****Official Mizzou Head Basketball Coach Search****

[stonedstooge]

Thought I'd start a new one of these. The old one is infected with the Haith Aids plus it had the wrong number of astericks.

[KChiefs1]

http://mweb.cbssports.com/ncaab/eye-...o-gets-cal-job

Mark Whicker: Howland eager to get back on coaching block, but why?

Mark Whicker Orange County Register

March 23, 2014

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Ben Howland has every intention of coaching a college basketball team either next season or the season after that.

One wonders why.

From the deck of his house he can sit and gaze upon four scenic Channel Islands on a good day.

He could see only one Wednesday, not to say Wednesday or any other day is a bad day here.

He and his wife, Kim, can whale-watch, too, through the telescope, without getting on the boat.

His son and daughter are happily and gainfully employed on the west side of L.A., and he has a 23-month-old grandson. He lives amid the friendships the Howlands cultivated when he was Jerry Pimm’s assistant coach at UC Santa Barbara, when Brian Shaw and Carrick DeHart filled the Thunderdome.

Better yet, UCLA will continue to pay Howland for not coaching its basketball team for the next three seasons.

“First time in 32 years,” Howland said, thinking about his sabbatical.

His 10 years at UCLA ended last March 24, fewer than 48 hours after the Bruins’ shabby second-round NCAA loss to Minnesota. “I tried to make the most of it,” he said. “I really took a step back.”

By doing what?

“I probably watched more college basketball this year than I’ve ever watched. The games start at 4 o’clock and they go to midnight. That’s all I do.”

Well, that’s not altogether true.

Howland’s annual fly-fishing vacation lasted 12 days, not three. He went to Montana and Wyoming and hauled in trout on a river so productive that he won’t tell you where it is or what it’s named. Afterward, he drove home from Dillon, Mont., in one day.

He was hoping to see more of Europe, but Nov. 22 he was on his bike and slammed the brakes to avoid a pedestrian. He broke his humerus in doing so.

For six weeks he had to sleep in a chair, out on the deck. On Wednesday he made his usual trip to the therapist, and had an ice bag big enough for a major league right-hander.

He visited Tim Floyd at UTEP and Jamie Dixon at Pittsburgh, where he once coached. He hung out with ex-USC coach Kevin O’Neill, now a TV pundit.

He sometimes dropped in on Bob Williams’ practices at UC Santa Barbara, and saw a few Big West games there, too. And he was a TV studio analyst during the Pac-12 tournament.

But Howland wasn’t seen at UCLA, which is 26-8 in Steve Alford’s first season and is set to play Tulsa in a first-round game Friday in San Diego.

Howland’s final team went 25-10 and won the Pac-12 regular-season title. He didn’t win the Pac-12 tournament, but Jordan Adams broke his foot during that tournament.

“It was tough watching them play,” Howland said, “because I’m no longer the coach, but I still have the attachment to the kids. I was really proud of the way they performed.

“They played their best in the conference tournament. It was indicative how good they are and how good they can be. And they’re great kids.”

He looked at the ocean and smiled.

“He (Alford) walked into a nice situation, in terms of the cupboard not being bare,” Howland said.

Ten of Howland’s Bruins are in the NBA today, and Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook were 2012 Olympians. Others, like Josh Shipp and Michael Roll, are making impressive bucks playing in Europe. Beginning in 2006 the Bruins went to three consecutive Final Fours, and Howland won four Pac-12s.

And his winning percentage in that decade was .685. Which, incredibly, ranks sixth among the eight coaches who have followed John Wooden.

As Alford will discover, even a spiffed-up Pauley Pavilion is a tough room.

“There’s no question I made some recruiting errors,” Howland said. “That gets magnified when you’re losing. But it’s not an exact science either. We lost some players to the pros earlier than we thought. Did I know Russell Westbrook would be a Naismith Hall of Famer? No, but he’s going to be.

“One thing I take great pride in is that if you go back and ask NBA scouts which players were best prepared to play in the NBA, I think our name would be mentioned.”

The Howlands always called this their retirement house. It is more ready than they are. He can tell you which jobs are open and which are likely to be. He is more plugged-in than unplugged.

“I want to make sure I’m coaching at a place where there’s a chance to be successful,” Howland said. “Whether it’s next year or the year after, I know it has to be pretty soon.

