shelf life for Marshall BB coaches

[ohio herd]

I like DD. He is a good fit for the Herd. However, based on how past coaches have faired he may wear out his welcome before long.

Rick Huckabay 6 yrs 129-59 (3) ncaa 686% left after issues with ncaa
Greg White 7 yrs 115-84 (0) ncaa 578% left after the heat got too hot from fans?
Dan D'Antoni 6 yrs 104-86 (1) ncaa 547% current coach

Tom Herrion 4 yrs 67-67 (0) ncaa 500% fired
Bob Daniels 5 yrs 71-62 (0) ncaa 534% fired
Bob Zuffelato 4 yrs 71-41 (0) ncaa 634% left after heat got too hot from the fans?

I picked these because they are more recent and coached here at least 4 years or more. Curious what you guys think. How long will he be here before the fans turn on him, or will he stay because he is loved by about everyone.This is not a fire DD thread. I support him.

 

[RhinoD]

DD is here until he doesn't want to be here anymore... He's 72, so my guess is another 2-3 years.

Hopefully he and his staff are grooming someone to replace him, which would make for an easy transition... Cornelius Jackson perhaps.

 

[The Real SamC]

White was Danny, without the success. People so wanted him to be great, being an alumni and he will never leave us and he is so fan-friendly, that they forgot that he had no resume such as would cause any DI program to interview him (career loser at small college level) and after a few minutes on the bench it was clear he was over his head. Yet it took 7 long years, and the AD was willing to give him yet more time, to get rid of him.

Huck was done wrong. His NCAA transgressions were trivial.

Z was just not loved by MU, particularly by Ernie S, who mattered in that era. He actually was among our best coaches.

Herrion was a retread loser and a drunk.

Daniels, who coached here 40 years ago is “more recent” that exactly what?

As to DD, the one time lucky roll helps a lot, but he probably has, if this program continues as is, three more years before he “retires”. Hopefully, but I doubt it, we have the sense to flush out the whole building and start fresh.

 

[ohio herd]

White was Danny, without the success. People so wanted him to be great, being an alumni and he will never leave us and he is so fan-friendly, that they forgot that he had no resume such as would cause any DI program to interview him (career loser at small college level) and after a few minutes on the bench it was clear he was over his head. Yet it took 7 long years, and the AD was willing to give him yet more time, to get rid of him.

Huck was done wrong. His NCAA transgressions were trivial.

Z was just not loved by MU, particularly by Ernie S, who mattered in that era. He actually was among our best coaches.

Herrion was a retread loser and a drunk.

Daniels, who coached here 40 years ago is “more recent” that exactly what?

As to DD, the one time lucky roll helps a lot, but he probably has, if this program continues as is, three more years before he “retires”. Hopefully, but I doubt it, we have the sense to flush out the whole building and start fresh.

I agree that Huck was done wrong. I also thought Z was one of our better coaches.Had not Stu coaxed him to return to coaching as an assistant we probably never would have ended up with a coach that good at that time. Personally ,I would have loved to see what Stu could have done if he had not died. He could recruit and IMO if he had another 1-2 seasons we would have found out if he could also coach.

 

[GreenDuke]

White was Danny, without the success. People so wanted him to be great, being an alumni and he will never leave us and he is so fan-friendly, that they forgot that he had no resume such as would cause any DI program to interview him (career loser at small college level) and after a few minutes on the bench it was clear he was over his head. Yet it took 7 long years, and the AD was willing to give him yet more time, to get rid of him.

Huck was done wrong. His NCAA transgressions were trivial.

Z was just not loved by MU, particularly by Ernie S, who mattered in that era. He actually was among our best coaches.

Herrion was a retread loser and a drunk.

Daniels, who coached here 40 years ago is “more recent” that exactly what?

As to DD, the one time lucky roll helps a lot, but he probably has, if this program continues as is, three more years before he “retires”. Hopefully, but I doubt it, we have the sense to flush out the whole building and start fresh.

Agree to a point on GW

RH and MU were not “done wrong”. I know what most of the shenanigans entailed and which boosters and players were involved. Marshall got off easy.

BZ was a good coach, good recruiter, and a better human being. Couldn’t get over the hump at conference tournament time during the So Con most talented and competitive years.

Herrion = bleh

BD was never able to recruit at a high level and had pretty much no budget.
Played tough competition as an independent.

