Old Titan Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share Posted April 1, 2012 Mississippi State picks Clemson assistant Rick Ray as their next coach. And if you said "Who?" like I did, you're not alone: the 40ish-year-old Ray has served as an assistant at a variety of schools, including Purdue, Northern Illinois, and Indiana State. But I can't see anything about his resume to suggest he would get a Power Six conference head coaching gig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORU82 Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 Ohio message board says Jim Christian will leave TCU and become the Bobcats' next HC. Christian has stated he has not been given a "formal" offer but Dallas/Ft. Worth press saying it is all but a done deal. Mixed emotions on the Ohio board. He is remembered (both good and bad) from his days at Kent State. Salary will be same/more than what he gets at TCU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUalum Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 I know Ohio had a good run, but why would he leave a Big 12 job for the MAC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 He must be from Ohio (coached at Kent State). Maybe he did not like Fort Worth. TCU has never been a basketball school - except maybe when Billy Tubbs was there. They do not draw many fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogus Smith Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 He must be from Ohio (coached at Kent State). Maybe he did not like Fort Worth. TCU has never been a basketball school - except maybe when Billy Tubbs was there. They do not draw many fans. Really the same reasons that Scott didn't take the TCU job about four years ago. I don't think things have changed for the TCU basketball program in that time; however, I wonder if Scott would be interested in pursuing that job again (assuming that they would talk to him). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUJason Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 TCU is now a Big 12 school. That can significantly increase your opportunity to recruit. Also, there will be a much better caliber of teams playing at TCU during the conference season and that can significantly increase attendance. Not to mention that TCU now has more $ to work with in their athletic budget due to being in the Big 12. I think the situation is quite a bit different than a few years ago. Here's hoping TCU is not interested in Scott this time around. I do think it is strange that a TCU coach left to go to Ohio. Leaving the Big 12 to go to the MAC? Maybe his relationship with the AD was going south or something. It does seem like a curious move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 Not a lot of talk about the coaching change on their message board - again, basketball at TCU seems to be an afterthought. One of the threads does mention Scott as a possibility. Link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORU82 Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 A couple of possible reasons for the move. 1. Ohio will match/increase his TCU salary. 2. Ohio returns the entire team that was one foul shot away from the Elite 8. There are no seniors on that team. 3. Apparently he did not believe the support/commitment was there for the Horned Frogs to compete on an annual basis in the B-12. 4. He was on the Kent State staff that went to the Elite 8 and knows recruiting in the region. 5. His wife is an Ohio alum. 6. Ohio is making and has made significant upgrades to the Convocation Center. In addition thereto, attendance was up again this year with I think an average of about 7,500 per game. The Miami game was a sell-out at 13,000+. 7. This move on the Ohio board is being likened to the Solich hire in football a few years ago. In other words, bring in an established coach who wants to stay and help take the program to the next level. It has been a work in progress in football but Solich has taken a doormat program and sent them post-season bowling 4 times in the last 6. Further, the funding for both football and basketball has/is increasing dramatically. 8. Don't rule out a move by Ohio out of the MAC at some point in the future unless the MAC starts to police itself better. Akron is getting serious about its sports as well as Toledo, Miami and a few others. Temple was just taken by the Big East in all sports. They were/have been owned by Ohio for the last several years in football. Even though Ohio and Miami are the only two original members of the MAC still standing, changes are underway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 Christian has been on the hot seat for a while at TCU. He may have been given an ultimatum: win, or find another job. In that event, looks like he chose the path of least resistance. Have to wonder if TCU feels like Scott spurned them last time around. Can't imagine he wouldn't be interested, if they are: it's the Big XII, for crying out loud. Some other names in that mix might include Scott Cross from UTA, Brooks Thompson at UTSA, Johnny Jones at North Texas, Tim Jankovich at Illinois State, Duke assistant Jeff Capel , and Texas assistant Russ Springmann. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 According to their message board, they graduated 4 seniors and don't have much coming back or a stellar recruiting class. It could be a tough job for a couple of years until it gets turned around. But, it is the Big XII. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 I think TCU is twice the job SMU is: better fans, better all-around conference in which to compete, easier to recruit to. The only "+" in SMU's column may be how much they are willing to pay, but the fact they've been waving around $2.5 million a year, yet still haven't named a coach, may tell you something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 Now they (SMA and TCU) are competing against each other for coaching prospects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORU82 Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 Ohio had a team meeting at 9:00 a.m. this morning. Look press saying they now know who the next HC will be and that the official announcement will occur at a press conference tomorrow. They also posted a grainy photo taken just a little while ago of Jim Christian and two others standing next to the Ohio logo in the middle of the floor of the Convocation Center in Athens. Apparently JC is already in Athens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 Due to the drastically different conference affilitions, TCU and SMU do not appear to be looking at the same guys. Couple of other names for TCU: Tim Floyd at UTEP, and ex-Nebraska coach Doc Sadler. Sadler would seem like a good choice for TCU in my book: coached under Eddie at Arkansas, has Texas ties (former UTEP assistant and head coach), knows the Big XII from being at Nebraska. Might as well throw ESPN's Fran Fraschilla in there as well: he's made it abundantly clear he'll take ANY job in the Central Time Zone (he lives in Dallas, son is a walk-on at OU). You know, with his East Coast ties, he might not be a bad pick for SMU in the long run... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otis 83 Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 Very insightful post, as usual, OT. You've noted that there's a reason SMU is still looking for a coach despite the big salary they've been throwing around. I'd suggest that there's a reason Fran Fraschilla has been at ESPN since 2003 despite the fact that he is very open about his desire to get back to coaching. It could be a match made in mediocrity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoachWilkerson4 Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 I could not disagree more about Fran Fraschilla. He has turned down jobs. He is waiting on the right one that fits him and his goals. I saw him coach personally at the Addidas Eurocamp last June in Italy. I was his team assistant at the camp. HE CAN COACH!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 He also knows a lot about Euro players since he spends a great deal of time over there in the summers broadcasting games. I assume he has lots of contacts with those coaches, etc. Fran seems like a nice guy who is knowledgeable about basketball. He has always been respectful to ORU when announcing our games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 I've always liked Fran - he and Ron Franklin did a great job calling ORU's games in the Mid-Con finals and the BracketBusters. He seems very knowledgeable. Don't know why he hasn't found a coaching gig during that time, since it's obvious he would really like one. Maybe something will work out, especially if someone creates a low mid-major opening by taking either the TCU or SMU job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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