Tod Kowalczyk - Announcement on Tuesday

The Old Bull · Post by **The Old Bull** » March 28th, 2024, 4:14 pm

aggieguy13 wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:52 pm
Well, today was fun. Same time, same place tomorrow?

Im telling you, this is all one big April Fools Joke... Monday Pope will be named head coach at UW and Sprinkle will sign a 10 year extension at USU. They will also announce that Battle and Brown will both be getting a 2nd covid year eligibility extension. Part of the NCAA experiment getting rid of any eligibility requirements... There is even some talk that Jaycee will be back next year.

2004AG · Post by **2004AG** » March 28th, 2024, 4:14 pm

I guess in a way, with Toledo Tod being older might be a good thing. He probably won't have one foot out the door the same way a 40 year old does.

JonnyCienPesos · Post by **JonnyCienPesos** » March 28th, 2024, 4:17 pm

Tod is the same age as Tim Miles. Everyone was pining for Tim.

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bigblue · Post by **bigblue** » March 28th, 2024, 4:19 pm

Man, does anyone have jobs?

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2004AG · Post by **2004AG** » March 28th, 2024, 4:20 pm

JonnyCienPesos wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 4:17 pm
Tod is the same age as Tim Miles. Everyone was pining for Tim.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There have been a lot of coaches fans have pined for. There was hardly a consensus that Tim Miles was the preferred candidate. Everybody has a different favorite.

MetsJetsAggies · Post by **MetsJetsAggies** » March 28th, 2024, 4:21 pm

JonnyCienPesos wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 4:17 pm
Tod is the same age as Tim Miles. Everyone was pining for Tim.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No one was pining for him, just running through the options and saying he is someone who has had success in the MW before and may have a couple high level transfers to bring in

Essentially every option named so far has pros and cons

Bigdog · Post by **Bigdog** » March 28th, 2024, 4:44 pm

I agree with you Stanford. We have no clue if Coach will be good or bad. Let’s enjoy the ride!!

shoresy · Post by **shoresy** » March 28th, 2024, 4:46 pm

JonnyCienPesos wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 4:17 pm
Tod is the same age as Tim Miles. Everyone was pining for Tim.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Who the hell was pining for the 10th place coach in the MW other than Gus?

JonnyCienPesos · Post by **JonnyCienPesos** » March 28th, 2024, 4:59 pm

shoresy wrote:
JonnyCienPesos wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 4:17 pm
Tod is the same age as Tim Miles. Everyone was pining for Tim.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Who the hell was pining for the 10th place coach in the MW other than Gus?

Wait….for real? Are we all going to pretend like people here weren’t wanting to hire Tim Miles??

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

cval · Post by **cval** » March 28th, 2024, 5:01 pm

A few mentioned him, but pining and everyone are huge overstatements.

Tetonkatest · Post by **Tetonkatest** » March 28th, 2024, 5:01 pm

JonnyCienPesos wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 4:17 pm
Tod is the same age as Tim Miles. Everyone was pining for Tim.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ok. But Tim Miles has extensive experience in the MWC, and has lived in the MWC area.

Kowalczyk has not. Odd move for him at this age.

Aggie formerly in Hawaii · Post by **Aggie formerly in Hawaii** » March 28th, 2024, 5:01 pm

JonnyCienPesos wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 4:59 pm

shoresy wrote:
JonnyCienPesos wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 4:17 pm
Tod is the same age as Tim Miles. Everyone was pining for Tim.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Who the hell was pining for the 10th place coach in the MW other than Gus?
Wait….for real? Are we all going to pretend like people here weren’t wanting to hire Tim Miles??

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Gus was, but he also wants to pay millionaire coaches on the back of 18 year old students. Who else was?

shoresy · Post by **shoresy** » March 28th, 2024, 5:02 pm

Based on the fact that only 20% voted "other" in this poll and I don't see a single person mention Miles, I definitely wouldn't say "everyone was pining for Tim"

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=71465

There were a few, sure, but I think it was a case of a pretty vocal minority.

Tetonkatest · Post by **Tetonkatest** » March 28th, 2024, 5:02 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:07 pm

Aggie in Boise wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:04 pm
Have we ever hired a coach this close to retirement that worked out? I believe Gary 2.0 was 55 years old. What does Tod (57 years old) have to lose if things don't work out? IMO, the contract should be short and built primarily on incentives.
I'm not sure USU has hired a 57-year-old coach in recent memory. However, Brian Dutcher was 57 when he was hired at SDSU. Enough said.

Dutcher was the long time assistant that had worked at San Diego State for decades when he was hired.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Dutcher

Hoot · Post by **Hoot** » March 28th, 2024, 5:02 pm

JonnyCienPesos wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 4:59 pm

shoresy wrote:
JonnyCienPesos wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 4:17 pm
Tod is the same age as Tim Miles. Everyone was pining for Tim.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Who the hell was pining for the 10th place coach in the MW other than Gus?
Wait….for real? Are we all going to pretend like people here weren’t wanting to hire Tim Miles??

