bpd wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 4:04 pm

oleblu111 wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 3:34 pm

El Sapo wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 3:24 pm

JonnyCienPesos wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 3:22 pm

El Sapo wrote:1 million buyout is chump change to the programs that could hire Smith away.

Hartwell didn't do a very good good job with Smith's contract.

To be fair, what leverage did Hartwell have?


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The money

The raise he got was small just a extension of the contract. He had no real leverage

Craig should be trying to get charter flights on all road games, which is what boosters and alumni should be pushing for as well.

He already had that this year.

imanaggie wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 4:06 pm

You're high if you think he turned down interviews with Minnesota. Seriously. Who knows how it all went down but Craig Smith did not turn down the opportunity to interview in his home state for 2.5X - 3X what he is currently making. Set the Aggie blue kool-aid down!

So I'm guessing you have EXTREMELY credible sources to back this?

imanaggie wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 4:06 pm

You're high if you think he turned down interviews with Minnesota. Seriously. Who knows how it all went down but Craig Smith did not turn down the opportunity to interview in his home state for 2.5X - 3X what he is currently making. Set the Aggie blue kool-aid down!

I choose to believe it and nothing you can say will convince me otherwise.

imanaggie wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 4:06 pm

You're high if you think he turned down interviews with Minnesota. Seriously. Who knows how it all went down but Craig Smith did not turn down the opportunity to interview in his home state for 2.5X - 3X what he is currently making. Set the Aggie blue kool-aid down!

Ever been to Minnesota? Just asking, I haven't, probably never will either.

ViAggie wrote:

imanaggie wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 4:06 pm

You're high if you think he turned down interviews with Minnesota. Seriously. Who knows how it all went down but Craig Smith did not turn down the opportunity to interview in his home state for 2.5X - 3X what he is currently making. Set the Aggie blue kool-aid down!

Ever been to Minnesota? Just asking, I haven't, probably never will either.

Ever been high before? I haven’t but probably will some day.


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Winning Team wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 4:15 pm

imanaggie wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 4:06 pm

You're high if you think he turned down interviews with Minnesota. Seriously. Who knows how it all went down but Craig Smith did not turn down the opportunity to interview in his home state for 2.5X - 3X what he is currently making. Set the Aggie blue kool-aid down!

So I'm guessing you have EXTREMELY credible sources to back this?

Nah...just common sense.

imanaggie wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 4:57 pm

Winning Team wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 4:15 pm

imanaggie wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 4:06 pm

You're high if you think he turned down interviews with Minnesota. Seriously. Who knows how it all went down but Craig Smith did not turn down the opportunity to interview in his home state for 2.5X - 3X what he is currently making. Set the Aggie blue kool-aid down!

So I'm guessing you have EXTREMELY credible sources to back this?

Nah...just common sense.

Alright ill stick to my sources then

I had read they were under pressure to make a minority hire. That is what saved us here.

imanaggie wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 4:57 pm

Winning Team wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 4:15 pm

imanaggie wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 4:06 pm

You're high if you think he turned down interviews with Minnesota. Seriously. Who knows how it all went down but Craig Smith did not turn down the opportunity to interview in his home state for 2.5X - 3X what he is currently making. Set the Aggie blue kool-aid down!

So I'm guessing you have EXTREMELY credible sources to back this?

Nah...just common sense.

You know what they say about common sense...

Winning Team wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 3:46 pm

I’ve also been told that not only is he staying at USU but he also turned down many interviews. I’ve even been told he never interviewed with Minnesota after turning it down.

Ignore them. Glad to have your feedback.

I'll admit that I'm surprised, and I clearly don't understand Coach Smith. I would have assumed that Minnesota was a destination job for him, and his interest would have led to interviews. I'm excited to hear that he's not ready to be done at USU yet.

Go Aggies!

Donman wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 5:04 pm

I had read they were under pressure to make a minority hire. That is what saved us here.

