MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[hornets76542]

Tough to judge a hire when I don't know what other options were out there and I haven't met the guy yet, but my initial reaction is that I would have preferred someone with some head coaching experience. That might be asking too much though. I really hope this guy knows what he's doing, because that roster is ready to win and it would be a shame if their coach's inexperience held them back.

[RFMichigan]

I am not all that surprised at this hire. This is pretty late in the game to hire a coach what with practice starting in a month or so and Coach Giard comes from one of the more successful DIII programs in the country. I can't imagine a head coach leaving their own school at this point in the year to take another job, and if one were willing to leave their school at this late date to take the K-zoo job, what does that say about them, either as a coach or otherwise? The Kalamazoo job does have its draws: a very highly respected school academically in a conference that supports basketball, but without being a "blue-blood" DIII basketball program my 15,000 foot view is that this is a pretty good hire for the Hornets.  By the way, I was much more surprised that Hope went out and hired a high school coach with no college experience at all even if he was an alum and was lauded at the high school level although that seems to have turned out just fine for them. 

[Jameswys]

I am not all that surprised at this hire. This is pretty late in the game to hire a coach what with practice starting in a month or so and Coach Giard comes from one of the more successful DIII programs in the country. I can't imagine a head coach leaving their own school at this point in the year to take another job, and if one were willing to leave their school at this late date to take the K-zoo job, what does that say about them, either as a coach or otherwise? The Kalamazoo job does have its draws: a very highly respected school academically in a conference that supports basketball, but without being a "blue-blood" DIII basketball program my 15,000 foot view is that this is a pretty good hire for the Hornets.  By the way, I was much more surprised that Hope went out and hired a high school coach with no college experience at all even if he was an alum and was lauded at the high school level although that seems to have turned out just fine for them.

I couldn't agree with you more. This late in the year if you were to hire a head coach leaving a program, that would be a major red flag to me. Either he's leaving a mess behind or he'll do the same to you when a better offer comes along.

[Gregory Sager]

There's always a chance that you could find a former head coach, though, although that narrows down the possibilities considerably.

[sac]

Neither of K's previous hires before Jay Smith had head coaching experience, both Rob Passage and Eric Dougle came from the assistant ranks.  Even Jay Smith hadn't been a head coach in 11 years before taking the Kzoo job.

Hope's last 3 head coaches (VanWieren, Neil, Mitchell)  had zero college head coaching experience, and I would bet Russ DeVette who preceded Van Wieren didn't either.

[sac]

I think July 15 is the date Jay Smith resigned, so Kzoo did their search and interview process in just about 60 days.  Even if the hiring date is late in the game, it can't really be said it was because of a slow search process.  Just bad timing on the resignation really.

Anyway, its all John Beilein's fault.

[toad22]

I know Nick Giard from Williams. I think the K fans are going to like him a lot. He is a Michigander through and through. One of his very strong traits is his recruiting ability. The Great Lakes region is one of his areas of concentration for the last two years. He knows the coaches in the area and a great many prospects. I know that he has studied the existing players at Kalamazoo and really likes what he sees. I suspect Nick will install an upbeat offense that the players will enjoy playing. Best of all, Nick is a really good person.

[hopefan]

Wonder if Nick put in for the Plattsburgh job.... they still haven't hired, put themselves in a real mess.... I understand from what you writers are saying that coming back to Michigan made this a real match for Nick, I'm just saying Plattsburgh is also a very desirable  position    (and yes, it snows in both places)... best of luck to the new Kzoo coach....

[Gregory Sager]

I don't think that there's much of a comparison between Kalamazoo and Plattsburgh State, as it's very much an apples vs. oranges situation. If your focus is upon the question of which school has a higher ceiling for basketball success, then it's a no-brainer in favor of the latter. The Cardinals are undoubtedly better poised to thrive on the basketball court than are the Hornets. They've demonstrated it with six D3 tourney appearances in this decade alone, whereas Kalamazoo has always been nothing more than a middling program in a league dominated by two rivals who until quite recently have very rarely given anybody else in the league room to breathe.

But if your focus is institutional ... well, then we're talking about the difference between a small, prestigious private school in a city of 76,000 people that's well within the reach of several major population centers, and a mid-sized public branch university of modest academic stature located in a remote northern outpost of 19,000 people that's closer to Montreal than it is to any substantial metropolitan area in the U.S. -- and it bears mentioning that the population of upstate New York is emptying out pretty rapidly. Put succinctly, Plattsburgh State is much, much easier to get into ... but only if you can get there. 

