Mack/Louisville

[RetireFiftyTu]

Pretty interesting thread on the realignment board about Louisville and wondering if Pitino is gone after this year....

Mack's name came up. Folks from here came on there saying they thought Mack would stay put.

I think it's really interesting. I do get that Mack is from X, and he's got them top 5 and recruiting well.

my question though is this. Does Mack view it like this is the apex that Xavier can get to? If he does, I could see him leaving Xavier quite frankly- not for the type of jobs that have been open, but for one of the 7-8 top jobs(of which Louisville is definitely one of).

It would be interesting. Hopefully he doesn't leave- but I don't think you could discount the possibility either.

Do you have a link to this thread?

[NJRedman]

Pretty interesting thread on the realignment board about Louisville and wondering if Pitino is gone after this year....

Mack's name came up. Folks from here came on there saying they thought Mack would stay put.

I think it's really interesting. I do get that Mack is from X, and he's got them top 5 and recruiting well.

my question though is this. Does Mack view it like this is the apex that Xavier can get to? If he does, I could see him leaving Xavier quite frankly- not for the type of jobs that have been open, but for one of the 7-8 top jobs(of which Louisville is definitely one of).

It would be interesting. Hopefully he doesn't leave- but I don't think you could discount the possibility either.

Do you have a link to this thread?

It's on a site where our kind aren't very welcome.

[jaxalum]

Xavier is undeniably in the top tier of BE programs, now they have to start paying their head coach accordingly. 1M a year is less than a third of what Georgetown and Villanova pay their coaches. I'm not saying they should pay Mack that much today, but you have to show the wherewithal to get him into that league.

He is definitely not paid commiserate to his level and performance. Unfortunately X has underpaid their coaches historically, but they have addressed these issues more recently. Still room to improve in that area though.

I'm a Cincy guy as well as a St. Xavier and Xavier grad like Mack (and played a sport there as well). He does have his own piece of heaven. But with his performance, he has put himself in the position where he's courted ever year by any decent to very good P5 school. What's kept him in Cincy are the aforementioned reasons. But there are schools that, though small in number, I believe would offer to much for him to say no. Obviously, a Duke or Kentucky...the bluest of the blue blood schools, which is not happening. The three schools that have come up that would prove to be the biggest threats are Ohio State, Indiana, and Louisville. They could double his salary, increased stature of the program, and they offer better chances to compete at the highest level on a more consistent basis. These coaches are ultra competitive animals by nature, and if they are afforded the opportunity to increase their chances of winning, its a hard carrot to pass. Xavier has put itself in a position where it can compete for a Final Four from time to time. Louisville can EVERY year. Money is a factor in so many ways, not just salary wise. Louisville essentially has unlimited funds, with plenty of blank checks from donors on hand if needed. They play in an NBA arena. And one of the top three factors that I think coaches consider when mulling a move is recruiting. Its been said over and over that recruiting is the lifeblood of a program. Mack is a SUPERB recruiter (I think his best attribute as a coach). Even when we were in the A-10 we would get guys like Draymond Green on campus. That was a victory in itself as he was not going to X. I understand why Jay Wright is happy where he is. He is beloved by the fan base and the admin, he's paid a very competitive salary, and Nova has a strong enough brand nationally where they can successfully recruit at the highest level, which to me means 5 star kids. Brunson last year and Spellman this year. And he knows he can compete for Final Fours pretty consistently. Xavier is not there yet.

The offer will have to be substantial. Cincy guy, great team coming back, top 20 recruiting class coming in, 17 recruiting class will most likely be stellar piggybacking off all of the positive national press this year, his family is entrenched in the community and his two little girls are at that age where you/they don't want to move. And he will receive a raise as well. This year may have been somewhat eye opening as well with all of these big games we've played, #1 Nova at home being the highlight, just a "normal" big game playing #10 Providence, or top 10 Butler, or #24 Michigan on the road. But, I will not be surprised in the least if he does leave and will be thankful to him for leaving the program in a better place then when he inherited it.

[billyjack]

To put this in proper context:

By the way, the guy that started the Mack thread on the other board said he has no inside information and is just tossing the idea out there. There are no reports of any smoke on this.

As far as Gregg Marshall, a Wichita guy wrote one sentence saying no way Marshall leaves Wichita, and the Marshall discussion closed.

Meanwhile, several posters have said the same thing about Mack not going to Louisville, yet that gets challenged and the discussion continues.

That board is like 90% anti Big East, so they'll run with any hint of something hurting the BE. Big East obsession/ envy/ psychosis.

[Westbrook#36]

Pretty interesting thread on the realignment board about Louisville and wondering if Pitino is gone after this year....

Mack's name came up. Folks from here came on there saying they thought Mack would stay put.

It's on a site where our kind aren't very welcome.

You mean the wayward home for directional and 2nd tier state schools?

[stever20]

Folks that say Mack won't leave Xavier to me are similar to those from Wichita saying Marshall won't leave Wichita. A lot of hope...

The thing is, with jobs like Louisville, Indiana, Ohio St, etc.- those are the only ones that a guy like Mack would leave a great situation for. Until he's asked, you just don't know what he's going to say. Louisville does have a lot of plusses for him. You can't just blanket say that he's going to stay, because in the coaching profession, that's just not realistic.

[billyjack]

Anyone hear anything about Mike Hopkins to Louisville? Kevin Ollie? Jamie Dixon? Mark Turgeon? Gottfried from NC State? Lon Kruger? Louisville can pay more than any of those schools, right?

[stever20]

Anyone hear anything about Mike Hopkins to Louisville? Kevin Ollie? Jamie Dixon? Mark Turgeon? Gottfried from NC State? Lon Kruger? Louisville can pay more than any of those schools, right?

A few of those wouldn't surprise me in the least quite frankly.

[NJRedman]

Folks that say Mack won't leave Xavier to me are similar to those from Wichita saying Marshall won't leave Wichita. A lot of hope...

The thing is, with jobs like Louisville, Indiana, Ohio St, etc.- those are the only ones that a guy like Mack would leave a great situation for. Until he's asked, you just don't know what he's going to say. Louisville does have a lot of plusses for him. You can't just blanket say that he's going to stay, because in the coaching profession, that's just not realistic.

Except you fail to realize that X is a much better job than Wichita. X is in a power conference with a great TV deal and more money than any conference outside the FB5. It's night and day stever, but you will never recognize that.

[stever20]

Folks that say Mack won't leave Xavier to me are similar to those from Wichita saying Marshall won't leave Wichita. A lot of hope...

The thing is, with jobs like Louisville, Indiana, Ohio St, etc.- those are the only ones that a guy like Mack would leave a great situation for. Until he's asked, you just don't know what he's going to say. Louisville does have a lot of plusses for him. You can't just blanket say that he's going to stay, because in the coaching profession, that's just not realistic.

Except you fail to realize that X is a much better job than Wichita. X is in a power conference with a great TV deal and more money than any conference outside the FB5. It's night and day stever, but you will never recognize that.

And Louisville IS an upgrade over Xavier. Louisville with their arena basically just prints money. If Louisville comes to Mack and offers him over double what he makes with X, It's not going to be an easy decision. And that would be realistically what could happen. Smart when he went to Texas got a 3 mil per year deal. I could easily see Louisville offering Mack 4 million. I know it sucks, but Xavier isn't a destination job. Louisville is a destination job.

I know Big East fans would hope that there's no chance he leaves, but in the coaching profession, and with a top 10 job possibly open, I think that's just a bit naïve. Of course there's a chance he goes. There's probably less than 10 jobs that could pry Mack away from X. This is one of them.