HOW TO START OVER

[DUBulldog]

Didn't Giac come from Gonzaga and have some idea what success looked like?

Yes, but his trajectory at Drake was very similar to his previous head coaching gig at Utah. Each season was worse than the one before.

[Cdizzle]

Didn't Giac come from Gonzaga and have some idea what success looked like?

Yes, but his trajectory at Drake was very similar to his previous head coaching gig at Utah. Each season was worse than the one before.

Just saying the previous comment about the AD wasn't necessarily reason for confidence.

[DUBulldog]

Didn't Giac come from Gonzaga and have some idea what success looked like?

Yes, but his trajectory at Drake was very similar to his previous head coaching gig at Utah. Each season was worse than the one before.

Just saying the previous comment about the AD wasn't necessarily reason for confidence.

It was actually the president of the university....and you are correct not necessarily a reason for confidence.

But, compare him with Drake's previous president:

Previous guy did his undergrad at Grinnell (D3), and then worked at Tufts (D3), Whitman (D3) and Johns Hopkins (D3), and wasn't a sports fan.

New guy did undergrad and law school at Kentucky and most of his academic career was at Gonzaga. He also mentioned his love of basketball in many interviews shortly after his hire at Drake.

So, it doesn't necessarily mean a thing, but I know which of those 2 guys is more likely to oversee the rebuild of a basketball program.

[Cdizzle]

IMO, Drake would be more successful trying to emulate Grinnell than UK or GU. Both in that I think D2 or D3 is a better idea, and that even if not, running a gimmicky scheme might be their best way to attract talent above their current level. You might actually be able to find some decent talent that would want to play a fun run-and-gun style, or 40 minutes of hell, or something. D+ wasn't attracting anyone.

[DUBulldog]

IMO, Drake would be more successful trying to emulate Grinnell than UK or GU. Both in that I think D2 or D3 is a better idea, and that even if not, running a gimmicky scheme might be their best way to attract talent above their current level. You might actually be able to find some decent talent that would want to play a fun run-and-gun style, or 40 minutes of hell, or something. D+ wasn't attracting anyone.

I agree that Drake needs to hire a coach who can think outside the box. Somebody who's willing to take some chances and will play a style of basketball that fans want to see. Nothing worse than losing 75% of the time + boring style of play.

Unfortunately, our AD doesn't seem interested in anybody capable of thinking outside the box.

[Play Angry]

Who would Drake fans like to see interviewed?

[DUBulldog]

Who would Drake fans like to see interviewed?

That's a real good question, since we really have no idea who would realistically be interested.

I know that when Giacoletti's name first came out as a candidate for the job in 2013, the reaction on Drakenation was extremely negative.

At that time, I think most on the message board wanted either Nick Nurse or Steve Forbes.

Nurse was at that time the head coach of the Iowa Energy (NBDL), now he's an assistant for the Toronto Raptors. He definitely wanted the Drake job.

Forbes has Iowa ties (born and raised in the state), but I have no clue if he actually had any interest in the job, or even applied. He's now the head coach at ETSU and doing well there.

A few names that people have mentioned this time, in addition to Nurse and Forbes are Matt Woodley and Kevin Gamble.

Woodley is a former Drake player who is now head coach of the Iowa Energy. Very tough, hard nosed guy who comes from a family of coaches.

Gamble played for Tom Davis at Iowa and then had a 6-8 year NBA career. He's currently an assistant under Keno Davis at Central Michigan.

[Cdizzle]

Forbes is already in a better spot than Drake. He'll move up quite a bit in a couple of years.

[Drakey]

CDizzle: Your contempt for Drake is obvious, but you really don't have any idea what you are talking about. I'm not sure that anybody would think East Tennessee State id a better job than Drake other than you. Forbes base salary was less than half of what Giacoletti was making at Drake. They play in one of the weakest conferences in the country. (Southern) I agree that he is in a better position NOW, but that is because he recruited a bunch of good players and is a good coach who has made the team good in two years. Des Moines is the third largest market in the Valley I believe, and you can't really count Chicago as larger since they have no interest in college sports, especially mid-major sports. It would take no time at all for Drake to be among the attendance leaders in the Valley if they were to put a good product on the floor. It only took a few weeks into the last good season Drake had to cause every game to be a sellout for the remainder of the season. If Drake had played in a 12,000 seat arena, they would have filled that too. Des Moines is certainly a more attractive city than Wichita, and Drake is by far a better school by any objective standard. All that is missing is a basketball coach, and an AD that can hire a basketball coach. Drake is the most similar school in the Valley to Creighton. Their basketball programs and attendance were almost identical until the mid 90's. Their is no reason Drake can't do what Creighton did if the president of the university has any commitment to do so.

[specialsauce]

CDizzle: Your contempt for Drake is obvious, but you really don't have any idea what you are talking about. I'm not sure that anybody would think East Tennessee State id a better job than Drake other than you. Forbes base salary was less than half of what Giacoletti was making at Drake. They play in one of the weakest conferences in the country. (Southern) I agree that he is in a better position NOW, but that is because he recruited a bunch of good players and is a good coach who has made the team good in two years. Des Moines is the third largest market in the Valley I believe, and you can't really count Chicago as larger since they have no interest in college sports, especially mid-major sports. It would take no time at all for Drake to be among the attendance leaders in the Valley if they were to put a good product on the floor. It only took a few weeks into the last good season Drake had to cause every game to be a sellout for the remainder of the season. If Drake had played in a 12,000 seat arena, they would have filled that too. Des Moines is certainly a more attractive city than Wichita, and Drake is by far a better school by any objective standard. All that is missing is a basketball coach, and an AD that can hire a basketball coach. Drake is the most similar school in the Valley to Creighton. Their basketball programs and attendance were almost identical until the mid 90's. Their is no reason Drake can't do what Creighton did if the president of the university has any commitment to do so.

Cdizzle's reactions to the subject have been harsh, but your subsequent reaction is full blown re-re. I'm just gonna chalk it up as a defensive reflex and hope that you weren't serious about it when you simmer down.