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Coaches that made poor career moves


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It comes up in numerous threads here where a coach should have just stayed where he was at instead of taking a "better" job.  Here is a short list off the top of my head to get it started.

Dan Monson---left Gonzaga for Minnesota

Barry Collier---left Butler for Nebraska

Matt Doherty---left Notre Dame for North Carolina

Todd Lickliter---left Butler for Iowa

Keno Davis---left Drake for Providence

Bryce Drew---left Valparaiso for Vanderbilt

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Just now, IUFLA said:

Yeah, Beilein was the ugliest...

Some worry about legacy and others don't. Beilein is squarely in the latter I guess. His NBA career was over by Christmas. I'm sure he'll be employed again in college but waiting for the right opportunity (profile, conference, strong administration,etc...) takes time. Not sure where he'll end up. 

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2 minutes ago, Seeking6 said:

Some worry about legacy and others don't. Beilein is squarely in the latter I guess. His NBA career was over by Christmas. I'm sure he'll be employed again in college but waiting for the right opportunity (profile, conference, strong administration,etc...) takes time. Not sure where he'll end up. 

He was at the Nebraska/UM game in Ann Arbor Thursday...maybe they're lining him up for one of those "out to pasture" jobs in the athletic department...

It would be so difficult to restart a program at his age... recruiting alone would be a nightmare...

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Just now, IUFLA said:

He was at the Nebraska/UM game in Ann Arbor Thursday...maybe they're lining him up for one of those "out to pasture" jobs in the athletic department...

It would be so difficult to restart a program at his age... recruiting alone would be a nightmare...

Larry Brown says "Hello"

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2 minutes ago, IUFLA said:

He was at the Nebraska/UM game in Ann Arbor Thursday...maybe they're lining him up for one of those "out to pasture" jobs in the athletic department...

It would be so difficult to restart a program at his age... recruiting alone would be a nightmare...

I think a 2 prong approach with him. Bring Beilein in for 3-4 years with a guy like Luke Yaklich waiting in wings.Similar to a Keady/Painter deal. 

**For those who don't know. Yaklich was good friends with DJ Carton family. Yaklich (good defensive coach too) was brought to Michigan by Beilein to get Carton and coach defense.

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28 minutes ago, rico said:

It comes up in numerous threads here where a coach should have just stayed where he was at instead of taking a "better" job.  Here is a short list off the top of my head to get it started.

Dan Monson---left Gonzaga for Minnesota

Barry Collier---left Butler for Nebraska

Matt Doherty---left Notre Dame for North Carolina

Todd Lickliter---left Butler for Iowa

Keno Davis---left Drake for Providence

Bryce Drew---left Valparaiso for Vanderbilt

Wow. I cruised the list quickly. Keno Davis. Talk about having things lined up....he's h ad to reinvent himself going on about 12 years. Always thought he should have been at Iowa (obvious ties) instead of Lickliter.

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1 minute ago, Seeking6 said:

Wow. I cruised the list quickly. Keno Davis. Talk about having things lined up....he's h ad to reinvent himself going on about 12 years. Always thought he should have been at Iowa (obvious ties) instead of Lickliter.

Yep, he sure has...but at one time he was the "new shiny toy."

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2 minutes ago, Seeking6 said:

Can't remember the particulars but I know Bo was obviously all about football and I think Frieder cited money concerns about direction of program after being in tourney every year. 

Probably about right...IIRC correctly, Iowa St. originally contacted Michigan about getting Frieder when he was an assistant under Johnny Orr.  Orr found out how much money they were gonna offer Bill and he, himself, took the Cyclone job.

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6 minutes ago, rico said:

So Bo don't know basketball?

Apparently not...

I read a book years ago that said Woody Hayes had a habit of picking up the film projector in film sessions and heaving it at an offending assistant coach...when Bo was an assistant under Woody at OSU (he'd played for Woody at Miami of Ohio) he'd pick it up and throw it back at Woody...

And then there's that "10 Year War."

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And we have Bill Foster leaving Duke for South Carolina paving the way for you know who.

