Next Head Coach

[uwmxctf]

UWM's fiscal year end is June 30. Why was data between 7/1/10-6/30/11 (fiscal 2011 provided? If you recall, Costello was still around through fiscal 2012 and Geiger in fiscal 2013. Let's compare fiscal 2013 (7/1/12-6/30/13) to the last twelve months of results (4/1/15-3/31/16) or fiscal 2015 (7/1/14-6/30/15).

[nickpanther78]

While I am no fan of Amanda Braun, at this point all we hope for is that we get a great new coach. My hope is that we find someone who can recruit southeastern WI, and make our program a strong mid-major. Obviously, she did not handle this whole ordeal well, but myself as a fan I am keeping my hope that the next coach is great. I have my reservations that she will do this, but I will hold off my opinion until the new coach is hired.

[nickpanther78]

Also, another name that I thought of for a candidate would be Drew Diener. Solid WI ties and good name recognition to in state recruits. I know he does not have tons of years of experience, but to me if your a good coach, your a good coach.

[mcdadenets50]

Yes, I hope Drew Diener gets an interview.

[PantherU]

Mar 30, 2016 7:32:15 GMT -6 pantherproud said:

Great point Edub - where are all the haters (Darkhawk, Black Panther U) now, bashing the AD for lack of funds. Appears to me that she has done a nice job of increasing donations in her tenure. In addition, all of the names brought up surrounding the search are high quality candidates. I don't see what everyone is so upset about. She may be abrasive - and i've never met her so i can't argue that point- but she appears to be effective at instilling change in a program that had a ton of issues due to AD turnover.

- Oh, I've got something to say about the fund raising. You'll like it.

- All of the names brought up surrounding the search are pretty good - then again, I was a big fan of Rob Jeter, and the Jeff Goodman list is a list of Rob Jeters. Of course I like it - but my guess is that 80% of our fan base wanted to move on from Rob Jeter, and they didn't want to move on to guys who were like...Rob Jeter.

- You've never met her. That's rich, bro. You just happened to show up right before the Jeter firing. You're definitely not here for damage control at all.

[2543nick]

Mar 30, 2016 9:20:36 GMT -6 PantherU said:

Mar 30, 2016 7:32:15 GMT -6 pantherproud said:

Great point Edub - where are all the haters (Darkhawk, Black Panther U) now, bashing the AD for lack of funds. Appears to me that she has done a nice job of increasing donations in her tenure. In addition, all of the names brought up surrounding the search are high quality candidates. I don't see what everyone is so upset about. She may be abrasive - and i've never met her so i can't argue that point- but she appears to be effective at instilling change in a program that had a ton of issues due to AD turnover.

- Oh, I've got something to say about the fund raising. You'll like it.

- All of the names brought up surrounding the search are pretty good - then again, I was a big fan of Rob Jeter, and the Jeff Goodman list is a list of Rob Jeters. Of course I like it - but my guess is that 80% of our fan base wanted to move on from Rob Jeter, and they didn't want to move on to guys who were like...Rob Jeter.

- You've never met her. That's rich, bro. You just happened to show up right before the Jeter firing. You're definitely not here for damage control at all.

Okay.....so what do you have to say about the fundraising?

[mcdadenets50]

Jimmy, when you say "a list of Rob Jeters," what do you exactly mean? Are you talking about coaching style, playing style, demeanor, and/or other things?

Thanks!

[pantherproud]

I didn't realize Rob Jeter had won national championships at the d3 or d2 level. Or was he a top assistant at a school that's won national championships? I would think twice about bashing anyone on fundraising if I were you. Seeing as you run a booster club and all. If we are out of money your booster club isn't doing its job is it?

[PantherU]

Mar 30, 2016 7:48:11 GMT -6 pantherproud said:

Anyone else find it odd that Panther U isn't pushing out links to Fox 6 interview or jsonline story but was all about posting an oped from Jeter's lawyer and getting it in front of Lena Taylor? Not a very impartial approach to representing the program if you ask me. Apparently, those hacks at all of the local news stations aren't portraying the story to Jimmy's liking...

