Tod Kowalczyk - Announcement on Tuesday

Post by **GeoAg** » March 28th, 2024, 2:53 pm

Tetonkatest wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:49 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:46 pm
I'm confused why people were excited about Simon, who also has zero tournament appearances, and less wins over a shorter career than Kowalcyzk. I, for one, think that this is a fantastic hire.
Supposedly Simon is a better recruiter. that he recruited as well as he did to SUU was more impressive

Why is that anymore impressive than recruiting to Toledo?

shoresy · Post by **shoresy** » March 28th, 2024, 2:54 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:38 pm

shoresy wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:31 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:25 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:00 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:46 pm
I'm confused why people were excited about Simon, who also has zero tournament appearances, and less wins over a shorter career than Kowalcyzk. I, for one, think that this is a fantastic hire.
You shouldn't be confused. People have given their reasons a hundred times, you just don't like them.
No, most people are just complaining without giving any concrete reasons why they don't like him. As far as I can tell, when people have articulated their concerns, they fall into basically three categories:

He hasn't won in March: A fair criticism, but Simon also has had zero success in March. Nor has David Riley. Eric Henderson has had two postseason bids in a much weaker conference. Who did people think that we were going to hire that had a long history of success in March? Todd Simon was responsible for one of the most epic conference tournament choke jobs in recent memory, and he completely gets a pass for that. But Kowalczyk is a bad coach because he hasn't had success in March?

He has no ties to Utah: I think that concern is overblown. None of our last three coaches had any ties to Utah. Sprinkle was the only one who had any real ties to the West. Our only recent coach who had ties to Utah was Duryea.

He's old: This seems like pure ageism. Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski are also old. If anything, this should be a positive for people who are worried about coaches moving on to new jobs. To me, I feel better about a coach who has a long track record of success rather than a young coach with a few good seasons who may turn out to be a flash in the pan.

Are there any other criticisms of Kowalczyk that I am overlooking?
Here's a concrete answer: He's lost nearly every meaningful game he's ever coached in. Nearly every postseason win he's ever had was as a much higher seed in conference tournaments. The sample size is big enough. There is CLEARLY something wrong with either him or the style of basketball he coaches that has prevented his teams from ever having even a shred of postseason success.

Agree with me or disagree, there's a concrete answer for you, and I believe is what most people are seeing right now.
If you read the post I quoted from the Toledo fan, it sounds like he has had some horrible injury luck. And his teams may be psyching themselves out due to the supposed "tournament curse." But a lot of it is just plain bad luck. Couldn't you say that there is "CLEARLY something wrong with [USU]" based on our lack of postseason success? I think Sprinkle proved that there was nothing wrong with USU. We just got unlucky a bunch of times in a row.

And geez. People act like winning taking over dumpster fire programs in NCAA purgatory and turning them into consistent 20-game winners counts for nothing because he lost a few conference tournament games. Again, why does everyone give Simon a pass for choking just as badly every year in the postseason? Realistically, a coach as successful as Kowalczyk would have landed a P5 job a long time ago if he had won any postseason games at all. I'd much rather hire a coach who has won consistently for a long time than a coach who had 1-2 successful seasons and hope that they continue their success.

Sorry, but I refuse to believe a coach could miss the NCAA Tournament 22-straight years because of "bad luck"

The sample size is big enough. He's lost a ton in conference tournaments, he's lost in CBI's and CIT's, and he's lost in the NIT.

Aggie in Boise · Post by **Aggie in Boise** » March 28th, 2024, 2:54 pm

Hoot wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:52 pm

Aggie in Boise wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:52 pm

Hoot wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:47 pm
Did we even interview Ryan Thompson??
Twice!
Then we need to fire Sabau twice!

ratofallaggies · Post by **ratofallaggies** » March 28th, 2024, 2:55 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:52 pm

ratofallaggies wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:31 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:17 pm

ratofallaggies wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:17 pm

JonnyCienPesos wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:11 pm
Tod was a finalist last year as well, even before Diana was here.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Don't provide facts... people are too busy complaining about a coach that hasn't even coached a game nor recruited an athlete here yet.
Great its a fact he was a finalist last year. Why does that fact matter in any of this?
Exactly who I thought would bite on this one! I'm not exactly over the moon about the name, but I'm willing to give it some time before I destine his future team to mediocrity or worse. I don't have all the facts, and I know most on here have less than me. Maybe just see how it plays out. The irony would be if he comes in and absolutely kills it, leaves in a year, and people are so upset that he didn't stick around (we're giving him a fantastic welcome already).
You're like SLB.

Always a step ahead.

Low blow... Love ya brother. Hope all is well in your life!

Aggie84025 · Post by **Aggie84025** » March 28th, 2024, 2:55 pm

shoresy wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:31 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:25 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:00 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:46 pm
I'm confused why people were excited about Simon, who also has zero tournament appearances, and less wins over a shorter career than Kowalcyzk. I, for one, think that this is a fantastic hire.
You shouldn't be confused. People have given their reasons a hundred times, you just don't like them.
No, most people are just complaining without giving any concrete reasons why they don't like him. As far as I can tell, when people have articulated their concerns, they fall into basically three categories:

He hasn't won in March: A fair criticism, but Simon also has had zero success in March. Nor has David Riley. Eric Henderson has had two postseason bids in a much weaker conference. Who did people think that we were going to hire that had a long history of success in March? Todd Simon was responsible for one of the most epic conference tournament choke jobs in recent memory, and he completely gets a pass for that. But Kowalczyk is a bad coach because he hasn't had success in March?

