Tod Kowalczyk - Announcement on Tuesday

travelingagg · Post by **travelingagg** » March 28th, 2024, 2:13 pm

Seems like Toledo fans are marginally sad about his departure. https://csnbbs.com/thread-988866.html

Fun to see them share a photo of Utah State campus; also, three Toledo athletes hit the portal this week, and one poster thinks he'll bring someone named Ben Wight with him. https://csnbbs.com/thread-988866.html

Full · Post by **Full** » March 28th, 2024, 2:14 pm

hipsterdoofus21 wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:04 pm

MetsJetsAggies wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:03 pm

Aggie in Boise wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:01 pm
So, Diana opted to deviate from the successful pattern we've seen with our last three coaches and pursue a more conservative "safe hire" approach?

There are certainly some advantages to bringing TK on board. Hopefully TK's contract spans no more than two years and heavily includes performance-based incentives. Considering TK's probable intent to make this his final coaching position, what kind of buyout should we expect?
There is no reason to have a big buyout honestly

I don’t want this to come off negatively, but it’s way more likely we move on from TK than he jumps to a new job IMO
This. Sabau went with the "Safe" hire and she'll be gone by the time we'll buying out TK.

AD’s last longer than basketball coaches, and certainly longer than USU basketball coaches that followed Stew. We already watched one AD think he was in line for a promotion last a decade. This will be a part of her track record when she’s looking for bigger jobs.

Aggie in Boise · Post by **Aggie in Boise** » March 28th, 2024, 2:15 pm

Aggie4L1fe wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:24 pm
Javan Simmons 6’7 redshirt freshman

12 ppg 5 rpg 1.5 apg

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C20hivCp ... Q2NWhqYw==

Dante Maddox 6’2 Junior (Already in Portal)

15.6 ppg 4.3 rpg 2.8 apg

The most attractive players on who played under TK last year.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Javan looks a bit slow and not very athletic based on this clip.

StanfordAggie · Post by **StanfordAggie** » March 28th, 2024, 2:16 pm

travelingagg wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:05 pm

Aggie84025 wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:45 pm
Tod is a great coach in the regular season as shown from his regular season titles but not fared well in conference tournaments or NIT. Hopefully at USU he can get over that hump. For sure a different hire than our last 3 as he is on the downward side in terms of how many years he probably has left in coaching. Excited to see how it turns out.
Yeah, it looks like he dominated his conference for four years in a row. But since it's a small conference, he won't get into the NCAA tournament unless he wins his conference tournament. I think the MWC is strong enough now that whoever wins the regular-season title will likely get an NCAA bid.

More like 6 of the past 7. 2019-2020 was the only season where he didn't finish first in his conference (or division prior to 2020).

ratofallaggies · Post by **ratofallaggies** » March 28th, 2024, 2:17 pm

JonnyCienPesos wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:11 pm
Tod was a finalist last year as well, even before Diana was here.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Don't provide facts... people are too busy complaining about a coach that hasn't even coached a game nor recruited an athlete here yet.

travelingagg · Post by **travelingagg** » March 28th, 2024, 2:17 pm

BigCountryAG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:06 pm
It’s not just the Utah ties it’s the west coast ties that I liked about Simon. Plus he lived in Utah for 7 years and probably wouldn’t want to bounce after 1-2 years . But hey go Aggies right I will support no matter what.

Salary > location. There are very few individuals who, given the opportunity, will stay in one city for $900,000 per year vs. another city for $3+ million a year. If we want coaches to stay, we'll need to pay them 3-5X more.

2004AG · Post by **2004AG** » March 28th, 2024, 2:17 pm

ratofallaggies wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:17 pm

JonnyCienPesos wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:11 pm
Tod was a finalist last year as well, even before Diana was here.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Don't provide facts... people are too busy complaining about a coach that hasn't even coached a game nor recruited an athlete here yet.

Great its a fact he was a finalist last year. Why does that fact matter in any of this?

shoresy · Post by **shoresy** » March 28th, 2024, 2:19 pm

JonnyCienPesos wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:11 pm
Tod was a finalist last year as well, even before Diana was here.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes, and that time around the leadership was smart enough to not pull the trigger.

Good thing we hired a search firm.

travelingagg · Post by **travelingagg** » March 28th, 2024, 2:19 pm

Posters are thinking he brings Ben Wight with him. Here's Ben's profile:
https://utrockets.com/sports/mens-baske ... wight/8495
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-baske ... /ben-wight

ineptimusprime · Post by **ineptimusprime** » March 28th, 2024, 2:20 pm

Aggie in Boise wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:15 pm

Aggie4L1fe wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:24 pm
Javan Simmons 6’7 redshirt freshman

12 ppg 5 rpg 1.5 apg

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C20hivCp ... Q2NWhqYw==

Dante Maddox 6’2 Junior (Already in Portal)

15.6 ppg 4.3 rpg 2.8 apg

The most attractive players on who played under TK last year.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Javan looks a bit slow and not very athletic based on this clip.

