I think any of those names mentioned would be a upgrade on Clarke so would be happy enough with any of them.
My preferences out of those mentioned in the opening thread quotes would be Bevo, Dennis, Maher and one who wasnt mentioned Gleeson.
The others would be upgrades on Clarke and are championship coaches, so would be happy enough with them also, just have a few more cons than the others.
This is what i think of the coaches. In preference order.
Bevo - great coach, great recruiter of talent, not a massive fan of his game style but it wins, may be just as a result of some of his better players being great defenders and not great scorers, eg Martin ,having said that the Wildcats generally put up decent scores and find a way to win through there defense if there shot aint dropping a bit like Goorj so would learn to be ok with it, even though i prefer a free flowing high scoring game aslong as they are winning, which you know they would be. A massive pro on his side is he may be able to recruit guys like Lisch, Knight to the 36ers. Would almost certainly put the 36ers back in the top 4.
Dennis - seems to be the assistant with the biggest raps and most ready, having already coached previously helps aswell, not a complete rookie but still not much experience. Would probably bring similar to Bevo in many ways and if we cant get Bevo wouldnt be upset to get Dennis. A risk is he hasnt been a head coach in a while so would be seen as basically a rookie, the last 2 rookie coaches havnt worked, but i guess the 1 before them Smyth did so can go either way.
Maher - another rookie coach, with no pro coaching experience, however favourite son, was a very smart player and good leader, generally seen as someone most feel would make a good coach. If we can get Bevo or Dennis id take them and get Maher as an assistant to serve an apprenticeship under one of them, but if we cant get either of them id give Maher a crack. He is rumoured to have Arsego lined up as an assistant which is a good move. With Parker being only a part time GM, is there money to have a basketball GM/coach mentor someone like Smyth, Stacker, Gleeson would be good in this role, to help with recruiting a bit like NBA clubs but also mentor Maher a bit like Eade and Buckley in the AFL.
For me it probably stops there either grab Bevo or Dennis from Perth or hire Mahersy, but here are the next best imo.
Gleeson - good experienced coach, coached NBL recently enough, usually picked decent imports and recruited reasonably well. Townsville probably operated on a 36ers like Budget and he did well making the playoffs basically every year, has coached Schenscher successfully before, made him basically the centrepiece of the team and made playoffs so if he can do the same in Adelaide would be great. If we cant get Bevo and want a NBL playoff experienced coach id go Gleeson and would like Maher to work as an assistant if we go down this path.
Smyth - local hero, 36ers most successful coach a very passionate South Aussie who loves the 36ers. Coached a game style that was fun to watch, recruited good imports and generally decent Aussies even though letting a few young guns slip, but probably not all his fault at the time. Just wonder if its best to go back to the future as most fans were happy to see him go after 10 years and whether or not we are best to just simply go back to him after his successors havnt worked. He also hasnt coached pro basketball anywhere since so has he kept up with all the players, trends, etc. Not sure how much he would watch NBL games to be aware of the current crop of players. Wouldnt be upset if they went down this path, would actually be excited to have Smyth back involved but just a few more question marks for me, especially not coaching for a few years even at ABL/SEABL level as far as i know being the biggest one. Also seemed to do his best with big budget rosters which im not sure the 36ers can afford these days, but the 2002 team was hardly big budget or full of proven players so he probably could work with our younger players on todays budget and would definatly pick better imports than Clarke did. The 'bad' ones in his time would be the best of the recent imports. Would definatly have a team that entertains and puts bums on seats.
Joyce - would be ok as he has worked successfully with the Hawks, who were not a big budget franchise like the current 36ers, but if they went down that path id have a no Daniel on the roster clause/rule, he seemed to get too carried away with that. He would demand all players play hard all game and hold guys like DJ accountable for every play and bench him when he slacks off on defense. Massive con like Smyth hasnt coached NBL or SEABL or anything for a while so not sure if he is upto date on coaching todays players, but he has been commentating so would atleast have watched all the current NBL players and be aware of some of there strengths/weaknesses.
Wright - A championship coach, coached guys like Gibson, Cadee, Petrie, generally recruited decent imports and generally made the playoffs or very close. To me my question is would he work where he doesnt have huge budget to spend? I also beleive in some cases given the rosters he has had he has underacheived, but however did make last years playoffs, but Gold Coast did go bust, not convinced his roster would have been in the '36ers budget'. I could be being too harsh just saying he needs big $$$ rosters to win, i just dont think he would do that well at a Hawks like a McLeod does for example, and the 36ers are probably more Hawks than big $$ these days. Massive pro is he may be able to keep Gibson also would likely bring in better imports. He also coached NBL last year and is still involved in basketball coaching now in Qld. He is also a very demanding coach and would all players accountable at both ends, which some guys on our team need. Also seemed to be a good recruiter of Aussie talent.
For me if Maher isnt coach id like him to be an assistant.
Any of these guys would be heaps better than Clarke so for me we cant go wrong, just interview them all, pick the best, this is my preference order from afar with no inside knowledge of any of them what so ever.
Good luck to the 36ers, pick any of these guys things should improve, will be very interested to see who is picked and what the future holds.
