I think they'll have to pay handsomely to get a marquee hire who won't use LSU as a stepping stone to a major basketball school...There's no reason we can't eventually establish LSU as a perennial major basketball school. the fan base should respond, in time. We did it in baseball in the '90s and need to aspire to the same type of program that Bertmann developed.
The flip side of this situation with Alleva is if he finds his position is politically untenable with the new BoS, he might be tempted to say screw it, throw 7 figures at Johnny Jones, and walk away shortly thereafter to a more comfortable position elsewhere.
There is no more comfortable situation when you have change dangling over your head. If he does that....well....we'll be talking about a real bounty program !!
Interestingly, there seem to be quite a few Memphis fans who aren't too crazy about him and feel he's still riding Calipari's coattails. May be a situation where he feels the seat getting hotter with Memphis moving to the Big East and may want a fresh start.
Wow, the speculation and chatter is reaching a fevered pitch! Seems like only when there's a new coach at play, that the fans are a buzz... Seriously though... not that my opinion counts any, but given all I've read, and given that it seems Alleva is calling folks all over, here are my actual thoughts on the hire. First of all, I think a lot of the Floyd/Jones stuff is sort of smoke. Alleva makes his life a little harder caving into the the local pressure that is Dale and LSU insiders. I see that sort of as not the way Alleva will go. I see him making national calls to various "big name" what I'd call mid-tier coaches (that is, respectable coaches in BCS conferences who aren't number 1 or 2 in their leagues). Then, I think when the realism of those coaches being luke warm to the idea sets in, Alleva will have to consider more respected, young up and comers, who are dying for a chance to prove themselves. As we saw with Beth Torina, that can pay dividends... you don't have to pay that much, but you get someone in that is young and hungry. Then, you really have the fall backs--folks that would die to have the LSU job. Not sure those guys get everyone (including the national pundits) too excited. So, here's my (and this is where I mix my actual "want to" and realism) wish list. I also make some assumptions here, that (a) LSU is not going to jump to the $3M level and (b) they're going to stay away from Trouble (with a capital T) with the NCAA (i.e., Drew). Top tier: Buzz Williams (ironically lost to Trent this year, but is a solid coach, with a good style for SEC, with recruiting ties to TX--coached in LA as well). Makes OK money at a basketball school, and we could almost double his salary with an offer to move back down to warm weather and closer to his recruiting grounds. Greg Marshall. Turned down USC, but here is a respected Xs and Os coach that is just consistent. Would have to up his salary, and probably line his staff with some LA recruiting types. Probably a more difficult orchestration of a hire, but worth a try nonethless. Steve Alford. Something about a guy with solid head coaching experience, and a guy who has won it as a player. Would again have to help with southern recruiting ties, but from a pure "respectability" standpoint, would score Alleva some points. I just think he's a good coach, like Marshall, and probably would be an easier get. Shaka Smart. Don't need to say much here. I think it will take $2.5M to get him to talk to LSU (i.e., double his current salary) and even then I don't think this is the time he will move. But, we'd be stupid not to try. Middle tier: To me, the middle tier is sort that area where it may not be a home run, but LSU is taking some chances, and the candidates are also taking some chances. You are looking for either that diamond in the rough, or you're looking for a guy that may have to prove himself a little bit. J. Pastner. I know the guy can recruit, and I know that Alleva made the call. I think the selling point obviously here is this is young guy who can relate to and recruit players. He coached under Lute. Something about him just makes me think he's not worth the money... but, he'd be a good attempt to draw some excitement. Chris Mack. Again, in the mold of Marshall or Alford, and obtainable at a much lower $. But, something about Xavier coaches that i just like. He's a solid coach, and with the right recruiting gurus at his side, he could do some damage. He's making a few hundred thousand, and may be interested in the jump, but is he, sort of like Trent, a "fish out of water" in the Bayou. Jeff