Has anyone seen what Johnson is going to be paid at Minnesota and how much money was available for assistants? One possible scenario is that preliminary talks with Smith may have broken down quickly based on monetary factors alone. Craig knows from already being an assistant in the BIG that without a total commitment on such things as staff is just career suicide. Also, we have no information that suggest that it is guaranteed that he would be making 2 to 3 times what he is here, especially when you consider cost of living. There is a lot of speculation that UM is not flush with cash right now. People insisting that Craig couldn't turn down 2 to 3 mil really don't know if that was reality.

As far as the diversity issue, I don't know how much a factor that was, but if you read the opinion of the Star Tribune which is the biggest newspaper in the state, the decision to hire lily white Craig Smith would have been roasted unmercifully on that front. We're talking ground zero George Floyd here folks, and not Logan Utah.

Just saw another post that Smith is calling players today telling them that he's not going anywhere. If he wasn't interested in the job why wait until now? (Answer: Because he was interested.) Look, I like Smith a lot. I'm so glad he's staying. But let's not be naive. I would question his thought process if he didn't at least interview if he was indeed asked to interview. It appears that ee wanted the job and, for whatever reason, didn't get it. Lucky for us.

Considering what he’s done here already we are extremely lucky to keep him another year. Go Aggies!

Winning Team wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 4:15 pm

imanaggie wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 4:06 pm

You're high if you think he turned down interviews with Minnesota. Seriously. Who knows how it all went down but Craig Smith did not turn down the opportunity to interview in his home state for 2.5X - 3X what he is currently making. Set the Aggie blue kool-aid down!

So I'm guessing you have EXTREMELY credible sources to back this?

How's this for credible? He turned down the interview.

imanaggie wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 5:40 pm

Just saw another post that Smith is calling players today telling them that he's not going anywhere. If he wasn't interested in the job why wait until now? (Answer: Because he was interested.) Look, I like Smith a lot. I'm so glad he's staying. But let's not be naive. I would question his thought process if he didn't at least interview if he was indeed asked to interview. It appears that ee wanted the job and, for whatever reason, didn't get it. Lucky for us.

You're not going to call someone and tell them you're staying until you have moved down the path a bit. He can't think about it until he gets a call for an interview, discusses it with his wife and family and makes a decision. Then regardless of his decision, if it gets leaked to the media that he's interviewing, then he can start doing damage control.

The timing of him calling players doesn't mean anything, IMO.

aggies22 wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 6:26 pm

Winning Team wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 4:15 pm

imanaggie wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 4:06 pm

You're high if you think he turned down interviews with Minnesota. Seriously. Who knows how it all went down but Craig Smith did not turn down the opportunity to interview in his home state for 2.5X - 3X what he is currently making. Set the Aggie blue kool-aid down!

So I'm guessing you have EXTREMELY credible sources to back this?

How's this for credible? He turned down the interview.

22 - Accepting that you have inside knowledge of what's going on inside the basketball program as the predicate, would you mind answering the following for context:

1) Was Craig Smith asked by Minnesota to interview for the head coaching position?
2) Did he unequivocally turn down the opportunity to interview after the request was made by Minnesota? Did he turn it down immediately? If not, how much time did he wait?
3) Assuming the answers to 1 and 2 are "yes", did Smith have knowledge that Minnesota was moving a different direction prior to turning down the interview? In other words, did he view the interview as Minnesota "checking boxes"?

To simply say that he turned down the interview (assuming this happened) does not necessarily mean that his response was a demonstration of his loyalty to Utah State. There is a ton of context missing assuming what you're saying is fact. At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter, but inquiring minds would like to know.

22 - Can you run down Smiths SSN and CC # as well?

sam tingey wrote: ↑

March 23rd, 2021, 9:44 am

22 - Can you run down Smiths SSN and CC # as well?

C'mon, Sam. If you're truly close to the program and have inside info, those questions shouldn't be hard to answer.

