the next several years. And I believe that would be the case no matter who was at the helm; Karen, Gail or someone else altogether. I know injuries hurt us this year, but I think we're going to be a good team next year, and championship caliber in 2013-14. That may seem like a bold statement, but I'm sticking to it; I expect us to make a Final Four or better during the 2013-14 season, assuming that everyone remains healthy, and the roster stays in tact. I guess we'll have to wait a while to see if I'm right (though I'm certain there will be someone who digs up this old thread and bumps it up if I'm not!).
 
I am going to be a glass half full guy here. Aston is coming. There is no point in whining. On the plus side - so far there have been no transfers, and the big recruits for next year - Davenport and Stafford look like they are sticking. That is a very good sign.

On the down side, I can think of at least 10 coaches with superior resumes, who should have, at least, been invited to campus, so Texas has an old white girl network hire. I think her recruiting prowess is way overblown. Elite recruiting these days is a national business. She was at Texas at a fluke peak, at Baylor the year after their first national championship. She recruited no-one who would start at Texas at either UNC Charlotte or UNT. As a head coach, she lost the only NCAA game, her team played in. As a student of Conradt, it is unlikely she can coach offense. She needs to recruit shooters and a really great point guard. Peoples looked OK but not great in the few games she played last year. I hope Davenport is better. Fussell is a great SG, but would be limited playing the point.

On paper this is a very weak hire. IN, IL and Auburn all hired much better and proven coaches this year.

But games are won on the hardwood, not on paper, and Aston has the right intangibles. She needs to win to keep her job. She is inheriting good talent, and she looks tough.

I am hoping against hope that she can maintain the Texas standard of the last 10 years, around 50/50 in the big 12 and a tournament bid nearly every year. This is not remotely a return to greatness hire, folks. It's a let's remain respectable and get lucky every now and then hire.

I will renew the season tickets and cheer for the players, believing they deserve better, but it is what it is, and I will be patient, hoping that Aston will prove me wrong, but I am not seeing any evidence that that is a possibility, except for the loyalty of current and future players to the program.
 
If that's your "glass half full" post, I'd hate to catch you on a day you're down. That's a pretty good job of damning with faint praise.
wtf.gif
 
I thought it would be interesting to look back and see how much our thoughts and opinions had changed collectively before the season starts. And I know that I for one am extremely pleased with where we are thus far. And right now Im cautiously optimistic because although I feel like the program is in a totally different (and better) place, I know that we have yet to play a game. I am most impressed by the traction that has been created on the recruiting trail and just the general buzz thats around the program right now. I dont think that coach G ever had that, even during the teams brief stint in the top 10. Do I still think she could've been successful here? Absolutely, but thats another discussion for another place. Bottom line, for the time being I would in fact call this a "Homerun" hire. Of course that cant be validated until we start seeing the W-L column, but I love the way we're headed.
 
I think the future looks very bright! We've hit some home runs with staff and recruiting. Fan and community engagement is wonderful. This year may still be tough...we've still got players with old injuries & we've got a lot of new players, but I have no doubt that the coaching staff will have them motivated, conditioned and ready to run through a wall. That is what Karen has done wherever she has been. Can't wait to watch the team show up ready to Hook 'em!
 
Imani and Davenport didn't bail which pleases me. The recruiting seems to be running well but I'm scratching my head on this recruiting. They hire Anston, she hires an AAU coach and now we start getting all these recruits.
confused.gif
 
No need to scratch your head, what Karen has done is very legal, and makes a ton of sense. I remember reading in an article recently that she was also the driving force behind Mulkey doing this at Baylor. I've been waiting for this to happen in the women's game, as it has been happening for the men for quite some time. These recruits are kids, more often than not kids want to play for someone the recognize. Whether that's someone the recognize from tv such as Geno or Kim, or someone that they recognized from playing against all summer in AAU. And not only that, George actually coached 5 of our highly touted recruits personally. So that makes perfect sense to me.
 
utfannforlife, I wasn't thinking anything illegal. I was thinking if all we had to do was to hire a AAU coach why didn't we do it sooner.
confused.gif
If that was the connection we needed why did it take so long for someone to see it and do something about it. I resolve issues for a living and if the answer was AAU coach why did it take so long to get to the answer. That's all I've been thinking thru the recruiting process.
 
Because for some reason.I think they felt GG was better!
But K.Aston is showing them the Texas 2 Step.
Hookem'
 
Some men's BB programs have hired AAU/high school coaches (I think Kansas State was one) who have strong ties to players who signed with the school that hired those coaches. I remember some people on this board complaining about it.

So, did Aston hire George because he could bring the players or because he was a good coach? Or both? Or does it matter? Would she have hired him if he couldn't bring the players? Is his usefulness over after those players graduate? OK, the last question is somewhat cynical.

In men's ball, the issue wasn't the school hiring the coach, it was the funny business that sometimes followed the hire. Many of those hires and subsequent player commitments were perfectly legal, but some weren't. I can't remember how much the NCAA investigated and proved, but there were various allegations.

Women's BB has not degenerated to the degree that men's has, but I read more and more about how some of these AAU issues are being raised in women's BB. One would presume that everything is OK with this situation. However, I must say that when I first read about how many players committed that he had coached, my first thought was about some of the funny business that seemed to happen at other schools. Frankly, I have my doubts about how things have been done with Mulkey at Baylor...but that's just me.
 
Well I certainly know that everything that has happened within our program was 100% legal. We brought in someone who had ties to some great athletes and they wanted to continue to play under him, nothing improper. Nor was anything done improper at Baylor w/ the hiring of Damion. Now I cannot speak on the recruting of Griner, but I know that for the most part things were on the up and up w/ all of the other players.
 
Oh and Cynt, to answer your question; I think GG was a bit oblivious as to how things worked her in Texas, and I also think that EVERYONE over estimated how much her name would carry on the recruiting trail. Plus coaches like GW on the recruiting circuit dont come along too often. I cant think of another instance other than DFW Elite where a coach has a roster full of ELITE D-1 prospects. And lets not forget his ties to the #2 players in the nation for 2014 in Brianna Tuner which landing her alone would make his hiring worth while. I've seen her in person, she's THAT GOOD!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Weekly Prediction Contest

* Predict HORNS-AGGIES *
Sat, Nov 30 • 6:30 PM on ABC

Recent Threads

Prediction Results Threads

2024 Schedules

Back
Top