He has no ties to Utah: I think that concern is overblown. None of our last three coaches had any ties to Utah. Sprinkle was the only one who had any real ties to the West. Our only recent coach who had ties to Utah was Duryea.

He's old: This seems like pure ageism. Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski are also old. If anything, this should be a positive for people who are worried about coaches moving on to new jobs. To me, I feel better about a coach who has a long track record of success rather than a young coach with a few good seasons who may turn out to be a flash in the pan.

Are there any other criticisms of Kowalczyk that I am overlooking?
Here's a concrete answer: He's lost nearly every meaningful game he's ever coached in. Nearly every postseason win he's ever had was as a much higher seed in conference tournaments. The sample size is big enough. There is CLEARLY something wrong with either him or the style of basketball he coaches that has prevented his teams from ever having even a shred of postseason success.

Agree with me or disagree, there's a concrete answer for you, and I believe is what most people are seeing right now.

I think that is a clear concern. He obviously is a good coach but not ever winning the conference tourney while being the regular season champ is a legitimate concern. I do think he will be solid at USU.

BasketballAgg · Post by **BasketballAgg** » March 28th, 2024, 2:57 pm

Full wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:52 pm

GeoAg wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:46 pm

Full wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:41 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:25 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:00 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:46 pm
I'm confused why people were excited about Simon, who also has zero tournament appearances, and less wins over a shorter career than Kowalcyzk. I, for one, think that this is a fantastic hire.
You shouldn't be confused. People have given their reasons a hundred times, you just don't like them.
No, most people are just complaining without giving any concrete reasons why they don't like him. As far as I can tell, when people have articulated their concerns, they fall into basically three categories:

He hasn't won in March: A fair criticism, but Simon also has had zero success in March. Nor has David Riley. Eric Henderson has had two postseason bids in a much weaker conference. Who did people think that we were going to hire that had a long history of success in March? Todd Simon was responsible for one of the most epic conference tournament choke jobs in recent memory, and he completely gets a pass for that. But Kowalczyk is a bad coach because he hasn't had success in March?

He has no ties to Utah: I think that concern is overblown. None of our last three coaches had any ties to Utah. Sprinkle was the only one who had any real ties to the West. Our only recent coach who had ties to Utah was Duryea.

He's old: This seems like pure ageism. Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski are also old. If anything, this should be a positive for people who are worried about coaches moving on to new jobs. To me, I feel better about a coach who has a long track record of success rather than a young coach with a few good seasons who may turn out to be a flash in the pan.

Are there any other criticisms of Kowalczyk that I am overlooking?
Stan Joplin lead Toledo to a 55.4% W-L% over 12 years before he was fired. Tod lead Toledo to a 60.6% W-L% over 14 years. Toledo is in the top of the MAC as far as fan base, facilities, basketball budget. It’s also in a great location to recruit to. Like others have said it’s a 6/10. I’ll wait to see what he can do, but my guess is we have a Leon Rice pre Duryea.
Leon Rice has only finished 1st in the league twice in 13 years. Once with Duryea and once without. TK finished first 8 times in 14 years including 6 of the last 7. I don't get the comparison. For the record Simon has finished first in the league once in 8 years. Again, I don't get the angst
Leon Rice ends seasons poorly. What’s Leon’s record in the conference tournament and NCAA tournament games.

Better than Tod Ks

StanfordAggie · Post by **StanfordAggie** » March 28th, 2024, 2:58 pm

Tetonkatest wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:49 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:46 pm
I'm confused why people were excited about Simon, who also has zero tournament appearances, and less wins over a shorter career than Kowalcyzk. I, for one, think that this is a fantastic hire.
Supposedly Simon is a better recruiter. that he recruited as well as he did to SUU was more impressive

Simon started his career at Findlay Prep, which allowed him to recruit blue chip talent. But Findlay closed a couple years ago, which made me much less excited about Simon's potential on the recruiting trail. Is there any indication that he can recruit blue chip talent without the Findlay pipeline?

StanfordAggie · Post by **StanfordAggie** » March 28th, 2024, 3:00 pm

lostaggiefan wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:51 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:49 pm

Full wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:41 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:25 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:00 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:46 pm
I'm confused why people were excited about Simon, who also has zero tournament appearances, and less wins over a shorter career than Kowalcyzk. I, for one, think that this is a fantastic hire.
You shouldn't be confused. People have given their reasons a hundred times, you just don't like them.
No, most people are just complaining without giving any concrete reasons why they don't like him. As far as I can tell, when people have articulated their concerns, they fall into basically three categories:

He hasn't won in March: A fair criticism, but Simon also has had zero success in March. Nor has David Riley. Eric Henderson has had two postseason bids in a much weaker conference. Who did people think that we were going to hire that had a long history of success in March? Todd Simon was responsible for one of the most epic conference tournament choke jobs in recent memory, and he completely gets a pass for that. But Kowalczyk is a bad coach because he hasn't had success in March?

