"recruitment" of ... assistant coaches (impact of staff on program)

[ISU86]

There has been lots (Lots (LOTS)) of discussion about Head Coach Dan Muller since the non-conference season has commenced. I will be honest in that I lean more in the Dan "camp" (mainly because he does not appear to be (consistently) looking for the next offer after the littlest taste of success); however, I too have been given pause by the overall inconsistency and unevenness of the program (both on and off the court).

There are a number of factors that one can use when determining if the Head Coach is doing a good job. Not everyone would value them the same, and others may exclude or include other subject matter.

Some of these may be:

• overall recruitment of players (ranking (?))

• retention of said players (transfer out)

• transferring in of new players (ranking (?))

• improvement of all players

• academic progress/showing of players (grade point average/progress toward degree)

• "civic" progress/showing (involvement/legal status)

• overall recruitment of coaches (assistants)

• retention/replacement of said coaches

• non-conference scheduling

• overall win/loss

• postseason appearances/results

• attendance

• donor support

Most of these points have been discussed on the board; however, I think one area that often gets overlooked is the depth/quality/skill set of assistant head coaches on his staff.

I wanted to see what other people thought of Dan's results in this area. My (very high level) thinking is, when he first took the job, he had years to compile/update a list of exactly who he wanted to target for his staff and it was (by general consensus) a well-rounded staff. In recent years, however, I wonder is if he has had to settle and thus his staff is not as "talented".

This has been Dan's staffs since he took over as Head Coach:

2012 [activity]
Rob Judson: retain Illinois State (Assistant Head Coach)
Dana Ford: from Wichita State (Assistant Head Coach)
Torrey Ward: from Mississippi (Assistant Head Coach)

2012-2013 [staff]
Rob Judson
Dana Ford
Torrey Ward

2013 [activity]
Rob Judson: to Indiana (Director Of Basketball Operations) *
* next basketball job, 1 year following
Luke Yaklich: from Joliet West (Head Coach)

2013-2014 [staff]
Dana Ford
Torrey Ward
Luke Yaklich

2014 [activity]
Dana Ford: to Tennessee State (Head Coach)
Dean Oliver: from North Dakota (Assistant Head Coach)

2014-2015 [staff]
Torrey Ward
Luke Yaklich
Dean Oliver

2015 [activity]
Torrey Ward: deceased
Jeremy Ballard: from Virginia Commonwealth (Assistant Head Coach)

2015-2016 [staff]
Luke Yaklich
Dean Oliver
Jeremy Ballard

2016 [activity]
Jeremy Ballard: to Pittsburgh (Assistant Head Coach)
Brian Reese: from Monmouth (Assistant Head Coach)

2016-2017 [staff]
Luke Yaklich
Dean Oliver
Brian Reese

2017 [activity]
Dean Oliver: to Wisconsin (Assistant Head Coach)
Chad Dollar: from Georgia Tech (Assistant Head Coach)
Chad Dollar: to Auburn (Assistant Head Coach)
Luke Yaklich: to Michigan (Assistant Head Coach)
Brian Collins: from East Tennessee State (Assistant Head Coach)
Brendan Mullins: from Illinois-Chicago (Assistant Head Coach)

2017-2018 [staff]
Brian Reese
Brian Collins
Brendan Mullins

2018 [activity]
Brian Collins: to Tennessee State (Head Coach)
Chris Duhon: from Marshall (Assistant Head Coach) *
* last basketball job, 1 1/2 years prior

2018-2019 [staff]
Brian Reese
Brendan Mullins
Chris Duhon

I feel that the last couple of staffs have not been of the caliber as his initial ones were (the 2017-2018 staff was certainly a victim of timing), and that plays a part on overall team performance. I know Dan chose almost all (sans Judson) of these coaches, but are they all who he truly wanted (specifically the last couple of seasons) and he has ran out of contacts or they were the best people available at the time other coaches chose to leave?

