Matt Abdelmassih a new assistant?

**jsb** · 04-11-2011, 11:32 PM

Originally Posted by Tornado man

How does this make any sense? He's never coached, as he? He was a student manager at St. John's.
Doesn't Fred need someone who has basketball experience via playing or coaching?

You may be right, but this would seem to fit the mold that Hoiberg had last year. He seems to want 2 hungry, ruthless recruiters. Obviously, Matt doesn't have the recruiting experience, but he is young and I could see him being good at it.

**Tornado man** · 04-11-2011, 11:33 PM

Originally Posted by yaman3

Complain about experience all you want but there is a program that has been to the FInal Four two years running with a guy they hired with very little experience. Talent trumps experience. Always.

I'll go out on a limb here and say that Brad Stevens would never have gotten his assistant's job at Butler - first as a volunteer and then on the paid staff - without being an all-conference player in college. Just a hunch...

**swarthmoreCY** · 04-11-2011, 11:35 PM

Originally Posted by yaman3

Yeah, we could, then what's your plan for the other coach. We could go grab two mediocre guys with the money available or we could grab a guy with little experience who perhaps opens up a pipeline to the east for a dozen donuts and a cup of coffee and then spend our wad on your experience you so desperately want. This experience won't be cheap.

Same plan we had for getting Lutz and a proven 3rd assistant?
Unless you are saying we are paying this guy less than 50k and we hire Larry Brown, I doubt the extra cash he frees translates into what you are suggesting. We could pay him a dollar, but he still takes the spot away from someone better.

It is not about me wanting experience, it is about getting the best value.

**madcityCY** · 04-11-2011, 11:36 PM

I like this move. If we didn't promote Abdelmassih, someone else would have hired him away from us. Think of this as the second coming of Otzelberger.

Recruit NY anyone?!? Yes Please! Let me Okoro, Dingle, Niang commit!

Its easy to see the next hire will be the gray-hair X & O guy.

**jsb** · 04-11-2011, 11:36 PM

Originally Posted by 04clone

I like the hire. A few other thoughts to add to the mix:

1) The staff is always going to be evolving. TJ isn't quite so green as he was when GMac hired him. Maybe at this point they'd rather TJ spend less time recruiting and more time teaching/coaching...

2) This has to be a huge motivator for the young GAs/administrators on staff. If they're interested in getting an assistant job, now they know Freddie is willing to reward hard work/potential.

3) For those concerned with the lack of coaching experience, remember that Jeff Rutter is still on staff as Director of Basketball Operations. He's got something like 16 years of coaching experience and is probably the most overqualified DBO in the country.

4) Does this help us close with Okoro?

5) As others have said, I fully expect the other opening to be an Xs and Os guy with a lot of experience. I would presume we'll have a little extra money, as Abdelmassih would be at the lower end of the pay range.

You ring up a good point about TJ. He's been doing this recruiting thing for a long time. As I understand it, these recruiters tend to put in terrible hours and are never home. I could see him wanting to do more coaching and maybe shifting a bit away from being the only recruiter. He probably has hope of being a head coach someday and having more actual coaching expirence would be useful for that.

**isucyfan** · 04-11-2011, 11:39 PM

Originally Posted by madcityCY

Its easy to see the next hire will be the gray-hair X & O guy.

Except that Chris just reported a few posts up that it will be Cornell Mann.

**Tre4ISU** · 04-11-2011, 11:39 PM

Originally Posted by Tornado man

I'll go out on a limb here and say that Brad Stevens would never have gotten his assistant's job at Butler - first as a volunteer and then on the paid staff - without being an all-conference player in college. Just a hunch...

Sure, that's how he got his job, but that doesn't take away the success he had. Besides that if there is a direct correlation between playing ability and coaching ability, which there's not, then Hoiberg shouldn't need someone else with experience.

Originally Posted by swarthmoreCY

Same plan we had for getting Lutz and a proven 3rd assistant?
Unless you are saying we are paying this guy less than 50k and we hire Larry Brown, I doubt the extra cash he frees translates into what you are suggesting. We could pay him a dollar, but he still takes the spot away from someone better.

It is not about me wanting experience, it is about getting the best value.

Who's better that you are still going to save money with to hire a guy like Boylen?

**jsb** · 04-11-2011, 11:39 PM

Originally Posted by Tornado man

I'll go out on a limb here and say that Brad Stevens would never have gotten his assistant's job at Butler - first as a volunteer and then on the paid staff - without being an all-conference player in college. Just a hunch...

All conference Division 3, for god's sake. I'm pretty sure that wasn't the selling point for Stevens. Brad Stevens got hired because he was good at his job. Hoiberg thinks Abdelmassiah is good at his job. Thus Hoiberg has hired him.

**Tre4ISU** · 04-11-2011, 11:40 PM

I like both of the hires.

**clonehenge** · 04-11-2011, 11:46 PM

Can he really recruit that well? Or are people assuming that since he's from NY that he has something to do with the NY recruits?

Just curious so don't bite my head off...

**madcityCY** · 04-11-2011, 11:46 PM

Originally Posted by isucyfan

Except that Chris just reported a few posts up that it will be Cornell Mann.

Exactly. Mann has a lot of experience (x & o's), and can apparently recruit as well. Love both hires.

**Ficklone02** · 04-11-2011, 11:49 PM

Originally Posted by jsb

All conference Division 3, for god's sake. I'm pretty sure that wasn't the selling point for Stevens. Brad Stevens got hired because he was good at his job. Hoiberg thinks Abdelmassiah is good at his job. Thus Hoiberg has hired him.

I agree with this. There are plenty of former players that think they can coach. But Brad Stevens is the real deal as a coach.

**swarthmoreCY** · 04-11-2011, 11:50 PM

Originally Posted by yaman3

Who's better that you are still going to save money with to hire a guy like Boylen?

Almost an endless list.
McRoy got how much? 150K? Are we going to pay him 50K?
It would take transferring 100K or more to the other position before your candidates improve enough that it compensates imo.

**isucyfan** · 04-11-2011, 11:50 PM

Originally Posted by madcityCY

Exactly. Mann has a lot of experience (x & o's), and can apparently recruit as well. Love both hires.

Not exactly a gray-hair, though. He's only been a D1 asst. coach for 7 years.

**jsb** · 04-11-2011, 11:53 PM

Originally Posted by clonehenge

Can he really recruit that well? Or are people assuming that since he's from NY that he has something to do with the NY recruits?

Just curious so don't bite my head off...

Hoiberg has said that he acted as a regular assistant last spring/summer before McRoy and Lutz were hired and that he was the one who basically got us Sledge.

I suspect that he is being hired for those NY connections and is probably going to try and close the deal with 1 or 2 of them.

And let's all remember that Hoiberg doesn't seem to be afraid to make a move. He's tough. It would have been easy for him to name Grayer a regular assistant last year, but he didn't feel that was the right move and he let him leave. He let McRoy leave. I think one thing that you can be sure about is that Hoiberg has a laser focus on winning and he makes every move with only that in mind. Will he make mistakes? Obviously (hopefully not too many), but he wants to win.