The New BB Coach Shout Out

In his favor, Sendek's protégée (Sean Miller) is doing well at Ariz.
 
Say it together: Hoibee!!!!

Probably could get him at a low price. His offense is more predictable and less inspirational than Barnes, if that is possible.
 
Aren't we past new assistant coaches? Or is he talking about paying ushers to have access to the stairs leading to your seats?
 
AAS Pay:
Texas athletic director Steve Patterson is inclined to keep men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes for another season, one source familiar with the situation told the American-Statesman late Thursday.

However, Patterson wants Barnes to make changes, the source said. It’s likely that includes forcing Barnes, who is fiercely loyal, to change his coaching staff.

If Barnes is unwilling to make any changes, then Patterson is prepared to fire Barnes altogether, the source said.

“Steve wants changes to be made. He wants to see improvement,” the source said. “If we don’t get those changes, (Patterson) will have to make a change.”

Barnes did not return two phone messages left by the American-Statesman on Thursday.

Patterson and Barnes have met face-to-face twice in recent days, the source said. It’s unclear how those meetings have gone, though.

Barnes, the winningest coach in Texas men’s basketball history, currently has a contract that runs through March 2019. He was given an extension after last season, although it was widely considered to be cosmetic for recruiting purposes.

Barnes’ base package was $2.55 million this season. He also earned another $125,000 bonus just for making the NCAA tournament. The Longhorns were ranked sixth nationally in early December but ultimately slipped out of the polls and finished tied for sixth in the Big 12 standings.

The timing of Patterson and Barnes’ discussions — and the AD’s demands — come at a critical point on the calendar. If Patterson chose to fire Barnes now, the coach is due $1.75 million. However, that number drops to $1.5 million on April 1, according to the terms of Barnes’ contract obtained by the Statesman.

Other sources have told the Statesman that the $250,000 difference wouldn’t stop Patterson from making a change, if the AD felt that was in the program’s best interest.

Multiple sources at various university levels have said the decision rests solely with Patterson, who has not indicated publicly how he feels.

Barnes has a 604-314 career record in 28 seasons. He’s the winningest coach in Texas history with 402 victories in 17 seasons. The 60-year-old North Carolina native is widely credited with leading Texas basketball to an elite level, which included reaching the 2003 Final Four and generating 10 first-round NBA draft picks.

But the Horns have struggled in the postseason for years. Texas hasn’t been to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAAs since 2008. This year’s team is arguably one of the most disappointing in Barnes’ tenure. Texas finished 20-14 and was knocked out of the NCAAs by Butler in the second round.

Assistant coach Rob Lanier coached alongside Barnes from 1999-2001, then left to become a head coach and ultimately came back to Austin in 2011. Russell Springman has been on Barnes’ staff since 2001. Chris Ogden played for Barnes and then joined his staff in 2008.​
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I am surprised Barnes was not already contemplating bringing in someone new to work on shooting/offense. I like the move by Patterson. It is a middle way between do nothing and firing. The ball is in Barnes' court now. I am no fan of Patterson, but if the report is accurate, the request is more than reasonable.

(I am assuming Patterson wants to bring in someone with a different offensive mindset. Nothing defensively needs to be changed.)

Also good news everyone! WVU scored fewer points than us both against kentucky and in the tournament. They didnt even break 40 points. (This part of the post was meant as a joke)
 
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These types of reports are hard to interpret. Is Patterson asking for general change or is he dictating specific personnel changes. If its a specific person or people then Barnes is being put in a corner. If its up to Barnes then thats pretty weak and easy to fulfill.
 
I am hoping that Barnes will remain fiercely loyal as he always has, then that will open the door for Patterson to clean house all together which is what should be done anyway!
 
caryhorn said:
Lon Kruger just coached ou to the sweet 16. Kruger is the only coach to take teams from four different schools to the Sweet 16.

Would Kruger be an upgrade over Barnes? I think its a tossup. An argument can be made either way. I think its clear he's done a better job this year than Rick. But that doesn't mean Kruger is an upgrade. I think Kruger would get us back to the Sweet 16 or further sooner than Rick, at this point. But Kruger is not on my list of coaches I'd like to see come here.
Click to expand...
Kruger is a massive upgrade. He does a thing called "coaching".
 
