Report: Sterk interviewed Bone, Morrill today

by Jeff Nusser on Apr 5, 2009 7:33 PM PDT in WSU Cougar Basketball Comment 16 comments

Bud Withers at the Seattle Times is reporting that AD Jim Sterk interviewed both Portland State coach Ken Bone and Utah State head coach Stew Morrill today in the Seattle area, leading to the logical conclusion that this coaching search is drawing to a close.

I'd be pretty surprised at this point if there were more candidates to interview; the only way I see this thing dragging out is if Sterk and President Floyd are undecided and want to do a second round of interviews. But I'd bet against that.

Did Sterk save the best for last? I sure hope so -- you know about our feelings for Bone, but I have virtually the same feelings for Morrill. What he's been able to accomplish in Logan, Utah is nothing short of remarkable, and I have no doubt that he'd do a fantastic job at WSU.

Withers notes that luring Bone may prove easier than luring Morrill. Honestly, I don't care which one of these two guys we get -- both are excellent coaches, and either one would make me happy. Porter would still intrigue me, but I'm wary of the boom or bust factor.

Let's just hope, above all else, Sterk isn't setting us up for the Mike Davis or Mark Gottfried fall.

Grady's thoughts (7:45 p.m.)

So now we know why Sterk left the Final Four so early:

Sunday, WSU interviewed both Portland State coach Ken Bone and Utah State coach Stew Morrill in Seattle, and those two appear to be among the top choices to succeed Tony Bennett, who abruptly left for Virginia last Monday.

What does this mean?

One: it means the favorite, Ken Bone, is likely still the favorite.

Two: it means that Stew Morrill could be a viable option for WSU after all. The biggest question mark with Morrill was always whether he'd be willing to to leave Logan in the first place. Now, it appears, he's actually considering it. Morrill's resume is impressive - he's made it to the NCAA or NIT in each of the last ten seasons. All at Utah State - a program with little history and resources to match.

Morrill could find the WSU job intriguing - he's actually one of the few coaches out there who prefers to avoid the bright lights. This may be the only candidate who views Pullman's location as an attraction instead of a detraction. Would he be successful in the Pac-10? Only one way to find out.

Regarding the other candidates, I'm starting to feel much better about the possibility of Terry Porter. Mainly in the fact that he was a player under Dick Bennett, and could be the most likely candidate to mesh with our current players and our slow-tempo system. The question mark that remains would be whether he could keep the momentum rolling through recruiting. That area would be foreign to Porter, but he'd get some help if he could keep Johnson and Woodley around as assistants.

Finally, I'm feeling even less enthralled with Mike Davis than I was when I first heard his name as a possibility. Things have fallen apart of late at UAB, and his players have been less than stellar on and off the court. Academics seem to be a secondary concern to Davis, and that's a problem. The Blazers were cut down to only six scholarship players in December after two left school and two were found to be academically ineligible. And they were already shorthanded from NCAA academic progress penalties. Star player Robert Vaden got a public intoxication charge and five (count 'em, five) players got arrested after an incident at a dance club.

At this point, I feel the Mike Davis interview was nothing more than a waste of Jim Sterk's time.

Don't hire Mike Davis.

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I'd be happy with either one of those really.

As long as it’s not Davis or Gottfried. I hope that the decision is announced soon, the suspense is killing me.

by GoCougs on Apr 5, 2009 7:36 PM PDT reply actions

ya i hope we have a name by tuesday.

I assume they might offer the job tomorrow unless, like Nuss said, they are unsatisfied with what they have. I doubt that, though.

by peaty411s on Apr 5, 2009 8:02 PM PDT up reply actions

I think we'll have our coach by tomorrow

Just a guess, but I think Sterk and Floyd sleep on it, and we’ll be introducing a new coach on Wednesday.

by Grady Clapp on Apr 5, 2009 8:11 PM PDT up reply actions

What suspense?

It’s either Bone or Morrill, probably Bone and it’ll probably be announced in the next couple days. Flip a coin? Just saying….. WSU wins either way. No way is it Porter, IMO.

We’re lucky we have such good choices available. Seriously, I’d be shocked if it’s not Bone.

by SW WA Coug on Apr 5, 2009 8:48 PM PDT up reply actions

The only concern I'd have with Bone.....

is that I think he leaves the program after 5-6 years while he’s still young enough to take over at a higher profile school like UO or UW. I have no doubt whatsoever he has tons of success at WSU.

I hope I’m dead wrong on that as it’s just a gut feeling. We need a coach like him to stick around for say, 13 years or so. Seems like a good number to me.

by SW WA Coug on Apr 5, 2009 9:01 PM PDT up reply actions

Good news though, is that Bone and Romar are the same age

So it’s unlikely that he’d knife WSU in the back by replacing Romar.

http://www.spartyandfriends.com/

by thecassino on Apr 6, 2009 12:34 AM PDT up reply actions

It's not so much that he'd knife us in the back....

as it is just moving on to another opportunity.

Bone, Morrill, or whoever gets selected will have to fight the same battles every other coach at WSU has fought. I think Bennett left because of the extra travel. It’s exactly what has kept WSU isolated and so much different than any other D1 school in the country. I know of no other school that’s in the same situation as we are in that regard. Once you think you are there, you still have a 90 minute drive to finish it off. It probably weighs on a coach after a while.