Capel. I know there's all of this talk about Duke assistants. Chris Collins? Something tells me he wouldn't necessarily do well at LSU relating to LA players. But, Capel has head coaching experience at VCU and Oklahoma, and has ties in Texas for recruiting. He may be interested in a start over, and could pair well with Quannas White (Oklahoma alum) and some other LSU assistants. I am not completely sold on the past infraction stuff, but he strikes me as a younger and more respectable version of Tim Floyd. Fall back bottom tier: Here is where I kind of start to get less excited about the change. Frankly, where Trent might have gone with more solidarity at home, would be in many ways better than or equivalent to some of these guys. Johnny Jones. Would bleed P&G, but something just doesn't quite sit right. He has shown an ability to recruit some kids, but he scares me with his actual coaching (let's not forget Trent beat Jones this year too). Afterall, he's Dale's recruiter, not his strategist, and he learned from some guys not known for their acumen. Not saying that you couldn't package Jones with some strong bench, and perhaps his ability to "talk the talk" in tiger town, would be pleasing to some. But, I can't help but feel like this would be a last resort. Reggie Theus. Something about him does appeal to me. NBA experience. Charismatic. The antithesis to Trent. But, would he work hard and have the Xs and Os, and the passion for LSU? Not sure. Steve Prohm. Didn't realize the guy had all of the LA ties. I'm not sure he's the home run hire that Alleva would want, BUT like Tennessee who grabbed Cuonzo Martin (who?) or Missouri with Frank Haith, sometimes a name out of nowhere is a good coach. Murray State plays a style which would be easy to recruit for in the bayou and probably would appeal to the fans who have been beat down with the defensive grind of Brady ball and Trent ball. But, I think Alleva will shoot higher here. I'm not going to give credence to the Tim Floyd, Chris Collins, etc. stuff right now. Tony Bennett, no way--he'd be another Trent hire frankly, but white (i.e., slow down plodding, not a particularly good recruiter). I sort of feel the same way with Jamie Dixon and Mike Brey--both guys with seemingly good resumes in the Big East, but their style of play just doesn't excite me. Jamie Dixon frankly doesn't distinghish himself from Trent in any way in my book. Brey has done well at Notre Dame--but do you think he'll recruit the best LA players to stay? Look how he's recruited at ND (for all of the Trent bashers, Trent out-recruited Brey for Ralston Turner). Perhaps there's someone that comes out of left field, but if I'm Alleva, above is on my target list.
If he left because he felt he had better job security, then Johnson is foolish. If he let the vociferation of fans get under his skin, good riddance. Thick skin is a requirement for the job. LSU has had how many coaches in the last 40 years? I think the answer is 4. LSU is an example of job security for basketball coaches not an example of insecurity.
If Alleva goes after an established coach then the guy from Alabama is on my list. I like Anthony Grant. May not be so far fetched since Bama surpasses LSU at rabidness in football fandom and basketball would always lag way behind. He could probably draw fans in as well as recruit here.
Unless we're willing to throw a big chunk of change at Grant, I don't see why he'd want to uproot himself at Bama. Whoever we get would need a major reason to leave what they have to take on a massive rebuilding project, talent-wise and fan-wise. Like a big pay increase for a proven coach or one who's on shaky ground at their own program, or a young coach looking to establish himself. Which is why I'm increasingly concerned that Alleva is going to take the cheap, easy way out and grab Johnny Jones.
Uh no. First off, I predict that the glow is sort of off Grant. Look at what happened this year with Bama recruiting (no names signed yet, not even a Malik Morgan) and various players wanting out of Tuscaloosa. As much as fans don't want to see the similarities here, Grant is a coach that, like Trent, is sort of a hard-charging, defensive minded guy who can be at times hard to play for. I'm not saying he isn't a good coach, but at the end of the day, I'm not sure I see him coming or that LSU would get anything too much different than what they had. Plus, I've got to believe that Alleva talked to Grant the last time around when he was at VCU--not sure there's that interest. I think that a Pastner or other young gun would fit the bill better, if we're trying to change the pace.
