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Post by flamesfan20 on Mar 25, 2024 11:50:02 GMT -6
The issue with the UIC job is there’s just absolutely no NIL. In today’s day and age you need NIL support to win. I hope Ehsan knows how to fundriase or else he is screwed.
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Post by goveybaseball on Mar 25, 2024 12:21:13 GMT -6
Cmon Big D. Who wants to come to UIC that is special.? Outdated arena with zero following. Terrible crowds that can barely crack 2000 fans. No tradition whatsoever. We got to take what we can get at this point. This guy is young and has some nice experience coaching ina good league with good enough records. He also coaches under a legend Garry Williams. Let's give him a chance.
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Post by Greg on Mar 27, 2024 19:28:07 GMT -6
From MissouriValleyUnite at MVCFans.com Here's a 30-minute interview Ehsan did a couple years back. It's interesting as he goes through the mistakes he made at UAB. youtu.be/qcQeNhBiZIc?si=wM-H2ItLS30iGrCNIronically, in one of his seasons, his star PG Nick Norton tore his ACL right at the start. Valley fans remember Norton for being the best MVC player out-of-conference in 2018-19 before tearing his ACL in Drake's MVC opener that year. (Norton has also been a really good assistant at Drake since then.) I checked the UAB board, and they had a thread discussing UIC hiring Ehsan. Everyone there liked him and was rooting for him. Consensus seemed to be he was hired to be a head coach at 33 before he was ready. Watching some of his other interviews on YouTube, he sounds young, extremely nice, and very likeable. Hope he does well.
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Post by goveybaseball on Mar 28, 2024 7:55:01 GMT -6
Thanks for sharing Greg. I'm excited.
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Post by Big D on Mar 28, 2024 9:39:45 GMT -6
I watched the interview and another and I would agree that he comes off as likeable. I’d add that he also comes off as open and honest with regard to his struggles and what he needs to improve on. Refreshingly honest…you don’t get this from coaches normally. His experience has given him humility, yet he also sounds incredibly confident at the same time.
Hopefully the second time around, he’ll be better.
I’m a little worried about how he’ll respond to this killer of a job though. If he can’t start winning quick and there are no fans…it could be tough on him. Though there is probably a lot less pressure here since there isn’t a massive fanbase to keep happy.
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Post by UICJohn on Mar 28, 2024 23:14:29 GMT -6
If a coach gets his first job and fails, it’s an uphill battle but he can come back to be a head coach again.
If he fails twice, it’s over
I’m sure Coach put in a lot of work on this and isn’t taking it just because it’s there.
It is a daunting task because it’s the whole program. It isn’t just on the court.
I was walking on the SIU campus today with wife and kids. And I was thinking - biased of course - why would anyone want to be here over UIC? And SIU had a great student section. Props on that. But we Can do that do. And we need a coach that believes that.
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Post by Big D on Mar 28, 2024 23:58:27 GMT -6
Speaking of SIU, looks like they hired Wright State coach Scott Nagy. I think thats a solid hire. WSU was always near the top of the Horizon when we were there. Curious if he applied to UIC, where his dad Dick coached alongside Jimmy Collins.
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Post by UICJohn on Mar 29, 2024 12:16:38 GMT -6
Seems the SIU folks are unimpressed with the hire. Say he’s done nothing at Wright State since the NIL era began. Can’t say I follow the Horizon League much anymore but I’d have taken Nagy over our hire.
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Post by Big D on Mar 29, 2024 12:54:30 GMT -6
I’m not sure Nagy is an upgrade over Mullins, a winning coach, solid recruiter, and alum of the school. So I can see why they might be disappointed, but his teams were always at the top of the HL.
Honestly, I’m just really irritated with the state of college basketball right now. It seems the most a mid-major can hope for nowadays is that you somehow put together one really good year (which likely won’t result in an at-large bid because “you haven’t played enough good teams”), before your coach leaves and/or all of your star players get bought by power schools. A mid-major job is good for a paycheck for 4-5 years. You either move up in that time or get fired. What is the point as a mid-major fan? The deck is entirely stacked against us. At the very least I think if a player transfers to a power school, that power school should pay the school some money. Perhaps whatever they offer the player in NIL should also be paid to the school he left. These power schools have plenty of money so pay up for putting mid-major coaches out of jobs, and for schools putting time/energy into developing players for the big time.
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Post by goveybaseball on Mar 29, 2024 13:39:14 GMT -6
Be nice if UIC can announce this coach already? What's the delay. We need to start building a roster like everyone else. DePaul got another transfer today!
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Post by Greg on Mar 29, 2024 14:31:26 GMT -6
I’m not sure Nagy is an upgrade over Mullins, a winning coach, solid recruiter, and alum of the school. So I can see why they might be disappointed, but his teams were always at the top of the HL. Honestly, I’m just really irritated with the state of college basketball right now. It seems the most a mid-major can hope for nowadays is that you somehow put together one really good year (which likely won’t result in an at-large bid because “you haven’t played enough good teams”), before your coach leaves and/or all of your star players get bought by power schools. A mid-major job is good for a paycheck for 4-5 years. You either move up in that time or get fired. What is the point as a mid-major fan? The deck is entirely stacked against us. At the very least I think if a player transfers to a power school, that power school should pay the school some money. Perhaps whatever they offer the player in NIL should also be paid to the school he left. These power schools have plenty of money so pay up for putting mid-major coaches out of jobs, and for schools putting time/energy into developing players for the big time. Great post, there is a lot of truth in it
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Post by UICJohn on Mar 29, 2024 18:22:45 GMT -6
Rumor is press conference for Coach will be Monday.
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Post by waadle on Mar 29, 2024 19:16:39 GMT -6
Rumor is press conference for Coach will be Monday. yes, monday morning
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Post by waadle on Mar 29, 2024 19:56:07 GMT -6
so iv heard..
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Post by UICJohn on Mar 29, 2024 20:09:42 GMT -6
Big D - you're spot on. I love watching the tournament but that is on my mind this tournament more than ever. Maybe it is because Indiana State got denied a bid. Maybe it is because we are seeing another mass exodus of MVC talent. Whatever it is, it sucks being a fan of midmajor basketball right now.
Sadly, it is the current state of college basketball and there is no reason to think that it will ever change again. The money is in a handful of teams and that is all that matters to the leaders. Let's take a program like Florida Atlantic. They had a great run last year, returned everyone, were ranked most of this year and went on a nice run again. Their coach just left, most of their players are graduating, and I'm guessing they return to being just another midmajor program. It is what it is.
I just got done watching Gonzaga lose and it made me think for a moment that there is hope. They were once a midmajor and found incredible success. It was helped that their conference boosted them up as well as other teams rose to the challenge. But that cannot happen again. Gonzaga has NIL money now because of their success. No program could build that up because it isn't sustainable without that. Look at the MVC. We were the 10th rated conference last year - not bad! And every team has been hurt by the portal (granted, several due to coaching changes).
I love our UIC Flames and want success. But part of me does feel like - "What is the point?"
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