Spencer won’t be retained

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Spencer won’t be retained

Post by USUBlue » April 9th, 2018, 11:46 am

Hmm, I was hoping he would. But, Smith has to be allowed to choose his own assistants



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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by USU78 » April 9th, 2018, 11:47 am

Any notion on the AD office retaining him for some purpose or other? Guy's so well liked. Could he raise $$?


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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by aggies22 » April 9th, 2018, 11:53 am

That's too bad. He gave up a job with the Jazz to be here for a year.



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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by USUBlue » April 9th, 2018, 11:59 am

aggies22 wrote:
April 9th, 2018, 11:53 am
That's too bad. He gave up a job with the Jazz to be here for a year.
With his abilities, I'm sure he'll have lots of options.



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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by ineptimusprime » April 9th, 2018, 12:03 pm

I was hoping he would be retained. Dang.

So with news now leaking about who isn't going to be in staff, how about some news about who is going to be on staff?

Also, maybe a recruiting update? We've got like 1/3 of a roster to fill out and the talent pool is dwindling.



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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by kofdog » April 9th, 2018, 12:06 pm

ineptimusprime wrote:
April 9th, 2018, 12:03 pm
I was hoping he would be retained. Dang.

So with news now leaking about who isn't going to be in staff, how about some news about who is going to be on staff?

Also, maybe a recruiting update? We've got like 1/3 of a roster to fill out and the talent pool is dwindling.
Sounds to me from that poster in SD, we might end up being nuts here on the board from his lack of communication. Makes me realize I really enjoy MW's social feed, he's great at that!



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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by ViAggie » April 9th, 2018, 12:28 pm

No surprise. Not a knock on Spencer, I just think coach Smith is looking for coaches who have his level of enthusiasm.


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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by TheWoodshed » April 9th, 2018, 12:51 pm

ViAggie wrote:No surprise. Not a knock on Spencer, I just think coach Smith is looking for coaches who have his level of enthusiasm.
If Coach Smith is looking for coaches with more enthusiasm than Spencer Nelson, then the pool of potential candidates just evaporated completely. Spencer is one of the most enthusiastic people you'll ever come across. Coach Smith might have his reasons for not retaining Spencer, but lack of enthusiasm is not one of them.

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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by ViAggie » April 9th, 2018, 12:56 pm

TheWoodshed wrote:
April 9th, 2018, 12:51 pm
ViAggie wrote:No surprise. Not a knock on Spencer, I just think coach Smith is looking for coaches who have his level of enthusiasm.
If Coach Smith is looking for coaches with more enthusiasm than Spencer Nelson, then the pool of potential candidates just evaporated completely. Spencer is one of the most enthusiastic people you'll ever come across. Coach Smith might have his reasons for not retaining Spencer, but lack of enthusiasm is not one of them.

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Again, I don't think this was a knock on Spencer, I just think that Coach Smith plans to bring as much of his existing staff as possible.


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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by brownjeans » April 9th, 2018, 1:09 pm

Yes, he needs assistants with less enthusiasm than Spencer. Smith doesn't want his assistant coach to have more enthusiasm and optimism than the HC. That would make him look bad.



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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by bluegrouse » April 9th, 2018, 2:06 pm

That is too bad. Spencer is on my Top 10 Favorite Aggies list - maybe Top 5 (I’ve been around a long time so there are a lot of candidates). Was hoping it would work out for him but as others have said, Smith has the right to choose his staff. I wish Spencer all the very best.



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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by Aggie formerly in Hawaii » April 9th, 2018, 2:30 pm

Not surprising. I'm excited for a completely new staff and direction going forward. The previous staff was not getting it done so it makes sense for a new coach to move on completely from them.



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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by utaggies » April 9th, 2018, 2:41 pm

bluegrouse wrote:
April 9th, 2018, 2:06 pm
That is too bad. Spencer is on my Top 10 Favorite Aggies list - maybe Top 5 (I’ve been around a long time so there are a lot of candidates). Was hoping it would work out for him but as others have said, Smith has the right to choose his staff. I wish Spencer all the very best.
As BYU learned with Detmer, sometimes being a likeable and popular player doesn't necessarily translate to being a good coach. I don't know where Nelson was as to his coaching ability. I recall some touting how he would help us recruit bigs to USU due to his skills and his professional career. That certainly didn't happen.



