|
Post by 91aztec on Mar 23, 2015 12:35:13 GMT -8
With the current state of the bball program & the apparent struggles of the team..........it reminded me of my concern years ago when this thread was started. I didn't bump it in order to point fingers or open old wounds but after re-reading all of the comments I did find it interesting that there were different trains of thought on if we should have had a coach in waiting or opened up the process.
Too early to know for sure if it was the right decision but the people that were concerned, in my opinion, were at least partially justified in their concerns.
Is anyone else the least bit apprehensive thinking about the day, hopefully way down the road, when Coach finally says he's had enough. I know Coach Dutcher has been the Coach in waiting for years and it is a forgone conclusion that he will be the next head coach. But I have to admit that it makes me a little nervous to turn over the reigns to someone that hasn't had any head coaching experience.
I realize that they have been together forever and ideas and game plans are probably already a joint venture. I also understand that he probably would have been long gone if that title and promise were not made to him. But, the bottom line is he has never had to be the man to make the decisions on his own. He will have assistants to bounce ideas off of but when it comes down to it the final say will be his and his alone. Will he stay the course and stress defense above all else, will he look for a mixture and sacrifice some defense for more offense.
I honestly just don't know much about Coach Dutcher other then he has always been the right hand man. I agree it is the right decision to hand it over to him when that dreadful day happens upon us...... and loyaly to the players has been evident over the years so I wouldn't expect anything else for the staff.
Hoping others with more knowledge of the staff and their philsophies can tell me that I have nothing to fear and the program will be in great hands...........
|
|
|
Post by momoney on Mar 23, 2015 12:41:25 GMT -8
I hate when they just give it to the next guy on the staff, the way they did with football. I would much rather prefer an open search and if coach Dutcher is the best guy then, so be it.
|
|
|
Post by adammclane on Mar 23, 2015 12:54:42 GMT -8
I'd encourage you to find ways to get close to the program. You'll quickly notice that Coach Fisher has largely empowered his staff to do the day-to-day work of the program. Dutcher is ready... Heck, Hutson is ready, too. It's a well oiled machine at this point.
There's a 100% chance that this "family" has earned their right to continue on after Fisher hangs it up.
|
|
|
Post by 91aztec on Mar 23, 2015 13:01:22 GMT -8
I'd encourage you to find ways to get close to the program. You'll quickly notice that Coach Fisher has largely empowered his staff to do the day-to-day work of the program. Dutcher is ready... Heck, Hutson is ready, too. It's a well oiled machine at this point. There's a 100% chance that this "family" has earned their right to continue on after Fisher hangs it up. Thank you, glad to hear he is ready and the program is in good hands. There is nothing I would like more then to become more involved with all things Aztec. Living in Washington only allows me to travel to 2-3 bball and football games a year though. I count on this forum to keep me informed.
|
|
|
Post by mySTRAS on Mar 23, 2015 13:02:29 GMT -8
I hate when they just give it to the next guy on the staff, the way they did with football. I would much rather prefer an open search and if coach Dutcher is the best guy then, so be it. You do realize that Dutch has been the 'next guy' on Fish's staff going back to Michigan (1989)?
|
|
|
Post by AzTex on Mar 23, 2015 13:09:30 GMT -8
Coach Fisher does give a great deal of responsibility to his assistants. Dutcher is a lot more than an assistant. If Coach Fisher believes in him then so do I. It has been, and will continue to be, a very strong point to make with recruits that the existing staff will continue on when Coach Fisher retires. And don't think that other schools don't go out of their way to point out that Coach Fisher might be very close to retiring.
Hiring a head coach from another program is hardly a guarantee that they will be any better than a well know quantity on the existing staff. Fred Trenkle was 329-34 at his previous school as a head coach. 53-81 here. Brandenburg was 176-97 at Wyoming and 52-87 here.
