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Defending Geiger

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Oh8ch

Oh8ch

Cognoscente of Omphaloskepsis
Staff member
OK, I admit it, I still wander over to BN now and then to check the latest - especially since O'Brien was fired. I can't tell you all how happy those visits make me to know that I have found this board.

BN has turned into a hate-fest for Andy Geiger. They are already saying that the coaching search has been 'Botched', that Geiger is failiing miserably, that we are taking far too long, that we are being snubbed at every turn, and that the caliber of coach we are looking at simply isn't up to the standards of OSU. In fairness to BN, they are not alone. 1460 has been reading emails from fans who are outraged that we passed on Knight and lamenting that nobody else we are talking to comes close. Various sportswriters as well are already saying that OSU is taking too much time and failing to land the 'big names' (my favorite may be in an article linked from the BP front page where the writer states that OSU 'failed' because the AD at Rutgers denied them permission to speak to Waters).

All this despite the fact that OSU and Andy Geiger are saying absolutely nothing about the process or who they are talking to. All this despite the fact that nobody has the first clue what the selection criteria are. All this despite the fact that nobody has spoken with any of the candidates themselves or has any idea what they are about other than a W-L record. All this despite the fact that 90% of those speaking have nothing more invested in OSU basketball than trying not to spill their beer on their cheetos during a game.

Andy Geiger should be - and I have every reason to believe is - looking towards the long term future of OSU basketball. Filling the seats in 2004 and 2005 would be great. Filling the seats from 2006 to 2026 would be much better. Having a program that does not embarass the University, graduates its players, and puts a competitive team on the court would be best of all.

Hiring a coach that can pull that off isn't about what their record was last season. It is about the type of person they are, how they manage themselves and others, and what they value.

This is a long term decision with long term consequences. Those who think we should rush simply don't get it.

Folks are looking down their noses at coaches from Rice and Rutgers. Here are some places we should look instead:

Long Beach Community College (last job for Lute Olsen before going to Iowa)
Northeastern (last job for Jim Calhoun before coming to UConn)
Bellmont Abby College (last job for Al McGruirre before going to Marguette)
Division III UW Plattville (last job for Bo Ryan before going to Wisconsin)
Maryville Teachers College (last job for Hank Iba before going to Ok St)
Indiana St (last job for John Wooden before going to UCLA)
Freeport High School in Ill (last job for Adolph Rupp before going to Kentucky)
and of course
Army (last stop for both Bobby Knight and Mke Krzyzewski prior to IU and Duke)

But perhaps my favorite is Montana. That was the last stop for Mike Montgomery before being hired at Stanford. If took a few years before the Stanford progrram turned around. But since then Montgomery has been named PAC 10 coach of the year four times and last season went 30-2.

Anybody want to take a guess who hired Montgomery?
 
Looks like Oh8 has been reading the basketball premium board


Freshman
Posts: 36
(6/25/04 9:49:52 pm)
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Crean or Matta, or Geiger's Gatta GO! (m) ...well this is just a fan's opinion, but clearly it seems Geiger said no to a receptive Knight. IMO if he doesn't land either Crean or Matta then it's time for Geiger to go.
 
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again it is all speculation....its easy to look back and say so and so was a great hire...but lets look at the here and now...

i agree that AG has a history of great hires....jt, todd, markell...etc....

so...oh8ch...who are your candidates??

my realistic options would be Cleamons and Karl.......you??? AG's history shows that he will pick someone from left-field.....so only Cleamons has a chance from my list.....
 
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I think a lot of these folks are missing the bigger picture here. OSU's name is mud in many circles regarding its integrity with all of the things that have swirled around the University in the last few years.

This is the second coach in a row for the basketball program that has led to or will possibly lead to sanctions for the school. Gieger knows how important this choice is for the future of the University and the basketball program.

While I would love to see Matta, Crean or Waters as the hire, and who knows maybe we still will, it still boils down to the proper fit for all areas of concern. Oh8 is right this has long term implications to it, not just the next two years.
 
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Well, I'll admit to being very frustrated by this whole scenario. The problem is that there is no easy target for my emotion. I guess (to be brutally honest) the target for my anger SHOULD be Jim O'Brien. He is the main reason we are sitting in this mess. But I still find it hard to be very mad with him. I always liked him as a person and am STILL stunned that he gave $6000 to a recruit. NEVER saw this coming.

I've always been a BIG fan of Andy Geiger, but I'm frustrated that he (seemingly) has closed the door on several high profile coaches without even talking to them. Also (seemingly) has no sense of urgency at finding a replacement. This, at the very least, forces prospective candidates to publically announce their non-interest in the position, lest they 'twist in the wind' for weeks on end, hurting their own chances in recruiting and suffering embarrasment from their local (and national) media. But, AG has been OUTSTANDING in his tenure at OSU. The coaches he has hired, our Director's Cup standings, and the facility upgrades under his watch will mark him as one of the best AD's in OSU history.