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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by thansen » April 9th, 2018, 3:05 pm

bluegrouse wrote:
April 9th, 2018, 2:06 pm
That is too bad. Spencer is on my Top 10 Favorite Aggies list - maybe Top 5 (I’ve been around a long time so there are a lot of candidates). Was hoping it would work out for him but as others have said, Smith has the right to choose his staff. I wish Spencer all the very best.
I had a class at the HYPER with Spencer Nelson when I attended USU. He's a super smart guy with a great sense of humor, lots of enthusiasm, a positive attitude, and tons of energy. He's very likable and approachable. My teenage sons went to the USU basketball camp last summer and of all the coaching staff were most impressed by Spencer. If Coach Smith is able to hire better assistants than Spencer then I'm REALLY looking forward to next season. Hopefully Coach Smith can find at least one assistant coach that will appeal to recruits in Utah and Idaho.



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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by oleblu111 » April 9th, 2018, 3:19 pm

thansen wrote:
April 9th, 2018, 3:05 pm
bluegrouse wrote:
April 9th, 2018, 2:06 pm
That is too bad. Spencer is on my Top 10 Favorite Aggies list - maybe Top 5 (I’ve been around a long time so there are a lot of candidates). Was hoping it would work out for him but as others have said, Smith has the right to choose his staff. I wish Spencer all the very best.
I had a class at the HYPER with Spencer Nelson when I attended USU. He's a super smart guy with a great sense of humor, lots of enthusiasm, a positive attitude, and tons of energy. He's very likable and approachable. My teenage sons went to the USU basketball camp last summer and of all the coaching staff were most impressed by Spencer. If Coach Smith is able to hire better assistants than Spencer then I'm REALLY looking forward to next season. Hopefully Coach Smith can find at least one assistant coach that will appeal to recruits in Utah and Idaho.

What is needed to appeal to recruit's in Utah and Idaho ? Is there something at play besides being a quality coach ?

It is a surprise that folks want coach's fired, for losing games, and then seem concerned that the new staff does not keep holdovers from the fired coach. I like coach Felton but I'm not surprised that he is gone, after all the last staff did not win enough.



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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by Chupamedia » April 9th, 2018, 4:09 pm

I don’t see anyone concerned that the old coaches aren’t being retained. In fact quite the opposite everyone is saying for now we are going to trust Smith - even though most of us were hoping to keep Spencer



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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by TheAKAggie » April 9th, 2018, 7:30 pm

oleblu111 wrote:
thansen wrote:
April 9th, 2018, 3:05 pm
bluegrouse wrote:
April 9th, 2018, 2:06 pm
That is too bad. Spencer is on my Top 10 Favorite Aggies list - maybe Top 5 (I’ve been around a long time so there are a lot of candidates). Was hoping it would work out for him but as others have said, Smith has the right to choose his staff. I wish Spencer all the very best.
I had a class at the HYPER with Spencer Nelson when I attended USU. He's a super smart guy with a great sense of humor, lots of enthusiasm, a positive attitude, and tons of energy. He's very likable and approachable. My teenage sons went to the USU basketball camp last summer and of all the coaching staff were most impressed by Spencer. If Coach Smith is able to hire better assistants than Spencer then I'm REALLY looking forward to next season. Hopefully Coach Smith can find at least one assistant coach that will appeal to recruits in Utah and Idaho.

What is needed to appeal to recruit's in Utah and Idaho ? Is there something at play besides being a quality coach ?

It is a surprise that folks want coach's fired, for losing games, and then seem concerned that the new staff does not keep holdovers from the fired coach. I like coach Felton but I'm not surprised that he is gone, after all the last staff did not win enough.
White.


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Two words:

Post by dogie » April 9th, 2018, 7:46 pm

Silas Mills.

I’m pulling for Smith to hire Silas Mills away from SLCC. He has the ties to Utah that we need and he is also among the all-time favorite Aggies.



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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by NevAggie » April 9th, 2018, 8:32 pm

Silas Mills? You must be crazy! Do some deep digging on his coaching at SLCC. We don't need him on the staff!

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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by thansen » April 9th, 2018, 8:35 pm

NevAggie wrote:
April 9th, 2018, 8:32 pm
Silas Mills? You must be crazy! Do some deep digging on his coaching at SLCC. We don't need him on the staff!

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I don't have time to dig. What did he do at SLCC?



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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by gomretat » April 9th, 2018, 8:49 pm

Certainly is his call but bad form IMO.



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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by newhouse9 » April 9th, 2018, 9:14 pm

I don't like this move at all. Spencer is a great Aggie and we still need an Aggie in this program. Why ask him to play the bridge and then not keep him. Horrible form.



