MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[KnightSlappy]

A key difference between IWU and Hope is that both Jack Horenberger and Dennie Bridges remained as AD after retiring as bball coach.  Thus Jack NAMED Dennie as coach; Dennie named Scott Trost as coach.  The latter MAY have been a mistake (though he won the CCIW 3 of 4 years) - he left the cupboard pretty bare after 4 years for new coach (also named by Dennie Bridges) Ron Rose.

Hiring a young coach is a double-edged sword.  Ideally, they are a 'college lifer' (IWU has been blessed with quite a number of such talented coaches in several sports), but they may also be ambitious in a more 'career-path' way (as Trost was) and use Hope as a stepping stone towards d1 riches.  (We're holding our breath on both Ron Rose and Mia Smith (women's bball coach) who are bound to get lots of offers and hopefully will stay Titans.)  I wish you luck in finding a coach who will be great for decades AT Hope.

]

I can count without using any fingers the number of coaches I can recall in any sport who have left Hope to go somewhere else.

But really basketball is the best opportunity for a Hope coach to "step towards d1 riches" and GVW has had the position locked down for some time.

I don't think Hope is too good to be used as a stepping stone by an ambitious young coach. Not that it will be, or that the imaginary coach in question would come in with the intention to, but Hope is an upper echelon program that is prone to success so job offers will naturally come.

[ziggy]

But really basketball is the best opportunity for a Hope coach to "step towards d1 riches" and GVW has had the position locked down for some time.

I don't think Hope is too good to be used as a stepping stone by an ambitious young coach. Not that it will be, or that the imaginary coach in question would come in with the intention to, but Hope is an upper echelon program that is prone to success so job offers will naturally come.

I'm sure a large part of the search process will hinge on the intentions or motives a prospective candidate may have. I expect a thorough process as Hope College is not used to having to find a new basketball coach.

[ChicagoHopeNut]

I just heard the news and am shocked to see GVW stepping away now. I hope all is well and he enjoys a very well deserved retirement. It was unclear to me if he is leaving just coaching or teaching as well? Anyone know?

I am a bit surprised to see a national search too. I really figured the replacement would be someone with a Hope background and come together very quickly. We'll see.

[SBell]

Quite a juxtaposition on the front page of the Sentinel -- GVW, and ... a war criminal who will be a Tulip Time speaker?

[sac]

There is nothing wrong with speculation. Glenn isn't dead, he's just retired. What harm can you do by speculating?

Agreed. This is open for conversation.

No one said it wasn't but we've had people who aren't even associated with Hope throwing in names of coaches from other programs and a couple high school coaches who probably aren't even going to apply thrown in the ring.........all within less than 6 hours of the announcement.

Random speculation is neither healthy nor wise, that is all hopeconvert was trying to convey.

[Erm Schmigget]

I just heard the news and am shocked to see GVW stepping away now. I hope all is well and he enjoys a very well deserved retirement. It was unclear to me if he is leaving just coaching or teaching as well? Anyone know?

I am a bit surprised to see a national search too. I really figured the replacement would be someone with a Hope background and come together very quickly. We'll see.

Coach and Professor, Van Wieren is entering retirement to focus on his family.  He is 68 years old, which is not too old to coach or teach, but not a surprising age at which to retire.  In fact, in his interview with Jack Doles during last night's news broadcast, he mentioned that he started his career at Hope as the youngest member of the faculty, and is now retiring as the oldest member of the faculty.

I enjoyed this article: http://www.d3hoops.com/notables/2010/04/14/van-wieren-ready-for-next-chapter.html

Perhaps the reason the Kineseology department head is conducting the search is the teaching vacancy VanWieren leaves behind.  One of the names mentioned in this discussion is Chad Carlson.  For several years, it has appeared to me that Chad has been in the process of becoming a candidate for the position after VanWieren's retirement.  I was told a couple days ago that he has his PhD in Kineseology.  

That, along with his history with the Hope basketball program, makes him seem like a very strong candidate.  There was a Sentinel article several years ago about how he, and his brother Jeff (the current JV coach), had been Hope basketball fans through and through as long as they could remember.  That kind of devotion to the program won't go unnoticed, I'm sure.  And as for using the Hope coaching position as a springboard to a more lucrative DI job, that just doesn't seem likely with Chad.  

No inside info to back any of this up, so I guess this is just speculation (sorry to those bothered by that).  This is just based on my observations.  I'm sure there are many other candidates that will be carefully considered, but I have no real observations to share re: anyone else.

[KNIGHTRHOPE]

??Morehouse to Mens  BBall in 2011-2012.....Schoonveld to Womens???  JW
  Neal interim?  Trial year ? JW      

[KnightSlappy]

There is nothing wrong with speculation. Glenn isn't dead, he's just retired. What harm can you do by speculating?

Agreed. This is open for conversation.

No one said it wasn't but we've had people who aren't even associated with Hope throwing in names of coaches from other programs and a couple high school coaches who probably aren't even going to apply thrown in the ring.........all within less than 6 hours of the announcement.

Random speculation is neither healthy nor wise, that is all hopeconvert was trying to convey.

I don't think the speculation was random. To the best of my understanding, all the coaches that were mentioned had either been involved in a past national coaching search at a top program, or are local or related to the Hope program.

I don't see the un-wisdom or un-health in idle review of the situation on an un-official message board with people who are in no way involved with any sort of decision making.

[GoKnights68]

There is nothing wrong with speculation. Glenn isn't dead, he's just retired. What harm can you do by speculating?

