Cougs down to their Final Four?

by Grady Clapp on Apr 4, 2009 9:56 PM PDT

Grippi checks in with the latest out of Detroit, where apparently Sterk and Co. have wrapped up whatever interviewing they will be doing this weekend.

One old name has resurfaced (so scratch whatever I said two posts down) and one new name has come up. I'm briefly going to discuss the postitives and negatives of each of the four names total that came up today (whether they interviewed or not - only Sterk seems to know for sure):

Ken Bone (Portland State Head Coach)

Positives: CougCenter approved, has won everywhere he's gone, and possibly the hidden key to success in Huskyland in the early-'00s. Experienced. Knowledgeable. A coach's coach.

Negatives: Up-tempo style may not mesh well with the current generation of Bennett Ballers. Also, if he leaves PSU for WSU, it can be reasonably assumed he'll leave WSU if a better opportunity surfaces.

Terry Porter (Former Phoenix Suns Head Coach)

Positives: Defensive-minded coach who was a horrible hire for the up-tempo Suns. Upon coming to their senses about it, he was fired by the Phoenix organization. Potentially Dick Bennett-approved (played under him), and could be an excellent recruiter.

Negatives: Nada in the college coaching experience column. Could be awesome, and could sink us back to the depths of the Pac-10 if he's not careful. Does he really want to come to Pullman?

Mike Davis (UAB Head Coach)

Positives: Experience. And, I guess, you could do worse.

Negatives: Fans of every program he's coached at pretty much hate his guts. He's also inherited two great situations: following Bob Knight and Indiana, and Mike Anderson at UAB. He kinda-sorta kept the momentum going at both, but ultimately has made each school less formidable during his tenure. Not CougCenter approved.

Mark Gottfried (Former Alabama Head Coach)

Positives: The newest name in the Cougar head coach hunt, this one is much more intriguing than Mike Davis. Gottfried has made the NCAA or NIT in a whopping 11 of 14 seasons that he's coached. Coached three years at Murray State, 10 and 1/2 at Alabama. His firing from the Crimson Tide is a bit of a joke - he basically got fired for one bad season, followed up by a second potentially bad season that Alabama didn't let him see the end of. Perhaps the Tide were just upset that he couldn't maintain momentum of the five straight NCAA tournament trips from 2002-06.

Negatives: Before you get all excited, here's the thing: he's only had three seasons where he's finished above .500 in the SEC. No Northwest ties. Another retread, and another Alabama-based coach that fans of his school hated. Our colleagues at RollBamaRoll had this to say upon his firing:

It should have been done a long time ago, but I'm glad they got it out of the way now. His year-end firing was inevitable, so I'm glad we went ahead and got it out of the way so we can actually start looking for a decent replacement.

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A couple notes

1. I’m not saying this is the Cougs’ Final Four. I just have a feeling Sterk has made up his mind on a short list, and these are possible candidates for it.

2. This is unsubstantiated Cougfan forum stuff, but check out this fella. That’s as good a winning percentage as you’ll ever find, although note that you should never higher a coach on win% alone.

by Grady Clapp on Apr 4, 2009 10:09 PM PDT reply actions

What all the various rumors tell me...

Is that the more we think we know, the less we know. Looked like Porter was out, now he’s possibly back in.

My 2 cents: It’s probably 40% Bone, 25% Porter, and 35% the field. I don’t want to believe Davis is that high up there, and the rest of the names that may or may not have come up are just as likely as not. The only two names that have come up consistently and drawn reactions, Porter and Bone.

I’m softening my stance on Porter a little bit. I still think it’s a bit of a hail mary on 3rd and 1, when a run up the middle will get us what we need. But Porter is a good guy, and maybe college will be right for him. I guess what I’m saying is, if by some strange allignment of the basketball Gods, the PG I rooted for and often cursed as a young fan becomes the coach of my favorite team, I’m willing to give him a chance. But I’m still rooting for Bone, I like his NW ties and his winning ways.

by 02Coug on Apr 4, 2009 10:57 PM PDT reply actions

I think Sterk is setting up for the Bone hire.

I think he got raked over the coals for not performing a nationwide search in hiring a guy out of our backyard. It is my hope that PW was the right hire, but the failure to even make it look like a nationwide search was a joke.
I have no problem with Bone and think he should be the guy, but Sterk is doing this right by letting names slip out and showing that he is really looking around. I would never have thought about Davis or even Gottfried for that matter. This is PR spin at its finest.
I want to be the first to welcome Ken Bone to the Coug family and thank him for retaining Ben Johnson as an assistant coach!

by ptowncoug3012 on Apr 4, 2009 11:26 PM PDT reply actions

Ken Bone… possibly the hidden key to success in Huskyland in the early-’00s

100% correct.
Bone arrived on UW’s campus at the same time as a recruiting class that consisted of Brandon Roy, Nate Robinson and Bobby Jones, and he was there for their development into great players. Would they have become great players without him? Absolutely. Those guys would have made any coach look good, but you cannot separate Ken Bone from their transition into NBA caliber players, and in the case of B-Roy, one of the best players to play in the Pac-10 this decade.
When you look at what his recent teams have done upon his arrival (Washington going from hiring Romar as the new head coach to a #1 seed, PSU going from hiring Bone as the new head coach to two consecutive NCAA bids), one would be hard pressed to make any argument other than Ken Bone knows how to maximize his players potential and coach to their strengths.
Ken Bone would be a fantastic hire.

http://www.spartyandfriends.com/

by thecassino on Apr 4, 2009 11:50 PM PDT reply actions