For those who are freaking out about Kowalczyk

StanfordAggie · Post by **StanfordAggie** » March 28th, 2024, 12:49 pm

Read this post, which I am quoting here:

some insight from a long time Toledo fan on TK (Tod Kowalczyk). He's a great offensive coach who has built a career on relationships and created a really solid family culture at Toledo. Has kept staff long term and had little quality player turnover beyond guys graduating from UT and using their extra COVID yr to make a half mil of so at a P6. He coaches a smooth entertaining style that's a little more athletic version of the Princeton motion offense. On defense he's pretty vanilla and prefers to play clean, not foul and make opponents hit moderately contested shots. Main fan gripes are that he doesn't usually develop enough of a bench and that he hasn't recruited enough interior depth (tough at a mid major).

To understand the no NCAA tourneys and zero NIT wins you need to understand Toledo basketball. It's an historically strong program that was a national power in 40s, was integrated well before that was the norm. In the 60s-80s UT was a mid major power that drew 8,000 fans and routinely hosted and beat Big 10 teams. After the 1981 NCAA trip the curse began. For 43 years UT has continued to be one of the better programs in the league but has never made the dance somehow. This for a USU regional reference is like Weber St or E Washington never getting to the dance for 43 years even though they almost always contend for the Big Sky title. Something always goes wrong and there's enormous pressure come conf tourney time. Every season is considered a failure without breaking the curse and whole thing weighs on the team and fan base. We've been to the NIT a million times and no one wants to play or cheer for those games because it means we just missed the dance, again. During TK's 14 year tenure he took a disaster situation (a hot young ND asst was hired who was a womanizing egomaniac who forced hurt players to play, took side chicks on road trips w the team and graduated no one). TK started w no players and NCAA cut 3 scholarships and gave us a multi-year tourney ban. TK still quickly restored the program. Had a 26 win team with a #34 RPI that didn't get an at-large. Had a strong team watch the conf POY blow out his knee in the MAC tourney quarters, had another strong team lose it's PG as well as nation's #2 rebounder to injury in the quarters (to a concussion in the pregame layup line), had a 27 win team w the nation's longest win streak lose in the conf tourney semis and not get an at-large, and 4 straight conf titles w no conf tourney berth or at large. The curse continues. Personally, I see part of the issue in that he coaches a clean smooth playing style and come postseason the refs swallow their whistles and the gritty bigger physical teams gain an edge.

TK is a positive straightforward guy. He will take time to talk w fans or respond to a letter. He's not a screamer like the UC Irvine HC. Treats his players like young men and equals not kids or beneath him. Big yoga guy who has gotten his players into it over the past 5 or 6 seasons and started to reduce injuries and improve focus. Wisconsin and Ohio his whole life but he's an outdoorsy guy who would prob enjoy USU area. Toledo is an hour from Detroit, 2 from Cleveland and Columbus and 5 from the Chicago metro area and all of Indiana. That's recruiting gold and little reason for a good regional mid major to recruit much elsewhere. His son is a good, not great, D1 prospect. Family enjoys Toledo and intends to retire there even if he chooses to leave for, the likely, final chapter of his college coaching journey.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=71465&start=70#p950320

Sorry for the new thread, but there have been so many coaching threads that I wanted to make sure this post doesn't get overlooked.

MetsJetsAggies · Post by **MetsJetsAggies** » March 28th, 2024, 12:51 pm

I do appreciate the context, esp the injuries derailing their seasons which I think we can all sympathize with

thrashsoundly · Post by **thrashsoundly** » March 28th, 2024, 12:53 pm

Personally, I see part of the issue in that he coaches a clean smooth playing style and come postseason the refs swallow their whistles and the gritty bigger physical teams gain an edge.

This sounds familiar....

Aggiesbleedblue · Post by **Aggiesbleedblue** » March 28th, 2024, 12:53 pm

If he brings these 4 along nobody will be complaining. All about what he can do in the portal

AggiePT · Post by **AggiePT** » March 28th, 2024, 1:00 pm

Yeah, I will be all in on supporting this guy and the aggie team he brings together. But, man.. It was so fun watching our team play strong and physical this season. We finally matched SDSU and the other top teams in terms of athleticism and physicality. If he cannot bring that style of player and scheme, it will be live of die by the three again. Hopefully he can impress us all.

