The fact that so many BI posters dislike the hire increases the probability that he'll be wildly successful.

Big C_Cal;842825059 said:

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People need to stop. Here's why:

They had him here for a year, under their watchful eye. If you have ANY faith whatsoever that Mike Williams can make a good decision, you have to assume that they really, really liked what they saw.

If you have zero faith in Mike Williams, then all bets are out the window, including the football hire.

Congrats Coach Jones and Go Bears!

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Why would anyone who is smart enough to graduate from Cal have place any faith in Mike Williams?
It looks like a stupid hire, it smells like a stupid hire - because it IS a stupid hire.
We saw what Jones brought to the table - the garbage show that was MBB under Cuonzo. You think it'll be better under his assistant??
You thought that loss to Bakersfield deserves a promotion??
Obviously the decision the legalize marijuana has had a negative effect on this board.

CalEnviroLaw;842825063 said:

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Actually, that tweet is about Harris-Dyson, which is also good news. Do we know about Baker yet?

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Oh my mistake... havn't seen updates on Baker and other potential commits yet.

I would just like to point out that three weeks ago, most people on the board were cautiously optimistic about the program trajectory going forward, with Lee coming next year, Dyson-Howard, Baker and Sueing as recruits, and Knell coming after his mission. D-H has now said he'll still coming if Jones is the coach. If the other recruits do as well, there's the chance to continue on the path we were on, at least in terms of recruiting, including trying to get Jordan Brown for the 2018 class. If the new coach were Pasternak, or Crean or Turner or any of the other names mentioned, that would potentially have been in doubt. It's possible that Jones would be a worse coach that Martin tactically, but I don't think it's likely. He'll probably continue to emphasize defense, and I still think the offense can be OK if the newcomers can shoot. This also probably gives us the best chance to try and convince Moore not to pursue a hardship transfer. Yes, it's not as flashy as Bennett or Musselman, but they both apparently took themselves out of the running, or were not offered. I wanted Gates, because of the Cal connection, but at least Jones is here. If he can put together a 20-win season next year, I think we'll be alright. I'm willing to give him a chance.

CalEnviroLaw;842825063 said:

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Actually, that tweet is about Harris-Dyson, which is also good news. Do we know about Baker yet?

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Baker is in Sacramento with his hs team for the State Championships. They play James Logan/Union City tonight.

Maybe someone will come here we dint expect. Maybe Rooks withdrew his request to transfer upon hearing that Wyking was the coach. Rymes with Sky King,sorry. Out of the blue of California comes WYKING!

Vineyardview;842824814 said:

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Jon Rothstein posts:

BREAKING: Cal will promote assistant Wyking Jones to head coach, per a source. Was on staff with Cuonzo Martin. Also worked for Rick Pitino.

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He is, if I'm not mistaken, the only coach on our radar who has a National Championship on his resume, albeit as an Assistant.

tsubamoto2001;842825050 said:

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I brought up the Associate HC bit, but you're not getting the point. The point is that Wyking is not qualified this job. Name another HM program that elevated a lower tiered assistant to the HC spot. And not only that, he's apparently getting a 5-year deal. This may be unprecedented.

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It's not just that he's unqualified, he's a proven bad coach. Was anybody paying attention to the underperformance and poor player development under Cuonzo? Did anybody notice how much better Mathews did AWAY from Cal?? Why would anyone have hope the lousy assistant of a lousy coach is going to do a BETTER job??

Williams made a terrible hire. Any idiot can see that.

Uthaithani;842825066 said:

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Why would anyone who is smart enough to graduate from Cal have place any faith in Mike Williams?
It looks like a stupid hire, it smells like a stupid hire - because it IS a stupid hire.
We saw what Jones brought to the table - the garbage show that was MBB under Cuonzo. You think it'll be better under his assistant??
You thought that loss to Bakersfield deserves a promotion??
Obviously the decision the legalize marijuana has had a negative effect on this board.

