Tiger69
Postdoc
Posts: 2814
Reg: 11-23-04
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03-19-11 06:49 PM - Post#101949
In response to Howard Gensler
I don't disagree with you, but I think that there's a better chance that Amaker would take it than Johnson. He could conceivably see it as the next step to getting back to the BCS and a bigger payday than Harvard. Also, a little easier to get prospects in than Harvard.
Is Bradley the same conference as Butler? That would be a selling point.
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Dmon826
Masters Student
Posts: 637
Loc: Philadelphia, PA
Reg: 01-15-06
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Coach Sydney Johnson
03-19-11 07:04 PM - Post#101951
In response to Tiger69
No no no no no. Amaker doesn't need another stepping stone to get another BCS job. If he wants one, he can have one sooner rather than later (as soon as this offseason, possibly). He does not need to move to another midmajor coming off of a terrible year to begin another 3-4 year rebuilding project that he just now finished at Harvard. He's gonna have a top-50 team (at least) next year and will in all likelihood have turned around one of the most irrelevant programs in the country into a basketball juggernaut at its level. The one thing he doesn't need to do is to start that process all over again.
As for Bradley, it's not in the same conference as Butler (which is in the Horizon). The MVC is home to Wichita State, Northern Iowa, Creighton, Southern Illinois, Indiana State, Drake, Illinois State, and Evansville. In terms of program reputation, Bradley ranks around 6th on that list, and hasn't had any kind of significant success since that big doofus center Patrick O'Bryant (or something like that) led them to the tournament a few years back where they got to the Sweet 16, including an upset over Pitt. And of course they're coming off of their worst season in a long time (4-14 in the league, 186 Pomeroy).
Sydney Johnson, for his part, poured his heart and soul into the program he loves for the past five years and finally got it back to where it "belongs." Princeton, historically, is a better basketball program than Bradley by a fairly significant margin despite playing in a weaker conference. There is NO WAY he makes a lateral move away from his alma mater that he loves so much, and Bradley is at best a lateral move and much more likely a step down.
All of this is to say that Bradley in its current position would represent a significant step DOWN for either Johnson of Amaker. They both have much better teams than Bradley, they both just now got those programs near the top and would like to reap the rewards of their work, and both are in places they love and feel a connection to. That's not to say neither would jump ship eventually or even in the near future, but it would have to represent a significant step up in the college basketball universe. The idea that either would move to Bradley is laughable.
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Redfish
Masters Student
Posts: 767
Loc: under a bridge in Phoenix...
Reg: 11-26-04
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03-19-11 07:55 PM - Post#101957
In response to Dmon826
it's more likely a Bradley coach would come to Princeton.
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puband09
Masters Student
Posts: 782
Reg: 12-19-09
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03-19-11 08:01 PM - Post#101958
In response to Redfish
I don't want to turn the thread into a hate-on-Bradley thread, but I think it's analogously telling that Mike Cross, who was basically VP of Athletics at Princeton, moved to Bradley to become the A.D. (after which I'm sure he will try to become the A.D. at a Big6 school). The point is that Bradley did not get an A.D. from another D1 school to fill the vacancy, they got a former assistant.
I could see Brian Earl going to Bradley, but not Coach J.
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gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts: 3665
Reg: 02-06-10
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Coach Sydney Johnson
03-19-11 08:15 PM - Post#101959
In response to puband09
Yes, that *should* be the hype being generated -- Brian Earl being poached. And as much as I'd hate to see it, I can understand it. It's a mid-major head coaching gig for a buzz-worthy four-year assistant who's working for a head coach not going anywhere soon. Either way, however, Earl would be Choice #1-A should SJ decide to leave for a high major program eventually (say, in 3 or 4 years).
Not saying that Earl would want to leave anyway, but I couldn't blame him for entertaining the thought. Still, if I were Princeton, I'd absolutely beg him to stay. To lose him, I think, would be a major blow to the program. With BE assisting SJ, I can't imagine a better strategic brain trust. That's as big an asset as landing an elite recruit.
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Albert08
Masters Student
Posts: 572
Reg: 08-21-10
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Re: Coach Sydney Johnson
03-19-11 08:31 PM - Post#101960
In response to gokinsmen
This whole thread seems to have been started by a Bradley fan, based on the mere fact that Mike Cross is AD at Bradley and knows Sydney Johnson, who got a sudden burst of national attention on this past week. Other than that, there's no reality here - if offered, Sydney won't take this job, and Tommy Amaker won't take it, because he's coached in the Big East and the Big Ten. Why leave the Ivy League to go to the MVC? Totally implausible.
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BradleyBrave
Freshman
Posts: 22
Age: 54
Reg: 03-18-11
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03-19-11 08:52 PM - Post#101964
In response to besnoah
That's the amazing thing, besnoah, Bradley has underperformed big time over the past two decades and yet it's still considered a plum job. And that's not me talking but folks on CBS, TNT, SI, etc.
