'24 Coaching Carousel Thread

[BoulderSooner]

If OU football can hire guys with no HC’ing experience, OU basketball sure as heck can too.

I bet Arizona is happy they didn’t think they were too good to hire an assistant with no prior HC’ing experience.

Tommy loyd was one of the best ast in basketball at a power house for 20 years ...

kellen has worked for his dad .. for 10 those are not the same thing at all

 

[StoopsBros]

Hiring kellen is similar to osu hiring gottlueb asinine. Desperation. Would be the worst basketball coaching hire at ou in my 34 years on earth

If we are really going to hire Kellen Sampson, that’s the clearest sign that nobody gives a **** about the program. I doubt we would do that but it would be a major concern if it’s true.

If Kellen proves himself first at Houston, then I could see us pursuing him, not before. Currently, he should not at all be a candidate for the head coaching job at OU.

Agree with both of you guys. To say I'd be pissed would be a massive understatement.

OU fans: "The admin doesn't care about basketball. Our arena is a piece of [expletive language]. Dead program. Fire Moser! Bring in a real coach!!!! Make OU basketball great again!"

Same OU fans: "We want Kellen!!"

Kellen's bio:

1 familiar last name (this is what the casuals know/care about. Kelvin was successful at OU, and he's doing it at Houston, so that has to mean Kellen will be as well. RIGHT? )
0 head coaching victories

You really can't make it up. Very unserious fans, IMO. Expand your minds. Look outside of the OU bubble.

To dig deeper? Kellen spent a year as an assistant at Stephen F. Austin under head coach Kaspar or something. Don't remember, don't care. They were 18-11. Eh, okay. But then he left to hang out/help Jason Capel at Appalachian State (Jason is now an assistant under brother, and former OU failure, Jeff). They were a hot mess, especially at the end. Typical Capel-led program, if you will. Kellen spent 3 years there, they had 3 losing seasons.

Kellen's young career was already plummeting (that happens when you're attached to the Capels). His dad then rescued him and gave him a job at Houston (when Kelvin got hired, obviously). He's been there since. Basically, outside of one year at SFA, Kellen has gotten paid to live/play/work under the Capel/Sampson umbrella(s). Friends/family. Simply put, it's a very unremarkable resume when it comes to landing a top 25 job like OU and if his name was John Doe, his resume wouldn't even make it to Joe C's desk. But alas, he went to OU and his dad was the (successful) head coach so yeah, here we are having to discuss if this would be a good move or not.

This will come off as being a dick, I don't care. When you have birdbrained morons/shills like Brandon Drumm parroting (and promoting) something/someone, you should want the total opposite. He doesn't know basketball in general nor the college basketball landscape. He's being a mouthpiece for Kellen/his camp (so is Trilly Donovan for that matter - Trilly's doing the same for Moser). Of course Kellen would want the job, he'd get paid $2M+ to lead an SEC program while being terribly underqualified.

Hypothetically, let's pretend Moser does make a cowardly exit to DePaul and OU does give it to Kellen....


SEC programs, their HCs next season (as of 3/7/24), and where they were previously

Program	Head Coach	Previous coaching job/role	Notes
Alabama	Nate Oats	Buffalo HC (4 years)
Arkansas	Eric Musselman	Nevada HC (4 years)	Rumors of a potential departure
Auburn	Bruce Pearl	Tennessee HC (6 years)
Florida	Todd Golden	San Francisco HC (3 years)
Georgia	Mike White	Florida HC (7 years)
Kentucky	John Calipari	Memphis HC (9 years)
LSU	Matt McMahon	Murray State HC (7 years)
Mississippi State	Chris Jans	New Mexico State HC (5 years)
Missouri	Dennis Gates	Cleveland State HC (3 years)	The shine wore off in one year
Oklahoma	Kellen Sampson	Houston AC (10 years)	Worst resume on this list by far
Ole Miss	Chris Beard	Texas HC (1 year + 8 games, lol)	Rumors have him looking elsewhere already.
South Carolina	Lamont Paris	Chattanooga HC (5 years)
Tennessee	Rick Barnes	Texas HC (17 years)
Texas	Rodney Terry	Texas AC (2 years)	Was a HC at several programs in the past & the Beard stuff happened
Texas A&M	Buzz Williams	Virginia Tech HC (5 years)	Another coach who is possibly looking for a new job
Vanderbilt	OPEN JOB (soon)	-	Stackhouse hasn't been fired but it's happening

That would be hilariously awful, IMO. Texas is the only program, outside of the OU/Kellen hypothetical, who has a HC that was an assistant at his last stop. But the Texas deal was crazy, as we know, and it's looking like Texas made a huge mistake. They got put into a bad spot with the Beard ordeal, and Texas winning with Terry as the interim, they felt backed into a corner. They're currently in the middle of regretting it...and it'll get worse if they continue on the same path.

Sidenote: The rumors have Vanderbilt firing Stackhouse this weekend. Top candidates are: Bucky McMillan (Samford HC), Chris Mack (Former Xavier/Louisville HC), and Kyle Smith (Washington State HC). No 10 year assistants will make the cut. Where was Stackhouse coaching before Vandy? He was an assistant in the NBA (Memphis, I think). Obviously, Stack has a familiar name, I loved him as a player, but he didn't have the coaching/recruiting experience (in college) and it's been manifested.

Seriously.

We don't know if Kellen can even coach a lick (as a HC). We don't know if he can recruit at Houston's level or the level OU would need post-Moser (as a HC). There's a reason the coaches on the list above start out at smaller schools first, or are hired away from other high majors, they have to prove they can coach/recruit as the head man. It's very rare for power programs to hire assistants. Grad assistant assistant coach small program/mid major head coach power level head coach. Not always but, by and large, that's how things work.

