New Hoops Coach WILL NOT Be Bobby Lutz

[fjblair]

Whatever with Lutz, kind of glad we didn't hire him. This program is starting from ground zero and I would rather see a younger and less familiar name. The new recruits cannot be part of the decision process, sure we want to keep them(I guess)but we have much larger issues.

[WVAPPeer]

David Glenn put it well today talking about the Wake Forest job:

Finding a head coach is like asking a girl out to the promo. You ask the top candidates first knowing that they will probably turn you down and then you go with the more interested not so popular individuals.

Bobby Lutz and Mike Rhoades were our Homecoming queen and star cheerleader. We still have guys like Derrick Clark at Metro, Linc Darner at Florida Southern, and Dugger Baucom at VMI potentially on the radar. I think all three of those coaches could do incredible things at App State.

Come on - give the APP homecoming queen and star cheerleader a little more credit than that ---

[TheMoody1]

If App hired McMahon I would wager we may be the only school in the country that has hired alumni with no head coaching experience to coach their Football and Basketball teams.

[AppState89]

If App hired McMahon I would wager we may be the only school in the country that has hired alumni with no head coaching experience to coach their Football and Basketball teams.

I bet you are correct. Just like Scott will have growing pains, Matt would too, but he is a great recruiter and I would be will to bet he can bring the program back. Scott will end up being a great coach for us and given a chance, Matt can too.

[appstfan]

Saw a rumors web-site earlier today that the following were the finalists for the App HC job---Bobby Lutz, D. Baucom (VMI) and the top assistant at Virginia.

[EastHallApp]

I am not concerned that we haven't made a hire yet, or that Lutz will not be that hire. I am concerned about the way we are allowing this search to play out in the media.

[appdaze]

Saw a rumors web-site earlier today that the following were the finalists for the App HC job---Bobby Lutz, D. Baucom (VMI) and the top assistant at Virginia.

Ritchie McKay?

[App91]

I know I'm supposed to be disappointed about this, but I just can't convince myself to be.

However, this search is turning into a PR disaster for App.

Lutz can send all the nice words App's way he wants, but that tweet does us no favors at all and is a pretty big slap in the face to Cobb if you ask me.

Would not go that far, I really think all this says is Lutz was not willing to take a 100k salary CUT at the same time losing the 230k annual payment UNCC was paying him for not coaching, all for the shot at being a head coach in a G5 conference. Who would sign up to do that??

[EastHallApp]

I know I'm supposed to be disappointed about this, but I just can't convince myself to be.

However, this search is turning into a PR disaster for App.

Lutz can send all the nice words App's way he wants, but that tweet does us no favors at all and is a pretty big slap in the face to Cobb if you ask me.

Would not go that far, I really think all this says is Lutz was not willing to take a 100k salary CUT at the same time losing the 230k annual payment UNCC was paying him for not coaching, all for the shot at being a head coach in a G5 conference. Who would sign up to do that??

Fine if he didn't want the job; I was referring to him publicly announcing that he was "withdrawing from consideration" with App. Puts App in an awkward spot of being publicly rejected. Could have just said he's staying at State. Or, considering he's just an assistant, not made any announcement at all.

[MAD Doctor]

It would be nice, for once, to just hire a coach, and not have a PR disaster. Although they blew it with Buzz, you have to admire the way UNCW quickly, and quietly hired one of Louisville's most respected assistant coaches. Quick, clean, and a quality hire. Why can't we ever do that?

Having given Lutz the benefit of the doubt, it is now obvious that his heart was not going to be in it. So today, public embarrassment aside, was a good thing. We've still got to believe that we are going to hire a great coach, who will embrace our beloved alma mater, and work tirelessly to undo the damage of the past four years and build a basketball program of which we can be proud. Lord knows, we are due.

[JCline0429]

I know I'm supposed to be disappointed about this, but I just can't convince myself to be.

However, this search is turning into a PR disaster for App.

Lutz can send all the nice words App's way he wants, but that tweet does us no favors at all and is a pretty big slap in the face to Cobb if you ask me.

Would not go that far, I really think all this says is Lutz was not willing to take a 100k salary CUT at the same time losing the 230k annual payment UNCC was paying him for not coaching, all for the shot at being a head coach in a G5 conference. Who would sign up to do that??

His last payment from UNC-C was already ending.

[Saint3333]

Isn't Louisville still playing? How did that hire happen?

[Kgfish]

Isn't Louisville still playing? How did that hire happen?

Good One!

[whosgotthearrow?]

Baucom wouldn't have to BS his way into a 'brand' of basketball to sell to us fans. Check the stats. His teams have LED THE COUNTRY IN SCORING like 7/9 years at VMI.

They win. They're 22 wins now (and counting), have beaten two consecutive 25+ win teams in the CIT to continue to advance (3 wins in the tournament so far), and HE'S ABOVE .500 AT THE MILITARY SCHOOL WITH THE LOWEST BUDGET OF THEM ALL! They won the All-Military Classic this year.

Reminds me of what Paul Johnson did at Navy in football. Unique style that fit his personnel/recruiting paradigm that produced a lot of wins. Got to GT and immediately won. Led the country in rushing virtually every year there.

I hope Cobb sees the potential for greatness here. Duggar Baucom has a track record as a Head Coach in about the toughest conditions you'll find to win at the D1 level. He was a D2 head coach in the past. Don't see a guy like that thinking he's too big for our level or not getting down and doing the dirty work with cleaning up the academics, etc.

Who knows. I'm just ready for something different!

[Kgfish]

Not feeling the Dugger Baucom love. Overall conference record 75-80, 42-44 the last 5 years. Never won a conference championship. I understand it's VMI but it's also the Big South.

[EastHallApp]

Not feeling the Dugger Baucom love. Overall conference record 75-80, 42-44 the last 5 years. Never won a conference championship. I understand it's VMI but it's also the Big South.

He's performed above the school's historical level - sometimes far above - and plays a super-high-tempo, high-scoring style that provides a draw for fans and a differentiator for recruits. I understand the preference for a coach who's won more consistently, but I find his record at VMI pretty impressive. Put it like this - if he got App to win as far above our recent historical norm as he has at VMI, we'd all be happy.

[yeppers22]

Baucom actually beat McKay the last two times they played in the Big South before McKay left for UVA.

[Yosef84]

I think that some on here are far too sensitive. There is no "PR Disaster" over this hire. We have not be disrespected by anyone. By the way, it is also NOT Cobb's job to "MAKE this deal happen" if there was a disconnect. That's what we did with Buzz and you see where that got us.

I would like to get a coach on board as well, but I'm willing to wait a little bit if it means getting a really good FIT. Let's just all hope that the new coach has the tools get do what App needs to get done.

[WVAPPeer]

Isn't Louisville still playing? How did that hire happen?

It's not again NCAA rules to hire a coach whose team is still playing - many ADs/Head Coaches don't want the distractions while still playing therefore they limit access and/or hold off announcements ---

[hapapp]

Not feeling the Dugger Baucom love. Overall conference record 75-80, 42-44 the last 5 years. Never won a conference championship. I understand it's VMI but it's also the Big South.

He's performed above the school's historical level - sometimes far above - and plays a super-high-tempo, high-scoring style that provides a draw for fans and a differentiator for recruits. I understand the preference for a coach who's won more consistently, but I find his record at VMI pretty impressive. Put it like this - if he got App to win as far above our recent historical norm as he has at VMI, we'd all be happy.

Many here don't recall that in the early years (mid 70s) of our SoCon adventure VMI was a strong performer including an elite 8 appearance. It's not impossible to win there.