“But I’m 56 and I think I’ve got 10 good years left. I will be coaching again.”

If he must.

1. Ben Howland led UCLA to a Pac-12 title last year and took the Bruins to three consecutive Final Fours, but he is still unemployed.

It's hard for me to believe as well. Howland was a candidate at Marquette before the Golden Eagles hired Steve Wojciechowski on Tuesday and now it's yet to be determined if the former UCLA coach will be able to get back into coaching after spending last season away from the sidelines.

This has nothing to do with Wojciechowski, who has all the requisites to be a terrific head coach, but I'm incredibly surprised that more programs haven't made serious pitches for Howland's services. If the goal for athletic programs across the country is to win basketball games, what coach in the sport is better served and more readily available right now than Howland?

The guy was chastised for playing a slow style throughout his career and last season at UCLA he switched things up, accelerated the pace, and wound up leading the Bruins to a Pac-12 title.

Another thing that people forget about Howland's last year in Westwood? UCLA was primed for a deep NCAA run, but lost Jordan Adams to a broken foot in the semifinals of the Pac-12 tournament against Arizona. The Bruins were never the same team after that and it was beyond obvious.

Fast forward a year later and with UCLA -- a healthy Adams in tow -- beat the Wildcats in the Pac-12 tournament title game thanks to late 3-pointer by Adams. The Bruins then wound up making it all the way to the Sweet 16 and finished Steve Alford's first season on a high note.

Timing is everything in life and the fact of the matter is Howland had bad timing last year with the injury to Adams. But let's not make it out to sound like there's a slew of people more capable of turning around a program better than Howland is. After 10 years in Westwood, he obviously wants a job where he has a chance to win whatever league he's in. It will be real interesting to see if he gets that type of opportunity before next season.

[KChiefs1]

I believe it's down to these two guys:

• Central Missouri’s Kim Anderson

Why is Missouri interested?: Anderson, 58, has strong ties to the Tigers. He was a star player from 1973-77 under Norm Stewart and served as his assistant coach for 11 seasons at MU during two stints. Anderson led the Mules to the NCAA Division II national championship last month.

Under Anderson, Central Missouri has made three NCAA D-II Final Four appearances since 2007. His record is 274-95 overall and 168-78 in conference play.

Anderson, who also spent two years as an assistant commissioner for the Big 12 in charge of basketball, might not be considered the splashy hire some fans hoped for, but his credentials are rock solid and many believe he could lock down Missouri’s borders from a recruiting standpoint.

Why Missouri might look elsewhere?: The biggest perceived knocks are Anderson’s age — he’ll be 59 in May — and concerns about his ability to recruit at the Division I level. The right staff to aid in that recruiting process would be a critical piece to the puzzle for Anderson.



• Ben Howland

Why Missouri might be interested?: Howland, 56, isn’t coaching, but he arguably has the most glowing resume of any of Missouri’s presumed targets. He has taken three programs — Northern Arizona, Pittsburgh and UCLA — to the NCAA Tournament.

Howland, along with active coaches Tom Izzo of Michigan State and Mike Krzyzewski of Duke, has taken a team to the Final Four in three consecutive seasons (UCLA, 2006-08). And Howland, the 2002 national coach of the year, reportedly wants to get back into coaching.

Why Missouri might look elsewhere?: Howland missed the NCAA Tournament in two of his final five seasons at UCLA and went 2-3, never making it past the round of 32, in the three appearances during that span. Plus, it’s fair to wonder if he’s a long-term solution for the Tigers or another coach who’d be destined for a short stay in Columbia, like Mike Anderson, who left for Arkansas after five seasons, and Haith, who bolted for Tulsa after three.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

If they hire Kim Anderson I'm done with the BB program until Alden is gone.

[KChiefs1]

http://kckingdom.com/2014/04/26/miss...swer-columbia/

As Missouri Tigers Athletic Director Mike Alden continues his search for the next head basketball coach, there has been nothing but sheer speculation by fans and media members alike as to who he will hire or even who the favorites might be.

Names like Kim Anderson from Central Missouri have the fan base split, you’ll find passionate opinions from both sides. And of course there’s Wichita State’s Gregg Marshall is considered the ”Home Run” hire, but would surely cost a pretty penny, most likely in the 3 million per year range. But who else could the Tigers potentially hire?