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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by hipsterdoofus21 » April 9th, 2018, 9:33 pm

newhouse9 wrote:
April 9th, 2018, 9:14 pm
I don't like this move at all. Spencer is a great Aggie and we still need an Aggie in this program. Why ask him to play the bridge and then not keep him. Horrible form.
Coach Smith didn't ask him to play the bridge, the AD did. I can see both sides to the argument, but to speak on Smith's behalf sometimes it's nice for the new coach/manager/team leader to not have any "holdovers" that players or employees may prefer listening to and going to rather than confiding in you. It really is easier in many cases to bring in a whole new regime and start from scratch.



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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by newhouse9 » April 9th, 2018, 9:37 pm

And my angst is pointed at the AD, not the coach. I should have made that clear. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out, with players and fans alike.



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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by hipsterdoofus21 » April 9th, 2018, 9:50 pm

newhouse9 wrote:
April 9th, 2018, 9:37 pm
And my angst is pointed at the AD, not the coach. I should have made that clear. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out, with players and fans alike.
Oh in that case you have a good point. I personally thought it was a weird thing for the AD to do, unless they had a promised spot for Spencer in the AD either way.



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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by newhouse9 » April 9th, 2018, 10:06 pm

Yeah, just a weird deal, to me. I guess we'll see what happens from here.



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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by ChicAggie » April 9th, 2018, 10:37 pm

I will readily admit I have never paid close attention to whether newly-hired college basketball coaches ever retain any of the assistants of a fired head coach following a coaching change, but I would bet it is far more rare than typical for a new incoming coach to keep any of the fired coach's assistants. As great an Aggie as I think Spencer is, and as much as I would have loved to see him have a long illustrious career as an Aggie basketball coach, I have zero knowledge of whether he has contributed significantly in a positive way either in terms of player development or recruiting. Would have loved to see it work out, but completely understand why it didn't.


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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by ChicAggie » April 9th, 2018, 10:38 pm

ChicAggie wrote:
April 9th, 2018, 10:37 pm
I will readily admit I have never paid close attention to whether newly-hired college basketball coaches ever retain any of the assistants of a fired head coach following a coaching change, but I would bet it is far more rare than typical for a new incoming coach to keep any of the fired coach's assistants. As great an Aggie as I think Spencer is, and as much as I would have loved to see him have a long illustrious career as an Aggie basketball coach, I have zero knowledge of whether he has contributed significantly in a positive way either in terms of player development or recruiting. Would have loved to see it work out, but completely understand why it didn't.
Let me summarize that for you: "I don't know jack$h!t about any of this, but here's my opinion anyway."


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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by hipsterdoofus21 » April 9th, 2018, 11:18 pm

ChicAggie wrote:
April 9th, 2018, 10:38 pm
ChicAggie wrote:
April 9th, 2018, 10:37 pm
I will readily admit I have never paid close attention to whether newly-hired college basketball coaches ever retain any of the assistants of a fired head coach following a coaching change, but I would bet it is far more rare than typical for a new incoming coach to keep any of the fired coach's assistants. As great an Aggie as I think Spencer is, and as much as I would have loved to see him have a long illustrious career as an Aggie basketball coach, I have zero knowledge of whether he has contributed significantly in a positive way either in terms of player development or recruiting. Would have loved to see it work out, but completely understand why it didn't.
Let me summarize that for you: "I don't know jack$h!t about any of this, but here's my opinion anyway."
Refreshing honesty. Many politicians and sports analysts could start out their monologues this way.



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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by Aggie formerly in Hawaii » April 9th, 2018, 11:49 pm

ChicAggie wrote:
April 9th, 2018, 10:37 pm
I will readily admit I have never paid close attention to whether newly-hired college basketball coaches ever retain any of the assistants of a fired head coach following a coaching change, but I would bet it is far more rare than typical for a new incoming coach to keep any of the fired coach's assistants. As great an Aggie as I think Spencer is, and as much as I would have loved to see him have a long illustrious career as an Aggie basketball coach, I have zero knowledge of whether he has contributed significantly in a positive way either in terms of player development or recruiting. Would have loved to see it work out, but completely understand why it didn't.
I certainly don't have the stats in front of me, but I would bet it is close to never that a coach retains one assistant on a staff that just got fired in basketball. Football it is less rare with so many positions to fill, but when a coach is fired in basketball it means it is going to be a completely new staff.