OU isn't some damn mid major and it shouldn't be a proving ground because some dude's dad was the head coach. That's insane. Tulsa? ORU? Sure, try it, I guess.

There are way too many highly qualified candidates out there. I listed some on the hypothetical hot board. OU is either a serious program (extensive coaching search) or they're not (hiring Kelvin's underqualified son).

If Moser leaves, of course. I hope he stays, keeps a good core, and find more success. First and foremost. If he does leave, I want Joe C to hire the most qualified candidate he can and that shouldn't be Kellen. Not at OU. Not as you head into a new conference that's becoming just as tough as the conference you're leaving.

 

[TEvans4Three]

If OU football can hire guys with no HC’ing experience, OU basketball sure as heck can too.

I bet Arizona is happy they didn’t think they were too good to hire an assistant with no prior HC’ing experience.

I just don't think you can claim OU is a Top-25 program and make that hire at the same time.

It would be a solid chance for someone in the MAC maybe.

Not to mention, I could probably pull up a list of many many more assistant hires that turned our way worse. (Maybe I will do that this afternoon. P5 coaches hired with no HC experience v. success rate)

 

[hoopsaustin]

Agree with both of you guys. To say I'd be pissed would be a massive understatement.

OU fans: "The admin doesn't care about basketball. Our arena is a piece of [expletive language]. Dead program. Fire Moser! Bring in a real coach!!!! Make OU basketball great again!"

Same OU fans: "We want Kellen!!"

Kellen's bio:

1 familiar last name (this is what the casuals know/care about. Kelvin was successful at OU, and he's doing it at Houston, so that has to mean Kellen will be as well. RIGHT? )
0 head coaching victories

You really can't make it up. Very unserious fans, IMO. Expand your minds. Look outside of the OU bubble.

To dig deeper? Kellen spent a year as an assistant at Stephen F. Austin under head coach Kaspar or something. Don't remember, don't care. They were 18-11. Eh, okay. But then he left to hang out/help Jason Capel at Appalachian State (Jason is now an assistant under brother, and former OU failure, Jeff). They were a hot mess, especially at the end. Typical Capel-led program, if you will. Kellen spent 3 years there, they had 3 losing seasons.

Kellen's young career was already plummeting (that happens when you're attached to the Capels). His dad then rescued him and gave him a job at Houston (when Kelvin got hired, obviously). He's been there since. Basically, outside of one year at SFA, Kellen has gotten paid to live/play/work under the Capel/Sampson umbrella(s). Friends/family. Simply put, it's a very unremarkable resume when it comes to landing a top 25 job like OU and if his name was John Doe, his resume wouldn't even make it to Joe C's desk. But alas, he went to OU and his dad was the (successful) head coach so yeah, here we are having to discuss if this would be a good move or not.

This will come off as being a dick, I don't care. When you have birdbrained morons/shills like Brandon Drumm parroting (and promoting) something/someone, you should want the total opposite. He doesn't know basketball in general nor the college basketball landscape. He's being a mouthpiece for Kellen/his camp (so is Trilly Donovan for that matter - Trilly's doing the same for Moser). Of course Kellen would want the job, he'd get paid $2M+ to lead an SEC program while being terribly underqualified.

Hypothetically, let's pretend Moser does make a cowardly exit to DePaul and OU does give it to Kellen....


SEC programs, their HCs next season (as of 3/7/24), and where they were previously

Program	Head Coach	Previous coaching job/role	Notes
Alabama	Nate Oats	Buffalo HC (4 years)
Arkansas	Eric Musselman	Nevada HC (4 years)	Rumors of a potential departure
Auburn	Bruce Pearl	Tennessee HC (6 years)
Florida	Todd Golden	San Francisco HC (3 years)
Georgia	Mike White	Florida HC (7 years)
Kentucky	John Calipari	Memphis HC (9 years)
LSU	Matt McMahon	Murray State HC (7 years)
Mississippi State	Chris Jans	New Mexico State HC (5 years)
Missouri	Dennis Gates	Cleveland State HC (3 years)	The shine wore off in one year
Oklahoma	Kellen Sampson	Houston AC (10 years)	Worst resume on this list by far
Ole Miss	Chris Beard	Texas HC (1 year + 8 games, lol)	Rumors have him looking elsewhere already.
South Carolina	Lamont Paris	Chattanooga HC (5 years)
Tennessee	Rick Barnes	Texas HC (17 years)
Texas	Rodney Terry	Texas AC (2 years)	Was a HC at several programs in the past & the Beard stuff happened
Texas A&M	Buzz Williams	Virginia Tech HC (5 years)	Another coach who is possibly looking for a new job
Vanderbilt	OPEN JOB (soon)	-	Stackhouse hasn't been fired but it's happening

That would be hilariously awful, IMO. Texas is the only program, outside of the OU/Kellen hypothetical, who has a HC that was an assistant at his last stop. But the Texas deal was crazy, as we know, and it's looking like Texas made a huge mistake. They got put into a bad spot with the Beard ordeal, and Texas winning with Terry as the interim, they felt backed into a corner. They're currently in the middle of regretting it...and it'll get worse if they continue on the same path.

Sidenote: The rumors have Vanderbilt firing Stackhouse this weekend. Top candidates are: Bucky McMillan (Samford HC), Chris Mack (Former Xavier/Louisville HC), and Kyle Smith (Washington State HC). No 10 year assistants will make the cut. Where was Stackhouse coaching before Vandy? He was an assistant in the NBA (Memphis, I think). Obviously, Stack has a familiar name, I loved him as a player, but he didn't have the coaching/recruiting experience (in college) and it's been manifested.

Seriously.

We don't know if Kellen can even coach a lick (as a HC). We don't know if he can recruit at Houston's level or the level OU would need post-Moser (as a HC). There's a reason the coaches on the list above start out at smaller schools first, or are hired away from other high majors, they have to prove they can coach/recruit as the head man. It's very rare for power programs to hire assistants. Grad assistant assistant coach small program/mid major head coach power level head coach. Not always but, by and large, that's how things work.

