LSU Board predicting JJ next head coach

[UNT90]

I was pretty confident that LSU wasn't gonna hire JJ, but the more I have dug, the more it appears that it is a very real possibility.

This may be premature, but, if JJ goes, who is on your short list?

Scott Cross has done wonders at UTA, but he is also a grad and has a brand new building to play in. I would be more than happy with him.

Bob Marlin - LaLa coach who did great things at Sam Houston. Plus, we would take away a coach from a conference rival.

Other than that, I got nothing. A little help?

[NTGabe15]

Don't worry guys, if JJ leaves us Isiah Thomas is available.

That was a knee slapper there Scrap! Hopefully Isiah is done coaching.

[UNT90]

That was a knee slapper there Scrap! Hopefully Isiah is done coaching.

I think he was dne before he ever started.

[CMJ]

This may be premature, but, if JJ goes, who is on your short list?

Scott Cross has done wonders at UTA, but he is also a grad and has a brand new building to play in. I would be more than happy with him.

Bob Marlin - LaLa coach who did great things at Sam Houston. Plus, we would take away a coach from a conference rival.

Other than that, I got nothing. A little help?

Fran Fraschilla would be number one for me if he'd be interested. Won at Manhattan and St Johns (did okay at New Mexico). Still in his early 50's. He also is friends with Tony Mitchell, so that helps if we think Tony might leave if JJ does.

[TheTastyGreek]

This may be premature, but, if JJ goes, who is on your short list?

Scott Cross has done wonders at UTA, but he is also a grad and has a brand new building to play in. I would be more than happy with him.

Bob Marlin - LaLa coach who did great things at Sam Houston. Plus, we would take away a coach from a conference rival.

Other than that, I got nothing. A little help?

Offer it to Forrest, immediately. If he turns it down, take your time and see who has interest. Either of the guys you mentioned would be great (though I don't think Cross would leave).

I don't think Forrest is necessarily guaranteed to be the best coach out there, but I think he's the best coach for us right now. Continuity is HUGE in the sustained growth and development of a program. Look at the schools that have continued, significant success outside of the power conferences (the ones that keep getting their head coaches hired away by BCS schools). Xavier's last two coaches were assistants prior to their promotions. The last time Butler hired someone outside their own staff was Barry Collier back in 1989, and he was an alum and former basketball player there. Gonzaga hasn't hired outside their own walls for a head basketball coach since 1978 with Dan Fitzgerald.

A level below, but still consistently solid... Akron promoted Keith Dambrot from within and he's delivered 7 straight 20+ win seasons (his inaugural season was only 19), with 2 trips to the NCAAs and 2 to the NIT. Nevada replaced Trent Johnson with Mark Fox, and then Fox with David Carter. That approach worked out pretty well for them since the late 90's. BYU (which is a bit of a special case, being a Mormon institution and likely more inclined to hire within) had 5 postseason appearances in 6 years under Steve Cleveland in the late 90s/early 2000's, promoted Dave Rose, and won 20 with an NIT berth in his first year. 6 straight NCAA appearances since then.

Shorter term... Murray State promoted Steve Prohm from within after last year. Instead of a rebuilding/transition year, they won 31 games and spent most of the year undefeated.

When you bring in an outside coach, no matter how good they are... It's always a higher risk than promoting a qualified assistant. Look at Jankovich here. Never really got off the ground. When I started at UNT, one of my favorite alums was thrilled to see him out the door and excited about Trilli. Another place, another chance... And he's a consistent winner at Illinois State. Success is always a delicate house of cards. It takes a hell of a lot of effort and sometimes luck to keep things up, and it's not hard for something completely beyond your control to bring it all crashing down.

We've actually got a foundation in place. The inevitable transition and potential shakeups that come with ANY coach change are minimized by promoting from within. Our current coaches have relationships with these players since they were all in high school or JUCO. They know what they know, what they can and can't do, how to communicate with and motivate them. They know how our institution works (or doesn't), and any philosophical changes they may want to implement can be done with the smallest possible amount of chaos and fallout.

