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We were once very good a long time ago.. and that time has come and pass. We have a great arena and could be a consistent winner in my opinion. I am fairly certain the coach is getting fired. Word around town is that Tim Floyd and Butch Pierre are both very interested in taking over the program. Given what you know about college basketball... whom do you think would be the better candidate.
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Duke will be a #1 seed barring a terrible early loss in the ACC tourney.You were right.Fun fact-Duke has won 8 of the last 11 ACC tourneys.
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Butch Pierre
Tim Floyd
Billy Kennedy
Bobby Cremmons
All are being thrown around right now.. Not sure we land any of them.
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If you can get Cremmons I take him.Floyd will be 2 years and done.Not sure how that helps the program.
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I was surprised that Cremmons was mentioned. What is he doing now and why would he want to be in the sun belt?
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College of Charleston.Is that better then this job?I have no clue.
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Joe Dooley, look him up, he's money.
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Norm Roberts and Billy G are going to be available also.
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Blog written by a local writer...
BILLY KENNEDY--Murray State. Metairie native who has won everywhere he's been. Managed a .500 record his second season at Centenary, went to his alma mater, Southeastern Louisiana and had three miserable seasons before winning 20 games two years straight and taking the Lions to the NCAA tournament. After a stint as an assistant at a major school, Kennedy surfaced at Murray State in the OVC. Three second place finishes culminated this year in a 17-1 conference record, a 30 (that's right, 30) win season and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. His players are getting it done in the classroom. There is no question he's on UL's radar. But are the Cajuns on his? Many are assuming that Kennedy is in line for an SEC or Conference USA job and they may be right. But UL officials aren't going to make that assumption. If, by some chance, Kennedy has an interest in returning to Louisiana, I believe he immediately becomes the front-runner.
BUTCH PIERRE--Associate Head Coach--Oklahoma State. Pierre's name has come up the last two times the Cajuns have had an opening and with good reason. The likeable Pierre, who spent many years as an assistant to Marty Fletcher at then-USL and had a ten year run as an assistant at LSU, is known as a masterful recruiter. His resume is outstanding in that regard with many McDonalds, Parade and Junior College All-Americans. Many people, including myself, spell good coach P-L-A-Y-E-R-S. Pierre will get them. A lot of them. His reputation includes a commitment to academis. The downside is he hasn't been a head coach, except for ten games as an interim at LSU. Many have questioned if his reputation is so good, why hasn't he gotten an opporutnity somewhere by now? Legitimate question and one that UL officials will have to discern. But the thing that separates Pierre from the other candidates is there really is only one head coaching job he's wanted for the last 13 years. And it's open right now. That has to count for something during this process.
TIM FLOYD--New Orleans Hornets Assistant--Without question, of all the names circulating, Floyd has the best pedigree. A Mississippi native and Louisiana Tech grad, Floyd started his career as an assistant to UTEP legend Don Haskins. Two years at Idaho led to six glorious years at UNO, where the Priveteers garnered two NCAA and three NIT appearances. Four years at Iowa State garnered three NCAA appearances including a Sweet 16 appearance. Things didn't work out for him as a head coach in the NBA, and four years at USC once again brought 20 win seasons and NCAA trips. But anyone who follows college basketball knows the allegations against the Trojans and specifically against Floyd. Floyd testified before an NCAA panel and everyone is waiting to see if the Association exonerates Floyd from any personal wrongdoing at USC. If he's cleared, or if UL officials find out he's going to be cleared, he's certainly a candidate. But even if he is cleared, there will be a perception on the part of some that all isn't quite right. Floyd's track record in the classroom and with graduation rates, while certainly not abysmal, isn't as good as some of the other candidates. While fans may not care about that, the administration will.
DANNY KASPAR---Stephen F. Austin. He made a trip to the NCAA Tournament last year after winning the Southland Tournament and is the #2 seed going into the tourney this year. Kaspar took over an abysmal program and in ten years, has won 20 or more five times. There's something to be said for a program builder. His track record says he recruits good kids, has a very solid APR, graduates student athletes and by all accounts, does things the right way. I've talked to many in that league that believe Kaspar is the best X and O coach in the league. He has an inordinate amount of Junior College transfers on his roster and UL officials will have to check to see if that's a blip on the screen or a pattern in his recruiting. That could hurt him if it's the latter. Kaspar won't be a splash hire by any standards. In fact, that might be his biggest drawback since there are many more romantic names out there. But if fans can get past that, they just might find what they're looking for.