Just wanted to see what others felt on this topic.

 

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

Overall recruitment of players - Great (9)

Retention of said players (transfer out) - Average which is normal for mid-majors (5)

Transferring in of new players - Above average (7)

Improvement of all players - Above average overall. Just not this season (7)

Academic progress/showing of players (grade point average/progress toward degree) - Slightly above average (6)

"Civic" progress/showing (involvement/legal status) - Very poor (2)

Overall recruitment of coaches (assistants) (retention/replacement of said coaches) - Great to begin with. Poor of late. So, average overall. (5)

Non-conference scheduling - Great for mid-majors (9)

Overall win/loss - Above average (7)

Postseason appearances/results - I do not accept mediocrity. Slightly below average (4)

Attendance - God awful but not just his issue (2)

63 points. Divided by 11 scored categories is 5.72. Slightly above average. He has some great points about him but overall I'd say 5.72 is not good enough to continue as coach after 7 seasons. BUT, he will because our athletic director is even worse.

Note: I never score anything a 10 or 1 because it can always get better or worse.

 

[HT59]

I have wondered for some time about the coaching turnover. I realize that goes with the territory of mid-major programs. However, I have to believe it goes deeper than simply having to find the best available. What about the stability of the mind-set of the entire program. Especially the young guys who play basketball. I don't need to tell anyone about the changes these guy's are experiencing. But when you consider the atmosphere that assistant coaches no doubt help create; it is impossible for me to believe it does not effect the entire tone of the team. Losing someone you may have a solid relationship with is not easy. I'll bet its hard to give the same effort in practice when your going through these changes. This may very well be part of the lessons learned about life. I simply wonder if everyone passes the test with flying colors.

 

[HT59]

I agree with the numbers of JSBNHBE1BIRDS. But the coaching retention is a more serious matter, in my opinion.

 

[Flagship08]

I agree with the numbers of JSBNHBE1BIRDS. But the coaching retention is a more serious matter, in my opinion.

Lack of retention of assistant coaches is a symptom of success. What assistant coach is content with not trying to advance his career? Would we want Dan to hire people that are happy being assistant coaches? These coaches that leave do so because they are advancing their careers based on the success they had at our program to our benefit. That also attracts quality new coaches that see ISU as a successful program they can grow in.

 

[Metamoron]

All of these guys moved up. That’s a good sign. It will make aspiring assistants want to come here. We can’t pay our assistants big$ so the attraction has to be opportunity to move up.

I am ok with it but it does put a drag on continuity.

 

[ISU86]

Attendance - God awful but not just his issue (2)

Donor Support

Agree that attendance and donor support are more indirect measures, but their trends (especially downwards) tend to influence decision makers - rightly or wrongly.

If the money people are still contributing, an indication they still have faith. Also realize it only takes one or two vocal ones to sway opinion in either direction.

 

[ISU86]

All of these guys moved up. That’s a good sign. It will make aspiring assistants want to come here. We can’t pay our assistants big$ so the attraction has to be opportunity to move up.

I am ok with it but it does put a drag on continuity.

Assistants will leave in the pursuit of financial or professional advancement, that is a given; it is more the quality/skill set of the replacement "next one up" that can be worrisome.

 

[HT59]

I agree with the numbers of JSBNHBE1BIRDS. But the coaching retention is a more serious matter, in my opinion.

Lack of retention of assistant coaches is a symptom of success. What assistant coach is content with not trying to advance his career? Would we want Dan to hire people that are happy being assistant coaches? These coaches that leave do so because they are advancing their careers based on the success they had at our program to our benefit. That also attracts quality new coaches that see ISU as a successful program they can grow in.

In a perfect world that may be true. My concern is what it does to the attitude of the team. I argue that some of the game effort is directly related to the loss of personality, attitude, and friendship players have with departed coaches. Losing assistant coaches nearly every year is a bit much in my opinion. Do you believe that Duhon is here just to grow?