Aaron Roussell named WBBall Head Coach

[WebSpinner]

to each his own and don't watch women's pro basketball but do like women's college round ball. it is more like men's game of the 40s and 50s when it was played on the court rather than above the rim. just like i would rather go to the range and shoot with my buddies than to play video games, we all like, enjoy, different things and that is OK.

 

[MolivaManiac]

I enjoyed the women's final 4. Entertaining games.

 

[plydogg]

Saw that Aaron was at the Women's Final Four already recruiting and promoting our program. Interesting that he has this thing called a Twitter page with over 4000 followers that he uses to further promote our women's basketball program. Interesting and novel way to help promote the school and the program.

Questions:

1. Was anyone from our men's team at the Men's Final Four or were they too busy out recruiting the total of 2 guys we are recruiting?
2. Why does Mooney not have a Twitter page. Rhoades has 9000 followers on his twitter page.

I was at the Final Four and can you tell you while I did spot representatives from many schools I never saw anyone from Richmond. But there are also plenty of other schools I saw nobody from.

Also it was cool that on the big screen before the games they show stat leaders for the year...they showed steals leaders and Jacob was on there. Tried to get a picture but was it had moved on to the next stat before I was able to put my drink down, take out my phone, and put it on camera mode.

 

[spider23]

Tried to get a picture but was it had moved on to the next stat before I was able to put my drink down, take out my phone, and put it on camera mode.

Damn ply, you are getting old like the rest of us old foagies on this board. Just kidding. Must have been a heck of an experience. Great elite eight and final four.

 

[coach fezz]

Saw that Aaron was at the Women's Final Four already recruiting and promoting our program. Interesting that he has this thing called a Twitter page with over 4000 followers that he uses to further promote our women's basketball program. Interesting and novel way to help promote the school and the program.

Questions:

1. Was anyone from our men's team at the Men's Final Four or were they too busy out recruiting the total of 2 guys we are recruiting?
2. Why does Mooney not have a Twitter page. Rhoades has 9000 followers on his twitter page.

I think Coach should get twitter page. I wonder if staff searches and searches Europe for players now or just asks their drinking buddy.

 

[97spiderfan]

I think Coach should get twitter page. I wonder if staff searches and searches Europe for players now or just asks their drinking buddy.

Its not like many high school kids are using Twitter these days anyway. Oh wait, all of our players seem to have Twitter accounts. Maybe Moondog is all over Snapchat and Instagram.

 

[ChoppinBroccoli]

His MySpace page, tho.....

 

[WebSpinner]

read THE HISTORY OF THE FUTURE by blake harris if truly interested in social media and the like.

 

[spider23]

I have moved on to spapface myself

 

[GKiller]

Big hat no cattle Hardt hired a consultant for women’s search only to hire the guy he hired at Bucknell. Lunardi scheduling consultant still the bigger coup. Paying for these consultants to do the job of the AD and coaches no wonder we can’t buy out contracts.

 

[Wood Hall]

Big hat no cattle Hardt hired a consultant for women’s search only to hire the guy he hired at Bucknell. Lunardi scheduling consultant still the bigger coup. Paying for these consultants to do the job of the AD and coaches no wonder we can’t buy out contracts.

So are you unhappy he hired such a successful women's basketball coach?

 

[WebSpinner]

would bet he would have taken the same grief if he had not retained a consultant firm.

 

[MrTbone]

I hope we didn’t pay a search firm to hire the guy that John already knew. I’m ok with the hire btw, but that’s a terrible use of budget if that’s what occurred.

 

[spider23]

The search firms are such a scam. These guys come up with some of the worst hires for $250,000. With so much information available, you should be able to do a comprehensive search. And if you are a good AD and doing some networking already it shouldn't be that hard. It does look like a really good hire on the women's side, but I agree that with the thought that he hopefully did not pay someone to help with this.

 

[GKiller]

I hope we didn’t pay a search firm to hire the guy that John already knew. I’m ok with the hire btw, but that’s a terrible use of budget if that’s what occurred.

Hardt retained a consultant to help UR conduct its search. They discussed qualities the Spiders sought, and Hardt recalls the consultant saying, “Gosh, that sounds like your old coach at Bucknell.”

https://www.richmond.com/sports/col...campaign=user-share&__twitter_impression=true

 

[MrTbone]

Hardt retained a consultant to help UR conduct its search. They discussed qualities the Spiders sought, and Hardt recalls the consultant saying, “Gosh, that sounds like your old coach at Bucknell.”

https://www.richmond.com/sports/col...campaign=user-share&__twitter_impression=true

Kinda speechless.