As far as changing assistant coaches it just delays the inevitable and wastes time. I've seen that many times where the assistants are blamed and yet they still wind up with new head coach within a year or two.
 
247 Sports says he is most likely gone. This gives everybody cover if true. Patterson can say he didn't meet my demands. Barnes can say he is loyal to his assistants and won't fire them to save his job. So he resigns or retires.

Patterson can drag this out for a few more days and save the 250 grand on the contract buyout, by waiting till the first of April.

Expecting-a-change-at-Texas-36439238.
 
I don't blame Barnes for standing by his assistants if he's been ordered to axe them. It's ultimately his decision to fill his staff with people he thinks will work well in Austin.

For one reason or another, Lanier didn't help as much as everyone thought he would. He helped the team chemistry up to a point, which was his primary function when we got rid of McClellan, Lewis, etc., but I think there was a noticeable gap between "chemistry" and "on-court execution" these past couple seasons. Sometimes, you just have to have the leaders/talent to make it happen. Everyone thought Holmes would be that guy, but he's just a role player at best. Then, everyone thought Taylor coming back from injury would be the guy, but he was just a "75 percent" version of his best self, if that. No one else took the reins, although we saw spurts of Felix trying to (typically with decent three-point shooting and inexplicable decision making).

I've never liked Ogden, especially hearing the stories about his Avery Bradley recruitment. How he bet the farm on a kid that we knew would only be with us for a year and cost valuable recruiting time elsewhere. I can't say much for his X's or O's strategy, but his off-court tactics seem misguided. Springmann was just a Barnes lackey who failed as a HC elsewhere.

If Barnes had accepted Patterson's ultimatum, he'd still have to look at himself in the mirror every day. "Did I really fire three decent guys so that I could keep an extra $1 million for 2016?" I doubt it's worth it to him.
 
^ honestly, it's an upgrade from the way Mack Brown was fired.

"Hey you are coming back next year.......... just kidding."

I've never liked Ogden
Click to expand...

^ I agree. I am not sure what he brought to the table as a coach... or as a player.
 
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Interesting that Patterson is using a $70 million number. This seems to spell out that the University isn't paying for an entire arena, as a modern multipurpose facility would probably run upwards of $200 million. Hello, City of Austin partnership!
 
1. Shaka Smart
2. Gregg Marshall
3. Billy Donovan (Pipe Dream, but the best of the best IMO)

EDIT::nm, new order

i'd love coach smart and coach strong. also i'd love to have coach shaka.
 
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After the Arizona - Wisconsin game they announced the firing of Barnes and claimed both Smart and Marshal would accept the job and it was probably between the two.
 
Two things about Patterson leading this search that should be concerning...

1) He has deep NBA ties, and has clearly treated Texas sports as a professional corporation above all else....Disney consultants, season ticket holder scam, etc.

2) He will not go balls out for the best candidate in a bidding war no matter if it costs the program on the court. If the price exceeds his determined cost-effective parameters, no dice.

Be prepared for the top choices on the board (Marshall and Smart) not to be in Austin. The impact they could have on the program is a distant second in this search. This will end similar to the football coaching search. He'll find a replacement elsewhere besides the top ideal candidates. I expect him to be turning over not so appealing NBA stones as we speak.

When the NBA choices shake out and he realizes Texas fans won't be energized with the second rate pro options he found, he'll turn to someone 3rd to 5th on the list of ideal college candidates. A pretty good choice, but more importantly one he can save a $1+ mil or so per year on. Nevermind the new revenue and energy an ideal choice could bring in by taking the program to new heights.

Patterson is a cut-throat CEO, the same type that doesn't increase current expenses simply off of projected revenue increases from much greater product improvement. He'll settle for a slight winning improvement if it involves making more profit. Money trumps all with this jerk-off. We've seen it time and again in his decisions. Those wishing for Marshall or Smart, don't count on it.
 
UT's Athletic Department IS NOT pro?!! Sheesh... uh... what's their budget? Do you know how many pro sports teams don't have HALF that budget OR income?
 
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