I'm talking strictly about their resumes prior to being hired. Quin at the time was considered a good hire (considered among the top assistants in the country), and while it ended horribly he was not that bad through the first four years (overall success comparable to Martin). Anderson was a great hire at the time. He'd been to a sweet 16 (if you're using tournament success as a measuring stick, which for these purposes I am*) and had a good pedigree as an assistant at one of the best programs in the 90s (I believe they won more games in that decade than anyone else). And although an argument could be made that this year's national coach of the year still has a lot to prove, and although he wasn't hugely successful at Miami, he did at least have an NCAA tournament win before MU hired him.
But that really isn't the point. The point is ksu has a history stretching back multiple decades of hiring mediocre candidates. They're in decent shape now, but I doubt whoever they hire will be someone inspiring excitement around the program. They might end up with someone competent by chance. They've done it before (Kruger, Martin). But they won't end up with anyone who has other major options.
Typical MU fan, US Basketball Writers Association... either way. Clearly Haith's only supporters are homers.
Haith won 30 games with seven scholarship players. Yes, those were players someone else signed. But that prior coach won only 22 games with the same group (plus four additional players). It remains to be seen what Haith will do when these players are gone, but it's pretty clear that given the right players and resources the guy is a hell of a coach.
Kruger had a losing record at Pan-American before getting the ksu job. The only reason he was even considered at ksu is because of his ties to the program as a player/assistant. As a head coach he'd done nothing to merit being hired by a Big 8 team (one that was, at the time, a pretty solid program).
Altman had done nothing to distinguish himself, either. His only noteworthy accomplishment at that point was bringing Mitch Richmond with him when Kruger hired him as an assistant.
Both guys ended up being good coaches with long careers. But at the time they were hired, neither had done anything to indicate the success they'd eventually have (mostly after ksu) would be likely. They may end up with someone like that again. John Groce at Ohio, for example, seems like a hell of a coach. But he's not someone who'd bring instant buzz or credibility to their program. And IMO that's a best-case scenario for them. Ohio returns every single player from their sweet 16 team this year. I expect him to return to Ohio for one last run before taking a job at a bigger program next year (at the earliest).
But honestly... I don't care who they hire. It'll be fun to watch their fans set their sights high only to end up with a fourth-tier choice (and again... I'm aware of the irony).
Edit: just saw that rumors are circulating about Groce to Illinois (a top 25 type job... and significantly better than ksu). Guess I could be wrong about him staying at Ohio one more year (and wrong that he'd be the type of guy ksu would end up with... they might have to go a step lower).