Is there a reason we insist on the appearance of being open and competitive with these hires but don’t actually make it so? Admittedly I’m making an assumption there but it seems incredibly amateurish to me.

If we want to hire someone, go do it. Save the money and the time delays.

 

[WebSpinner]

a professional utilizes all of the resources available even though they may have their own short or even long list of possibilities. if he indeed did use a search firm then think that is spot on and what he should have done. who cares that at the end of the day, the right fit turned out to be someone on his short list. who knows the coaches brought up who were not on his list who now become part of his list for the future. looks to me like a very prudent way to do business and as stated above, no matter how he chose to do it, he would have been criticized here by the usual suspects.

 

[DTSpider]

I’m actually pleased to see the use of the search firm. It helps eliminate the perception, which I obviously had, that Hardt has shortcut this whole thing. It shouldn’t be a dump off to make your decision for you, but you’ve got to use everything you can to make sure we’re making good hires.

Now, is $250k a bit steep of a price, perhaps. But a bad hire is very costly.

 

[Eight Legger]

He wanted to hire this guy all along, admittedly with good reason it would seem, so he plunked down 250k to avoid the perception of laziness. Which still exists despite that and despite the guy's obvious qualifications. It wasn't the most fiscally responsible way to do business. It's probably equivalent to about a year of Roussell's salary, I would imagine.

 

[MrTbone]

a professional utilizes all of the resources available even though they may have their own short or even long list of possibilities. if he indeed did use a search firm then think that is spot on and what he should have done. who cares that at the end of the day, the right fit turned out to be someone on his short list. who knows the coaches brought up who were not on his list who now become part of his list for the future. looks to me like a very prudent way to do business and as stated above, no matter how he chose to do it, he would have been criticized here by the usual suspects.

Of course you should use the resources available to you. It just looks to me like it was window dressing. I don’t know that, just my perception.

I think criticism is always going to be at play with this kind of outcome, it would probably be lower if he’d gone outside the fold and found someone with comparable success which may not have been terribly easy to find. No one will care in a year though if the guy wins.

 

[Wood Hall]

The search firms are such a scam. These guys come up with some of the worst hires for $250,000. With so much information available, you should be able to do a comprehensive search. And if you are a good AD and doing some networking already it shouldn't be that hard. It does look like a really good hire on the women's side, but I agree that with the thought that he hopefully did not pay someone to help with this.

I don't see the $250k pricetag anywhere in that story. No way did we pay that much to a search firm for a women's basketball coach. Absolutely no way.

 

[Marley13]

Salary for coach or search firm?

 

[Wood Hall]

Salary for coach or search firm?

To a search firm.

 

[Marley13]

Waste of money. Nice edit.

 

[Wood Hall]

Waste of money. Nice edit.

Yes, edited for clarity. And if the new WBB coach does as well as he did at Bucknell, any monies (nowhere near $250K, as alleged earlier in this thread) spent on a search firm to help identify him as the superior candidate would be well worth it.

Some of our fans seem so blinded by their dislike of Hardt and Mooney they refuse to even acknowledge the fact when Hardt makes a good move, which hiring our new WBB coach certainly appears to be.

 

[Marley13]

Over Mooney and no opinion of Hardt due to his minimal time here. Just think it’s a waste of money to hire an outside firm to do the job you were hired to do.

 

[MrTbone]

Yes, edited for clarity. And if the new WBB coach does as well as he did at Bucknell, any monies (nowhere near $250K, as alleged earlier in this thread) spent on a search firm to help identify him as the superior candidate would be well worth it.

Some of our fans seem so blinded by their dislike of Hardt and Mooney they refuse to even acknowledge the fact when Hardt makes a good move, which hiring our new WBB coach certainly appears to be.

I hope you aren’t referring to me. I just question any logic to using a search firm at all if you know who you want to hire. Save the money and own it. Again, I don’t know that he had his sights set on Roussell the whole time but it seems he did.

 

[Wood Hall]

The search firm does not hire the coach. It helps the AD do background checks, reference checks, and to compile enough information to make (hopefully) an informed choice.

A search firm also acts as a third-party to protect a candidate's privacy during the search, something most sitting head coaches appreciate and something which helps build a stronger field of candidates.

