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WTF? Is Bzdelik leaving or not?

staxman

New Member
Check out the info below....Today, Andy Katz @ ESPN reported Coach Bz WAS interviewing with the T-Wolves, but as an asst. coach. If he ends up leaving and we're stuck with McClain as head coach and no Baker as a recruiter, CU hoops is screwed. It's been a tough couple of years, but I think there is hope with the talent coming in and Bzdelik here. I'll be pissed if he ends up leaving right before the season. Not only will it hurt our chances for the upcoming year, but it will KILL recruiting for next year. Will CU basketball ever catch a break and turn the corner to be consistently good?

A source close to Colorado coach Jeff Bzdelik told ESPN.com that Bzdelik talked with Minnesota Timberwolves general manager David Kahn about becoming a top assistant, not the head coach, for the franchise. The talk took place two weeks ago while Bzdelik was in Las Vegas to watch some former players in the NBA's summer league. The source said Kahn discussed with Bzdelik that he could be the trusted aide to whoever lands the job. The source said he was told that the list featured mainly ESPN/ABC analyst Mark Jackson, Houston assistant Elston Turner and Lakers assistant Kurt Rambis. Bzdelik is still actively recruiting for Colorado, but if Kahn comes back with an offer that Bzdelik can't refuse sometime in the next month, the Buffaloes' coach likely will take the gig.


Coaching basketball at Colorado is arguably the worst job in the Big 12, as the school has facilities that don't match up to any of its competitors in the league. Before taking over at Colorado, Bzdelik took the Denver Nuggets to the playoffs and had a successful run at Air Force. One of the main reasons he wanted to stay in the Denver area after he was fired as the Nuggets' head coach in 2004 was that his daughter had a brain tumor. She since has recovered well and is a freshman at Wake Forest, so Bzdelik could move out of the state if need be.


If Bzdelik were to get the offer and accept, the timing probably would make top assistant and former Wyoming head coach Steve McClain the likely successor for the Colorado job. The source said Kahn likely would make the decision as to whether Bzdelik is on the bench. Having management, not just the head coach, decide on assistants isn't out of the norm in the NBA.
 
staxman said:
Check out the info below....Today, Andy Katz @ ESPN reported Coach Bz WAS interviewing with the T-Wolves, but as an asst. coach. If he ends up leaving and we're stuck with McClain as head coach and no Baker as a recruiter, CU hoops is screwed. It's been a tough couple of years, but I think there is hope with the talent coming in and Bzdelik here. I'll be pissed if he ends up leaving right before the season. Not only will it hurt our chances for the upcoming year, but it will KILL recruiting for next year. Will CU basketball ever catch a break and turn the corner to be consistently good?
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We would be screwed if he bailed now.

I like McClain as an asst. but not as our HC. If Bzdelik left Bohn would have no choice but to make McClain the HC. We don't have the funds to lure in a top notch asst. or a HC to CU.
 
Daaah said:
To the uneducated in CU BBall, it sounds like Bz i shopping around.
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After seeing the quote below from the Boulder Camera previously, I thought the Katz info was news. My bad.

“Jeff called me and told me that it was an informal ‘bump’ at a summer league where he was monitoring the progress of some of our players and some of our former players,” Bohn said. “He said it was a very casual conversation.”

Bohn said Bzdelik also called all of his players Thursday to inform them that he remains committed to Colorado.
 
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staxman said:
Sorry. After seeing the quote from the the Boulder Camera previously, I thought the Katz info was news. My bad. :rolleyes:

“Jeff called me and told me that it was an informal ‘bump’ at a summer league where he was monitoring the progress of some of our players and some of our former players,” Bohn said. “He said it was a very casual conversation.”

Bohn said Bzdelik also called all of his players Thursday to inform them that he remains committed to Colorado.
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When did Katz write the article?

I don't think Daaah was slamming you Stax.
 
staxman said:
Posted on ESPN.com today, July 27th.
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I think your original reaction was correct. Jeff never said he actually offered any position. We all assumed it was for the HC job. He may bail for the top asst post.

Stampdizzle is a good guy. He's just a superior poster than you and I. :lol: JK. JK!
 
I really don't think Coach Bz is leaving. I think he's an old school teacher of the game and belongs in college actually coaching & developing players instead of babysitting NBA egos. We'll see.
 