 

[whf2]

I actually thought Ron Jirsa would be a great, winning coach at MU. Not sure why he couldn't get it done. Apparently he ended up being one of those REALLY successful assistant coaches.

 

[YouGotMossed]

Agree to a point on GW

RH and MU were not “done wrong”. I know what most of the shenanigans entailed and which boosters and players were involved. Marshall got off easy.

BZ was a good coach, good recruiter, and a better human being. Couldn’t get over the hump at conference tournament time during the So Con most talented and competitive years.

Herrion = bleh

BD was never able to recruit at a high level and had pretty much no budget.
Played tough competition as an independent.

I never liked the Herrion hire. I felt like it was knee jerk reaction as well as being in the midst of him being in a WVU story which somehow felt like it played into it. That has been my least favorite hire in football or bball.

 

[BisonPa]

Dan D'Antoni is a really nice guy. Is he a great coach, I don't know. I don't know if he knows any other style than the flashy run the court and shoot a lot of threes. Even with great shooters like Elmore and Burks it was only moderately successful. Lets face reality. He would not even be here if he were not Mike D'Antoni's brother.

 

[RhinoD]

I actually thought Ron Jirsa would be a great, winning coach at MU. Not sure why he couldn't get it done. Apparently he ended up being one of those REALLY successful assistant coaches.

Jirsa was the coach when I was writing sports for The Parthenon... Super, super nice guy to me every time I talked to him. Wish it would have worked out better for him as a head coach.

 

[GoHerdMarshallYes]

I never liked the Herrion hire. I felt like it was knee jerk reaction as well as being in the midst of him being in a WVU story which somehow felt like it played into it. That has been my least favorite hire in football or bball.

At least he beat a ranked wvu.

 

[ekal]

Danny will be here as long as he wants the job. He is a young 72, and appears in good health. Hope he stays 5 more years. He lends a degree of maturity and wisdom to the program. Parents are happy to have him mentor and guide their sons. Plus, his style of play is popular with the high school kids coming into the program. He has added an emphasis on defense this year. That will make for success, once he figures out how to make the offense effective. Future looks bright with all the good young players on the team. I was at Marshall when Danny played for the Herd. My wife was too, and she still thinks he is a hunk.

 

[ohio herd]

Agree to a point on GW

RH and MU were not “done wrong”. I know what most of the shenanigans entailed and which boosters and players were involved. Marshall got off easy.

BZ was a good coach, good recruiter, and a better human being. Couldn’t get over the hump at conference tournament time during the So Con most talented and competitive years.

Herrion = bleh

BD was never able to recruit at a high level and had pretty much no budget.
Played tough competition as an independent.

did not realize that about RH. I remember as a student from 1980-84 hearing football players tell me that the bb guys would return to Hodges Hall and find an envelope with money in it sometimes with a note that said, "good game"

 

[BleedsGreen33]

I actually thought Ron Jirsa would be a great, winning coach at MU. Not sure why he couldn't get it done. Apparently he ended up being one of those REALLY successful assistant coaches.

I never got that impression from him. I remember his first midnight madness. He was making such and effort to get the crowd to learn cheers to do during games. He just never gave off the "good coach" vibe. Always saw him eating in the student cafeterias too. No one paid him any mind. He just blended in. Maybe that's why he is better off as an assistant. Some people are just born with IT and he wasn't. For example when Bob Pruett walked in the room he owned it.

Danny commands a room too, I just think he really is past his prime. This is just me, but he comes off as someone that is less than interested in anything away from the court. That includes the recruiting trail.

If you could take Danny's coaching and Donnie's recruiting I think we'd have an very good team that would be a fixture in the NCAA Tournament.

 

[YouGotMossed]

At least he beat a ranked wvu.

And somehow that seems to matter in the hire?

 

[The Real SamC]

And somehow that seems to matter in the hire?

It doesn’t.

 

[muthed]

I agree that Huck was done wrong. I also thought Z was one of our better coaches.Had not Stu coaxed him to return to coaching as an assistant we probably never would have ended up with a coach that good at that time. Personally ,I would have loved to see what Stu could have done if he had not died. He could recruit and IMO if he had another 1-2 seasons we would have found out if he could also coach.

Did you ever watch the guy Stu recruited that ended up at Syracuse- Leo Routens (sp)? He was the real deal.