OU isn't some damn mid major and it shouldn't be a proving ground because some dude's dad was the head coach. That's insane. Tulsa? ORU? Sure, try it, I guess.

There are way too many highly qualified candidates out there. I listed some on the hypothetical hot board. OU is either a serious program (extensive coaching search) or they're not (hiring Kelvin's underqualified son).

If Moser leaves, of course. I hope he stays, keeps a good core, and find more success. First and foremost. If he does leave, I want Joe C to hire the most qualified candidate he can and that shouldn't be Kellen. Not at OU. Not as you head into a new conference that's becoming just as tough as the conference you're leaving.

100%

 

[mict085]

Carlin Hartman is getting some buzz as a potential head coach and would be way higher on the list than Kellen Sampson. I’m not advocating for him, I’m just saying he’s a much better candidate than KS. To me, we should hire the best coach we possibly can and people targeting KS is just lazy and ignorant.

Be aggressive and go after the best candidates. That is, if we have an opening.

 

[WichitaSooner]

Carlin Hartman is getting some buzz as a potential head coach and would be way higher on the list than Kellen Sampson. I’m not advocating for him, I’m just saying he’s a much better candidate than KS. To me, we should hire the best coach we possibly can and people targeting KS is just lazy and ignorant.

Be aggressive and go after the best candidates. That is, if we have an opening.

I wouldn’t worry too much about the KS talk. It sounds like one “reporter” is the only person saying there is any buzz. And our basketball beat guys are the same ones who didn’t know our leading scorer wasn’t playing Tuesday till he appeared in street clothes in warmups. Those guys are too busy listening to Brent speak for eight hours about every guy on the roster to actually pay attention to what is happening in the LNC.

 

[StoopsBros]

I wrote a lot of words last night. I was a little buzzed. It happens. Sorry for that (and this, lol). StoopsBrosDiaries.

@TEvans4Three I was actually looking into the list of P5, or "high majors", coaches last night.

To maybe save you some time, I'll post.


= had previous (college) HC experience

= didn't

Simple enough.

I'll use the ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big 10, Pac 12 (last time ever), and SEC as the power conferences...you/someone else could add Memphis, Gonzaga, whoever else that we'd deem semi-elite programs in lower conferences (the MWC is damn good conference this year).

Program	Conference	Coach	Previous HC experience?
Boston College Eagles	ACC	Earl Grant
Clemson Tigers	ACC	Brad Brownell
Duke Blue Devils	ACC	Jon Scheyer
Florida State Seminoles	ACC	Leonard Hamilton
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	ACC	Damon Stoudamire	(was the HC at Pacific)
Louisville Cardinals	ACC	Kenny Payne
Miami Hurricanes	ACC	Jim Larrañaga
NC State Wolfpack	ACC	Kevin Keatts
North Carolina Tar Heels	ACC	Hubert Davis
Notre Dame Fighting Irish	ACC	Micah Shrewsberry
Pittsburgh Panthers	ACC	Jeff Capel III
Syracuse Orange	ACC	Adrian Autry
Virginia Cavaliers	ACC	Tony Bennett
Virginia Tech Hokies	ACC	Mike Young
Wake Forest Demon Deacons	ACC	Steve Forbes
Baylor Bears	Big 12	Scott Drew
BYU Cougars	Big 12	Mark Pope
Cincinnati Bearcats	Big 12	Wes Miller
Houston Cougars	Big 12	Kelvin Sampson
Iowa State Cyclones	Big 12	T. J. Otzelberger
Kansas Jayhawks	Big 12	Bill Self
Kansas State Wildcats	Big 12	Jerome Tang
Oklahoma Sooners	Big 12	Porter Moser
Oklahoma State Cowboys	Big 12	Mike Boynton
TCU Horned Frogs	Big 12	Jamie Dixon
Texas Longhorns	Big 12	Rodney Terry	(was the HC at UTEP)
Texas Tech Red Raiders	Big 12	Grant McCasland
UCF Knights	Big 12	Johnny Dawkins
West Virginia Mountaineers	Big 12	Josh Eilert	(interim)
Butler Bulldogs	Big East	Thad Matta
Creighton Bluejays	Big East	Greg McDermott
DePaul Blue Demons	Big East	Tony Stubblefield	(fired)
Georgetown Hoyas	Big East	Ed Cooley
Marquette Golden Eagles	Big East	Shaka Smart
Providence Friars	Big East	Kim English
St. John's Red Storm	Big East	Rick Pitino
Seton Hall Pirates	Big East	Shaheen Holloway
UConn Huskies	Big East	Dan Hurley
Villanova Wildcats	Big East	Kyle Neptune	(one year at Fordham)
Xavier Musketeers	Big East	Sean Miller
Illinois Fighting Illini	Big Ten	Brad Underwood
Indiana Hoosiers	Big Ten	Mike Woodson	(was a HC in the NBA)
Iowa Hawkeyes	Big Ten	Fran McCaffery
Maryland Terrapins	Big Ten	Kevin Willard
Michigan Wolverines	Big Ten	Juwan Howard
Michigan State Spartans	Big Ten	Tom Izzo
Minnesota Golden Gophers	Big Ten	Ben Johnson
Nebraska Cornhuskers	Big Ten	Fred Hoiberg
Northwestern Wildcats	Big Ten	Chris Collins
Ohio State Buckeyes	Big Ten	Chris Holtmann	(fired)
Penn State Nittany Lions	Big Ten	Mike Rhoades
Purdue Boilermakers	Big Ten	Matt Painter
Rutgers Scarlet Knights	Big Ten	Steve Pikiell
Wisconsin Badgers	Big Ten	Greg Gard
Arizona Wildcats	Pac-12	Tommy Lloyd
Arizona State Sun Devils	Pac-12	Bobby Hurley
California Golden Bears	Pac-12	Mark Madsen
Colorado Buffaloes	Pac-12	Tad Boyle
Oregon Ducks	Pac-12	Dana Altman
Oregon State Beavers	Pac-12	Wayne Tinkle
Stanford Cardinal	Pac-12	Jerod Haase
UCLA Bruins	Pac-12	Mick Cronin
USC Trojans	Pac-12	Andy Enfield
Utah Utes	Pac-12	Craig Smith
Washington Huskies	Pac-12	Mike Hopkins
Washington State Cougars	Pac-12	Kyle Smith
Alabama Crimson Tide	SEC	Nate Oats
Arkansas Razorbacks	SEC	Eric Musselman
Auburn Tigers	SEC	Bruce Pearl
Florida Gators	SEC	Todd Golden
Georgia Bulldogs	SEC	Mike White
Kentucky Wildcats	SEC	John Calipari
LSU Tigers	SEC	Matt McMahon
Mississippi State Bulldogs	SEC	Chris Jans
Missouri Tigers	SEC	Dennis Gates
Ole Miss Rebels	SEC	Chris Beard
South Carolina Gamecocks	SEC	Lamont Paris
Tennessee Volunteers	SEC	Rick Barnes
Texas A&M Aggies	SEC	Buzz Williams
Vanderbilt Commodores	SEC	Jerry Stackhouse