He has no ties to Utah: I think that concern is overblown. None of our last three coaches had any ties to Utah. Sprinkle was the only one who had any real ties to the West. Our only recent coach who had ties to Utah was Duryea.

He's old: This seems like pure ageism. Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski are also old. If anything, this should be a positive for people who are worried about coaches moving on to new jobs. To me, I feel better about a coach who has a long track record of success rather than a young coach with a few good seasons who may turn out to be a flash in the pan.

Are there any other criticisms of Kowalczyk that I am overlooking?
Stan Joplin lead Toledo to a 55.4% W-L% over 12 years before he was fired. Tod lead Toledo to a 60.6% W-L% over 14 years. Toledo is in the top of the MAC as far as fan base, facilities, basketball budget. It’s also in a great location to recruit to. Like others have said it’s a 6/10. I’ll wait to see what he can do, but my guess is we have a Leon Rice pre Duryea.
You mean someone who won 20 games in 11 out of 14 seasons and was in the postseason mix nearly every season? That doesn't seem like a such a horrible outcome to me. And again, I'm confused why people believe that Todd Simon (or any other realistic candidate) would do significantly better than that.
The problem is the amount of time. Yeah, Simon didn't win a conference tournament at SUU, but they were only in contention for one his final three years there. Meanwhile, Kowalczyk has won six of the past seven regular season titles but has not only consistently fallen short in March, but fallen short in the early rounds of the conference tournament. Even in the times they've gotten a bid to the NIT afterwards, he's gone 0-5 there. 8 20+ win seasons in the last 11 years is great and does speak to his ability to coach, but repeatedly coming well short of expectations in the postseason is a massive red flag. If Simon were to have another decade of regular season success but postseason catastrophes, people would have the same reservations about hiring him.

It's just weird to see how much getting that NCAA tourney win this year meant to the fanbase, and then turn around and hire a guy with a long track record of not following through on potential in the postseason.

So it's better to just finish .500 than to win your regular season conference title and lose in the conference tournament? Simon has zero postseason appearances in 9 years of coaching. Why does he get a pass for that but somehow it is a huge red flag for Kowalczyk?

bob thomposn · Post by **bob thomposn** » March 28th, 2024, 3:03 pm

We have named a court after a coach that won exactly one tournament game. One. Including appearances in the NIT. That same coach never won 4 consecutive regular season championships in leagues less imposing than the MAC. We have exactly one regular season outright conference championship since we have been in this "6 bid" conference. Moreover, with his step up in league he is also going to have far greater resources available to him. The league itself, not to mention the actual school he is now coaching at will avail him to higher quality players that he will be able to coach. I appear to be in the minority, but I am over the moon excited for this hire. If he can win that league with the comparative players he had there, he will win here with the comparative players he will now get here.

bigblue32 · Post by **bigblue32** » March 28th, 2024, 3:03 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:00 pm

lostaggiefan wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:51 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:49 pm

Full wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:41 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:25 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:00 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:46 pm
I'm confused why people were excited about Simon, who also has zero tournament appearances, and less wins over a shorter career than Kowalcyzk. I, for one, think that this is a fantastic hire.
You shouldn't be confused. People have given their reasons a hundred times, you just don't like them.
No, most people are just complaining without giving any concrete reasons why they don't like him. As far as I can tell, when people have articulated their concerns, they fall into basically three categories:

He hasn't won in March: A fair criticism, but Simon also has had zero success in March. Nor has David Riley. Eric Henderson has had two postseason bids in a much weaker conference. Who did people think that we were going to hire that had a long history of success in March? Todd Simon was responsible for one of the most epic conference tournament choke jobs in recent memory, and he completely gets a pass for that. But Kowalczyk is a bad coach because he hasn't had success in March?

He has no ties to Utah: I think that concern is overblown. None of our last three coaches had any ties to Utah. Sprinkle was the only one who had any real ties to the West. Our only recent coach who had ties to Utah was Duryea.

He's old: This seems like pure ageism. Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski are also old. If anything, this should be a positive for people who are worried about coaches moving on to new jobs. To me, I feel better about a coach who has a long track record of success rather than a young coach with a few good seasons who may turn out to be a flash in the pan.

Are there any other criticisms of Kowalczyk that I am overlooking?
Stan Joplin lead Toledo to a 55.4% W-L% over 12 years before he was fired. Tod lead Toledo to a 60.6% W-L% over 14 years. Toledo is in the top of the MAC as far as fan base, facilities, basketball budget. It’s also in a great location to recruit to. Like others have said it’s a 6/10. I’ll wait to see what he can do, but my guess is we have a Leon Rice pre Duryea.
You mean someone who won 20 games in 11 out of 14 seasons and was in the postseason mix nearly every season? That doesn't seem like a such a horrible outcome to me. And again, I'm confused why people believe that Todd Simon (or any other realistic candidate) would do significantly better than that.
The problem is the amount of time. Yeah, Simon didn't win a conference tournament at SUU, but they were only in contention for one his final three years there. Meanwhile, Kowalczyk has won six of the past seven regular season titles but has not only consistently fallen short in March, but fallen short in the early rounds of the conference tournament. Even in the times they've gotten a bid to the NIT afterwards, he's gone 0-5 there. 8 20+ win seasons in the last 11 years is great and does speak to his ability to coach, but repeatedly coming well short of expectations in the postseason is a massive red flag. If Simon were to have another decade of regular season success but postseason catastrophes, people would have the same reservations about hiring him.

