Poll: Lon's Future at OU

[MrAnderson]

What say you, OUhoops board?

 

[daqman]

I would have voted "Lon needs to retire at the end of the season" but it isn't an option.

 

[MrAnderson]

I would have voted "Lon needs to retire at the end of the season" but it isn't an option.

I agree with you. But, for the sake of argument, let's assume that he is not interested in retirement.

 

[Soonerinkc]

I would have voted "Lon needs to retire at the end of the season" but it isn't an option.

Agree, cause he ain’t getting fired EVER.

 

[thebigabd]

It is time... and I believe I have found OU's next coach. Just need to alert Joe C. that a decision has been made.

I think Eric Konkol is an interesting prospect. Head coach at LA Tech. Seems like a good balanced effort. Great on defense, good on offense, good on turnovers.

Has gone 23-10, 23-10, 20-13, and 17-16 at LA Tech. They are 20-7 this year. So 4 out of 5 years with more than 20 wins. They still have 3 games left plus conference tournament. Could get to 23 or more wins again this year. That would be 3 out of 5 years with 23 or more wins.

*It is a 14 team league, so consider that with the rankings*

#1 in CUSA in FG Defense
#1 in scoring defense
#1 in scoring margin
#4 in scoring offense
#2 in FG percentage
#3 in 3pt percentage
#4 in 3pt defense
#1 in turnover margin
#1 in assist/turnover ratio
#4 in steals

 

[daqman]

I agree with you. But, for the sake of argument, let's assume that he is not interested in retirement.

Then I had to go with #2. His seat should be hot and the heat needs to be turned up in his office. Unless he turns things around fast, he won't be getting any contract extensions. When does his current contract expire?

 

[opsooner]

What's going to happen if OU doesn't fire him (and they will not)? Are fans going to stay home? :ez-laugh:

He will retire when he wants to retire.

 

[thebigabd]

Then I had to go with #2. His seat should be hot and the heat needs to be turned up in his office. Unless he turns things around fast, he won't be getting any contract extensions. When does his current contract expire?

I believe 2021

 

[daqman]

I believe 2021

That's what I was thinking. So one more year and he's gone. If he has a stellar recruiting class next year he may get another year just to keep them around.

Didn't you find our next coach somewhere out in New Mexico a couple weeks ago? Now you have someone else? Make up your mind.

 

[thebigabd]

That's what I was thinking. So one more year and he's gone. If he has a stellar recruiting class next year he may get another year just to keep them around.

Didn't you find our next coach somewhere out in New Mexico a couple weeks ago? Now you have someone else? Make up your mind.

Skyvue said no to that guy because he has some baggage from his job at Bowling Green. So now Skyvue needs to consider this guy.

 

[MJSooner]

It is time... and I believe I have found OU's next coach. Just need to alert Joe C. that a decision has been made.

I think Eric Konkol is an interesting prospect. Head coach at LA Tech. Seems like a good balanced effort. Great on defense, good on offense, good on turnovers.

Has gone 23-10, 23-10, 20-13, and 17-16 at LA Tech. They are 20-7 this year. So 4 out of 5 years with more than 20 wins. They still have 3 games left plus conference tournament. Could get to 23 or more wins again this year. That would be 3 out of 5 years with 23 or more wins.

*It is a 14 team league, so consider that with the rankings*

#1 in CUSA in FG Defense
#1 in scoring defense
#1 in scoring margin
#4 in scoring offense
#2 in FG percentage
#3 in 3pt percentage
#4 in 3pt defense
#1 in turnover margin
#1 in assist/turnover ratio
#4 in steals

So let me get this straight, we should get rid of Lon this year, who has reached the tourney 6 of the last 7 years, won 20 games or more 5 of 7, because he sucks.

And we should replace him with a guy with like 5-6 yrs experience who took a team that the Florida coach had going to the tourney, yet he hasn’t gone to the NCAAs once and never won the league title. But he is good because he wins 20 games a year and has good team stats in conference USA??

Normally I really respect your opinion and posts bigabd but have to disagree on this one.

