Will Wade has been contacted...

#227
#227
k-town_king said:
You are full of it. Pearl's best year he didn't press that much.
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That's my point. We had to back off the pressing with all the suspensions and play more of a halfcourt game, and then we went further than we ever have before. Coincidence?

But how can you want White or a bunch of others but not Smart? That doesn't make any sense. His resume is great and he has name recognition. Never won less than 26 games with 4 tourneys and a Final Four. Nothing White or any other besides Howland and Marshall have done can even get close to it. And their style of play would turn off most fans who want to see uptempo ball. Not to mention Howland is damaged goods.
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Style shouldn't be an issue. If you win, fans will come.

It's just that between his reliance on pressure, some purportedly shady recruiting, and the fact that he's only been past the second round once, if I'm spending 3 million I'd rather give it to someone else. The Kansas win was huge and I can't take anything away from that, but to me it's the exception rather than the rule and it's the basis for his entire reputation.
 
#230
#230
Wanted to check out Will Wade at UTC. I gotta say, I know most of VN would freak out over this hire, but I'd be willing to see what he could do here.

Positives- He's a Nashville native and should have good ties in the region from stops at Clemson, Harvard, VCU and UTC. He got a good bit of credit for his recruiting efforts at VCU and Harvard. Helped lead VCU to 4 consecutive postseason appearances, including one F4. VCU was also 1 of only 4 teams to win 27+ games during the 4 years he was there. Worked with one of the most coveted coaches in the nation the last few off seasons at VCU for 4 years and they also worked together at Clemson. He's described as having a relentless work ethic too.

Negative- Not much experience as a HC. One year at UTC (18-15 overall and finished 2nd in league at 12-4)


Here are 3 quotes from an article on him that I found interesting:

1-For Smart, the decision to make Wade his first hire at VCU was a no-brainer.

“There’s that saying, ‘don’t work harder, work smarter.’ Well, Will works harder and smarter,” Smart said. “He struck me as the hardest working guy I knew. His attention to detail is second to none, and he’s really good at developing relationships. I knew that Will was someone we had to have on staff here.”


2-“The first thing is that Coach Smart wants to win with character kids,” Wade said. “He wants guys who are character first. We call them winning guys, whether it’s on the court or off the court. He wants to do things the right way, which always struck a chord with me.”

In addition to their similar ideals, Wade came with an impressive resume.

During Wade’s first season at Harvard, where he served as the program’s recruiting coordinator, the Crimson landed one of the top 25 classes in the country, according to ESPN.com.


3-“I’m never truly away from it,” Wade said. “I’m always thinking about it, working on something. I keep a pad next to my bed, and I might wake up at one in the morning and write something down.”


Here's the link: VCU

Do the bolded parts remind you of another coach we have now that was about our 4th or 5th choice?

1-Hardest working guy Smart knew.
-Attention to detail second to none.
-Really good at developing relationships.

2-Wants character guys first.
-Wants to do things the right way.
-Signed top 25 class at Harvard his only year as RC.

3-Always thinking about basketball and working on something.
-Keeps a pad next to his bed in case he wakes up with an idea.


Sounds eerily similar to Butch. Only difference I see is Butch has a tape recorder by his bed for ideas in the middle of the night instead of having to write them on a pad lol. Just saying.....could Hart have the job fall to the 4th or 5th candidate again and come out of it smelling like a rose? Guess we'll see. This is starting to look a lot like the football search tho.
 
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#231
#231
If y'all were worried about White leaving for Ole Miss, would you not be worried about Wade leaving Tennessee for VCU or Harvard?
 
#233
#233
bleedingTNorange said:
If y'all were worried about White leaving for Ole Miss, would you not be worried about Wade leaving Tennessee for VCU or Harvard?
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Neither one are his alma mater, so I hope you're being sarcastic. And I wouldn't worry about Clemson, since that's a worse job in a tougher conference and he's a TN native. I don't want him at this point but the only way he leaves is if we force him to leave.
 
#234
#234
bowlinggreenvol said:
Neither one are his alma mater, so I hope you're being sarcastic. And I wouldn't worry about Clemson, since that's a worse job in a tougher conference and he's a TN native. I don't want him at this point but the only way he leaves is if we force him to leave.
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Isn't Ole Miss a worse job?
 
#235
#235
VKAman said:
He must be the first coach ever to somehow go to 2 Final Fours but only one Sweet Sixteen. Must be a wizard.

Seriously, though, he and Amaker both make a living off of guys who wouldn't qualify academically for any major conference. With Amaker, it's a lot more egregious. He's already shown that he can't coach.
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Amaker makes a living off of guys that couldn't qualify elsewhere? But they qualify for Harvard?
 
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#236
#236
bleedingTNorange said:
Isn't Ole Miss a worse job?
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Possibly, but it's 60 miles from Memphis rather than 350 and White has inroads there already. My point was you used OM for White, his alma mater, and compared that to two schools that were mere jobs for Wade. White has spent almost a 1/3 of his life in Oxford and his wife is an OM alum so it's more of "home" for him.

If Wade is successful, I don't see any job that would pry him away unless it's a blue blood and that would be years down the road.
 
#237
#237
Backwards K said:
Yeah. He's a horse's rear end to deal with. He ran off 11 players in his last 4 years at UCLA, he alienated alumni and everyone in the Athletic Dept, and all of the area HS and AAU coaches hated him and wouldn't recommend their players to go there. Plus, he didn't get his team past the first round in his last 5 years at UCLA and didn't even to the tournament in two of those years. And this was at UCLA!!

Unless Howland has family members on VN posting how great he is, I don't understand the appeal.
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This sounds just like the FB coach our former AD hired..

Thank goodness Hamilton is gone or he would hire him for sure..
 
#240
#240
bowlinggreenvol said:
They have made exceptions and that's no secret. But to insinuate he's taking kids at Harvard that would otherwise in essence be destined to JUCO is asinine.
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He's taking kids at Harvard that would otherwise be nowhere near the Ivy League. Then, he dominates the Ivy League with a roster that's about a hundred times better than his competition. Given a fairly level playing field in previous stops, he's already shown that he can't coach.
 
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