Busting Brackets
Fansided

College Basketball: Coaches Feeling the Heat After Early Exits

By Chris Godfrey

facebooktwitterreddit

Hearing the name of your favorite college basketball team on Selection Sunday is always a great thrill for college basketball fans, but when that same team fails to make it to the tournament’s first weekend, the joy of entering the bracket doesn’t compare to the backlash that accompanies leaving it. Three coaches in particular are starting to find out that despite their perceived success, their respective fan bases are looking towards greener pastures. 

Rick Barnes, Texas Longhorns

-W/L: 402-178
-Three Big 12 Regular Season Championships
-One Final Four
-Two Elite Eights
-Two Sweet Sixteens
-Only one missed NCAA Tournament during tenure

How is a coach with over 600 total wins (more than two-thirds of them with his current institution) on the hot seat? These are the questions that we often ask ourselves in the “what have you done for me lately” world of college basketball. Barnes should essentially be hailed as a coaching luminary in Texas no one has ever made the Longhorns as relevant on the hardwood as they have been under Barnes.

However, many members of the Texas fan base are souring on Barnes. Some of his more recent failings have started chatter that his best years have passed him by. This year, Barnes brought a loaded team to Austin, led by consensus high school All-American Myles Turner. The last time Barnes brought in a recruit of that caliber, a kid by the name of Kevin Durant, things worked out well.

This season, despite the significant amount of talent, Barnes struggled to get the most of his team, and seemingly backed into the NCAA Tournament after a regular season that included a pair of four game losing streaks. Once in the tournament, the Longhorns quickly bowed out to a Butler team that, in terms of talent and athleticism, didn’t belong in the same gym as Texas. It was a disappointing end to a puzzling season, which has led to questions about whether or not he’s the right man for Texas moving forward.

If Barnes is set out to pasture, the Longhorn faithful may be slightly disillusioned about the status of their program. When rolling off the names of potential candidates to follow Barnes, Kirk Bohls (from the Austin American-Statesmen newspaper) threw out the following names in reference to replacing Barnes: Shaka Smart (maybe), Gregg Marshall (probably not),Tony Bennett (nope), Archie Miller (LOL), and Bill Self (LMAO). The fact of the matter is that a coaching change for the basketball program would likely mirror the change that was made in the football program. A young up and comer would be brought in to change the culture of the program. Smart fits that criteria, but would he bypass all the offers that he gets on a yearly basis to go to Texas where basketball is a consistent second fiddle to football in terms of relevance?

Verdict: Keep Barnes. He’s only worth getting rid of if you can guarantee Shaka Smart as the replacement. Anything else would be a disaster.

Steve Lavin, St. John’s Red Storm

-W/L: 81-55
-Three 20-win seasons
-Two NCAA Tournament appearances
-Three players sent to the NBA
– Signed the #3 recruiting class in the country (2011)

Steve Lavin took over the St. John’s basketball program while the Red Storm were hovering just over rock bottom. Under previous head coach Norm Roberts, the Red Storm would start every season with NCAA Tournament aspirations and would end each year fighting to qualify for the Big East tournament (back when the league was so big that everyone didn’t earn an invite).

More from Indiana Hoosiers

Since the arrival of Coach Lavin, the culture of the St. John’s program changed immediately. In his first year with the program, Lavin took a senior-laden team of Norm Roberts’ recruits to the NCAA Tournament as a 6-seed. The team lost it’s best player, DJ Kennedy, to a season-ending injury during the Big East Tournament. The injury crippled their chances of advancing in the tournament (I believe they would have made the Sweet Sixteen that year had Kennedy been healthy).

Lavin then reloaded the roster with the best recruiting class that had ever been brought to Queens. At this point, all was well for Red Storm fans, but good times have soured since then. Lavin’s star studded class was ravaged by unexpected departures. Norvel Pelle never appeared in a game for the Red Storm due to eligibility issues. Jakarr Sampson was forced to attend a prep school (he arrived in 2012 before leaving for the NBA after his sophomore season). Amir Garrett, a two sport star, could not secure eligibility until the midpoint of the season (he would eventually leave school to pursue an MLB pitching career in the Cincinnati Reds system). Nurideen Lindsey, a talented but troubled guard, barely lasted a semester before leaving the program. Moe Harkless, aided by the spotlight given to him while playing with a depleted roster, parlayed a season of gaudy stat lines into an unexpected early entry into the NBA Draft.