I’m not saying Kruger is perfect and we really need to improve some things, but we shouldn’t change just to change for a young up and comer. Ask Texas how that worked with Barnes and Smart.

 

[WTSooner]

So let me get this straight, we should get rid of Lon this year, who has reached the tourney 6 of the last 7 years, won 20 games or more 5 of 7, because he sucks.

And we should replace him with a guy with like 5-6 yrs experience who took a team that the Florida coach had going to the tourney, yet he hasn’t gone to the NCAAs once and never won the league title. But he is good because he wins 20 games a year and has good team stats in conference USA??

Normally I really respect your opinion and posts bigabd but have to disagree on this one.

I’m not saying Kruger is perfect and we really need to improve some things, but we shouldn’t change just to change for a young up and comer. Ask Texas how that worked with Barnes and Smart.

I'm not sold on the LT guy, but who is OU going to get? We've went young (Capel) and we've went old (Kruger), and other than Kruger getting the program back on solid footing, I wouldn't say either has really lived up to what we all expect OU basketball to be. We're more than likely going to have to take a chance on an unproven coach. Like we did with Tubbs, and like we did with Sampson. Those two times it worked. It didn't with Capel. Lon was the right fit at the time, but now? Not so much. OU isn't going to go out and hire a top 10 national coach. We'll have to take a chance on a guy. And I'm fine with that. Hire who Joe C. thinks is the best fit, the most upside, and hope it works. If not, we'll try again until we find the right one. But I don't want to be stuck in this hell that is mediocrity any longer.

 

[thebigabd]

MJSooner... you can't get sucked into that trap logic. Kelvin Sampson went 103-103 at Washington State, and went to the NCAA Tournament one time. That is one of the hardest jobs in the country though, and pretty much impossible to win.

The "resume comparison" logic against Lon will exclude ALL up and comers. "Oh, so you want to get rid of a guy who has won 500 games in favor of some 45 year old at a smaller school?".. Etc. You can't think that way, because it excludes the pool.

• Fastest head coach in LA Tech history to win 50 games
• Back to back 23 win seasons was the best two year stretch in LA Tech history
• The 23 victories in year 1 was most in program history by a first year head coach in program history
• They beat a Big 10 school for the first time in 30 years
• They went 15-1 at home in one of his years, best in program history
• The program has only won 20 games in a season 25 times. Konkol has 4 of them already

This will likely be the kind of guy that replaces Lon... I can't even think of many seasoned "end of career" veterans out there that seem like legit OU candidates. It's highly unlikely OU fires Lon and hires this PARTICULAR guy, but I think when OU does replace it will be someone like this.... And I like coaches who do good things at schools that are hard to win at. Shaka Smart and Jeff Capel had an easier job at VCU. LA Tech apparently has zero history, tough job, and this guy is doing well historically there as you can see above.

I can think of lots of guys who I think would win at OU... Chris Jans at New Mexico State, Grant McCasland at North Texas, Eric Konkle at LA Tech, Mike Anderson from St. Johns... I said this forever ago and I will say it again, I even think Doc Sadler would win at OU. He is very similar to Sampson. Just old school, grind it out on defense kinda guy.

 

[BCSooners]

MJSooner... you can't get sucked into that trap logic. Kelvin Sampson went 103-103 at Washington State, and went to the NCAA Tournament one time. That is one of the hardest jobs in the country though, and pretty much impossible to win.

The "resume comparison" logic against Lon will exclude ALL up and comers. "Oh, so you want to get rid of a guy who has won 500 games in favor of some 45 year old at a smaller school?".. Etc. You can't think that way, because it excludes the pool.