DENNIS FELTON---Former WKU and Georgia coach. Felton is currently a scout in the NBA after it didn't work out for him at Georgia. He was brought to Athens to clean up an off-court disaster left by Jim Harrick and he did that. But he didn't win enough games and many players just didn't respond to his strict discipline style. Felton is a military kid, is incredibly well organized and had great success in the Sun Belt in the past. He played in the Tournament finals four times in five years and won three championships. His teams were known to be highly disciplined on and off the court and sticky defenders. Felton is personable and it wouldn't take long for him to win over the fan base that wasn't won over when he beat the Cajuns on a regular basis. The biggest question is, after a bad experience, does he want to get back into coaching? If the answer is yes, the Cajuns would do well to take a long look.
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Going back to the school that fired him?Why would anyone do that especially at East Carolina?
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Different administration fired him. They've come out and said it's all hear say.
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If he's a hot commodity I don't understand why he's consider going back to where he was fired.Its not like East Carolina is this great program.Seems like he could do better.
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Blog by local sportscaster:
Man, oh man.
Coaching searches have always been crazy, but the current search for a men's basketball coach at Louisiana just gets crazier by the minute, if you believe what you're hearing and reading.
We've been working hard trying to separate the fact from the fiction. Here's what our sources are telling us.
Former UL and LSU assistant Butch Pierre, currently at Oklahoma State, did in fact, interview over the weekend. My sources tell me that Pierre's interview went well and he definitely remains a candidate. You can't call Butch the frontrunner, since Athletic Director David Walker and Sr. Associate AD Scott Farmer have said they would like to have someone with head coaching experience. While Pierre has ten games of experience as an interim at LSU after the firing of John Brady, he is the least experienced of the candidates in running his own program. Pierre is making awfully good money as the top assistant to Travis Ford and might have to take a pay cut to be the head coach at UL. But Pierre has never backed off from his desire to be the head coach of the Cajuns. And I believe that if he's the choice, he'll come in a heartbeat.
There was a report yesterday that Murray State head coach Billy Kennedy was "out" as a candidate for the job. With Kennedy's Racers set to open NCAA play against Vanderbilt, Kennedy certainly doesn't want the distraction. But Kennedy's interest in the job remains, according to my sources. He knows that, this year not withstanding, the Sun Belt is a much better basketball league than the OVC and it might be tougher to win here than it is at Murray State. If it gets that far, that might be a concern. You can expect Murray State to sweeten Kennedy's deal at the end of the season. But whatever they pay him, the Cajuns can probably beat it. Lots of rumors concerning Kennedy and a couple of high profile jobs, but we're hearing that, in some cases, he isn't interested and in other cases, the school is going in a different direction.
Lots of stories flying about concerning New Orleans Hornets assistant Tim Floyd. Some reports have him connected to job openings, well, everywhere. DePaul, UC-Irvine and Auburn have come up, just to name a few. But Floyd has his sites set on Louisiana. Both Floyd and his wife have parents who are getting older and the chance to remain close to them is important. The cloud that is an NCAA investigation of alleged improprieties at USC continues to hang over Floyd's head, and there is no way the Cajuns can hire him if a "show cause" is coming down the pike. UL officials are trying to find out where the NCAA stands on the issue. If Floyd is cleared, he is the clear front-runner in my opinion. By the way, Floyd has ALREADY interviewed for the job. My sources tell me that UL officials were most impressed by Floyd.
Now that the Southland championship has been decided, expect Stephen F. Austin head coach Danny Kaspar to be interviewed sometime this week. SFA didn't look very good against Sam Houston State on Saturday, but Kaspar's squad, already having lost their starting point guard (concussion) and backup post player (knee) did well just to get to the championship game. Both Kaspar and Sam Houston head coach Bob Marlin are candidates for the UL job. Marlin may have had his sites set on a bigger job in Texas, but it doesn't look like one is going to be available. SMU has already said that Matt Doherty will return next season and Houston's run in the CUSA tournament may have quieted the rumors about the future of Tom Penders. There are stories that Penders might be in some trouble even with the tournament championship, but if you believe the guys on ESPN-U last night, Penders is safe.
I don't think you can absolutely scratch former Western Kentucky and Georgia head coach Dennis Felton, but I'm hearing very little about him. My sources tell me that Felton might have an interest, but if he does, he certainly isn't going after it very hard. A couple of phone calls have been made on behalf of former Murray State and Alabama coach Mark Gottfried, but I don't think it has gone any farther than that.
I'll let you know when I know more.
Are you having fun yet???
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Blog by local sportscaster:
Man, oh man.
Coaching searches have always been crazy, but the current search for a men's basketball coach at Louisiana just gets crazier by the minute, if you believe what you're hearing and reading.
We've been working hard trying to separate the fact from the fiction. Here's what our sources are telling us.