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Gus and Shoresy are like Napoleon and Wellington. Except for this fight is more like McClellan vs. Custer.

Roy McAvoy · Post by **Roy McAvoy** » March 28th, 2024, 5:05 pm

JonnyCienPesos wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 4:59 pm

shoresy wrote:
JonnyCienPesos wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 4:17 pm
Tod is the same age as Tim Miles. Everyone was pining for Tim.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Who the hell was pining for the 10th place coach in the MW other than Gus?
Wait….for real? Are we all going to pretend like people here weren’t wanting to hire Tim Miles??

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

For sure. Miles was extremely popular. Last year San Jose was really good and came off an amazing season. I would've been a big fan of that hire last offseason.

His popularity took a massive step back this season, however.

Tetonkatest · Post by **Tetonkatest** » March 28th, 2024, 5:06 pm

shoresy wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:54 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
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.
Sorry, but I refuse to believe a coach could miss the NCAA Tournament 22-straight years because of "bad luck"

The sample size is big enough. He's lost a ton in conference tournaments, he's lost in CBI's and CIT's, and he's lost in the NIT.

Agree.
I'm not sure why this guy is even a candidate. He is almost 58 year old. Has no ties to the area. No record of success whatsoever getting to the NCAA tourney.

And everyone is supposed to be excited about him?

shoresy · Post by **shoresy** » March 28th, 2024, 5:08 pm

Roy McAvoy wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 5:05 pm

JonnyCienPesos wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 4:59 pm

shoresy wrote:
JonnyCienPesos wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 4:17 pm
Tod is the same age as Tim Miles. Everyone was pining for Tim.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Who the hell was pining for the 10th place coach in the MW other than Gus?
Wait….for real? Are we all going to pretend like people here weren’t wanting to hire Tim Miles??

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
For sure. Miles was extremely popular. Last year San Jose was really good and came off an amazing season. I would've been a big fan of that hire last offseason.

His popularity took a massive step back this season, however.

Okay, fair. If we're talking about last season, which I suppose is still applicable to your original point, that's definitely fair. I was thinking about this year, and I really didn't see a ton of support for Miles this time around.

StanfordAggie · Post by **StanfordAggie** » March 28th, 2024, 5:12 pm

lostaggiefan wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 4:01 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:43 pm

MetsJetsAggies wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:37 pm
Toledo is objectively light years ahead of Bowling Green and SUU in every possible metric. Comparing Todd to Tod is apples to oranges, Tod has obviously had more success but never reaching a NCAA tournament is a tough pill to swallow. Not making it in one year at Bowling Green doesn’t mean much, and SUU was a dumpster fire when Simons took it over so maybe you could knock him for not making the tourney twice?
Well again, Toledo and Green Bay were both dumpster fires when Kowalczyk took over. People want to give Simon a pass for a bunch of .500 seasons at SUU, but Kowalczyk gets called out for "no postseason appearances in 22 years" when almost half of those seasons were coaching at a bottom feeder in the Horizon League (that he turned into a 20-win team by the end of his resume). Why does Simon get the benefit of the doubt because he was "rebuilding," but not Kowalczyk?
Both coaches get a pass for not winning in the postseason while rebuilding their programs. For Simon, that's all but 3-4 years depending on how you view his past year at BG (they finished 5th in conference). He failed to win in the postseason during those years. That's a knock against him for sure but is still a pretty small sample size.

Let's give Kowalczyk a pass for not winning during his time at Green Bay (he actually finished top-three in the conference in five of his eight seasons there, but never won the conference tourney, but let's be generous and just focus on his time at Toledo). He gets a pass for his first three seasons at Toledo while he rebuilds the program. Year four, he wins the regular season title. Even if you want to give him a pass for a couple of rebuilding years since, he's had eight seasons of 20+ wins and seven regular seasons titles at Toledo but none of that has translated to postseason success in the conference tournament. They've only even made the conference title game twice since 2015. Furthermore, he's also struggled mightily in the NIT when they went there (0-5).

The entire reason Kowalczyk's postseason resume is a red flag to people far more than Simon's is the sample size. He's had far more opportunities to achieve postseason success. He's built some really great teams that were poised to achieve it. But the fact that he has failed to follow through on that potential (oftentimes in spectacular fashion) is far more alarming than Simon not having postseason success in 3-4 chances.