I'll let you determine the success rate...but not all 's are the same obviously. Scheyer, Autry, Izzo, Hubert D, and Gard replaced retiring legends. Boynton was an assistant at OSU when Underwood left to Illinois. I would say hiring Kellen would be closest to Tommy Lloyd, Jerome Tang, and/or Mike Hopkins (long-time assistants not taking over at where they were assistants at)...except Kellen would be less seasoned and Kellen is an alum of OU while the others aren't alums (UW or AZ or KState).

 

[WTSooner]

Carlin Hartman is getting some buzz as a potential head coach and would be way higher on the list than Kellen Sampson. I’m not advocating for him, I’m just saying he’s a much better candidate than KS. To me, we should hire the best coach we possibly can and people targeting KS is just lazy and ignorant.

Be aggressive and go after the best candidates. That is, if we have an opening.

Best coach?

How do you even measure that? There are SO many factors that play into hiring a coach.

Upside. Floor. Who is available. Who is willing to listen. Who is in or willing to play in the price range we'd want to offer. Are they somebody that would stay and not bolt in a year or two? Culture. Values. Resume. How the interview process goes. Style of play. Ability to recruit in this part of the country.

Some of you all are selling Kellen short. He is absolutely thought of nationally as one of the top assistant coaches. I don't know if that means top 3, top 5, or top 10, but he's in that discussion. You don't have to believe me, you can look it up yourself.

Kelvin said several years ago that Kellen, a) handles most of the recruiting and identifies the players they will go after, and b) handles a lot of the individual workouts with players. I've seen several of them over the years tweet giving Kellen credit for some of the development.

Coach A - No HC experience, top assistant, on paper has a potentially high ceiling.
Coach B - Been coaching a while. Generally has a solid roster that produces solid results. Consistent 20-10 type seasons. Around .500 in conference play. Over and over and over and over and over again. That is probably his ceiling.

Which is the better coach? There isn't a black and white answer to that question. Coach B comes with less risk, but way less upside. Coach A is risky, but is likely the only way OU will ever be able to hire an elite college basketball coach.

Before Kellen was named HC in waiting, there was a lot more hype on him. And that was what, 5 years ago? He has 5 more years of experience and Houston has been a top 5 program over the last 5 years. Somebody mentioned his time at SFA. Pretty sure that HC and even the one at App State had nothing but fantastic things to say about Kellen. He didn't run from those programs or wasn't pushed out, they loved him at both spots. He's been an assistant coach for about 15 seasons.

I doubt there are 5 assistant coaches in the country that haven't been HC's that have better resumes than Kellen. Again, there is risk because it's unknown how he'll do as a HC. But there is tons of upside. TONS. And more and more schools, even top 25 programs, that have made hires like that in recent years. Arizona did it with Lloyd. Scheyer at Duke was what, 34-35 when they made him the HC? He had less than half the years of experience as an assistant coach as Kellen has. The HC at San Diego State is older and had more assistant coaching experience, but no HC experience before landing that job. He's done well.

That's just off the top of my head, in men's basketball. I've already mentioned OU football. Slightly different animal, but going back to OU hiring Bud Wilkinson in 1947, that's been 11 HC's during that time, TEN OF THEM WERE FIRST TIME HC'S!!!!! But OU basketball can't hire a first time HC? That's an insane stance to take.

 

[AltSooner33]

Agree with both of you guys. To say I'd be pissed would be a massive understatement.

OU fans: "The admin doesn't care about basketball. Our arena is a piece of [expletive language]. Dead program. Fire Moser! Bring in a real coach!!!! Make OU basketball great again!"

Same OU fans: "We want Kellen!!"

Kellen's bio:

1 familiar last name (this is what the casuals know/care about. Kelvin was successful at OU, and he's doing it at Houston, so that has to mean Kellen will be as well. RIGHT? )
0 head coaching victories

You really can't make it up. Very unserious fans, IMO. Expand your minds. Look outside of the OU bubble.

To dig deeper? Kellen spent a year as an assistant at Stephen F. Austin under head coach Kaspar or something. Don't remember, don't care. They were 18-11. Eh, okay. But then he left to hang out/help Jason Capel at Appalachian State (Jason is now an assistant under brother, and former OU failure, Jeff). They were a hot mess, especially at the end. Typical Capel-led program, if you will. Kellen spent 3 years there, they had 3 losing seasons.

