The notion that VT shouldn't place a high priority on keeping

[VTer]

Yeah...you know we really got lucky that Coleman Collins and Jamon Gordon didn't bounce when Stokes was fired. Then again, those two didn't have as many options as guys like Harrell and Wood.

..... or DFS and EG

[Chris Coleman]

..... or DFS and EG

If we hired Mooney, then I think EG will be gone. Other than that, I think we'll be fine.

As far DFS goes, John Richardson was leaving Virginia Tech whether or not Seth Greenberg was fired. That deal was in the works days before Seth got fired. So the chances of losing DFS would have been there with or without the Seth firing.

[Cvillehoops13]

First off, I'm not convinced Bennett is on such a great path right now. Time will tell, but they weren't that good this year, and should be pretty sucky next year.

Secondly, I never suggested it was my top priority, so should be anyone's. I am saying it is definitely not insignificant. I just don't believe in totally changing the system or personality of the program. So I would definitely oppose Mooney or Sendek.

I just think all things being equal, retaining players has to be a consideration. And let's face it, Chris is 100% right. There is NO 100% good/realistic candidate for this job because there is so much unknown / so many resume holes about any of the candidates that we could get (or this is a significant history of losing like some of the candidates mentioned).

I think Mooney would be able to keep and win with most of the current roster, I also think that his teams the last few years have played a similar tempo to what VT teams have played under Greenberg and so I don't see the connection there. Third his style perfectly fits several members of this team, specifically Doe Doe and Eddie, look at the kind of guys Georgetown puts out on the floor - long rangy kids who are matchup problems coming out to the perimeter. While Mooney does run the Princeton offense after his first two years at Richmond he sped it up and it really isn't far removed from a number of offenses you see in college basketball right now. On defense he's mixing man and a 3-2 zone.

Ultimately I believe you have to simply hope the kids in place stay put and that your incoming head coach has the personality to do that, but if not I don't think it's that big of a deal. I think Mark Turgeon and Tony Bennett will be successful and they have endured significant attrition, I think Frank Martin will be incredibly successful at South Carolina and he has lost several key players already. You just have to take your lumps, if this current group was so outstanding that it was important to keep them together as a very high priority Greenberg would still be the head coach in the first place.

The best example I can give you of a coach being hired to keep the recruits and current roster intact was Dino Gaudio and despite having tremendous talent Dino alienated a good number of people and never took that high level talent on to accomplish much of anything.

Ultimately a good hire is going to build the program up and win regardless of what the current roster/recruits do. Jeff Bzdelik isn't a bad coach at Wake because of what he was left, he's just not a good coach. Conversely Steve Donahue was set up for a disaster this season with the roster he was left and the attrition endured at BC yet he has shown that he has that program headed in the right direction even after taking lumps and enduring even more losses, because he's a very good coach.

[VTer]

If we hired Mooney, then I think EG will be gone. Other than that, I think we'll be fine.

As far DFS goes, John Richardson was leaving Virginia Tech whether or not Seth Greenberg was fired. That deal was in the works days before Seth got fired. So the chances of losing DFS would have been there with or without the Seth firing.

DFS might be gone, but probably better chance that he'll stay if VT hires someone that he's familiar with, especially if he wants to play in the ACC and would rather not transfer.

[Cvillehoops13]

If we hired Mooney, then I think EG will be gone. Other than that, I think we'll be fine.

As far DFS goes, John Richardson was leaving Virginia Tech whether or not Seth Greenberg was fired. That deal was in the works days before Seth got fired. So the chances of losing DFS would have been there with or without the Seth firing.

I know there is a good amount of thought out there that disagrees from people I respect but I have a very hard time seeing Green leave almost regardless of who the next coach is. It's a really tough situation to sit out a year to only play a year and on top of that even with his talent it's going to take just the right situation for a coach to want to take on two years of his scholarship to just get one year of production. It's far different from the kids who can transfer and play right away.

[Chris Coleman]

I know there is a good amount of thought out there that disagrees from people I respect but I have a very hard time seeing Green leave almost regardless of who the next coach is. It's a really tough situation to sit out a year to only play a year and on top of that even with his talent it's going to take just the right situation for a coach to want to take on two years of his scholarship to just get one year of production. It's far different from the kids who can transfer and play right away.

Yeah I agree with that for sure. I don't see Green leaving.

[RapmasterAC]

Losing begets losing. And if VT tanks this year and next year due to lack of ACC-caliber players, don't you think that will make the job of recruiting 2x harder than it already is?

We need a coach who can come in, stabilize the situation right now, and then go from there.

If we land a good coach, that should lessen or neutralize potential transfer issues. It will mostly take care of itself. If we land an average coach or worse, you could see some transferring. Players also transfer en masse if a coach has to clear out the knuckleheads (not a problem with our roster), or if the new guy implements a system that doesn't mesh well with the makeup of the roster (remains to be seen).

