by All-MVC Fan » October 10th, 2017, 9:22 am
Contrary to what some have said, I think there are some good coaches in this league. The problem is that most are really good at one aspect of the job, and lacking at others. And they don't have the budget to hire really good assistants to their own weaknesses. Some coaches are too loyal to assistants that drag them down. But on par, the coaches we've got range from very good anywhere to "what are you doing even having a job?"
I'm only going to rate those coaches who have been in the league before. And the shorter the tenure, the less reliability I give your performance thus far. Might not be totally fair, but it's my ranking. So put that in your pipe and smoke it!
Floor Coaches
1. Ben Jacobsen - absolutely the best coach we've got. A little (very little, relatively speaking) up and down, but he's never more than three years away from a Top 25 team
2. Dan Muller - The guy can coach, but can he keep players? He can game plan anyone
3. Barry Hinson - This guy has been around forever, and if he's not in the MVC Tournament Championship game, he can beat anyone at any time.
4. Porter Moser - Average on the floor, but he does have the Majerus pedigree which should help when he gets players
5. Brian Wardle - I've been impressed so far, but his short tenure rates him average
6. Greg Lansing - I think Lansing can coach, but his terrible recruiting recently has made executing even the most basic game plan difficult.
7. Marty Simmons - He runs the same thing every night. No changes, but if he had the horses, it would work, as a good motion offense is almost impossible to defend. But he doesn't have the horses, hasn't had the horses, and won't change anything.
8. Paul Lusk - This guy could find a way to lose to a team made up of my mother, sister, wife, and daughter.
Recruiting
1. Ben Jacobsen - Once again, just the best coach we've got. Consistency. He's never more than 3 years away from the Top 25
2. Porter Moser - his recruiting to Loyola has been stellar (on paper, at least) recently, and his teams should start to reflect that success in games
3. Paul Lusk - He's built a great roster at MSU. He has the best player in the MVC. His recruiting isn't the problem
4. Barry Hinson - He's quietly building something in Carbondale. He knows talent, he likes athleticism, and now that he's seemingly beyond the dumpster fire he inherited, I would imagine his recruiting will be even better
5. Dan Muller - Yes, he built a 17-1 team last season. But how many players leave Normal before their time is done? He lost, what? A hundred this past offseason? Gotta do better than that in my humble opinion. I could be wrong, but it seems he was looking to build a TEAM, not a PROGRAM. Big DOWN arrow here.
6. Brian Wardle - OK, this might be a bit low, but his short tenure lands him here. He definitely has an UP arrow, though.
7. Greg Lansing - He inherited some pretty good players from Kevin McKenna and then couldn't recruit anything to replace those players. But in the last six months, he's gotten three 3* players to commit (from various rating services) in Clayton Hughes, Devin Thomas, and yesterday, Cooper Neese. He added Tennesee's best high school player from last year. He's added some players in the last year that, if they pan out, will be a formidable team. Definitely an UP arrow here.
8. Marty Simmons - He always seemed to have one great scorer. Now, it doesn't seem he even has that. Big time DOWN arrow.
So, adding up the placements (lower score being better, tie goes to better floor coach):
Overall
1. Ben Jacobsen - 2 points
2. Porter Moser - 6 points
3. Dan Muller - 7 points
4. Barry Hinson - 7 points
5. Brian Wardle - 11 points
6. Paul Lusk - 11 points
7. Greg Lansing - 13 points
8. Marty Simmons - 15 points
I actually think that's a pretty accurate finding. A few you could argue, but overall, it's not too bad, if I do say so myself.