Kellen's young career was already plummeting (that happens when you're attached to the Capels). His dad then rescued him and gave him a job at Houston (when Kelvin got hired, obviously). He's been there since. Basically, outside of one year at SFA, Kellen has gotten paid to live/play/work under the Capel/Sampson umbrella(s). Friends/family. Simply put, it's a very unremarkable resume when it comes to landing a top 25 job like OU and if his name was John Doe, his resume wouldn't even make it to Joe C's desk. But alas, he went to OU and his dad was the (successful) head coach so yeah, here we are having to discuss if this would be a good move or not.

This will come off as being a dick, I don't care. When you have birdbrained morons/shills like Brandon Drumm parroting (and promoting) something/someone, you should want the total opposite. He doesn't know basketball in general nor the college basketball landscape. He's being a mouthpiece for Kellen/his camp (so is Trilly Donovan for that matter - Trilly's doing the same for Moser). Of course Kellen would want the job, he'd get paid $2M+ to lead an SEC program while being terribly underqualified.

Hypothetically, let's pretend Moser does make a cowardly exit to DePaul and OU does give it to Kellen....


SEC programs, their HCs next season (as of 3/7/24), and where they were previously

Program	Head Coach	Previous coaching job/role	Notes
Alabama	Nate Oats	Buffalo HC (4 years)
Arkansas	Eric Musselman	Nevada HC (4 years)	Rumors of a potential departure
Auburn	Bruce Pearl	Tennessee HC (6 years)
Florida	Todd Golden	San Francisco HC (3 years)
Georgia	Mike White	Florida HC (7 years)
Kentucky	John Calipari	Memphis HC (9 years)
LSU	Matt McMahon	Murray State HC (7 years)
Mississippi State	Chris Jans	New Mexico State HC (5 years)
Missouri	Dennis Gates	Cleveland State HC (3 years)	The shine wore off in one year
Oklahoma	Kellen Sampson	Houston AC (10 years)	Worst resume on this list by far
Ole Miss	Chris Beard	Texas HC (1 year + 8 games, lol)	Rumors have him looking elsewhere already.
South Carolina	Lamont Paris	Chattanooga HC (5 years)
Tennessee	Rick Barnes	Texas HC (17 years)
Texas	Rodney Terry	Texas AC (2 years)	Was a HC at several programs in the past & the Beard stuff happened
Texas A&M	Buzz Williams	Virginia Tech HC (5 years)	Another coach who is possibly looking for a new job
Vanderbilt	OPEN JOB (soon)	-	Stackhouse hasn't been fired but it's happening

That would be hilariously awful, IMO. Texas is the only program, outside of the OU/Kellen hypothetical, who has a HC that was an assistant at his last stop. But the Texas deal was crazy, as we know, and it's looking like Texas made a huge mistake. They got put into a bad spot with the Beard ordeal, and Texas winning with Terry as the interim, they felt backed into a corner. They're currently in the middle of regretting it...and it'll get worse if they continue on the same path.

Sidenote: The rumors have Vanderbilt firing Stackhouse this weekend. Top candidates are: Bucky McMillan (Samford HC), Chris Mack (Former Xavier/Louisville HC), and Kyle Smith (Washington State HC). No 10 year assistants will make the cut. Where was Stackhouse coaching before Vandy? He was an assistant in the NBA (Memphis, I think). Obviously, Stack has a familiar name, I loved him as a player, but he didn't have the coaching/recruiting experience (in college) and it's been manifested.

Seriously.

We don't know if Kellen can even coach a lick (as a HC). We don't know if he can recruit at Houston's level or the level OU would need post-Moser (as a HC). There's a reason the coaches on the list above start out at smaller schools first, or are hired away from other high majors, they have to prove they can coach/recruit as the head man. It's very rare for power programs to hire assistants. Grad assistant assistant coach small program/mid major head coach power level head coach. Not always but, by and large, that's how things work.

OU isn't some damn mid major and it shouldn't be a proving ground because some dude's dad was the head coach. That's insane. Tulsa? ORU? Sure, try it, I guess.

There are way too many highly qualified candidates out there. I listed some on the hypothetical hot board. OU is either a serious program (extensive coaching search) or they're not (hiring Kelvin's underqualified son).

If Moser leaves, of course. I hope he stays, keeps a good core, and find more success. First and foremost. If he does leave, I want Joe C to hire the most qualified candidate he can and that shouldn't be Kellen. Not at OU. Not as you head into a new conference that's becoming just as tough as the conference you're leaving.

I read your hot board. Which of the candidates do you think would for sure be a better coach and fit here, that we would be able to get? We aren’t getting the big names you mentioned. The rest of the candidates you mentioned don’t really excite me. I’d take Wade, but we all know Joe C isn’t doing that. Maybe Abdur Rahim.

I’m sure there’s some decent ones in there, but not many names stand out to me that we could realistically get, or wouldn’t come here and be another Moser situation.

 

[BoulderSooner]

I wrote a lot of words last night. I was a little buzzed. It happens. Sorry for that (and this, lol). StoopsBrosDiaries.

@TEvans4Three I was actually looking into the list of P5, or "high majors", coaches last night.

To maybe save you some time, I'll post.


= had previous (college) HC experience

= didn't

Simple enough.

I'll use the ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big 10, Pac 12 (last time ever), and SEC as the power conferences...you/someone else could add Memphis, Gonzaga, whoever else that we'd deem semi-elite programs in lower conferences (the MWC is damn good conference this year).