It's a fairly accepted practice throughout college athletics.

 

[spider23]

I don't see the $250k pricetag anywhere in that story. No way did we pay that much to a search firm for a women's basketball coach. Absolutely no way.

I didn't say Hardt spent 250,000. Just that these search firms in general are a scam.

 

[ChoppinBroccoli]

Google is my search firm.

 

[Not-A-Homer]

The use of the search firm in this case is amateurish and laughable. Makes one aware that shenanigans are a large part of the M.O.(method of operation) of this athletic department.

1) If the AD "knew all along" that he was going to hire his former coach, then he should have just hired him straight up. Save the $250,000.00. That would be good decision making and decisive leadership. +1

2) If he had no idea that the guy that he had already hired, and worked with, was "the best guy" for the job, then that tells you a lot about the AD's lack of awareness and lack of competence. -1

3) If he wasted $250,000.00 to fool the public, and make it appear as though they did some legitimate search, that is deceptive and dishonest at best, and fraudulent and corrupt at the other end of the scale. -10

Those who applaud this scam might want to take a second look.

** This is not commentary on whether this hire is a good coach or not.

 

[urfan1]

I have no problem if he used a search firm. Like said part of the industry.

 

[WebSpinner]

two things, what if the guy had said NO? sure he was on a short list, maybe the fav but no guarantee he and his fam would have moved. second, if our AD is a jerk, as some have postulated on here, why would this coach want to work under him again, no matter if he got a raise? have no idea what search firms charge for a men's or women's search and hope that if someone is throwing out a guess, they admit that and not try and make it seem like fact. look how many schools out there had to settle for their 3rd and 4th choices recently, you have to have a pretty good list because the coach you desire may not be interested. retaining a professional firm seems like a good practice and if not, they would not exist, no AD would utilize them.

 

[spider23]

second, if our AD is a jerk, as some have postulated on here, why would this coach want to work under him again, no matter if he got a raise

Spinner, I think the woman's coach is a great hire for Hardt. Probably stays out of the way. The women's coach seems super motivated, and is already more active in public and providing positive thoughts and energy for our women's program. On the other hand, Mooney has shown he needs a swift kick in the rear, and Hardt and Queally are not doing so. Yes, you would want to work for Hardt because he seems very hands off and willing to let you do nothing. BUT, a coach like Roussell seems very self motivated, which is great and will probably work out well.

 

[MrTbone]

The search firm does not hire the coach. It helps the AD do background checks, reference checks, and to compile enough information to make (hopefully) an informed choice.

A search firm also acts as a third-party to protect a candidate's privacy during the search, something most sitting head coaches appreciate and something which helps build a stronger field of candidates.

It's a fairly accepted practice throughout college athletics.

I recognize it’s standard practice. None of the activities listed above would be required to hire someone he already was familiar with though.

I think it’s really a question of whether you believe he actually looked at other candidates or not. My gut says he didn’t but maybe he actually did.

And I’ll state again, I like the hire.

 

[Wood Hall]

I didn't say Hardt spent 250,000. Just that these search firms in general are a scam.

You clearly intimated that $250,000 was spent. Now that totally bogus figure has taken on a life of its own, as clearly shown by subsequent posts quoting the imaginary figure you alluded to.

Hardt made what looks to be a great hire. Yet he's still being excoriated because the guy happened to come from Bucknell, and may have spent in the neighborhood of $30-50K to make sure he considered all possible candidates, not just the guy he knew.

And if search/headhunting firms are a "scam," then athletic departments, Fortune 500 companies and other prominent corporations looking for talented executives must be collectively stupid, because they all use them to a large extent when making key hires.

 

[spider23]

you guys are too much. Good god. I effing have no idea was spent, I threw out a number in general. I cannot believe the depths of truther nation. Loving watching the original KA coach.

 

[Eight Legger]

I heard the amount was closer to $500,000

 

[97spiderfan]

The question is why do you need a search firm for him to poach the same coach he hired at Bucknell. So, let me get this straight. UR athletics wants me to give $$$ so they can pay to hire a search firm to hire a coach which our AD knew on a personal level and also to hire Lunardi to help us schedule, because apparently we are either too stupid or not connected enough to figure out that we need to schedule some good but not great teams in OOC.

But, we don't have money to buy out Mooney.

 

[Wood Hall]

Big difference between $30K and $3.1 million.