Mid-Major Madness - 2014 Coaching Carousel"So what are they going to call it? NonPower5Madness.com?"https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/50397/midmajor-fav.png2014-10-29T05:46:29-07:00http://www.midmajormadness.com/rss/stream/52516852014-10-29T05:46:29-07:002014-10-29T05:46:29-07:00Arnold and Assistant Fired at Hawaii
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<p>Just weeks before the season was a bout to begin Hawaii has fired their head basketball coach, along with an assistant. </p> <p>The season is just over two weeks away at this point and now the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/teams/hawaii-warriors">Hawaii Rainbow Warriors</a> are in total disarray to begin the year. Hawaii athletic director Ben Jay releaved head coach Gib Arnold and assistant Brandyn Akana from their duties.</p>
<p>"These painful but critical steps are being taken in an effort to strengthen our athletics program and to do right by our student athletes and students in general. We appreciate the work of Gib and Brandyn and wish them both the best in the future." Jay said in a release from the school.</p>
<p>The Rainbow Warriors basketball program has been under NCAA investigation and according to the <a href="http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/20141028_Sources_Arnold_out_as_UH_basketball_coach.html?id=280710752">Honolulu Star Advertiser</a> the university was looking to impose self sanctions before NCAA action.</p>
<p>Akana was suspended for 30 days last year and missed 12 games down the stretch for Hawaii.</p>
<p>Current assistant and former Chicago State head coach Benjy Taylor is supposed to take over the program on an interim basis but multiple outlets are also reporting their is a strong chance former Hawaii head coach Riley Wallace may step in as well.</p>
<p>Hawaii's season begins November 14 when they kick off the Rainbow Classic against Arkansas Pine Bluff. The event also features High Point and Cal State Bakersfield.</p>
https://www.midmajormadness.com/2014/10/29/7088771/gib-arnold-fired-at-hawaiiParks Smith2014-08-09T06:48:13-07:002014-08-09T06:48:13-07:00External Factors Weighing on Charleston Search
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<figcaption>Jonathan Daniel</figcaption>
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<p>Can Charleston make the right coaching decision with external factors brewing on campus after Doug Wojcik's dismissal?</p> <p>The coaching carousel never stops spinning and after slowing down for the summer it was cranked back up when Doug Wojcik was fired from Charleston for allegations of abusive behavior towards his players. You would think the controversy is over Palmetto State but that couldn't be further from the truth.</p>
<p>With the search for a new head coach underway there are allegations of tremendous pressure for the Cougars to hire a minority candidate. Charleston president Glenn McConnell, who started this summer, has no shortage of controversy. In an article from <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/03/26/college-charlestons-next-president-politician-confederate-sympathies-faculty-and?utm_source=slate&utm_medium=referral&utm_term=partner">Inside Higher Ed</a> McConnell was labeled as as such:</p>
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<p class="p1"><span class="s1">His critics also paint him as a Confederate sympathizer. He used to own a shop that sold memorabilia of the South’s rebellion; he appears in a widely circulated picture dressed as a Confederate general; and he is a longtime supporter of flying the Confederate flag on the statehouse grounds. </span></p>
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<p>The reaction to McConnell's hire wasn't positive. Students protested with signs like "This is 2014 NOT 1814" and the <a href="http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20140214/PC16/140219647">Charleston Post & Courier </a>claimed that the decision to hire McConnell was against the search committee's best recommendation.</p>
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<p class="p1"><span>The College of Charleston's presidential search committee did not include Lt. Gov. Glenn McConnell on the list of five recommended candidates that it forwarded to the school's Board of Trustees, according to sources with close ties to committee members.</span></p>
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<p class="p1">Charleston is a proud program and one full of tradition and passion. The Cougars are looking to reclaim the glory days of the John Kresse era where they made NCAA in 1994, 1997, 1998, and 1999. The community is trying to turn the corner from the stain that Doug Wojcik has left and become a CAA contender but now with the controversy surrounding President McConnell the Cougars can't not make a decision purely based on basketball. CBS Gary Parrish recently wrote "one unreported aspect of this story worth noting is how first-year president Glenn McConnell is facing internal and external pressure to hire a minority as his next men's basketball coach, multiple sources told CBSSports.com.".</p>