BasketballAgg · Post by **BasketballAgg** » March 28th, 2024, 1:01 pm

Why do you think his teams never win in March ?? You have to be tough to win in March and his team are not that.

AggiePT · Post by **AggiePT** » March 28th, 2024, 1:02 pm

FootballAgg wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:01 pm
Why do you think his teams never win in March ?? You have to be tough to win in March and his team are not that.

My concern exactly.

ImportAggie · Post by **ImportAggie** » March 28th, 2024, 1:04 pm

AggiePT wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:00 pm
Yeah, I will be all in on supporting this guy and the aggie team he brings together. But, man.. It was so fun watching our team play strong and physical this season. We finally matched SDSU and the other top teams in terms of athleticism and physicality. If he cannot bring that style of player and scheme, it will be live of die by the three again. Hopefully he can impress us all.

This. 1000x this. RT

hipsterdoofus21 · Post by **hipsterdoofus21** » March 28th, 2024, 1:04 pm

AggiePT wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:02 pm

FootballAgg wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:01 pm
Why do you think his teams never win in March ?? You have to be tough to win in March and his team are not that.
My concern exactly.

Yup. Odomball here we come.

2004AG · Post by **2004AG** » March 28th, 2024, 1:05 pm

So you expect us to like the guy just because a random Toledo fan says he's average and safe?

hipsterdoofus21 · Post by **hipsterdoofus21** » March 28th, 2024, 1:05 pm

Aggiesbleedblue wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:53 pm

If he brings these 4 along nobody will be complaining. All about what he can do in the portal

It’ll have to be cause he has no ties out west.

BigCountryAG · Post by **BigCountryAG** » March 28th, 2024, 1:12 pm

I know it’s a safe hire just seem real vanilla and from the sounds of it run gun and giggle offense that doesn’t win mwc championships.

StanfordAggie · Post by **StanfordAggie** » March 28th, 2024, 1:17 pm

I'm pretty confused about the hate toward a coach who took over two dumpster fires and turned them into both into consistent 20-win programs and has won 400 games along the way. Todd Simon hasn't had half the success that Kowalczyk has had, and he was also responsible for one of the most epic March meltdowns in recent history, but people would have preferred him? I don't get it. Call me crazy for preferring a coach with a long history of success rather than some young coach who got hot for a couple seasons.

Donman · Post by **Donman** » March 28th, 2024, 1:27 pm

Aggie fans are bipolar. Either we are down in the dumps or we think we Coach K (from Duke) would come out of retirement to coach us.

Man has a great track record. Maybe better than any of the last 3 coaches who came here. Let's see how he does.

2004AG · Post by **2004AG** » March 28th, 2024, 1:29 pm

Donman wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:27 pm
Aggie fans are bipolar. Either we are down in the dumps or we think we Coach K (from Duke) would come out of retirement to coach us.

Man has a great track record. Maybe better than any of the last 3 coaches who came here. Let's see how he does.

Not Coach K, but someone better than this Toledo coach.

Aggie fans are a weird bunch. There is a segment of you guys who will cheer on whatever Utah State does. They can do no wrong. Every decision is perfect. You probably said the same think when Duryea was hired.

cval · Post by **cval** » March 28th, 2024, 1:31 pm

The long post from the Toledo fan was not that reassuring.

Aggiealum13 · Post by **Aggiealum13** » March 28th, 2024, 1:36 pm

I'm going to hold off judging on this occasion especially since USU hit three straight times. I didn't think the last three coaches would be as successful as they were. Craig Smith coached South Dakota and never coached an NCAA tournament game before he came here. Odom coached one which was a more memorable one, but he wasn't really getting his teams into March on a regular basis. So with that I'm just going to sit back and watch and see how this unfolds. It'd be wise if some of you did the same.

apo · Post by **apo** » March 28th, 2024, 1:38 pm

I have been told that Tod and Todd will be alternating coaching the men’s and women’s games. Whomever wins the most games at the end of the season gets to coach the men’s team

SLB · Post by **SLB** » March 28th, 2024, 1:40 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:29 pm

Donman wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:27 pm
Aggie fans are bipolar. Either we are down in the dumps or we think we Coach K (from Duke) would come out of retirement to coach us.

