UVM Hoop Cat

UNH is a very difficult place to win- nobody has ever won there- simply because the basketball program has no institutional support. So a rising star AC in coaching like a TJ Sorrentine or Jay Young or someone like that would have to really consider it as their first D1 head job because it could end up being their first and last D1 job.

Obviously, the money would be more and they would be in charge of a D1 program- but it's not going to be for everyone, winning is going to be a challenge, and some people like a TJ or Young might really have no interest.

__________________
"Let's win this game for all the small schools that never had a chance to get here"
- Hoosiers,
& UVM mens basketball NCAA's 2005

UVM Hoop Cat

Unless Al Skinner and Dennis Wolf have Antoine Walkere-d their buyout money and their investments/retirement, which is probably doubtful, and desperate for cash I don't see them having any interest in UNH. I would think Wolf is in a better situation at Virginia Tech coaching womens hoops.

__________________
"Let's win this game for all the small schools that never had a chance to get here"
- Hoosiers,
& UVM mens basketball NCAA's 2005

UVM Hoop Cat

BTW, UNHFan you've really turned a 180 from earlier this season to now on Herrion- you know something that the crowd doesn't

But seriously, what made you change your tune? You went from defending him saying he was the right person for the job to brainstorming replacement lists in a matter of weeks.

It's not like what's been happening the last few games hasn't been any different than what's been happening with UNH the previous seasons, which is to say it's really nothing new.

__________________
"Let's win this game for all the small schools that never had a chance to get here"
- Hoosiers,
& UVM mens basketball NCAA's 2005

Patch

Keep it going UVMHC - you're on a roll - 4 consecutive posts in a row (LOL)

umainealum

I don't disagree with anything you wrote...but I would add to the 2nd paragraph. Most coaches have a lot of confidence in their abilities and if they are up & coming, I can certainly see the mindset of "I am THE person that can turn that program around to become a winner." The next thought would be that after I'm done turning them around, I will be able to write my ticket to my next job. No idea what Sorrentine or Young are like when it comes to that, but that is just another way to look at it.

__________________
UMaine - the epitome of mediocrity

Proud supporter of an AMERICA EAST team that made a coaching change...

nycwolf

Yes i dont know what i am talking about. Every division 1 basketball institution is looking for a young, bright, so called rising star, with 5 years of coaching experience at a perennial bottom feeder program, zero impact recruits and a record of 39-79 as an assistant. UNH would love to have a guy whose only experience is with a team that is just a touch better than them.

This is nothing against him. TJ needs more time before he will be handed over the keys to his own division 1 program unless that program is vermont.

Patch

I am a big TJ fan - I think the biggest thing he has going is that after Agel was fired he held the ship together at Brown until a Head Coach was named (but remember he was passed over at Brown).

I think the best thing for him would be to leave Brown and move on as an assistant with another program (just for resume purposes).

With that said I hope he catches a break and gets a HC gig. But it is very competitive and their are thousands of guys who have great potential and there is less then 350 DI HC jobs and only 30 or so open every year and half of them are upper level BCS type jobs that he wouldn't have a shot at.

It's a tough business.

Zonid

Is TJ Sorrentine regarded as a "can't miss up and coming AC" in coaching circles? Unless otherwise, the track record speaks for itself.

I tend to think the term "up and coming" is reserved for certain previous Butler or Florida assistant coaches who have had great success in recent years and had demonstrable results while serving as an AC. UVMHC may be a tad over zealous here....although he is a UVM fan and as such, clearly more knowledgeable than the ruffians who cheer for lesser AE basketball programs.

BingGrad

Al Walker.

Seriously. If you want someone who can get you to a level of solid respectability at this level he has a proven track record. I don't know him personally but I'd certainly guess that he would jump at the chance to (1) prove he can not only build respectability but also get over the hump to success; and (2) thumb his nose at the school that fired him for Kevin Broadus. Plus, unlike some of the other names mentioned, I'm guessing the money he can make as the UNH head coach certainly beats what he's pulling down in his current gig.

BingGrad

TJ Sorrentine is as up and coming in his current role as Jesse Agel was when he was a Vermont assistant. As in not very. The only HC looks he gets are from UVM fans putting forth his name as a candidate for open jobs. The only job we know looked at him was his current employer who looked and chose someone else. I'm not saying he won't be a candidate someday, but I don't get the impression that he is on anyone's real list of options.