• Fastest head coach in LA Tech history to win 50 games
• Back to back 23 win seasons was the best two year stretch in LA Tech history
• The 23 victories in year 1 was most in program history by a first year head coach in program history
• They beat a Big 10 school for the first time in 30 years
• They went 15-1 at home in one of his years, best in program history
• The program has only won 20 games in a season 25 times. Konkol has 4 of them already

This will likely be the kind of guy that replaces Lon... I can't even think of many seasoned "end of career" veterans out there that seem like legit OU candidates. It's highly unlikely OU fires Lon and hires this PARTICULAR guy, but I think when OU does replace it will be someone like this.... And I like coaches who do good things at schools that are hard to win at. Shaka Smart and Jeff Capel had an easier job at VCU. LA Tech apparently has zero history, tough job, and this guy is doing well historically there as you can see above.

I can think of lots of guys who I think would win at OU... Chris Jans at New Mexico State, Grant McCasland at North Texas, Eric Konkle at LA Tech, Mike Anderson from St. Johns... I said this forever ago and I will say it again, I even think Doc Sadler would win at OU. He is very similar to Sampson. Just old school, grind it out on defense kinda guy.

The LA Tech program has gotten worse since he's been there. He was fastest to 50 because White set him up. Sampson inherited crap and made them average and trending upward.

I wouldn't like this hire at all.

The coaching landscape & names will be different in 2-3 years, which is when I expect Kruger to retire.

Just for fun though, I'll say East Tennessee & Northern Colorado coaches are 2 to keep an eye on that could do well at OU.

 

[steverocks35]

I don't know who we could get, but we need someone young that can inject some energy into the program.

 

[WTSooner]

I don't know who we could get, but we need someone young that can inject some energy into the program.

I think we need somebody hard nosed. Beard would be a GREAT fit. We need somebody that preaches defense and toughness, since we'll rarely have elite talent. Somebody that can win with less. Coach kids up. Have a good offense with only 3-4 real scorers in the 6-7 deep.

 

[daqman]

I would evaluate the assistants on the Baylor staff. Someone there is doing an amazing job of evaluating/recruiting/developing players. Maybe Scott Drew is the genius and it ends there. But I would at least give the assistants a look.

 

[AdaSooner]

I would evaluate the assistants on the Baylor staff. Someone there is doing an amazing job of evaluating/recruiting/developing players. Maybe Scott Drew is the genius and it ends there. But I would at least give the assistants a look.

Not a bad idea. Baylor was the perennial conference bottom feeder once, a game OU counted as a W before the season got underway. I remember when the knock on Scott Drew used to be “he can recruit but he can’t coach.” Did Drew find his coaching mojo or did he bring in well-qualified assistants who are making him look good?

Baylor has always recruited fairly well, but somebody (maybe more than one) is doing one heck of a job with player development. Didn’t I hear an announcer say their team is made up mostly of players who were redshirted? I realize you’ve got to do a good job of identifying and filling needs. But, the majority of their players aren’t super stars. They’re just really good basketball players.

 

[steverocks35]

Not a bad idea. Baylor was the perennial conference bottom feeder once, a game OU counted as a W before the season got underway. I remember when the knock on Scott Drew used to be “he can recruit but he can’t coach.” Did Drew find his coaching mojo or did he bring in well-qualified assistants who are making him look good?

Baylor has always recruited fairly well, but somebody (maybe more than one) is doing one heck of a job with player development. Didn’t I hear an announcer say their team is made up mostly of players who were redshirted? I realize you’ve got to do a good job of identifying and filling needs. But, the majority of their players aren’t super stars. They’re just really good basketball players.

The announcers said that Baylor didn't have a top-50 guy on the roster. Amazing evaluation and player development.

 

[Soonerinkc]

Not a bad idea. Baylor was the perennial conference bottom feeder once, a game OU counted as a W before the season got underway. I remember when the knock on Scott Drew used to be “he can recruit but he can’t coach.” Did Drew find his coaching mojo or did he bring in well-qualified assistants who are making him look good?

Baylor has always recruited fairly well, but somebody (maybe more than one) is doing one heck of a job with player development. Didn’t I hear an announcer say their team is made up mostly of players who were redshirted? I realize you’ve got to do a good job of identifying and filling needs. But, the majority of their players aren’t super stars. They’re just really good basketball players.

They either said they have 10 or will have 10