Brad Brownell of Wright State: Bio

[DuffMan]

It was mentioned in an article yesterday that Brad Brownell of Wright State was a possibility. Here is some info after digging....

He's had 8 years as a head coach, 4 at UNC Wilmington and 4 at Wright State. In that time he has never had a loosing season. His record and UNCW was 83-40 (52-20) and at Wright State he is 84-45 (49-21). In those combined 8 years he has finished outside of the top 3 in his conference only once and he has won his conference 3 times. Clearly he has shown he can get it done on a consistent basis. On a side note UNCW has had only one winning season in the 4 years he has been gone.

I have never seen his teams play but based on a little gorilla math his teams have averaged about 65 points a game with 71ppg in his first year being the high and 61ppg being the low end (just two years ago). It's probably safe to assume he doesn't run an up and down kind of game.

I would also imagine he would relish the chance to coach at a major school. Despite the success he's only had 3 NCAA tournament appearances. I'd think he'd jump at the chance to coach in conference that he doesn't have to win the whole thing to get to the dance. It would also be a big step up in pay.

Pros:
Lots of head coaching experience
He’s won every where he’s been
Would likely really want to be here

Cons:
Not a big name
Doesn’t appear to get up and down the floor
No HC experience at a major school
(I don’t agree with all of these but it’s safe to say some would consider some of these con’s)

 

[hawkeye2188]

Re: Brad Brownell Wright State Bio

It was mentioned in an article yesterday that Brad Brownell of Wright State was a possibility. Here is some info after digging....

He's had 8 years as a head coach, 4 at UNC Wilmington and 4 at Wright State. In that time he has never had a loosing season. His record and UNCW was 83-40 (52-20) and at Wright State he is 84-45 (49-21). In those combined 8 years he has finished outside of the top 3 in his conference only once and he has won his conference 3 times. Clearly he has shown he can get it done on a consistent basis. On a side note UNCW has had only one winning season in the 4 years he has been gone.

I have never seen his teams play but based on a little gorilla math his teams have averaged about 65 points a game with 71ppg in his first year being the high and 61ppg being the low end (just two years ago). It's probably safe to assume he doesn't run an up and down kind of game.

I would also imagine he would relish the chance to coach at a major school. Despite the success he's only had 3 NCAA tournament appearances. I'd think he'd jump at the chance to coach in conference that he doesn't have to win the whole thing to get to the dance. It would also be a big step up in pay.

Pros:
Lots of head coaching experience
He’s won every where he’s been
Would likely really want to be here

Cons:
Not a big name
Doesn’t appear to get up and down the floor
No HC experience at a major school
(I don’t agree with all of these but it’s safe to say some would consider some of these con’s)

Sounds like we should consider him but if he cant recruit better than lick i dont think he can get it done.

 

[burky247]

Any BCS assistant coaching experience?

 

[GravyJones]

I know I'm nitpicking here, but BCS is strictly a football thing.

 

[DuffMan]

Any BCS assistant coaching experience?

None to speak of. His first full time coaching gig was at UNCW. He was an assitant there for four year before getting the HC job.

 

[hawkeye2188]

Any BCS assistant coaching experience?

Power 6 Conferences is what it would be in basketball.

 

[CRhawkeye4life]

I don't think assistant coaching experience is one of the requirements. Being a D1 head coach and experience at rebuilding a program is.

 

[AHawk1]

I had never heard of this guy until yesterday, but have checked with some BB people familiar with him. All are very very high on this guy. I know he's not the splash we were looking for, but he is definitely in the mix of things.

 

[HAWKEY3]

I don't love the history of NCAA first round exits every 2-3 years

 

[burky247]

My sincerest apologies for mislabeling the term. I promise to make it up to every single person I have insulted and will work non-stop from this day forward to repair the damage I have done. If you have dishes that need to be done, I'm your man. Car need a tune up? I will be there in a heart beat. Whatever it takes to alleviate my ignorance from this board that I have created. This is my pledge.

Seriously guys, BCS may be a football term. But it's used regularly on message boards to describe "non mid major" positions. I understood the term wasnt accurate. I just consider it an easy was to abbreviate. Did I put a comma in the wrong place as well?

