Opinion: Here Comes the Buzz
The key word is speculation. Writers across the country, perhaps suffering a bit of basketball induced cabin fever, have begun ruminating on the fate of college coaches across the country. Who is in danger? Which programs need a facelift? Who deserves a new contract or a promotion? Which assistants are the fresh faces needed in this program or that?
And just like last year, Mike Rice’s name has come up.
Before we go much further, let’s make this clear: I don’t know what the future holds for Mike Rice or Robert Morris. No one does. At this point, Mike Rice probably doesn’t have the faintest clue.
He’s probably plopped in front of a TV or computer somewhere watching film of Devin Sweetney. His mind is probably racing, trying to figure out how the hell to handle back-to-back games against St. Francis (Pa.) this weekend. When his mind pauses long enough to allow other thoughts to muscle their way in, he’s likely hoping Karon Abraham doesn’t get the flu or Mezie Nwigwe doesn’t get the whooping cough or that the bus doesn’t break down on the trip back from Loretto late Thursday night and royally screw his team over because the NEC – in their absolutely infinite wisdom – thought it would be a good idea to schedule the first set of “home-and-home” basketball games in college basketball since the days of short-shorts and regular quintuple headers at the Palestra.
But enough of where Mike Rice’s thoughts are at this moment. The beauty of the modern information age is we no longer need to know what a coach or player is thinking about in regards to potential job opportunities; fans and media members are willing to speculate and ruminate on the opportunities for them. And while the collective masses are inevitably very, very wrong, the beast must be fed.
So, without further adieu, why will Mike Rice likely be in need of a stiff drink or two after fielding multiple calls offering him a new job?
Rice has Robert Morris atop the Northeast Conference with a 14-8 record, including a 9-1 mark in league play. He’s on pace for his third straight 20-win season running the RMU program, with another NEC title in sight. The key to this year and to the buzz surrounding him is the fact that 10 of the 13 players on the RMU roster are Rice recruits, and only 2 of the 3 remaining players had significant experience prior to Rice’s arrival. Only Dallas Green and Mezie Nwigwe played consistent minutes as freshmen under Mark Schmidt; Jimmy Langhurst played all of 39 minutes over the course of the season.
This is very much Rice’s team. Consistency aside, it’s also how he wants his team to play: Aggressive across the board, defensively sound and vicious, athletic, and deep.
The carousel really began in early December, when Dereck Whittenburg was fired as Fordham’s head coach. Rice is a Fordham alum. Fordham is in a larger conference in a larger city. Clearly, Rice would throw his hat into the ring as a chance to be the conquering hero and return home with the opportunity to restore his alma mater’s rightful place atop the Atlantic-10, no?
Maybe.
Maybe not.
Because here we are almost 2 months later and suddenly the Fordham gig may not be the best prospective offer to come Rice’s way. The New York Post is now fanning the flames and suggesting Rice could be a candidate at Rutgers should Fred Hill get the axe in New Jersey.
There’s also the opening in the Windy City at DePaul (Rice coached at Chicago State), created by the dismissal of Jerry Wainwright. Oh, and should the Rice family prefer a more southern feel after a bunch of cold winters, UNC-Wilmington also has a job opening.
See what just happened? We speculated on potential openings and how they fit! The problem is, the speculation and the rumor floating may or may not actually fit with what the soon to be 41-year old Mike Rice wants. Whatever ancillary benefits exist (contract, location, family, prestige, snazzy ride, et al), I do know he wants one thing: to win.
That’s the key decision in all of this. Not how well Fordham makes their pitch or how much money Rutgers waives around, but what job gives him the best opportunity to win. Maybe not immediately. But very soon. And that’s the question that must be asked. Which job gives him the best opportunity win?
It’s also a question that cannot possibly be answered now. How Robert Morris does the rest of the season factors into the equation. How the recruiting finishes up for next season is an influence on the discussion. The other jobs that open up, the sudden retirements and firings and other bits of movement on the coaching carousel all impact the decision making process. Did anyone expect Sean Miller to leave Xavier, Kentucky to have an opening for John Calipari? Nope. But when they did open up, the carousel kicked into high gear.