For the younger crowd that doesn't remember and from Wiki...

Bill Foster's greatest success as a head coach would come at Duke, taking over a struggling program with a proud history that was searching for stability and strong leadership. Duke was one of only eight schools at that time to have hit the 1,000-victory plateau and had once seen Final Fours and conference championships. "I knew Duke from the [Vic] Bubas years when they were great, and I thought they could be great again, should be great again. I was a little shocked when they offered me the job, it just seemed like a great place to coach." Foster once said.

1974–75, Foster's first season saw few highlights, but there was one. In the early 1970s, the four North Carolina schools participated in a tournament called "The Big Four Tournament." Duke, taking on eighth-ranked rival North Carolina pulled off a shocker in upsetting the Tar Heels 99–96 in overtime. Foster began to slowly rebuild the program, bringing in one future great player a year. First, it was future All-American Jim Spanarkel in 1975, then future Duke great Mike Gminski in 1976. Those two joined senior prolific scorer Tate Armstrong for the 1976–77 season. The Devils started out 12–3 that year with wins over 15th-ranked NC State and later at 15th ranked Tennessee. But, it would not last. In a game at Virginia, Tate Armstrong suffered a broken wrist and was lost for the season. The young Blue Devils, full of potential but still a fragile unit, would never recover but the next year would produce a season that would nearly stun the college basketball world.

In addition to talented returnees Spanarkel and Gminski, Foster added Indiana transfer Bob Bender who was on the Hoosiers' legendary undefeated 1976 NCAA championship team and stunned everyone by getting a verbal commitment from one of the top players in America, Gene Banks. Joining Banks were two good players in Kenny Dennard and John Harrell from nearby North Carolina Central. The 1977–78 Duke Blue Devils begin to gain steam after a mid-January 92–84 win over second-ranked North Carolina. Duke would win 15 of their final 19 games, en route to a 27–7 season, a final ranking of seventh, their first ACC Tournament title since 1966, and a trip to the NCAA Final Four. It looked like the ride would end in the national semifinals, as Duke would be facing a 6th-ranked Notre Dame team in the semi-final that fielded eight future NBA players. But Duke scored the upset 90–86, setting up a title matchup with powerhouse Kentucky. Duke fought admirably, but Kentucky was too experienced and had the weight of the world on their shoulders from fans back in the bluegrass who wanted that long-awaited title. Still, despite the loss the future looked tremendous for Duke.

The 1978–79 season saw Duke start the season as the No. 1-ranked team in the nation. The Devils dispatched 14th-ranked North Carolina to win the Big Four Tournament for the first time, but chemistry issues and bad luck with injuries would not recapture the magic of 1978. Duke shared the ACC regular season title, but illness and injury derailed both their ACC tournament and NCAA tournament hopes as Duke finished 22–8 and 11th in the AP poll. Duke had another solid season in 1979–80, defeating second-ranked Kentucky in an early-season matchup and winning another Big Four Tournament over 6th ranked North Carolina 86–74. Duke would assume the nation's No. 1 ranking for several weeks and start out 12–0 on the year. But an injury to valuable forward Kenny Dennard sent the team into an up-and-down league season. After Dennard returned, Duke regrouped and won the 1980 ACC tournament, finished 14th in the AP poll, tallied a 24–9 season, advancing to the Elite Eight after an upset of Kentucky in the sweet 16 in Rupp Arena.

Foster guided Duke to a 113–64 (.638) record from 1974 to 1980. He was named ACC Coach of the Year in 1978 and led Duke to two ACC Men's Basketball Tournament titles, two Big Four titles, an ACC regular season title in 1979, and an appearance in the 1978 NCAA Final Four, where they finished NCAA runner-up. While Foster is overlooked in the wake of the achievements of Duke coaches Mike Krzyzewski and Vic Bubas, the Foster era returned Duke to national prominence and paved the way for Krzyzewski's success.[5]

The 1977–78 Blue Devils were the subject of John Feinstein's 1989 book "Forever's Team."

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