Where do we go from here?

wrv wrote:... I would rather have the coach of Whitworth men's basketball than Daniels. Is there someone who could tell us whether he is available?

Yes, he is available, and for now at a very reasonable cost, but I have not heard his name mentioned in conjunction with any D1 program except on PN.

Terry Cahill wrote:

DoubleDipper wrote:WCC men's basketball head coaching positions available, March 2016:

Pacific
Santa Clara
San Francisco
Portland

I keep checking PN to find out we've officially hired Porter and this is all I get. Pretty much sums it up.

We fired our coach later than those schools fired theirs so it is not surprising we are also the last to hire. Expecting something this week. If it goes through another weekend I'll be concerned.

dholcombe wrote:We fired our coach later than those schools fired theirs so it is not surprising we are also the last to hire. Expecting something this week. If it goes through another weekend I'll be concerned.

Well, that's true. I got it on excellent authority Keating was fired ( told it was his last season by the new AD) at the SCU game when they came here.

Geezaldinho wrote:Well, that's true. I got it on excellent authority Keating was fired ( told it was his last season by the new AD)  at the SCU game when they came here.

That's pretty harsh, considering Brownridge scored about 60 points and they WON that game!

Terry Cahill wrote:

Geezaldinho wrote:Well, that's true. I got it on excellent authority Keating was fired ( told it was his last season by the new AD)  at the SCU game when they came here.

That's pretty harsh, considering Brownridge scored about 60 points and they WON that game!

Ouch, poor grammar.

No, I was just told at the game. He was given his walking papers at the start of the season.

I have a lot of confidence in our AD. He has made some strong hires recently and seems to have good instincts. The men's soccer coach hasn't coached a game yet, but his ability to recruit is already abundantly apparent and he is making great strides in building relationships within the UP community. Ask the Villa drum squad. The volleyball coach had transformed that program. The baseball program is on the upswing. These are just a few of the encouraging hires by Leykam.

Leykam also showed measured patience in making the decision to change the head coaching position for men's basketball. Reveno was an excellent ambassador for the university and making a change was a difficult, but a well-considered decision.

So now, Leykam is tasked with making the most important decision to all of us on PN. I understand the appeal of Terry Porter, but I question anyone's hunger and drive to succeed after they have already climbed the mountain. The UP men's basketball job is a massive challenge. While I have no doubt Porter has the basketball acumen to be a great NBA coach, I don't see him tweeting recruits and knocking on their doors the day recruiting can officially begin.

I do think Dave Rice would be an exceptional recruiter, which he's already proven at UNLV.  He was such a successful recruiter that he raised expectations to Tarkanian levels. I think he'd be an intriguing hire. More than anything, this hire has to be able to recruit.  Randy Rahe would also be a very good hire if he can be convinced to come to UP, which I'm not as confident as others.

As I watched the OSU women's basketball team beat Baylor and make the Final Four, I was so impressed with Scott Rueck. A head coach at Division 3 George Fox before coming to OSU. Same for OSU baseball coach Pat Casey who won two national championships at OSU! So, where does this take me? I think Matt Logie has tremendous upside at Whitworth and I hope Leykam will give him a chance to interview. The guy has won more games in 5 years than any D3 coach in history. He's from the northwest. He clearly can coach X's and O's. He recruited well while the Associate Head Coach at Lehigh. He's young. He's hungry. He's charismatic. He's proven to be a helluva basketball coach. Can anyone give me some reassurance that he's at least been discussed by the interview committee?  If I had a relationship with Leykam, I'd subtly suggest he'd at least  interview Logie with the full confidence that Scott will hire the right guy.

I'm tired of the losing. I'm hoping for a miracle.

Well said Wingman, I agree with everything you've said!

The Wingman wrote: More than anything, this hire has to be able to recruit.  

Repeated for emphasis.

The Wingman wrote:
More than anything, this hire has to be able to recruit.

 
Repeated for emphasis.

While I agree somewhat, I think it is also very important for this new coach to be a very strong "in-game" coach.