I'm more than comfortable in Coach Dutcher taking over when the time comes. Of course, I hope that won't happen for many, many years.
|
|
|
Post by adammclane on Mar 23, 2015 13:19:23 GMT -8
91aztec A couple of examples. As I understand normal practice the assistants run sections of it. They do drills, stations, what have you. Coach speaks into that, but a lot of it is completely organized and run by the assistants. Coach regularly has his assistants doing typical head coach assignments with the media, donors, etc. He really is at the point where he's empowering his staff to lead and he seems pretty happy to take a back seat where he can get away with it. From what I understand, it's the assistants out on the road doing ordinary recruiting efforts. Scouting, building relationships, all that. I'm positive it's a team effort but I really imagine Fisher as "the closer" on recruiting. But when you listen to player interviews you'll hear that the real day-to-day relationships between players and the staff are formed with assistants, managers, etc. (Tim Shelton, Bryan Fisher, Matt Soria, Dave V, Justin Huston, etc.) I share that only to point out that it's not a one man show with everyone staring at the old guy working. It's strikes me as a team effort.
|
|
|
Post by 91aztec on Mar 23, 2015 13:29:16 GMT -8
91aztec A couple of examples. As I understand normal practice the assistants run sections of it. They do drills, stations, what have you. Coach speaks into that, but a lot of it is completely organized and run by the assistants. Coach regularly has his assistants doing typical head coach assignments with the media, donors, etc. He really is at the point where he's empowering his staff to lead and he seems pretty happy to take a back seat where he can get away with it. From what I understand, it's the assistants out on the road doing ordinary recruiting efforts. Scouting, building relationships, all that. I'm positive it's a team effort but I really imagine Fisher as "the closer" on recruiting. But when you listen to player interviews you'll hear that the real day-to-day relationships between players and the staff are formed with assistants, managers, etc. (Tim Shelton, Bryan Fisher, Matt Soria, Dave V, Justin Huston, etc.) I share that only to point out that it's not a one man show with everyone staring at the old guy working. It's strikes me as a team effort. Thanks Adam! Appreciate the insight.
|
|
|
Post by momoney on Mar 23, 2015 13:36:23 GMT -8
I hate when they just give it to the next guy on the staff, the way they did with football. I would much rather prefer an open search and if coach Dutcher is the best guy then, so be it. You do realize that Dutch has been the 'next guy' on Fish's staff going back to Michigan (1989)? and yet this would be his first head coaching opportunity? What was he doing when coach Fisher was out of college basketball after Michigan?
|
|
|
Post by K2Aztec73 on Mar 23, 2015 14:18:46 GMT -8
When you have a program/system that's working well (and ours is working well, despite having a few flaws here and there over the years) continuity is a good thing, as it keeps the players in a system they should know well and be comfortable with. It keeps the talent in the pipeline (future Aztecs for life) committed, which the uncertainty of change if you go with a wholly new system as a new HC from outside would bring his own assistants, system design, etc. could potentially disrupt. Coach Fisher and his crew have built a program... a "Name brand" that people can take confidence in even if they may not have first hand experience with the details. That is not a small thing...
|
|
|
Post by K2Aztec73 on Mar 23, 2015 14:21:31 GMT -8
You do realize that Dutch has been the 'next guy' on Fish's staff going back to Michigan (1989)? and yet this would be his first head coaching opportunity? What was he doing when coach Fisher was out of college basketball after Michigan? I believe he was in the Sacramento Kings organization while Fisher was an assistant there in between the Michigan and SDSU gigs.
|
|
|
Post by johnnyutah on Mar 23, 2015 14:27:52 GMT -8
Seems to have worked pretty well at Gonzaga...
Long-time assistant Dan Monson took over for long-time head coach Fitzgerald and had no experience. Monson takes them to Elite 8 in 2nd year.
Monson leaves to Minnesota and long-time assistant Mark Few takes over (again no head-coaching experience) and has 16 straight NCAA tourney appearances and is 34-2 right now.
