|
Post by aforaces on Mar 12, 2021 12:36:26 GMT -6
Geoff Alexander is “Assistant to the Head Coach” at Illinois. I assume that’s similar to Marty Simmons position as “Special Assistant to the Head Coach” at Clemson.
Doug Novsek is currently Associate Head Coach at The University of Idaho after spending a year as an Assistant Coach. Immediately after UE he spent a year as quality control consultant at his alma mater, SIU.
Jimmy Elgas has spent the last six years as Head Coach at DII Hendersonville State.
Carson Harris’ Facebook page says he’s a Service Manager at Cintas Corp.
Kavon Lacey is an Assistant Coach at Lewis and Clark Community College.
Chad Harmon was the WBB Head Coach at MacMurray College until the school closed in 2020. I heard he was doing something with another women’s team and his FB profile says he’s a Construction Project Manager at Enviro-Max.
Anyone know what Lennox Forrester is doing these days?
|
|
|
Post by Aces&Eights on Mar 12, 2021 12:50:20 GMT -6
Geoff Alexander is “Assistant to the Head Coach” at Illinois. I assume that’s similar to Marty Simmons position as “Special Assistant to the Head Coach” at Clemson. I don't think they are similar at all. Alexander was hired when Brad Underwood took the HC job. He was the big-man coach for the Aces. I have no clue what Simmons does at Clemson.
|
|
|
Post by bballjunkie on Mar 12, 2021 13:05:43 GMT -6
I think Simmons gets Coach Brownell his coffee
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2021 14:08:17 GMT -6
This board's fascination with Tyra Buss began with a (somewhat in jest) comment about hiring her as the new men's coach and has exploded. I wonder if she is aware of all this and what her reaction would be. She may be a faithful board reader. I would guess that having got her foot in the door to coaching, she is very likely to move on to a Big Ten or other power school as an assistant, and sooner rather than later, unless there is a bigger opportunity here. Spending several years as an assistant at a mid-major cellar dweller is not exactly the fast track to career advancement. For all we know, being an assistant coach is only the sideline to her career dreams, none of which she's shared with me. There are plenty of avenues for development and she was good enough to play pro ball in the WNBA. I think Buss represents a fresh face who has at least proven she can play the game. Whether she wants to be a head coach -- men or women -- is maybe a bit early in her career. What we are discussing, generally, is less about her than it is about Ruffing. Ruffing has failed and will likely continue to fail even if the Ghost of McCutchen would materialize on his bench. If the program is going to improve, a fresh face is probably what it needs. You could argue that the 'other' assistants deserve a chance to move up and I could argue that they don't. If they don't hire one of them, which includes Tyra Buss, they will hire somebody else eventually. As well, the idea that UE has enabled failure when it's clear it could have either been avoided or minimized, is more concerning to me. If athletics is an integral part of how a university thrives, due to exposure and reputation, why shove it back in the corner behind the furnace? If the athletics department is blind to this, we can expect all the programs to continue to suffer. After a winter of hearing how UE needed to slash programs, it's not hard to give them free advice -- stop promoting people who have a track record of failing on a regular basis. If you don't like the outcome, try a different approach. Why even bring Tyra Buss into the program?
|
|
|
Post by db1972 on Mar 12, 2021 17:00:48 GMT -6
Chad Harmon was the WBB Head Coach at MacMurray College until the school closed in 2020. I heard he was doing something with another women’s team and his FB profile says he’s a Construction Project Manager at Enviro-Max. Anyone know what Lennox Forrester is doing these days? According to his Twitter, looks like Harmon caught on as an assistant high school coach for the women's team in Carmel, IN. From what I know, that's a pretty reputable program, although high school is certainly a step down. Looks like Forrester is now an executive director for a YMCA after stepping away from basketball. www.theintelligencer.com/sports/article/MEN-8217-S-BASKETBALL-Forrester-transitions-15319507.php
|
|
|
Post by 83Ace on Mar 13, 2021 12:45:53 GMT -6
Spending several years as an assistant at a mid-major cellar dweller is not exactly the fast track to career advancement. Geoff Alexander - Asst. HC at Illinois and Chris Hollender - Asst. coach at Missouri. Both UE assistants under Simmons. Yes, UE assistants have gone on to other positions. But we are talking about the women's program. I don't think being an assistant with Marty Simmons and being an assistant with Matt Ruffing is an equal comparison. We may have had issues with Marty, but he never won a total of 4 conference games in 4 years, and we were not a perennial cellar dweller. There were coaches who wanted to learn more about his motion offense, and he could coach defense. My point is that the assistants may have reason to leave if given the opportunity, and Tyra would probably have the opportunity.
|
|
|
Post by aces15 on Mar 14, 2021 20:39:00 GMT -6
I just think we are selling ourselves too low. In college basketball it's very rare to see assistant coaches promoted to HEAD coaching positions after unsuccessful tenures no matter how long the assistant has been there and rightfully so. The job should be opened up to a pool of new candidates that bring new energy in. I'm in the minority here with my thinking but I would prefer to hire someone with more experience, nothing against Buss. If she is as good as some think I would think that the new head coach (If we have one) would keep her around.
|
|
|
Post by aceofbase on Mar 15, 2021 10:50:15 GMT -6
Good points, aces15. "IF" a change is made, open it up Nationally.
BTW, UE has ZERO female head coaches right now. I wonder how many D1 programs can say that?
|
|
|
Post by acefan on Mar 15, 2021 14:20:08 GMT -6
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2021 14:32:45 GMT -6
Spencer, when apprised of the approaching iceberg, said: "It's not moving very fast, so we should be able to dodge it."
"After evaluating our women's basketball program, I have determined that a change in leadership is necessary at this time. Under Coach Ruffing's leadership, we were regrettably unable to achieve the level of competitive excellence that we expect at the University of Evansville."
|
|
|
Post by ad1770 on Mar 15, 2021 14:40:31 GMT -6
Spencer, when apprised of the approaching iceberg, said: "It's not moving very fast, so we should be able to dodge it." "After evaluating our women's basketball program, I have determined that a change in leadership is necessary at this time. Under Coach Ruffing's leadership, we were regrettably unable to achieve the level of competitive excellence that we expect at the University of Evansville."
Spencer got that one right. He still needs to go too though.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2021 14:59:31 GMT -6
I hope Tyra gets the job....if she wants it. Despite her lack of experience, it seems her pedigree would be a big positive. She can then maybe hire an experienced assistant to help with the X's and O's.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2021 15:10:05 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by municup14 on Mar 15, 2021 15:53:36 GMT -6
Ruffian has been let go as head coach
|
|
|
Post by Aces&Eights on Mar 15, 2021 16:21:09 GMT -6
Ruffian has been let go as head coach 1. Why start a new topic when there already is a perfectly good topic going on Ruffing that had already reported his dismissal? 2. Ruffing is the former coach's name!
|
|