Seems to have plenty of lift.

StanfordAggie · Post by **StanfordAggie** » March 28th, 2024, 2:25 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:00 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:46 pm
I'm confused why people were excited about Simon, who also has zero tournament appearances, and less wins over a shorter career than Kowalcyzk. I, for one, think that this is a fantastic hire.
You shouldn't be confused. People have given their reasons a hundred times, you just don't like them.

No, most people are just complaining without giving any concrete reasons why they don't like him. As far as I can tell, when people have articulated their concerns, they fall into basically three categories:

He hasn't won in March: A fair criticism, but Simon also has had zero success in March. Nor has David Riley. Eric Henderson has had two postseason bids in a much weaker conference. Who did people think that we were going to hire that had a long history of success in March? Todd Simon was responsible for one of the most epic conference tournament choke jobs in recent memory, and he completely gets a pass for that. But Kowalczyk is a bad coach because he hasn't had success in March?

He has no ties to Utah: I think that concern is overblown. None of our last three coaches had any ties to Utah. Sprinkle was the only one who had any real ties to the West. Our only recent coach who had ties to Utah was Duryea.

He's old: This seems like pure ageism. Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski are also old. If anything, this should be a positive for people who are worried about coaches moving on to new jobs. To me, I feel better about a coach who has a long track record of success rather than a young coach with a few good seasons who may turn out to be a flash in the pan.

Are there any other criticisms of Kowalczyk that I am overlooking?

ineptimusprime · Post by **ineptimusprime** » March 28th, 2024, 2:26 pm

travelingagg wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:19 pm
Posters are thinking he brings Ben Wight with him. Here's Ben's profile:
https://utrockets.com/sports/mens-baske ... wight/8495
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-baske ... /ben-wight

They can keep Ben Wight. LOL.

ViAggie · Post by **ViAggie** » March 28th, 2024, 2:27 pm

Toledo fans claim that Kowalczyk was offered the job a week ago. Knowing that we were losing Danny, I wouldn't doubt that.

SLB · Post by **SLB** » March 28th, 2024, 2:28 pm

ineptimusprime wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:26 pm

travelingagg wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:19 pm
Posters are thinking he brings Ben Wight with him. Here's Ben's profile:
https://utrockets.com/sports/mens-baske ... wight/8495
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-baske ... /ben-wight
They can keep Ben Wight. LOL.

Nothing wright about getting him

2004AG · Post by **2004AG** » March 28th, 2024, 2:29 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:25 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:00 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:46 pm
I'm confused why people were excited about Simon, who also has zero tournament appearances, and less wins over a shorter career than Kowalcyzk. I, for one, think that this is a fantastic hire.
You shouldn't be confused. People have given their reasons a hundred times, you just don't like them.
No, most people are just complaining without giving any concrete reasons why they don't like him. As far as I can tell, when people have articulated their concerns, they fall into basically three categories:

He hasn't won in March: A fair criticism, but Simon also has had zero success in March. Nor has David Riley. Eric Henderson has had two postseason bids in a much weaker conference. Who did people think that we were going to hire that had a long history of success in March? Todd Simon was responsible for one of the most epic conference tournament choke jobs in recent memory, and he completely gets a pass for that. But Kowalczyk is a bad coach because he hasn't had success in March?

He has no ties to Utah: I think that concern is overblown. None of our last three coaches had any ties to Utah. Sprinkle was the only one who had any real ties to the West. Our only recent coach who had ties to Utah was Duryea.

He's old: This seems like pure ageism. Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski are also old. If anything, this should be a positive for people who are worried about coaches moving on to new jobs. To me, I feel better about a coach who has a long track record of success rather than a young coach with a few good seasons who may turn out to be a flash in the pan.

Are there any other criticisms of Kowalczyk that I am overlooking?

Well, there you go. You just answered your own questions.

Aggie in Boise · Post by **Aggie in Boise** » March 28th, 2024, 2:31 pm

I wonder if he will pick up Dixon or any of Sprinkle's former assistants?

shoresy · Post by **shoresy** » March 28th, 2024, 2:31 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:25 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:00 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:46 pm
I'm confused why people were excited about Simon, who also has zero tournament appearances, and less wins over a shorter career than Kowalcyzk. I, for one, think that this is a fantastic hire.
You shouldn't be confused. People have given their reasons a hundred times, you just don't like them.
No, most people are just complaining without giving any concrete reasons why they don't like him. As far as I can tell, when people have articulated their concerns, they fall into basically three categories:

He hasn't won in March: A fair criticism, but Simon also has had zero success in March. Nor has David Riley. Eric Henderson has had two postseason bids in a much weaker conference. Who did people think that we were going to hire that had a long history of success in March? Todd Simon was responsible for one of the most epic conference tournament choke jobs in recent memory, and he completely gets a pass for that. But Kowalczyk is a bad coach because he hasn't had success in March?

