Washington finally bites the bullet and drops Romar. The interesting thing is they have the nation's top recruit Michael Porter Jr... or do they? There's an ESPN report saying he did NOT sign his NLI for Washington, so he could join his father who's just been hired as an assistant at Mizzou (after he was hired as an assistant at Washington). Washington also had 4 or 5 other major recruits over the next 2 years, including Porter's younger brother.
Some names being mentioned already are Archie Miller (would he coach against his brother?), Randy Bennett (rumored for Cal's open job), Brandon Roy (former Husky and current high school coach), Gregg Marshall (they better get their money right), and Mark Few (never gonna happen).
He didn't sign a NLI so he could follow his dad if this exact situation happened.
When Roy Williams retires, it's going to be fascinating to see who UNC hires. They've pretty much always hired a UNC guy, but im not sure there's going to be someone worthy enough to get that job, they may finally go outside of the family.
Side note, Bomani Jones went on a rant the other day about how Roy Williams is now way underrated as a coach, and I agree.
7 #1 seeds in 14 years at UNC. Won 8 out of 14 acc regular season titles. 2 national titles. Runner up in another last year where he lost at the buzzer. Had a national title team in 2012 until Creighton took a cheap shot at Marshall and he broke his wrist, still made elite eight without him. In the 14 years since he's been at UNC, they have been to 4 final fours, 3 elite eights, 2 titles, 1 sweet 16. He's never lost in the first round of the tournament, either. And he's no longer doing it with a ton of top recruits (that was always the bash on him that he could recruit great players but couldn't coach them.
But no way Archie takes that job. He can sit and have his pick of major jobs as they open - wouldn't be shocked if Illinois comes after him and is rebuffed.
When Roy Williams retires, it's going to be fascinating to see who UNC hires. They've pretty much always hired a UNC guy, but im not sure there's going to be someone worthy enough to get that job, they may finally go outside of the family.
Side note, Bomani Jones went on a rant the other day about how Roy Williams is now way underrated as a coach, and I agree.
7 #1 seeds in 14 years at UNC. Won 8 out of 14 acc regular season titles. 2 national titles. Runner up in another last year where he lost at the buzzer. Had a national title team in 2012 until Creighton took a cheap shot at Marshall and he broke his wrist, still made elite eight without him. In the 14 years since he's been at UNC, they have been to 4 final fours, 3 elite eights, 2 titles, 1 sweet 16. He's never lost in the first round of the tournament, either. And he's no longer doing it with a ton of top recruits (that was always the bash on him that he could recruit great players but couldn't coach them.
Hubert Davis?
By comparison, Virginia's best players were #123 (Hall), #124 (Perrantes), #163 (Shayok), #145 (Wilkins). This year's freshman were a bit more regarded but still below UNC's level - Jerome was #44, Guy was #38, Huff #60, Hunter #92. Diakite was #23 because of elite athleticism, but he's still a very raw and limited player.
I'd say he's done a fantastic job recruiting despite the black cloud that continues to hang over the university. Not many coaches would have kept this program a tournament team, let alone nationally elite.
Especially with Rat Face moving to the one-and-done model down the street (academic standards my ass). And while Calipari probably could have done a good job too, lets be honest - Coach Cal would have had his bags packed for the next highest offer 3 years ago right after (or before) the allegations came out.
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But it's not as if he's making do with nobodies. Looking at their 24/7 recruiting profiles, Hicks was the #16 player in his class, Berry was #30, Jackson was #9, Bradley was #27, Pinson was #15. Not quite the Duke/Kansas level, but hardly weak.
I'd say he's done a fantastic job recruiting despite the black cloud that continues to hang over the university. Not many coaches would have kept this program a tournament team, let alone nationally elite.
Especially with Rat Face moving to the one-and-done model down the street (academic standards my ass). And while Calipari probably could have done a good job too, lets be honest - Coach Cal would have had his bags packed for the next highest offer 3 years ago right after (or before) the allegations came out.
At least Cal is honest about his approach.