Buffnik said:
I really don't think Coach Bz is leaving. I think he's an old school teacher of the game and belongs in college actually coaching & developing players instead of babysitting NBA egos. We'll see.
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I was thinking the same until I saw the Katz article. The way things are going at CU he may bail back to the league. I'm worried. :sad1:
 
valdezj said:
I was thinking the same until I saw the Katz article. The way things are going at CU he may bail back to the league. I'm worried. :sad1:
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We really need to have Bohn make the announcement on a groundbreaking for the practice facility. Maybe this will put some pressure on the right boo$ter$ to get this done. At the least, it would cause the buyout clause to go into effect in Bz's contract while making it a lot easier for the next coach to recruit. At the best, it's what it takes to keep Coach Bz around and helps bring in our next class.
 
valdezj said:
I was thinking the same until I saw the Katz article. The way things are going at CU he may bail back to the league. I'm worried. :sad1:
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I'm with you valdezj. I thought Bzdelik was destined to stick it out, teach the kids, and build something at CU. The Katz article makes me worry too. He generally has good sources. Maybe Bz thinks the task in Boulder is more than he bargained for and wants to get back to the league. Guess all we can do is hope the T-Wolves don't give him the offer he can't refuse.

What do NBA assistant's make anyway? Would he make more than he does at CU?
 
staxman said:
I'm with you valdezj. I thought Bzdelik was destined to stick it out, teach the kids, and build something at CU. The Katz article makes me worry too. He generally has good sources. Maybe Bz thinks the task in Boulder is more than he bargained for and wants to get back to the league. Guess all we can do is hope the T-Wolves don't give him the offer he can't refuse.

What do NBA assistant's make anyway? Would he make more than he does at CU?
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As a top asst like they promised? I think he'd make more with the Twolves.

Has his son graduated from CU? I know that was a huge lure for him to come to Boulder.
 
He's making $750k at CU (with numerous built-in incentive bonuses). Minnesota won't be paying any more than that, even if he was an Associate Head Coach. They've got to have a ton of money invested in buyouts after firing their head coach 3 seasons in a row. They'll probably only pay their HC in the $2 million range. I'm not sure, exactly, what NBA assistants make. A lot would depend on whether we're talking about an "Associate Head Coach" title, because then it approaches HC money like Thibodeau in Boston.
 
Well... Tim Floyd may be available.

I kid! Maybe we can get Baker back, but I'd gladly take Dunlap. Or Gillispie.
 
JMHO, but I can't see a good reason for him to leave unless it's his intention to get back to the NBA come hell or high water. He has a pretty good deal going at CU. There are virtually no expectations here. He gets paid a lot of money, probably at least as much as he'd get paid as an assistant in the NBA. Expectations are much higher in the NBA. Here, not so much. Very few people are expecting anything more than about 14 wins for this next season.
 
staxman said:
We're seriously screwed if Bzdelik leaves. And I'm holding Stampy personally responsible.
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eff you, stax. Don't go pinning this crap on me. Everyone knows I was pulling for a Dunlap hire from day 1 of the search.
 
sackman said:
JMHO, but I can't see a good reason for him to leave unless it's his intention to get back to the NBA come hell or high water. He has a pretty good deal going at CU. There are virtually no expectations here. He gets paid a lot of money, probably at least as much as he'd get paid as an assistant in the NBA. Expectations are much higher in the NBA. Here, not so much. Very few people are expecting anything more than about 14 wins for this next season.
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Bzdelik has made no secret that he ultimately wants to be back in the NBA. I don't think he is shopping around but I do think he is keeping his lines of communication open with NBA executives. Expectations may be low at CU but racking up losses on your resume does not fit into building your value in the marketplace.
 
stampy said:
eff you, stax. Don't go pinning this crap on me. Everyone knows I was pulling for a Dunlap hire from day 1 of the search.
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As I recall, you were the one emailing Bohn and standing outside the athletic offices with you're sign saying 'CU Hoops Needs Bz Now!!' :wink2:
Dunlap...please. :huh:
 
