@ajcsaluki Good post! We can only hope that Coach Nagy has a good 5-10 year run and has us dancing! We need to be relevant again, but it's gonna cost all of us die-hard basketball fans some NIL money!
I think it was good hire and I really like the guy. Kids love offense. Let's get behind coach.
https://twitter.com/petethamel/status/1773900480491520095?s=46&t=7s0hTttieSER8wqRSA0LoA
That’s a nice move for Calhoun and explains why it took Leonard a little longer to sign someone, assuming Calhoun was a candidate. Sprinkle was making bank at USU so that’s a huge raise for Calhoun that SIU probably couldn’t match.
https://twitter.com/petethamel/status/1773900480491520095?s=46&t=7s0hTttieSER8wqRSA0LoA
That’s a nice move for Calhoun and explains why it took Leonard a little longer to sign someone, assuming Calhoun was a candidate. Sprinkle was making bank at USU so that’s a huge raise for Calhoun that SIU probably couldn’t match.
Read a good column today by a columnist for one of the Utah papers about how Utah State has become a pit stop for coaches who take the job, win big and move on after a year or two. Will be interesting to see if Calhoun, if he also wins, stays a bit longer. Then again, a lot of coaching jobs are becoming pit stops.
Rumor is that Chris Mack is going to College of Charleston. Question is if it is the real Chris Mack or the joker who posted on Twitter as Chris Mack that he was the new head coach at Vanderbilt?
Good Luck Coach Nagy.
I know he took a lot of shit on here but Tim Leonard deserves props for this search. He interviewed a bunch of high quality candidates like Preston Spradlin and Jerrod Calhoun that went to James Madison and Utah State. We had Spradlin locked up the week of his Tournament game and he backed out, that would have been a home run hire for SIU.
And Leonard never interviewed a bad candidate throughout the process (as far as we know) and even after Spradlin spurned them, he still ended up with a pretty good coach.
I agree with you. It was definitely a little stressful. It will be interesting to see who is brought on as assistants, who he can convince to drop from the portal and stay, and who he can recruit from the portal or high school. He has stated that he will not poach his former school which is a class act on his part. The next month should be interesting and hopefully less stressful for the Saluki faithful than the last three weeks.
@freedawg while I agree they do have a number of players in the portal we could take
I know he took a lot of shit on here but Tim Leonard deserves props for this search. He interviewed a bunch of high quality candidates like Preston Spradlin and Jerrod Calhoun that went to James Madison and Utah State. We had Spradlin locked up the week of his Tournament game and he backed out, that would have been a home run hire for SIU.
And Leonard never interviewed a bad candidate throughout the process (as far as we know) and even after Spradlin spurned them, he still ended up with a pretty good coach.
This.
If you go strictly based on resume, Leonard just pulled off the best basketball hire SIU has made since I’ve been a fan, about 30 years.
The hate he took on social media and by some on here was unjustified.
I’m feeling pretty good about the future of the department with him at the helm.
That is a tough stance to take and one I BOTH 100% understand but do not necessarily agree with. There was a time not that long ago, due to personal circumstances, when I simply could not afford to donate to SIU/SIU Athletics. Luckily, things have changed and I am not able to support the school and program (if I so choose), but I don't think that now allows my opinion to be more valid. That being said, again I agree with you that people should seriously consider donating if they can.
I realize this may not be a popular statement, but it's true............... I will donate more if I feel like they did their due diligence and hire a coach that can help bring the program back to the top of the Valley and/or postseason.
I whole heartedly understand your prior situation. I'm happy that things have changed for the better for you, and yours. It is never easy.
Questions: after listening/watching the press conference, do you feel due diligence was done? How are you feeling?
Yours truly is being cautiously optimistic. This is based solely on my enthusiastic reaction when Coach Mullins was hired. Driving home from Spring Break prompted me to stop at the SIU basketball office and drop off a check for $500.00 for men's basketball. Purchasing season tickets and SASF occurred in June of that year. I certainly hope for the best with Coach Nagy.