Program	Conference	Coach	Previous HC experience?
Boston College Eagles	ACC	Earl Grant
Clemson Tigers	ACC	Brad Brownell
Duke Blue Devils	ACC	Jon Scheyer
Florida State Seminoles	ACC	Leonard Hamilton
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	ACC	Damon Stoudamire	(was the HC at Pacific)
Louisville Cardinals	ACC	Kenny Payne
Miami Hurricanes	ACC	Jim Larrañaga
NC State Wolfpack	ACC	Kevin Keatts
North Carolina Tar Heels	ACC	Hubert Davis
Notre Dame Fighting Irish	ACC	Micah Shrewsberry
Pittsburgh Panthers	ACC	Jeff Capel III
Syracuse Orange	ACC	Adrian Autry
Virginia Cavaliers	ACC	Tony Bennett
Virginia Tech Hokies	ACC	Mike Young
Wake Forest Demon Deacons	ACC	Steve Forbes
Baylor Bears	Big 12	Scott Drew
BYU Cougars	Big 12	Mark Pope
Cincinnati Bearcats	Big 12	Wes Miller
Houston Cougars	Big 12	Kelvin Sampson
Iowa State Cyclones	Big 12	T. J. Otzelberger
Kansas Jayhawks	Big 12	Bill Self
Kansas State Wildcats	Big 12	Jerome Tang
Oklahoma Sooners	Big 12	Porter Moser
Oklahoma State Cowboys	Big 12	Mike Boynton
TCU Horned Frogs	Big 12	Jamie Dixon
Texas Longhorns	Big 12	Rodney Terry	(was the HC at UTEP)
Texas Tech Red Raiders	Big 12	Grant McCasland
UCF Knights	Big 12	Johnny Dawkins
West Virginia Mountaineers	Big 12	Josh Eilert	(interim)
Butler Bulldogs	Big East	Thad Matta
Creighton Bluejays	Big East	Greg McDermott
DePaul Blue Demons	Big East	Tony Stubblefield	(fired)
Georgetown Hoyas	Big East	Ed Cooley
Marquette Golden Eagles	Big East	Shaka Smart
Providence Friars	Big East	Kim English
St. John's Red Storm	Big East	Rick Pitino
Seton Hall Pirates	Big East	Shaheen Holloway
UConn Huskies	Big East	Dan Hurley
Villanova Wildcats	Big East	Kyle Neptune	(one year at Fordham)
Xavier Musketeers	Big East	Sean Miller
Illinois Fighting Illini	Big Ten	Brad Underwood
Indiana Hoosiers	Big Ten	Mike Woodson	(was a HC in the NBA)
Iowa Hawkeyes	Big Ten	Fran McCaffery
Maryland Terrapins	Big Ten	Kevin Willard
Michigan Wolverines	Big Ten	Juwan Howard
Michigan State Spartans	Big Ten	Tom Izzo
Minnesota Golden Gophers	Big Ten	Ben Johnson
Nebraska Cornhuskers	Big Ten	Fred Hoiberg
Northwestern Wildcats	Big Ten	Chris Collins
Ohio State Buckeyes	Big Ten	Chris Holtmann	(fired)
Penn State Nittany Lions	Big Ten	Mike Rhoades
Purdue Boilermakers	Big Ten	Matt Painter
Rutgers Scarlet Knights	Big Ten	Steve Pikiell
Wisconsin Badgers	Big Ten	Greg Gard
Arizona Wildcats	Pac-12	Tommy Lloyd
Arizona State Sun Devils	Pac-12	Bobby Hurley
California Golden Bears	Pac-12	Mark Madsen
Colorado Buffaloes	Pac-12	Tad Boyle
Oregon Ducks	Pac-12	Dana Altman
Oregon State Beavers	Pac-12	Wayne Tinkle
Stanford Cardinal	Pac-12	Jerod Haase
UCLA Bruins	Pac-12	Mick Cronin
USC Trojans	Pac-12	Andy Enfield
Utah Utes	Pac-12	Craig Smith
Washington Huskies	Pac-12	Mike Hopkins
Washington State Cougars	Pac-12	Kyle Smith
Alabama Crimson Tide	SEC	Nate Oats
Arkansas Razorbacks	SEC	Eric Musselman
Auburn Tigers	SEC	Bruce Pearl
Florida Gators	SEC	Todd Golden
Georgia Bulldogs	SEC	Mike White
Kentucky Wildcats	SEC	John Calipari
LSU Tigers	SEC	Matt McMahon
Mississippi State Bulldogs	SEC	Chris Jans
Missouri Tigers	SEC	Dennis Gates
Ole Miss Rebels	SEC	Chris Beard
South Carolina Gamecocks	SEC	Lamont Paris
Tennessee Volunteers	SEC	Rick Barnes
Texas A&M Aggies	SEC	Buzz Williams
Vanderbilt Commodores	SEC	Jerry Stackhouse

I'll let you determine the success rate...but not all 's are the same obviously. Scheyer, Autry, Izzo, Hubert D, and Gard replaced retiring legends. Boynton was an assistant at OSU when Underwood left to Illinois. I would say hiring Kellen would be closest to Tommy Lloyd, Jerome Tang, and/or Mike Hopkins (long-time assistants not taking over at where they were assistants at)...except Kellen would be less seasoned and Kellen is an alum of OU while the others aren't alums (UW or AZ or KState).

I would add that guys like Lloyd, Tang, Collins, and Scheyer had lots of experience working for elite HC and were allowed to run the show in lots of way to be able to gain experience along the way ...

 

[WTSooner]

Best coach?

How do you even measure that? There are SO many factors that play into hiring a coach.

Upside. Floor. Who is available. Who is willing to listen. Who is in or willing to play in the price range we'd want to offer. Are they somebody that would stay and not bolt in a year or two? Culture. Values. Resume. How the interview process goes. Style of play. Ability to recruit in this part of the country.

Some of you all are selling Kellen short. He is absolutely thought of nationally as one of the top assistant coaches. I don't know if that means top 3, top 5, or top 10, but he's in that discussion. You don't have to believe me, you can look it up yourself.

