Monty wanted DeCuire to become the HC of Cal. The players wanted deCuiure so badly that they made a special plea in person to Chancellor Dirks. (rhymes with jerks) The Chancellor wouldn't meet with the players according to one report I read. So--thge Chancellor along with some geniuses on BI and Cal Rivals ( you know who you are) voiced their disapproval of DeCuire for reasons best known to themselves. DeCuires' four year record: 83-49. First or second place in three of the four years. Fourth in the remaining year. NCAA appearance last year. All you had to do was to see and hear DeCuire in person prior to montys' leaving to know that he was a logical and FAIR replacement. Comments, questions and thoughts from the geniuses who agreed with Chancellor Dirks that deCuire shouldn't be given the HC job. I also read that DeCuiure was running most of the practices during the last year. i cannot confirm this. I know this is water under the bridge but , in tennis terms, this was probably a terrific unforced error.

I thought you liked Wyking Jones?

helltopay1 said:

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Monty wanted DeCuire to become the HC of Cal. The players wanted deCuiure so badly that they made a special plea in person to Chancellor Dirks. (rhymes with jerks) The Chancellor wouldn't meet with the players according to one report I read. So--thge Chancellor along with some geniuses on BI and Cal Rivals ( you know who you are) voiced their disapproval of DeCuire for reasons best known to themselves. DeCuires' four year record: 83-49. First or second place in three of the four years. Fourth in the remaining year. NCAA appearance last year. All you had to do was to see and hear DeCuire in person prior to montys' leaving to know that he was a logical and FAIR replacement. Comments, questions and thoughts from the geniuses who agreed with Chancellor Dirks that deCuire shouldn't be given the HC job. I also read that DeCuiure was running most of the practices during the last year. i cannot confirm this. I know this is water under the bridge but , in tennis terms, this was probably a terrific unforced error.

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Agreed - let's get the pitchforks out. Who were these people?!? We probably wouldn't have Jaylen then but at least I might still be interested in cal basketball.

Dear Fat: You bet.

Dear Oski: I like WJ as a man. I will refrain from commenting on his coaching until I see a bigger sample size. If the AD pulls the trigger at the end of the year, I hope he has factored in all the negative consequences that will entail. With all the departures, probably 5 guys from Section 9 could beat the Cal squad in 2019-2020.

When we got Cuonzo Martin, almost everybody around thought it was a better hire than DeCuire would've been.

Oops.

TD ain't looking half bad in 2019. If it helps, maybe some of us could approach him on our hands and knees and say, "Well, the reason we didn't hire you last time was that we ****ed up... would two million a year help you forgive us?"

What exactly do you like about him "as a man" and how do you know what you know about him?

I used to see comments like this about TH when Cal fans were in the throes of watching his team crap all over the field and wonder (1) what basis his defenders had for their opinions and (2) what relevance their perceptions of his character (or whatever) had to the Cal football experience.

I'm left wondering the same thing now, but so deep is my apathy towards Cal athletics that it barely matters to me anymore. I think a lot of Cal fans (and former fans) feel the same way, and that's why Haas and CMS are the enormous, money-sucking mausoleums they are.

Big C said:

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we got Cuonzo Martin, almost everybody around thought it was a better hire than DeCuire would've been. When

Oops.

TD ain't looking half bad in 2019. If it helps, maybe some of us could approach him on our hands and knees and say, "Well, the reason we didn't hire you last time was that we ****ed up... would two million a year help you forgive us?"

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Guilty!

The guy had no experience and may well have flopped at the pac12 level to start his head coaching career. This is like saying a guy who is doing great in AAA right now should have gone straight to the majors when he was in high school years ago, because his coach thought he was awesome. It's great that he's doing well at Montana. I'd be willing to give him a shot now that he has some experience and demonstrated success as a head coach. There's no need to grovel. This is a HUGE job. It's more than running practices and beating Sac State.

I'm inclined to go with Coach Monte's judgement on this one. Grow 'em and show 'em.

I just wiki'd TD and his first 3 years didn't look promising. Downward trend from a good start. Last year was great. I wonder if Montana was looking at pulling the rug out from under him after the first 3 years. They have patience apparently.

You won't find a bigger Monty fan or supporter than me, and I like Travis and I am really happy to see him have some success at Montana. But I agree with Big C, at the time, while I would have been okay to see Cal follow Monty's recommendation and give Travis a shot, I was very pleasantly surprised that we were able to hire Cuonzo Martin. It is Monday-morning quarterbacking to suggest that Cal should have stuck with DeCuire once Martin became a viable candidate.

I think it is a real credit to where Mike Montgomery had elevated the basketball program when he left, that we were able to hire away an active coach from a Power conference school, coming off of a successful season and an NCAA tournament run. And while there certainly were some strange circumstances in Tennessee with the fan base that led to Martin being available, the reality is that he was in demand as a coach, regardless of what you think of him now, and he had the ability to choose his next spot, and he chose Cal.

As much as I now would have liked to have seen what Travis might have done with a roster that could have included Jakob Poeltl and Ahmaad Rorie in addition to Wallace, Matthews, Bird, Kravish, Singer, Moute, Behrens, and Rooks, I still believe taking the opportunity with Cuonzo was the right call at the time.

If we do decide to move in a different direction than Coach Wyking Jones, I hope DeCuire is someone we reach out to and consider, but I don't know how much damage was done to the relationship when we passed on Travis back then. I guess have a new AD now, and Knowlton wasn't involved in the decisions of the last two hirings.