<p class="p1">So where do the Cougars go from here? The leader in the clubhouse seems to be Cougar alum, former NBA veteran, and current New Orleans Pelicans scout Anthony Johnson. Former Charleston interim head coach and assistant Mark Byington, who is currently the head coach at Georgia Southern, has already removed his name from consideration. Other names that have popped up in the search is Charleston Southern's Barclay Radebaugh, Wofford's Mike Young, former UNC star and current Tulane assistant Shammond Williams, Clemson assistant Earl Grant, and former Boston College coach Al Skinner.</p>
<p class="p1">Johnson could be a fine coach from the Cougars. He's a Charleston native, alum, and played professionally in the NBA and NBDL from 1997 to 2010. Johnson has never really coached though and has to be least experienced bench boss out of the whole candidate pool. Radebaugh has built a Charleston Southern program through key recruits like <span>Saah Nimley</span> and Arlon Harper. Mike Young has coached at in-state rival Wofford since 1989 and has lead the Terriers to the NCAA Tournament in three of the last five seasons. Finally, Earl Grant is a Charleston native who spent six years on Gregg Marshall's bench at Winthrop and Wichita State before coming to Clemson in 2010.</p>
<p class="p1">With so much experience in the search pool for the Cougars will they make the correct basketball decision that can make them relevant in the CAA or will external pressures potentially push them into a quick decision?</p>
https://www.midmajormadness.com/colonial-athletic-association/2014/8/9/5985527/external-factors-weighing-on-charlestons-coaching-searchParks Smith2014-08-05T19:06:13-07:002014-08-05T19:06:13-07:00Wojcik Out At College of Charleston
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<p>Following a lengthy investigation and the release of thorough report, the College of Charleston fired Doug Wojcik from his position as head coach of the Cougars.</p> <p>The last couple of weeks for Doug Wojcik had to make him feel like the criminal in some generic police serial drama.</p>
<p>Evidence was mounting, the dogs were tracking his scent, he was about to be pulled into the box and sweated by the chief detective. It was only a matter of time before the paper was put in front of him and he was asked to sign his confession.</p>
<p>That day came Tuesday as Wojcik was fired as the head coach at the College of Charleston after just two seasons. The announcement by school president Glenn McConnell came with a rider that the firing was for cause, a signal that the school will fight Wojcik over any buyout that the coach may demand.</p>
<p>The cause is one that has been heard more and more in the last few years: a coach being verbally and sometimes physically abusive of his players. In Wojcik's case, the allegations by some former players led to an investigation and a 50-page report detailing his alleged activities.</p>
<p>The accusations ranged from homosexual slurs, to defaming the intelligence of his players, to just general threats. It also didn't help that the smoking gun was released to the press, a video showing Wojcik throwing the basketball off of players in practice, and also strongly confronting a player on the bench during a game.</p>
<p>Maybe the accusations could have been overlooked had it not been for the video. Just ask Mike Rice how that affected him at Rutgers.</p>
<p>Wojcik had agreed to counseling and a 30-day suspension after the preliminary investigation was held. He was just five days into that suspension when this decision came down.</p>
<p>It certainly seems that this story won't be going away anytime soon either. Wojcik's lawyer has already come out attacking the president's statement, and basically accusing the school of trying to get out of paying the coach in any way possible.</p>
<p>The Cougars were 38-29 in two seasons under Wojcik. According to ESPN's Jeff Goodman, the school may be targeting former Charleston player <span>Anthony Johnson</span>, now a New Orleans Pelicans scout, for the head coaching spot.</p>
https://www.midmajormadness.com/2014/8/5/5973457/college-of-charleston-coach-doug-wojcik-fired-anthony-johnsonBenjamin Miraski2014-07-03T08:12:12-07:002014-07-03T08:12:12-07:00Grambling Fires Joseph Price
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<figcaption>Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>In an unexpected move, Grambling coach Joseph Price was let go from his position by new University president Cynthia Warren. Price was 5-32 in his two seasons as head coach.</p> <p>It's July, so that makes it the right time to fire your coach, right? Apparently so if you are Grambling. New University president Cynthia Warrick fired men's basketball coach Joseph Price on Wednesday and reassigned athletic director Aaron James.</p>