I suppose it's feasible that Giard could've applied at both places, but they look like they're two vastly different jobs that wouldn't necessarily attract the same applicants. Given Giard's Michigander roots and his experience at a school similar to Kalamazoo in terms of profile, the Hornets job looks like the logical fit for him.

[sac]

Timely: https://hope.edu/news/2019/campus-life/hope-president-names-free-tuition-as-top-goal-during-inaugural-address.html

Scogin acknowledged that achieving the goal of free tuition won't be easy.  "This is a big ambition," he said.  "So large that it probably sounds crazy and unachievable."

Yes, crazy and unachievable.

apparently not that crazy or unachievable
https://news.wooster.edu/news/2019/09/affording-a-wooster-education-just-got-easier-for-ohio-residents/

[Goknights2017]

Timely: https://hope.edu/news/2019/campus-life/hope-president-names-free-tuition-as-top-goal-during-inaugural-address.html

Scogin acknowledged that achieving the goal of free tuition won't be easy.  "This is a big ambition," he said.  "So large that it probably sounds crazy and unachievable."

Yes, crazy and unachievable.

apparently not that crazy or unachievable
https://news.wooster.edu/news/2019/09/affording-a-wooster-education-just-got-easier-for-ohio-residents/

Free tuition for students that qualify for OCOG and free tuition for all students is a huge difference.

[WUPHF]

Free college for everyone...with Pell and SEOG eligibility and a background that meets our need-aware admission standards...

[hopefan]

Greg. I understand the differences well. Know both schools well.  My point (implied), is that a head job opening is a head job opening...😉

[Gregory Sager]

Well, at this time of year (as has been pointed out by others) you may be right. I think that in springtime, however, when job openings are plentiful, there may be some selectivity in terms of which jobs people apply for.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

I am not all that surprised at this hire. This is pretty late in the game to hire a coach what with practice starting in a month or so and Coach Giard comes from one of the more successful DIII programs in the country. I can't imagine a head coach leaving their own school at this point in the year to take another job, and if one were willing to leave their school at this late date to take the K-zoo job, what does that say about them, either as a coach or otherwise? The Kalamazoo job does have its draws: a very highly respected school academically in a conference that supports basketball, but without being a "blue-blood" DIII basketball program my 15,000 foot view is that this is a pretty good hire for the Hornets.  By the way, I was much more surprised that Hope went out and hired a high school coach with no college experience at all even if he was an alum and was lauded at the high school level although that seems to have turned out just fine for them.

I couldn't agree with you more. This late in the year if you were to hire a head coach leaving a program, that would be a major red flag to me. Either he's leaving a mess behind or he'll do the same to you when a better offer comes along.

I don't agree with the point by Jameswys whatsoever.

There are, first, so many factors and reasons coaching hires take place late in the game, as it where, that to then come up with the two reasons you describe is incredibly unfair. Coaching hires only stop for a "cycle" when colleges either make up their minds or slap interim tags on the job. There are always some late hires and some have to be given to less-than-desirable coaches because that's all that is left ... but that are factors involved with that. Timing of the position being opened, decision on whether to hire fulltime for the next season (not interim), how fast HR can help get the job posted and applications come in, how fast the process is allowed to take place (sometimes HR departments don't allow for a speedy process), and if it goes well finalists (how ever many have to be asked) taking the job.

I can points to a NUMBER of coaching hires that were in September or later that neither were bad coaches, were leaving a mess where they where, or left the school in the same way. Case in point just this offseason, Trevor Woodruff. He was hired INCREDIBLY late by Scranton for their WBB job (in their second job search that off-season), but Misericordia MBB was in pretty good shape had he stayed and he left just after the season finished this past spring to take the Bucknell job.

Another example, Mike Blaine just took the Plattsburgh job leaving Medaille. Medaille isn't in shambles. I suspect they will be competing for the AMCC title this season. He has been a finalist for many jobs in the last few years - as have a number of other coaches. He has an opportunity to move on and he is taking it. The reason the hire is this late is because of Plattsburgh and their search (I will leave my comments on it to another time) dragged on for far too long - they two had to open the job a second time. I don't think Blaine has any goal of leaving Plattsburgh (if he ever does) at the last minute in the future. Sometimes the timing is a bitch.

BTW - Medaille isn't angry with him (though, I am not sure about players who I am sure are disappointed). From what I've heard, the school has been very understanding.

I think you are making a very large assumption, or being completely unfair, that a coach taking a job and leaving another at this time of the season is either leaving behind a mess or will do this to someone else in the future. Timing can't be helped and is really controlled by those hiring. It will continue as Medaille is likely to open their job shortly and I suspect Bridgewater (ODAC) will do the same for their opening. Depending on who they take (assistants from elsewhere is my guess) will determine if this continues into October or November.