So it's better to be mediocre for most of your career and never get anywhere near the postseason than it is to consistently finish at the top of your conference and then lose in the conference tournament? Even when Simon had good teams, his teams have always taken a massive dump in the postseason as well. (Last year it was one of the worst dumps in the history of NCAA basketball.) I just don't get why a bunch of mediocre teams along with a few good teams that failed in March is supposed to get me more excited than a lot of good teams that failed in March. I'm starting to feel like a lot of our fans don't like the fact that Kowalczyk is older and isn't a "Utah guy" (even though Simon is also from the Midwest) so they see nothing but upside for Simon and nothing but downside for Kowalczyk.

Tetonkatest · Post by **Tetonkatest** » March 28th, 2024, 5:24 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 5:12 pm

lostaggiefan wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 4:01 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:43 pm

MetsJetsAggies wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:37 pm
Toledo is objectively light years ahead of Bowling Green and SUU in every possible metric. Comparing Todd to Tod is apples to oranges, Tod has obviously had more success but never reaching a NCAA tournament is a tough pill to swallow. Not making it in one year at Bowling Green doesn’t mean much, and SUU was a dumpster fire when Simons took it over so maybe you could knock him for not making the tourney twice?
Well again, Toledo and Green Bay were both dumpster fires when Kowalczyk took over. People want to give Simon a pass for a bunch of .500 seasons at SUU, but Kowalczyk gets called out for "no postseason appearances in 22 years" when almost half of those seasons were coaching at a bottom feeder in the Horizon League (that he turned into a 20-win team by the end of his resume). Why does Simon get the benefit of the doubt because he was "rebuilding," but not Kowalczyk?
Both coaches get a pass for not winning in the postseason while rebuilding their programs. For Simon, that's all but 3-4 years depending on how you view his past year at BG (they finished 5th in conference). He failed to win in the postseason during those years. That's a knock against him for sure but is still a pretty small sample size.

Let's give Kowalczyk a pass for not winning during his time at Green Bay (he actually finished top-three in the conference in five of his eight seasons there, but never won the conference tourney, but let's be generous and just focus on his time at Toledo). He gets a pass for his first three seasons at Toledo while he rebuilds the program. Year four, he wins the regular season title. Even if you want to give him a pass for a couple of rebuilding years since, he's had eight seasons of 20+ wins and seven regular seasons titles at Toledo but none of that has translated to postseason success in the conference tournament. They've only even made the conference title game twice since 2015. Furthermore, he's also struggled mightily in the NIT when they went there (0-5).

The entire reason Kowalczyk's postseason resume is a red flag to people far more than Simon's is the sample size. He's had far more opportunities to achieve postseason success. He's built some really great teams that were poised to achieve it. But the fact that he has failed to follow through on that potential (oftentimes in spectacular fashion) is far more alarming than Simon not having postseason success in 3-4 chances.
So it's better to be mediocre for most of your career and never get anywhere near the postseason than it is to consistently finish at the top of your conference and then lose in the conference tournament? Even when Simon had good teams, his teams have always taken a massive dump in the postseason as well. (Last year it was one of the worst dumps in the history of NCAA basketball.) I just don't get why a bunch of mediocre teams along with a few good teams that failed in March is supposed to get me more excited than a lot of good teams that failed in March. I'm starting to feel like a lot of our fans don't like the fact that Kowalczyk is older and isn't a "Utah guy" (even though Simon is also from the Midwest) so they see nothing but upside for Simon and nothing but downside for Kowalczyk.

That depends.

What are the two schools being compared, and what resources did each school have compared to their conference mates?

Donman · Post by **Donman** » March 28th, 2024, 5:50 pm

JonnyCienPesos wrote:
shoresy wrote:
JonnyCienPesos wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 4:17 pm
Tod is the same age as Tim Miles. Everyone was pining for Tim.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Who the hell was pining for the 10th place coach in the MW other than Gus?
Wait….for real? Are we all going to pretend like people here weren’t wanting to hire Tim Miles??

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I saw those threads. They prefer someone who finished 10th to a coach who won his conference

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

2004AG · Post by **2004AG** » March 28th, 2024, 5:56 pm

Donman wrote:
JonnyCienPesos wrote:
shoresy wrote:
JonnyCienPesos wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 4:17 pm
Tod is the same age as Tim Miles. Everyone was pining for Tim.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Who the hell was pining for the 10th place coach in the MW other than Gus?
Wait….for real? Are we all going to pretend like people here weren’t wanting to hire Tim Miles??

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I saw those threads. They prefer someone who finished 10th to a coach who won his conference

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

You should also remember the thread that had the poll.

Get back to us on what those results were.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Post by **aggies22** » March 28th, 2024, 5:56 pm

ManitobaAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:36 pm
Thoughts on Tod?

Have you been told by anyone to take this thread down? Oh, that's right, you're anonymous nobody can come after you.

ManitobaAggie · Post by **ManitobaAggie** » March 28th, 2024, 6:03 pm

Whoa! Mods take it down if it’s causing trouble. I don’t want to cause any issues.