Albany Weave

I would like to see a revolutionary concept - Co Coaches. UNH should hire Randy Monroe and Mark Macon. The coaching efforts of both men in the revolutionary play in game of 2012 shoud be rewarded. It would make UNH basketball more entertaining.

uvm4life20

TJ is a PG and Macon wasnt. PG's usually make better coaches because they are more use to running a team. TJ and Macon are totally different people. There is no comparison to make.

Also TJ is very young and that prolly has a lot to do with why he isnt a head coach. There is only a couple coaches in D1 at any given time that are 30 years or less. Young coaches don't get head coaching jobs. TJ does need more experience as most 30 year old coaches do. It doesn't mean though he cant succeed right now. Some school is going to give him a chance and they will be happy with their decision.

UVM Hoop Cat

Depends on your definition of whatever a "can't miss up and coming AC" is. Is TJ like an AC from Butler or Florida? Umm, no- but do you honestly believe an up and coming AC from Butler or Florida is going to consider the head job at UNH? Of course not- C'mon now, let's be realistic. Someone from the Billy Donovan coaching tree considering UNH? LoL.

Is Sorrentine up and coming? In the northeast/New England region? Yes. I don't think many that know him as a coach would argue that. Additionally, TJ's a very strong recruiter that would w/out much doubt be an upgrade over the job Herrion is doing at UNH. TJ has experience recruiting at an Ivy, something UNH fans will tell you they need.

TJ is a bit young still- but he was strongly considered for the Brown HC job and a finalist- given that you think he couldn't be a candidate for the job at UNH? LoL, Of course he could.

__________________
"Let's win this game for all the small schools that never had a chance to get here"
- Hoosiers,
& UVM mens basketball NCAA's 2005

GoCatsGo

Best-dressed coaching duo in the nation!

farfromtheshow

I'm going to break my silence on here because it's pretty apparent that most people sounding off on TJ either:
1. Simply don't have any inside knowledge on the situation or him as a coach or
2. Have some sort of personal grudge against him, likely because it seems that most fans of programs who have yet to actually make it to the big dance have some sort of d--k envy of players and programs who have experienced success and thus take shots at them.

The reason TJ would deserve a very long, hard look from a program like UNH is multi-faceted:
1. UNH has ZERO resources relative to the rest of the college basketball world: They play in a high school gym, they have zero budget and pay their coaches an extremely low salary compared to most of the basketball ranks, they have tough admissions requirements for players, and most importantly they have ZERO track record of winning: No culture of winning, no fan base, little support.

That means that UNH will not get proven coaches with good track records or "In-demand" applicants. They will be choosing from either:
- Older re-treds who have failed in their recent ventures and are trying to rebuild their careers from smoldering ashes or.
-Young, up and comers who have a lot of energy and may have a high upside, but don't have the resume to garner interest from high profile job openings.

For a program like UNH, which really needs a total overhaul as far as culture, building a fan base, and a serious injection of energy, a young coach would be a much better course of action than a re-tred.

2. T.J.'s back ground is in the Ivy League: He knows how to recruit and deal with tough admissions standards, which are an issue at UNH whether people want to accept it or not.

3. He is a BRILLIANT basketball mind. A lot of people only know him as the "Nah, coach, I got this" cocky gunner on the court, but the guy is a big time student of the game and a tremendous mind.

4. He KNOWS the America East: The AE is a very strange animal when it comes to the kind of players who you can recruit who actually pan out, and he knows the league inside and out. He knows what works and what wins and what doesn't.

5. Energy and Motivation: Not only is he young, with tons and tons of energy - which whoever the next coach, if there is a next coach, will need to for the kind of rebuilding effort at an under funded, under-utilized and under-publicized program - but he is EXTREMELY motivated: By all accounts, he had the Brown job - did a great job of holding the program together, the players loved him, nailed the interviews - until some really powerful alumns leaned all their weight on the hiring committee to higher an alumn as the next coach. He's hungry, he wants to win.

Also, for those who keep going "track record": Brown was definitely in a tough spot in the Ivy league with traditional powers Princeton and Penn, Cornell's emergence, and all of the well covered reasons why Harvard was able to sky-rocket by bringing in recruits who would never before have made it through admittance...

He was also, by all accounts, a coach who enjoyed tremendous loyalty of his players and got the most out of them. Furthermore, Agel - the former head coach - was terminated for reasons - which I will not get into on here - which were not performance related and had absolutely nothing to do with T.J...

In conclusion, UNH is not exactly going to have a wealth of qualified suitors applying for the job, if it were to become available... Sorrentine has the energy and motivation, the basketball mind, a history of recruiting through tough admissions, and he knows the league...