Horizon League Review: Coaching Carousel Good and Bad
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Horizon League review: Coaching carousel good and bad detroitnews.com/story/sports/college/2017/03/10/horizon-league-review-coaching-carousel-good-and-bad/99033676/ Tony Paul 3/10/2017 Detroit -- If we've learned anything in recent years, it's if you can survive the week following the Horizon League tournament, you can survive just about anything. Problem is, that list of survivors is short. Two more Horizon League coaches were shown the door this week -- officially saying they retired, but we know better. Youngstown State coach Jerry Slocum is out after 12 years at the school, and Cleveland State coach Gary Waters is done after 11 years there. If you're keeping score at home, nine of the 10 men's basketball programs in the conference will have hired a new coach in the last three years. A more eye-opening tally: Oakland coach Greg Kampe has been on the job for 33 years, and the rest of the nine schools (that's seven coaches, and two vacancies) have had their current head coaches for 10 years, total. It's been such a turnover, second-year Illinois-Chicago coach Steve McClain recently called Greg Kampe "the old man." McClain is no spring chicken, at 54. There are a couple different ways to look at the mass turnover. If you're looking at it as a positive, it's that the conference members have placed a heightened priority on the success of basketball. If you're looking at it as a negative, well, then you'd agree with Kampe. "It's hard to believe in four years, they could completely change every school," said Kampe, a close friend of Slocum and Waters. "It's a sign of the times. I can see it at the high-major level, because people are making millions of dollars, and if you don't produce at that level, and you're getting paid, I can see that. At our level, where the isn't at that level, I'm disturbed. "I am very disappointed by it, I'm saddened by it. Jerry Slocum has got 700 (723) wins in a long, long time. Gary has been one of the best coaches in this league for a long, long time. ... It's very disheartening to see. I'm very saddened that nine coaches have changed." The Slocum and Waters changes weren't big surprises. Much bigger surprises came last offseason, when Wright State canned Billy Donlon -- now an assistant at Michigan -- and Milwaukee let go Rob Jeter. Each were coming off 20-win seasons, and Wright State had played for the Horizon tournament championship. Detroit Mercy and Valparaiso also changed coaches after last year, and Green Bay, Northern Kentucky and Illinois- Chicago made changes two years ago. Only the Valpo and Green Bay coaches left voluntarily, for other head- coaching jobs. Here's an interesting stat, by the way -- the team that has upset Oakland in each of the last three Horizon League tournaments, Illinois-Chicago, Wright State and Youngstown State, have dismissed their coach immediately following that respective season. As for candidates for the Cleveland State and Youngstown State jobs, keep an eye on Donlon, who never should've 1/3 been shown the door at Wright State. The pay would have to be decent, though. He makes more than $200,000 on John Beilein's staff, and may benefit from a year or two more in Ann Arbor, especially given how his defensive philosophies have really started to shine through these last few weeks for a scorching Michigan team. Here's a look back at the second year of the Horizon League tournament at Joe Louis Arena, before shifting to Little Caesars Arena next year. THE CROWDS The good news for the Horizon League, attendance was up in Year 2. The bad news, it should've been -- and you can argue about whether the bump was substantial enough. Horizon League officials announced 29,240 tickets were sold for the five-day run, compared to 20,908 last year. That's about a 50-percent increase. That said, the Horizon League had a 100-percent increase in the number of games, with the women's tournament joining the men for the first time. That includes four new Friday games (the tournament didn't start until Saturday last year) and two more Sunday games, prime days for fans. There were 18 total games over five days this year, as opposed to nine games over four days last year. Most of the days were up in attendance this year, especially Day 2, which drew 8,481 this year -- on the day Oakland played. Day 3 was up last year, on the day Oakland played. You can see why Kampe lamented to The News his team's latest early loss costing the league significantly in ticket sales. The women will join the men again next year, at Little Caesars, before the league and Olympia Entertainment sit down and discuss whether the tournament is working. The deal with the men's tournament is for five years, with an opt-out after Year 3. Commissioner Jonathan LeCrone continues to insist the league wants to make this work in Detroit. THE GOOD * This league has some legit basketball stars, including Flint guard Cameron Morse, who led Youngstown State to the early upset of Oakland and had a bit of a coming-out party over his two games, to make the all-tournament team. Oakland will be loaded next year, Detroit Mercy will be much improved -- especially if star freshman Corey Allen stays, as he told The News he will -- Milwaukee is a young team that's on the rise under former Michigan assistant LaVall Jordan, and tournament champ Northern Kentucky sure looks to have Division I staying power. Don't be surprised if this conference nabs an at-large NCAA Tournament bid in the next year or two. * Having the women's tournament here as well is a plus, and while the crowds weren't great -- even Detroit Mercy only drew 500 or so for its title game, mostly because of the absurd time, at noon on a Tuesday -- it added value to the tournament ticket. You could get into all 18 games for a mere $45. It's also fair, as perennial power Green Bay doesn't have homecourt advantage anymore. It also was a treat that Hannah Little (OU) and Rosanna Reynolds got to go out in front of friends and family. * Pete the Penguin, from Youngstown State. I don't get too caught up in mascots, but, well, he's adorable! * Four total Wisconsin teams meant a whole lot of "Roll out the Barrel" from the bands. Made me feel like I was at a Brewers game, and that's not a bad thing. * The men's teams watched the women, and vice-versa, even when one already had been eliminated. Special props to the Oakland men, who were back at the Joe early Sunday, following their heartbreaking loss Saturday night, to watch their women's team. That had to be tough, but it was the right thing to do. 2/3 THE BAD * All due respect to the Horizon League, which disagrees that the tournament's success rests anymore on the shoulders of Oakland and Detroit Mercy than the other eight schools, but it simply does. That's the reality when you set the tournament up in the schools' backyard. And Oakland and Detroit Mercy have been a bomb, so far, in Motor City Madness, playing five games total -- one more than the minimum -- in two years. It's especially disappointing for the Golden Grizzlies, top-seeded this year and second-seeded last year. They were upset in Game 1 both years, last year when they got a double-bye, and this year when the bracket changed to one bye. * The top three seeds this year fell short of extended runs, including No. 2 Valparaiso, though it at least had a legitimate excuse, with star player -- and the league's player of the year -- Alec Peters lost for the season. That development made for the ugliest showing of the tournament, in its first game against Milwaukee. The score was 16- 12, at halftime! And it finished with Milwaukee winning, 43-41. For a little perspective, the halftime score of Oakland- Youngstown State was 44-43. * The tournament was held concurrently with the Motor City Tattoo Expo; that made for an awkward appearance by YSU president Jim Tressel. * The Horizon League has a reputation for bad officiating, and the five days at The Joe did nothing to dispute that. * Even worse, the broadcasters who did the games on ESPN3 were afraid to say as much, one even saying Friday, "We'd like to survive the weekend, so we'll keep our mouths shut." Time to give Oakland play-by-play man Neal Ruhl some of the ESPN3 assignments. He's not afraid to speak the truth. Detroit Mercy student, track athlete and women's basketball No. 1 fan Santana Scott shows his moves. Daniel Mears, Detroit News AND THE FUN * While the women's games didn't have the biggest crowds, they had some darn passionate fans. One, though, stood out above the rest -- Detroit Mercy's Santana Scott, who cheered from the baseline for each of the team's three games, just as he did during the regular season, too. A freshman on the Detroit Mercy cross-country team, Scott easily sticks out, with his fancy suits -- I especially liked the spring plaid one. Turns out, he owns more than 50 suits.