I agree the trend didn't look that promising after three years, but I think that is the risk of looking at a small sample and calling it a trend. His first two seasons were actually pretty comparable, and the overall record was a smidge better in year two, even though they finished 2nd in conference. And overall, he was 39-15 in conference his first three years, which is impressive. After last year's 16-2 finish, his conference record is now at 55-17 (.764), and I know they are projected to be near the top of the league again this year. He's building a really solid resume for himself in his first head coaching gig.

joe amos yaks said:

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I'm inclined to go with Coach Monte's judgement on this one. Grow 'em and show 'em.

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Were you "inclined" to go with Bill Walsh's judgment, too? (he lobbied hard for Holmoe)

UrsaMajor said:

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joe amos yaks said:

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I'm inclined to go with Coach Monte's judgement on this one. Grow 'em and show 'em.

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Were you "inclined" to go with Bill Walsh's judgment, too? (he lobbied hard for Holmoe)

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Yes, I did.

BTW--I support Coach Jones.

joe amos yaks said:

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UrsaMajor said:

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joe amos yaks said:

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I'm inclined to go with Coach Monte's judgement on this one. Grow 'em and show 'em.

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Were you "inclined" to go with Bill Walsh's judgment, too? (he lobbied hard for Holmoe)

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Yes, I did.

BTW--I support Coach Jones.

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So do I; although I don't think he's long for the job.

LOUMFSG2 said:

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As much as I now would have liked to have seen what Travis might have done with a roster that could have included Jakob Poeltl and Ahmaad Rorie in addition to Wallace, Matthews, Bird, Kravish, Singer, Moute, Behrens, and Rooks, I still believe taking the opportunity with Cuonzo was the right call at the time.

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IMO, the question shouldn't be, do you hire Cuonzo Martin or Travis DeCuire in 2014.

The question should be, do you hire Wyking Jones or Travis DeCuire in 2017.

BearSD said:

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LOUMFSG2 said:

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As much as I now would have liked to have seen what Travis might have done with a roster that could have included Jakob Poeltl and Ahmaad Rorie in addition to Wallace, Matthews, Bird, Kravish, Singer, Moute, Behrens, and Rooks, I still believe taking the opportunity with Cuonzo was the right call at the time.

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IMO, the question shouldn't be, do you hire Cuonzo Martin or Travis DeCuire in 2014.

The question should be, do you hire Wyking Jones or Travis DeCuire in 2017.

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Not sure Travis was a possible candidate in 2017, given his short tenure at Montana.

He applied.

Dear Northside: Thanks for the question. Here's the answer. At the USF game, I sat with a man who played with WJ at Loyola-Marymount. ( all 4 years) He said that "everybody loved the guy." But thanks for the question.

Monty was critical and sarcastic ( of course he usually is) when doing the Cal Santa Clara game the other night. I'm betting that he is still plenty peeved at Cal for not hiring DeCuire despite his strong recommendation. Human nature is human nature and I'm just guessing that Monty felt personally disrespected when the genius Chancellor ( who didn't know a basketball from a condom) chose someone with no Cal ties whatsoever. some folks think this is hindsight. I don't. Remember---the players supported deCuire too. yes virginia: there is such a thing as fairness. The chickens are still coming home to roost.

I think it was the santa clara game that Monty was the color guy

Bradley had a big game and took over at the end of the game, so Monty interviewed him after
I hung around, and after the interview, Monty was just gathering his things to leave. I went down, and shook his hand. All I said, was 'thanks coach'

I thought Monty was an awesome coach, and one of the best in the business. I've said before that he maximized his best player, and that is why he coached 3 conference MVPs (Crabbe, Randle and Jorge). He won a conference championship at Cal, and we placed 4th pretty consistently in the Pac.

He was too gruff for my personal tastes, and he seemed overly harsh and cold to his players. But he was also like someone's grandfather with his dry sense of humor and shoot you straight between the eyes brutal honesty. I can see how he wasn't a 'players' coach' nor the best as a recruiter, which is something he decided long ago that he wasn't going to spend a lot of time/effort to do.

But if you love basketball, you love watching his offenses. On the other hand, it's not the type of offense that many of the elite players of today like to play in.

Bottom line, is I have a ton of respect for Monty as a basketball coach, and I consider it an honor to shake his hand.

helltopay1 said:

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Monty wanted DeCuire to become the HC of Cal. The players wanted deCuiure so badly that they made a special plea in person to Chancellor Dirks. (rhymes with jerks) The Chancellor wouldn't meet with the players according to one report I read. So--thge Chancellor along with some geniuses on BI and Cal Rivals ( you know who you are) voiced their disapproval of DeCuire for reasons best known to themselves. DeCuires' four year record: 83-49. First or second place in three of the four years. Fourth in the remaining year. NCAA appearance last year. All you had to do was to see and hear DeCuire in person prior to montys' leaving to know that he was a logical and FAIR replacement. Comments, questions and thoughts from the geniuses who agreed with Chancellor Dirks that deCuire shouldn't be given the HC job. I also read that DeCuiure was running most of the practices during the last year. i cannot confirm this. I know this is water under the bridge but , in tennis terms, this was probably a terrific unforced error.

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DeCuire needed to go prove himself on a smaller stage first. He wasn't nearly a good enough recruiter for us to take a chance on where there are already so many other coaches who have already proven themselves at that level.

And hiring Martin made some sense. He had been successful at other locations. I hated his offense, but he did get guys to play defense. Would rather have Mike Anderson if I could pick.