I had a nice night with my wife. I don't watch the local news. In any case, I didn't bring my laptop home from work, so I wouldn't have been able to make this post anyways:

Link: Amanda's Tuesday Media Blitz

You would be correct in assuming that I've got something to say to these interviews - not that I have a problem with them, but what you're seeing here is the result of indifferent media. This is what happens when you have a local sports media that doesn't pay attention to a program in forever - they don't know what questions to ask.

That's not on them; according to a local sports radio guy I exchanged e-mails with last fall, our sports information department has never lobbied enough for local coverage. He did say it only got worse this past year, because they used to get press releases and occasional calls from Kevin O'Connor. I'm sure that had something to do with Chris Zills replacing Bill Behrns as MBB SID in mid-season. Perhaps Bill just had too much on his plate, but then again O'Connor did all of it and still manned the MBB SID gig and color commentating on the radio broadcasts and occasional TV game. Maybe the SID job has changed since I was a student.

My tactics of the past few weeks have been brash, ostentatious and occasionally out-of-line. I received a lot of private support for this, from plenty of people - not just Jeter supporters but also those who have been some of his biggest detractors. Employees in athletics, the university, former employees, current and former coaches in other sports, players and former players, current and former donors, current and former sponsors, media members and fans. Just page through the PantherU mentions on Twitter alone and you'll get a small glimpse - and that's public stuff. As you can imagine, it's easy to be bold when you hear that kind of support.

I just don't want anyone to think, for one second, that the points I've brought up are invalid because of the delivery. This program did not receive support from the department - support that could have delivered us a better basketball team. I care not one bit that Rob Jeter wasn't Braun's hire - she has a job to support the program, and in that she failed spectacularly.

You bring up the op-ed from Marty Greenberg - was he wrong in pointing out that the NCAA found the administration, not the coaching staff, liable for the APR ban? To be fair to Amanda, she only came in at the tail end of that and I'm sure the improperly filed paperwork isn't on the AD's radar, at least it shouldn't be. So I wouldn't put the blame there. In fact, I'll give her credit - yes, I'm actually giving her credit - for coming in after the fact and lining up the academic support that should have been there from the start.

[theDarkHawkReturns]

Just a word of caution on those fundraising figures for those of you who are now touting it.

First, that number was given to D'Amato by the Athletic Department, with no explanation or details. Just a gross figure.

Second, I believe that figure includes a large, one time, donation intended to improve the Panther Arena for the benefit of the Admirals as much or more than the Panthers. Yes, UWM benefits, but this is not the same as a "general purpose" donation that can be used to fund any area of need. It is essentially and earmark.

Third, That figure was not all ACTUAL cash, but included PLEDGES as of 12/31/2015. Before the recent events, mind you. As such, they are little more than soft promises to donate, and able to be withdrawn by the potential donor at any time. They are not, as far as I know, legally binding contracts.

Finally, no one knows, including D'Amato, how much of that figure is real cash and how much is pledged and now potentially unrealizable because the donor no longer wishes to contribute. Remember, these pledges were made in the midst of a 20 win season with a win in Madison and a coach who many donors liked tremendously coming up on the end of his contract. It is not unreasonable to think that some of these pledges were made with the intention of helping fund and extension.

And if you go back to my original post (now locked - thanks ADMIN), I asked specifically for numbers EXCLUDING any donations made with the intent to benefit the Admirals, made by the Admirals, or both. I have yet to see that number, nor have I seen sponsorship figures, as requested.

One last note of caution....what happens to those of you squarely behind Braun in the event that the 2016 donations are significantly lower than the reported Million plus figure now being thrown around with glee? Will that be her fault, or will you all place blame for that on someone else?

I just need to understand at what point she actually becomes responsible for the performance of her department, because it would appear as though that point has not yet been reached for many of you.

