The Search Continues
By Jeff
Well, three interviews down, how many more to go? And the lobbying continues as the supporters of Arnold and Gibson continue their efforts to convince Donovan and the public that their man is the right one for the job. Meanwhile, as I reported a week ago, the Tad Boyle train is leaving the station ( not much he can do until his team is knocked out of post-season, which could happen as quickly as tonight). The Steve Barnes train is also out of the barn. Are there any other " serious candidates". I doubt it. Why? I am told that the " offered" salary" range is close to 300,000. To uproot your family and move to Hawaii. Not likely there are many Div 1 coaches ready to do that. And the reported 30 plus " applicants" is misleading. Many have no real chance. And even if it is a real number, its a relatively small number for a mid major head coaching position.
Jobs are opening all over the Country. In our neck of the woods, the Boise job is out there in a University looking to upgrade its basketball program to become more attractive to other Conferences. Will the San Jose job open soon? If it does, another WAC opening. At a salary of 300,000, we need to get real about who is out there. For an assistant coach at mid majors, 300,000 is a salary upgrade. It would not be for an assistant a BCS school. It would also be an upgrade for a Div 1 coach in a low level conference, but not above that. Add in the cost of living here, say compared to Greeley, Colorado, and the limited recruiting budget, and this is not exactly job that folks are killing themselves over.
Doesnt mean we wont get a good hire. it simply means the choices are limited, Uh needs to move fast to fill the spot before the good applicants find themselves elsewhere. For example, St. Mary's head coach goes to Oregon and Smith is in line for that job. Or Arnold goes to Boise as some have speculated( i am not one of them). UH hired a football coach overnight at a salary in excess of 1 million dollars. Some have criticized that hire. But delay in hiring a basketball coach is not the response. Under a different athletic administration, we all know what happened when we didnt hire the basketball coach until after the Final Four. I expect an announcement by the end of the week or very early week
Hoops Talk
March 16th, 2010 at 2:26 pm
I just finished my brackets. Who are your final four picks?
Me thinks it'll be KU in the end.
March 16th, 2010 at 3:11 pm
i hope that we choose the right person and that not a lot of politics are involved.
i was wondering what your thoughts are about lay and williams wanting "a shot at redemption" as mentioned in another paper.
sounds to me like they weren't happy they weren't allowed to run up and down the court and chuck the ball whenever they saw fit....
March 16th, 2010 at 3:59 pm
Jeff,
Are you for real? Gib Arnold is an excellent candidate to fill the position, he is everything we need. International recruiter, ties to Hawaii (no cultural shock here), Top 25 recruiter nationally and one of the top assistants in line for major coaching job. We better get him before Boise does.
March 16th, 2010 at 5:06 pm
responding to these comments. First, i am not for or against anybody. i only report what i hear from folks i respect and my own opinions. The truth is that Arnold has many supporters and many detractors. I leave it to the AD to decide who to believe. On my Final Four, I like Kansas to win it all. The other three are Villanova, West Virgina, and Syracuse ( although my loyaltiies are to Duke and Syracuse's chances hinge on the injury to their Center). As far as Williams and Lay, if you have been reading my blog, you know I am not a fan of either. I think they let the team down, and for one would not be disappointed to see them leave. Whether a new Coach sees it that way remains to be seen
March 16th, 2010 at 7:48 pm
It's too bad UH is so limited by it's salary issues. Lots of people complain about how much is paid to UH athletic coaches, but if you want real success at the Div 1 level you have to fork over big time cash. If we pay 800K for a top of the line Div 1 coach and we make the touranament every 2-3 years and sell out the SSC every home game then everything equals out. You can't complain about mediocrity (or worse) if you support limited salaries. Either make a commitment to having a top of the line program or accept being at the back of the pack.
March 16th, 2010 at 11:26 pm
i bet u boise st picks a coach before hawaii does this is DAY 10 with no one recruiting i agree with u we have to move quickly. There are people out there who want to wait it out another week or so more maybe somebody on a white horse will surface maybe lane kiffen like get real
March 17th, 2010 at 9:02 am
Giacoletti sounds awesome. 26-9 record at Utah. I would take that!
March 17th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
R Smoke is exactly right.
That's the problem with leadership (read politicians) in Hawaii they only see the small picture.
They don't see by lowering taxes you invite more business to come to Hawaii which will hire employees which will eventually increase the tax base.
You pay for a mediocre coach you're going to get mediocre results.
After having season BB tickets for over 10 years I was going to give them up if Nash was retained. At least now I might renew.
March 17th, 2010 at 5:18 pm
In your blog above, you refer to a "Gibson " . Is Matt Gibson making a comeback to UH as a coach ? On March 11, you refer to a " Gig " Arnold. I like that name in place of a " Gib "
I agree with " jeff " above, the fans and administration are looking for.a white knight on a white horse to save the program
March 17th, 2010 at 7:02 pm
Think we'd be better off with Mel Gibson (apologies for his behavior, but, a great filmmaker notwithstanding) or Charles Gibson (can't stand that network).
Paging Dr. Mugiishi, paging Dr. Mugiishi. Patient is critical . . .
March 17th, 2010 at 7:25 pm
After a nine win season next year, many will say we should have let Nash stay another year. But maybe with Zane, Bill Amis, Jordan, Lutu & new recruit(s) they could win 12 to 16 games ?
March 19th, 2010 at 12:17 am
How bout little matt Gibson ! To be fair this is a program historic decision to sort out 50 candidates takes time in the end follow the money i just hope the next coach recruits lined up
March 19th, 2010 at 9:58 am
Looks like the next coach may be Gib or Gig because someone pointed out that punahou people may be putting out some money for UH. So with the deficits, Donovan can't bite the hand that feeds him. Also, Pres.Obama may be endorsing Gib or Gig.
Someone said on Artie's show that UH should hire Kobe's father, because then Kobe could contribute 5 million to UH and get Nike as a sponsor too. Also Kobe could recruit some players to UH. Anyway Donovan will have to follow the money as jeff above said.
March 19th, 2010 at 7:34 pm
So what do you think of our former BSU, Coach Graham applying at UH? There's always an interesting turn of events in coaching!
Enjoy the final four.
March 19th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
!8 more candidates Too bad i don't see anyboby on the list where hawaii was there dream job lane kiffen's dream job was USC ,Brian Kelly's was Nortre Dame .I never heard of donovan going after somebody i Know we can only offer a certain amount but maybe private people can kick in more. U have to spend money to make money u get what u pay for