It's just weird to see how much getting that NCAA tourney win this year meant to the fanbase, and then turn around and hire a guy with a long track record of not following through on potential in the postseason.
So it's better to just finish .500 than to win your regular season conference title and lose in the conference tournament? Simon has zero postseason appearances in 9 years of coaching. Why does he get a pass for that but somehow it is a huge red flag for Kowalczyk?

Thank you. I feel like I’m on crazy pills. This is a great hire imo. Utah connections and Dave rice don’t mean jack (I can't express myself without swearing) with the portal anymore. Most recruiting is done via zoom and NIL.

Aggie in Boise · Post by **Aggie in Boise** » March 28th, 2024, 3:04 pm

Have we ever hired a coach this close to retirement that worked out? I believe Gary 2.0 was 55 years old. What does Tod (almost 58 years old) have to lose if things don't work out? Hopefully, the contract is short and built primarily on incentives.

StanfordAggie · Post by **StanfordAggie** » March 28th, 2024, 3:07 pm

Aggie in Boise wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:04 pm
Have we ever hired a coach this close to retirement that worked out? I believe Gary 2.0 was 55 years old. What does Tod (57 years old) have to lose if things don't work out? IMO, the contract should be short and built primarily on incentives.

I'm not sure USU has hired a 57-year-old coach in recent memory. However, Brian Dutcher was 57 when he was hired at SDSU. Enough said.

cval · Post by **cval** » March 28th, 2024, 3:08 pm

I don’t think a finesse style of play will work well in the MWC, or in postseason play.

TrueAG · Post by **TrueAG** » March 28th, 2024, 3:12 pm

Aggie in Boise wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:04 pm
Have we ever hired a coach this close to retirement that worked out? I believe Gary 2.0 was 55 years old. What does Tod (almost 58 years old) have to lose if things don't work out? Hopefully, the contract is short and built primarily on incentives.

It feels like people think of their job the same as a college Coach. These are competitive people. You have to be a super ambitious hard working person to reach this level of success. This is a passion for these guys. The live and die with every win and loss. They aren't doing TPS reports and punching a clock until they hit 65.

ineptimusprime · Post by **ineptimusprime** » March 28th, 2024, 3:12 pm

Just watch, this thread has triggered the reverse jinx.

Our great-grandkids will be watching the Ags play in the Kowalczyck Pavilion (built in 2057), named after the famed Aggie basketball coach who coached for 18 years at USU (from ages 57-75). The Coach who brought us an Elite 8, five Sweet 16s, and 10 conference titles, and that died in the office of a heart attack while on a call with a recruit.

Aggie in Boise · Post by **Aggie in Boise** » March 28th, 2024, 3:12 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:07 pm

Aggie in Boise wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:04 pm
Have we ever hired a coach this close to retirement that worked out? I believe Gary 2.0 was 55 years old. What does Tod (57 years old) have to lose if things don't work out? IMO, the contract should be short and built primarily on incentives.
I'm not sure USU has hired a 57-year-old coach in recent memory. However, Brian Dutcher was 57 when he was hired at SDSU. Enough said.

No. Brian was an assistant to a legend for nearly two decades at a high-level program. Not even close.

splintorb · Post by **splintorb** » March 28th, 2024, 3:13 pm

I think we should all calm down a little...maybe this isn't what we think it is?

lostaggiefan · Post by **lostaggiefan** » March 28th, 2024, 3:13 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:00 pm

lostaggiefan wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:51 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:49 pm

Full wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:41 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:25 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:00 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:46 pm
I'm confused why people were excited about Simon, who also has zero tournament appearances, and less wins over a shorter career than Kowalcyzk. I, for one, think that this is a fantastic hire.
You shouldn't be confused. People have given their reasons a hundred times, you just don't like them.
No, most people are just complaining without giving any concrete reasons why they don't like him. As far as I can tell, when people have articulated their concerns, they fall into basically three categories:

He hasn't won in March: A fair criticism, but Simon also has had zero success in March. Nor has David Riley. Eric Henderson has had two postseason bids in a much weaker conference. Who did people think that we were going to hire that had a long history of success in March? Todd Simon was responsible for one of the most epic conference tournament choke jobs in recent memory, and he completely gets a pass for that. But Kowalczyk is a bad coach because he hasn't had success in March?

He has no ties to Utah: I think that concern is overblown. None of our last three coaches had any ties to Utah. Sprinkle was the only one who had any real ties to the West. Our only recent coach who had ties to Utah was Duryea.

He's old: This seems like pure ageism. Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski are also old. If anything, this should be a positive for people who are worried about coaches moving on to new jobs. To me, I feel better about a coach who has a long track record of success rather than a young coach with a few good seasons who may turn out to be a flash in the pan.