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People can rationalize this all they want, but anyone with a brain can see this was a panicked hire. The only way you make a hire like this is if you have no money to pay a coach, which seems to be the case here.

Uthaithani;842825066 said:

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Why would anyone who is smart enough to graduate from Cal have place any faith in Mike Williams?
It looks like a stupid hire, it smells like a stupid hire - because it IS a stupid hire.
We saw what Jones brought to the table - the garbage show that was MBB under Cuonzo. You think it'll be better under his assistant??
You thought that loss to Bakersfield deserves a promotion??
Obviously the decision the legalize marijuana has had a negative effect on this board.

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By that argument, then what did Jones 'bring to the table' when Louisville won an NC when he was an assistant there?

Uthaithani;842825066 said:

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Why would anyone who is smart enough to graduate from Cal have place any faith in Mike Williams?
It looks like a stupid hire, it smells like a stupid hire - because it IS a stupid hire.
We saw what Jones brought to the table - the garbage show that was MBB under Cuonzo. You think it'll be better under his assistant??
You thought that loss to Bakersfield deserves a promotion??
Obviously the decision the legalize marijuana has had a negative effect on this board.

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Surprise, surprise, a negative and ridiculous post from you. Your hateful rhetoric is all over this site regardless of the topic. Move along, please.

Who he hires may make a difference

It's official:
[COLOR="#0000FF"]http://www.calbears.com/index.aspx?path=mbball[/COLOR]

Jeff82;842825068 said:

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I would just like to point out that three weeks ago, most people on the board were cautiously optimistic about the program trajectory going forward, with Lee coming next year, Dyson-Howard, Baker and Sueing as recruits, and Knell coming after his mission. D-H has now said he'll still coming if Jones is the coach. If the other recruits do as well, there's the chance to continue on the path we were on, at least in terms of recruiting, including trying to get Jordan Brown for the 2018 class. If the new coach were Pasternak, or Crean or Turner or any of the other names mentioned, that would potentially have been in doubt. It's possible that Jones would be a worse coach that Martin tactically, but I don't think it's likely. He'll probably continue to emphasize defense, and I still think the offense can be OK if the newcomers can shoot. This also probably gives us the best chance to try and convince Moore not to pursue a hardship transfer. Yes, it's not as flashy as Bennett or Musselman, but they both apparently took themselves out of the running, or were not offered. I wanted Gates, because of the Cal connection, but at least Jones is here. If he can put together a 20-win season next year, I think we'll be alright. I'm willing to give him a chance.

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+1

Somewhere on these threads is a tweet stating that Jones was in play at least a week ago. If that is true, then this clearly isn't panic. Also, as NYCB notes, usually the assistant coach is not in a position to dictate strategy and vision for the team. I doubt Jones brought Cuonzo to the table. The Cuonzo era was Cuonzo's.

NewYorkCityBear;842825079 said:

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By that argument, then what did Jones 'bring to the table' when Louisville won an NC when he was an assistant there?

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Touch
People need to get a grip.

tsubamoto2001;842825050 said:

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I brought up the Associate HC bit, but you're not getting the point. The point is that Wyking is not qualified this job. Name another HM program that elevated a lower tiered assistant to the HC spot. And not only that, he's apparently getting a 5-year deal. This may be unprecedented.

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lol, osu just did the same thing

Any guesses on salary? Gotta be close to $1.0M give or take $200K?

tsubamoto2001;842825093 said:

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People expressing concern with this hire is a rational reaction. You have to have blind faith to think otherwise. You get a grip.

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The early endorsements from players are important. Charlie and JDH are BIG. I really did fear a mass exodus and a total rebuild. Bright spots in a dark night ;-)

Charlie Moore and Marcus Lee are both thrilled with the hire. That's good enough for me.

socaltownie;842825099 said:

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The early endorsements from players are important. Charlie and JDH are BIG. I really did fear a mass exodus and a total rebuild. Bright spots in a dark night ;-)

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Player endorsements matter in the short term. More important to hire the right guy for the long term. See Bozeman, Todd.