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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by Aggie formerly in Hawaii » April 9th, 2018, 11:52 pm

newhouse9 wrote:
April 9th, 2018, 10:06 pm
Yeah, just a weird deal, to me. I guess we'll see what happens from here.
It isn't that weird or out of the ordinary. The AD appoints someone to be in charge during the transition. The AD did nothing wrong and Coach Smith is going to hire who he wants to hire.



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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by Ahbye » April 10th, 2018, 12:26 am

Whether retaining assistants is rare or not, this will be Coach Smith's first mistake. When you're competing with BYU and Utah (and UVU and Weber for that matter) for those Utah/Idaho Mormon kids, it's nice to have someone who speaks the language. Spencer was that guy. It's unknowable or quantifiable the impact this would potentially have, but they could have at least stashed him as the operations director to help with understanding the culture. Most of us who live here forget that there are some definitive differences between here and other places.



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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by StanfordAggie » April 10th, 2018, 12:29 am

Honest question: I remember that on multiple occasions Stew said that he thought that it was essential to have at least one African-American coach on his staff for recruiting purposes. Did he make any effort to keep at least one LDS coach on his staff as well? I have to think that having at least one LDS coach on staff is going to be an important consideration for at least some recruits in the Utah/Idaho. Obviously Stew himself was LDS, but my understanding is that he isn't very active. But he was at least supportive of LDS players who wanted to serve missions or otherwise follow their beliefs, so maybe that was enough. I guess where I'm getting at is that I'm worried that not having an LDS coach on staff might hurt us with some local recruits, and I'm wondering if there is any evidence that this might be the case.

And before I get flamed, yes, I know that non-LDS people are far too often treated as second-class citizens in the Mormon Belt, so generally I hate the idea of hiring someone based on their religious beliefs. But at the end of the day, I want to win games. And if not having an LDS coach on staff hurts us with recruiting, then that is something that the head coach needs to think about when hiring assistants. And this isn't just an LDS thing. I'll be very worried if Smith doesn't have at least one African-American coach on his staff, since Stew said many times that he thought that was essential for recruiting African-American players to Logan. Again, in normal circumstances, I would favor hiring the best coach regardless of skin color, but if hiring a black coach is essential for recruiting, then you do what you have to do.



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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by ProfessorChaos » April 10th, 2018, 12:59 am

If religious familiarity is a high priority for a recruit, they're almost always going to wait around for BYU to offer. Very often going to be the case with recruits in and from Utah.

If we're talking about Mormon kids from outside Utah, then they're already plenty familiar with not having a ton of other people of their same religion around them. Most likely every single coach, assistant coach, and teammate they've ever played for and with, didn't share their religion, because basketball was about basketball.

I'm not saying it would be a disadvantage at all to have Nelson on staff, but to think that we NEED to have an LDS presence on staff, as if other MWC teams have done so too, is naive.

Church is church.
Basketball is basketball.

The kids that require those two things to overlap will almost universally either go to BYU, or try to use USU as leverage to get to BYU.

USU has more than enough LDS culture and support among the student body for most players. The Tai Wesleys, Tyler Newbolds, Gary Wilkinsons, Jaycee Carrolls, and even Spencer Nelsons of the world get this.

If Spencer truly does have as bright a future of coaching in front of him as many think (and I think we're all HOPEFULY that he does), then going somewhere else to get a little experience under other coaches, in different situations, maybe different regions, etc could be really good for his career.

Here's to hoping he's got great things ahead.



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Re: Spencer won’t be retained

Post by bluegrouse » April 10th, 2018, 3:23 am

I honestly think the necessity of having an LDS guy on staff is greatly over-estimated. As long as the staff is supportive of kids going and coming from missions and respect their religious beliefs, they will be just fine. It’s not like a kid who is Mormon won’t be able to find like-minded students and support at Utah State!!! The place is over 80% LDS these days. Go get the best basketball staff you can possibly find, teach them about the mission thing and call it a day. I think kids want to learn from and play basketball for the best coaches regardless of religious affiliation. I was a very active Mormon kid and I didn’t care if my professors were LDS or not. In fact in my department, there was only one LDS professor. The department was nationally ranked. That was WAY more important to me. I just wanted the best teachers I could get and the ones that could teach me the most. I found my religious support through classmates, friends, the LDS Institute and church attendance. I know it’s not exactly the same situation but the principle is. I just don’t think it’s essential. An added bonus perhaps if all else is equal but that’s all.

Having a black coach is a completely different situation because the university is clearly not 80% black nor is it exactly located in a city with a large 9or even small) black population.



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