This thread getss crazier every minute. Leonard will take the responsibility for this hire, good or bad. But he's no more responsible for this hire than Moccia was when Hinson was hired. This is Lane's baby.
I wonder if Spradlin has turned it down completely or he’s just waiting to see if WKU opens. I know feelings get hurt quickly in this field.
I wonder if Spradlin has turned it down completely or he’s just waiting to see if WKU opens. I know feelings get hurt quickly in this field.
I like Spradlin but you can't wait him out. If he doesn't want to be at SIU, you have to move on. The new coach is going to have an entire roster to flip and the portal is open. Getting the best possible coach is more important than next season but there's gonna need to be urgency.
I have tried to stay out of the "coach search" madness. And, I have no interest in Kyle Smithpeters either way. However, I admit some puzzlement regrading the frequent references to the 0-18 record at Missou and implying that he somehow was a reason for that record. That is like blaming any shortcomings in SIU's success on Vince Fritz. Especially since Kyle is being given some credit for the great recruiting class they have coming in next year. Apparently there are some legitimate concerns about his becoming the next HC but being a rather low ranking assistant coach in his second year on a team with and 0-18 conference record isn't one of them.
legitimate
So he gets major credit for bringing great players to Mizzou but no responsibility for their performance?
Got it.
And not sure calling him (accurately) a “rather low-ranking assistant coach” is especially confidence-inspiring.
Different assistants get different roles. It isn’t fair to give all success without placing any blame, or vice versa. But Kyle is a recruiter. Plain and simple. I’d bet money on that is his main role at Mizzou. And the recruiting has been good since he got there.
Without naming names, Not all of our assistants add much during practices. Some are here to recruit.
If Smithpeters is primarily a recruiter, which I don’t doubt, I don’t see how that at all meshes with what Leonard said he was looking for in his interviews: someone who could hold their own against the top head coaches in the league.
according to a so called source. The SMU job is open with the WKU coach wanting it. Which means our candidate wants the WKU job. So according to this source. He backed off from us! FWIW.
I'm fully aware that Spradlin is now most likely a dead end. What I was saying in response to SalukiWorld, and maybe I should've made it clearer, is that I'm not going to ASSume it's Smithpeters or Johnson until there's an official announcement, or something close to it. He stated that we have other options, and I agree -- Henderson, Calhoun, a few other rising head coaches, maybe a few Division II guys -- and something surprising still could happen, though we probably shouldn't hold our collective breath. I covered an introductory news conference many years ago when I worked in Birmingham during which Samford -- yes, the same Samford that almost beat Kansas the other day -- named a basketball coach, and the guy they introduced was a total shock who hadn't even been in the conversation as a top candidate (unfortunately, he was into Hinson-style hucksterism and was a disastrous choice). Anyway, let's see what plays out over the next few days.
Ah! The players he is being given credit for recruiting are not even on campus yet. Last year was his first so I don't think he had much to do with recruitment of the current players on the team.I have tried to stay out of the "coach search" madness. And, I have no interest in Kyle Smithpeters either way. However, I admit some puzzlement regrading the frequent references to the 0-18 record at Missou and implying that he somehow was a reason for that record. That is like blaming any shortcomings in SIU's success on Vince Fritz. Especially since Kyle is being given some credit for the great recruiting class they have coming in next year. Apparently there are some legitimate concerns about his becoming the next HC but being a rather low ranking assistant coach in his second year on a team with and 0-18 conference record isn't one of them.
legitimate
So he gets major credit for bringing great players to Mizzou but no responsibility for their performance?
Got it.
And not sure calling him (accurately) a “rather low-ranking assistant coach” is especially confidence-inspiring.
As for the the "low-ranking" comment might have been a bit harsh but the point remains...it is absurd to keep bashing an assistant coach over an SEC team's success or failure.
So...I assume you will continue to blame him for the 0-18 record?
Ah! The players he is being given credit for recruiting are not even on campus yet. Last year was his first so I don't think he had much to do with recruitment of the current players on the team.I have tried to stay out of the "coach search" madness. And, I have no interest in Kyle Smithpeters either way. However, I admit some puzzlement regrading the frequent references to the 0-18 record at Missou and implying that he somehow was a reason for that record. That is like blaming any shortcomings in SIU's success on Vince Fritz. Especially since Kyle is being given some credit for the great recruiting class they have coming in next year. Apparently there are some legitimate concerns about his becoming the next HC but being a rather low ranking assistant coach in his second year on a team with and 0-18 conference record isn't one of them.
legitimate
So he gets major credit for bringing great players to Mizzou but no responsibility for their performance?