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puband09
Masters Student
Posts: 782
Reg: 12-19-09
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Re: Coach Sydney Johnson
03-19-11 08:56 PM - Post#101965
In response to gokinsmen
Apparently Bill Carmody re-applied for the job in 2007 and Sydney Johnson got it over him and other people. At least, that's what someone wrote on Wikipedia, haha. I wonder if that's true.
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gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts: 3665
Reg: 02-06-10
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Re: Coach Sydney Johnson
03-19-11 09:05 PM - Post#101966
In response to puband09
Apparently Bill Carmody re-applied for the job in 2007 and Sydney Johnson got it over him and other people. At least, that's what someone wrote on Wikipedia, haha. I wonder if that's true.
That reminds me of that Simpsons episode where Homer re-applies to get his job back from Mr. Burns -- one door marked "Applicants" and a doggy door marked "Supplicants."
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besnoah
Masters Student
Posts: 803
Reg: 12-14-05
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03-19-11 09:17 PM - Post#101967
In response to gokinsmen
I'm a pretty avid consumer of media.
No one is mentioning the Bradley job as a "plum" job.
I think the appropriate food analogy is "small fries."
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timeout a media timeout
Sophomore
Posts: 117
Reg: 02-17-08
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03-19-11 10:02 PM - Post#101973
In response to besnoah
If you've been underperforming for two decades, you haven't been underperforming at all.
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T71
Sophomore
Posts: 161
Loc: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Reg: 11-23-04
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03-19-11 10:38 PM - Post#101976
In response to timeout a media timeout
Why is anyone talking about this?
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puband09
Masters Student
Posts: 782
Reg: 12-19-09
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03-19-11 10:59 PM - Post#101978
In response to T71
These articles discuss candidates and make no mention of any Ivy League coaches
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20110317/SPO...
http://www.pjstar.com/sports/sportscolumns/ x177782...
It looks like there are a number of more likely candidates (good ones, at that) than Johnson or Amaker. I'm not sure where this is all coming from.
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BradleyBrave
Freshman
Posts: 22
Age: 54
Reg: 03-18-11
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03-20-11 08:44 AM - Post#101991
In response to puband09
Two numbers say it all.
Bradley average home attendance in 2010-11 (with a bad team): 9300
Princeton average home attendance (with a good team): 2300
If Coach Johnson hadn't played at Princeton, he probably wouldn't be around at this point. I have great respect for his allegiance to the school but, c'mon, 99 basketball people out of 100 would prefer the Bradley job.
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timeout a media timeout
Sophomore
Posts: 117
Reg: 02-17-08
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03-20-11 10:04 AM - Post#101993
In response to BradleyBrave
Pretty funny. Perhaps you guys can get Brad Stevens. Average attendance at Butler is 7000 (and they went to the finals). Says it all!
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Dial Lodge
Sophomore
Posts: 170
Reg: 03-08-07
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03-20-11 10:19 AM - Post#101995
In response to timeout a media timeout
Guys -
Let's stop arguing with Bradley Brave. He's not going to quit, and there's no reason to take this any further.
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sparman
PhD Student
Posts: 1345
Reg: 12-08-04
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03-20-11 11:05 AM - Post#102001
In response to BradleyBrave
Two numbers say it all.
Bradley average home attendance in 2010-11 (with a bad team): 9300
Princeton average home attendance (with a good team): 2300
If Coach Johnson hadn't played at Princeton, he probably wouldn't be around at this point. I have great respect for his allegiance to the school but, c'mon, 99 basketball people out of 100 would prefer the Bradley job.
May I suggest you follow through on your advice to yourself on the Bradley board. http://www.bradleyfans.com/ (Thread: "How good is the BU job?")
It's never a good idea to visit someone else's house uninvited and demean their decoration.
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Albert08
Masters Student
Posts: 572
Reg: 08-21-10
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03-20-11 12:00 PM - Post#102005
In response to Dial Lodge
AMEN!!
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BradleyBrave
Freshman
Posts: 22
Age: 54
Reg: 03-18-11
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03-21-11 02:10 PM - Post#102124
In response to Albert08
Hey, I'm sorry if I offended. I'm a lover, not a fighter. I'm not demeaning your program - it is a very good one, no doubt. I just think the BU job is a better one and that Coach Johnson will seriously consider it. Either way, I wish you guys the best.
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Silver Maple
Postdoc
Posts: 3770
Loc: Westfield, New Jersey
Reg: 11-23-04
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03-21-11 02:50 PM - Post#102128
In response to BradleyBrave
You didn't offend. It's just that the Princeton fans are still somewhat shell-shocked by what happened the last time another program poached their head coach. Total catastrophe. So they're still kind of touchy. If Johnson were to depart for another job, who knows how effective his replacement would be. We Penn fans happen to know exactly how they feel.
I'll reiterate what I said above: in some respects the Bradley job is undoubtably a significantly better basketball HC job than the Princeton one. In other respects (particularly for Mr. Johnson' specific situation), it's not any better at all, and might even be a bit of a step down. On balance, when you weigh out all the positives and negatives, I just don't see the job as being sufficiently better than Coach Johnson's current situation to warrant pursuing it.
Nonetheless, it's a obviously a plum job, and promising small college head coaches and larger program assistants should be lining up to interview for it.
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