The 2011 class was so deep, that even with all of the early departures, Lavin was left with three players that have carried the program over the past four years. D’Angelo Harrison (now the third-leading scorer in the program’s history), Sir’ Dominic Pointer, and Phil Greene have been the culmination of the 2011 class. While their tenure did end with a tournament appearance, it also ended with a thud. San Diego State, led by a St. John’s transfer (2010 commit, Dwayne Polee), outclassed the Red Storm and sent them home immediately. It’s worth noting that the Red Storm played the game without their lone big man, Chris Obekpa. He was suspended for a violation of team rules (a reported failed drug test).

The progress of the program has been gutted by transfers, eligibility issues, and recruiting failures with local prospects. It seems like Lavin can’t keep his talent on the court long enough to do any legitimate damage, and that’s an issue for basketball fans in the nation’s most demanding city. The St. John’s fan base is very region-centric. This means that most fans would be content with firing Lavin and replacing him with someone who has had success locally. Iona’s Tim Cluess and Manhattan’s Steve Masiello are two names that are frequently offered up, but neither candidate would be able to compare to Lavin’s recruiting acumen. A flashier choice would be hiring one of the Hurley Brothers. Bobby had a strong season with Buffalo that ended with a MAC Tournament championship. Danny is still fighting through the NIT with his Rhode Island squad. Either name would appease, but I believe Bobby would be the best fit.

Verdict: Keep Lavin. If the Red Storm fire him, a drop off in recruiting will be sure to follow. Red Storm fans need to understand that recruiting the best players in New York City and the surrounding metro area is not enough to win championships anymore. The reality of the situation is that Lavin has a had a ton of bad luck with his roster, and he deserves time to complete his turnaround.

Tom Crean, Indiana Hoosiers

-W/L: 120-107
-One Big Ten Championship
-Two Sweet Sixteens
-National Coach of the Year (2012)

Tom Crean built the Indiana Hoosiers’ program from nothing. When Crean took over after the fallout of the Kelvin Sampson era, all that was left was a crater and two walk-ons. After three years of solid recruiting, Crean finally broke through. For two consecutive seasons, IU was back where the fan base belonged. The likes of Cody Zeller and Victor Oladipo had seemingly restored Hoosier Hysteria. However, Crean has developed a reputation as a poor game manager, and this may be haunting him on the recruiting trial. Some of Indiana’s best prospects have gotten away from Crean since he landed Zeller. Seeing Trey Lyles, an Indianapolis native, wearing Kentucky blue is especially hurtful to the maniacal and insecure Hoosier fan base.

He has proven to be a good in-game coach, and his celebrity is preparing to grow immensely in the coming months when his name is connected to almost every major job opening in the country. Everyone’s going to want this guy, but IU should be the team that gets him.

However, for every Trey Lyles that he loses, there is a James Blackmon that he is getting. The IU recruiting problem has to do with finding the right supporting pieces. The question shouldn’t be about finding the next Oladipo, it should be about finding the next Will Sheehey.

After missing last year’s tournament, Crean and his Hoosiers snuck into the dance, but were knocked out by Wichita State just as quickly as they arrived. With nothing special arriving in Crean’s next recruiting class, it seems that the 2015-2016 season could also be mired by mediocrity. It also makes the calls for Crean’s job a little bit louder. Even more so than Steve Lavin at St. John’s, Crean should be commended for what he has done to get to this point. It’s a fact Crean can still recruit, but IU doesn’t seem to have the patience to wait for the next monster class to give the Hoosiers fleeting glory.

Verdict: Fire Tom Crean. Hire Georgia State head coach Ron Hunter. This isn’t a decision based on one hot week in the tournament. Ron Hunter coached college basketball in the state of Indiana for over a decade at IUPUI. He knows the area better than any other candidate IU could bring in. With Hunter, IU gets a booster shot of trendiness and relevance. Ron wouldn’t be bringing RJ Hunter with him, but he would bring along a certain cache that has been missing from the program. He has proven to be a good in-game coach, and his celebrity is preparing to grow immensely in the coming months when his name is connected to almost every major job opening in the country. Everyone’s going to want this guy, but IU should be the team that gets him.

Next: Arizona Wildcats: How Far Can Sean Miller's Crew Go?

Home/Indiana Hoosiers