Got it.
And not sure calling him (accurately) a “rather low-ranking assistant coach” is especially confidence-inspiring.
As for the the "low-ranking" comment might have been a bit harsh but the point remains...it is absurd to keep bashing an assistant coach over an SEC team's success or failure.
So...I assume you will continue to blame him for the 0-18 record?
If they go the Smithpeters route, I'll cheer and support him but he has to play some role in his team going 0-19 in the SEC and the optics of hiring an assistant for a team that went 0-19 won't be great nationally. Won't matter if he's the right guy and can turn this program around though
I have tried to stay out of the "coach search" madness. And, I have no interest in Kyle Smithpeters either way. However, I admit some puzzlement regrading the frequent references to the 0-18 record at Missou and implying that he somehow was a reason for that record. That is like blaming any shortcomings in SIU's success on Vince Fritz. Especially since Kyle is being given some credit for the great recruiting class they have coming in next year. Apparently there are some legitimate concerns about his becoming the next HC but being a rather low ranking assistant coach in his second year on a team with and 0-18 conference record isn't one of them.
legitimate
So he gets major credit for bringing great players to Mizzou but no responsibility for their performance?
Got it.
And not sure calling him (accurately) a “rather low-ranking assistant coach” is especially confidence-inspiring.
Different assistants get different roles. It isn’t fair to give all success without placing any blame, or vice versa. But Kyle is a recruiter. Plain and simple. I’d bet money on that is his main role at Mizzou. And the recruiting has been good since he got there.
Without naming names, Not all of our assistants add much during practices. Some are here to recruit.
If Smithpeters is primarily a recruiter, which I don’t doubt, I don’t see how that at all meshes with what Leonard said he was looking for in his interviews: someone who could hold their own against the top head coaches in the league.
Um, he was a pretty damn good HEAD COACH for John A Logan College and he’s a proven recruiter. I’m not saying he’s the guy, but he does check most of the boxes.
@ajcsaluki You are smart not to believe anything you read on here. Most of these “hot takes” are way off the mark and the conspiracy theories are downright idiotic.
Smithpeters was not “always the choice and everything else is a smokescreen.” And obviously the Chancellor did not “bring in his guy.”
Spradlin has withdrawn his name from consideration and the search is ongoing. There you go.
If SIU does hire Smithpeters/Johnson, the Mullins fans are gonna pretend that SIU didn't do a real search. I've had multiple people national and local people tell me that Spradlin to SIU was done and would be finalized on Monday. I'm guessing it was kept quiet throughout the week to not disrupt Morehead State and their game on Thursday, it's why I kept it quiet. I didn't want anything to fall apart by things leaking.
Whether it was divine intervention or the SMU job opening that led him to back out, I'm not sure. But SIU tried hard for Spradlin and thought they had it done.
Geez, all of a sudden I feel like I'm promoting Smithpeters...which I am not. I suppose the question might be "how much of a role did he play"? Not major would be my guess. I'm not sure about the optics issue. People on here might be surprised how few people nationally know about, pay any attention to, or care what SIU does. I know the optics when Herrin or Jack Hartman were hired were not great to those who paid attention to such things. Those hires worked out and the national optics caused no harm. I am in agreement with you in that I will support anyone who is hired and, if successful, none of this will matter.Ah! The players he is being given credit for recruiting are not even on campus yet. Last year was his first so I don't think he had much to do with recruitment of the current players on the team.I have tried to stay out of the "coach search" madness. And, I have no interest in Kyle Smithpeters either way. However, I admit some puzzlement regrading the frequent references to the 0-18 record at Missou and implying that he somehow was a reason for that record. That is like blaming any shortcomings in SIU's success on Vince Fritz. Especially since Kyle is being given some credit for the great recruiting class they have coming in next year. Apparently there are some legitimate concerns about his becoming the next HC but being a rather low ranking assistant coach in his second year on a team with and 0-18 conference record isn't one of them.
legitimate
So he gets major credit for bringing great players to Mizzou but no responsibility for their performance?
Got it.
And not sure calling him (accurately) a “rather low-ranking assistant coach” is especially confidence-inspiring.
