I agree with most everyone. Iām disappointed we went the assistant route. I am not necessarily excited to watch defensive basketballā¦I like points and excitement.
But Iām also ready to just fān win.
From a recruiting standpointā¦we are not in a top 10 league. If we can bring in more talent than our league matesā¦and the coach is just not terribleā¦talent alone is enough and should win CUSA 2.0.
And his story about helping to build Virginia into the top ACC program and #1 team in the country will absolutely get the attention of both local players and AAU coaches.
If that is enough to bring in the local 3* and 4* talent we always whiff onā¦we will have a quick turn around in this shi**y league.
So. Though not flashy or excitingā¦there is enough optimism in the reason to believe he can leverage his āstoryā and background to recruit good enough talent to win CUSAā¦and do it quickly. Especially if he hires the right bench to recruit locally too.
His bench hires and retention rate on current squad (transfers) and signed recruits will say a lot about his recruiting abilities as well.
Iād bet we bring in a post player this year better than any Price and staffed signed with two full recruiting seasons. It was atrocious after what happened last year that we didnāt do any better than Haslem, Bryant, and Supica. Vanhook was better at 6ā3 than any of them. RS has enough connections to improve our roster and get us playing decent basketball next year.
I think you are either far left or far right when you look at some things. The guy hasnāt even given a press conference yet so we should at least give him that. I highly doubt CHP knows enough about basketball to even influence this hire and to think as much gives him way too much credit for his sports knowledge. This is Hillās shot to get it right so I think for his sake he would not take too much advice from CHP. It is pretty much his career on the line with this hire unless he hits a grand slam home run with a football coach. Also, we do not know what interest other coaching candidates had in Charlotte. Maybe this wasnāt Hillās #1 guy, but was the best guy he could get. No one would ever no that or if they did, they would not share it publicly. I am not saying to blindly follow this guy to the Kool-aid stand. However, letās put the positive vibes out here. This is the most exciting times we have had in a few years with the new AD and a new coach. We should enjoy it at least before the next basketball season starts.
UVA was a chronic underachiever when Bennett and company took over in 2009. They only made two NCAA Tournaments since 1998. As you said Pip, Sanchez has been there the entire time with Bennett and theyāve had sustained success in the ACC, which is impressive. Iām confident he can win at Charlotte.
Regardless, the best thing we can all do is show up and support. We got a new AD, we got a new hoops coach, and if football doesnāt turn around we are going to have a new football coach. They are listening to us. Itās hard to recruit to empty bleachers.
Who said CHp knows hoops Dowless? CHp demands 1 thing, temperament. He fired Lutz for being passionate. Every hire CHp has made in sports is a wall flower.
Just my opinion but Hill doesnāt seem like the type who would take this job if he didnāt get to choose his coaches. Doesnāt mean CHP didnāt sign off but I suspect this was Hillās guy. As for temperament, Tony Bennett is the same way. Yes, occasionally I wish he showed more fire (like the UMBC game) but overall I like that he is cool as a cucumber. Of course everything is easier to spin if youāre winning.
For those lamenting not getting a head coach, who do you think we are? If I were the HC at ETSU or Charleston, it wouldnāt be an automatic jump to Charlotte. We are beaten down. We need someone with a plan and someone willing to work hard. From what I know of the UVa program, Sanchez will have those. Will they work? Only time will tell.
As for style of play, I admit it took some getting used to but again winning cures all. If you watch UVa play, their fans get pumped about shot clock violations and steals like most teams to about dunks alley oops. And while their offense is deliberate, its actually pretty good (unless their ice cold as against UMBC).
If you read these articles youāll see that Sanchez was key in recruiting Klay Thompson (you know of the defending NBA Champs) and Malcolm Brogdon (NBA Rookie of the Year). And Brogdon and current UVa leading scorer Kyle Guy credit Sanchez with pushing them to improve their game, constantly. If we did nothing else but improve our defense moderately this past season we probably win 5 more games.
I donāt buy chp had any influence on hillās coach selection. Like someone else said, this hire may set the path of hillās career. Donāt want to exaggerate that but instant success or another flop and more wasted years will be on his resume.