<p>It is expected that women's basketball coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs will become the interim athletic director.</p>
<p>The change in leadership of the basketball program took many by surprise,<a href="http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20140703/SPORTS02/307030017/Grambling-players-say-they-were-caught-off-guard-Joseph-Price-s-firing"> including the players</a>, who had started to play better under Price. When Price took over the Tigers, they were under heavy APR penalties and were banned from the postseason along with other restrictions.</p>
<p>Price managed to pull the program out of the APR danger zone, and Grambling would be eligible to compete in the postseason this coming year.</p>
<p>The ousted coach<a href="http://www.knoe.com/story/25927257/terminated-grambling-coach-issues-statement"> released a statement Wednesday afternoon </a>touting his success as coach and the changes that his staff had put in place to turn things around:</p>
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<p>"I feel great about the progress we made with the program over the last two years. When I took the head coach position, Grambling was facing serious NCAA sanctions that required us to focus on the academic eligibility, retention and the team's graduation rate, which in summary is the Academic Progress Rate (APR).</p>
<p><br>Through strategic recruiting and monitoring the academic progress of our players, my staff and I were able to lead the program out of these sanctions and on a pathway to success in just two years. When you consider the fact that we were working in a limited resource environment, this was equivalent to working a miracle."</p>
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<p>The timing of this change within the program is odd. Yes, it is the new fiscal year, so you have that excuse in your back pocket, and you are a new president, so you are given some leeway to make changes.</p>
<p>But Price was making progress under extreme circumstances. He may have been just 5-32 in his two seasons, but the team won three conference games, and advanced past the first round of the SWAC Tournament, in which they were allowed to play, beating a talented Jackson State team.</p>
<p>Now Grambling is essentially back to square one, and given the changes that tend to occur after coaching changes, Grambling might even be starting in the negative.</p>
https://www.midmajormadness.com/2014/7/3/5867937/grambling-coach-joseph-price-fired-tigers-swac-warrenBenjamin Miraski2014-06-04T19:55:50-07:002014-06-04T19:55:50-07:00Jeff Bower Outfoxes Fans
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<p>Jeff Bower bolts Marist after just one year and leaves the Red Foxes in a precarious situation. </p> <p>Somehow at Mid-Major Madness I've become the "coaching change guy" or as Ben Miraskie puts it the "Grim Reaper". Coaching changes are fun or sad or crazy (cough Marshall cough cough). They can deflate or invigorate a fan base.</p>
<p>Last year one of the coaching moves that I gave the <a href="http://www.midmajormadness.com/2013/4/18/4239656/coaching-carousel-grading-the-mid-major-college-basketball-coaching">most harsh review </a>was Marist hiring former NBA GM Jeff Bower. I received "feedback" from the Red Fox faithful and even their athletic department when I said:</p>
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<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;" class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph15"><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Marist </b><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Old Coach:</b> Chuck Martin<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">New Coach:</b> Jeff Bower</p>
<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;" class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph16">Marist made one of the strangest hires thus far grabbing former NBA GM and scout Jeff Bower. Bower briefly was the interim head coach for the Hornets a few years ago, but really hasn't been in the coaching game. <b>For whatever reason, I just don't see this working out. </b><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Grade:</b> F</p>
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<p>Yes...this is an "I told you so" post.... Bower is now the General Manager of the Detroit Pistons and gone from his former employer who he so passionately set out to save this time last year. Although the Red Foxes had a solid second half of the season, Bower just wasn't sustainable. Simply put, he's not a coach. Did you really think that the guy who drafted and "coached" (cough Tim Floyd) Chris Paul wasn't going to make his way back to the league in some capacity in the front office?</p>
<p>I feel bad for the Marist faithful, who deserve more. I understand the free market and opportunity for Bower but he now leaves a school and fan base behind and a year or more now has to feel wasted as Marist is not in the best situation in a tough MAAC landscape. Bower said at his Pistons press conference: "I thought I had as good a situation as was possible. I loved the school, the people, everybody connected with the program. I loved what I was doing. We had laid a foundation that had started things that were very special and we were going to hit the mark."</p>