Buffnik said:
He's making $750k at CU (with numerous built-in incentive bonuses). Minnesota won't be paying any more than that, even if he was an Associate Head Coach. They've got to have a ton of money invested in buyouts after firing their head coach 3 seasons in a row. They'll probably only pay their HC in the $2 million range. I'm not sure, exactly, what NBA assistants make. A lot would depend on whether we're talking about an "Associate Head Coach" title, because then it approaches HC money like Thibodeau in Boston.
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I stand corrected. :thumbsup:
 
id love dunlap at cu but it wont happen He has crazy practice rules like conditioning at 4 am i know i was team manager for a year my freshman year at metro for himi had to be downtown at 330 every morning it was brutal
 
valdezj said:
You think the Katz article is BS?
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i have no idea....i'm just fearful of a situation that could make CU a perennial doormat. it's a lot easier to go from .500 in the league to 2-3 win conference wins than the other way around. the league is getting better and, i think, we would be too.

my first choice as a hire was an assistant at a big program (dream: Wojo) or a guy at a mid-major (at the time, Karl Hobbes at GW)...and i liked Dunlap, too. but, i could see the local NBA cred/AFA success hire of Bz. However, with the player attrition (forced or otherwise) and the blow it up and start again theory...we are pretty hostage to Bz (and possibly McClain) at this point to get back to respectable. i think a nucleus with Higgins (big time player), Tomlinson, Dufault (role play guys who i think can score the ball with experience)...and some possible talent in the FR class with Harris-Tunks, the kid from Missouri and hopefully Relphorde can step in a give us some minutes and legit fouls in the post....with superior coaching keeping us in games against better teams (sometimes getting the W) and holding our own against equal talent.

but, that's the textbook "good case"/glass half-full scenario....i don't know where we are if Bz bolts to "the League". the bottom could be coming up pretty fast. i like McClain, but i'm not sure he's going to be more than "pretty good" against the Rick Barnes and Self's of the world and post-RMK, Eddie Sutton, Sampson young guns in the conference with Drew, Ford, Capel, Turgeon, Anderson. all those guys and Martin are hauling in top 150 guys off the AAU circuit.
 
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CU needs Bz to stay until he at least gets to the postseason - show that there's promise here. I'm with others on this - Katz is making me worry, because he's usually pretty good (despite what others may think). I think Dunlap and Bz want to do the pros, and eventually, I think Bz will leave for the pros. We need him to get our program though to some level of success. Hopefully this is just him keeping lines open - nothing more. We need to reach the NCAAs and build some talent.

This really sucks if the article is right. It'd just be so hard to draw a good coach with where our program is right now.
 
Katz is usually OK. it's just that the national writers (in NCAA football and hoops) are wrong a lot just simply because the info is 2nd or 3rd hand more often than not....and this time of year prolly looking for anything to print that's spicy. and we all know CU basketball is the habenero pepper of national hoops news.

i used to read the Sporting News site and Mike DeCourcey is wrong all the time. he also said Jeff Capel was a "terrible hire" for OU. and Herb Sendek "terrible" at ASU. both of those seem to working out to me. you never know with these guys. Gregg Doyel was the feature writer for Cnn/SI for a few years, for chrissakes. he's got some pond scum job at cnn or yahoo now.
 
staxman said:
As I recall, you were the one emailing Bohn and standing outside the athletic offices with you're sign saying 'CU Hoops Needs Bz Now!!' :wink2:
Dunlap...please. :huh:
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Your memory is short. Here is a quote I dug up from an old thread three years ago. Perhaps it will refresh your memory...

stampy said:
Thanks to everyone who participated in my "draft Dunlap" mail writing campaign last week. Tonight will be my Dunlap fundraising dinner, all funds raised will go to the purchase of "Dunlap for coach" buttons, caps, and yard signs.

The most important thing for all of us is that Bohn not hire Bzdelik. If hired, I predict this guy will run off all of our current talent, create a huge rift between himself and Sweller, and eventually leave us with the program in the gutter for a NBA gig, probably Minnesota.
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dyemeduke said:
CU needs Bz to stay until he at least gets to the postseason - show that there's promise here. I'm with others on this - Katz is making me worry, because he's usually pretty good (despite what others may think). I think Dunlap and Bz want to do the pros, and eventually, I think Bz will leave for the pros. We need him to get our program though to some level of success. Hopefully this is just him keeping lines open - nothing more. We need to reach the NCAAs and build some talent.

This really sucks if the article is right. It'd just be so hard to draw a good coach with where our program is right now.
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:nod: Getting the practice facility completed, and making the postseason a year or two is something I'd hope he'd see through.
 
If he knew he likely would not be here, that could be an explanation for why he has not filled Baker's slot.
 
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