Coaching Jobs in WCC, Ranked

[strikenowhere]

Pretty cool look at Best --> Worst coaching jobs inside the WCC from Jeff Goodman:

https://watchstadium.com/news/wcc-basketball-coaches-rank-the-best-jobs-in-the-conference-10-08-2019/

[LongIslandZagFan]

Nothing to disagree with there. Think rankings are pretty spot on.

[mgadfly]

My only quibble is that GU's recruiting base should either be higher or BYU's should be lower. BYU gets credit for an extended recruiting base through "the church" while GU's international recruiting isn't credited as part of its base. They both seem to be extensions of the natural geographic recruiting base. Maybe you give BYU more credit because their base isn't dependent on Tommy's connections?

[Mantua]

My only quibble is that GU's recruiting base should either be higher or BYU's should be lower. BYU gets credit for an extended recruiting base through "the church" while GU's international recruiting isn't credited as part of its base. They both seem to be extensions of the natural geographic recruiting base. Maybe you give BYU more credit because their base isn't dependent on Tommy's connections?

The recruiting base ranking must only refer to geography. GU recruits very few players from the Inland Empire, but the locally recruited Zags have been pretty great.

[soccerdud]

My only quibble is that GU's recruiting base should either be higher or BYU's should be lower. BYU gets credit for an extended recruiting base through "the church" while GU's international recruiting isn't credited as part of its base. They both seem to be extensions of the natural geographic recruiting base. Maybe you give BYU more credit because their base isn't dependent on Tommy's connections?

The recruiting base ranking must only refer to geography. GU recruits very few players from the Inland Empire, but the locally recruited Zags have been pretty great.

from the text just above the graphic:

• Geographical Recruiting Base – Proximity to players

seems fair. we don't seem to get any sort of bump for being (relatively) near seattle, but we also haven't proven the ability to recruit there consistently-- yet.

[kitzbuel]

My only quibble is that GU's recruiting base should either be higher or BYU's should be lower. BYU gets credit for an extended recruiting base through "the church" while GU's international recruiting isn't credited as part of its base. They both seem to be extensions of the natural geographic recruiting base. Maybe you give BYU more credit because their base isn't dependent on Tommy's connections?

In general, the assumption is that LDS players are quite likely going to go to BYU, therefore not requiring coaches' recruiting effort. GU coaches must put in more effort to pull in international recruits. We don't have an 'automatic' recruiting base, the coaches have to work for everything they get.

[soccerdud]

In general, the assumption is that LDS players are quite likely going to go to BYU, therefore not requiring coaches' recruiting effort. GU coaches must put in more effort to pull in international recruits. We don't have an 'automatic' recruiting base, the coaches have to work for everything they get.

if the words in the actual link mean what they say, it doesn't appear that LDS has anything to do with the ranking.

the slc area is a great (and underrated) area for talent. many, such as the "lone peak 3" are both local and LDS, but others (i.e. mady sissoko) are not. i obviously don't know how voters factored local recruiting success, competition, or required effort... but the ranking is pretty defensible without assuming there's more going on there and trying to rationalize it, imo.

[MileHigh]

if the words in the actual link mean what they say, it doesn't appear that LDS has anything to do with the ranking.

the slc area is a great (and underrated) area for talent. many, such as the "lone peak 3" are both local and LDS, but others (i.e. mady sissoko) are not. i obviously don't know how voters factored local recruiting success, competition, or required effort... but the ranking is pretty defensible without assuming there's more going on there and trying to rationalize it, imo.

in the link the coach literally said "the church" is their recruiting base and advantage. So LDS has everything to do with their ranking.

One thing that kind of jumped out at me was that San Diego is at a recruiting disadvantage because their admissions standards are higher. IS USD really that much different from Gonzaga, Pepperdine, St Marys when it comes to academics?

[Martin Centre Mad Man]

10. Pacific (20) – The Tigers moved from the Big West to the WCC in 2013. There is some history with nine NCAA Tournament appearances and a trio of Sweet 16s (1966, 1967, 1971). Pacific ranks last in the league in resources, recruiting base and facilities.

Where they win: “It’s a really tough job… Maybe the fact that they had history way back when, and I’ve heard they can get anyone into school.” – WCC assistant

Where they lose: “The place is a dump. It looks like nothing has been done to the arena since it was built. There aren’t any showers in the visiting locker rooms.” – WCC assistant

Why did the WCC invite Pacific, again?

[ZagsObserver]

I can tell one admin that voted no.

[soccerdud]

in the link the coach literally said "the church" is their recruiting base and advantage. So LDS has everything to do with their ranking.

One thing that kind of jumped out at me was that San Diego is at a recruiting disadvantage because their admissions standards are higher. IS USD really that much different from Gonzaga, Pepperdine, St Marys when it comes to academics?

hadn't noticed that. guess we know at least one respondent either spoke imprecisely (conflating the two together-- which makes some sense as the majority of their recruits are both local and LDS), or didn't answer the question as described by the heading. where that breakdown happened (heading mis-representing the question the coaches were actually asked, etc) and whether that coach represents the consensus thought process is unclear. but you're right, there's real ambiguity there, in text, that i didn't initially see. i yield.

my wife works at USD in institutional research. their general student body admission standards are not more rigorous than GU's at this time. unsure about athletes.

[mgadfly]

I guess I am a little skeptical that SLC is the second best geographic recruiting area in the WCC. More talent than Los Angeles, San Diego, Bay Area, Portland?

I think we have to factor in the church connection to get it to number two.

[webspinnre]

I guess I am a little skeptical that SLC is the second best geographic recruiting area in the WCC. More talent than Los Angeles, San Diego, Bay Area, Portland?

I think we have to factor in the church connection to get it to number two.

More talent relative to the number of programs that are recruiting it?

[BayAreaZagFan]

10. Pacific (20) –

Where they lose: “The place is a dump. It looks like nothing has been done to the arena since it was built. There aren’t any showers in the visiting locker rooms.” – WCC assistant

That's a little harsh. I can't speak for the locker rooms, but the arena's not that bad. St. Mary's is a joke, and USF isn't far behind. And while it's getting better, there are still a lot of WCC teams that play in something only slightly better than my high school gym.

Speaking of USF, they're having a "Chase Center Takeover" day where the Men's and Women's teams are playing a double-header in the new billion-dollar Warriors arena in San Francisco. I don't know how common that is, but it got me thinking how cool that would be if teams in certain markets would do that - play both teams from the same school back-to-back in a bigger arena and make an event out of it. I'm sure they would sell more tickets, especially if they tied it into celebrating the school's successes or benefiting a certain cause or something. I could definitely see myself spending a day supporting both teams.

[LongIslandZagFan]

I think some of these WCC schools need to have people tell it like it is.