Former UL and LSU assistant Butch Pierre, currently at Oklahoma State, did in fact, interview over the weekend. My sources tell me that Pierre's interview went well and he definitely remains a candidate. You can't call Butch the frontrunner, since Athletic Director David Walker and Sr. Associate AD Scott Farmer have said they would like to have someone with head coaching experience. While Pierre has ten games of experience as an interim at LSU after the firing of John Brady, he is the least experienced of the candidates in running his own program. Pierre is making awfully good money as the top assistant to Travis Ford and might have to take a pay cut to be the head coach at UL. But Pierre has never backed off from his desire to be the head coach of the Cajuns. And I believe that if he's the choice, he'll come in a heartbeat.
There was a report yesterday that Murray State head coach Billy Kennedy was "out" as a candidate for the job. With Kennedy's Racers set to open NCAA play against Vanderbilt, Kennedy certainly doesn't want the distraction. But Kennedy's interest in the job remains, according to my sources. He knows that, this year not withstanding, the Sun Belt is a much better basketball league than the OVC and it might be tougher to win here than it is at Murray State. If it gets that far, that might be a concern. You can expect Murray State to sweeten Kennedy's deal at the end of the season. But whatever they pay him, the Cajuns can probably beat it. Lots of rumors concerning Kennedy and a couple of high profile jobs, but we're hearing that, in some cases, he isn't interested and in other cases, the school is going in a different direction.
Lots of stories flying about concerning New Orleans Hornets assistant Tim Floyd. Some reports have him connected to job openings, well, everywhere. DePaul, UC-Irvine and Auburn have come up, just to name a few. But Floyd has his sites set on Louisiana. Both Floyd and his wife have parents who are getting older and the chance to remain close to them is important. The cloud that is an NCAA investigation of alleged improprieties at USC continues to hang over Floyd's head, and there is no way the Cajuns can hire him if a "show cause" is coming down the pike. UL officials are trying to find out where the NCAA stands on the issue. If Floyd is cleared, he is the clear front-runner in my opinion. By the way, Floyd has ALREADY interviewed for the job. My sources tell me that UL officials were most impressed by Floyd.
Now that the Southland championship has been decided, expect Stephen F. Austin head coach Danny Kaspar to be interviewed sometime this week. SFA didn't look very good against Sam Houston State on Saturday, but Kaspar's squad, already having lost their starting point guard (concussion) and backup post player (knee) did well just to get to the championship game. Both Kaspar and Sam Houston head coach Bob Marlin are candidates for the UL job. Marlin may have had his sites set on a bigger job in Texas, but it doesn't look like one is going to be available. SMU has already said that Matt Doherty will return next season and Houston's run in the CUSA tournament may have quieted the rumors about the future of Tom Penders. There are stories that Penders might be in some trouble even with the tournament championship, but if you believe the guys on ESPN-U last night, Penders is safe.
I don't think you can absolutely scratch former Western Kentucky and Georgia head coach Dennis Felton, but I'm hearing very little about him. My sources tell me that Felton might have an interest, but if he does, he certainly isn't going after it very hard. A couple of phone calls have been made on behalf of former Murray State and Alabama coach Mark Gottfried, but I don't think it has gone any farther than that.
I'll let you know when I know more.
Are you having fun yet???
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Bob Marlin has agreed in principal to be our coach... I think its a really good hire but maybe not the big name most hoped for. These are from his Bio...
"Bob Marlin has done an excellent job as a coach. I really enjoy watching how hard his teams play and the fundamental execution they display on the court."
--BOB KNIGHT
Former Head Coach
Texas Tech University
"Bob Marlin has won everywhere he has been. He recruits quality people. His teams are always well coached. When you play Bob’s team, you better be ready. You have to beat them. They are not going to beat themselves."
--BILL SELF
Head Coach
University of Kansas
"Bob Marlin is one of the finest coaches in college basketball. His success at every level makes that apparent. All his teams at Pensacola were nationally ranked. He won the 1993 juco national championship. At Sam Houston State, he took over a program that hadn’t had a winning season at the NCAA Division I level and has produced two conference championship teams. What’s more important is that he is a fine person. The greatest compliment you can pay a coach in this business is this -- I would love for my son to play basketball for an individual like Bob Marlin."
--DENNIS LINDSEY
Vice President for Basketball Operations
San Antonio Spurs
"Bob Marlin is a hard worker who is very organized. He communicates well with players. He has a real knack for recruiting quality players and then getting them to do what he wants them to do. He’s done a tremendous job at Sam Houston State. Not only has his program been successful on the court, he has created excitement for college basketball in the community. Bob is not a ‘rah! rah!’ guy. He is a thorough, methodical coach who dots the i’s and crosses the t’s and does a great job."
--DAVE HOBBS
Former Associate Head Coach at Kentucky
Head Coach at Alabama
"Bob Marlin is one of the top mid-major coaches in the country. Taking a program that had not had a winning record in more than a decade and turning out two championship teams in five years is just a tremendous accomplishment. Keep your eye on the Bearkats. They are going to continue to be a factor in the Southland."
--FRAN FRASCHILLA
ESPN Basketball Analyst
