This thread from Danny Neckel actually decently helpful.
The ACC as a whole getting worse. Although the last two two seasons may have poisoned this years well.
Comes down simply to too many ACC programs making too many terrible coaching decisions.
- GT hiring Pastner after heād failed at Memphis thinking heād somehow be a winner in a tougher league?
- Notre Dame letting Brey hang around too long
- Syracuse letting Boeheim hang around too long
- Pitt running off Dixon and replacing him with Kevin Stallings who was bad at Vanderbilt and then Jeff Capel whoād already failed at the high-major level at OU
- Louisville with literally every decision since Pitino imploded (I still think under different circumstances Chris Mack couldāve been successful there)
- Wake Forestās Danny Manning era where heād had literally one good season at Tulsa prior
BC is the only team in there I give a pass to because they are who theyāve always been. But the other programs mentioned all have histories of success (even if some further in the wayback than others).
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Well put.
Also when the conference is 50 teams and not 8 there will be terrible hires proly
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These programs make bad hiring choices in part because they canāt afford to pay top candidates. There is a reason why really strong candidates like Nate Oates and Eric Musselman end up in the SEC
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Thereās ābad in the ACCā and then thereās ācanāt even beat mediocre mid-majors consistently.ā I get that some guys are inevitably going to be the former, zero-sum game that league play is and all. But the losses to the Belmontās and the Bellarmineās and the Georgia Southerns. (Or the Navyās or the JMUās, cough)
Even more than the losses, k__p__ also hates the narrow wins; escaping those teams with 1 point scares are almost as analytically damning as losing on a buzzer beater.
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Not a coaching change, but FSU taking a two-season sojourn completely off the cliff is a factor too.
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You think Wake hired Manning and GT hired Pastner because that was the best they could do on a shoestring budget? Their ADs legit thought those were steals. Louisville hiring Kenny Payne had nothing to do with money, and everything to do with thinking a former player with some NBA and UK assistant experience was going to immediately crush it. Blaming budgets is a cop-out.
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Damn. Thinking about ND, Pitt, 'Cuse, and Louisville from like 2011-2014 when a few of them just joined the league. Stacked.
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Bubble watch this week is appropriately titled:
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You forgot Furman!
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Yeah this is what it all comes down to for me, plus Keatts and Brownell just being maddeningly inconsistent. But on the upside, Iām actually very optimistic about some of the recent hires:
- Damon Stoudamire seems to have Georgia Tech playing more competitively already and recruiting well in his first season.
- Micah Shrewsberry doing the same with a horrible roster that makes me excited for what heāll accomplish when he has some dudes.
- Red Autry managed to keep a very talented, young Cuse roster together that could be an ACC contender as soon as next year.
- Earl Grant has definitely raised BCās level of competitiveness even if they still havenāt made the tournament (although I might re-evaluate here depending on how they look once Post leaves).
- Steve Forbes has worked wonders for Wake after the Danny Manning mess, even without having made the tournament yet.
Thatās to say nothing of Hubert Davis and Scheyer but I think given how core those two programs are to the ACC Iāll wait to evaluate them until after this season to get a better grasp of both.
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Did I say that budgets were the only reason? No. But I think it is a way better explainer than āADs are just dumb.ā Itās not an accident that the PAC and ACC are the two worst power conferences. It is very much tied to their ability to invest in their programs relative to their competitors, which extends to coaching
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The Virginia blurb is pretty spot onā¦ but Eamonn is pretty spot on most of the time so not much of a surprise.
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Made me go back to early 90s ACC. Here are your coaches:
Holland/ Jones, Gary Williams, Dean Smith, Coach K, Dave Odom, Cliff Ellis, Valvano/ Les Robinson, Cremins, Kennedy (FSU)
Lotta tourney wins among those guys and 4 were National Champions
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Aside from Louisville, I do think the overall coaching roster across the ACC is better now than it was two years ago, even if some guys like Shrewsbury have an uphill climb ahead of them first.
Not sure there are as many Top End programs as we had ten years ago, but guys like Brownell and Mike Young are leading a charge of generally above-average coaches holding down the leagueās mid-tier.
Miami and FSU, with Social Security-eligible coaches, will of course be two gigs to watch in coming offseasons. And, of course, maybe ours if Tony retirement whispers prove trueā¦ all those āpromoting/hiring a guy without prior proven HC successā concerns from Wake, Pitt, Louisville etc will of course apply to us if we promote either Willy or Sanchez.
My guess is LarraƱaga and Hamilton are done after next year. Miami has a 5-star guard coming in and the current group for both programs will be mostly seniors/out of eligibility so would imagine both coaches would see those classes out and then retire, timing just makes sense to me.
The three best players in the SEC: Antonio Reeves, Dalton Knecht, Mark Sears. All transfers
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Me watching Maliq Brown play well off screens and move the ball well (let me dream)
Also pray for Clemson tonight as their is a non zero chance Brad Brownell pulls a Brad Brownell.
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Just putting that evil out there for Clemson, huh?
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Its actually unreal how bad Cuse is when Brown goes off the floor. Seen cuse fans even call him their best player lol.
I regret saying āMaliq Brown at UVA would be 4 on 5 on the offensive endā during his pseudo recruitment in 2021
edit: It was like 20-11 Syracuse before brown went out with his 2 fouls. He moves the ball well. Racks up a lot of āhockey assistsā on top of having a dunn-like impact defensively (and a year younger 
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