Old Titan Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 Ah, Mark - we hardly knew ye... Maryville University is a D-II program in Mark's hometown of St, Louis. He spent two years there previously as an assistant coach. Sounds like a great move for him, but spending another off-season trying to find a quality assistant coach is yet another distraction for an ORU program already in upheaval. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUIllini Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 To quote the great Vince Lombardi...."what the hell's going on out there"? player and coach turnover every off season sure makes things tough! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUalum Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 best of luck.....seems like a really good guy i hope Sutton gives Slim Wilkerson or Rod Thompson (former TU guard / Oklahoma PWP coach) consideration for that opening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleManiac Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 Good for him. Best of luck to Mark. Hopefully this is the last of the turnover for this season. 16 minutes ago, ORUalum said: best of luck.....seems like a really good guy i hope Sutton gives Slim Wilkerson or Rod Thompson (former TU guard / Oklahoma PWP coach) consideration for that opening. Would LOVE to see Chad Wilkerson fill that slot. I always enjoy seeing a former Golden Eagle on our bench, and Chad seems to really care about the success of the program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingMaaaan Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 Ugly ugly ugly. Sutton can't even keep coaches with the program anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 Looks like a nice position for Mark. Congrats. Lack of consistency or continuity with the coaching staff & players can't be good for recruiting - and probably doesn't help with current players either. Creates lots of questions/concern. I vote for adding someone like Wilkerson. As an ORU guy, he gets the culture and can sell the program to recruits and to students on campus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 Maybe Bill Self is ready for a new challenge...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Cornelius Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 Losing assistants every year is a pretty telling indicator of the direction this program is heading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted April 5, 2017 Author Share Posted April 5, 2017 The program does currently feel a lot like watching an airplane in a slow, sickening tailspin. Will it pull up before leaving a smoking crater? Who knows. But there's simply no denying that, in its current state, the priority is not about arriving at the desired destination - it's simply about first regaining control and staying aloft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUJason Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 I am not sure that losing an assistant to a head coaching job means that the program is in a tailspin. It sounds like a step up for him even though it is a D2 program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Cornelius Posted April 6, 2017 Share Posted April 6, 2017 3 minutes ago, ORUJason said: I am not sure that losing an assistant to a head coaching job means that the program is in a tailspin. It sounds like a step up for him even though it is a D2 program. It's the pattern of assistants leaving without team success. If we are winning and assisants leave that is normal and makes sense. Losing assistants while the program flounders tells a different story. Hard to build recruiting continuity when assistants are changing every year. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUIllini Posted April 6, 2017 Share Posted April 6, 2017 Coach Stricker came to ORU from Eastern Illinois (my alma mater), which to me seems like maybe a slight step up if not a lateral mid-major move. I knew that he was from St. Louis, so it's not surprising to see him move back home. What concerns me is did this opportunity come up and it was too good to pass on, or was he already after the debacle of last season, actively looking for something else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleManiac Posted April 6, 2017 Share Posted April 6, 2017 Obviously this move is a bummer. But I'm with Jason, let's put the panic button away. He's been on staff at Maryville in the past and has been an assistant for several years. There's no indication that this is anything other than a guy wanting to run his own program. Nothing against Mark, but the guy wasn't exactly a pillar of success for us. Our only sample with him was our worst in 20+ years (ever?). And for the record, Kyan was with us for eight years and Wade Mason for four years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted April 6, 2017 Author Share Posted April 6, 2017 14 hours ago, ORUJason said: I am not sure that losing an assistant to a head coaching job means that the program is in a tailspin. It sounds like a step up for him even though it is a D2 program. If this was an isolated incident, or was the result of the program's success, I wouldn't have made the analogy. But losing players AND coaches every off-season for the past few years, coupled with the losing records, makes for a scary picture. One thing's for sure: this kind of annual instability can't be helping recruiting one bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titansforever Posted April 6, 2017 Share Posted April 6, 2017 You will never believe this. I'm on a church bus trip to Texas, and guess who's on the bus? Tom Hankins' mom! Should I ask her to use her influence? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted April 6, 2017 Author Share Posted April 6, 2017 1 minute ago, titansforever said: You will never believe this. I'm on a church bus trip to Texas, and guess who's on the bus? Tom Hankins' mom! Should I ask her to use her influence? She's a sweetheart - please tell her I said "Hi"! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titansforever Posted April 6, 2017 Share Posted April 6, 2017 I will, OT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted April 6, 2017 Author Share Posted April 6, 2017 8 hours ago, EagleManiac said: Obviously this move is a bummer. But I'm with Jason, let's put the panic button away. He's been on staff at Maryville in the past and has been an assistant for several years. There's no indication that this is anything other than a guy wanting to run his own program. Nothing against Mark, but the guy wasn't exactly a pillar of success for us. Our only sample with him was our worst in 20+ years (ever?). And for the record, Kyan was with us for eight years and Wade Mason for four years. It's not just about losing a coach; it's the time and effort that now must be expended trying to find his replacement. Time no doubt better served on the recruiting trail, working with the returning players, putting the schedule together, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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