Man has a great track record. Maybe better than any of the last 3 coaches who came here. Let's see how he does.
Not Coach K, but someone better than this Toledo coach.

Aggie fans are a weird bunch. There is a segment of you guys who will cheer on whatever Utah State does. They can do no wrong. Every decision is perfect. You probably said the same think when Duryea was hired.

Let's wait and see but not the most exciting one on the market. I do like that we have a head coach with a history of winning games, but the home run potential was Simon or the South Dakota State coach.

ImportAggie · Post by **ImportAggie** » March 28th, 2024, 1:40 pm

Maybe coach K reads these comments and it puts a chip on his shoulder

Gotta be interesting to think what he and the ADs thoughts are on reactions so far

hipsterdoofus21 · Post by **hipsterdoofus21** » March 28th, 2024, 2:06 pm

Aggiealum13 wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:36 pm
I'm going to hold off judging on this occasion especially since USU hit three straight times. I didn't think the last three coaches would be as successful as they were. Craig Smith coached South Dakota and never coached an NCAA tournament game before he came here. Odom coached one which was a more memorable one, but he wasn't really getting his teams into March on a regular basis. So with that I'm just going to sit back and watch and see how this unfolds. It'd be wise if some of you did the same.

Hartwell and Bovee hit 3 straight times. Diana whiffed.

Aggiealum13 · Post by **Aggiealum13** » March 28th, 2024, 2:07 pm

hipsterdoofus21 wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:06 pm

Aggiealum13 wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:36 pm
I'm going to hold off judging on this occasion especially since USU hit three straight times. I didn't think the last three coaches would be as successful as they were. Craig Smith coached South Dakota and never coached an NCAA tournament game before he came here. Odom coached one which was a more memorable one, but he wasn't really getting his teams into March on a regular basis. So with that I'm just going to sit back and watch and see how this unfolds. It'd be wise if some of you did the same.
Hartwell and Bovee hit 3 straight times. Diana whiffed.

We don't know if she whiffed yet.

StanfordAggie · Post by **StanfordAggie** » March 28th, 2024, 2:08 pm

SLB wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:40 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:29 pm

Donman wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:27 pm
Aggie fans are bipolar. Either we are down in the dumps or we think we Coach K (from Duke) would come out of retirement to coach us.

Man has a great track record. Maybe better than any of the last 3 coaches who came here. Let's see how he does.
Not Coach K, but someone better than this Toledo coach.

Aggie fans are a weird bunch. There is a segment of you guys who will cheer on whatever Utah State does. They can do no wrong. Every decision is perfect. You probably said the same think when Duryea was hired.
Let's wait and see but not the most exciting one on the market. I do like that we have a head coach with a history of winning games, but the home run potential was Simon or the South Dakota State coach.

What makes you think that Simon and Henderson have more upside than Kowaczyk?

StanfordAggie · Post by **StanfordAggie** » March 28th, 2024, 2:11 pm

Aggiealum13 wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:07 pm

hipsterdoofus21 wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:06 pm

Aggiealum13 wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:36 pm
I'm going to hold off judging on this occasion especially since USU hit three straight times. I didn't think the last three coaches would be as successful as they were. Craig Smith coached South Dakota and never coached an NCAA tournament game before he came here. Odom coached one which was a more memorable one, but he wasn't really getting his teams into March on a regular basis. So with that I'm just going to sit back and watch and see how this unfolds. It'd be wise if some of you did the same.
Hartwell and Bovee hit 3 straight times. Diana whiffed.
We don't know if she whiffed yet.

Yeah, it seems a little premature to say she whiffed when he has coached zero games so far. It also seems a little insane to say that a coach who inherited two complete dumpster fires and turned them into consistent 20-game winners is somehow a "whiff." If someone said, "I liked Simon better and thought he had more upside, but Kowalcyzk also has an impressive resume," I could buy that. But people are acting like we just hired TJ Plain or something.

bigblue32 · Post by **bigblue32** » March 28th, 2024, 2:11 pm

hipsterdoofus21 wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:06 pm

Aggiealum13 wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:36 pm
I'm going to hold off judging on this occasion especially since USU hit three straight times. I didn't think the last three coaches would be as successful as they were. Craig Smith coached South Dakota and never coached an NCAA tournament game before he came here. Odom coached one which was a more memorable one, but he wasn't really getting his teams into March on a regular basis. So with that I'm just going to sit back and watch and see how this unfolds. It'd be wise if some of you did the same.
Hartwell and Bovee hit 3 straight times. Diana whiffed.