Now I will be the first to admit that when it comes to coaching strategies I only know surface level stuff, but think about the past ten years and how there were certain in game decisions that frustrated the Pilot fan base. I understand that is going to happen regardless of who is coaching, but I really do think the in game coaching is an area where we can improve.

Getting highly touted recruits is one thing, making them work in a system is another, and having a coach is able to recognize when something isn't working in game, and having the right pieces and awareness to recover and adapt is on another altogether.

Coach Reveno wasn't let go because he couldn't get enough talent to the bluff. Look at our teams over the past 10 seasons and I can highlight multiple games each season when we lost to inferior talent. I understand that happens from time to time, but for every win over Gonzaga, or BYU, there seemed to be a loss to a Big Sky team, or a bottom feeder of the WCC. The expectation for the new coach will to be to consistently take care of business when that is what is expected, and to pull a few upsets every now and again.

So yes, this new coach needs to be able to recruit, but make sure the coach is able to maximize the output of the recruits as well.

DTLegend wrote:Coach Reveno wasn't let go because he couldn't get enough talent to the bluff.

Honestly, I think that actually was the primary reason. Not to say that we haven't had some very good players during his tenure, but I think even Coach Rev would admit that there have been more misses than hits over the past few years.

And as much as we complain about in-bounds plays (which absolutely was a frustrating and recurring issue), substitution patterns, and offensive schemes, I don't think in-game coaching was a bigger problem than talent accumulation. Think about it - funny how our offense (and defense) was at its best when we had Sikma, Stohl, Campbell, Smeulders, and Raivio.

I mean - look at the 2009-10 team's roster (the team that blew out UCLA, beat a ranked Minnesota, and was ranked #25 briefly before Raivio was injured) and compare it to our rosters from over the previous few years: http://portlandpilots.com/roster.aspx?roster=88&path=mbball

Yes, this is cherry-picking a bit, but the point remains... Reveno built that team in his first four years as a coach. And, for whatever reason, we were never able to get to that level of top-to-bottom talent again.

Stonehouse wrote: Not to say that we haven't had some very good players during his tenure, but I think even Coach Rev would admit that there have been more misses than hits over the past few years.

You're correct, Stoney.  Rev is proud of his recruiting accomplishments, especially when you consider the environment he recruits to and his 10 years worth of recruits overall, but he will admit that "recruiting mistakes were made," and unlike at many other schools, he did not run-off the recruits that underperformed.

We on PN often discuss with some pride that Rev is an honorable man who sticks with guys who turned out to be less than D1 material, but that policy hurt the W/L column.  He's pointed out to me that other coaches also make recruiting "mistakes," but the coach just runs off the mistake and recruits new talent.

If Rev were to voice a regret regarding recruiting, it would probably be in recent years at the post position....the "Big Guy Coach" (a term his dislikes, as he would prefer to be called simply, "Coach"), has not recently recruited anyone he can coach-up to a D1/WCC standard.

Most WCC teams will not have 13 D1 players on the bench, as there is always room for "practice players" who's real task is to make the front line players better....but those bench players should not be at only one position.

A savvy AD might release a public statement indicating that while he is reading the tea leaves, consulting the ouija board, playing tarot cards and the roulette wheel, the Pilot administration and he are continuing their intensive search and, in fact, have narrowed the list of candidates. Fans should know that their patience will be rewarded . . .

Something.

Stonehouse, I understand your argument, and yes had Reveno consistently had that same level of talent across the board for the his tenure, we may have been to a tournament or two, but that is somewhat my point.

I guess my point is we need more than just a great recruiter to have success at Portland. There is no silver bullet to success and making sure we get a staff that can effectively recruit and manage the basketball side of things (in game and from game to game) is how we get there.

I didn't mean to call out Reveno and his staff at all, just a few weeks ago, I was on the Keep Rev band wagon, and I think he did a lot of basketball stuff well (I cant tell you how many of my Gonzaga friends, I have a lot, have told me over the past couple of weeks how they hated playing Rev coached teams because of how prepared they were and how hard they played) but now that that ship has sailed I think we should think about where we can improve on what we've had. Yes I'm all for getting great recruits, but also let's get someone who can get the most out of those recruits.