So where to place this frustration? Thank God the Lakers want to hire Coach K, at least the media will forget about us for a short period of time.
 
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IMO We won't hear anything until Holbrook comes back from vacation next week. She wants to interview the prospect(s) Geiger wants for the job. As the President of tOSU, she has some investment into the character of the coach. One thing to remember, Holbrook is focused on improving tOSU's academic standing among universities. I'm sure she'll take a look at the future coach's attitude toward the importance of academics. It's not about the ball. :osu:
 
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I can't stand it on the BN board. They just have alot more traffic. The BBall board is blown up with BK fans that are just bashing everything S&G. It's not just AG. They don't BAN hardly anyone, when they they do, the person just changes names and starts the flame threads all over again.
 
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I'll also admit to being one of the many frustrated Buckeye fans. My reasons for frustration generally revolve around the length of time it is taking and the apparent lack of planning.

I have no doubts that Andy will do a good job of hiring a coach. He's only missed on one coach that I can think of and that was Beth Burns. I'm sure he'll get us a good coach that has the potential to revive the program.

I just wonder why Andy thought it was a good idea to fire Obie for an offense he had known about for many weeks and then go on vacation for two weeks. According to media reports the search committee took forever to meet for the first time. What I don't understand is why it seems like AG was somewhat unprepared to start the coaching search in full swing as soon as the decision was made to dismiss Jim O'Brien.

I am of the opinion that a couple coaches who have since removed their names could have been hired if we had gone after them hard to begin with (which admittedly we don't know for sure that they didn't). Crean or Matta might have been possible if there wasn't 2 weeks speculation on Bob Knight followed by a late attempt to contact two of the best candidates. I firmly believe they both had more than just tepid interest in the position because their names were linked to the search for almost 3 weeks before either said they weren't interested publicly. I find it hard to believe that if they were completely uninterested, that they would have waited so long to respond given the fact that their names were routinely mentioned in every article on every major sports site across the internet.

The last major search for a coach, the Tressel hiring, seemed to be handled much more expeditiously and with more careful planning. After a few homerun candidates like Stoops, Gruden, and Belotti took themselves out of consideration, it was very quickly narrowed to the finalists of Mason & Tressel. This was followed by a swift announcement of Jim Tressel as the new coach. That was all said & done within a couple weeks, right?

Perhaps I am being just a bit naive, but it seems to me that as soon as AG knew he was going to fire O'Brien, he should have had the search committe meeting within a day or two of the firing and a preliminary list already compiled.

I'm sure that in the end AG will get us a good coach...the guy is as good at spotting coaching talent as anyone...I just wish we had some insight into what is going on w/ the search.
 
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The thing that confuses me about this whole process is why Obie wasn't fired shortly after the spring game? What Obie did is very black and white as far as the NCAA is concerned. I would think that getting coach would be much easier in late April/Early May would have been much easier then now.
 
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As an Ohio State grad & supporter it has upset me the way the fans (not supporters) on the various Ohio State boards (O-Zone, BSB & BN) have bashed Andy. What I find most upsetting is the attacks on Andy. He has done an excellent job of upgrading the entire sports program from top to bottom. He supports the minor sports as much as possible and makes them feel as important as the football or basketball programs (revenue sports).

I have given up on BN (to a degree the same on the O-Zone) because they all want Bobby Knight and want to bash Andy. Yes he graduates his players and runs a clean program. But he is only good for 5 or 6 years and the bagage he brings is not worth it. He would get us to the tournament but he has lost the ability to get beyond the first round to the sweet 16.

I posted (mostly I lurk and read and learn) on the O-Zone a few days ago a short history of the basketball program from Fred Taylor to the present. This was to give an idea of why Andy might be thinking the way he is about the present situation. In short, given the Ayers recruiting violations and the violations under O'Brien, Andy is looking for a coach who can stay within the rules, graduate his players, win, bring honor and dignity to the university and be here for the long run (10-20 years).

What people forget about the process is that Ohio State has to operate under state civil service laws. If you had gone to the Ohio State University job board you can see the job is posted until 7-4-04. By law they can not fill the job until after the deadline. By law they have to post the job for a certain period of time - usually for two weeks. If people understood this they might have a better understanding of why it takes the time it does. Is it frustrating - yes but at least I have an understanding of why. The process is suppose to be some what transparent and above board since you are dealing with a public institution.

I think Andy will be remembered as the second best AD we ever had. Right behind St John. Andy has revitalized the entire sports program. Built or improved the infrastructure for all sports.
 
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