SFCALBear72;842825100 said:

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Charlie Moore and Marcus Lee are both thrilled with the hire. That's good enough for me.

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But... but... Uthaithani isn't thrilled! What about that?!?

Justice Sueing seems to be happy with this hire too.

SFCALBear72;842825100 said:

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Charlie Moore and Marcus Lee are both thrilled with the hire. That's good enough for me.

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Yeah, this may be the single least persuasive thing I've seen. Then again, maybe I'm still scarred by the Holmoe hiring because the players lobbied for him. Relying on the player's assessment is horrifically stupid. A rebuild with the right HC will be much better than retaining good, not great, players with (hypothetically) a mediocre coach.

Translate

TheSouseFamily;842825105 said:

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Player endorsements matter in the short term. More important to hire the right guy for the long term. See Bozeman, Todd.

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Very different situation. Bozeman took over as interim Coach and when the team went to the Sweet Sixteen that cemented it. There was no search like this time around. Not saying Jones will be a great coach, but the Bozeman hire and this were conducted very differently.

oskidunker;842825115 said:

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Translate

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Me?

Moore and Lee are not so good that their opinion should shape the direction of a revenue generating sport. Hire someone because he's the right person for the job, not based on what some 19 year old kids who've never played for anyone else think.

NewYorkCityBear;842825116 said:

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Very different situation. Bozeman took over as interim Coach and when the team went to the Sweet Sixteen that cemented it. There was no search like this time around. Not saying Jones will be a great coach, but the Bozeman hire and this were conducted very differently.

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I wasn't comparing the process or specifics other than the fact that the change was driven by player input. I know that because I was in the middle of it.

Uthaithani;842825074 said:

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It's not just that he's unqualified, he's a proven bad coach. Was anybody paying attention to the underperformance and poor player development under Cuonzo? Did anybody notice how much better Mathews did AWAY from Cal?? Why would anyone have hope the lousy assistant of a lousy coach is going to do a BETTER job??

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That's ludicrous. Our bigs, who he was responsible for coaching, improved greatly this year. You can't blame him for Cuonzo's coaching style unless you're going to credit him for the National Championship he won with Pitino. Go drink some decaf.

TheSouseFamily;842825122 said:

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I wasn't comparing the process or specifics other than the fact that the change was driven by player input. I know that because I was in the middle of it.

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Bozeman had nowhere near the resume Jones has when he took over. Jones has coached for a National Championship winner.

NewYorkCityBear;842825125 said:

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That's ludicrous. Our bigs, who he was responsible for coaching, improved greatly this year. You can't blame him for Cuonzo's coaching style unless you're going to credit him for the National Championship he won with Pitino. Go drink some decaf.

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Agreed. Our bigs improved every year.

NewYorkCityBear;842825116 said:

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Very different situation. Bozeman took over as interim Coach and when the team went to the Sweet Sixteen that cemented it. There was no search like this time around. Not saying Jones will be a great coach, but the Bozeman hire and this were conducted very differently.

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He pretty much made his way into the college game the same way Bozeman did--through the AAU scene.

Also, I don't give one iota what players think when hiring a new coach.

Rooks needs to make a15 footer. See ucla center

NewYorkCityBear;842825125 said:

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That's ludicrous. Our bigs, who he was responsible for coaching, improved greatly this year. You can't blame him for Cuonzo's coaching style unless you're going to credit him for the National Championship he won with Pitino. Go drink some decaf.

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Defensively things were good but offensively things in the post degraded significantly this year. Rabb's FG% fell from 62% to 48%, Okoroh's FG% fell from 61% to 50% and Rooks' fell from 59% to 55%. Multiple reasons for that but it's hard to say that post play "improved greatly" with those numbers.

NewYorkCityBear;842825128 said:

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Bozeman had nowhere near the resume Jones has when he took over. Jones has coached for a National Championship winner.

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Again, not comparing specifics. I agree with you about the difference in resumes. My point was simply about the merit of using player input as a significant factor in making coaching changes.