How is it a whiff? He Hasn’t even had a chance to complain about lack of charters and lack of NIL yet.

SLB · Post by **SLB** » March 28th, 2024, 2:15 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:08 pm

SLB wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:40 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:29 pm

Donman wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:27 pm
Aggie fans are bipolar. Either we are down in the dumps or we think we Coach K (from Duke) would come out of retirement to coach us.

Man has a great track record. Maybe better than any of the last 3 coaches who came here. Let's see how he does.
Not Coach K, but someone better than this Toledo coach.

Aggie fans are a weird bunch. There is a segment of you guys who will cheer on whatever Utah State does. They can do no wrong. Every decision is perfect. You probably said the same think when Duryea was hired.
Let's wait and see but not the most exciting one on the market. I do like that we have a head coach with a history of winning games, but the home run potential was Simon or the South Dakota State coach.
What makes you think that Simon and Henderson have more upside than Kowaczyk?

Henderson was the NCAA tournament regular with South Dakota State with countless wins and finding great players.
Simon has taken two bad basketball schools and turn them into 20-win program (Simon has now 4 20-win seasons in a row) while he was there. Simon has been coaching at UNLV, SUU, and Bowling Green, and Simon knows a lot of our players while having the Utahn recruiting going strong. Simon could hire Dave Rice as assistant coach which would be a game changer.

Aggie84025 · Post by **Aggie84025** » March 28th, 2024, 2:16 pm

SLB wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:40 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:29 pm

Donman wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:27 pm
Aggie fans are bipolar. Either we are down in the dumps or we think we Coach K (from Duke) would come out of retirement to coach us.

Man has a great track record. Maybe better than any of the last 3 coaches who came here. Let's see how he does.
Not Coach K, but someone better than this Toledo coach.

Aggie fans are a weird bunch. There is a segment of you guys who will cheer on whatever Utah State does. They can do no wrong. Every decision is perfect. You probably said the same think when Duryea was hired.
Let's wait and see but not the most exciting one on the market. I do like that we have a head coach with a history of winning games, but the home run potential was Simon or the South Dakota State coach.

TBH I am not sure the SDSU coach has the huge upside. He inherited a really good program and has sustained that success but SDSU was already performing really well under Scott Nagy and Otzelberger. He certainly has maintained the success but not certain it is him or just the program in general.

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

SLB wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:15 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:08 pm

SLB wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:40 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:29 pm

Donman wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:27 pm
Aggie fans are bipolar. Either we are down in the dumps or we think we Coach K (from Duke) would come out of retirement to coach us.

Man has a great track record. Maybe better than any of the last 3 coaches who came here. Let's see how he does.
Not Coach K, but someone better than this Toledo coach.

Aggie fans are a weird bunch. There is a segment of you guys who will cheer on whatever Utah State does. They can do no wrong. Every decision is perfect. You probably said the same think when Duryea was hired.
Let's wait and see but not the most exciting one on the market. I do like that we have a head coach with a history of winning games, but the home run potential was Simon or the South Dakota State coach.
What makes you think that Simon and Henderson have more upside than Kowaczyk?
Henderson was the NCAA tournament regular with South Dakota State with countless wins and finding great players.
Simon has taken two bad basketball schools and turn them into 20-win program (Simon has now 4 20-win seasons in a row) while he was there. Simon has been coaching at UNLV, SUU, and Bowling Green, and Simon knows a lot of our players while having the Utahn recruiting going strong. Simon could hire Dave Rice as assistant coach which would be a game changer.

Well, it's worth pointing out that Kowalczyk has also taken over two horrible programs and turned them into consistent winners. And he has won 20 games four years in a row (and six out of the last seven).

As for Simon's recruiting, I hadn't realized that Findlay Prep closed down a few years ago, so that pipeline is permanently closed. That made me significantly less excited about Simon's potential as a recruiter. Simon and Rice signed a high percentage of their blue chip players at UNLV out of Findlay. I'm not as excited about Simon (nor Rice) as a recruiter if they can't pull players from Findlay. And as I noted in the other thread, the only one of our previous coaches who had any real recruiting connections in Utah was Duryea, so I think Utah recruiting ties are overrated.