 

[muthed]

White was Danny, without the success. People so wanted him to be great, being an alumni and he will never leave us and he is so fan-friendly, that they forgot that he had no resume such as would cause any DI program to interview him (career loser at small college level) and after a few minutes on the bench it was clear he was over his head. Yet it took 7 long years, and the AD was willing to give him yet more time, to get rid of him.

Huck was done wrong. His NCAA transgressions were trivial.

Z was just not loved by MU, particularly by Ernie S, who mattered in that era. He actually was among our best coaches.

Herrion was a retread loser and a drunk.

Daniels, who coached here 40 years ago is “more recent” that exactly what?

As to DD, the one time lucky roll helps a lot, but he probably has, if this program continues as is, three more years before he “retires”. Hopefully, but I doubt it, we have the sense to flush out the whole building and start fresh.

So, Sam says White was Danny without the success.
I interpret that to mean that Sam just said Danny is successful.

 

[ohio herd]

Did you ever watch the guy Stu recruited that ended up at Syracuse- Leo Routens (sp)? He was the real deal.

yes he was a really good player. Can you imagine him showing up here?

 

[W-S HerdFan]

Good thread ! Wasn’t there also Ernie & Bernie? Stu spoke at our HEHS graduation ceremony. Quite the “Lil General”....

 

[ohio herd]

Good thread ! Wasn’t there also Ernie & Bernie? Stu spoke at our HEHS graduation ceremony. Quite the “Lil General”....

yes they were at U of Tenn when he was an assistant there. He brought in Labo, White and Soup Campbell all 3 were the best player from their state I believe their sr seasons

 

[W-S HerdFan]

Soup! My brothers favorite Herdster growing up. He seemed like he shot his jumpers down at the basket....funny nick name Soup....

 

[GoHerdMarshallYes]

And somehow that seems to matter in the hire?

No, but looking back on it, he's probably going to be the last one who did.

 

[W-S HerdFan]

Labo & Greg White...can’t think of the two of them together w/o the “Louisville Sucks!!” game at the field house. Denny Crum said he would never bring another team to Htgn. Darryll Griffith sucker punched GW in the 1st half. Packed house erupted!! Labo running around the court, looking for someone to fight! Good times.....

 

[raleighherdfan]

I remember as a kid watching Greg White play for Bob Z. we would eagerly wait for the Ginos RV to drive the team from campus and drop them off at the side door into the fieldhouse.

Years later I got to watch, up close, Greg White as a coach. Sucked ass. Freaking terrible. The only reason he had the record he had at Marshall is the fact they loaded the first half of every season with cupcakes.

(More memories) During the White coaching era, Donny Jones was an assistant for a period. I remember laughing at DJ because he had these double breasted suits that looked 2 sizes too big for him. He would strut around when he was nothing more than a clipboard holder and jock washer. When Marshall hired him a few seasons later, I simply couldn't believe it.

the only "qualifications" either had to lead the program was the fact White sat on the end of the bench at UCLA under Jim Harrick for a season and DJ fondled Billy Donovan's nuts in Florida. What is it with Marshall always looking to hire mediocrity?

 

[herd66]

Danny will be here in his 80’s if he wants to be because of his interaction with fans.His record will not be taken in account.

 

[GoHerdMarshallYes]

I remember as a kid watching Greg White play for Bob Z. we would eagerly wait for the Ginos RV to drive the team from campus and drop them off at the side door into the fieldhouse.

Years later I got to watch, up close, Greg White as a coach. Sucked ass. Freaking terrible. The only reason he had the record he had at Marshall is the fact they loaded the first half of every season with cupcakes.

(More memories) During the White coaching era, Donny Jones was an assistant for a period. I remember laughing at DJ because he had these double breasted suits that looked 2 sizes too big for him. He would strut around when he was nothing more than a clipboard holder and jock washer. When Marshall hired him a few seasons later, I simply couldn't believe it.

the only "qualifications" either had to lead the program was the fact White sat on the end of the bench at UCLA under Jim Harrick for a season and DJ fondled Billy Donovan's nuts in Florida. What is it with Marshall always looking to hire mediocrity?

More recent coaches, despite their overall body of work being subpar at best, have an individual accomplishment that really isn't all too bad.

Jirsa beat wvu twice when they were ranked, making that future trailer trash Pittsnoggle skip class after guaranteeing a victory against us (not like anyone noticed he wasn't in class).
DJ got Whiteside, the latter of whom still holds a few records in the NCAA and is playing in the NBA.
Herrion beat a ranked wvu, had Kane, and was legit screwed out of the NCAA tournament. Dare I say he coached when CUSA had Memphis which was a very difficult task. Made the finals of the tournament.
Danny won CUSA and won an NCAA tournament game.