I find it amazing that we've heard almost nothing about which way UP is leaning. We've known for weeks that Sendek was going to SCU and it's been about one week since the Kyle Smith to USF rumours really heated up.

But the Pilots? Who knows, at this point? Porter, Rice, Rahe, Shaw, Logie? Someone not even on this list? The silence is deafening, and in this day and age also pretty surprising!

wrv wrote:A savvy AD might release a public statement indicating that while he is reading the tea leaves, consulting the ouija board, playing tarot cards and the roulette wheel, the Pilot administration and he are continuing their intensive search and, in fact, have narrowed the list of candidates. Fans should know that their patience will be rewarded . . .

Haha, isn't that what PilotNation is for?

Yes wrv, by all reports the AD has narrowed the list to a couple of names, and now the negotiations are underway.

Candidates (and their agents) for what some consider, "one of the two worst coaching situations in the WCC" have differing demands.....and they're not always tied to their salary.  Many times those demands need to be run by the administration at the highest level......we just have to believe our patience will be rewarded.

In Scott we trust!

Terry Cahill wrote: The silence is deafening, and in this day and age also pretty surprising!

Agreed! While I really wish we were hearing some more hints... it is completely appropriate for the U to keep the process steps close to the vest until they have a signed contract. This would be consistent with how the University has handled things like this before; I agree with it, but don't like it as a fan.

DoubleDipper wrote:

wrv wrote:A savvy AD might release a public statement indicating that while he is reading the tea leaves, consulting the ouija board, playing tarot cards and the roulette wheel, the Pilot administration and he are continuing their intensive search and, in fact, have narrowed the list of candidates. Fans should know that their patience will be rewarded . . .

Haha, isn't that what PilotNation is for?

Yes wrv, by all reports the AD has narrowed the list to a couple of names, and now the negotiations are underway.

Candidates (and their agents) for what some consider, "one of the two worst coaching situations in the WCC" have differing demands.....and they're not always tied to their salary.  Many times those demands need to be run by the administration at the highest level......we just have to believe our patience will be rewarded.

In Scott we trust!

Fascinating to hear that the list is narrowed to a couple of names. Thanks for the response, even if my trust level may not be as settled.

Come on Porter.

From the Spokesman Review -  http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/dec/20/whits-logie-learned-about-life-hoops-from/ - "Truth be told, Matt Logie had his eye on the Whitworth basketball program long before he was hired in May 2011 to lead the Pirates.

A full year before he interviewed for his current job, Logie interviewed for another head coaching job at a Northwest Conference school – a job he ultimately could not see himself accepting.

“I was on my way back to Pennsylvania and my (assistant coach) job at Lehigh University,” he said. “When I got to the airport, I called my wife, Julia, and told her about the interview. I told her then that it was too bad the guy at Whitworth was never going to leave because I though that would be the ideal school for us.”

A year later he was leading the Pirates into the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III tournament.


Now in his second season coaching 11th-ranked Whitworth, Logie is glad to be back in the Pacific Northwest. His collegiate playing career at Lehigh saw him become one of the top scorers in school history, and launched a coaching career as an assistant with the Mountain Hawks sandwiched around a year at Kent State.

“I’ve had people come up to me and ask me why I would come all the way out here to Spokane – ‘You’re an East Coast guy,’ they say,” Logie laughs. “I have to tell them that I’m really a Northwest guy and that I have deep roots here.”

Logie’s grandfather is perhaps the taproot, and the connection Logie has with Ed Pepple is a foundation in his life and career.

Logie grew up on Mercer Island, where Pepple was already a living legend.

Pepple spent 42 years coaching the boys basketball team at Mercer Island High School, winning four state championship trophies in eight state championship game appearances. Four times Pepple was voted Washington State Coach of the Year and in 1998 he was honored as National Coach of the Year. Last month he was inducted into the Washington Sports Hall of Fame – the ninth Hall of Fame into which Pepple is enshrined. After 52 years on the bench, Pepple’s career win total of 952 was the most in state history by some 300 victories at the time of his retirement.

But to a young grandson, Ed Pepple was more even than all that. He was an adoring, attentive grandpa.