He has no ties to Utah: I think that concern is overblown. None of our last three coaches had any ties to Utah. Sprinkle was the only one who had any real ties to the West. Our only recent coach who had ties to Utah was Duryea.

He's old: This seems like pure ageism. Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski are also old. If anything, this should be a positive for people who are worried about coaches moving on to new jobs. To me, I feel better about a coach who has a long track record of success rather than a young coach with a few good seasons who may turn out to be a flash in the pan.

Are there any other criticisms of Kowalczyk that I am overlooking?

Here's a concrete answer: He's lost nearly every meaningful game he's ever coached in. Nearly every postseason win he's ever had was as a much higher seed in conference tournaments. The sample size is big enough. There is CLEARLY something wrong with either him or the style of basketball he coaches that has prevented his teams from ever having even a shred of postseason success.

Agree with me or disagree, there's a concrete answer for you, and I believe is what most people are seeing right now.

ratofallaggies · Post by **ratofallaggies** » March 28th, 2024, 2:31 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:17 pm

ratofallaggies wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:17 pm

JonnyCienPesos wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:11 pm
Tod was a finalist last year as well, even before Diana was here.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Don't provide facts... people are too busy complaining about a coach that hasn't even coached a game nor recruited an athlete here yet.
Great its a fact he was a finalist last year. Why does that fact matter in any of this?

Exactly who I thought would bite on this one! I'm not exactly over the moon about the name, but I'm willing to give it some time before I destine his future team to mediocrity or worse. I don't have all the facts, and I know most on here have less than me. Maybe just see how it plays out. The irony would be if he comes in and absolutely kills it, leaves in a year, and people are so upset that he didn't stick around (we're giving him a fantastic welcome already).

Blue Sage · Post by **Blue Sage** » March 28th, 2024, 2:36 pm

shoresy wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:31 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:25 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:00 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:46 pm
I'm confused why people were excited about Simon, who also has zero tournament appearances, and less wins over a shorter career than Kowalcyzk. I, for one, think that this is a fantastic hire.
You shouldn't be confused. People have given their reasons a hundred times, you just don't like them.
No, most people are just complaining without giving any concrete reasons why they don't like him. As far as I can tell, when people have articulated their concerns, they fall into basically three categories:

He hasn't won in March: A fair criticism, but Simon also has had zero success in March. Nor has David Riley. Eric Henderson has had two postseason bids in a much weaker conference. Who did people think that we were going to hire that had a long history of success in March? Todd Simon was responsible for one of the most epic conference tournament choke jobs in recent memory, and he completely gets a pass for that. But Kowalczyk is a bad coach because he hasn't had success in March?

He has no ties to Utah: I think that concern is overblown. None of our last three coaches had any ties to Utah. Sprinkle was the only one who had any real ties to the West. Our only recent coach who had ties to Utah was Duryea.

He's old: This seems like pure ageism. Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski are also old. If anything, this should be a positive for people who are worried about coaches moving on to new jobs. To me, I feel better about a coach who has a long track record of success rather than a young coach with a few good seasons who may turn out to be a flash in the pan.

Are there any other criticisms of Kowalczyk that I am overlooking?
Here's a concrete answer: He's lost nearly every meaningful game he's ever coached in. Nearly every postseason win he's ever had was as a much higher seed in conference tournaments. The sample size is big enough. There is CLEARLY something wrong with either him or the style of basketball he coaches that has prevented his teams from ever having even a shred of postseason success.

Agree with me or disagree, there's a concrete answer for you, and I believe is what most people are seeing right now.

This coach has a proven track record of building and developing programs in his conference. His ability to turn around Toledo's program and maintain high standings speaks to his coaching abilities and is noted. However, the step up to a program that is not just competing but excelling in one of the nation's top basketball conferences that sent 6 teams to the NCAA’s introduces challenges that he has not faced in his career so far, most notably the lack of NCAA tournament experience.
Our program has very high ambitions like a sweet 16 run, we expect to win conference championships. We expect to compete at a national level such as being ranked in the top 25 for 8 weeks and regularly participating in the NCAA tournament, his fit seems a gamble. His skills in program building and conference play are evident, but the leap to leading a top-tier program to NCAA tournament success is significant. Ideally, a coach for our program would have a more direct track record of NCAA tournament participation and success, as well as proven experience in high-level recruiting.
Sure, his achievements and progression demonstrate success, but the gap in NCAA tournament experience and the untested ability to recruit at as high of a level in the West present concerns. Not sure how to see it any other way at this point. I hope he proves me wrong I really do. Watching his recruits it seems obvious they will not compete at a high level in our league. The skill, size, and speed in our league are head and shoulders above what I am seeing in the league he is coming from.

