Molinari named assistant coach

[huskerbaseball13]

Again, he could be a good hire. He has a losing record at his current school and what they won 8 or 10 games last year?

 

I wouldnt be too concerned with his record...the guy has been around a long long time in D-1 basketball.  Were not going to find very many assistants out there with the type of experience he has. 

[Section_316]

I want Covvington too!

[huskerbaseball13]

I want Covvington too!

 

Agreed.  That would be HUGE. 

[lanigan123]

I think some people would say great things about anyone Miles would hire. Craig Smith was the lead recruiter for Hammond and Smith, so you can't say Kenya and Chris are our recruiters. I hope they can do so, long term. Molinari has been at WIU for 6 years and has a losing record. People at one time said some of these same types of statements to feel good about hiring Kevin Cosgrove. I can't deny he is a very good defensive mind, which is great, but I don't like coaching staffs who hire friends, that's it. Oh, and I wish we knew about more of what he brings to recruiting. Time will tell, it may be a home run, just skeptical.

[doc1394]

I think some people would say great things about anyone Miles would hire. Craig Smith was the lead recruiter for Hammond and Smith, so you can't say Kenya and Chris are our recruiters.

Harriman pretty much single handidly got Tai and Pinder

[GATA]

I think some people would say great things about anyone Miles would hire. Craig Smith was the lead recruiter for Hammond and Smith, so you can't say Kenya and Chris are our recruiters. I hope they can do so, long term. Molinari has been at WIU for 6 years and has a losing record. People at one time said some of these same types of statements to feel good about hiring Kevin Cosgrove. I can't deny he is a very good defensive mind, which is great, but I don't like coaching staffs who hire friends, that's it. Oh, and I wish we knew about more of what he brings to recruiting. Time will tell, it may be a home run, just skeptical.

Admittedly, I was one of the first ones here skeptical of the possible hire, but his background and the more information posters have added to the conversation have swung me in favor of Coach Mo.

Unfortunately for him, he was at WIU, so he never was going to land big-time recruits, but being from the state of Illinois, obviously he will have ties and in-roads with coaches in one of the top recruiting hotbeds in the nation.

[hhcmatt]

Molinari has been at WIU for 6 years and has a losing record.

 

WIU has had 7 seasons since 2000 where they've had double digit wins.  Molinari has 4 of those seasons.

 

 

I think some people would say great things about anyone Miles would hire.

 

I'd agree with that. While Smith has done some pretty good things on the recruiting front I was a lot more concerned about the removal of a ton of coaching experience.  That's why I'm a lot more excited about this potential hire than the "up and coming assistants" we've been hiring in the past.

[GATA]

I'll say this, too: I'd gladly take Coach Mo over Erick Strickland!

[uneblinstu]

I want Covvington too!

Is it even legal for a head coach to take a job somewhere else and take a player with him?

[hhcmatt]

 

I want Covvington too!

Is it even legal for a head coach to take a job somewhere else and take a player with him?

 

 

Seemed to work for the Alfords and the McDermotts

[TheKamdyMan]

I want Covvington too!

Is it even legal for a head coach to take a job somewhere else and take a player with him?

The player is well within his rights to transfer on his own and will have the penalty of having to sit a year.

[lanigan123]

Yes better than Strickland or and assistant Doc had like Anwar, etc. He is a wealth of basketball knowledge and can coach D. I don't think the choice has to be 60 year old with lots of experience or Strick.

[uneblinstu]

 

 

I want Covvington too!

Is it even legal for a head coach to take a job somewhere else and take a player with him?

 

 

Seemed to work for the Alfords and the McDermotts

 

Not familiar with the Alfords, but McDermott never played for Northern Iowa. He switched over only after signing his LOI. Also, Pappa McD didn't come from the school that Doug signed with. He came from ISU. Slightly different, perhaps.  And it's not like Covington is Moliari's kid (that we know of...).

[49r]

 

 

 

I want Covvington too!

Is it even legal for a head coach to take a job somewhere else and take a player with him?

 

 

Seemed to work for the Alfords and the McDermotts

 

Not familiar with the Alfords, but McDermott never played for Northern Iowa. He switched over only after signing his LOI. Also, Pappa McD didn't come from the school that Doug signed with. He came from ISU. Slightly different, perhaps.  And it's not like Covington is Moliari's kid (that we know of...).

 

 

Bryce Alford, Steve's son came with him from Albuquerque to UCLA.

 

http://www.uclabruins.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30500&ATCLID=208600771

 

He's a source of some debate among Bruin fans, apparently.

[Dean Smith]

Doesn't matter what you want to call this philosophy.  It is designed to not give up easy 2 pointers and easy 3 pointers.  Whatever defense is being played needs to do those two things.  Denying the wing pass without being in control is a great way to lead to those two things not happening. 

I understand your point and from the general fan perspective it doesn't matter. To me they are all pickups but some people get worked up about the difference between a Ford and Chevy. The point to me was announcers lock onto a phrase and work it to death even if they are using it incorrectly. I remember when Tubbs won the title at UK everyone was talking about the ball-line defense he was running  in connection to lots of other teams even though Tubbs was the only one really doing it. Both ball-line and pack-line are sagging m4m's but there are some serious principle differences that make them different defenses. If you are not fronting the post when the ball is at the point and in the corner, and if you aren't 3/4ing the post when it is on the wing - you are not running a pack-line defense. 

