Ranking WCC Coaching destinations

Not sure if you've seen this, but it's not good. Portland is listed as the worst coaching destination in the WCC.

West Coast: Saint Mary's has been a worthy challenger as of late and BYU was a great addition to the league, but Gonzaga IS the West Coast Conference and its coaching position is seen by all but one voter as the best in the league (the lone dissent went to BYU). Interesting to note: Pepperdine appeared on the bottom three of a few ballots, but also on the top three of another. As for 7 through 9 in this conference, there was really no separation between USF, USD and Portland -- or Santa Clara for that matter.

The Best
1. Gonzaga
2. BYU
3. Saint Mary's

The Worst
7. San Francisco
8. San Diego
9. Portland

Now it doesn't really mean much, and things can change quickly, but it doesn't help anything either.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/59777/ranking-the-coaching-jobs-the-others

As the article stated there were multiple criteria listed to rank. Personally I dont think Portland should be #9, in fact there are several factors that could be argued to place them above others.
First, the Chiles Center is a great venue. It has capacity that many other WCC schools dont have. The key is to get the crowd to fill the seats and not just for the marquis games.
Second, Portland is a great location. Bigger city with a small town feel. Pro basketball team etc. Also it is has the ability to draw players from Northern California all the way up to Seattle on a regular basis. Other than Gonzaga they are the only Pacific Northwest school and if one looks at GU's roster it is filled with more foreign players than American, let alone backyard kids. This alone should give UP a distinct advantate in the region.
Third, if basing criteria on wins and losses back to 2008 like the article says, then UP's recent 20+ win seasons should have carried more weight.

But like the article said, the lower three, including SC didnt have much distinction which leads me to believe that the voters were taking into consideration recent success a lot more than other factors.

The survey asks: "In short, if you were an agent and every single job was open in a particular conference, where would you direct your client? Where would you tell him to avoid if there are better options? In your ranking, take these into consideration:" (my grade)

Facilities: Chiles Center with upgraded/expanded office space, locker rooms (B)
Expectation level: from the university itself (B)
Athletic budget: We have a new AD who’s supposed to fix this, but for now (D)
Wins and losses: In recent years (since 2008) it’s been satisfactory except last season (B-)
Recruiting base: Oregon/Washington, not so good as the PAC-12 schools get first choice and the number of D-1 players is limited (D); California (B-); Canada (C): Canarias (A)
Fan support/pressure: This could be good and bad. Support (D); pressure, not very much (B+)

I think some very important questions were left out of the survey if one were going to be asked about a coaching position at a university:

What about quality of life for family, cost of living, comfort of fit in community?
What about financial considerations (pay/benefits/severance package/cola)
How about university values and quality of student/athlete admitted to university?
What about the working relationship with AD/administration/faculty?

As bogus as this survey seems to be, it does at least cause one to stop and evaluate UP’s situation based upon the questions asked. Being placed in 9th doesn’t bother me a bit – there is no job opening!!

While Pepperdine has had a lot of success in its history, I actually would think that that is the toughest gig as a WCC coach.

Yes, the setting in Malibu is unmatched, but Pepperdine easily has the worst gym in the conference, and the school is very, very strict in terms of religion... I don't think they even allow dances there. At BYU, it works, because the religious aspect is a big part of why kids go there. But Pepperdine, not as much. Definitely for some kids, sure, but nowhere near as many as a place like BYU.

Not only that, but Malibu is actually pretty far away from LA, with miserable traffic. At the end of the day, it's a small, rich beach town (population 12,000). An absolutely gorgeous one, no doubt, but not necessarily as easy to recruit to as you may think.

Of course, one look at the girls probably solves a lot of issues...

There are a few things to consider about this article. It's a vote by 14 of ESPN's writers. How many of them have actually set foot on campus or toured the Chiles Center? They probably don't know anything about the upgrades taking place this summer.

Our past coaching history really hurts us. Our last three head coaches are selling insurance, selling stock/bonds, and running a kids basketball camp. That doesn't exactly make Portland a great stepping stone for better jobs, and none of those guys had any real success here either.

That said, I think things are changing. The university seems to have the right attitude to help a coach be successful. Reveno seems to be bringing good kids into the program. Hopefully when they take this poll in 10 years, we will be in the top three not the bottom three.

Stonehouse wrote:Of course, one look at the girls probably solves a lot of issues...

DD, What's taking you so long to get a picture posted?

blacksheep wrote:

Stonehouse wrote:Of course, one look at the girls probably solves a lot of issues...

DD, What's taking you so long to get a picture posted?

Sorry, I must have been napping (again)!