MVC Coaches

[NCAABound]

All this talk about hiring Coach Marshall got me thinking.

Why have MVC coaches usually tanked once they take a job in a BCS conference? I can't think of a large sample...but it seems most never make much of an impact. Here's my list...I'm sure I'm missing out on a few over the past few years.

Steve Alford - SWMO
Had some decent years at Iowa...but never made it deep into the tournament and had fans on his tail the entire time.

Bruce Weber - SIU
Has pretty much destroyed everything that Bill Self built at Illinois.

Matt Painter - SIU
Decent season going at Purdue..but not earth shattering. Still a season or two away from final evaluation.

Greg McDermott - UNI
Hasn't turned Iowa State around quickly...but it was in shambles when he arrived. Still...from all accounts he isn't building a powerhouse.

Kevin Stallings - Illinois State
Has had some decent years at Vanderbilt...probably the best of any recent MVC coach. Having a great year so far, but off to an average SEC start.


As I mentioned...I'm not going back very far. And I'm sure I'm missing some obvious examples. But it seems most of the successful coaches who move up to a BCS conference either come from another small conference or an assistant from another BCS school. Not the MVC. Anybody have any reasons?

My point? No need to take coach Marshall. :D

Sorry...just too much coach talk got my wheels turning.

[kcshocker11]

Self came from Tulsa a Valley school

[SpanglerFan316]

Ralph Miller?
WSU --> Iowa --> Oregon State
National coach of the year twice if I recall correctly.

[Hotel Paper]

Bruce Weber's done a pretty good job. He took the fightin' Illini to the Championship game vs. Carolina

[NCAABound]

Ok..I wasn't going back 40-50 years to Ralph Miller.

And Tulsa wasn't an MVC school when Bill Self was there, IIRC.

[NCAABound]

Bruce Weber's done a pretty good job. He took the fightin' Illini to the Championship game vs. Carolina

But that was pretty much Bill Self's team...wasn't it?

[Hotel Paper]

wait a minute...... yes.

[newshock1234]

Bruce Weber's done a pretty good job. He took the fightin' Illini to the Championship game vs. Carolina

with Bill Self recruits, now look at them now.

[capnkirk]

Tubby Smith, Tulsa
Nolan Richardson, Tulsa

[shockerfan]

Ok..I wasn't going back 40-50 years to Ralph Miller.

And Tulsa wasn't an MVC school when Bill Self was there, IIRC.

Correct, I believe they were part of the WAC at that time....I think.

[ABC]

It is a mixed bag and no guarantee of success.

If I were a poet, I might say the landscape of college basketball is littered with the corpses of coaching "moving up."

There was a great story a few years about about Steve Robinson leaving for Florida State where he flamed out. After that he was an asst for Roy Williams at UNC.

Had he stayed at Tulsa he would be making $500 - $1MM a year. Now he is a $150,000 assistant.

Buzz Peterson from SwoMo to Tennessee is the same thing.

Then there is Dan Monson from Gonzage to Minnesota where he was fired mid season last year. He did make a ton with his buyout clause and now he is head coach at Long Beach State I believe.

Bob Bender left Ill State for Washingon and didn't last long.

Tony Barone left Creighton and lasted a few years at Texas A&M.

Pete Gillen from Xavier to Virginia. He never made an NCAA tourney at Virginia.

Danny Nee left Ohio and did have some success at Nebraska, winning the very last Big 8 tourney, I believe. But he is gone with the wind now.

(note Danny Nee took his name out of consideration from Nebraska when the WSU job opened up after G Smithson was fired. He put his name back into contention when Fogler was hired)

Of course there is Rick Barnes. He goes from George Mason to Providence to Clemson to Texas. (Please note Big East Providence losing its coach.)

Mike Jarvis, who is an idiot, left George Washington and lasted just a few years at St. Johns.

Frankly the same case can be made for coaches going from BCS conference to BCS conference. Like Rob Evans from Ole Miss to Arizona State, for just a few years. Bill Freider going from Michigan to last a few years at Arizona State. George Raveling leaving Iowa for USC. Kevin O'Neil leaving Marquette for Tennessee or vice versa, I've forgotten.

But that's just off the top of my head.

[NCAABound]

It is a mixed bag and no guarantee of success.

If I were a poet, I might say the landscape of college basketball is littered with the corpses of coaching "moving up."

There was a great story a few years about about Steve Robinson leaving for Florida State where he flamed out. After that he was an asst for Roy Williams at UNC.

Had he stayed at Tulsa he would be making $500 - $1MM a year. Now he is a $150,000 assistant.

Buzz Peterson from SwoMo to Tennessee is the same thing.

Then there is Dan Monson from Gonzage to Minnesota where he was fired mid season last year. He did make a ton with his buyout clause and now he is head coach at Long Beach State I believe.

Bob Bender left Ill State for Washingon and didn't last long.

Tony Barone left Creighton and lasted a few years at Texas A&M.

Pete Gillen from Xavier to Virginia. He never made an NCAA tourney at Virginia.

Danny Nee left Ohio and did have some success at Nebraska, winning the very last Big 8 tourney, I believe. But he is gone with the wind now.

(note Danny Nee took his name out of consideration from Nebraska when the WSU job opened up after G Smithson was fired. He put his name back into contention when Fogler was hired)

Of course there is Rick Barnes. He goes from George Mason to Providence to Clemson to Texas. (Please note Big East Providence losing its coach.)

Mike Jarvis, who is an idiot, left George Washington and lasted just a few years at St. Johns.

Frankly the same case can be made for coaches going from BCS conference to BCS conference. Like Rob Evans from Ole Miss to Arizona State, for just a few years. Bill Freider going from Michigan to last a few years at Arizona State. George Raveling leaving Iowa for USC. Kevin O'Neil leaving Marquette for Tennessee or vice versa, I've forgotten.

But that's just off the top of my head.

Exactly. I wasn't trying to make it sound like MVC coaches were bad...just that the grass isn't always greener with a BCS job. In fact...it is usually worse in the long term.

[shockball]

Eddie Fogler won a national coach of the year award at Vanderbilt. In 7 seasons at SC he won about 55% of his games. He did have a couple of really good years mid term.

[shockrah]

Self came from Tulsa a Valley school

Tulsa had left the valley by the time Self was there.

[ShockTalk]

I'm not looking this up, so correct me if I'm wrong. Folger came to WSU with a pretty good team already intact. He bolted to Vandy, leaving the cupboard bare at WSU & recommending Cohen. Vandy also had a good team in place and after using them up, bolted to USC. That's where he made his mistake ... he had to build a team there, became a .500 coach and retired young.