bob thomposn · Post by **bob thomposn** » March 28th, 2024, 2:37 pm

Love this hire. He can coach. With our resources he will do very well here. I am of the opinion that in today's transfer era, having local ties is not nearly as important as many seem to believe nor as important as it use to be. Look at our last roster. Two locals that played real minutes. Both of whom originally signed elsewhere. Neither came here to play for Danny. There will be other just like them. Tod is very well respected in the coaching fraternity and will have plenty of transfer kids being recommended his way. I am not sure I see Simon or his trajectory much different from TK's. He will win here and I think win big(ly)

bigblue32 · Post by **bigblue32** » March 28th, 2024, 2:37 pm

Blue Sage wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:36 pm

shoresy wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:31 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:25 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:00 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:46 pm
I'm confused why people were excited about Simon, who also has zero tournament appearances, and less wins over a shorter career than Kowalcyzk. I, for one, think that this is a fantastic hire.
You shouldn't be confused. People have given their reasons a hundred times, you just don't like them.
No, most people are just complaining without giving any concrete reasons why they don't like him. As far as I can tell, when people have articulated their concerns, they fall into basically three categories:

He hasn't won in March: A fair criticism, but Simon also has had zero success in March. Nor has David Riley. Eric Henderson has had two postseason bids in a much weaker conference. Who did people think that we were going to hire that had a long history of success in March? Todd Simon was responsible for one of the most epic conference tournament choke jobs in recent memory, and he completely gets a pass for that. But Kowalczyk is a bad coach because he hasn't had success in March?

He has no ties to Utah: I think that concern is overblown. None of our last three coaches had any ties to Utah. Sprinkle was the only one who had any real ties to the West. Our only recent coach who had ties to Utah was Duryea.

He's old: This seems like pure ageism. Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski are also old. If anything, this should be a positive for people who are worried about coaches moving on to new jobs. To me, I feel better about a coach who has a long track record of success rather than a young coach with a few good seasons who may turn out to be a flash in the pan.

Are there any other criticisms of Kowalczyk that I am overlooking?
Here's a concrete answer: He's lost nearly every meaningful game he's ever coached in. Nearly every postseason win he's ever had was as a much higher seed in conference tournaments. The sample size is big enough. There is CLEARLY something wrong with either him or the style of basketball he coaches that has prevented his teams from ever having even a shred of postseason success.

Agree with me or disagree, there's a concrete answer for you, and I believe is what most people are seeing right now.
This coach has a proven track record of building and developing programs in his conference. His ability to turn around Toledo's program and maintain high standings speaks to his coaching abilities and is noted. However, the step up to a program that is not just competing but excelling in one of the nation's top basketball conferences that sent 6 teams to the NCAA’s introduces challenges that he has not faced in his career so far, most notably the lack of NCAA tournament experience.
Our program has very high ambitions like a sweet 16 run, we expect to win conference championships. We expect to compete at a national level such as being ranked in the top 25 for 8 weeks and regularly participating in the NCAA tournament, his fit seems a gamble. His skills in program building and conference play are evident, but the leap to leading a top-tier program to NCAA tournament success is significant. Ideally, a coach for our program would have a more direct track record of NCAA tournament participation and success, as well as proven experience in high-level recruiting.
Sure, his achievements and progression demonstrate success, but the gap in NCAA tournament experience and the untested ability to recruit at as high of a level in the West present concerns. Not sure how to see it any other way at this point. I hope he proves me wrong I really do. Watching his recruits it seems obvious they will not compete at a high level in our league. The skill, size, and speed in our league are head and shoulders above what I am seeing in the league he is coming from.

Yeah just like those bums from Montana state. There’s no way that guys from the big sky can compete in the mountain west. We’re screwed.

StanfordAggie · Post by **StanfordAggie** » March 28th, 2024, 2:38 pm

shoresy wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:31 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:25 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:00 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:46 pm
I'm confused why people were excited about Simon, who also has zero tournament appearances, and less wins over a shorter career than Kowalcyzk. I, for one, think that this is a fantastic hire.
You shouldn't be confused. People have given their reasons a hundred times, you just don't like them.
No, most people are just complaining without giving any concrete reasons why they don't like him. As far as I can tell, when people have articulated their concerns, they fall into basically three categories:

He hasn't won in March: A fair criticism, but Simon also has had zero success in March. Nor has David Riley. Eric Henderson has had two postseason bids in a much weaker conference. Who did people think that we were going to hire that had a long history of success in March? Todd Simon was responsible for one of the most epic conference tournament choke jobs in recent memory, and he completely gets a pass for that. But Kowalczyk is a bad coach because he hasn't had success in March?

