Go!Bears said:
OaktownBear said:
Yogi Bear said:
Go!Bears said:
Or Theo and Frank. I have no idea if it is even something they would consider but it seems to me that a reunion of Theo Robertson and his old coach (an advisor now at USF) Frank Allocco could be exactly what our young team needs. It would be great for Theo to have strong mentor. Might be great for Frank to get back to what he has done so well (teach athletes how to play the game). Allocco has taken the role of Associate Head Coach before. It probably would not be terribly expensive and I think they would certainly know how to right the ship.
Why do people have such low aspirations for our basketball program?
As I said before, tell me what we are willing to spend and I might consider figuring out who might be a good candidate. If our price point is the same as last time, this might be a legitimate option. It's not what I aspire to, but I'm assuming the OP is assuming that we are on a tight budget. For the same money I think it likely better than the last choice, not that that is the standard we want to go with
That is kind of where I was coming from. I do not see us showing up in Utah (or wherever) with a Brinks truck and it is also true that I think an alum is our only real hope long term. Why do I have such low aspirations? What is it about the last 30 years of Cal basketball that makes anyone think we will hire, or could retain a 'rock star' coach? I believe we need to build a coach. Take someone not yet ready and invest in them. I think it needs to be an alum because I think only an alum might stick with us if they ever break through to the top tier. Theo is someone who might be worth that investment, but he needs help. Because of the relationship to Allocco who has proven he can teach, it seems like something that might work. I think the best we can hope for is a roll of the dice. Why not take a chance on Theo? He was astute enough to see early that Wyking was a bust.
Since you like alums for the job, here are a couple of names which I don't think have been mentioned yet: Shantay Legans and Richard Midgely. Legans is currently the head coach at Eastern Washington, and Midgely was a head coach in high school for a couple of years, and is now a scout for the Atlanta Hawks.
As for Theo, I don't know what his credentials are exactly, his previous responsibilities. Dennis Gates was a good individual defensive player, so he might know something of defense, and that, in my opinion, is Cal's greatest need, now and going forward, to develop a much stronger defense. That will require a defense-minded coach, who will pay attention to defense when recruiting, and who will recruit big men who have some instincts and fundamentals in that area, as rare as that may be. And he will have to be able to teach tough defense, not just the flavor-of-the-year zone defense, or the full court press for 40 minutes, but individual man defense fundamentals, on which all other defenses are based to some extent. A tough man defender is usually better in a zone than a player who has mostly been playing zone. Midgely was a tough defender as a player, Legans not so much.
Cal has tried an alum as head football coach with mixed results: Ray Willsey a backup QB, was an outstanding defensive coach, but not much of and offensive coach, and his teams played like it. Mike White was an end at Cal, and as a head coach, his offenses were well designed and effective. He put it all together in 1975, defense and offense. Joe Kapp was a player with more sheer drive and will to win than he was a strategist, and as Cal's head coach, his teams failed, except for one play we will always love him for (and of course, his playing days).
SFCityBear