Are there any other criticisms of Kowalczyk that I am overlooking?
Stan Joplin lead Toledo to a 55.4% W-L% over 12 years before he was fired. Tod lead Toledo to a 60.6% W-L% over 14 years. Toledo is in the top of the MAC as far as fan base, facilities, basketball budget. It’s also in a great location to recruit to. Like others have said it’s a 6/10. I’ll wait to see what he can do, but my guess is we have a Leon Rice pre Duryea.
You mean someone who won 20 games in 11 out of 14 seasons and was in the postseason mix nearly every season? That doesn't seem like a such a horrible outcome to me. And again, I'm confused why people believe that Todd Simon (or any other realistic candidate) would do significantly better than that.
The problem is the amount of time. Yeah, Simon didn't win a conference tournament at SUU, but they were only in contention for one his final three years there. Meanwhile, Kowalczyk has won six of the past seven regular season titles but has not only consistently fallen short in March, but fallen short in the early rounds of the conference tournament. Even in the times they've gotten a bid to the NIT afterwards, he's gone 0-5 there. 8 20+ win seasons in the last 11 years is great and does speak to his ability to coach, but repeatedly coming well short of expectations in the postseason is a massive red flag. If Simon were to have another decade of regular season success but postseason catastrophes, people would have the same reservations about hiring him.

It's just weird to see how much getting that NCAA tourney win this year meant to the fanbase, and then turn around and hire a guy with a long track record of not following through on potential in the postseason.
So it's better to just finish .500 than to win your regular season conference title and lose in the conference tournament? Simon has zero postseason appearances in 9 years of coaching. Why does he get a pass for that but somehow it is a huge red flag for Kowalczyk?

Again, it's the length of time. Yes, Simon hasn't won in the postseason and I'm not giving him a complete pass on that. But again, he's only been a coach for eight years (I don't count interim years against guys) and was only ever in contention to win a title in three of those seasons after building the program up.

Kowalczyk also built the program up at both Toledo and Green Bay across 22 seasons. Even just at Toledo, he won the regular season title his fourth season there and has been in contention for the league since. But across ELEVEN SEASONS OF SUSTAINED REGULAR SEASON SUCCESS, HE'S NEVER WON THE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT. It's as simple as that. If you can't understand the reason why people are apprehensive about hiring that resume, you're just being obstinate.

bigblue32 · Post by **bigblue32** » March 28th, 2024, 3:14 pm

Aggie in Boise wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:12 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:07 pm

Aggie in Boise wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:04 pm
Have we ever hired a coach this close to retirement that worked out? I believe Gary 2.0 was 55 years old. What does Tod (57 years old) have to lose if things don't work out? IMO, the contract should be short and built primarily on incentives.
I'm not sure USU has hired a 57-year-old coach in recent memory. However, Brian Dutcher was 57 when he was hired at SDSU. Enough said.
No. Brian was an assistant to a legend for over a decade at a high-level program. Not even close.

Yeah I’d agree it’s not close because dutcher was a bit riskier in that scenario having never been a head coach whereas Tod K has won 400+ games as a division one head coach.

TrueAG · Post by **TrueAG** » March 28th, 2024, 3:15 pm

lostaggiefan wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:13 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:00 pm

lostaggiefan wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:51 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:49 pm

Full wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:41 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:25 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:00 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:46 pm
I'm confused why people were excited about Simon, who also has zero tournament appearances, and less wins over a shorter career than Kowalcyzk. I, for one, think that this is a fantastic hire.
You shouldn't be confused. People have given their reasons a hundred times, you just don't like them.
No, most people are just complaining without giving any concrete reasons why they don't like him. As far as I can tell, when people have articulated their concerns, they fall into basically three categories:

He hasn't won in March: A fair criticism, but Simon also has had zero success in March. Nor has David Riley. Eric Henderson has had two postseason bids in a much weaker conference. Who did people think that we were going to hire that had a long history of success in March? Todd Simon was responsible for one of the most epic conference tournament choke jobs in recent memory, and he completely gets a pass for that. But Kowalczyk is a bad coach because he hasn't had success in March?

He has no ties to Utah: I think that concern is overblown. None of our last three coaches had any ties to Utah. Sprinkle was the only one who had any real ties to the West. Our only recent coach who had ties to Utah was Duryea.

He's old: This seems like pure ageism. Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski are also old. If anything, this should be a positive for people who are worried about coaches moving on to new jobs. To me, I feel better about a coach who has a long track record of success rather than a young coach with a few good seasons who may turn out to be a flash in the pan.

Are there any other criticisms of Kowalczyk that I am overlooking?
Stan Joplin lead Toledo to a 55.4% W-L% over 12 years before he was fired. Tod lead Toledo to a 60.6% W-L% over 14 years. Toledo is in the top of the MAC as far as fan base, facilities, basketball budget. It’s also in a great location to recruit to. Like others have said it’s a 6/10. I’ll wait to see what he can do, but my guess is we have a Leon Rice pre Duryea.
You mean someone who won 20 games in 11 out of 14 seasons and was in the postseason mix nearly every season? That doesn't seem like a such a horrible outcome to me. And again, I'm confused why people believe that Todd Simon (or any other realistic candidate) would do significantly better than that.
The problem is the amount of time. Yeah, Simon didn't win a conference tournament at SUU, but they were only in contention for one his final three years there. Meanwhile, Kowalczyk has won six of the past seven regular season titles but has not only consistently fallen short in March, but fallen short in the early rounds of the conference tournament. Even in the times they've gotten a bid to the NIT afterwards, he's gone 0-5 there. 8 20+ win seasons in the last 11 years is great and does speak to his ability to coach, but repeatedly coming well short of expectations in the postseason is a massive red flag. If Simon were to have another decade of regular season success but postseason catastrophes, people would have the same reservations about hiring him.

