Not sure… I just know they would have those prerequisites… or have a staff that would.
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Sometimes it takes time to get it right. Don’t lose hope yet. Way too early.
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Thank you
At first glance i am pleased with the hires. Based on what we offer for asst coaches these are experienced D1 assistants.
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Not sure how difficult it might be to get top flight assistants wanting to leave other mid-major programs in favor of Miami (given our recent lack of success, low pay, and relatively poor facilities for hoops), but that said this looks like a pretty solid hire all things considered.
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I think you are bitching just to bitch. I have been a loyal, active supporter of the bball program since 1969. I have often said (somewhat kidding) that the two most important things to me are my children (now grandchildren as well) and Miami bball. But not always in that order.
Further, that I know enough about bball to know that I don’t know a lot about coaching the game and developing players.
Initially, Steele would not be my first or second choice. But when he became available, I was intrigued. The man had a Top 10 recruiting class at X a couple years ago. Four (4) four (4) star players in one season. At X! Not NC or UCLA. And he coached in Cinci. Not exactly coming from Mongolia. I have a hard time arguing with Saylor’s requirement that the new coach have D1 HC experience, except that my first choice was eliminated before the process started.
I am 71. I have not experienced a real high from our program for way too long. And at my age, time is of the essence. I certainly hope Steele will resurrect the program. Most importantly, what he has done so far makes me believe that he was an excellent choice. We’re Miami. Not Big 10, or ACC, or any other major program. So, we must be realistic about hiring. These two AC, at first glance, appear to be solid. And this is not Steele’s first rodeo as a HC. He knows what he wants and who will help him get there.
After ten mostly bad season’s, let an older fan have some hope that he/we will see real improvement.
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The point is that Summers played in a high level program at WVU under a top college coach–John Beilein. That is foundational. He has coached at James Madison and Cleveland State in addition to being a D2 head coach at Urbana. Are you saying he has never been involved in developing any players as a coach?
Holmes did not just coach guards at Elon for a couple of years. He was an assistant at William & Mary for 11 years including six as the Associate Head Coach. One of the guys he recruited and developed as a coach there is now in the NBA. I dare say not many guys from the CAA end up in the NBA without some development.
If you had better ideas I could understand you better. All I see is a lot of naysaying without offering much.
For example, who would you have hired?
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Guy makes his debut on HawkTalk by coming here to bash the Head Coach hire and the hiring of both assistants. Hasn’t as yet answered the question of whom he preferred we hire. Don’t know what his agenda is but I suspect he has one.
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I am all in until I am given a reason to be otherwise. I have never seen these dudes coach or practice. Please keep my positive attitude going. Thank you.
PS. Due to past hires I may have little patience, but I will try.
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That crossed my mind too but I don’t want to be presumptuous. But a lot of it reads like an axe to grind
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Context is important. Elon has always been a bottom feeder. He helped get them to the CAA semifinals and then finals in back to back seasons. Before that, they hadn’t been in the semi finals a single time in the program’s history. For Elon, that’s pretty solid. His time as W&M was also impressive.
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Personally, those prerequisites are an ancient way of thinking, but you do you. Don Treadwell meets your requirements pretty well. Recruiting ties to Ohio. Familiar with the MAC.
Did you know Ohio students make up the minority at Miami?
But let’s break down your “requirements”
You asked for someone with ties to Ohio. We hired a head coach who has lived in Cincinnati for years and recruited Ohio. He also has strong ties to Indiana and Michigan. Probably the three best states in the Midwest for HS basketball outside of Illinois (which probably fits in to the top 4 somewhere thanks to Chicago).
We hired an assistant coach who is from Columbus, was the head coach of a D2 program in Ohio, and was an assistant at a D1 school in Ohio. Is Gahanna a prep school? No. It’s a public high school. It took me a 10 second search to find out he didn’t go to prep school in Ohio.
You wanted someone with MAC experience? This is the silliest requirement I’ve heard. I didn’t realize MAC basketball is so unique to every other midmajor conference. Maybe we should’ve also grabbed a former MAC head coach who sucked it up at the next level and give them a second chance. Even so, the MAC isn’t a mystery to Steele. I’m excited to watch him coach against his brother.
You said all the hires have been the same. How are a head coach from Tennessee State, an assistant at Purdue, and a former head coach at Xavier the same?
There’s a reason it comes across like you have an agenda.
Now, on topic: I think Holme’s biggest asset will be his time at W&M. Very comparable school to Miami and he’s had success recruiting.
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I think redfeather brings up valid points. IMO, a main component in taking over the MAC is recruiting Ohio and knowing how to win in the MAC. The last two staffs had no real understanding of the MAC until after a few years—- and even then, we were bullied when it came to beating other MAC schools for Ohio recruits.
Here’s what we do know, Steele is a recruiter and has proven that. The question is can he walk into a room with a red “M” instead of the Xavier “X” and beat others for a kid. Can his assistant coaches do the same?
We shall see.
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I’m genuinely curious how winning in the MAC differs from other conferences.
I don’t believe there’s some elemental mystery to MAC basketball, personally.
@Nickskin, you’re a huge Buffalo admirer. 
Hurley and Co. had no MAC experience.
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Count me in as ‘excited’ about the direction of the program. At this point, the roster isn’t ready for success next year, so patience will be required.
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Is it? Toledo had 4 players from Ohio. One was a transfer that played at Ashland, Lakeland Community College, and Parkland College. He played 16 minutes across 5 games. Another was a freshman who averaged 6 minutes per game and shot 34% from the field. The third was a RS freshman who was starting caliber, but nothing special. The last was JT Shumate who was actually really good. But he was a D2 transfer from Walsh.
Of Toledo’s top 7 players by minutes (the minutes played drop by nearly half after that), two are from Ohio and one of those two was a D2 transfer.
So really, how much does recruiting high school talent in Ohio really help win the MAC?
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And it should be noted that the Elon head coach was tabbed as an assistant on the new staff at Duke. Btw. Elon beat CAA regular season champion UNCW once this season. And one of Elon’s newest recruits was recruited by Steele at Miami and signed at Northwestern.
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This is it. If it’s in Ohio, great. If it’s Wisconsin, great. If it’s Florida, great. Hopefully we can get kids from Chicagoland!
The other piece, sorely lacking over the last two staffs, has been attention to detail on defense and the ability to develop players once they’re on campus. We can’t possibly know the answers here in May.
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By the way, I live in Gahanna (suburb of Columbus). There’s one high school in Gahanna and it traditionally produces some of the best athletes in Ohio. I believe around four of the approximate top 30 bball players coming out of Ohio this year played for the Lions, led by the all-time leading Gahanna scorer, Sean Jones. With his Gahanna and central Ohio ties, we’re in a good place to recruit Ohio (along with obviously Steele) and the most recent hire. I’m excited for once.
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OCC basketball is awesome. The more connections Miami can make there the better!
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