Wood and Harrell, sadly, have to be written off. Hard for a coach to come in and save the recruiting class. If either of them stay it'll be a positive surprise...which sucks, because losing Harrell will cost us a NCAA bid, or at least the chance of one.

[King of Hokies]

I think Mooney would be able to keep and win with most of the current roster, I also think that his teams the last few years have played a similar tempo to what VT teams have played under Greenberg and so I don't see the connection there. Third his style perfectly fits several members of this team, specifically Doe Doe and Eddie, look at the kind of guys Georgetown puts out on the floor - long rangy kids who are matchup problems coming out to the perimeter. While Mooney does run the Princeton offense after his first two years at Richmond he sped it up and it really isn't far removed from a number of offenses you see in college basketball right now. On defense he's mixing man and a 3-2 zone.

Ultimately I believe you have to simply hope the kids in place stay put and that your incoming head coach has the personality to do that, but if not I don't think it's that big of a deal. I think Mark Turgeon and Tony Bennett will be successful and they have endured significant attrition, I think Frank Martin will be incredibly successful at South Carolina and he has lost several key players already. You just have to take your lumps, if this current group was so outstanding that it was important to keep them together as a very high priority Greenberg would still be the head coach in the first place.

The best example I can give you of a coach being hired to keep the recruits and current roster intact was Dino Gaudio and despite having tremendous talent Dino alienated a good number of people and never took that high level talent on to accomplish much of anything.

Ultimately a good hire is going to build the program up and win regardless of what the current roster/recruits do. Jeff Bzdelik isn't a bad coach at Wake because of what he was left, he's just not a good coach. Conversely Steve Donahue was set up for a disaster this season with the roster he was left and the attrition endured at BC yet he has shown that he has that program headed in the right direction even after taking lumps and enduring even more losses, because he's a very good coach.

Conceded. Once you bring Gaudio & Bzdelik up, it's hard to argue against anything else!

[Gobbler Guru]

I think Mooney would be able to keep and win with most of the current roster, I also think that his teams the last few years have played a similar tempo to what VT teams have played under Greenberg and so I don't see the connection there. Third his style perfectly fits several members of this team, specifically Doe Doe and Eddie, look at the kind of guys Georgetown puts out on the floor - long rangy kids who are matchup problems coming out to the perimeter. While Mooney does run the Princeton offense after his first two years at Richmond he sped it up and it really isn't far removed from a number of offenses you see in college basketball right now. On defense he's mixing man and a 3-2 zone.

Ultimately I believe you have to simply hope the kids in place stay put and that your incoming head coach has the personality to do that, but if not I don't think it's that big of a deal. I think Mark Turgeon and Tony Bennett will be successful and they have endured significant attrition, I think Frank Martin will be incredibly successful at South Carolina and he has lost several key players already. You just have to take your lumps, if this current group was so outstanding that it was important to keep them together as a very high priority Greenberg would still be the head coach in the first place.

The best example I can give you of a coach being hired to keep the recruits and current roster intact was Dino Gaudio and despite having tremendous talent Dino alienated a good number of people and never took that high level talent on to accomplish much of anything.

Ultimately a good hire is going to build the program up and win regardless of what the current roster/recruits do. Jeff Bzdelik isn't a bad coach at Wake because of what he was left, he's just not a good coach. Conversely Steve Donahue was set up for a disaster this season with the roster he was left and the attrition endured at BC yet he has shown that he has that program headed in the right direction even after taking lumps and enduring even more losses, because he's a very good coach.

You could argue that BC and VT went thru similar transitions. Skinner had been around a while and kind of wore out his welcome (for different reasons than SG). The guy they hired, Donahue, was probably not a "big name" vs. the guy he replaced. Yet he has shown that he's a good strategist and I agree that BC is headed up.

I'm wondering if a Prohm or someone similar could be VT's version of Donahue.

[King of Hokies]

You could argue that BC and VT went thru similar transitions. Skinner had been around a while and kind of wore out his welcome (for different reasons than SG). The guy they hired, Donahue, was probably not a "big name" vs. the guy he replaced. Yet he has shown that he's a good strategist and I agree that BC is headed up.

I'm wondering if a Prohm or someone similar could be VT's version of Donahue.

There is no one being discussed (except Smart and Marshall) with anything Donahue's quals right now. Donahue's resume was 10 years head coach, with 3 consecutive 1st place finishes in the Ivy, 3 consecutive NCAA bids, the last one leading to a Sweet 16 appearance.

He was also entrenched in the Northeast, at a seriously academically-oriented school. He was therefore a perfect fit for BC.

I don't see anyone being mentioned that has similar quals or compatibilities to VT. Do you?