He also guided us to one of the better regular seasons in UK history. Had Keith Bogans not sprained his ankle, you will not convince me that team wouldn't have won the national title that year. Had Tubby come along at a different point in UK history, his record would've looked a lot better and he wouldn't have received nearly the heat he did early on in his tenure. His last three years when he completely gave up on recruiting are completely on him and he's fair game for that.
The question you have to ask yourself is who, at the time, could we have hired that would've been better? Especially by your own standard that we shouldn't hire someone who hasn't previously been to the Final Four. Those coaches just aren't out there in great numbers anymore, especially when Butler can go to two title games in a row. Your own standard eliminates Sean Miller, would've eliminated Billy Donovan at the time, would've eliminated Bill Self, and a bunch of other coaches. Basically at this point, the only coaches that could meet that standard and be seen as a viable candidate would be Brad Stevens or Shaka Smart.
Hiring coaches is a lot harder than you think.
The question you have to ask yourself is who, at the time, could we have hired that would've been better? Especially by your own standard that we shouldn't hire someone who hasn't previously been to the Final Four. Those coaches just aren't out there in great numbers anymore, especially when Butler can go to two title games in a row. Your own standard eliminates Sean Miller, would've eliminated Billy Donovan at the time, would've eliminated Bill Self, and a bunch of other coaches. Basically at this point, the only coaches that could meet that standard and be seen as a viable candidate would be Brad Stevens or Shaka Smart.
Hiring coaches is a lot harder than you think.
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