[pantherproud]

To be clear - I like your passion for the program and that panther u even exists to get info to the masses. My only gripe is that while many of your points are valid, there have been many supporters on here (such as myself) that have a different view. Your response to them has been to accuse us of being "in" with the AD. Instead of having a debate about the topics and present both sides on twitter, etc. You just want to bash us for our views. I don't know anyone working in the athletic department. But I do think Braun came into a mess and has taken steps to fix them problems whether they are popular or not. You don't have to agree but at least give me a counterpoint...and present to the masses that your view isn't that of the whole fanbase.

[parkerj]

Mar 30, 2016 10:28:11 GMT -6 mcdadenets50 said:

Jimmy, when you say "a list of Rob Jeters," what do you exactly mean? Are you talking about coaching style, playing style, demeanor, and/or other things?

Thanks!

Don't think there's really a way to answer most of those questions for the coaches on the list. They're all D-I assistants known for their recruiting prowess, and aside from Lowery and (briefly) Webster none have been at the head of the bench.

[PantherU]

Mar 30, 2016 10:28:11 GMT -6 mcdadenets50 said:

Jimmy, when you say "a list of Rob Jeters," what do you exactly mean? Are you talking about coaching style, playing style, demeanor, and/or other things?

Thanks!

Coaching style, playing style, demeanor, these are irrelevant to me. Everyone wants to point out that Jeter was mostly cool and collected versus Pearl's antics (I mean, by all accounts Pearl was as loud and obnoxious as I am, so obviously I'd love a coach like that).

The reason those things should be irrelevant in the coaching search is because what matters most is winning - and that coach doesn't need to be anything specific - fast or slow offense, excited or stonefaced.

Who would you rather have running the team - Gary Waters or Brad Stevens? Waters won an NCAA tournament game, and is loud and angry etc. on the sideline. Brad Stevens won a lot more and, as far as demeanor is concerned, was the closest match to Rob Jeter over the last several years.

You want to win. I want to win. So let's pick a winner.

Mar 30, 2016 10:47:35 GMT -6 pantherproud said:

I didn't realize Rob Jeter had won national championships at the d3 or d2 level. Or was he a top assistant at a school that's won national championships? I would think twice about bashing anyone on fundraising if I were you. Seeing as you run a booster club and all. If we are out of money your booster club isn't doing its job is it?

I was speaking specifically to the list that Jeff Goodman put out. That list - Lowery, Stephens, Baldwin, Webster and Chew - is a list of high-major assistants with highly touted recruiting prowess. Sound familiar? Lowery is the one who has been a head coach, and he ran Southern Illinois into the ground - Bruce Weber and Matt Painter built that into a big-time program, and Lowery just fell apart there and got fired. His last five years at SIU - 3rd, 5th, 9th, 8th, 9th. That makes Rob Jeter look like Brad Stevens.

We don't even know for sure whether or not Tom Billeter from Augie is a candidate; I only noted on my board that Amanda Braun follows him on Twitter. He's won a lot of games in the last couple years, and obviously has the title, so I would hope he's a candidate. I don't know if he's the best candidate; this was his 13th year and until the last couple he hasn't exactly owned that conference. Here's his conference finished before this season: 8th, 7th, 5th, 5th, 2nd, 6th, 3rd, 3rd, t-4th, 3rd, t-9th, t-1st. That looks a lot like Rob Jeter's resume to me, the one good difference being his two 1st place finishes were the latest two years. And the national title.

I also think Pat Miller would be a phenomenal hire, although I do know some talent from Whitewater had been guys funneled to him from us, Parkside and other D-I and D-II schools who couldn't get recruits in school or couldn't get those players on the court. I also like Donte Jackson, who played here before transferring to Central State and is a Milwaukee guy who took a slightly-above-average Stillman team and won a lot with them this year.

If you'll look at the latest post on PantherU.com, you'll note that when I put that little troll on blast, I was very supportive of a potential Billeter hire. He's a good coach, and I will always respect someone who is miles better than me at growing a mustache.

But no one knows if Billeter and Jackson are candidates.