To be clear, I would have been quite happy with Simon or Henderson as well. But Kowalczyk has sustained his success over a much longer period of time. So I am quite happy with this hire.

FeartheFro · Post by **FeartheFro** » March 28th, 2024, 2:35 pm

Aggiealum13 wrote:
hipsterdoofus21 wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:06 pm

Aggiealum13 wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:36 pm
I'm going to hold off judging on this occasion especially since USU hit three straight times. I didn't think the last three coaches would be as successful as they were. Craig Smith coached South Dakota and never coached an NCAA tournament game before he came here. Odom coached one which was a more memorable one, but he wasn't really getting his teams into March on a regular basis. So with that I'm just going to sit back and watch and see how this unfolds. It'd be wise if some of you did the same.
Hartwell and Bovee hit 3 straight times. Diana whiffed.
We don't know if she whiffed yet.

How does one whiff before entering the batters box?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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

FeartheFro wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:35 pm

Aggiealum13 wrote:
hipsterdoofus21 wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:06 pm

Aggiealum13 wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:36 pm
I'm going to hold off judging on this occasion especially since USU hit three straight times. I didn't think the last three coaches would be as successful as they were. Craig Smith coached South Dakota and never coached an NCAA tournament game before he came here. Odom coached one which was a more memorable one, but he wasn't really getting his teams into March on a regular basis. So with that I'm just going to sit back and watch and see how this unfolds. It'd be wise if some of you did the same.
Hartwell and Bovee hit 3 straight times. Diana whiffed.
We don't know if she whiffed yet.
How does one whiff before entering the batters box?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Fan support.

I’ve never seen the board or the general fan base this split on a coaching hire since Duryea

Aggie4L1fe · Post by **Aggie4L1fe** » March 28th, 2024, 2:37 pm

apo wrote:I have been told that Tod and Todd will be alternating coaching the men’s and women’s games. Whomever wins the most games at the end of the season gets to coach the men’s team

And if they win the same amount of games, we will buy out Florida’s current HC Todd golden.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Elkaggie · Post by **Elkaggie** » March 28th, 2024, 2:39 pm

I am seriously wondering about our AD. There is zero excitement factor with this hire. He was honestly the least qualified of any of those being considered. I would have taken Andy Hill over this. Un real.

bpd · Post by **bpd** » March 28th, 2024, 2:40 pm

hipsterdoofus21 wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:06 pm

Aggiealum13 wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:36 pm
I'm going to hold off judging on this occasion especially since USU hit three straight times. I didn't think the last three coaches would be as successful as they were. Craig Smith coached South Dakota and never coached an NCAA tournament game before he came here. Odom coached one which was a more memorable one, but he wasn't really getting his teams into March on a regular basis. So with that I'm just going to sit back and watch and see how this unfolds. It'd be wise if some of you did the same.
Hartwell and Bovee hit 3 straight times. Diana whiffed.

Dumb comment.

Post by **GeoAg** » March 28th, 2024, 2:40 pm

Elkaggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:39 pm
I am seriously wondering about our AD. There is zero excitement factor with this hire. He was honestly the least qualified of any of those being considered. I would have taken Andy Hill over this. Un real.

This is just not true. He was the most qualified. He has the highest level of sustained success of any of the main candidates.

Post by **GeoAg** » March 28th, 2024, 2:42 pm

FootballAgg wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:37 pm

FeartheFro wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:35 pm

Aggiealum13 wrote:
hipsterdoofus21 wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:06 pm

Aggiealum13 wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:36 pm
I'm going to hold off judging on this occasion especially since USU hit three straight times. I didn't think the last three coaches would be as successful as they were. Craig Smith coached South Dakota and never coached an NCAA tournament game before he came here. Odom coached one which was a more memorable one, but he wasn't really getting his teams into March on a regular basis. So with that I'm just going to sit back and watch and see how this unfolds. It'd be wise if some of you did the same.
Hartwell and Bovee hit 3 straight times. Diana whiffed.
We don't know if she whiffed yet.
How does one whiff before entering the batters box?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Fan support.

I’ve never seen the board or the general fan base this split on a coaching hire since Duryea

I hope our AD never makes a hire based on fan support on this board.

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