BTW, 22, I'm not trying to be antagonistic. I appreciate the information that you're able to contribute.

imanaggie wrote: ↑

March 23rd, 2021, 9:41 am

aggies22 wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 6:26 pm

Winning Team wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 4:15 pm

imanaggie wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 4:06 pm

You're high if you think he turned down interviews with Minnesota. Seriously. Who knows how it all went down but Craig Smith did not turn down the opportunity to interview in his home state for 2.5X - 3X what he is currently making. Set the Aggie blue kool-aid down!

So I'm guessing you have EXTREMELY credible sources to back this?

How's this for credible? He turned down the interview.

22 - Accepting that you have inside knowledge of what's going on inside the basketball program as the predicate, would you mind answering the following for context:

1) Was Craig Smith asked by Minnesota to interview for the head coaching position?
2) Did he unequivocally turn down the opportunity to interview after the request was made by Minnesota? Did he turn it down immediately? If not, how much time did he wait?
3) Assuming the answers to 1 and 2 are "yes", did Smith have knowledge that Minnesota was moving a different direction prior to turning down the interview? In other words, did he view the interview as Minnesota "checking boxes"?

To simply say that he turned down the interview (assuming this happened) does not necessarily mean that his response was a demonstration of his loyalty to Utah State. There is a ton of context missing assuming what you're saying is fact. At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter, but inquiring minds would like to know.

I have no idea if he "mulled it over", however it is my understanding that the interview was in fact turned down. I don't believe there was any prior knowledge about which direction the coaching search was heading. Contrary to what was being reported on the Minnesota fan board, it's my belief that Coach Smith never seriously considered the Minnesota job.

Thanks.

stang wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 4:14 pm

bpd wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 4:04 pm

oleblu111 wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 3:34 pm

El Sapo wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 3:24 pm

JonnyCienPesos wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 3:22 pm

El Sapo wrote:1 million buyout is chump change to the programs that could hire Smith away.

Hartwell didn't do a very good good job with Smith's contract.

To be fair, what leverage did Hartwell have?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The money

The raise he got was small just a extension of the contract. He had no real leverage

Craig should be trying to get charter flights on all road games, which is what boosters and alumni should be pushing for as well.

He already had that this year.

Why the small extension? Are we not happy with his performance? He should have gotten a big raise.

El Sapo wrote: ↑

March 23rd, 2021, 11:01 am

stang wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 4:14 pm

bpd wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 4:04 pm

oleblu111 wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 3:34 pm

El Sapo wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 3:24 pm

JonnyCienPesos wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 3:22 pm

El Sapo wrote:1 million buyout is chump change to the programs that could hire Smith away.

Hartwell didn't do a very good good job with Smith's contract.

To be fair, what leverage did Hartwell have?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The money

The raise he got was small just a extension of the contract. He had no real leverage

Craig should be trying to get charter flights on all road games, which is what boosters and alumni should be pushing for as well.

He already had that this year.

Why the small extension? Are we not happy with his performance? He should have gotten a big raise.

I don't think we are in any situation to pay much more. He got an extension and raise which puts him a decent spot in terms of pay within the MW. He also gets a year extension every time he goes to the tournament. Even if you put him at 1.2MM the P5 schools will pay 2-3 times that amount.

Aggie84025 wrote: ↑

March 23rd, 2021, 11:25 am

El Sapo wrote: ↑

March 23rd, 2021, 11:01 am

stang wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 4:14 pm

bpd wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 4:04 pm

oleblu111 wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 3:34 pm

El Sapo wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 3:24 pm

JonnyCienPesos wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 3:22 pm

El Sapo wrote:1 million buyout is chump change to the programs that could hire Smith away.

Hartwell didn't do a very good good job with Smith's contract.

To be fair, what leverage did Hartwell have?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The money

The raise he got was small just a extension of the contract. He had no real leverage

Craig should be trying to get charter flights on all road games, which is what boosters and alumni should be pushing for as well.

He already had that this year.

Why the small extension? Are we not happy with his performance? He should have gotten a big raise.

I don't think we are in any situation to pay much more. He got an extension and raise which puts him a decent spot in terms of pay within the MW. He also gets a year extension every time he goes to the tournament. Even if you put him at 1.2MM the P5 schools will pay 2-3 times that amount.