ViAggie · Post by **ViAggie** » March 28th, 2024, 6:14 pm

The Old Bull wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 4:14 pm

aggieguy13 wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:52 pm
Well, today was fun. Same time, same place tomorrow?

Im telling you, this is all one big April Fools Joke... Monday Pope will be named head coach at UW and Sprinkle will sign a 10 year extension at USU. They will also announce that Battle and Brown will both be getting a 2nd covid year eligibility extension. Part of the NCAA experiment getting rid of any eligibility requirements... There is even some talk that Jaycee will be back next year.

Shhh, we don't get the whyners all riled up again; they'll be calling us a cow college from Ogden with all of their rage that a coach doesn't want to coach for them anymore, the biggest insult and slap in the face to the zoobies.

ChicagoAggie · Post by **ChicagoAggie** » March 28th, 2024, 6:19 pm

Trust the process.

coolag · Post by **coolag** » March 28th, 2024, 7:01 pm

Quest for perfection

ChicagoAggie · Post by **ChicagoAggie** » March 28th, 2024, 7:03 pm

coolag wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 7:01 pm
Quest for perfection

(I can't express myself without swearing)! Or get of the pot!

coolag · Post by **coolag** » March 28th, 2024, 7:11 pm

Band of Mercenaries

ChicagoAggie · Post by **ChicagoAggie** » March 28th, 2024, 7:18 pm

coolag wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 7:11 pm
Band of Mercenaries

Just Do It!

Aggie formerly in Hawaii · Post by **Aggie formerly in Hawaii** » March 28th, 2024, 7:35 pm

Donman wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 5:50 pm

JonnyCienPesos wrote:
shoresy wrote:
JonnyCienPesos wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 4:17 pm
Tod is the same age as Tim Miles. Everyone was pining for Tim.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Who the hell was pining for the 10th place coach in the MW other than Gus?
Wait….for real? Are we all going to pretend like people here weren’t wanting to hire Tim Miles??

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I saw those threads. They prefer someone who finished 10th to a coach who won his conference

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

Lol Johnny couldn't do it, maybe you can. Please tell me who besides Gus has pushed for miles?

Donman · Post by **Donman** » March 28th, 2024, 7:36 pm

Aggie formerly in Hawaii wrote:
Donman wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 5:50 pm

JonnyCienPesos wrote:
shoresy wrote:
JonnyCienPesos wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 4:17 pm
Tod is the same age as Tim Miles. Everyone was pining for Tim.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Who the hell was pining for the 10th place coach in the MW other than Gus?
Wait….for real? Are we all going to pretend like people here weren’t wanting to hire Tim Miles??

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I saw those threads. They prefer someone who finished 10th to a coach who won his conference

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk
Lol Johnny couldn't do it, maybe you can. Please tell me who besides Gus has pushed for miles?

I had Twitter discussions with people on it.

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

Aggie formerly in Hawaii · Post by **Aggie formerly in Hawaii** » March 28th, 2024, 7:38 pm

Donman wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 7:36 pm

Aggie formerly in Hawaii wrote:
Donman wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 5:50 pm

JonnyCienPesos wrote:
shoresy wrote:
JonnyCienPesos wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 4:17 pm
Tod is the same age as Tim Miles. Everyone was pining for Tim.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Who the hell was pining for the 10th place coach in the MW other than Gus?
Wait….for real? Are we all going to pretend like people here weren’t wanting to hire Tim Miles??

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I saw those threads. They prefer someone who finished 10th to a coach who won his conference

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk
Lol Johnny couldn't do it, maybe you can. Please tell me who besides Gus has pushed for miles?
I had Twitter discussions with people on it.

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

Ok well they're wrong. Haven't seen much of that here outside of Gus. Coach kowal would be much better than mediocre miles

Elkaggie · Post by **Elkaggie** » March 28th, 2024, 7:41 pm

Back to the topic. I am curious: The lack of conf tourney and NIT success is likely because his teams are really bad on Defense. Curious what his teams ranked in conference in this area. I have suspicion that they are near the bottom, which would be a HUGE red flag for me.

Anyone know how I find this data??

Aggie formerly in Hawaii · Post by **Aggie formerly in Hawaii** » March 28th, 2024, 7:45 pm

Elkaggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 7:41 pm
Back to the topic. I am curious: The lack of conf tourney and NIT success is likely because his teams are really bad on Defense. Curious what his teams ranked in conference in this area. I have suspicion that they are near the bottom, which would be a HUGE red flag for me.

Anyone know how I find this data??

Id go to sports-reference.com. you are definitely entitled to want whoever as coach, but keep in mind Larry, stew and Craig had a combined 1 NCAA tournament appearance and 3 nit appearances and most people felt they were pretty good coaches at USU.

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