What is the worst Major CBB program to coach?
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I’d have to say Boston College is up there. No commitment to success, terrible facilities, and they think they’re Harvard academically. Always thought Al Skinner was the best they could hope for, but the current coach, whose name escapes me, seems to be doing well.
The OP clearly said “major” program.
DePaul and Boston College are very strong contenders.
Vanderbilt would also be a very tough place to have success.
Vanderbilt would also be a very tough place to have success.
It definitely could be... And it honestly should be. They've just had so many awful seasons, one right after another. It's hard to have much confidence in that program.
Being in Chicago and not having to fund a football team are two major positives, though. And hiring Chris Holtmann? That's about as good as a hire you could for hope for if you're DePaul.
DePaul should be a great job, but people have been saying that for 25 years. A few things led to the demise of the program.
1. The handling of Teddy Grubbs. Grubbs was a high level recruit out of basketball factory King High School and coach Landon Cox. Grubb unfortunately had severe mental problems. He failed misereably at school and ended up being arrested several times in his early 20s for attempted rape and exposing himself. For some crazy reasy, Landon Cox put the blame for this squarely at teh feet of Ray and Joey Meyer. As a result Cox had all the public league schools boycott DePaul and refuse to send their players there. Public is arguably teh best high school basketball conference in teh USA so this was a massive blow. The crazy boycott lasted over 20 years and to this day some people won't go to DePaul because of it.
2. The rise of ESPN. Before ESPN if you wanted to see national TV other than the big ones you had to watch WGN. And what college team called ESPN home? DePaul. Allowed them to get more national exposure than just about any team in teh country. That all ended when ESPN showed up and made being on national TV not that big a deal anymore.
3. Lack of on campus arena. Playing games at the Rosemont Horizon was terrible logistically. Very hard for students to get there and anyone living in the city especially with rush hour traffic.
Now here we are in 2024 and some of these issues aren't issues anymore. They now play near campus at WinTrust. Not the best place to play, but at least it's much easier to get to than Rosemont. I think at this point it all comes down to NIL and getting some winning tradition going again. If DePaul gets an NIL budget and actually starts winning some games it will open the eyes of a lot of prospects because, at the end of the day, playing in Chicago is still an awesome advantage that most programs can't offer.
The hiring of Holtman is the most encouraged I've been since we had snake oil salesman Pat Kennedy.
1. The handling of Teddy Grubbs. Grubbs was a high level recruit out of basketball factory King High School and coach Landon Cox. Grubb unfortunately had severe mental problems. He failed misereably at school and ended up being arrested several times in his early 20s for attempted rape and exposing himself. For some crazy reasy, Landon Cox put the blame for this squarely at teh feet of Ray and Joey Meyer. As a result Cox had all the public league schools boycott DePaul and refuse to send their players there. Public is arguably teh best high school basketball conference in teh USA so this was a massive blow. The crazy boycott lasted over 20 years and to this day some people won't go to DePaul because of it.
2. The rise of ESPN. Before ESPN if you wanted to see national TV other than the big ones you had to watch WGN. And what college team called ESPN home? DePaul. Allowed them to get more national exposure than just about any team in teh country. That all ended when ESPN showed up and made being on national TV not that big a deal anymore.
3. Lack of on campus arena. Playing games at the Rosemont Horizon was terrible logistically. Very hard for students to get there and anyone living in the city especially with rush hour traffic.
Now here we are in 2024 and some of these issues aren't issues anymore. They now play near campus at WinTrust. Not the best place to play, but at least it's much easier to get to than Rosemont. I think at this point it all comes down to NIL and getting some winning tradition going again. If DePaul gets an NIL budget and actually starts winning some games it will open the eyes of a lot of prospects because, at the end of the day, playing in Chicago is still an awesome advantage that most programs can't offer.
The hiring of Holtman is the most encouraged I've been since we had snake oil salesman Pat Kennedy.