On the other hand, it’s something that needs to be embraced, similar to what Coach Wulff is doing. He’s turning it into an advantage, a selling point. It takes a lot of work at a place like Pullman to fill the stands. At USC they only average 50% for basketball, which to me is a rediculously low number. I know we do way better than that at Friel but getting top teams to visit WSU in any sport is a struggle.

My guess is that Bone or Morrill have been given 48 hours to make a decision.

by SW WA Coug on Apr 6, 2009 9:15 AM PDT up reply actions

I've reconsidered Morrill....

and although he seems like a very good coach, he also seems too old for me. I have questions on whether he could recruit effectively.

Bone is my first choice. Porter, I believe, could keep some of the same staff…so that would help in recruiting. I would take him as our second choice easily. I think he’s worth the risk.

by westsidecougar1 on Apr 5, 2009 8:03 PM PDT reply actions

For some reason, hiring Morrill seems kind of wrong

He’s such a legend in Logan, and he’s LDS, which is obviously a stronger community in Utah… it would be like us doing to Utah State what Virginia did to us.

by Grady Clapp on Apr 5, 2009 8:15 PM PDT up reply actions

Morrill is no longer a practicing Mormon

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_11954927?source=rss

Not sure it matters, but he went to Gonzaga and married a Catholic girl after being raised LDS.

CougCenter

by Jeff Nusser on Apr 5, 2009 8:55 PM PDT up reply actions

Even though he looks as old as Moses, Morrill is 56

Bone is 51. Not sure those 5 years make much of a difference.

CougCenter

by Jeff Nusser on Apr 5, 2009 8:51 PM PDT up reply actions

Ok...but he looks much older...

I’d like a guy that looks fairly young.

by westsidecougar1 on Apr 6, 2009 10:54 AM PDT up reply actions

Let's Roll

I think we’ll get a new coach announced tomorrow. Representing PDX, I’ll have to go with Porter or Bone. Both are highly regarded here and make sense for WSU. I’m looking forward to a new era. I support the school, the students and the program, not one personality.
Go Cougs!

by PDXCoug on Apr 5, 2009 8:46 PM PDT reply actions

Bone or Morrill? What a choice!

Morrill isn’t too old. He would stick in Pullman for 10-15 years and WSU would rarely experience a down cycle. He’s a wonderful coach from all accounts and would fit very well in Pullman. In a way it is the ideal place for him other (and a big other) than he has family (Mother) in Logan.

Bone is a great fit as well but as people have said he is a metropolitan guy. That is the only down on him other than that he isn’t incredibly personable. Hmmm, I think you need that at WSU.

If I had a choice at the moment I would probably lean to Morrill. I wonder if he isn’t using us to get a better deal though. Bone is definitely not a bad backup and in the end might be the better choice.

Great place to be. Everyone else is a no in my book although Porter does make you ponder the possibilities. He’s still a no in my book.

by BornCoug on Apr 5, 2009 10:51 PM PDT reply actions

Porter, Bone, Morrill

I wouldn’t be too hurt with any of them, but each have their own upsides and downsides. I’m wondering if Mike Davis is getting such a long look because Porter really isn’t in the picture as much as we think. Everybody knows that college A.D.s are supposed to interview at least one minority candidate, so I’m wondering if Mike Davis is part of that process? I wouldn’t be surprised to see Porter’s name surface to try and drive down the salary of a Ken Bone or Stew Morrill. If they know Porter is in the mix, maybe it takes a little bit of the power of negotiation from one of these guys. The more big names that pop up, they have to think, “Oh crap, we are not getting a mil if those guys are being considered too.” They all know what Bennett was making and cannot expect any more than that.

I hope that Porter is actually being interviewed and is interested – regardless of what is being put out there in reports. I think he would give us a dimension that we have never seen at Pullman. Sure he could be a bust, but if he keeps the assistants in place, I feel he has the make-up to be a great recruiter and can quickly adapt his coaching to the college game (especially since he is so defensive minded).

For Bone and Morrill, my only concern is the level of competition in their respective conferences. Morrill wasn’t a stud at Colorado State and moved into an easier conference to coach Utah State and see the success. Bone quickly turned Portland State into a decent program, but his stay has been so short – its tough to know whether this can be reciprocated long-term. I know he had a long tenure at SPU, but that is a completely different level of talent. Just because he did a lot with “diamond in the roughs” doesn’t get me too excited (its not like SPU was going out and beating UW with their lesser talent). Was SPU beating anybody with hands-down better talent?

I think the same can be said about both Bone and Morrill as Porter – will they be willing to recruit like crazy to get Pac-10 talent into Pullman or will they let the pieces fall where they may and either fade into retirement and/or the next best coaching job. Will Bone just go and get lower level Seattle/Portland area fringe CC-caliber recruits that would never sniff the Pac-10; will Morrill continue recruiting the mid-west/Utah areas and ignore the west coast talent? We know how that panned out for Graham….

Again, I’ll be happy with any of them and this is more of a devils advocate mentality, but I’m just hoping Sterk is finding out a lot about these guys in the interview process. If any of these guys are committed to making it happen in Pullman, then I am 100% behind them. Mike Davis scares me though!

by LeaveItToWeaver on Apr 6, 2009 12:30 AM PDT reply actions