It's just weird to see how much getting that NCAA tourney win this year meant to the fanbase, and then turn around and hire a guy with a long track record of not following through on potential in the postseason.
So it's better to just finish .500 than to win your regular season conference title and lose in the conference tournament? Simon has zero postseason appearances in 9 years of coaching. Why does he get a pass for that but somehow it is a huge red flag for Kowalczyk?
Again, it's the length of time. Yes, Simon hasn't won in the postseason and I'm not giving him a complete pass on that. But again, he's only been a coach for eight years (I don't count interim years against guys) and was only ever in contention to win a title in three of those seasons after building the program up.

Kowalczyk also built the program up at both Toledo and Green Bay across 22 seasons. Even just at Toledo, he won the regular season title his fourth season there and has been in contention for the league since. But across ELEVEN SEASONS OF SUSTAINED REGULAR SEASON SUCCESS, HE'S NEVER WON THE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT. It's as simple as that. If you can't understand the reason why people are apprehensive about hiring that resume, you're just being obstinate.

It is concerning, the counter is who is the far superior choice?

lostaggiefan · Post by **lostaggiefan** » March 28th, 2024, 3:20 pm

TrueAG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:15 pm

lostaggiefan wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:13 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:00 pm

lostaggiefan wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:51 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:49 pm

Full wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:41 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:25 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:00 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:46 pm
I'm confused why people were excited about Simon, who also has zero tournament appearances, and less wins over a shorter career than Kowalcyzk. I, for one, think that this is a fantastic hire.
You shouldn't be confused. People have given their reasons a hundred times, you just don't like them.
No, most people are just complaining without giving any concrete reasons why they don't like him. As far as I can tell, when people have articulated their concerns, they fall into basically three categories:

He hasn't won in March: A fair criticism, but Simon also has had zero success in March. Nor has David Riley. Eric Henderson has had two postseason bids in a much weaker conference. Who did people think that we were going to hire that had a long history of success in March? Todd Simon was responsible for one of the most epic conference tournament choke jobs in recent memory, and he completely gets a pass for that. But Kowalczyk is a bad coach because he hasn't had success in March?

He has no ties to Utah: I think that concern is overblown. None of our last three coaches had any ties to Utah. Sprinkle was the only one who had any real ties to the West. Our only recent coach who had ties to Utah was Duryea.

He's old: This seems like pure ageism. Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski are also old. If anything, this should be a positive for people who are worried about coaches moving on to new jobs. To me, I feel better about a coach who has a long track record of success rather than a young coach with a few good seasons who may turn out to be a flash in the pan.

Are there any other criticisms of Kowalczyk that I am overlooking?
Stan Joplin lead Toledo to a 55.4% W-L% over 12 years before he was fired. Tod lead Toledo to a 60.6% W-L% over 14 years. Toledo is in the top of the MAC as far as fan base, facilities, basketball budget. It’s also in a great location to recruit to. Like others have said it’s a 6/10. I’ll wait to see what he can do, but my guess is we have a Leon Rice pre Duryea.
You mean someone who won 20 games in 11 out of 14 seasons and was in the postseason mix nearly every season? That doesn't seem like a such a horrible outcome to me. And again, I'm confused why people believe that Todd Simon (or any other realistic candidate) would do significantly better than that.
The problem is the amount of time. Yeah, Simon didn't win a conference tournament at SUU, but they were only in contention for one his final three years there. Meanwhile, Kowalczyk has won six of the past seven regular season titles but has not only consistently fallen short in March, but fallen short in the early rounds of the conference tournament. Even in the times they've gotten a bid to the NIT afterwards, he's gone 0-5 there. 8 20+ win seasons in the last 11 years is great and does speak to his ability to coach, but repeatedly coming well short of expectations in the postseason is a massive red flag. If Simon were to have another decade of regular season success but postseason catastrophes, people would have the same reservations about hiring him.

It's just weird to see how much getting that NCAA tourney win this year meant to the fanbase, and then turn around and hire a guy with a long track record of not following through on potential in the postseason.
So it's better to just finish .500 than to win your regular season conference title and lose in the conference tournament? Simon has zero postseason appearances in 9 years of coaching. Why does he get a pass for that but somehow it is a huge red flag for Kowalczyk?
Again, it's the length of time. Yes, Simon hasn't won in the postseason and I'm not giving him a complete pass on that. But again, he's only been a coach for eight years (I don't count interim years against guys) and was only ever in contention to win a title in three of those seasons after building the program up.

Kowalczyk also built the program up at both Toledo and Green Bay across 22 seasons. Even just at Toledo, he won the regular season title his fourth season there and has been in contention for the league since. But across ELEVEN SEASONS OF SUSTAINED REGULAR SEASON SUCCESS, HE'S NEVER WON THE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT. It's as simple as that. If you can't understand the reason why people are apprehensive about hiring that resume, you're just being obstinate.
It is concerning, the counter is who is the far superior choice?

That'd be a question for the administration making the hire. But given everything about the job, it seems unlikely more appealing candidates wouldn't have been interested. And if they weren't, then I'd have some major questions about the search committee and how the job was presented.

