[charliemike]

I wonder why he struggled at George Mason but his record at Bucknell was really in line with what we want next.

 

[catpower]

Dave Paulsen might be an interesting name at UMBC. He's proven to be successful at the LM D1 level at Bucknell as well as in the lower divisions. UMBC's academic standards would also not be unfamiliar territory to him.

Paulsen got Mason back to being respectable after the weird Paul Hewitt era. He did have his best years with some of Hewitt's better players though. A10 was probably just out of his depth; good enough to not be awful, but not consistent to be good enough to keep that job. He'd be good at this level, and I could see some interest, but I also recall a HoopDirt nugget that he was in the mix for an assistant spot at BC. He's 56, has been a head coach practically his whole career, might want that change of pace. Also, he could sit it out and easily slide into an Ivy League opening next year (Cornell or Dartmouth maybe).

I think UMBC will attract some sitting head coaches in similar leagues. Bashir Mason at Wagner? He hasn't gotten them to the dance, but he's had 3 NEC regular season titles, has won 60% of his conference games in 9 years, and his down years seem to be mostly due to graduation or losing his best player to a transfer up. Looking over his rosters he recruits the mid-atlantic from NY through the Carolinas to Wagner. UMBC in every way is a better job than Wagner in terms of salary and resources. Only thing keeping him there is he's a Jersey City native, so if he doesn't want to leave home and have a steady gig...but, never say never.

 

[charliemike]

You’re not wrong about him. And I know we aren’t Vermont in terms of long term success but would you be happy replacing Becker with Paulson or Mason?

They don’t excite me but that’s because I’m hoping for another rising star.

 

[catpower]

You’re not wrong about him. And I know we aren’t Vermont in terms of long term success but would you be happy replacing Becker with Paulson or Mason?

They don’t excite me but that’s because I’m hoping for another rising star.

Yeah, I probably would be. UVM's AD would be too stupid and not even discuss them. I mean, everyone knows if Becker leaves they're handing the job to Cieplicki or at least giving him first right of refusal because doing a coaching search with a minimal amount of effort is what UVM loves best.

But, I will say this. John Becker wasn't a rising star. He wasn't even the ex-AD's choice until some donors and trustees stepped in to nix his other internal choice, which he was making so he could get it done and go on a European vacation. Take away Ryan Odom's last name and would you have considered him a rising star at the time of his hiring? If you want the "rising star" in the "well it's what everyone on twitter says" camp, chances are you only open yourself up to disappointment. The next coach doesn't need to excite, they gotta win!

 

[charliemike]

I can’t disagree with that. I don’t know what I want other than someone to keep this going. We have come a long way from the days of just hiring the assistant of the guy we just fired.

 

[ball_of_rubber]

Because I scrolled by Vermont's resident idiot hot take sports radio guy offering his "thoughts" on Odom taking the job, I'm subjecting you all to it too.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1379433713109512193

He had a follow-up tweet about how he didn't realize Utah State was in a good league that gets multiple tournament bids and member institutions with way more money to throw around. At least he's getting roasted in the replies a little bit. It stings to lose a coach who did good things for the school...but losing coaches to multi-bid leagues like the Mountain West? Can't complain.

I know it's a big deal in journalism to be credited for being the first to report a breaking story, so I'll just say it must suck to be the actual reporter to be the one to break it and see the credit go to Jeff Goodman.

Imagine that being your job and you get to keep it despite being so bad at it.

How much does Skip Bayless get from FS1?

 

[catpower]

One thing that is fun to do is track down an AD's twitter account and see which coaches try and get themselves in the mix for a job, when they likely have no chance or just don't realize people can see what they're doing out in the open. Anyway, Brian Barrio's recent followers include:

David Patrick - Arkansas assistant/former UC Riverside HC/Ben Simmons' godfather

Bruce Shingler - South Carolina assistant/former Towson/Morgan State assistant

Maurice Joseph - Former George Mason assistant/former GW head coach/former UVM player

Chris Gerlufsen - Hawaii assistant coach/former Hartford assistant coach

https://twitter.com/UMBC_AD/followers

Patrick is interesting because he's connected and he left Riverside because they might drop athletics, but he laid some ground work there. I guess if Odom can go out west with no connections a guy who hasn't coached east of Arkansas can too. Poor Mojo, I hope he gets a shot somewhere because the GW situation really wasn't his fault and he was set up to fail, but I don't think that's gonna be at UMBC.

 

[ball_of_rubber]

Breaking down Ryan Odom’s contract as next USU head coach | The Utah Statesman

Utah State University has a new men’s head basketball coach. After the University of Utah poached former Utah State men’s…

usustatesman.com

 

[charliemike]

Odom has a very good agent. That's a good deal for him, including the USU buyout if they let him go. Also, $680K a year pool for his assistants, operations, and admin staff.

 

[barneybearcat]

What is he doing with his staff? I would assume he is not taking all of them with him since he will most likely need to hire a couple west coast guys.

 

[charliemike]

What is he doing with his staff? I would assume he is not taking all of them with him since he will most likely need to hire a couple west coast guys.

I think Nate Dixon will go with him. Nate's been with him forever.

 

[umainealum]

Breaking down Ryan Odom’s contract as next USU head coach | The Utah Statesman

Utah State University has a new men’s head basketball coach. After the University of Utah poached former Utah State men’s…

usustatesman.com

Very good contract right there. I'm sure the incentives in his contract will go into the 6 digits as well (things like graduation rate, team GPA, conference finish, NCAA Tournament, NCAA Tournament wins, etc). Hell, just not having to pay his health/dental ins and the car would be into the tens of thousands of value. Also, cool to be able to take his family on their chartered flights. That's pretty good value as well.

Well deserved IMO. Hope he absolutely kills it out there.

 

[charliemike]

I watched his press conference at Utah State, and I was really impressed with his poise and how eloquent he was in his speech. He still has some of those verbal ticks like “alright” and things like that but he wove really compelling narrative of his journey till now and why he was there and what he thought about his responsibility as a coach and a leader. I have to say like if I was a Utah State fan I would feel really really good about his hiring. Not just because he beat Virginia but because he seems like a person a very high character who is going to produce the types of results that they want.

We all know this from watching him for five years at UMBC, but it really showed how much he’s grown as a leader and as a coach since then. There was a marked difference between his initial press conference at UMBC and his press conference at Utah State. I’m going to miss him and I’m grateful for his time in UMBC.