 

[sistersville]

Hey Raleigh remember the guy who painted himself green and ran out on the court as the mighty Hulk. He would run to the visitors bench and stare at them and move his head slowly side to side and Then bolt away back into the stands. Best ever. Great memories.

 

[raleighherdfan]

Hey Raleigh remember the guy who painted himself green and ran out on the court as the mighty Hulk. He would run to the visitors bench and stare at them and move his head slowly side to side and Then bolt away back into the stands. Best ever. Great memories.

I can’t say I do remember that. What year(s) did that happen? That would have been hilarious to see. I started going to herd hoops regularly during the Coach BZ years.
Pregame players introductions had them breaking through a paper door of a big “M”. The field house was a great venue to watch a basketball game.
I have memories of it, every time I watch Duke at Cameron Indoor.

 

[greengeezer]

Many fond MU basketball memories, but my favorite still has to be when Ellis Johnson, during the game, picked up a stray dog that had gotten into the arena. Johnson put his glasses on it, then held up the mutt and pointed it towards the officials.

He received a technical, but it was worth it.

 

[herd2believe]

Many fond memories of the field house. Preferred the atmosphere to the Cam. I don’t know why since they were far from our best team, but I especially enjoyed watching the Greg White, Bunny Gibson, Kenny Labo, GEorge Washington teams.

 

[YouGotMossed]

No, but looking back on it, he's probably going to be the last one who did.

Well I hope you are wrong about that. One would think that at some point the series will restart. I have always been one for local rivalries. I wish Marshall played WVU, Kentucky, Louisville, Cincy, Ohio, Miami, BGU, etc.... (obviously they can't do that in the same year) and I wish WVU played Marshall, Pitt, Ohio, Penn State, VT, Maryland, Duquense, etc (football or bball whatever).

I would much rather see local rivalry games than watch Marshall play Boise State and WVU play Missouri. I understand its not always feasible to do that for a multitude of reasons, but I do think some of those games COULD be played, such as WVU/Herd basketball.

 

[The Real SamC]

The obsession with WVU has to end.

This or that guy beat WVU. Wow!!! SO WHAT?

When public opinion, the media, and the legislature finally forced WVU to play MU, the two programs, in basketball, were pretty close to even. Of course various coaches beat WVU.

MU-WVU, on a much lower level, used to be something like UK-UL, two pretty even programs playing every year; it devolved into something like UK-WKU, then UK-EKU, and today, if still played, would be something like UK-Alice Lloyd.

The end of the series is a result of WVU spending 2 decades demanding better, and MU spending 4 decades accepting mediocrity.

 

[W-S HerdFan]

And yet, Sam, you might want to tell everyone about WVU’s record (basketball) in Huntington? I know the answer, so educate us on the outcomes when it was a true alternating home & home (1 meeting per year)....

 

[The Real SamC]

And yet, Sam, you might want to tell everyone about WVU’s record (basketball) in Huntington? I know the answer, so educate us on the outcomes when it was a true alternating home & home (1 meeting per year)....

Back in that ancient and bygone and ancient era, when both programs were about even, the Spamites never won a game in Huntington. You know that.

That was long ago. Since then WVU has spent many years slowly building their program from playing in the joke A10 of that day into something close to a second tier national team, clearly still below the true “blue bloods” like UK, UL, KU, Duke, etc, but not too much below. MU has accepted mediocrity.

Is there any doubt in your mind that WVU would not beat us by 50 in Huntington, Beckley, Martinsburg, Charleston, or anywhere else.

The end of that series is a statement that the two programs are no longer in the same class. Probably never will be again.

 

[muthed]

The obsession with WVU has to end.

This or that guy beat WVU. Wow!!! SO WHAT?

When public opinion, the media, and the legislature finally forced WVU to play MU, the two programs, in basketball, were pretty close to even. Of course various coaches beat WVU.

MU-WVU, on a much lower level, used to be something like UK-UL, two pretty even programs playing every year; it devolved into something like UK-WKU, then UK-EKU, and today, if still played, would be something like UK-Alice Lloyd.

The end of the series is a result of WVU spending 2 decades demanding better, and MU spending 4 decades accepting mediocrity.

The same could be said about football to a degree.