JFWAggie · Post by **JFWAggie** » March 28th, 2024, 3:20 pm

He may not be the sexy hire, but he seems to be a very solid hire, despite his lack of post season succes. I havent looked it up but im sure hes never had the fan support at Toledo like he will here, not only in the spectrum but also in the conference tournaments. I would be surprised if we are not contending very soon for another conference championship. How many NCAA games had Stew won before coming here? There is a lot more to judge this guy on than that

StanfordAggie · Post by **StanfordAggie** » March 28th, 2024, 3:22 pm

Aggie in Boise wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:12 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:07 pm

Aggie in Boise wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:04 pm
Have we ever hired a coach this close to retirement that worked out? I believe Gary 2.0 was 55 years old. What does Tod (57 years old) have to lose if things don't work out? IMO, the contract should be short and built primarily on incentives.
I'm not sure USU has hired a 57-year-old coach in recent memory. However, Brian Dutcher was 57 when he was hired at SDSU. Enough said.
No. Brian was an assistant to a legend for nearly two decades at a high-level program. Not even close.

I'm not sure if SDSU qualifies as a "high level program," but that's beside the point. The more important point is that even coaches who are 57 when they are hired can be successful.

MetsJetsAggies · Post by **MetsJetsAggies** » March 28th, 2024, 3:24 pm

GeoAg wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:53 pm

Tetonkatest wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:49 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:46 pm
I'm confused why people were excited about Simon, who also has zero tournament appearances, and less wins over a shorter career than Kowalcyzk. I, for one, think that this is a fantastic hire.
Supposedly Simon is a better recruiter. that he recruited as well as he did to SUU was more impressive
Why is that anymore impressive than recruiting to Toledo?

Toledo is very close to multiple big metropolitan cities with long histories of basketball talent…you’re comparing that to Cedar City?

Aggie in Boise · Post by **Aggie in Boise** » March 28th, 2024, 3:24 pm

bigblue32 wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:14 pm

Aggie in Boise wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:12 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:07 pm

Aggie in Boise wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:04 pm
Have we ever hired a coach this close to retirement that worked out? I believe Gary 2.0 was 55 years old. What does Tod (57 years old) have to lose if things don't work out? IMO, the contract should be short and built primarily on incentives.
I'm not sure USU has hired a 57-year-old coach in recent memory. However, Brian Dutcher was 57 when he was hired at SDSU. Enough said.
No. Brian was an assistant to a legend for over a decade at a high-level program. Not even close.
Yeah I’d agree it’s not close because dutcher was a bit riskier in that scenario having never been a head coach whereas Tod K has won 400+ games as a division one head coach.

My bad, when you include Michigan, it was almost 30 years as an Associate Head Coach. IMO, that's less risky than taking a guy like TK. As I've said before I see some upside to this hire.

SLB · Post by **SLB** » March 28th, 2024, 3:25 pm

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-baske ... /401625500
This was his last game at Toledo, and this makes me less positive about getting Kowalczyk.

Bigdog · Post by **Bigdog** » March 28th, 2024, 3:25 pm

Time will tell with this and any hire, but comparing it to Dutcher is a bit much. He recruited the (I can't express myself without swearing) Fab 5! He also recruited Kawh i with Hutson.

Bigdog

SLB · Post by **SLB** » March 28th, 2024, 3:26 pm

MetsJetsAggies wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:24 pm

GeoAg wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:53 pm

Tetonkatest wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:49 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:46 pm
I'm confused why people were excited about Simon, who also has zero tournament appearances, and less wins over a shorter career than Kowalcyzk. I, for one, think that this is a fantastic hire.
Supposedly Simon is a better recruiter. that he recruited as well as he did to SUU was more impressive
Why is that anymore impressive than recruiting to Toledo?
Toledo is very close to multiple big metropolitan cities with long histories of basketball talent…you’re comparing that to Cedar City?

This is exactly why people are concerned about the coach.

MetsJetsAggies · Post by **MetsJetsAggies** » March 28th, 2024, 3:26 pm

SLB wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:25 pm
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-baske ... /401625500
This was his last game at Toledo, and this makes me less positive about getting Kowalczyk.

Tbf those 3pt and FT shooting percentages are hard to win any game with

travelingagg · Post by **travelingagg** » March 28th, 2024, 3:27 pm

ineptimusprime wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:26 pm

travelingagg wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:19 pm
Posters are thinking he brings Ben Wight with him. Here's Ben's profile:
https://utrockets.com/sports/mens-baske ... wight/8495
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-baske ... /ben-wight
They can keep Ben Wight. LOL.

I don't know. I'm impressed by his 43.5% FG% (please ignore his 1.3 pts per game season average).

SLB · Post by **SLB** » March 28th, 2024, 3:30 pm

MetsJetsAggies wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:26 pm

SLB wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:25 pm
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-baske ... /401625500
This was his last game at Toledo, and this makes me less positive about getting Kowalczyk.
Tbf those 3pt and FT shooting percentages are hard to win any game with

Do they even practice FTs?