So much of recruiting and retention is the relationships with the kids and the AAU/High School coaches. Look at Brandon Reed and Derrick Gordon. Both of them jumped ship when the ASSISTANT that recruited them left or was let go. After great freshman seasons, they bailed because the guy they had the connection to was out the door. Asprilla left FIU because of his loyalty to Roucco, even with the heat Isiah Thomas brought along in his hiring.

I have a lot of fondness and appreciation for all our coaches. But if JJ goes, the one guy we can least afford to lose is Shawn Forrest. I think Charlie Leonard and JJ are joined at the hip. Coach Foy has previous HC experience and great JUCO connections... But Forrest is the guy who keeps the talent pipeline open. He's the one who Tony Mitchell has repeatedly referred to as a surrogate dad. He had a reputation as a great recruiter before he got here, and he's been brilliant at forging relationships and landing great talent ever since his arrival. I don't think there's any way he stays here as an assistant over going to a BCS school in the same role... But I bet he'd be interested in taking over a team full of kids he knows and loves. Especially when he's set up to keep things rolling along for years to come, if he wants to.

If Forrest would rather go be a BCS assistant elsewhere, then let the mailbox fill up and let's bring in a great experienced head coach from somewhere else. But if he wants to step up and make this his springboard to a head coaching career... I think we'd be fools not to give him the chance.

[UNT90]

Normally I would disagree with you on this, Tasty, but with who we have coming back, I think continuity is really important. Forrest has the skins on the wall and has seen successful programs built, and more importantly, has the blueprint to how to be successful at UNT.

With the recent focus on coaches with head coaching experience, I wonder if the administration would sign off on Forrest as head coach. I hope they realize that the other programs for which they have instituted this policy have been at or near the very bottom when the coaching hires were made. Kinda different circumstances here.

[Shark84]

If LSU offers, JJ is gone this year. His son is AN 8TH grader at Crownover and will be starting HS at Guyer this Fall. Once he starts, JJ won't move until he graduates. He won't move his son around once he starts HS.

[TheTastyGreek]

Normally I would disagree with you on this, Tasty, but with who we have coming back, I think continuity is really important. Forrest has the skins on the wall and has seen successful programs built, and more importantly, has the blueprint to how to be successful at UNT.

With the recent focus on coaches with head coaching experience, I wonder if the administration would sign off on Forrest as head coach. I hope they realize that the other programs for which they have instituted this policy have been at or near the very bottom when the coaching hires were made. Kinda different circumstances here.

I wouldn't say that for just any coach, either. I'm not suggesting that blindly sliding the top or next available assistant over to the HC job is a blanket foolproof policy for success.

But, this coach in this situation... Could be a home run waiting to happen.

Everyone looking to replace a coach talks about wanting the next Brad Stevens or Shaka Smart... Neither of those guys had any head coaching experience before Butler and VCU gave it to them.

We've got a guy right in our building with major recruiting skills and 5 years of stability working his local connections. He's well liked, well respected, almost 15 years of experience as an assistant coach, he's under 40, and most importantly: he owns a house in Denton. (NOTE: Address will not be provided, even if I knew it)

Put him in charge of the kids that love him, most if not all of whom he played some role in bringing to North Texas (particularly the Metroplex and high school recruits), give him the roster we've got coming back, help him bring in the assistants he'll need to replace whoever would go with JJ...

If Shawn Forrest has what it takes to lead a team, it very likely wouldn't be more than a year or two before we'd be worried about him getting hired away from us. If his goal is to be a head coach, then he's already played a huge part in rolling out the red carpet for himself in a stable job with the possibility of explosive immediate success. If he can take his own guys to their potential, he'd be a major conference head coach within a few years.