<p>Past tense seem entirely appropriate now. It's ironic one of the quotes praising Bowers hire at Marist was from Stan Van Gundy:</p>
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<p>"What a great hire! Jeff is a great basketball guy. He was as knowledgeable at what he did as anyone in the NBA, and a tremendous talent evaluator. He’s a great coach who I think players will love playing for. The kids who decide to play at Marist will have a tremendous advantage because Jeff knows what it takes to be a great player. He’s been around the best of the best."Stan Van Gundy<br><strong>Former NBA Head Coach, Miami Heat & Orlando Magic</strong></p>
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https://www.midmajormadness.com/2014/6/4/5781406/looking-back-on-marist-hiring-of-jeff-bowerParks Smith2014-06-04T19:26:15-07:002014-06-04T19:26:15-07:00Delta Devils Tab NAIA Head Coach
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<figcaption>Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>After a weird search, the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils look to an NAIA head coach to lead their squad. </p> <p>The weird coaching situation at Mississippi Valley State seems to be coming to an end as the Delta Devils are expected to tap Andre Payne to replace former head coach Chico Potts. Payne comes from NAIA Wiley College where he was the basketball coach and Athletic Director.</p>
<p>Payne lead the Wiley Wildcats to a 19-11 mark this past year. He's been coaching at Wiley since 2006 and lead the Wildcats to their first national tournament appearance in 37 years in 2007 and was also named the Red River Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.</p>
<p>One weird twist in the hire is that Payne will not be announced or start as the head coach until after July 1 when the new fiscal year starts at the SWAC school. The Delta Devils were 14-46 in two years under Potts and they are trying to recapture the success they had under current Morehead State head coach Sean Woods.</p>
https://www.midmajormadness.com/2014/6/4/5781330/coaching-carousel-mississippi-valley-state-to-tab-andre-payneParks Smith2014-06-04T19:17:33-07:002014-06-04T19:17:33-07:00Samford Moving On From Seltzer
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<p>Late movement on the coaching carousel has brought a move at Samford as the Southern Conference school is moving on from Bennie Seltzer. </p> <p>Bennie Seltzer is out after two seasons and a 24-41 at Samford. The Tom Crean protege, who spent time at both Indiana and Marquette, will be let go by the Southern Conference school after losing 14 players to the transfer market over the past two seasons. The Bulldogs recently lost leading scorer and one of the SoCon's best players Tim Williams.</p>
<p>Seltzer was just 15-19 in conference play. The Alabama based school has not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2000 and has not had a winning season since 2006 when they went 20-11 under Jimmy Tillette.</p>
<p>Samford is expected to have an official release early next week, according to ESPN's Jeff Goodman.</p>
<p>It may be an uphill battle for the Bulldogs as they are very late on the coaching carousel and have lost five of their top six scorers from a year ago. This will certainly be an interesting spot to watch.</p>
https://www.midmajormadness.com/2014/6/4/5781308/coaching-carousel-samford-parting-ways-with-bennie-seltzerParks Smith2014-05-18T18:36:27-07:002014-05-18T18:36:27-07:00Tinkle Leaving Montana for Oregon State
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<p>Montana head coach Wayne Tinkle is leaving his alma mater for an opportunity to coach in the Pac 12. </p> <p>Just when it seemed like things on the coaching carousel were settling down Oregon State reached into the mid-major ranks to get their next head coach as Montana head coach Wayne Tinkle will take over for former Beavers' boss Craig Robinson. Tinkle was one of the Beavers finalist, along with Syracuse assistant Mike Hopkins. Former UCLA head coach Ben Howland pulled his name out of the running earlier this week.</p>
<p>Tinkle has been at Montana since 2001 and became the Grizzlies' head coach in 2006. The Milwaukee native is also a Montana alum. In eight years at the helm Tinkle was 158-89 and lead the Grizzlies to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/march-madness">NCAA Tournament</a> and Big Sky Championship in 2012 and 2013. He never had a losing season in Big Sky play.</p>
<p>Montana will now be looking for a new head coach rather late in the process. It will be interesting to see if the Griz look quickly within to fill their void.</p>
https://www.midmajormadness.com/big-sky-basketball/2014/5/18/5729774/coaching-carousel-wayne-tinkle-to-coach-oregon-stateParks Smith