Agreed. This is open for conversation.

No one said it wasn't but we've had people who aren't even associated with Hope throwing in names of coaches from other programs and a couple high school coaches who probably aren't even going to apply thrown in the ring.........all within less than 6 hours of the announcement.

Random speculation is neither healthy nor wise, that is all hopeconvert was trying to convey.

What would you like us to talk about then, Sac?

[Erm Schmigget]

??Morehouse to Mens  BBall in 2011-2012.....

I'm not so sure this is something either Hope or Coach Mo would consider for very long.  He's in a very good place for all concerned where he is right now.

  Neal interim?  Trial year ? JW      

This is not so far out in left field, and an opportunity I think Coach Neil would enjoy.  Who knows, I might like to see it, too.

[WooHoopsntrack01]

Congrats to coach GVW!  We'll miss the battles, the cheers, and the jeers. Total class act.  Won't be the same without you.  Had the pleasure of seeing coach at the Mich State Hoops Championships and he looked great.  Hope all is well.....and this is the one time you will ever here me say..."Go Hope".  I would imagine it would stay in house, as jobs like that only come open like really twice a century.  I'd imagine the same would be at Woo now as well as Rochester where Neer, another great has recently retired.  I think that job will go to Sweeney if he wants it.  Again congrats.

[oldknight]

Quite a juxtaposition on the front page of the Sentinel -- GVW, and ... a war criminal who will be a Tulip Time speaker?

I admit Erik Prince as choice of a Tulip Time speaker is curious, and neither Erik Prince nor Blackwater (now Xe) are above reproach, but war criminal? This is the sad state of affairs in our country. People--without the least bit of intellectual shame--can ventilate hyperbolic rhetoric as if there can be no countervailing or mitigating arguments.

"Sentence first--verdict afterwards" said the Red Queen, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter 12 (Alice's Evidence), by Lewis Carroll.

[Pat Coleman]

No one said it wasn't but we've had people who aren't even associated with Hope throwing in names of coaches from other programs and a couple high school coaches who probably aren't even going to apply thrown in the ring.........all within less than 6 hours of the announcement.

Random speculation is neither healthy nor wise, that is all hopeconvert was trying to convey.

The board is open to all and since Hope's next coach is very on-topic for this board, there's nothing wrong with discussing it. It's not the MIAA's private club or Hope's fan board.

[Gregory Sager]

Congratulations to Glenn Van Wieren upon the conclusion of a long and highly successful career. I hope that he enjoys many years of a well-deserved retirement.

There is nothing wrong with speculation. Glenn isn't dead, he's just retired. What harm can you do by speculating?

Agreed. This is open for conversation.

No one said it wasn't but we've had people who aren't even associated with Hope throwing in names of coaches from other programs

Nothing wrong with that. This is an open forum, and there's no rule that says that supporters of other programs can't chime in with their own speculation as to the possible successor of Glenn Van Wieren or any other departing head coach. The natural response when a coach leaves a program is to start thinking out loud as to whom his successor might be, whether it be candidates from inside or from outside the program.

As far as the Hope fans vs. outsiders thing goes, I can see why Hope folks might be miffed at the fact that Bob and Chuck took GVW's departure as an opportunity to start an irrelevant back-and-forth in this room about Illinois Wesleyan basketball coaches, but that's hardly unusual d3boards.com behavior. Those of us who participate in multiple rooms bring our own schools into discussions all the time. It's only human ... and there's really no protocol that says that you can't do it. Hey, look at the bright side -- at least they weren't using GVW's retirement as an opportunity to talk about Calvin coaching changes.

and a couple high school coaches who probably aren't even going to apply thrown in the ring.........all within less than 6 hours of the announcement.

Random speculation is neither healthy nor wise, that is all hopeconvert was trying to convey.

I disagree completely. Not healthy? Not wise? As the Dean said:

I don't see the un-wisdom or un-health in idle review of the situation on an un-official message board with people who are in no way involved with any sort of decision making.

How could anything that is said in this room possibly affect Hope's search process? We're all just a bunch of outsiders with extremely limited information and no access to the inner workings of the process. And this is a public discussion board, where anything that is said is taken by school administrators with not a grain of salt, but a handful of it. Lastly, this kind of topic is exactly why d3boards.com exists in the first place. Why put the kibosh on what could be the liveliest discussion of a very long off-season?

If you think about it, it's a compliment to both GVW and to Hope that his retirement has spearheaded such active interest and so much debate in this room. It's also a compliment to the MIAA and to the dedication and passion of its fans that participate in this room; contrast it with the crickets chirping in the UAA room, where the retirement of another legendary coach, Mike Neer of Rochester, hasn't spawned a tenth as much of a discussion as GVW's has in here.

By the way, Erm Schmigget's 11:00 am post was very well-thought-out and informative. Kudos.

[realist]

Starting a new coaching job is hard enough under the best of condidtions, but having the added burden of replacing a legend makes it infinitely more difficult.   Whomever takes the position is going to be compared to GVW.  An internal candidate runs the risk of always working under the shadow of his predesssor, and an external candidate is vulnerable to failing to understand the Hope way of doing things.  It is almost a no win proposition except for a candidate that has already built a record of success as a head coach at a college similar enough to Hope so that they will be able to come in, make some changes and quickly put their own stamp on the program.  Look at smaller sucessful D3 and possibly NAIA schools with similar academic/morale philosophies as logical longterm sources of a replacement for GVW.  I just don't see Hope going with a candidate that is just looking to get another notch in their belt on the way up.