He has no ties to Utah: I think that concern is overblown. None of our last three coaches had any ties to Utah. Sprinkle was the only one who had any real ties to the West. Our only recent coach who had ties to Utah was Duryea.

He's old: This seems like pure ageism. Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski are also old. If anything, this should be a positive for people who are worried about coaches moving on to new jobs. To me, I feel better about a coach who has a long track record of success rather than a young coach with a few good seasons who may turn out to be a flash in the pan.

Are there any other criticisms of Kowalczyk that I am overlooking?
Here's a concrete answer: He's lost nearly every meaningful game he's ever coached in. Nearly every postseason win he's ever had was as a much higher seed in conference tournaments. The sample size is big enough. There is CLEARLY something wrong with either him or the style of basketball he coaches that has prevented his teams from ever having even a shred of postseason success.

Agree with me or disagree, there's a concrete answer for you, and I believe is what most people are seeing right now.

If you read the post I quoted from the Toledo fan, it sounds like he has had some horrible injury luck. And his teams may be psyching themselves out due to the supposed "tournament curse." But a lot of it is just plain bad luck. Couldn't you say that there is "CLEARLY something wrong with [USU]" based on our lack of postseason success? I think Sprinkle proved that there was nothing wrong with USU. We just got unlucky a bunch of times in a row.

And geez. People act like winning taking over dumpster fire programs in NCAA purgatory and turning them into consistent 20-game winners counts for nothing because he lost a few conference tournament games. Again, why does everyone give Simon a pass for choking just as badly every year in the postseason? Realistically, a coach as successful as Kowalczyk would have landed a P5 job a long time ago if he had won any postseason games at all. I'd much rather hire a coach who has won consistently for a long time than a coach who had 1-2 successful seasons and hope that they continue their success.

Full · Post by **Full** » March 28th, 2024, 2:41 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:25 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:00 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:46 pm
I'm confused why people were excited about Simon, who also has zero tournament appearances, and less wins over a shorter career than Kowalcyzk. I, for one, think that this is a fantastic hire.
You shouldn't be confused. People have given their reasons a hundred times, you just don't like them.
No, most people are just complaining without giving any concrete reasons why they don't like him. As far as I can tell, when people have articulated their concerns, they fall into basically three categories:

He hasn't won in March: A fair criticism, but Simon also has had zero success in March. Nor has David Riley. Eric Henderson has had two postseason bids in a much weaker conference. Who did people think that we were going to hire that had a long history of success in March? Todd Simon was responsible for one of the most epic conference tournament choke jobs in recent memory, and he completely gets a pass for that. But Kowalczyk is a bad coach because he hasn't had success in March?

He has no ties to Utah: I think that concern is overblown. None of our last three coaches had any ties to Utah. Sprinkle was the only one who had any real ties to the West. Our only recent coach who had ties to Utah was Duryea.

He's old: This seems like pure ageism. Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski are also old. If anything, this should be a positive for people who are worried about coaches moving on to new jobs. To me, I feel better about a coach who has a long track record of success rather than a young coach with a few good seasons who may turn out to be a flash in the pan.

Are there any other criticisms of Kowalczyk that I am overlooking?

Stan Joplin lead Toledo to a 55.4% W-L% over 12 years before he was fired. Tod lead Toledo to a 60.6% W-L% over 14 years. Toledo is in the top of the MAC as far as fan base, facilities, basketball budget. It’s also in a great location to recruit to. Like others have said it’s a 6/10. I’ll wait to see what he can do, but my guess is we have a Leon Rice pre Duryea.

Aggie in Boise · Post by **Aggie in Boise** » March 28th, 2024, 2:46 pm

Full wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:41 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:25 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:00 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:46 pm
I'm confused why people were excited about Simon, who also has zero tournament appearances, and less wins over a shorter career than Kowalcyzk. I, for one, think that this is a fantastic hire.
You shouldn't be confused. People have given their reasons a hundred times, you just don't like them.
No, most people are just complaining without giving any concrete reasons why they don't like him. As far as I can tell, when people have articulated their concerns, they fall into basically three categories:

He hasn't won in March: A fair criticism, but Simon also has had zero success in March. Nor has David Riley. Eric Henderson has had two postseason bids in a much weaker conference. Who did people think that we were going to hire that had a long history of success in March? Todd Simon was responsible for one of the most epic conference tournament choke jobs in recent memory, and he completely gets a pass for that. But Kowalczyk is a bad coach because he hasn't had success in March?

He has no ties to Utah: I think that concern is overblown. None of our last three coaches had any ties to Utah. Sprinkle was the only one who had any real ties to the West. Our only recent coach who had ties to Utah was Duryea.