Lost in the speculation and rumor-mongering is one simple fact: Decisions at any level are not made in a vacuum.
So much can happen. What if RMU wins the NEC, goes to the NCAA Tournament with a young team and pulls off the unthinkable? What if the recruiting class looks good enough to maybe win a title again next year? How altruistic is Rice when it comes to leaving his team in good shape? What’s the schedule look like next year?
Questions, questions, questions. But none have answers right now. So while I understand the quest for answers, the almost insatiable desire to know the future, I’m sorry to say that no one involved has any of the answers to those questions.
So go ahead and speculate. Read all the various reports, lay out all the scenarios in your mind, argue with your friends around the water cooler or on message boards. But know this: the answer isn’t out there. Not now, not for maybe several months. And to expect otherwise is foolish.
Ok so Rice has won ONE championship. Sorry, I am gonna have to do another Corso-esque…..Not So Fast! RMU won the title by 2 measly points last year, the year before they got blown out in a semifinal, the year before that they did not even make a semifinal, blown out in a quarterfinal. Reflecting upon that why on earth is Rice so coveted? Is he a millionaire that could pay players to come like Calipari? I am not accusing anything, just searching for a reason why he is as wonderful as Moon Twp seems to believe. I’d say another coach in the league should be more sought after than Rat Rice. The coach who has been at least to the semifinals the last 3 years, 2 championship games-not 1. Yes you are correct- the coach named Brown. Actually I wish Brown would sprint past Rice to a more lucrative position,I’d rather have a more stern coach. I again appreciate your insight in reference to where Rice could possibly go, but it nearly seems you are hoping he leaves RMU. We have been hearing talk of him leaving nearly ever since he got to RMU- yes we have. I hate to be so blunt about things but as Cris Carter and the boys say ‘C’mon, Man’. Don’t you want to keep Rice so you can hold a ceremony every year for years to come so you can celebrate his ONE tournament championship. I mean,Puh-leeeze, let Rice accomplish another championship before you even begin to talk about him graduating from low major to mid or high major. Yes he has won over 20 games the past few years but that is all. Andrew, you did provide some interesting speculations, but I feel you should save it for if Rice wins another championship. For all we know right now, RMU could get Blown the heck away in a quarterfinal or semifinal for the 3rd out of the last 4 years. Do you RMU people want him gone that bad? Oh well, what do I know- I am just another lowlife Mount fan as stated by previous poster.
A very interesting take by Richard. He has some very good points. They way Andrew writes about Rice it seems that he has won the championship each year.
IMO Rice is one step above Coach Jim Boone. Now if Rice leads the Colonials back to the NCAA Tournament then I think the buzz will circle around Rice. Rice finally has his own players playing his style which is resulting in victories within the NEC. Would that formula work for a team within the MAC or even in the Big East?…who knows. Rice would have to start all over again and recruit the type of players needed for his style.
I hope Rice stays and builds a juggernaut program within the NEC. I would hate to see him go but I understand the need to grow your career.
its obvious the last 2 post know nothing about basketball..here is rich again one minute bashing his mount coach and other mount fans calling him out and the next saying he is the best coahc in the league. Why dont you talk about tech fouls again we had 1 sat night
Adam, I definitely do not think he is the best coach. I simply stated his success in comparison to Rice. Please re-read my post and see where I said I’d rather have a different style coach than the lenient Homeboy Brown. Yeah I seen that y’all did have a tech again hahahahaha. Shame on that PG County corna’ boy. That PG County is one wild place I tell ya. Go there and walk around good ol’ PG some day, make me wonder if I’ll ever see another post from you again if you do, lol. Adam we won 2 in a row for once, remember what you said? Now I guess i have a right to talk huh? No hard feelings Adam-or anyone. Let’s talk about basketball. I heard we will be playing at Dayton and Cincinnati next year- I guess I will be seeing the Wright Brothers Memorial in FlyerLand then. Unless I see it this year when we play against Jackson St. or another SWAC team. We always try and go sightseeing whenever we go to an away game. I went to American, Navy, Old Dominion, Pitt, SFPA, Quin, and Sacred Heart this year. Also heard we will have Murray St. and maybe Marshall at home. Other possibilities include trips to UNC-Wilmington, Albany, or Bucknell. We will have American and Siena at home. We will have Niagara and Vermont on the road as well as Loyola. Seen the Falls in September this year maybe I’ll have to go and see them frozen next year, hmm. So tell me Colonial fans, who are y’all playing?
