Marshall to WICHITA STATE? Crazy

[bullMD2005]

Just saw on ESPN.com that Marshall (Winthrop) is going to accept the Wichita State head coaching job.  What the heck?  In my opinion, him passing on USF was the BEST thing that could have happened to us, as Heath is going to be great.  I just can't believe the Missouri Valley Conference has more appeal than USF and the Big East.  He's going to be sorry.

[Bull Matrix]

Well, Wichita St has been a pretty **** good program over the past few years. They were highly ranked, and they will give Marshall more of a chance to succeed than at USF. Marshall was too worried about his coaching career which is why he didnt want the USF job. And who is to say that Marshall was going to be offered by USF after the Heath firing had happened?? Marshall has not proven that he can coach in a tough conference like the BIG EAST, so the Missouri Valley will be a better chance to help his stock if the South Carolina or Clemson job opens up.

[Joe]

I'm gonna put this nicely, but USF is a VERY hard job that would be tough for a young up and coming coach like Gregg Marshall to take. Noting that there has been limited success before the Big East for Seth Greenberg and Robert McCullum makes the job very unactractive for that type of candidate.

We got a great hire with someone who has been at the height of a major conference and had success there and arguably shouldn't have been fired. CSH was the PERFECT candidate for this job.

Guys like Pelphrey and Marshall are not because if they fail it could ruin their careers.

The footprint at Wichita State is a better situation for him, still a very good conference and a team that returns most their top talent. Remember they were a Sweet 16 team in 2006 and they beat Cuse at Cuse this year.

USF got their hire, and no Marshall wasn't scared. It legitimately just wasn't a great situation for a very young coach who has built up a lot of good will at a low major.

[JoeB]

We'll see how this turns out for Marshall.  I think this is a bad move on his part, but it will only be a stepping stone job, for the next big fish to come calling maybe in a year or two, so maybe it will work out for him.  USF is a very tough place to win, especially right away.  So, in that aspect, the Wichita State proram is a step above us.

[Greg Auman]

It's definitely easier to win there (more success, easier league), and the money is probably better -- Turgeon was making $750,000 a year, so I imagine Marshall will make more than that. It's an easier step in terms of moving up to a tougher league without being in an elite conference. Then again, he could be back at Winthrop by Monday. ...

[Herman_Momart]

Gregg Marshall is a scared and unconfident man not looking for a challenge.  WITCHITA STATE?!?!?!  Where is that?  I dont care if they go to the NCAA tournament every year, you are still witchita state.  The casual basketball fan will never think about or care who you are. Sure they dont about usf right now either, but in the big east if you win year in and year out, you will gain recognition and respect immediately.  Go undefeated at Witchita State and the critics will say, "but you didnt beat anyone".

Sure, like Joe said, USF is a tough job but I can see a young confident up and coming coach taking it and suceeding, not a pansy like GM. His hesitiation and decision to not take the job and NOW take Witchita States speaks volumes of where he wants to go in his career.  A job where if he fails, no big deal and if he suceeds, no big deal.  Thank the basketball lords we didnt get this joker.  

Heath seems like a confident man.  Sure we dont know anything until we start playing, but I like his demeanor.  He says we will win here, sooner than lots think and that what we need.  We dont need a coach with excuses why we cant win like some of our fans.  We need a coach who says we are going to win, because thats what I do and i dont accept anything less.  I cant wait until next season.

[USFMikeB]

Marshall is the kind of guy that's afraid to take risks, he only wants to take a position that is cultivated to offer specific results.  He wasn't the right guy for us, and I'm glad he didn't take th job.

[Brad]

In my opinion, him passing on USF was the BEST thing that could have happened to us, as Heath is going to be great.  

Fate treated us nicely.  With all due respect to Mr. Woolard, I think Marshall was extremely underqualified.

[Joe]

I don't agree that he was scared. It's a tough job at USF that is built more for a guy like Heath than Marshall.

Further, just looking at it objectively WSU has a 10,000+ completely reconstructed arena (2003) that is sold out every night. Along with a decent conference in the Missouri Valley and a practice facility being pushed for and finally he's getting paid 750k, which is about 150k more than the number discussed by USF.

This is what Marshall was looking for, and rightfully so, the guy had built enough good will to get a job where he could step in and win.

Like I said, Stan Heath was the PERFECT candidate for USF, he has nothing to lose and lots to prove. He wasn't going to get another BCS school job because he was just fired by Arkansas and many boosters (who pay a lot of the coach's salary) probably wouldn't have been thrilled with that fact.

Best of luck to Marshall at WSU, thanks for considering USF. We have our man, who, not to take anything away from you, I think is a better coach.

[usfgrad84]

We'll see how this turns out for Marshall.  I think this is a bad move on his part, but it will only be a stepping stone job, for the next big fish to come calling maybe in a year or two, so maybe it will work out for him.  USF is a very tough place to win, especially right away.  So, in that aspect, the Wichita State proram is a step above us.

At $750,000 per year for 7 years, it can hardly be considered at bad move on his part.

I think things worked out very well for everyone involved.  Especially us.  For a team that has had recent success, This is a bigger career risk for him if he doesn't maintain the success.  if the team drops a little bit, he becomes the focus of the falloff.  At USF all he needed to do was win a couple of more games a year than the past regime and he would have become a success with almost no downside.

I'm glad we got Heath.