He's old: This seems like pure ageism. Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski are also old. If anything, this should be a positive for people who are worried about coaches moving on to new jobs. To me, I feel better about a coach who has a long track record of success rather than a young coach with a few good seasons who may turn out to be a flash in the pan.

Are there any other criticisms of Kowalczyk that I am overlooking?
Stan Joplin lead Toledo to a 55.4% W-L% over 12 years before he was fired. Tod lead Toledo to a 60.6% W-L% over 14 years. Toledo is in the top of the MAC as far as fan base, facilities, basketball budget. It’s also in a great location to recruit to. Like others have said it’s a 6/10. I’ll wait to see what he can do, but my guess is we have a Leon Rice pre Duryea.

So are you saying we need Duryea to come back as an assistant?

Post by **GeoAg** » March 28th, 2024, 2:46 pm

Full wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:41 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:25 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:00 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:46 pm
I'm confused why people were excited about Simon, who also has zero tournament appearances, and less wins over a shorter career than Kowalcyzk. I, for one, think that this is a fantastic hire.
You shouldn't be confused. People have given their reasons a hundred times, you just don't like them.
No, most people are just complaining without giving any concrete reasons why they don't like him. As far as I can tell, when people have articulated their concerns, they fall into basically three categories:

He hasn't won in March: A fair criticism, but Simon also has had zero success in March. Nor has David Riley. Eric Henderson has had two postseason bids in a much weaker conference. Who did people think that we were going to hire that had a long history of success in March? Todd Simon was responsible for one of the most epic conference tournament choke jobs in recent memory, and he completely gets a pass for that. But Kowalczyk is a bad coach because he hasn't had success in March?

He has no ties to Utah: I think that concern is overblown. None of our last three coaches had any ties to Utah. Sprinkle was the only one who had any real ties to the West. Our only recent coach who had ties to Utah was Duryea.

He's old: This seems like pure ageism. Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski are also old. If anything, this should be a positive for people who are worried about coaches moving on to new jobs. To me, I feel better about a coach who has a long track record of success rather than a young coach with a few good seasons who may turn out to be a flash in the pan.

Are there any other criticisms of Kowalczyk that I am overlooking?
Stan Joplin lead Toledo to a 55.4% W-L% over 12 years before he was fired. Tod lead Toledo to a 60.6% W-L% over 14 years. Toledo is in the top of the MAC as far as fan base, facilities, basketball budget. It’s also in a great location to recruit to. Like others have said it’s a 6/10. I’ll wait to see what he can do, but my guess is we have a Leon Rice pre Duryea.

Leon Rice has only finished 1st in the league twice in 13 years. Once with Duryea and once without. TK finished first 8 times in 14 years including 6 of the last 7. I don't get the comparison. For the record Simon has finished first in the league once in 8 years. Again, I don't get the angst

Hoot · Post by **Hoot** » March 28th, 2024, 2:47 pm

Did we even interview Ryan Thompson??

Aggie formerly in Hawaii · Post by **Aggie formerly in Hawaii** » March 28th, 2024, 2:48 pm

Not my first choice, but I think he'll do just fine here. His resume pre USU is more impressive than stews was. Stew had one tournament appearance, but not a lot of great seasons besides that. Kowalczyk has not had Mac tournament success, but had dominated the conference for several years. USU basketball will be just fine with him. Go Aggies, excited for next year

Aggie in Boise · Post by **Aggie in Boise** » March 28th, 2024, 2:48 pm

GeoAg wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:46 pm

Full wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:41 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:25 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:00 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:46 pm
I'm confused why people were excited about Simon, who also has zero tournament appearances, and less wins over a shorter career than Kowalcyzk. I, for one, think that this is a fantastic hire.
You shouldn't be confused. People have given their reasons a hundred times, you just don't like them.
No, most people are just complaining without giving any concrete reasons why they don't like him. As far as I can tell, when people have articulated their concerns, they fall into basically three categories:

He hasn't won in March: A fair criticism, but Simon also has had zero success in March. Nor has David Riley. Eric Henderson has had two postseason bids in a much weaker conference. Who did people think that we were going to hire that had a long history of success in March? Todd Simon was responsible for one of the most epic conference tournament choke jobs in recent memory, and he completely gets a pass for that. But Kowalczyk is a bad coach because he hasn't had success in March?

He has no ties to Utah: I think that concern is overblown. None of our last three coaches had any ties to Utah. Sprinkle was the only one who had any real ties to the West. Our only recent coach who had ties to Utah was Duryea.

He's old: This seems like pure ageism. Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski are also old. If anything, this should be a positive for people who are worried about coaches moving on to new jobs. To me, I feel better about a coach who has a long track record of success rather than a young coach with a few good seasons who may turn out to be a flash in the pan.

