LaVall Jordan named Butler Head Coach

Submitted by SAMgO on

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/19618067/butler-…

Congrats to him and good to grow out the Beilein tree a bit more. Could only be a good thing for us down the line and it'll be interesting to see how Jordan fares on a slightly bigger stage.

Also, I see that the original "he's being looked at" thread has been updated, but it's probably good to have a more visible place for this news than way down the board.

Primo

June 13th, 2017 at 9:54 AM ^

I don't think it should be assumed he would leave Butler for Michigan when Beilein retires. It's his alma mater and they now play in a good conference. Then again, M could pay him a lot more than Butler, probably, so there's that. But the big east is not exactly the MAC.

Chalky White

June 13th, 2017 at 9:58 AM ^

Butler's last few coaches have gone on to power 5 jobs or the NBA. I don't know his compensation at Butler, do you expect him to turn down a $2-3M/yr power 5 job to stay at Butler?

IndyBlue90

June 13th, 2017 at 11:12 AM ^

I don't have any inside info, but judging by the last two coaches, LaVall will probably start somewhere around $1 million/ year. If he performs to the level that would get UM interested he will surely get a few renegotiated contracts. 



The other thing to keep in mind is James Danko's (coincidentally a Michigan MBA grad, and former employee) plan for the university. He is midway through a capital development and enrollment growth plan. The plan involves growing Butler's endowment and increasing the student population from around 4500 to around 10000. Butler just acquired a sizeable chunk of land abutting campus, and this is the first step to getting up to the new numbers. This is all to say that in five years Butler's salary offering might not be THAT much lower than Michigan's. There is no question that Michigan could out bid Butler, but they may not want to do that.

MI Expat NY

June 13th, 2017 at 11:15 AM ^

Villanova just won out of the same conference as Bulter.  Gonzaga just came damn close (and not as a cinderella) out of a lesser conference.  Brad Stevens probably would have still been around but for the Celtics offer.  Given Jordan's history with the school, I can at least say there's a strong possibility of him turning down a "power 5" job to stay at Butler.

"Power 5" also doesn't mean the same thing in basketball as it does in football.  Yes, most of the very best basketball schools are in the power 5, but lack of membership is not an out and out block on competitiveness as it is in football.  

Spunky

June 13th, 2017 at 9:36 AM ^

Butler basketball fans might end up hating Ohio State and Michigan if LaVall has a lot of success and returns when Beilein retires.

LSAClassOf2000

June 13th, 2017 at 10:31 AM ^

It would be interesting to see Jordan come back to Ann Arbor, although as someone else basically said above, I think he's set up pretty well for a nice extended run at Butler if that's what he chooses to do. It is kind of a stepping stone job, but maybe his connections there influence how long he stays. Regardless, a successful run at Butler is never a bad thing on a resume, and I wish him such a run. 

Everyone Murders

June 13th, 2017 at 9:39 AM ^

This is great for LaVall Jordan and great for Beilein too - an impressive branch on his coaching tree.  Also some commentary on a thread about 8 or so below this one ("UPDATE: Lavall Jordan to be next Butler coach") for those interested.

Happy to see the news bumped to the top!

FauxMo

June 13th, 2017 at 9:48 AM ^

Great for Lavall, great for Michigan, and most importantly, great for ME! Since I bought his house last year when he left Ann Arbor, I now live in the Butler coach's former house. And if he comes back to Michigan one day, I can market the shiznit out of that fact when selling it! :-D 

Everyone Murders

June 13th, 2017 at 10:47 AM ^

I bought a house one of my colleagues owned two owners before.  Met his (exceptionally uptight) wife at a cocktail party, and told her "your husband and I have slept in the same room hundreds of times - nice to finally meet you".

She was (A) unaware of the common house ownership, (B) unamused, or (C) both of the above.

(Always guess "C" if you don't know the answer!) 

Chuck

June 13th, 2017 at 1:27 PM ^

Indianapolis native here. Butler is my #2 squad.  Both my sister and brother in law are graduates, and Brad Stevens worked for my father before coaching. #coolstorybro

Congrats Lavall! Go Dawgs!

Mr. Yost

June 13th, 2017 at 7:38 PM ^

Huge step! Awesome for him...he would've gotten it from Michigan so getting that 1 year of HC experience helped I'm sure.

Now what does Milwaukee do? The carousel continues...