There are a lot of reasons why Boals didn't get a look here or many other places before landing at Stony Brook. Not sure all those have fully blown over.

Pitino.

Yeah, because he was such a scandalous player and student while here at OHIO. Come on! Yes, many did not want him, and many will not want him next go round, but those will be based on concepts that OHIO is going to attract the basketball version of Frank Solich (which we had in Larry Hunter, who actually won a MAC Title), or the next new shiny toy. Boals is a stand up person with standup character.

In the meantime, this is still Coach Phillips program, try supporting it a little.

Why? Redemption is the foundation of our society. I'd sure as hell rather defend hiring Pitino and everything that comes with him than try to defend this glorified D-III product that is being run out there for our watching enjoyment.

I'm not 100% sure how to unpack all this?

I have first hand knowledge of why Boals was overlooked at Ohio and other schools. It has nothing to do with his time at Ohio as a player. Nothing. I like him and would have no problem with him as our next coach. But there are reasons he ended up at Stony Brook and not somewhere else after a great run as Matta's right hand man at OSU.

And let's pump the brakes a little on Larry Hunter. He won one MAC title in 12 years and that includes three with arguably greatest MAC player ever in Gary Trent. I respect the hell out of Hunter and the career he put together, but he wasn't turning around a downtrodden program like Solich did. He kept Ohio in the top half of the MAC... which is something Saul is struggling to do in year five.

And I am supporting the program. I want to see it succeed ... I just don't think Saul is the right fit in Athens to do that. He had a five-year chance and the program has gradually declined in those years. It's time for a change. Nothing personal ... it just hasn't worked.

Nailed it concerning Coach Hunter^^^^. All of it. Tremendous man....but we got nothing out of the program in the four key years following the Trent era. Program never took off with him at the helm during this key stretch.

Did I miss something? Is someone actually touting ressurecting Hunter for a coaching position?

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I wouldn't call Ohio's basketball program a dumpster fire when Hunter took over. They had a couple down years with Billy Hahn.

But they were only a few years removed from four-straight 20-win seasons (back when that meant something), NCAA berths in '83 and '85 and an NIT bid in 1986.

Solich took over a program that hadn't won a bowl game or conference title since 1968 and had a grand total of 61 wins the 30 years before him.

I think the two programs were in a little different positions when Solich and Hunter respectively took over.

I'm not saying the basketball program wasn't in bad shape after Hahn ... but it hadn't been run into the ground like the Ohio football program had been. Ohio hoops only had 9 losing seasons in the 30 years previous to Hunter. They weren't Kentucky by any means ... but they were better off than Ohio football.

As far as Boals ... I know what I've been told by those close to the circumstances. He's doing a great job at Stony Brook. If Ohio came calling and were able to double his salary, I think he'd have to listen? But I'm not sure that's the route Jim Schaus wants to take. It would be nice to have a coach in Athens that valued defense like Boals. It's certainly something that has been lacking these last five years. And Boals has coached his entire 20+ year career in the general area with the exception of his time at Stony Brook ... so I'd think he would still have those connections and would be able to recruit locally a little stronger than the current staff?

I agree with a lot of what you're saying.

Where I'll differ in regards to Saul ... I just don't think his style was a winning formula for the MAC. It worked in the Summit and at North Dakota St ... but it just hasn't worked in the MAC. The lack of defense and athleticism has limited what they've been able to do.

As far as Boals ... I totally see what you're saying. It would come down to A) the pull of coaching at his alma mater and B) money.

But you are right ... he is on a upward trajectory at Stony Brook that could land him a bigger job sooner than coming to Ohio and putting a 3-5 year run to get things back on track in Athens. And who knows, maybe he's spurned by being passed over the last time Ohio had an opening?

The reality is that college football/basketball are entertainment. We need a guy who is going to bring a bit of fun back to the convo in the team he creates. The worst thing about the Saul era is that it has bred apathy. I really don't have the game-to-game interest that I did for so long. The team is disjointed and somewhat boring. Frank, on the other hand, solved that with Rourke the last two years. The football team, while compiling a similar record, has excitement and energy. It's not solely the wins and losses, it's how exciting the team is.

If you're going to go crazy and say Pitino, why not throw in Steve Alford? Tell me he couldn't get recruits to Athens? Of course we would be back at square one in a few years if he finds success! Other than that we need to look at Midwestern Mid Majors and steal someone not from the Finger Lakes or practically Canada. One of the things I remember about Saul's opening press conference was how easily he would be able to sell Athens and recruit compared to North Dakota State. Well.....5 years and how many transfers and missed talent are we at with him? Then you throw in the fact that he obviously wasn't that transcendent of a guy if Jaaron so easily left him. If he was a beloved coach Simmons would have stayed.

Agreed with you about the alma mater piece. Really hard to quantify how that'll play in. That's the wild-card here. If he loves OU and Athens and sees this as somewhere he'd be content to stay, maybe he's gettable. My guess though is that he's out of reach.

That the names here basically consist of Boals and Pitino underscores just how out of touch our fanbase can be. We went to a Sweet 16 6 years ago. That's great and all, but it means basically nothing now.

Realistically, we should be looking at top assistants at big programs who recruit in similar areas. For me, the next coach should be an Associate Head Coach at a top tier program in the midwest. I'd look at guys like Tom Ostrom who has been Miller's top assistant at both Indiana and Dayton, Ryan Pedon at OSU should be one of the first calls made. Brett Nelson at Marquette seems intriguing. Still young, worked alongside Wojo, previously coached at Ball State. Steve Lutz at Purdue seems green but intriguing. He led recruiting at Creighton prior to joining Purdue. Two very good programs. Also, probably a longshot but Micah Shrewsbury's an NBA assistant who has worked for Stevens and Painter, and was in play at Butler and UMass in the past.

No idea if any of those are realistic, but they have the pedigree I'd like to see.