[Rick]

If you were a top PG prospect why wouldn’t you want to come play for and learn from a college All-American, first round draft pick, 17 year NBA veteran? Especially considering you have zero competition in front of you to worry about. If you are a big, why wouldn’t you want to play for the coach that is credited for developing Rudy Gobert into the player he is today? I have not been this excited for Utah basketball since Larry’s third season on the hill. I am dusting off my Majerus Rebok sweater and getting it ready!

[Rick]

I am getting really sick and tired of folks on here constantly saying that Larry was a better recruiter and Smith was a better coach. I’m sorry but the numbers just simply do not support that absurd theory. Here are some real numbers:

Larry had 5 20+ win seasons in 10 years, 50%.
Smith had 1 20+ win season in 4 years, 25%
Larry’s overall win percentage was .568 overall and .503 in conference
Smith’s overall win percentage was .512 overall and .395 in conference
Larry had to start and manage the transition from G5 to P5, Smith did not.
Larry made the NCAA tournament twice, getting to the round of 32 once and the Sweet 16 once.
Smith never made the NCAA tournament.
Larry made the NIT 3 times.
Smith made the NIT 1 time.
Larry followed Josh Grant’s key to success by landing local top talent like Jordan Loveridge, David Collette, Rylan Jones, and Brandon Carlson.
Smith did not and also lost our best returning big to our hated rivals down south.
Larry recruited, coached, and put multiple guys into the NBA and they are still in the league.
Smith put Carlson in the league but he was not his recruit.
Larry knew the importance of guards in the college game and had some excellent players during his time here like Delon, Taylor, Van Dyke, Wright, Bonham, Barefield, and Jones.
Smith gave us Worster and Madsen and that is about it unless you want to count Devon who didn’t play a whole season and then left us for St. Johns.

I could keep going but there is absolutely zero objective facts supporting Smith as the better coach than Larry K.
He was not a better coach and he was not even in the ballpark in recruiting. If you want to compare him in a good light, you can pull up Boylen and Ray and you might have a case.

[Rick]

I am sorry but 19 turnovers in a college game is unacceptable vs. any foe, but one that has not won a game in 7 straight tries is beyond ridiculous. It is never a great time to fire someone but sometimes you have to rip off the band aid and just do it. This gives us some extra weeks to find a new coach before the off-season kicks in and hopefully the new hire can keep some (please NOT all) of our eligible players to build off of. For me it is Mike, Wahlin, Dawes, and Ausar and NO ONE else. We need a true point guard, a deadly shooting wing, and a solid big. We get studs in all three of those spots, with a good coach, we will be very competitive.

[Rick]

Calling Craig Smith a good, possibly great coach is the funniest thing I have heard in months. Yes, we just won two games in a row. One against possibly the worst Kansas team we have seen in a decade and the other over a mediocre KSU squad. Prior to that we lost three road games in a row against two mediocre teams and one crappy team. Smith’s teams have consistently shot poorly from the free throw line pretty much since he has been here. His rotations and substitutions are garbage. We have several games because we are not great on the defensive glass quite often (see the Cincy game last week as a glaring example). He has proven to be a poor recruiter and that is an undisputable fact.

I do think his teams give effort despite their glaring weaknesses and he seems to be a decent guy. I don’t dislike him in any way but he is neither good and nowhere near great.

[Rick]

We have not had a decent point since Delon Wright. Davon had flashes late last year but was not consistent. Men’s college basketball is a guard dominated game. We are in a conference with some really top notch guard-driven teams and our record shows our deficiencies big time.

[Rick]

That is your opinion. The actual results say otherwise. That is my point. You are basically saying that if Smith was a better recruiter he would have better results. Recruiting is a HUGE part of coaching success in college basketball so Smith had a glaring weakness that contributed to his lack of success. Hypotheticals do not win games. Winning games is the number one job of a coach. If it is something different, please tell me what it is.

[Rick]

I’m sorry but results are the only stats I care about and if you take away the absolutely dreadful team that Larry inherited from Boylen his first year, Larry’s winning towers over Smith. If winning isn’t the measure than what the hell is? Nerdy, David Locke-esq made up ratios? In college, I look at winning, graduation rates, elevation of players to the next level, and recruiting. Larry beats Smith like a drum on all or almost all (not sure about graduation rates) of those levels. Was Larry perfect, no. Was he the best coach we have had since Majerus, yes. Oh, and by the way, since Majerus is 20 years! Man am I getting old!

Also, if you are better at Xs and Os, then you should probably win more, right? Or is there some kind of consolation prize for coaches like that?

[Rick]

Isn’t Smith having the same transfer percentages? Or do his not count since they go to our biggest rival? Larry is not Majerus but he is the best basketball coach overall that we have had since Rick. If you say otherwise, you are just not being honest.

Rick Majerus 1989-04 323–95
Joe Cravens (acting) 1989–90 12–12
Dick Hunsaker (acting) 2000–01 18–12
Kerry Rupp (interim) 2004 9–4
Ray Giacoletti 2005–07 54–40
Jim Boylen 2007–11 69–60
Larry Krystkowiak 2011–2021 137–96
Craig Smith 2021–present 50-50

Larry inherited a MUCH bigger mess than any previous coach, had the highest winning percentage since Majerus (not going to count interims or actings because they were esentially Majerus teams). He produced more NBA draft picks, more all americans, more tournament results, etc. All in a much hard conference than even Majerus has to contend with. He was also a much better recruiter than everyone on this list post-Majerus. So bag on him all your want but the numbers simply do not support it.

[Rick]

I did the same thing. I had 5 in W13 and it just got ridiculous keeping them and using all of them. The last season I had them I never used all 5 of them once. Such a waste of money. It certainly is a younger man’s game. Now if I want to attend in person I just either buy from friends and family or use the secondary market. It saves me well over $4,000 a year. This upcoming season is not very good as far as matchups but I will probably attend a couple of them in person but no way will I ever go back to a full season with multiple seats, especially how they have played the past two seasons.

[Rick]

I think NIL and the portal make coach loyalty and impact on coaches contracts less of an issue.

[Author]

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