[NT03]

1333841513' post='635447']

I wouldn't say that for just any coach, either. I'm not suggesting that blindly sliding the top or next available assistant over to the HC job is a blanket foolproof policy for success.

But, this coach in this situation... Could be a home run waiting to happen.

Everyone looking to replace a coach talks about wanting the next Brad Stevens or Shaka Smart... Neither of those guys had any head coaching experience before Butler and VCU gave it to them.

We've got a guy right in our building with major recruiting skills and 5 years of stability working his local connections. He's well liked, well respected, almost 15 years of experience as an assistant coach, he's under 40, and most importantly: he owns a house in Denton. (NOTE: Address will not be provided, even if I knew it)

Put him in charge of the kids that love him, most if not all of whom he played some role in bringing to North Texas (particularly the Metroplex and high school recruits), give him the roster we've got coming back, help him bring in the assistants he'll need to replace whoever would go with JJ...

If Shawn Forrest has what it takes to lead a team, it very likely wouldn't be more than a year or two before we'd be worried about him getting hired away from us. If his goal is to be a head coach, then he's already played a huge part in rolling out the red carpet for himself in a stable job with the possibility of explosive immediate success. If he can take his own guys to their potential, he'd be a major conference head coach within a few years.

This

[CMJ]

LSU blog.

http://www.andthevalleyshook.com/2012/4/7/2932535/who-replaces-trent-johnson

[TheTastyGreek]

The basketball banquet is Monday. Weird to think that there's a chance it could be JJ's last event as a North Texas coach.

[NT03]

Also keep in mind that if jj leaves he may want Randy Livingston as his new top assistant.

[NT03]

1333842962' post='635451']

The basketball banquet is Monday. Weird to think that there's a chance it could be JJ's last event as a North Texas coach.

It will probably already be weird without having a womens head coach there

[oldguystudent]

But JJ has done some amazing things here. I'm not saying he's going to get the job, or even that they wouldn't call some other people first. But he definitely has to be on the radar.

In an otherwise very, very dark period of UNT athletics, there was never a Johnny Jones Equivalent Futility List published. That he succeeded like he did in the environment he did it should speak volumes. Also, he bought me a beer at a football game last season, so...yeah. He's good in my book.

[GrandGreen]

I doubt JJ has a chance at the LSU job. Of course, I thought the same thing about Aston and UT.

By the way, I think JJ makes about 500k not 250k.

[CMJ]

Could be someone off the radar, but the names I have seen popping up the most are Reggie Theus and Johnny Jones.

[Cooley]

I'd personally like for us to conduct a national search for our next coach (whenever that may be) No one here had ever heard of Johnny Jones, Karen Aston (despite coaching here before) or Dan McCarney. The administration is committed to athletics more today than at any other time that I have followed the program. Though I don't have a problem with Shawn Forrest or others on staff, we owe it to ourselves to get this right. I am also not concerned about what may or may not return next year. Basketball is the easiest team sport to turn around in a short period of time. Contrary to the “train wreck” conditions Brett Vito described in his blog today (regarding the state of UNT basketball) before JJ. I respectfully disagree. We’ve had our share of bad hires just like any other school. When operating on a shoe string budget, those things happen. Baylor Men’s basketball was a train wreck before Scott Drew took over. In just a short period of time, they are a national power. Did anyone know that Baylor women played basketball before Kim Mulkey got there? Though I'm still pissed at Aston, she quickly turned the perception around for the women. All I’m saying is that we should not settle. I sincerely hope that JJ returns. I will, however, continue to advocate that he do more with this team/program. Don’t care about how bad Trilli, and others, were before him. That’s the nature his profession. For the 1st time I can remember, we are seriously being considered to move up the conference landscape. We can't be too short sighted with our desire to retain a staff person to help compete in the Sunbelt. I’m sick of the Sunbelt! I want to go knock off UNLV, New Mexico & Tulsa. If JJ is fortunate enough to return to his alma mater, God bless him! There is absolutely no reason for us to rush to hire a replacement; with no scholarships to give (this spring). There will be significant interest immediately with additional firing to come. I appreciate the much needed stability that JJ has brought to the men’s program. I repeat, I wish he stays. He has been a great ambassador for the program and made UNT relevant in DFW. JJ has been here about 11 years and I would like to see him advance the program further. If he has the opportunity to advance his career away from UNT, I wish him well; I just don’t feel that we would necessarily revert back to the perceived train wreck condition.