Kelvin said several years ago that Kellen, a) handles most of the recruiting and identifies the players they will go after, and b) handles a lot of the individual workouts with players. I've seen several of them over the years tweet giving Kellen credit for some of the development.

Coach A - No HC experience, top assistant, on paper has a potentially high ceiling.
Coach B - Been coaching a while. Generally has a solid roster that produces solid results. Consistent 20-10 type seasons. Around .500 in conference play. Over and over and over and over and over again. That is probably his ceiling.

Which is the better coach? There isn't a black and white answer to that question. Coach B comes with less risk, but way less upside. Coach A is risky, but is likely the only way OU will ever be able to hire an elite college basketball coach.

Before Kellen was named HC in waiting, there was a lot more hype on him. And that was what, 5 years ago? He has 5 more years of experience and Houston has been a top 5 program over the last 5 years. Somebody mentioned his time at SFA. Pretty sure that HC and even the one at App State had nothing but fantastic things to say about Kellen. He didn't run from those programs or wasn't pushed out, they loved him at both spots. He's been an assistant coach for about 15 seasons.

I doubt there are 5 assistant coaches in the country that haven't been HC's that have better resumes than Kellen. Again, there is risk because it's unknown how he'll do as a HC. But there is tons of upside. TONS. And more and more schools, even top 25 programs, that have made hires like that in recent years. Arizona did it with Lloyd. Scheyer at Duke was what, 34-35 when they made him the HC? He had less than half the years of experience as an assistant coach as Kellen has. The HC at San Diego State is older and had more assistant coaching experience, but no HC experience before landing that job. He's done well.

That's just off the top of my head, in men's basketball. I've already mentioned OU football. Slightly different animal, but going back to OU hiring Bud Wilkinson in 1947, that's been 11 HC's during that time, TEN OF THEM WERE FIRST TIME HC'S!!!!! But OU basketball can't hire a first time HC? That's an insane stance to take.

I'm not saying we should definitely hire Kellen.

I'm not even saying he is the best option or has the highest ceiling (though I think I could support that statement).

But some of you all are wanting to write him off for all the wrong reasons. And that is kind of lame.

 

[WTSooner]

I would add that guys like Lloyd, Tang, Collins, and Scheyer had lots of experience working for elite HC and were allowed to run the show in lots of way to be able to gain experience along the way ...

Kelvin Sampson has been an elite college coach for a while now.

Kellen Sampson has ran a lot of what UH does. He leads the charge on recruiting and individual workouts/player development. Kelvin stated that publicly years ago.

 

[StoopsBros]

1-31 will get you fired, who knew.

 

[hoopsaustin]

Best coach?

How do you even measure that? There are SO many factors that play into hiring a coach.

Upside. Floor. Who is available. Who is willing to listen. Who is in or willing to play in the price range we'd want to offer. Are they somebody that would stay and not bolt in a year or two? Culture. Values. Resume. How the interview process goes. Style of play. Ability to recruit in this part of the country.

Some of you all are selling Kellen short. He is absolutely thought of nationally as one of the top assistant coaches. I don't know if that means top 3, top 5, or top 10, but he's in that discussion. You don't have to believe me, you can look it up yourself.

Kelvin said several years ago that Kellen, a) handles most of the recruiting and identifies the players they will go after, and b) handles a lot of the individual workouts with players. I've seen several of them over the years tweet giving Kellen credit for some of the development.

Coach A - No HC experience, top assistant, on paper has a potentially high ceiling.
Coach B - Been coaching a while. Generally has a solid roster that produces solid results. Consistent 20-10 type seasons. Around .500 in conference play. Over and over and over and over and over again. That is probably his ceiling.

Which is the better coach? There isn't a black and white answer to that question. Coach B comes with less risk, but way less upside. Coach A is risky, but is likely the only way OU will ever be able to hire an elite college basketball coach.

Before Kellen was named HC in waiting, there was a lot more hype on him. And that was what, 5 years ago? He has 5 more years of experience and Houston has been a top 5 program over the last 5 years. Somebody mentioned his time at SFA. Pretty sure that HC and even the one at App State had nothing but fantastic things to say about Kellen. He didn't run from those programs or wasn't pushed out, they loved him at both spots. He's been an assistant coach for about 15 seasons.

I doubt there are 5 assistant coaches in the country that haven't been HC's that have better resumes than Kellen. Again, there is risk because it's unknown how he'll do as a HC. But there is tons of upside. TONS. And more and more schools, even top 25 programs, that have made hires like that in recent years. Arizona did it with Lloyd. Scheyer at Duke was what, 34-35 when they made him the HC? He had less than half the years of experience as an assistant coach as Kellen has. The HC at San Diego State is older and had more assistant coaching experience, but no HC experience before landing that job. He's done well.

That's just off the top of my head, in men's basketball. I've already mentioned OU football. Slightly different animal, but going back to OU hiring Bud Wilkinson in 1947, that's been 11 HC's during that time, TEN OF THEM WERE FIRST TIME HC'S!!!!! But OU basketball can't hire a first time HC? That's an insane stance to take.

Lost me at "an elite college basketball coach" when describing kellen. Who has spent almost his entire career working under daddy...

 

[StoopsBros]

For giggles...





Could the Muss Bus end up in Louisville? That would set off a funny set of dominoes. Beard to Arkansas, for example.

 

[WTSooner]

Lost me at "an elite college basketball coach" when describing kellen. Who has spent almost his entire career working under daddy...

I mean, if you are going to use quotations, you should at least make sure that is what I said.

It's not.

He is absolutely thought of as one of the top assistants. Google is your friend. Plenty of articles/lists out there over the years.

 

[StoopsBros]

I read your hot board. Which of the candidates do you think would for sure be a better coach and fit here, that we would be able to get? We aren’t getting the big names you mentioned. The rest of the candidates you mentioned don’t really excite me. I’d take Wade, but we all know Joe C isn’t doing that. Maybe Abdur Rahim.