“Shortly after Matt was born, his dad decided he wasn’t ready to be a father,” Pepple said. “Matt has a good relationship with his dad now, and he even looks a lot like his father. But when he was little, I used to watch him waiting for his dad to come see him. A lot of times, he didn’t show up, but I made sure I was always there for him.”

“My grandpa has been a father figure in my life,” Logie said. “He’s influenced my life in so many ways.”

Pepple knows what it feels like to not have a father around. Perhaps the most telling thing grandfather and grandson have in common is the fact that each adopted the surname of a stepfather.

Born Edward Post in Denver on July 22, 1932, Pepple’s early years were spent in and around Roundup and Red Lodge, Mont., with an abusive father. His mother escaped the abuse and moved with her young son to Seattle, where she met and married Raymond Pepple, and the family began a vagabond life.

Ed and Shirley Pepple, married in 1955, planted deep roots on Mercer Island with their four children. Sons Terry and Kyle both played basketball for the Islanders and daughters Jody and Jill were involved and supportive. Jill Logie was a cheerleader at MI and went on to be the school’s cheerleading adviser.

One of the first things Pepple did upon his arrival on Mercer Island was begin a program for youngsters he dubbed “Little Dribblers,” and he enlisted his varsity players, including future Washington Husky and NBA player Steve Hawes, to help coach future generations of Islander basketball players

Pepple made his grandson the team’s ballboy when Logie was 5.

“I think Matt wanted to be a coach even then,” Pepple recalls, his face breaking into a broad smile.

Logie literally grew up with Mercer Island basketball. Along the way he helped the program win two of Pepple’s four state championships. As a sophomore, he helped the Islanders beat Mount Vernon for the 1997 State 4A title. As a senior he was a key player in winning the 1999 State 3A title over O’Dea.

Pepple says the relationship he enjoys with his grandson is as close as two family members could possibly be, but he refrains from offering unsolicited advice.

“When he asks, I tell him what I think,” he said. “But part of the process is making your own mistakes and finding what works for you. Some of the best lessons I learned came from playing for coaches who showed me what not to do.”

Logie understands that process, but also recognizes how lucky he’s been thus far in his career.

“The culture that my grandpa built at Mercer Island was incredibly successful and I grew up in that culture,” he said. “At Lehigh, we only had one season where we struggled and that was with a very young lineup. The rest of the time I was there, we had that same kind of culture.

“To come to Whitworth, where that culture was already in place, has been incredibly fortunate for me. It’s a whole lot easier to keep that culture alive than it is to create and grow it.”

There are few Whitworth games where Pepple is not sitting in the Fieldhouse stands, directly behind his grandson. He even makes more than a few road trips and was with the Pirates on their three-game swing through Southern California. While his eyes take in every nuance of the game, the proud smile never leaves his face.

At a retirement celebration honoring Pepple, Logie flew home to deliver this message:

“This program is the story of my childhood,” he told that audience, “from being ballboy at age 5, to coming up through Little Dribs, being embedded in the travel, the camps, meeting NBA players, pep rallies, Thanksgiving retreats and other Islander and basketball inner sanctums.

“Thanks, Grandpa, for providing me with all the opportunities, for being there for me in times of trouble, for just talking hoops and teaching me about life. You believed in me, guided me and taught me how to be a man. I love you.”

with apologies for it's size. First pic I've posted.

bullwinkle wrote:with apologies for it's size.  First pic I've posted.

Haha, use 'host an image', and select the second of the three options it gives you.

 

anyone else feel the lack of an announcement is starting to get concerning? Like they were turned down by their #1 (sounds like that might be porter but who knows) and are now on to 2nd/3rd choice. I hope Dave rice is in the mix, maybe logie is a fall back but I would be happy with that. certainly not a sexy hire but maybe im delusional watching what scott reuck has done!

piloted wrote:anyone else feel the lack of an announcement is starting to get concerning? Like they were turned down by their #1 (sounds like that might be porter but who knows) and are now on to 2nd/3rd choice.

Yes. There may well have been some unraveling of the shortlist plan.

If we are now considering the second group, appropriate time should be taken to select the best among that group.