Itâs not fair, but my problem with Richard Pitino is that he looks like a contestant in âItâs Academicâ on PBS.
Generally agree, but there are two underlying variables about an end of season run that do seem meaningful:
- Ron would be showing that he can make mid season adjustments and improvements. That bodes well.
- There is a greater chance of keeping more guys. This is still kinda relevant but much less so in the current transfer environment.
Donât think either is enough to get him in real consideration (barring a true crazy 6-1 run plus some ACCT wins).
Speaking of, Ron exceeded expectations in two of his seasons at Charlotte. Those were the teams with Aly Khalifa and Jhamir Young. The others seasons they dropped in the advanced analytics from first game to last. Itâs hard to evaluate given Covid and the transfer portal wreaking havoc on mid majors those years. But youâd want to see more solid evidence that what there is.
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He can coach, I think. Not 100% sure, but even his Minnesota tenure looks better than I remembered it being.
Sure, his dadâs pretty slimy, but thereâs no evidence the son has done similar stuff (afaik). Also, his dad is one hell of a good coach, is very entertaining, and gets bonus points from me for consistently being complementary towards CTB (and maybe UVA, though Iâm a lot les sure of that).
Iâd be cool with him. I wouldnât put him as a tier1 top choice, but he wouldnât be at the bottom of the list, either. âAbove or below Odom?â is a tough question.
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Me too, and itâs why, speaking solely as a fan, I wonât be upset (short term anyway) if we were able to âRon it back.â (That means including most of the team. That would be fun. If itâs just Ron and everyone else leaves⌠then no.) But if Iâm the AD⌠then none of that is a factor and Iâm just looking for the best candidate going forward. Which isnât Ron as it looks right now.
Of course maybe Ron goes 7-0 and wins two games in the ACCT, and Shaka and other top-tier candidates turn us down. Things could happen. But they wonât.
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Iâm not a Ron-it-back-er but playing devils advocate, I think those in favor of himâŚ
- Connect him with Tony and his winning style/culture above all
- Probably attribute his early/mid season struggles to the bad hand he was dealt with timing and arguably imperfect/inexperienced roster
- Believe he can and will make tweaks from Tony if given a full offseason (he sort of has publicly stated in that January interview)
- Are risk-averse and after 14 years or whatever favor continuity over risk of change (think this is soft, but something to be said about a fully vetted character, knows the program and base)
- Like the guys (at least lately) and think he can bring them back (again, this this is more risk aversion though)
I think there are stronger counter arguments (of which I believe) but I think the real worry is would there be a coalition of donors (like the Good Feet Store guy) that may feel like above and try to make a big push.
Which I donât know how much influence they would really have or how they feel but I like to worry.
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Getting ahead of myself to complaining / worrying, but I wonder more about how we spend NIL money. And will that be influenced by the coach.
Last year we were hyped that we would play ball but seemed like weâŚ
- Came out ready to spend at the previous yearâs market rate, but the market rate increased dramatically and we seemingly were deterred by it (until we panicked late and threw brink trucks at a couple of playersâŚ)
- Werenât even a thought for the true top tier guys
- Even with what seemed like NIL out of the equation, we didnât close on guys. Mahaney (phew), Mack (meh), Jefferson (ugh), Perry (haha!) to name a few.
- Admissions issues sabotaged us (not sure how we circumvent this but many posts about it elsewhere)
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I was thinking last night about the transfer that Clemson landed ⌠that Lahkin guy. He is killing it for them ⌠total difference maker for their team ⌠where were we when he was in the portal?
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His Pops is trying like hell to help him get Miami.
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Iâm at the same place. Iâve already decided to forego my season tickets next year if Ron is retained. He doesnât get me excited for the next chapter of UVA hoops at all if he is the choice
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Texas feels like one of those situations. Coach gets hired after making an elite eight run with Chris Beardâs players. has taken a step back each of last two years. Firmly on the bubble right nowâŚlast nightâs blow out loss to Bama did not help.
So even if you hire a guy who gets you to the elite eight, you look back and say, maybe we shouldâve done a broader search.
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I think thatâd be a good outcome for the ACC. We need more good young coaches in the league, esp. media friendly ones.
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Of guys with recent similarish situations (Diebler at Ohio State, Hubert at UNC, Scheyer at Duke, Autry at Cuse, Terry at Texas, think you might even be able to include Neptue at Nova honestly), how many would hire their same âcontinuityâ guy again? I really think it might just be DukeâŚ
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Iâd say Diebler is too soon to tell, but notably he was the âplayers love himâ guy, and then some key guys transferred out, so 
(still one of my Ron retention worries)
Terry youâd absolutely hire again, even knowing what you know now, because when an interim guy gets to the elite 8, he kinda forces your hand. It puts you in a not great spot, but you kinda have to wait it out.
Neptune is the biggest head scratcher. He didnât go to Nova, was with Wright for less than a decade, and had one year where his great achievement was taking Fordham (my other beloved Alma mater, btw) to a .500 record. That was just an âokay, Jay, youâre the freaking king here so if you want to name your mediocre assistant as the HC, sure, fineâ move. Tony couldâve pulled that off if he won a second natty and then went to another final 4 (unexpectedly) and retired fresh off that. Heck, weâd have hired Soddie off of that.
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Maybe I should rephrase, how many would walk away from their âcontinuityâ guy for free right now and hire someone new? Thatâs more akin to the situation weâre being handed.
I donât think Diebler or Terry would survive that test, Diebler because the player retention effort didnât work (wonât for us either!) and Terry because the Texas ego would lead them to go much bigger game hunting (they obviously wanted to at the time too⌠Good chance Cal or Muss is in orange if Terry doesnât make that elite 8).
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On player retention, building around guys who are âmultipleâ on the offensive end â like Gertrude and Ames, and maybe Sharma â would be nice.
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Hopefully weâre not depending on a kid coming off his 2nd ACL. Iâd be overjoyed for Gertrude to give us 10-15 mins a game.
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Ron IS picking up supportâŚfrom Jerry Ratcliffe
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Every journey begins with a single step
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Classic Sodie.
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Do I think Ron is the best candidate/head coach out thereâŚNO. Would I rather have Ron than any of the other current ACC head coachesâŚYES. Do I trust Carla to get this right⌠Hell No. Since i canât control it, Iâll just enjoy the ride.
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