Agreed. That said, money per year is certainly part of the calculation but so is security. Getting a guaranteed future million bucks every time you make the tournament is a pretty nice piece of financial security.

StanfordAggie wrote: ↑

March 23rd, 2021, 11:51 pm

El Sapo wrote: ↑

March 22nd, 2021, 3:18 pm

1 million buyout is chump change to the programs that could hire Smith away.

Hartwell didn't do a very good good job with Smith's contract.

I know I complain about this every time this subject comes up, but I strongly disagree. To me, a large buyout clause is a sign of a weakness. It basically says, "We don't think coaches will want to stay at our program, so we have to demand a ransom to try to force them to stay." Also an ambitious young coach might understandably be reluctant to accept a job offer from a school that is demanding a large buyout because it will make it harder for them to advance to a higher paying job. If a coach wants to voluntarily accept a large buyout clause to show recruits that he is committed to the program, wonderful. But if not, this is the last thing that Hartwell should be pushing for in a contract.

lol I knew with the rumors of Craig Smith possibly going somewhere we would see a StanfordAggie post in here.

Now that we have this insider info can we as a fan base stop acting like an insecure jealous housewife asking Smith at every turn if he’ll stay with us? If he thinks that school is prettier than us? Asking why he’s Facebook friends with that school? It’s unattractive behavior and off-putting. You can show support without begging.

The “good news” is after next year’s struggles, he won’t be leaving anytime soon.


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2004AG wrote: ↑

March 24th, 2021, 8:38 am

The “good news” is after next year’s struggles, he won’t be leaving anytime soon.


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Let’s revisit that subject once we know who is on the team.

slcagg wrote: ↑

March 24th, 2021, 8:41 am

2004AG wrote: ↑

March 24th, 2021, 8:38 am

The “good news” is after next year’s struggles, he won’t be leaving anytime soon.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Let’s revisit that subject once we know who is on the team.

I agree.

But unless we majorly whiff in the grad transfer market, or have a mass defection of players, I have a real hard time seeing how we aren’t still top half of the league because:

(1) We look to be returning at least 4 of our 5 starters; and
(2) The MW is just not that good. I wish it were, but it’s not. Wyoming, Nevada, and CSU will be improved and more experienced, but I don’t see any other teams likely to improve much.

sam tingey wrote: ↑

March 23rd, 2021, 9:44 am

22 - Can you run down Smiths SSN and CC # as well?

POTD that made me laugh, thanks

slcagg wrote: ↑

March 24th, 2021, 8:41 am

2004AG wrote: ↑

March 24th, 2021, 8:38 am

The “good news” is after next year’s struggles, he won’t be leaving anytime soon.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Let’s revisit that subject once we know who is on the team.

Yeah we don't know what transfers or Jucos are coming in, but with Smith not leaving after this year, I'm pretty confident he won't leave after next year. Smith will be our coach for a while which is a good thing. Next year could be rough though. Unless we really hit home runs in the transfer portal, I don't see the current group making the tournament next season without Queta. Obviously hope I'm wrong.

Fair enough, we will know more when we see officially who is leaving and who officially joins the team.

Smith has his work cut out for him.


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Aggie formerly in Hawaii wrote: ↑

March 24th, 2021, 10:17 am

slcagg wrote: ↑

March 24th, 2021, 8:41 am

2004AG wrote: ↑

March 24th, 2021, 8:38 am

The “good news” is after next year’s struggles, he won’t be leaving anytime soon.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Let’s revisit that subject once we know who is on the team.

Yeah we don't know what transfers or Jucos are coming in, but with Smith not leaving after this year, I'm pretty confident he won't leave after next year. Smith will be our coach for a while which is a good thing. Next year could be rough though. Unless we really hit home runs in the transfer portal, I don't see the current group making the tournament next season without Queta. Obviously hope I'm wrong.

He must feel somewhat confident about the potential of next year’s team or he would’ve interviewed elsewhere to strike while the iron was hot.