I was going to put this in a reply in a recruit's thread but realized that it probably shouldn't be cluttering things there. I have very good sources (let's just say a senior AD official) that has told me that we are already in the process of extending coach Bzdelik. I agree with this decision and I'd like to explain why. I know that a lot of people want to wait until next year and/or until he produces a tournament team and that the AD's previous decisions on extending coaches haven't really been good ones. I think that this extension would be a good decision though and I'll tell you why.
A lot of people are going to point to the premature extension of our football coach. You can compare it all you want to the Hawk situation but other than being a coach at CU, the comparison ends there. Bzdelik has a far better resume than just about any coach we've ever had and he's backing it up with results on the court. He's proven himself to be a successful program builder in past jobs (including in the NBA) and he already has a better winning percentage than Hawk in less time. I also think it's a lot harder to achieve results at CU in Bball than football but the reasons for that could take up a thread in and of themselves. He's proven himself to be a good judge of talent (Alec Burks anyone?) and that he's not afraid to use that talent. He also has the personality you want in a coach. When we lose, he accepts responsibility and tells it like it is. He doesn't say that we were 10 baskets shy of a post season berth (which in this case is probably not inaccurate). He sucks it up and doesn't make excuses. The last thing, and most important in my mind, is that he's shown that you can do things the right way and get good results on the court.
I've been to every football and basketball home game for the past 5 years and I can tell you that coach Bzdelik is really building something special here. The KU game this year was the first I've ever seen where Coors wasn't "Allen Fieldhouse West" The fan base was energized, the team played lights out, and I had the thought that THIS was what college basketball was all about. I've never felt as energized about CU athletics as I did at that game. We're going to see some amazing stuff happen if we can keep this program growing and I think that Coach Bzdelik is the right guy to take us to the heights. To that end, we should do whatever we can to keep him as long as we can and if that means extending him now, then I hope it's done tomorrow.
A lot of people are going to point to the premature extension of our football coach. You can compare it all you want to the Hawk situation but other than being a coach at CU, the comparison ends there. Bzdelik has a far better resume than just about any coach we've ever had and he's backing it up with results on the court. He's proven himself to be a successful program builder in past jobs (including in the NBA) and he already has a better winning percentage than Hawk in less time. I also think it's a lot harder to achieve results at CU in Bball than football but the reasons for that could take up a thread in and of themselves. He's proven himself to be a good judge of talent (Alec Burks anyone?) and that he's not afraid to use that talent. He also has the personality you want in a coach. When we lose, he accepts responsibility and tells it like it is. He doesn't say that we were 10 baskets shy of a post season berth (which in this case is probably not inaccurate). He sucks it up and doesn't make excuses. The last thing, and most important in my mind, is that he's shown that you can do things the right way and get good results on the court.
I've been to every football and basketball home game for the past 5 years and I can tell you that coach Bzdelik is really building something special here. The KU game this year was the first I've ever seen where Coors wasn't "Allen Fieldhouse West" The fan base was energized, the team played lights out, and I had the thought that THIS was what college basketball was all about. I've never felt as energized about CU athletics as I did at that game. We're going to see some amazing stuff happen if we can keep this program growing and I think that Coach Bzdelik is the right guy to take us to the heights. To that end, we should do whatever we can to keep him as long as we can and if that means extending him now, then I hope it's done tomorrow.