 

[ohio herd]

The same could be said about football to a degree.

I hate to say it but it is true. When we were in the So. Conf and they were in the Atlantic 10 the gap was not too big. However, once they started playing BB in the Big East is quickly widened. As far as football goes the same could be said. The Big 12 is much better than the Big East was. I am sure if we played them yearly in both sports we would win some games. However for the most part we would take home an L. For the record I can't stand WVU and hope they lose every game.

 

[YouGotMossed]

Back in that ancient and bygone and ancient era, when both programs were about even, the Spamites never won a game in Huntington. You know that.

That was long ago. Since then WVU has spent many years slowly building their program from playing in the joke A10 of that day into something close to a second tier national team, clearly still below the true “blue bloods” like UK, UL, KU, Duke, etc, but not too much below. MU has accepted mediocrity.

Is there any doubt in your mind that WVU would not beat us by 50 in Huntington, Beckley, Martinsburg, Charleston, or anywhere else.

The end of that series is a statement that the two programs are no longer in the same class. Probably never will be again.

Who cares what the score would be..

1- You never know until you play the game. I am pretty sure Duke lost to SFA this year as a 30 point favorite.
2- Recruits want big games, win or lose. Playing WVU would be more exposure than having games on Myspace.
3- In the off year that the Herd is very competitive, having that resume game is a big deal. Its hard to get a team on the level of WVU to play the Herd, so might as well take awvantage of what the WVU game would do to the resume/SOS if possible. Just my 2 cents...

 

[The Real SamC]

Who cares what the score would be..

1- You never know until you play the game. I am pretty sure Duke lost to SFA this year as a 30 point favorite.

MU beating WVU in basketball in this era would be a far greater upset than SFASU. SFASU has been in the real tournament 5 out of the last 10 years, the NIT 2 more. Yes it was a 30 point line. No book would even offer a line on WVU-MU. It would have to be 50 or more, and they don’t do that.

2- Recruits want big games, win or lose. Playing WVU would be more exposure than having games on Myspace.

Two things. First, WVU is only a “big game” if you live in WV. Nobody considers zero times national champion WVU and its zero times national champion journeyman coach “big time” in the broader world.

And, under the TV deal from the old series, the game was rarely broadcast outside of the state. And, you do know that internet viewing of games is up over 300% since last year, and that, next year, WVU will have almost 1/4th of its schedule on the internet.

3- In the off year that the Herd is very competitive, having that resume game is a big deal.

MU would NEVER be competitive with WVU in this era. And even if we did beat them, that is hardly a “big deal” nationally. WVU looks sweet sixteen sixteenish or so this year. Nothing more. And this is the best year they are capable of having.

Its hard to get a team on the level of WVU to play the Herd

Florida, Notre Dame, Maryland (twice), Virginia, Texas A&M, Illinois, Xavier, Ohio State, Cincinnati, Pitt, Tennessee, Louisville, South Carolina, Penn State, just in the DD era.

 

[RhinoD]

MU beating WVU in basketball in this era would be a far greater upset than SFASU. SFASU has been in the real tournament 5 out of the last 10 years, the NIT 2 more. Yes it was a 30 point line. No book would even offer a line on WVU-MU. It would have to be 50 or more, and they don’t do that.

Statements like this are why people don't take things you say seriously, even when you are making a rare valid point... Earlier this season top-ranked Baylor played, literally the worst team in America, Maryland Eastern Shore (at the time 0-11 and dead last in NET ranking, 1-18 currently.)

The line for that game - 35 points.

If Marshall and WVU played today, even with WVU being a top-15 team and Marshall treading water around .500... The line would be roughly 18 points. (If you need an actual example of this, WVU was a 6 point home favorite over Northern Iowa and Marshall was an 11.5 road dog to UNI. Marshall beat the spread by 3, WVU did not cover by 1).

"Not knowing what you are talking about isn't cool, it's not bucking the trend of political correctness, it's just being wrong." - Former President Obama

 

[YouGotMossed]

No book would even offer a line on WVU-MU. It would have to be 50 or more, and they don’t do that.

Dumbest thing I have read in a long time..




Florida, Notre Dame, Maryland (twice), Virginia, Texas A&M, Illinois, Xavier, Ohio State, Cincinnati, Pitt, Tennessee, Louisville, South Carolina, Penn State, just in the DD era.

How many of those teams will play the Herd in their own state? Few and far between...