A candidate that makes a whole lot of sense and has had his name floated by many including ESPN’s Dick Vitale himself. That man is former UCLA head coach Ben Howland. So you might be wondering who exactly is Ben Howland. Well here you go. Howland is a well respected basketball coach with a very impressive resume currently unemployed but has had impressive runs at three different schools.

Starting at Northern Arizona where he coached from 1994-1999, followed by Pittsburgh from 2000-2003, and most recently he coached at legendary program UCLA from 2003-2013 where he led the Bruins to three straight Final Four appearances. Even after he was fired from his UCLA gig after a decade, his squad still managed a 25-10 record which was good enough to win the Pac-12 title and make it to the NCAA tournament. However, coupled with all of his success over the years, Howland carries a fair amount of controversy as well.

A Sports Illustrated article which came out in early 2012 painted a damaging picture of Coach Howland and his coaching staff for the way they handled players during practice, and specifically how they disciplined. It revolved primarily around former player Reeves Nelson who reportedly bullied and even physically injured fellow teammates before eventually being dismissed from the program by Howland. Perhaps most troubling in the article is there are also reports of major drug and alcohol issues in the program at the time, by certain players, and it raised some serious questions as what program Howland had let UCLA become.

Players were partying frequently before games, practices were sloppy. What started out as just a few players had a domino effect on the entire team. Known as a strict disciplinarian on and off the court, Howland had lost his handle on a program he had helped rekindle into national prominence. But without defending the negligence from Howland and his staff, let’s not pretend this hasn’t happened or couldn’t happen at countless other programs across the country depending on the players and surrounding circumstances.

There were clearly mistakes made, but at the end of the day these are still kids fresh out of high school, entering the freedom of college, and the decadence of college athletics. But despite leaving UCLA after a decade of some fantastic highs and some disappointing lows, Howland is a proven winner. He has successfully turned around three programs, including one of the Blood Blood programs in the country in UCLA. His career coaching record is an impressive 399-208, including 233-107 at UCLA alone.

He coached future NBA stars Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook. The man knows how to coach a basketball team, and maybe more importantly for Missouri, he knows how to build a program into a consistent winner. Mike Alden needs to make a splash with his next basketball coach, but with all due respect to Kim Anderson, he can’t be the man to lead in Columbia. No, Alden needs a proven winner at this level. Someone who can recruit and coach against the likes of John Calipari and Billy Donovan in the SEC. Does he have baggage? Sure. But I firmly believe the reward far outweighs the risk in this case.

I feel giving Howland the chance to rebuild Missouri Basketball would be a task he absolutely relishes, and after the sour taste in his mouth from UCLA, he would be out to prove the naysayers wrong. We are all in the dark it seems when it comes to news on the coaching search, but keep an eye on Ben Howland. He may be just the man Mizzou needs to lead them into a new era.

[TribalElder]

Hope they hire anyone but Anderson

[Sure-Oz]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

If they hire Kim Anderson I'm done with the BB program until Alden is gone.

I had almost no interest last season...first time ever. This would do me in too most likely. Howland should be hired if interested

[Codered]

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

I had almost no interest last season...first time ever. This would do me in too most likely. Howland should be hired if interested

Bingo. Frank Haith killed my passion the last two years. Ken Anderson would do nothing to bring it back.

[TribalElder]

Mizzou basketball coaching search

[Bowser]

Originally Posted by TribalElder

Mizzou basketball coaching search

Nailed it

[kepp]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

If they hire Kim Anderson I'm done with the BB program until Alden is gone.

Absolutely. I was 90% there last season and hiring Anderson would push me the other 10%.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Pepe Silvia]

This coaching search itself has finished me off. I don't care anymore and will do my best to give zero ****s from now on.

[TribalElder]

Seriously, it's Mizzou basketball, nobody should ever have seriously given a ****

[Pasta Little Brioni]

How hard is it to say Howland you are hired?

[Titty Meat]

Originally Posted by PGM

How hard is it to say Howland you are hired?

Its Mizzou.

[Pepe Silvia]

Originally Posted by PGM

How hard is it to say Howland you are hired?

Mike Alden wants to make fans angry at him.