 

I'm sure there are plumbers that get tired of people talking about that do-hicky. There is a correct name and announcers are just being lazy when they are using a name for something when its not. I don't know if they think it makes them sound smart to use the phrase, but to anyone that actually knows the principles behind the pack-line it makes them sound dumb.

[Shuttlesworth]

Tampering with another school's players is a Level 1 compliance violation. But if Molinari is technically still employed by WIU, he has every right to nudge a player a certain direction

[Nebrasketballer]

I think some people would say great things about anyone Miles would hire. Craig Smith was the lead recruiter for Hammond and Smith, so you can't say Kenya and Chris are our recruiters. I hope they can do so, long term. Molinari has been at WIU for 6 years and has a losing record. People at one time said some of these same types of statements to feel good about hiring Kevin Cosgrove. I can't deny he is a very good defensive mind, which is great, but I don't like coaching staffs who hire friends, that's it. Oh, and I wish we knew about more of what he brings to recruiting. Time will tell, it may be a home run, just skeptical.

Were Miles and Smith friends when Miles hired Smith? I don't think many would say that Smith was a bad hire.

I can't say that this is the big-name hire that I was initially looking for, but there has been a few times that I have been skeptical of decisions that this staff has made, but this staff continues to hit home run after home runs, so I will trust them.

[hhcmatt]

 

I think some people would say great things about anyone Miles would hire. Craig Smith was the lead recruiter for Hammond and Smith, so you can't say Kenya and Chris are our recruiters. I hope they can do so, long term. Molinari has been at WIU for 6 years and has a losing record. People at one time said some of these same types of statements to feel good about hiring Kevin Cosgrove. I can't deny he is a very good defensive mind, which is great, but I don't like coaching staffs who hire friends, that's it. Oh, and I wish we knew about more of what he brings to recruiting. Time will tell, it may be a home run, just skeptical.

Were Miles and Smith friends when Miles hired Smith?

 

 

Which time? He's hired Smith 5 times I think.

[hhcmatt]

http://www.westerncourier.com/sports/say-it-ain-t-so-mo/article_c10ec64c-be65-11e3-93c2-0017a43b2370.html

[Swan88]

What's with the gnashing-of-teeth about Molinari in this thread? A quick look at the article Dimes posted above (from a Leathernecks homer) should knock such thinking in the head. For example, note the following blurbs from the article:

So if indeed Molinari is taking his defensive schemes to the Big Ten — for a second time — Western fans may be hurt, disappointed or flat out angry that the mastermind behind the Leathernecks‘ return to relevance is no longer going to be on the sidelines at Western Hall. The passion, fire and shutdown defense that Molinari brought year in and year out would potential be missed throughout Macomb.

To be blunt, after everything the man has done for the Western program, it‘s almost surprising that no one swooped him up a year ago. He deserves to be recognized, and at this stage in his life — Molinari will turn 60 soon — when a golden opportunity like this arises, how could anyone expect him to turn it down?

But while the move is great on the Molinari front, it‘s hard to not think about the predicament Western faces.

Molinari not only made the Leathernecks good — as showcased by the 2012-2013 season, where Western set a program record for most wins in a season — he also made fans interested.

In the season finale two seasons ago, Western Hall drew the second largest crowd in its history with 5,089 screaming fans as the Leathernecks clinched the Summit League regular season title. Western also made its first Division I postseason appearance — two consecutive CBI bids — under Molinari‘s tenure.

He was also able to land two very talented recruits in Garret Covington and Jabari Sandifer that, quite frankly, probably never come to Western if not for Mo. The bigger question is if they will stay with the program if Molinari is no longer apart of it.

[Norm Peterson]

Good post, Swan.  Yeah, I don't get it either.  It's one thing to pine for a "big name hire" when you're looking at potential head coaches.  But assistants?   If such a thing exists and Molinari doesn't qualify as one, then what the hell even is a "big name" assistant hire?

[kleitus]

they want the guy from duke who pulls in 3-4 top 30 prospects every year (note : such an assistant doesn't exist)

[49r]

I will let your minds go wild with where this quote came from....

 

 

 

Sounds like UNL has hired Jim Molanari as its latest assistant (they lost some dude who took the South Dakota gig - I think it is the third member of Miles' staff to leave in only 2 years...he must be pretty hard to work with...)

Yes, the same Molanari that was fired at our former MVC colleague, Bradley, for having an offense that truly would make Sadler's teams look like baseline-to-baseline scoring explosions.

You don't have to make up jokes when discussing UNL hoops. The comedy writes itself!

[Norm Peterson]

I will let your minds go wild with where this quote came from....

 

 

 

Sounds like UNL has hired Jim Molanari as its latest assistant (they lost some dude who took the South Dakota gig - I think it is the third member of Miles' staff to leave in only 2 years...he must be pretty hard to work with...)

Yes, the same Molanari that was fired at our former MVC colleague, Bradley, for having an offense that truly would make Sadler's teams look like baseline-to-baseline scoring explosions.

You don't have to make up jokes when discussing UNL hoops. The comedy writes itself!

I'll confess it matters a very small amount to me what "they" think, but I didn't think you cared.  At least I think it was you who said that.

[Silverbacked1]

na it was me, and what site and who quoted that?