Back to the point, I think hiring anyone without big time or power 6 or whatever coaching experience is a huge mistake.

 

[JHHawk]

I agree with Burky...if a coach has never had exposure to a BCS school environs...we are possibly back in the lick-syndrome of not realizing exactly how much the talent level has to rise to compete. And not having really competed for top talent,not really having the contacts to do so...

Gregory has done this at MSU...and the A-10 is much closer to that level than the Horizon...Butler is an aberrational deal...ie. they compete at the top level but rarely go after top talent...and do it with Butler Way.

Not saying that Brownell cannot do it or would be a bad coach, just that we have just come off a bad experience with a coach from that league, from that level, who could not address the #1 challenge that has always faced Iowa bb...talent.

 

[burky247]

I don't think assistant coaching experience is one of the requirements. Being a D1 head coach and experience at rebuilding a program is.

This absolutely should be a requirement. Otherwise we are just going to continue to make the same mistakes and go down the same path towards mediocrity. This was one of Alford's biggest problems. He had absolutely no experience as an assistant(at any level much less at a Power 6 conference).

Lick had assistant coaching experience. Unfortunately, it was for the same program with the same system he took over for later. He didn't get a chance to establish other connections or broaden his coaching techniques. As we've all learned, just because something works at a smaller school doesn't necessarily translate to bigger universities.

How many people have experience as a D1 head coach and have rebuilt a bigger program like Iowa with the condition it currently is in? If we're going to just go off of mid major resumes and assume they can perform the same magic at Iowa....again....well we haven't learned a thing. And this has been my biggest fear.

Recruiting ability, head coaching experience, passion, assistant coaching experience with multiple schools, ability to excite and unify the fan base, midwest ties, and uptempo system. These are the overall characteristics we should be looking for in a head coach. There are few coaches that we can get, if any, that would have every single one of them. So you find out which ones meet the most of them.

 

[MSGT1]

I don't think assistant coaching experience is one of the requirements. Being a D1 head coach and experience at rebuilding a program is.

I'd rather they have no head coaching experience, but plenty of time as an assistant in a power conference. A guy that came in and rebuilt a lower level or mid-major team, but has never had any experience in the ACC, SEC, B10 or 12, etc, would be a stretch to have the kind of recruiting connections you need to be successful in one of those conferences. Guys like Gregory and Wojcik have been head coaches, but the cut their teeth as asst at major conference teams. A guy like Forbes has recruited at that level. Same with Drew.

That is my biggest problem with Jacobson and my biggest problem with a guy like Brownell, no power conference experience. I'll take that experience, as an assistant, over head coaching with no power 6 experience, any day.

 

[DuffMan]

I don't love the history of NCAA first round exits every 2-3 years

I wouldn't let something like that bother me. When teams from the Horizon or Colonial Leage make the tourney they are usually seeded in the teens and playing top 20 teams. Losses in those situations are understandable.

 

[HAWKEY3]

I wouldn't let something like that bother me. When teams from the Horizon or Colonial Leage make the tourney they are usually seeded in the teens and playing top 20 teams. Losses in those situations are understandable.

We're going to have to beat top 20 teams if we're going to have any tournament success as well.

 

[hawk2012]

Losing in these situations is understandable, yes. However, there are coaches that win in these situations. Ben Jacobsen, Brad Stevens and before them Steve Alford and Todd Lickliter who both took mid-majors to the sweet sixteen. While I don't think picking the hot candidate is the right move... I'm just not sure why the Wright State guy can't get it done when these two didn't. The Gregory thing makes more sense because he's been a top assistant at MSU before so he understands the recruiting game at that level better.

 

[DuffMan]

We're going to have to beat top 20 teams if we're going to have any tournament success as well.

Yes we are, and we are going to have to put together more talented teams than he had to do it. But the 0-3 in first round games in the NCAA tournament won't be a factor in any of that.

 

[storminspank]

Please, please, please... no.

 

[DuffMan]

Thier 3 NCAA losses were....
73-75 To 17 ranked MD
85-88 To a 2 loss George Washington
58-79 blowout loss to Pitt

I don't see anything there to get concerned about.

 

[HAWKEY3]

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