Coach Mills

[Old Titan]

43 minutes ago, theeagleman5 said:

....people have said that Mills has a vision for ORU to be the Gonzaga of the Midwest.....

Great article about how Gonzaga became Gonzaga.  It wasn't overnight...

https://matr.net/news/score!-gonzaga-university-was-struggling-financially.-then-it-started-winning-basketball-games/

[ORUJason]

I think Scott Sutton interviewed for the TCU job and was a leading candidate before he pulled out.  I don’t remember which year that was.

[ORUTerry]

43 minutes ago, Old Titan said:

Great article about how Gonzaga became Gonzaga.  It wasn't overnight...

https://matr.net/news/score!-gonzaga-university-was-struggling-financially.-then-it-started-winning-basketball-games/

And what is the constant regarding Gonzaga’s continued success?   
 

Mark Few

[titansforever]

5 minutes ago, ORUTerry said:

And what is the constant regarding Gonzaga’s continued success?   
 

Mark Few

"Many are called but Few are chosen." (Sorry--I couldn't resist.)  

[darrenj]

17 minutes ago, ORUTerry said:

And what is the constant regarding Gonzaga’s continued success?   
 

Mark Few

Wonder if Dan Munson regrets leaving Gonzaga for Minnesota? Head coach for 2 years and made the final 8 and left for greener pastures and 7 years later he was done. Mark Few was his top assistant and got the job. No telling how many jobs he has passed up over the years. Makes over $2 million a year and gets to fly fish on a regular basis!

It will be interesting to see what they do the next few years as their main recruiter Tommy Lloyd is the head coach at Arizona. He was largely responsible for all of their overseas recruiting. 

I used to love watching Matt Santiago and Dan Dickeau play!

[darrenj]

2 hours ago, Old Titan said:

I knew about Wichita State and Bradley; what was the third?

I was wrong on the Valley jobs as the 3rd one was TCU as he was thought to be leading candidate before letting them know he was no longer interested. 

[Bogus Smith]

Scott was courted, but he was not interested in going to a second division team in a larger conference.  There is a lot of reasons as to how things transpired over time, but it is what it is and hopefully everyone has landed into good situations.  Certainly for ORU, we have reaped a great opportunity to build a program.

[darrenj]

9 minutes ago, Bogus Smith said:

Scott was courted, but he was not interested in going to a second division team in a larger conference.  There is a lot of reasons as to how things transpired over time, but it is what it is and hopefully everyone has landed into good situations.  Certainly for ORU, we have reaped a great opportunity to build a program.

I think he was very interested in both the Wichita st and Bradley jobs and had pretty accepted the Bradley job but changed his mind on the way to sign the contract. Just had a hard time leaving ORU. Again, if Arkansas had offered, he would have jumped at that one. 

[darrenj]

1 hour ago, ORUTerry said:

And what is the constant regarding Gonzaga’s continued success?   
 

Mark Few

There is an article from the Athletic in 2019 by Seth Davis that goes into detail how they built the program and have been able to sustain their success. Really great article. The best part is John Stockton still organizing pickup games on Sunday mornings!:)

[theeagleman5]

Coach Mills seems like a pretty smart man who has his priorities straight and $$$ is not at the TOP of the list that makes him happy....there is a lot to be said for comfort level with your bosses and place of employment and in this case the quality of young men he wants to recruit.....TheEagleman could be way off but it just feels like Paul Mills and ORU are a match made in heaven like Mark Few and Gonzaga....the pressures of a Power 5 school to win, the alumni and fundraising might not be what Coach is looking for.....I for one hope the guy signs a lifetime contract.....besides....every time i email the guy he responds within 24-48 hours.....so there's that.....but then again so did Coach Sutton most of the time.....

[vcboy2000]

2 hours ago, theeagleman5 said:

Mills and ORU are perfect for each other....is a state or public school going to give him the same open forum to discuss Jesus Christ??....uh....no.....Coach is bringing a lot of positive publicity and donations to university so TheEagleman guesses the school would sweeten the pot a little bit which is the right thing to do....people have said that Mills has a vision for ORU to be the Gonzaga of the Midwest.....why not?....going to a bigger school for more $$$ does not mean more happiness as we all know....just saying.....TheEagleman currently is working for a company that I actually went to for LESS $$$ and I am so much happier and content......sometimes the grass is not always greener.....but i am sure i am preaching to the choir.....I would be surprised if Coach Mills bolted unless he doesn't like his bosses or something like that...... 

This may not be the popular opinion but, just going to put it out there.

Going to a big money program doesn't guarantee happiness, but it doesn't guarantee depression either. 

Things could go south even if he stays at ORU.

Better to make the decision based on what you really want, and not let fear control you. 