So, PantherProud, if there's some head coaching candidates you know of that haven't been reported, by all means share them with us. Or you can keep up the charade that you're not an insider.

[PantherU]

Mar 30, 2016 11:07:26 GMT -6 pantherproud said:

To be clear - I like your passion for the program and that panther u even exists to get info to the masses. My only gripe is that while many of your points are valid, there have been many supporters on here (such as myself) that have a different view. Your response to them has been to accuse us of being "in" with the AD. Instead of having a debate about the topics and present both sides on twitter, etc. You just want to bash us for our views. I don't know anyone working in the athletic department. But I do think Braun came into a mess and has taken steps to fix them problems whether they are popular or not. You don't have to agree but at least give me a counterpoint...and present to the masses that your view isn't that of the whole fanbase.

Just want to bash you for your views? Are you kidding me? Perhaps you see one little snipe at you or others for conspicuous timing on registration and think that I'm dismissing any ideas you pose. If I'm dismissing something you say as wrong, it's because you're wrong - and either you know it's wrong and you're closing ranks around the AD or you're not aware that you're wrong. Either way, I'm not going to sugar coat it for you, buddy.

Anyone who visits PantherU on Twitter or the website knows that it is a fan blog. I've broken news on there based on relationships forged with coaches and administrators across the conference and state, many of whom have moved outside our area and now help me with info elsewhere. But no place do I say that I'm representative of the entire fan base.

Hell, plenty of the people who have abandoned this board for mine are some of Jeter's biggest detractors. Some support Braun. So it's not like people will read my tweets and think they represent the whole fan base. Here's my Twitter profile:

"Unofficial MKE_MBB blog. Lots of commentary on @uwm and @mkepanthers. Currently eating something fried." Does that really sound like I'm portraying myself as representative of everyone?

Let's not kid ourselves. I'm far from the only one who is being combative. Or did you not see the "Dakdelsur" post on my site yesterday?

[Edub]

Mar 30, 2016 11:02:46 GMT -6 theDarkHawkReturns said:

Just a word of caution on those fundraising figures for those of you who are now touting it.

First, that number was given to D'Amato by the Athletic Department, with no explanation or details. Just a gross figure.

Second, I believe that figure includes a large, one time, donation intended to improve the Panther Arena for the benefit of the Admirals as much or more than the Panthers. Yes, UWM benefits, but this is not the same as a "general purpose" donation that can be used to fund any area of need. It is essentially and earmark.

Third, That figure was not all ACTUAL cash, but included PLEDGES as of 12/31/2015. Before the recent events, mind you. As such, they are little more than soft promises to donate, and able to be withdrawn by the potential donor at any time. They are not, as far as I know, legally binding contracts.

Finally, no one knows, including D'Amato, how much of that figure is real cash and how much is pledged and now potentially unrealizable because the donor no longer wishes to contribute. Remember, these pledges were made in the midst of a 20 win season with a win in Madison and a coach who many donors liked tremendously coming up on the end of his contract. It is not unreasonable to think that some of these pledges were made with the intention of helping fund and extension.

And if you go back to my original post (now locked - thanks ADMIN), I asked specifically for numbers EXCLUDING any donations made with the intent to benefit the Admirals, made by the Admirals, or both. I have yet to see that number, nor have I seen sponsorship figures, as requested.

One last note of caution....what happens to those of you squarely behind Braun in the event that the 2016 donations are significantly lower than the reported Million plus figure now being thrown around with glee? Will that be her fault, or will you all place blame for that on someone else?

I just need to understand at what point she actually becomes responsible for the performance of her department, because it would appear as though that point has not yet been reached for many of you.

I'm not even looking at the overall dollars here, what jumps out to me is the number of donors. Going from 369 to 687 donors is what I'm looking at. Sure the million plus figure looks good on paper, but I agree that could easily be fuzzy math to arrive there.

The donors may go down with people upset about the handling of Rob Jeter's contract. But you also might see some people that haven't been happy with the performance of Jeter step up to the plate. I know I'll personally be dusting off the checkbook this year.