Warming to Russel Turner.

NBA experience? Check.
Experience with UC at the HC level? Check
Ability to Win with Less? Check
Multiple assistant gigs (both Furd and Wake Forest): Check

I thought they were generally well coached when we played 'em - just that the level of talent between the Big West and P5 is pretty large.

Turner appears pretty solid. I assume you mean by "well coached" that he understands offense better than Martin. Of course, that is not a high bar...

south bender;842823076 said:

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Turner appears pretty solid. I assume you mean by "well coached" that he understands offense better than Martin. Of course, that is not a high bar...

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And that they didn't make fundamental errors. I would have to go back and look at the tape. He is a bit over-enamered with huge dudes like N'Diaye who, I think, have problems against P5 level guys because of the ability to simply drive into their bodies and their general lack (simple physics, ain't their fault) of lateral quickness.

To be fair--don't know if he's enamored of them or that's just the best he can get to Irvine (Anteaters? For real?)

Turner and Les both: Can they bring in enough talent?

Lots of guys can coach but, at this level, you'd better be able to recruit at least a little bit. Unfortunately, many who can recruit don't coach all that well.

59bear;842823087 said:

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Lots of guys can coach but, at this level, you'd better be able to recruit at least a little bit. Unfortunately, many who can recruit don't coach all that well.

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He has been doing consistently well in bringing talent (for the bIg west) to UCi.

Big C_Cal;842823084 said:

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Turner and Les both: Can they bring in enough talent?

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The first thing people always point out about a guy from a mid-major is whether he can recruit or not. But mostly it's just blind doubt without much evidence. At the mid-major level, sustained success is very dependent on talent evaluation and player development. At a place like Cal, it's not all that difficult to recruit. Players want to come here. People worry about recruiting because of the recent memory of Monty being so indifferent to it, but Cal usually gets a baseline quality of talent that allows it to compete at a decent level. Worries about recruiting are overblown. We aren't UCLA or Arizona, but we aren't Oregon State or Wazzu, either.

Les' resume doesn't support his candidacy at all. He's been decent at the mid-major level, but not exceptional.

Turner's recruiting strategy has been sound at UCI. He's recruited California well and mixed in international players. He also tend recruit great size, which is actually somewhat rare at the mid-major level.

Coach Turner would be another good choice.

i like who can keep moore, baker, and harris-dyson in the foid.

Re recruiting: Because of the inherent attractiveness of the school and the Area, and the existence of enough high intelligence, super athletic prospects, Cal is not that far away from being UCLA, Arizona or Duke, which recruiting level can be achieved by consistent winning (and, apparently, a dedicated practice facility), the former of which Cuonzo was in fact building, and the latter of which is perhaps not so far away for a coach who is more in tune with our idiosyncratic administrative culture as it affects athletics (hoping that Pasternack is not the sole condition for completing that deal)

calgo430;842823125 said:

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i like who can keep moore, baker, and harris-dyson in the foid.

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Not to mention the other high quality prospects who have been in the process

He's about as Monty as you can get (which is a good thing). Hopefully he can recruit better than Monty version 2.0 though.

joe yaks;842823121 said:

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Coach Turner would be another good choice.

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Why? Can he recruit? He seems like a very meh candidate who would only get the job if Cal struck out on someone dynamic.

SFBearz;842823195 said:

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Why? Can he recruit? He seems like a very meh candidate who would only get the job if Cal struck out on someone dynamic.

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He's a fallback candidate for me.

He's a solid coach. Monty coaching tree, which is a mixed bag. He's got the potential to be an elite defensive coach based on his body of work at Irvine. His teams have been in the Top 10 nationally in opponents' eFG% and 2Pt% the last 4 seasons.

He figures to be able to recruit. He's done it at Wake Forest and Stanford. Will he regularly land guys that UCLA and Arizona are after? Most likely no. To me, however, a coach that makes an effort should land a decent level of talent. A keen eye for talent evaluation is key at job like Cal, and Turner likely has some acumen there, having been in jobs that require it.

tsubamoto2001;842823217 said:

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He's a fallback candidate for me.

He's a solid coach. Monty coaching tree, which is a mixed bag. He's got the potential to be an elite defensive coach based on his body of work at Irvine. His teams have been in the Top 10 nationally in opponents' eFG% and 2Pt% the last 4 seasons.

He figures to be able to recruit. He's done it at Wake Forest and Stanford. Will he regularly land guys that UCLA and Arizona are after? Most likely no. To me, however, a coach that makes an effort should land a decent level of talent. A keen eye for talent evaluation is key at job like Cal, and Turner likely has some acumen there, having been in jobs that require it.