StanfordAggie · Post by **StanfordAggie** » March 28th, 2024, 3:30 pm

lostaggiefan wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:13 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:00 pm

lostaggiefan wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:51 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:49 pm

Full wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:41 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 2:25 pm

2004AG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 1:00 pm

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 12:46 pm
I'm confused why people were excited about Simon, who also has zero tournament appearances, and less wins over a shorter career than Kowalcyzk. I, for one, think that this is a fantastic hire.
You shouldn't be confused. People have given their reasons a hundred times, you just don't like them.
No, most people are just complaining without giving any concrete reasons why they don't like him. As far as I can tell, when people have articulated their concerns, they fall into basically three categories:

He hasn't won in March: A fair criticism, but Simon also has had zero success in March. Nor has David Riley. Eric Henderson has had two postseason bids in a much weaker conference. Who did people think that we were going to hire that had a long history of success in March? Todd Simon was responsible for one of the most epic conference tournament choke jobs in recent memory, and he completely gets a pass for that. But Kowalczyk is a bad coach because he hasn't had success in March?

He has no ties to Utah: I think that concern is overblown. None of our last three coaches had any ties to Utah. Sprinkle was the only one who had any real ties to the West. Our only recent coach who had ties to Utah was Duryea.

He's old: This seems like pure ageism. Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski are also old. If anything, this should be a positive for people who are worried about coaches moving on to new jobs. To me, I feel better about a coach who has a long track record of success rather than a young coach with a few good seasons who may turn out to be a flash in the pan.

Are there any other criticisms of Kowalczyk that I am overlooking?
Stan Joplin lead Toledo to a 55.4% W-L% over 12 years before he was fired. Tod lead Toledo to a 60.6% W-L% over 14 years. Toledo is in the top of the MAC as far as fan base, facilities, basketball budget. It’s also in a great location to recruit to. Like others have said it’s a 6/10. I’ll wait to see what he can do, but my guess is we have a Leon Rice pre Duryea.
You mean someone who won 20 games in 11 out of 14 seasons and was in the postseason mix nearly every season? That doesn't seem like a such a horrible outcome to me. And again, I'm confused why people believe that Todd Simon (or any other realistic candidate) would do significantly better than that.
The problem is the amount of time. Yeah, Simon didn't win a conference tournament at SUU, but they were only in contention for one his final three years there. Meanwhile, Kowalczyk has won six of the past seven regular season titles but has not only consistently fallen short in March, but fallen short in the early rounds of the conference tournament. Even in the times they've gotten a bid to the NIT afterwards, he's gone 0-5 there. 8 20+ win seasons in the last 11 years is great and does speak to his ability to coach, but repeatedly coming well short of expectations in the postseason is a massive red flag. If Simon were to have another decade of regular season success but postseason catastrophes, people would have the same reservations about hiring him.

It's just weird to see how much getting that NCAA tourney win this year meant to the fanbase, and then turn around and hire a guy with a long track record of not following through on potential in the postseason.
So it's better to just finish .500 than to win your regular season conference title and lose in the conference tournament? Simon has zero postseason appearances in 9 years of coaching. Why does he get a pass for that but somehow it is a huge red flag for Kowalczyk?
Again, it's the length of time. Yes, Simon hasn't won in the postseason and I'm not giving him a complete pass on that. But again, he's only been a coach for eight years (I don't count interim years against guys) and was only ever in contention to win a title in three of those seasons after building the program up.

Kowalczyk also built the program up at both Toledo and Green Bay across 22 seasons. Even just at Toledo, he won the regular season title his fourth season there and has been in contention for the league since. But across ELEVEN SEASONS OF SUSTAINED REGULAR SEASON SUCCESS, HE'S NEVER WON THE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT. It's as simple as that. If you can't understand the reason why people are apprehensive about hiring that resume, you're just being obstinate.

So it's better to have a bunch of .500 seasons, like Simon did, then to win your conference and lose in the conference tournament, like Kowalczyk? Sure, I would have loved to have a coach with more success in March, but who could we have realistically hired with a better March resume? And why does Simon get a pass for zero March success but Kowalczyk doesn't?

TrueAG · Post by **TrueAG** » March 28th, 2024, 3:31 pm

SLB wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:25 pm
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-baske ... /401625500
This was his last game at Toledo, and this makes me less positive about getting Kowalczyk.

At least BG tore it up. Oh wait they lost to Purdue-Fort Wayne

SLB · Post by **SLB** » March 28th, 2024, 3:33 pm

TrueAG wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:31 pm

SLB wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:25 pm
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-baske ... /401625500
This was his last game at Toledo, and this makes me less positive about getting Kowalczyk.
At least BG tore it up. Oh wait they lost to Purdue-Fort Wayne

The irony is that Kent State only beat Bowling Green because Kent State went 12/18 on 3s.

StanfordAggie · Post by **StanfordAggie** » March 28th, 2024, 3:33 pm

Bigdog wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2024, 3:25 pm
Time will tell with this and any hire, but comparing it to Dutcher is a bit much. He recruited the (I can't express myself without swearing) Fab 5! He also recruited Kawh i with Hutson.

Bigdog

Sigh. Once again, some people were complaining that we hired a 57-year-old coach. I responded by saying that Brian Dutcher was also 57 years old when he was hired. That is the only thing that the two of them have in common. My only point is that just because a coach was hired at age 57 does not imply that he will be a bad coach.

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