Oh wise Adam…please explain to be how this orange round object is suppose to be placed within the peach basket.
Richard, it should be pointed out that I did not start the speculation. In fact, that’s the whole purpose of this post. Rice’s name is being discussed often as a very viable candidate for jobs that are and will be available at the end of the season.
The point of my post, which you clearly missed, was that it was way too early to begin speculating on what he might do, and to expect to have answers to all the questions is foolish. For all we know, he may decide that RMU is his best fit.
Thank you for the clarification Andrew. I re-read your article and I guess I can see your point of view but seriously though I do not see where anyone should even begin talking or thinking about him leaving for the higher echelon of programs.
On pace for over 70 wins in just three years of coaching. Two regular season NEC titles, on pace for a third. One NIT appearance, one NCAA appearance, on pace for another postseason appearance. Improved the overall talent at RMU, improved the recruiting level at RMU.
He’s coached at major universities and been in the NCAA Tournament multiple times with those teams, establishing contacts across the nation.
Plus, he recruits well and hires solid recruiters and teachers to work with him.
IMO if Rice leads RMU back to the NCAA tournament then he is gone.
Andrew, Rice inherited the best talent that I’ve ever seen at RMU in Lee, Chappell, Jackson, Coleman. I have seen more talented RMU teams in the past than they have that are Rice’s boys. You are right he is deserving due to the win amounts but swap schedules the past 3 years with MSM once. He coached with Mr. Dixon and he is a celebrity around the college basketball world but does that merit it? Oh, so his ‘contacts’ are his key huh? All he has to do is ask and they will ‘hook him up’? Past RMU teams have been much more talented than his players he recruited, much more. RMU has been winning due to the junkyard dog mentality and style that he teaches along with the players own personalities before coming to RMU. I guess we will see but I have undoubtedly seen better talent at RMU than what is there now. Just ‘stick to your guns’ Andrew, you do a fine job supporting your team. I enjoy you very much.
rich i love you continue to post its so funny reading your posts. In fact you should start a site called ihate mount oh no i love the mount…well i hat the coach but hes a good coach…hes the best coach in the nec…in fact with a 7 and 14 record overall or somethinglike that and not even goin to make the nec tourney brown is going to leave the mount and take the depaul job. jk im just having fun but seriously keep posting u have a unique perspective on nec and rmu topics.
Let Brown take DePaul. I’d take Devil Deane when he gets fired from Wagner any day over him.
he is a fordham alum, he played there, he recruits the tri-state area and new york city the best out of any other coach that will be up for that job. it makes perfect sense
BREAKING NEWS! rmu signs mike rice up for 10 years paying him 5 million per looks like hes not going anywhere and plans to make the program a gonzaga type nec run for years to come top 25 here we come!
Nice try Adam.
My whole take on this is that Rice isn’t long for the RMU job. However, I don’t think Rutgers or DePaul will take the chance on him. To me it would seem he would have to prove at a true mid-major that he can win before he’d get a BCS conference job. I have the same feeling about Brown, and when his name came up for the Virginia job last year – I didn’t think there was a whole lot to it. But you never know. But if you look back at the history of coaching changes, Whittenberg, Barron, Schmidt, etc. there is a mid-level move that seems to come from this level. Now maybe, because of his connection to Dixon – and Dixon being one of the most highly respected coaches in the country right now – it will push him to a different level. And Maybe I’m just way off base.
Sure looks like he has figured things out this year. Molded a good group of new guys in with the returning core. RMU is the favorite from here on out.
I think Coach Rice will honor his current contract, but eventually RMU will not be able to afford him. I think he still wants to see how he does with a team composed of all his recruits.