I included the "to be" SBC schools.
Georgia Southern
Hire: Mark Byington -- Was passed over for the College of Charleston job a year ago despite spending the previous nine seasons at the school as an assistant -- including a half-dozen under Bobby Cremins. Was with James Johnson at Virginia Tech this past season, but got the job at Georgia Southern largely due to the reputation he had within the Southern Conference.
Grade: B-
South Alabama
Hire: Matthew Graves -- Never got enough credit for Butler's incredible run to consecutive championship games, but Graves was a vital part of the program's success over the last few years. He is smart, has done a terrific job evaluating talent, and has watched and learned from Brad Stevens. He also made a terrific hire on his staff of Ronald Nored, the former Butler guard who grew up in Alabama.
Grade: A-
Texas State
Hire: Danny Kaspar -- He's one of the best X's and O's guys in the country, but few know it because he's been at Stephen F. Austin for the past 13 years. He has won at least 20 games in five of the past six seasons, went to the NCAA tournament in 2009 and left with a 246-141 record. This isn't a good hire by athletic director Larry Teis; it's a great one.
Grade: A
Troy
Hire: Phil Cunningham -- Was on Rick Stansbury's staff for a dozen years at Mississippi State before landing at Western Kentucky this past season. He worked with athletic director John Hartwell at Georgia State back when Cunningham was on Lefty Driesell's staff.
Grade: B-
No comments:
Post a Comment