I think we have a similar type of program with similar coaching continuity...Dutch may be the guy to not only continue the program as we've seen, but take it to new heights like Monson and Few have.
|
|
|
Post by mySTRAS on Mar 23, 2015 15:08:24 GMT -8
You do realize that Dutch has been the 'next guy' on Fish's staff going back to Michigan (1989)? and yet this would be his first head coaching opportunity? What was he doing when coach Fisher was out of college basketball after Michigan? What makes you think Dutch hasn't been approached for other head coaching jobs?
|
|
|
Post by momoney on Mar 23, 2015 15:42:54 GMT -8
and yet this would be his first head coaching opportunity? What was he doing when coach Fisher was out of college basketball after Michigan? What makes you think Dutch hasn't been approached for other head coaching jobs? because he would've taken it, or at least interview for the position, unless if it was at a division 2 level. Why would he choose to follow Fisher to the Kings and be a scout when he could've became a college head coach. I'm sure if he was approached news of that would've leaked, even if he declined.
|
|
|
Post by sdcoug on Mar 23, 2015 16:20:12 GMT -8
What makes you think Dutch hasn't been approached for other head coaching jobs? because he would've taken it, or at least interview for the position, unless if it was at a division 2 level. Why would he choose to follow Fisher to the Kings and be a scout when he could've became a college head coach. I'm sure if he was approached news of that would've leaked, even if he declined. How many years ago was that? Why are you referring to something that happened 18 years ago and defining him today? He's definitely been approached within the last 16 years, and he's MORE than qualified to take over this program. There are few men as loyal as Dutcher.
|
|
|
Post by myk13 on Mar 23, 2015 16:20:38 GMT -8
does anyone know how Dutch is as a recruiter? That's what I'm most concerned about, not his coaching ability.
|
|
|
Post by mySTRAS on Mar 23, 2015 16:23:08 GMT -8
What makes you think Dutch hasn't been approached for other head coaching jobs? because he would've taken it, or at least interview for the position, unless if it was at a division 2 level. Why would he choose to follow Fisher to the Kings and be a scout when he could've became a college head coach. I'm sure if he was approached news of that would've leaked, even if he declined. articles.latimes.com/2014/feb/17/sports/la-sp-0218-san-diego-state-20140218"Dutcher's reputation has prompted interest from programs seeking a head coach from time to time, but they all have been turned away. That's the kind of loyalty he has to his longtime friend and the program they built together."
|
|
|
Post by sdpads24 on Mar 23, 2015 16:27:24 GMT -8
does anyone know how Dutch is as a recruiter? That's what I'm most concerned about, not his coaching ability. You've heard of the Fab Five? Ya, that was mostly all Dutcher. My concerns about him as a head coach are mostly his in-game coaching and motivating of the players which is all Fisher right now
|
|
|
Post by North County Aztec on Mar 23, 2015 16:35:26 GMT -8
My guess is Dutch could have jumped ship many times but made the decision to stick with Fish. Only the future will know if that will be the correct decision. I think for Dutch yes for SDSU I’m not sure. How many recruits consider SDSU because of Dutch? However, Fish has built a system and that system is what recruits believe in. Right, wrong or indifferent Dutch deserves a shot.
Fish is almost 70 I’m almost 66 what we have in common, we work because we want to not because we need to. Fish will be back next year. If I were a betting person I would bet next year will be his last. Go Dutch!!! Go Aztecs!!!
|
|
|
Post by momoney on Mar 23, 2015 16:48:46 GMT -8
because he would've taken it, or at least interview for the position, unless if it was at a division 2 level. Why would he choose to follow Fisher to the Kings and be a scout when he could've became a college head coach. I'm sure if he was approached news of that would've leaked, even if he declined. How many years ago was that? Why are you referring to something that happened 18 years ago and defining him today? He's definitely been approached within the last 16 years, and he's MORE than qualified to take over this program. There are few men as loyal as Dutcher. can you name who he was approached by? Was it a small division 2 program or division 1 program? Or are you just assuming that he was?
|
|