I’m sure there’s some decent ones in there, but not many names stand out to me that we could realistically get, or wouldn’t come here and be another Moser situation.

Oh man, I'm really not sure...so much of that depends on Joe C, timing, finances, and who the other programs, with openings, hire.

For example, Kyle Smith at Washington State. As we all know, Washington State is now a mid major (the MWC is still a strong conference). He will end up leaving Wazzu. He'd pick OU over staying in Pullman, no doubt about that. Guaranteed. But will someone else hire him first? He might be the lead candidate at Vandy if they fire Stackhouse.

Will Wade? Yeah, it's probably not something Joe C will do even though he damn well should, hypothetically. The **** he did is now legal (for the most part) and let's be honest for a second, it is/was happening at most "major" programs...to some degree. His major offense was getting caught. You can do wrong, just don't get caught, and make "us" look bad.

While it's too hard for me to say who'd be the perfect candidate (with so much to shake out in the coaching/portal season), or who Joe C could/would hire (not named Kellen), my overall point, I guess, is...WHY ARE WE ACTING LIKE OU IS SOME SMALL-MINDED PROGRAM INCAPABLE OF HIRING A LEGIT/SITTING HC? OU has the money, the prestige, and would be an upgrade over a lot of other programs/situations. Yes, the arena is "mid", yes the fan support wanes, it doesn't prevent OU from making a better hire than a former coach's son.

OU's most recent basketball hires:


Porter Moser (Loyola HC)

Look, at the time, Moser was deemed to be a damn good hire. Successful head coach at Loyola, media darling, likeable guy, etc. If it weren't OU, Moser would have landed somewhere else at this level. I still think he can be really good at OU. His biggest downfall(s), to me, circulate around roster construction. He's just figuring out how to assemble a roster at this level (in year 3). The program wasn't that stable when he took it over, IMO, either. Kruger started adding dead weight to the roster.


Lon Kruger (UNLV HC)

OU needed someone who'd stabilize the program after Capel's mess. Kruger did that and then some...until the bottom starting falling out (he got old on the job). I won't write a bunch of words on Kruger....he's a HOFer, it was a good-to-great hire. Great man, etc.


Jeff Capel (VCU HC)

Ooh...another "at the time, it was a solid/good hire". But damn, this is the hire that Joe C really, really got wrong and he probably wishes he could take back. It was Joe C's first basketball HC hire as well (he didn't hire Kelvin). Capel had one great year, mostly credited to the Griffins IMO, but overall, I'd deem it a massive failure (understatement).


Kelvin Sampson (Washington State HC)

As stated above, Joe C didn't hire Kelvin. It was Donnie Duncan. I was 14 years old when Kelvin was hired so I'd be lying if I said I 100% remember the details. But from looking into what you can google/read, Kelvin was a solid hire in '96. He took over a Wazzu program that was coming off 4 years of mediocrity. It took Kelvin some time to get things going there and it culminated in a berth to the NCAA tourney which propelled him to OU. Kelvin did a lot of great things at OU but he also left in a messy ass way. As we all know. Those teams were fun but I really don't subscribe to the notion that Kellen = hiring Kelvin again. It's just too risky in my opinion.

Billy Tubbs (Lamar HC)

The OU GOAT HC. When he was hired at OU, he was coming off a Sweet 16 trip at FUCCING Lamar. Speaking of Lamar, that's probably a great school Kellen could start his HC career at (kidding). PUT BILLY IN THE HOF! NOW!

Dave Bliss (Indiana Assistant)

Known mostly for the Baylor stuff that went down under his watch (just gross stuff). Bliss was an assistant under Bob Knight at Indiana before OU. I really don't know how Bliss was viewed back in those days. Today, he's viewed as a piece of, you get it. Eh, he did go to a Sweet 16 at OU. Someone older than me can chime in.


I'll stop there. OU has consistently hired previous HCs. Bliss being the one listed exception. If Moser leaves, my best guess is Joe C will hire an experienced HC. Let Kellen take over at UH, or let him get his feet wet somewhere else.

 

[hoopsaustin]

I mean, if you are going to use quotations, you should at least make sure that is what I said.

It's not.

He is absolutely thought of as one of the top assistants. Google is your friend. Plenty of articles/lists out there over the years.

"Coach A is risky, but is likely the only way OU will ever be able to hire an elite college basketball coach."

Sorry, you are right. You were insinuating that he is likely the only way to hire an elite coach.. largely based on his dada's self-serving praise and some journalist dorks..

 

[StoopsBros]

I will admit that I'm underselling Kellen a bit. He's a good assistant. But how much of that is his dad selling his son? I just don't know. So much of what you read has a bias attached.

Anyway, I want Kellen to succeed. At Houston. Or Lamar. Or any other mid major. I just don't want OU to be the experiment.

Dammit, now I have to go look into D1 HC's sons turned D1 coaches + success rate. Or @TEvans4Three can lol. Our resident data man.

 

[WTSooner]

I think Kellen has gotten praise over the years from plenty of folks that weren't his dad.

That has slowed in recent years with the HC-in-Waiting tag, but the coaches at SFA and App State were both VERY high on what he brought to those programs. I think Capel has had nice things to say about him as well.

I don't think Kelvin went out of his way to praise Kellen, and to publicly give him credit for recruiting and player development just to prop his son up. That doesn't seem like something Kelvin would do to me. None of that means Kellen is a lock to succeed. But I certainly don't see any red flags to suggest he can't be a very good head coach. I didn't like the little trash can kicking episode from a few years ago, but I've seen Kelvin, Sutton, Moser and a bunch of other experienced act like idiots on the sideline too.

I don't expect Kellen to end up here. Matter of fact, with us making the tournament, I'm not sure Moser is even leaving. We'll see.