[wardly]

I doubt JJ has a chance at the LSU job. Of course, I thought the same thing about Aston and UT.

By the way, I think JJ makes about 500k not 250k.

i think he makes somewhere in between. i also think that most North Texas fans think he hung the moon, but under the harsher light of reality JJ has never won the regular season,has only won the western division once, is 2 for 4 in the Belt Tournament Championship, and 0 for 2 in the NACC's. in addition,if you look at his 20 win seasons, nearly half are against non conference schools, most of which i have never heard of.that doesn't mean he won't get the job, but i think LSU is looking for a stronger resume. i think he has a good no pressure job here with fairly low expecations, and hope that he stays.

[GrandGreen]

i think he makes somewhere in between. i also think that most North Texas fans think he hung the moon, but under the harsher light of reality JJ has never won the regular season,has only won the western division once, is 2 for 4 in the Belt Tournament Championship, and 0 for 2 in the NACC's. in addition,if you look at his 20 win seasons, nearly half are against non conference schools, most of which i have never heard of.that doesn't mean he won't get the job, but i think LSU is looking for a stronger resume. i think he has a good no pressure job here with fairly low expecations, and hope that he stays.

www.ntdaily.com/?p=53773

[GrandGreen]

So now we are concerned about JJ replacement based on one sport writer's opinion that Jones is the favorite candidate at LSU. He does obviously have LSU ties and would jump at the job, but my guess he has only an outside chance at best. I don't think an SEC school is going to be impressed with a 17-15 Belt record over the last two years and even less with JJ's success in the Belt tournament. They will be impressed with Jone's character and recruiting but I don't think that is enough to land him the job.

In any case, I am not going to worry until something a lot more tangible than he has LSU ties logic surfaces.

[CMJ]

So now we are concerned about JJ replacement based on one sport writer's opinion that Jones is the favorite candidate at LSU. He does obviously have LSU ties and would jump at the job, but my guess he has only an outside chance at best. I don't think an SEC school is going to be impressed with a 17-15 Belt record over the last two years and even less with JJ's success in the Belt tournament. They will be impressed with Jone's character and recruiting but I don't think that is enough to land him the job.

In any case, I am not going to worry until something a lot more tangible than he has LSU ties logic surfaces.

I'm not concerned about a single blogger. I saw JJ listed as a likely candidate three separate places AND messaged some (admittedly so so) SEC people I know/connections I have about what they were hearing - hence my concern.

It's far from a done deal (I'm not one to throw percentages around here) but JJ has a much better shot at this job than I thought 24 hours ago. I doubt he's even the TOP choice, unlike the blogger I linked, but he's popping up a lot of places. I'd guess he's in the top 6 or so names they're gonna choose from anyway.

Edited April 8, 2012 by CMJ

[NT03]

Could be someone off the radar, but the names I have seen popping up the most are Reggie Theus and Johnny Jones.

LSU's chancellor , michael Martin , was NMSU's president when Theus was there. Maybe that plays a role ?

[UNT90]

This is going to be quick and painless/painful one way or the other. I would be shocked if LSU isn't announcing their next coach by Wednesday.

If the LSU board of regents are reading this board, let me offer the highest praise for NBA great Reggie Theus. Just think of the national exposure that hire will bring. Just think of the boost to national recruiting.

Oh, and JJ sucks.

Edited April 8, 2012 by UNT90

[greenminer]

Really?

For me...yes :/

[Green P1]

For me...yes :/

Totally.