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Great point about talent evaluation. I think Martin fell short there despite being a good recruiter in other ways. If Turner has an eye for talent he could overcome a lack of dynamism.

Big C_Cal;842823084 said:

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Turner and Les both: Can they bring in enough talent?

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I can't believe Les is even in the conversation. Sub .500 college record. Fired from Bradley (where?), mostly mediocre at Davis. Turner's resume blows his away.

tsubamoto2001;842823217 said:

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He's a fallback candidate for me.

He's a solid coach. Monty coaching tree, which is a mixed bag. He's got the potential to be an elite defensive coach based on his body of work at Irvine. His teams have been in the Top 10 nationally in opponents' eFG% and 2Pt% the last 4 seasons.

He figures to be able to recruit. He's done it at Wake Forest and Stanford. Will he regularly land guys that UCLA and Arizona are after? Most likely no. To me, however, a coach that makes an effort should land a decent level of talent. A keen eye for talent evaluation is key at job like Cal, and Turner likely has some acumen there, having been in jobs that require it.

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If he is fallback, whom do you want?

I would like to see it be Russell Turner. He has proven ability as a HC and would likely want to stay at Cal a long time given he has spent most of his career on the West Coast and his wife has strong Bay Area ties.

Would Wyking Jones stay with Turner as coach? Also, would like to get Gates or Theo as an assistant.

south bender;842823231 said:

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If he is fallback, whom do you want?

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Bennett is the top guy for me. That seems to not be happening, though. I haven't made up my mind whether I'd prefer Pasternack or Musselman. Both have their concerns. Neither guy will turn down the job, so it likely won't fall to Turner, who is next after those two.

tsubamoto2001;842823261 said:

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Bennett is the top guy for me. That seems to not be happening, though. I haven't made up my mind whether I'd prefer Pasternack or Musselman. Both have their concerns. Neither guy will turn down the job, so it likely won't fall to Turner, who is next after those two.

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What are the concerns with Musselman?

SFBearz;842823267 said:

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What are the concerns with Musselman?

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His past, mainly. He was considered hard to get along with in the NBA, which is why he didn't last. Supposedly, he's mellowed out since then, but it's something to consider. He's also never been at one spot for very long, which is opposite of Bennett. I personally don't sense that he'd move on from us instantly if he's able to find great success at Cal, but again, it's something to consider. Then of course, there's the Yanni thing.

tsubamoto2001;842823275 said:

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His past, mainly. He was considered hard to get along with in the NBA, which is why he didn't last. Supposedly, he's mellowed out since then, but it's something to consider. He's also never been at one spot for very long, which is opposite of Bennett. I personally don't sense that he'd move on from us instantly if he's able to find great success at Cal, but again, it's something to consider. Then of course, there's the Yanni thing.

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There's no Yanni thing. He'd have another job within a week.

tsubamoto2001;842823275 said:

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His past, mainly. He was considered hard to get along with in the NBA, which is why he didn't last. Supposedly, he's mellowed out since then, but it's something to consider. He's also never been at one spot for very long, which is opposite of Bennett. I personally don't sense that he'd move on from us instantly if he's able to find great success at Cal, but again, it's something to consider. Then of course, there's the Yanni thing.

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I do wonder how long he'd stay at Cal but I think a lot of that would come down to whether he can bring in the players he prioritizes. If he finds the pool of eligible guys too small or loses the recruiting battles with Stanford, Az, Utah, etc he probably leaves rather quickly.

SFBearz;842823415 said:

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I do wonder how long he'd stay at Cal but I think a lot of that would come down to whether he can bring in the players he prioritizes. If he finds the pool of eligible guys too small or loses the recruiting battles with Stanford, Az, Utah, etc he probably leaves rather quickly.

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If Musselman is the guy, I think it's hard to predict. His home base is the Bay Area--his son is in HS here. Perhaps this might truly be his last job--though evidence doesn't support that. I'd assume the AD was clear with him about the academic requirements. What I worry about more than anything is, how will he adapt to the Cal culture? That remains to be seen.

tsubamoto2001;842823424 said:

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If Musselman is the guy, I think it's hard to predict. His home base is the Bay Area--his son is in HS here. Perhaps this might truly be his last job--though evidence doesn't support that. I'd assume the AD was clear with him about the academic requirements. What I worry about more than anything is, how will he adapt to the Cal culture? That remains to be seen.

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Might be hard to tell for a year or two. As to recruiting, first major indicator will be if he can keep the '17 class.