As for the the "low-ranking" comment might have been a bit harsh but the point remains...it is absurd to keep bashing an assistant coach over an SEC team's success or failure.
So...I assume you will continue to blame him for the 0-18 record?
If they go the Smithpeters route, I'll cheer and support him but he has to play some role in his team going 0-19 in the SEC and the optics of hiring an assistant for a team that went 0-19 won't be great nationally. Won't matter if he's the right guy and can turn this program around though
Yup. And he is not a impartial guy. He is on a mission.This thread getss crazier every minute. Leonard will take the responsibility for this hire, good or bad. But he's no more responsible for this hire than Moccia was when Hinson was hired. This is Lane's baby.
The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.
James Madison
So if Preston Spradlin turned SIU down, how far has the program fallen?
Supporter of the Fab 4: Scottie Ebube, Foster Wonders, AJ Ferguson & Cade Hornecker.
They’re the ones that can get us where we haven’t been in 15 years.
I'm not sure about the optics issue. People on here might be surprised how few people nationally know about, pay any attention to, or care what SIU does. I know the optics when Herrin or Jack Hartman were hired were not great to those who paid attention to such things. Those hires worked out and the national optics caused no harm. I am in agreement with you in that I will support anyone who is hired and, if successful, none of this will matter.Ah! The players he is being given credit for recruiting are not even on campus yet. Last year was his first so I don't think he had much to do with recruitment of the current players on the team.I have tried to stay out of the "coach search" madness. And, I have no interest in Kyle Smithpeters either way. However, I admit some puzzlement regrading the frequent references to the 0-18 record at Missou and implying that he somehow was a reason for that record. That is like blaming any shortcomings in SIU's success on Vince Fritz. Especially since Kyle is being given some credit for the great recruiting class they have coming in next year. Apparently there are some legitimate concerns about his becoming the next HC but being a rather low ranking assistant coach in his second year on a team with and 0-18 conference record isn't one of them.
legitimate
So he gets major credit for bringing great players to Mizzou but no responsibility for their performance?
Got it.
And not sure calling him (accurately) a “rather low-ranking assistant coach” is especially confidence-inspiring.
As for the the "low-ranking" comment might have been a bit harsh but the point remains...it is absurd to keep bashing an assistant coach over an SEC team's success or failure.
So...I assume you will continue to blame him for the 0-18 record?
If they go the Smithpeters route, I'll cheer and support him but he has to play some role in his team going 0-19 in the SEC and the optics of hiring an assistant for a team that went 0-19 won't be great nationally. Won't matter if he's the right guy and can turn this program around though
Because we're invested in this situation, there's a tendency to think this hire will make SIU a national laughingstock. Fact is, it won't be much more than just a blip on the radar screen, and the stink will be much less stinky than it would be if we hired someone with a controversial past like Greggg Marshall, which probably would attract more national attention and derision.
I'm too young to remember Hartman, but I agree that Herrin's hiring was not unanimously applauded by any means, and come to think of it I'm not sure that hiring Weber set off any big celebrations, either. I wasn't following SIU that closely at the time, and the only reaction I remember from an alum was, "If he's that good, why did it take so long for him to become a head coach?" Gottfried was a very unpopular hire, as was Van Winkle, but both attracted regional attention at the most.
The national impression of SIU is more like what a neighbor said when I told him I had graduated from there, and he asked, "Hey isn't that where Bob Odenkirk went to school?" Or James Belushi, Dennis Franz, Jenny McCarthy, etc. Or people bring up the old party-school image. And I'll be just as happy if stories about things such as enrollment declines don't go national. Don't think anyone will be saying to me, "Hey, you guys just hired a coach who went winless in the SEC, blah, blah, blah."
Clearly, Smithpeters/Johnson would come across as low-rent, bargain-basement hires, and I wouldn't be wildly enthusiastic about either. But I tend to take a more nuanced look at things and would post those nuances on this board if/when the hiring becomes official. Until then, today is for sitting back, enjoying a Sierra Nevada or two and seeing who fills out the Sweet 16 field.
Imagine hiring Smithpeters and people on here actually buying we did a national search lol the Mullins heard 2 years ago boosters were offering money to buy him out and hire Smithpeters. Lots of misdirection, but you’re being bamboozled… if they hire KS you’ll never convince me they did a real search. With a real search KS wouldn’t be in the top 30 candidates.