Are there any other criticisms of Kowalczyk that I am overlooking?
Stan Joplin lead Toledo to a 55.4% W-L% over 12 years before he was fired. Tod lead Toledo to a 60.6% W-L% over 14 years. Toledo is in the top of the MAC as far as fan base, facilities, basketball budget. It’s also in a great location to recruit to. Like others have said it’s a 6/10. I’ll wait to see what he can do, but my guess is we have a Leon Rice pre Duryea.
Leon Rice has only finished 1st in the league twice in 13 years. Once with Duryea and once without. TK finished first 8 times in 14 years including 6 of the last 7. I don't get the comparison

And Leon has way more resources and is the only real program in the state.

StanfordAggie · Post by **StanfordAggie** » March 28th, 2024, 2:49 pm

Full wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:41 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:25 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:00 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:46 pm
I'm confused why people were excited about Simon, who also has zero tournament appearances, and less wins over a shorter career than Kowalcyzk. I, for one, think that this is a fantastic hire.
You shouldn't be confused. People have given their reasons a hundred times, you just don't like them.
No, most people are just complaining without giving any concrete reasons why they don't like him. As far as I can tell, when people have articulated their concerns, they fall into basically three categories:

He hasn't won in March: A fair criticism, but Simon also has had zero success in March. Nor has David Riley. Eric Henderson has had two postseason bids in a much weaker conference. Who did people think that we were going to hire that had a long history of success in March? Todd Simon was responsible for one of the most epic conference tournament choke jobs in recent memory, and he completely gets a pass for that. But Kowalczyk is a bad coach because he hasn't had success in March?

He has no ties to Utah: I think that concern is overblown. None of our last three coaches had any ties to Utah. Sprinkle was the only one who had any real ties to the West. Our only recent coach who had ties to Utah was Duryea.

He's old: This seems like pure ageism. Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski are also old. If anything, this should be a positive for people who are worried about coaches moving on to new jobs. To me, I feel better about a coach who has a long track record of success rather than a young coach with a few good seasons who may turn out to be a flash in the pan.

Are there any other criticisms of Kowalczyk that I am overlooking?
Stan Joplin lead Toledo to a 55.4% W-L% over 12 years before he was fired. Tod lead Toledo to a 60.6% W-L% over 14 years. Toledo is in the top of the MAC as far as fan base, facilities, basketball budget. It’s also in a great location to recruit to. Like others have said it’s a 6/10. I’ll wait to see what he can do, but my guess is we have a Leon Rice pre Duryea.

You mean someone who won 20 games in 11 out of 14 seasons and was in the postseason mix nearly every season? That doesn't seem like a such a horrible outcome to me. And again, I'm confused why people believe that Todd Simon (or any other realistic candidate) would do significantly better than that.

Tetonkatest · Post by **Tetonkatest** » March 28th, 2024, 2:49 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:46 pm
I'm confused why people were excited about Simon, who also has zero tournament appearances, and less wins over a shorter career than Kowalcyzk. I, for one, think that this is a fantastic hire.

Supposedly Simon is a better recruiter. that he recruited as well as he did to SUU was more impressive

lostaggiefan · Post by **lostaggiefan** » March 28th, 2024, 2:51 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:49 pm

Full wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:41 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:25 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:00 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:46 pm
I'm confused why people were excited about Simon, who also has zero tournament appearances, and less wins over a shorter career than Kowalcyzk. I, for one, think that this is a fantastic hire.
You shouldn't be confused. People have given their reasons a hundred times, you just don't like them.
No, most people are just complaining without giving any concrete reasons why they don't like him. As far as I can tell, when people have articulated their concerns, they fall into basically three categories:

He hasn't won in March: A fair criticism, but Simon also has had zero success in March. Nor has David Riley. Eric Henderson has had two postseason bids in a much weaker conference. Who did people think that we were going to hire that had a long history of success in March? Todd Simon was responsible for one of the most epic conference tournament choke jobs in recent memory, and he completely gets a pass for that. But Kowalczyk is a bad coach because he hasn't had success in March?

He has no ties to Utah: I think that concern is overblown. None of our last three coaches had any ties to Utah. Sprinkle was the only one who had any real ties to the West. Our only recent coach who had ties to Utah was Duryea.

He's old: This seems like pure ageism. Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski are also old. If anything, this should be a positive for people who are worried about coaches moving on to new jobs. To me, I feel better about a coach who has a long track record of success rather than a young coach with a few good seasons who may turn out to be a flash in the pan.

