For Those That Think That…

[The Miami Ute]

Craig Smith’s days are numbered as Utah MBB HC, ponder this…this is Johnny Dawkins’ ninth season as the head coach of UCF and he’s only been to the NCAAs one time and won more than 20 games in a season twice…but, he’s only had one losing season, during Covid, and made the NITs three additional times. Maybe that comparison is good enough for Harlan to give Smith an extension?

[Jim Vanderhoof]

Average coach below average recruiter = average to below average team. Turnovers and poor FT shooting have plagued this team since Smith arrived. Give him 1 more year while you work on getting Bryant or Jensen.

[GameForAnyFuss]

It’s folly to think that we’re one coach away from greatness. Modern college basketball is about having financial resources and Utah doesn’t have them. Or more accurately, Utah has them but chooses not to deploy them this way.

[The Miami Ute]

I definitely don’t think that we’re one coach away from greatness. What I can’t get over is seeing schools that have fewer basketball resources do better than Utah. How are Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s, both small Catholic schools with budgets dimensions smaller than the flagship university of the State of Utah, serial entrants to the NCAAs?

[Central Coast Ute]

If all you have to do is win the WCC it’s easy to get in to the tourney. Although Gonzaga typically does well once in.

[bopahull]

Those schools don’t put their NIL funds into football. They all go into BB.

[GameForAnyFuss]

1. They play in a garbage conference.
2. They have more money than you think.

[The Miami Ute]

Do they have more money than I think? Gonzaga has a student population of just over 7300 and an endowment of $439M. SMC has a student population of just under 4K and an endowment of $215M. Utah has a student population of almost 33K and an endowment of $1.65B And yet, somehow, both Gonzaga and SMC can recruit better basketball players, of course, under much better coaches, to their institutions.

[GameForAnyFuss]

If only endowment money went to basketball…

[The Miami Ute]

You completely missed my point…a larger endowment directly translates to having many more alumni with deeper pockets. And that translates to more donations to the athletic department. There’s no scenario in my mind where I can even contemplate either Gonzaga or SMC having the ability to outbid Utah. I’ll give you an example…Mark Few has been Gonzaga’s HC since 1999. He has led the Zags to 25, 26 if you count this season, consecutive NCAA appearances. And yet, despite all of that tenure, despite all of that overwhelming success, his salary ($2.7M) is not much more than Smith’s ($2.1M), and much less than Coach K’s at the time of his dismissal ($3.8M). And I’m not even throwing inflation into the mix. So see, the problem is not really having the money to attract a good coach or players. It’s choosing the wrong people for the job.

[GameForAnyFuss]

There’s no scenario in my mind where I can even contemplate either Gonzaga or SMC having the ability to outbid Utah.

I guarantee you that Gonzaga is deploying more NIL money in men’s basketball than Utah is. John Stockton’s NIL contribution alone is going to be more money than Utah’s total spend.

[TomahawkCruise]

The one I keep going to is Utah State. Smaller than Utah in every way, but still manages to make the ncaa tournament most years, regardless of who the coach is.

That shows you right there it’s possible at Utah if you invest in the program. It seems like Utah hasn’t given a damn about basketball in years, and certainly not since Harlan arrived.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

Maybe more boosters will step up if we get a coach that can recruit. No doubt money can make a difference but without a coach that can get talent and develop that talent it won’t matter.

[The Miami Ute]

I think that’s the answer. Utah basketball fans are tired of two decades of mirages on the basketball court.

[GameForAnyFuss]

It’s a chicken and egg problem. We can’t get boosters to step up if we don’t have a better coach, but we can’t get a better coach if boosters don’t step up.

The evidence suggests we aren’t going to luck into a great coach who can turn around the program with subpar resources. We’ve had a half dozen chances to do that since Majerus without success. No, it’s going to take a commitment to deploy resources first. That’s the way out of this.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

`we are not a blue blood program. BYU hired an NBA assistant with NBA development skills and connections. The boosters stepped up to get their coach then players. We have 2 alums that could fit the same bill. Jensen or Bryant would be an upgrade in recruiting. The blueprint is there.

[Utah#1]

If Smith thought he saved his job with the two Kansas wins, this loss moved him back on the hot seat. He should stay there until end of the season, and then fire him.

[AZUTE]

Craig Smith is done at Utah. Harlan screwed the pooch with his guy.
Now he will go out and hire the guy the boosters want. The same booster that have told Harlan they will not support Smith and will support Utah with much needed NIL money when they have their guy.

Smith’s hands were tied behind his back from the jump and it only got worse when NIL became a thing.

[TomahawkCruise]

Who do the boosters want?

[AZUTE]

It will be a former Ute from the Majerus era. Alex Jensen or Andre Miller.

Jensen might still be holding out for an NBA HC gig but his star is not as bright as it once was. If he sees his HC future is not in the NBA he might be interested in coming back to Utah.

Miller wants the job and was ready to take it last season. The timing wasn’t right and Miller is waiting for the call at the end of the season.

The Utah Whales have said they will make Utah very competitive with NIL money if it’s one of those two.

If Harlan sticks with Smith or hires someone not named Alex Jensen Andre Miller or Jonnie Bryant he’s be signing his own walking papers.

[markleone]

Spot on AZUte. Smith is as good as gone or Harlan will be the one packing.
There is money waiting for the “right guy”- a Majerus disciple of either Alex or Andre or possibly both.
Smith never connected with this fan base and his inability to recruit is transparent in every game.

[TomahawkCruise]

If what you say is true, I hope Smith is dismissed after this season. Only because I’d LOVE to have Andre take over and get the bigger boosters involved. It sounds like that’s precisely what we need at this point.

So I’m fully on board with Andre for next year. I’d imagine that’s probably Harlan’s plan if it’s that cut and dried with Andre ready to go and the money folks asking for him.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

I would hope Alex Jensen and Johnny Bryant are at the top of the list. Miller would also be good choice. All three have NBA ties for recruiting. Jensen and Bryant are experienced in development.

[TomahawkCruise]

Miller needs to be involved in some way. If not as HC, he should at least be an assistant coach/assoc head coach.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

I don’t think Miller will play second fiddle. Dream come true if both Jensen and Miller came back. Johnny Bryant is a sleeper. He has become a star development coach and has a great reputation in the NBA.

All talented players want to play in the NBA. Having a coach that is experienced in player development at the NBA level would be a big recruiting tool.

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