GO DAWGS!!!
I know he took a lot of shit on here but Tim Leonard deserves props for this search. He interviewed a bunch of high quality candidates like Preston Spradlin and Jerrod Calhoun that went to James Madison and Utah State. We had Spradlin locked up the week of his Tournament game and he backed out, that would have been a home run hire for SIU.
And Leonard never interviewed a bad candidate throughout the process (as far as we know) and even after Spradlin spurned them, he still ended up with a pretty good coach.
The process was kind of like making sausage -- probably best that we didn't know everything that went into it, but the outcome was more than palatable.
The fact that Spradlin and Calhoun just landed gigs with schools that made the NCAA tournament says something about the quality of this search. Leonard also is to be commended for sticking to his high standards and pivoting quickly to Nagy when Spradlin fell through (it's not unusual for ADs to call and ask another coach for opinions on candidates, then for the AD to ask, "Well, would you be interested?" or for the coach to say, "You know, I wouldn't mind being considered").
Finally, at the risk of being less than civil and poking a hibernating bear, I also take a bit of satisfaction that a certain provocateur who made borderline libelous statements about Leonard, then spent hours baselessly insisting that the deal with Nagy had fallen through at the last minute, was dead wrong. He seems to have disappeared for the past two days. Hope he's enjoying eating his crow, topped with a generous helping of Barry's BBQ sauce.
Agree as well. It certainly appears that Spradlin says all the right things, and uses buzz words that folks want to hear. Could absolutely see SIU in the same exact position a year or two from now if said coach was hired, and found instant success. My guess is he covets the University of Kentucky job. I like the stability that Coach Nagy appears to be bringing.
That is a tough stance to take and one I BOTH 100% understand but do not necessarily agree with. There was a time not that long ago, due to personal circumstances, when I simply could not afford to donate to SIU/SIU Athletics. Luckily, things have changed and I am not able to support the school and program (if I so choose), but I don't think that now allows my opinion to be more valid. That being said, again I agree with you that people should seriously consider donating if they can.
I realize this may not be a popular statement, but it's true............... I will donate more if I feel like they did their due diligence and hire a coach that can help bring the program back to the top of the Valley and/or postseason.
I whole heartedly understand your prior situation. I'm happy that things have changed for the better for you, and yours. It is never easy.
Questions: after listening/watching the press conference, do you feel due diligence was done? How are you feeling?
Yours truly is being cautiously optimistic. This is based solely on my enthusiastic reaction when Coach Mullins was hired. Driving home from Spring Break prompted me to stop at the SIU basketball office and drop off a check for $500.00 for men's basketball. Purchasing season tickets and SASF occurred in June of that year. I certainly hope for the best with Coach Nagy.
GO DAWGS!!!
Appreciate your comments. I DO feel like they did their due diligence with the hiring process. I was bummed we didn't get Spradlin at first but agree with the argument that he possibly would have left in just a few years. I am happy with the hire, although I don't necessarily see it as a Grand Slam. I do think, however, that with the right staff he could be very good here and isn't likely to chase the next job. I was hoping he would take 1-2 of the players that were on Wirght State (the ones I mentioned previously), but i find it very respectful that he doesn't want to poach. I also, PERSONALLY speaking, LOVE that he is into his Faith/Service to others.
With that I did give to the NIL and plan on giving more. I am excited, and anxious, to see the staff and players we decide to sign and/or bring back (Ebube, this means you).
I agree with all the comments regarding what Naby needs to do very quickly. But I also feel as though this is the time for Howard to show is his good recruiter rep...or not. I have always believed that judging him the recruits that came in during his first year. Takes time to establish relationships, etc. What happened this fall...I have no idea. Could be many kids did not want to play in the "style of play" at SIU, could be the previous staff wanted to focus on the portal...I don't know. But this is Howard's time to shine. Although even if he has succeeded in selling some recruits, he now has to sell the on the new coach.