Are there any other criticisms of Kowalczyk that I am overlooking?
Stan Joplin lead Toledo to a 55.4% W-L% over 12 years before he was fired. Tod lead Toledo to a 60.6% W-L% over 14 years. Toledo is in the top of the MAC as far as fan base, facilities, basketball budget. It’s also in a great location to recruit to. Like others have said it’s a 6/10. I’ll wait to see what he can do, but my guess is we have a Leon Rice pre Duryea.
You mean someone who won 20 games in 11 out of 14 seasons and was in the postseason mix nearly every season? That doesn't seem like a such a horrible outcome to me. And again, I'm confused why people believe that Todd Simon (or any other realistic candidate) would do significantly better than that.

The problem is the amount of time. Yeah, Simon didn't win a conference tournament at SUU, but they were only in contention for one his final three years there. Meanwhile, Kowalczyk has won six of the past seven regular season titles but has not only consistently fallen short in March, but fallen short in the early rounds of the conference tournament. Even in the times they've gotten a bid to the NIT afterwards, he's gone 0-5 there. 8 20+ win seasons in the last 11 years is great and does speak to his ability to coach, but repeatedly coming well short of expectations in the postseason is a massive red flag. If Simon were to have another decade of regular season success but postseason catastrophes, people would have the same reservations about hiring him.

It's just weird to see how much getting that NCAA tourney win this year meant to the fanbase, and then turn around and hire a guy with a long track record of not following through on potential in the postseason.

Aggie in Boise · Post by **Aggie in Boise** » March 28th, 2024, 2:52 pm

Hoot wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:47 pm
Did we even interview Ryan Thompson??

Twice!

Full · Post by **Full** » March 28th, 2024, 2:52 pm

GeoAg wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:46 pm

Full wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:41 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:25 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:00 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:46 pm
I'm confused why people were excited about Simon, who also has zero tournament appearances, and less wins over a shorter career than Kowalcyzk. I, for one, think that this is a fantastic hire.
You shouldn't be confused. People have given their reasons a hundred times, you just don't like them.
No, most people are just complaining without giving any concrete reasons why they don't like him. As far as I can tell, when people have articulated their concerns, they fall into basically three categories:

He hasn't won in March: A fair criticism, but Simon also has had zero success in March. Nor has David Riley. Eric Henderson has had two postseason bids in a much weaker conference. Who did people think that we were going to hire that had a long history of success in March? Todd Simon was responsible for one of the most epic conference tournament choke jobs in recent memory, and he completely gets a pass for that. But Kowalczyk is a bad coach because he hasn't had success in March?

He has no ties to Utah: I think that concern is overblown. None of our last three coaches had any ties to Utah. Sprinkle was the only one who had any real ties to the West. Our only recent coach who had ties to Utah was Duryea.

He's old: This seems like pure ageism. Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski are also old. If anything, this should be a positive for people who are worried about coaches moving on to new jobs. To me, I feel better about a coach who has a long track record of success rather than a young coach with a few good seasons who may turn out to be a flash in the pan.

Are there any other criticisms of Kowalczyk that I am overlooking?
Stan Joplin lead Toledo to a 55.4% W-L% over 12 years before he was fired. Tod lead Toledo to a 60.6% W-L% over 14 years. Toledo is in the top of the MAC as far as fan base, facilities, basketball budget. It’s also in a great location to recruit to. Like others have said it’s a 6/10. I’ll wait to see what he can do, but my guess is we have a Leon Rice pre Duryea.
Leon Rice has only finished 1st in the league twice in 13 years. Once with Duryea and once without. TK finished first 8 times in 14 years including 6 of the last 7. I don't get the comparison. For the record Simon has finished first in the league once in 8 years. Again, I don't get the angst

Leon Rice ends seasons poorly. What’s Leon’s record in the conference tournament and NCAA tournament games.

Hoot · Post by **Hoot** » March 28th, 2024, 2:52 pm

Aggie in Boise wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:52 pm

Hoot wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:47 pm
Did we even interview Ryan Thompson??
Twice!

Then we need to fire Sabau twice!

2004AG · Post by **2004AG** » March 28th, 2024, 2:52 pm

ratofallaggies wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:31 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:17 pm

ratofallaggies wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:17 pm

JonnyCienPesos wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:11 pm
Tod was a finalist last year as well, even before Diana was here.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Don't provide facts... people are too busy complaining about a coach that hasn't even coached a game nor recruited an athlete here yet.
Great its a fact he was a finalist last year. Why does that fact matter in any of this?
Exactly who I thought would bite on this one! I'm not exactly over the moon about the name, but I'm willing to give it some time before I destine his future team to mediocrity or worse. I don't have all the facts, and I know most on here have less than me. Maybe just see how it plays out. The irony would be if he comes in and absolutely kills it, leaves in a year, and people are so upset that he didn't stick around (we're giving him a fantastic welcome already).

You're like SLB.

Always a step ahead.

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