[titansforever]

Another thing to consider is that we're about to open a brand-new Athletic Center. Maybe that's not enough to keep a coach or attract a new one, but it is a nice advantage. It should help with recruitment. And who knows--maybe it'll convince one or two of our seniors to return for another year. You just never know what will happen, do you?

[Otis 83]

2 minutes ago, titansforever said:

And who knows--maybe it'll convince one or two of our seniors to return for another year. You just never know what will happen, do you?

We've had a lot of fun with Kevin Obanor's extended college career.  If Kareem and Carlos come back I'm looking forward to reading their dissertations.  

[tmh8286]

5 hours ago, Old Titan said:

Great article about how Gonzaga became Gonzaga.  It wasn't overnight...

https://matr.net/news/score!-gonzaga-university-was-struggling-financially.-then-it-started-winning-basketball-games/

Here's book on that subject that I bought a number of years ago but never finished.

That was an interesting article, but written in 2004. I would love to get the take by the school from more recent years, after they have reaped the benefits of years of basketball success.

[TrueBlue82]

I realize that this thread is all about speculation, but the fact of the matter is, this is a great problem to have.  If our coaching staff isn’t being recruited by other schools, then they’re probably not a coaching staff that we want to have either.
 

One other rabbit trail on the topic - in previous years, we’ve commented that Mills and staff are great recruiters (of both high school and portal), and they build a strong sense of team community that helps retain talent.  But we’ve often criticized their understanding of Xs and Os, and lack of in-game adjustments.  This year, their role as game tactician has shifted from a perceived weakness to a strength.  Either they have matured in their roles, or they finally have the team that is able to execute what the staff is asking them to do (or both).  In any case, it’s been fun to watch, and our stellar record is proof of the value of better in-game management.  

[Old Titan]

1 hour ago, TrueBlue82 said:

One other rabbit trail on the topic - in previous years, we’ve commented that Mills and staff are great recruiters (of both high school and portal), and they build a strong sense of team community that helps retain talent.  But we’ve often criticized their understanding of Xs and Os, and lack of in-game adjustments.  This year, their role as game tactician has shifted from a perceived weakness to a strength.  Either they have matured in their roles, or they finally have the team that is able to execute what the staff is asking them to do (or both).  In any case, it’s been fun to watch, and our stellar record is proof of the value of better in-game management.  

I have been blown away by some of the coaching upgrades, yet still baffled by some of the tactics.

• Love the doubling of the post, the frantic defensive rotations, and the active hands in the paint.  For a team that in reality is not all that tall in most line-up configurations, it's impressive to have improved the interior defense so drastically in just one season.  Credit to Conner and Patrick, certainly, but to the coaches as well.
• Anxious to see if the back screens and backdoor cuts that were shelved these past few games will return for the tournament, or if the recent trend of Carlos, Kareem, and even Issac backing their man down for a shot in the paint will continue.
• I HATE the slowing down of tempo and holding the ball in late offensive possessions with a lead, basically turning the shot clock into our foe.  It plays right into the defense's hand as that shot clock winds down and offensive options dwindle by the second.
• That being said, the clock management has really improved, though a few more timeouts when opponents are cutting into double-digit leads would be appreciated. 
• Max has been superb at handling the offense and getting to the line late, but teams have gotten wise to his agenda and are going so far as to sag on him a bit late in the shot clock, goading him to shoot from outside instead of driving.  He's going to have to rise up and hit a big three or two late in a close game at some point, and frankly the past couple of weeks it's been a bit of a struggle for him in that regard (can't believe I even had to write that).
• Anyone else noticed that suddenly Conner is getting more aggressive at "quick jumping" the opening tip and stealing it? Kudos to whoever on the staff has worked with him on that; he was getting beaten by guys a foot shorter most of the season until recently.

[tmh8286]

11 hours ago, Old Titan said:

 

• I HATE the slowing down of tempo and holding the ball in late offensive possessions with a lead, basically turning the shot clock into our foe.  It plays right into the defense's hand as that shot clock winds down and offensive options dwindle by the second.

 

A high powered offense that has the lead should NEVER attempt to change the tempo of the game in order to burn the clock. It absolutely never works that way. Keep playing at the tempo that you play best at. It is your greatest tool for victory. 

[theeagleman5]

Run and Gun til the end???...I think we have to play smart and let the game dictate the strategy....can't just keep chucking the ball up with a 20 point lead with 5 min to play....watch the last 3 minutes of ORU vs. Kansas in the 1974 Midwest Regional Final....our failure to slow the game down and run the clock cost us a shot at the Final Four.....kept running and gunning and turning the ball over.....agree we don't want to go to the old Four Corners but a team with a comfortable lead also needs to bleed the clock......just smart basketball is all TheEagleman is sayin'......