OT: Clayton Bates out at Western Michigan
Martelli certainly thinks he is ready
The directional Michigan schools feel like dead-end jobs. Maybe I'm wrong, but I can't remember any of those coaches moving up since Ben Braun 25 years ago. I feel like he could hold out for a better gig.
Saddi turned them down last time. He’s been holding out for a big job so I doubt it. He finished as the runner up in the Penn St coaching search last year so he’s on the cusp. Hopefully he finally gets his shot this off-season.
Wasn't he offered the job initially?
WMU never should have let Hawkins go.
I agree with the others saying he would pass on it. I feel like most of our assistants should be in line to get a look for a head coaching gig at school with a much better program
but I can't remember any of those coaches moving up since Ben Braun 25 years ago.
When he moved up to Cal after EMU it seemed like Braun was going to be the next hot young coach. Didn't work out that way—he coached in Berkeley for 12 seasons, and had a winning record in conference play only 5 times, with those seasons being the only appearances in the NCAA tourneys. Fired after his 12th season at Cal, and then ended his coaching career after six horrible seasons at Rice.
On another note how come MSU assistant coach Stephens, Izzos's right hand man, name is never mentioned in these coaching search. It seems like he has been at MSU forever.
Saddi? No.
Eli? Maybe!
The last WMU coach Hawkins is coaching at a local High School now, Portage Northern/Central can't remember which one. They'd be smart to jump in the car and head across town and offer him the job back.
Izzo is almost 70. Who's his successor?
RE: directional schools as dead end jobs.
Bobby Hurley and Nate Oats both left the University at Buffalo for Arizona State and Alabama.
FWIW--I hate that I can't reply below a post.
WMU dug themselves a pretty bad hole with men's basketball. They fired Hawkins literally when the world started grinding to a halt two years ago, Washington passed on them while trying to conduct a "virtual" coaching search, and then the university issued an outside hiring freeze. All that led to Bates' promotion to head coach. Since then, the Broncos changed athletic directors and I assume said hiring freeze ended long ago. But as was said before, they shouldn't have let Hawkins go in the first place because that program is going to need a serious rebuilding effort even for a mid-major.
Saddi was offered the job the last time, but I believe it was a minimal raise or no raise at all from his salary as MIchigan assistant. So if they offered him a decent raise and some of the resources he would want, I think he might take it. Could recruit well in the MW and he's ready for a job. I don't see a lower end power conference job taking a chance on him, so MAC, Horizon League level jobs are probably what he'd be offered.
Ben Braun started at Siena Heights College in Adrian before going to EMU and onto Cal.
Patrick Beilien available ?
"WMU never should have let Hawkins go."
Sorry, but I disagree. When the best Hawkins and the Broncos could do was one season above .500 (barely, at 17-15 in 2017-18) over his final 5 seasons, it's time for a change.
Unfortunately, the timing of the change coincided with the early days of the pandemic, preventing WMU from being able to do a proper coaching search.
give David Kool a call, make him say no.
@Dr. Richard Kimble: That name David Kool sounds familiar, is he one of the GR-area Kool family (Northview, maybe?) who were multi-sports stars decades ago?
(edit: I googled David Kool and I see he's in his mid 30's, besides now remembering that he starred for WMU basketball himself.
I'm guessing he possibly is part of the next generation to the Kool brothers who made names for themselves as GR-area high school stars in the 1970's, back in my high school days. )
David Kool played at South Christian from around 2002(?)-2006. We beat them in 2005 and I beleive were their only loss on their way to state. The next year (Kool’s senior year) they destroyed us by like 30.
@Hoek wow - was not aware that he was at Portage Northern. That's pretty incredible - you would think a DIV1 coach - however middling - could land somewhere besides a high school program...
Rob F:
He played at South Christian, was Mr Basketball at some point and won a state title or two. But those teams also had Kirk Walters, a 7 footer who played at Arizona and some other solid players who I’m forgetting.
He would have been a great fit with Beilen but I think the timing was off when JB was hired.
Imagine a backcourt of Stu Douglass, David Kool, and Zack Novak. Unstoppable.
Kool and waiters would have overlapped maybe 1 year. South Christian won state in 2005 as well, after Walters was gone.
@Hoek : I'd rather WMU offers 82-yr old Eldon Miller his job back after a 46-year absence. He's only the all-time greatest hoops coach in Broncos history, that 1975-76 top-ten ranked WMU team of his was poetry-in-motion on the basketball court. 25-3 that season, they fought #2- ranked Marquette University tooth-and-nail in their sweet-16 matchup in the tournament, finally losing by 5, 62-57.
I was surprised recently to find out Coach Miller spent 2008-2020 as an assistant coach under his son Ben Miller at UNC- Pembroke.
He's rested and ready!
The "Block Reply":
The referenced MSU assistant will never leave MSU. Not every assistant wants to be an HC.
There are a handful of schools that seem like good stepping stones but are actually where careers go to die:
- UIC
- Western
- Eastern
- DePaul