Austin Hansen

[jackmd]

Re: Austin Hanson

Unpopular post alert...

Putting aside all that Austin Hansen meant to SDSU basketball, would he really be the best hire for this opening (not knowing what other candidtates are being considered)? My personal thought is the program needs someone with more "national" experience - recruiting and coaching. Austin's experience is SDSU and Mankato, which was like a second SDSU experience since he was coaching with former SDSU coach and player.

Maybe I'm looking at it wrong, but having a solid recruiter with some varied geographical experience would seem to be a priority. I know we're pulling most of our players from a five state area, but there's got to be more out there that we can tap into.

Excellent points, I couldn't agree more. Concepts HAVE to change as we move forward. Emotions can often cloud the picture, positively and negatively.

[filbert]

Re: Austin Hanson

I guess I fall in the "recruit coaches nationally" column as well . . .

[Rabbitlivinginverm]

Re: Austin Hanson

Normally, I would agree. But Austin Hanson IS SDSU basketball. Is like having Megan Vogel on the women's staff (although she's a GA). Would anyone complain if she was hired as a FT assistant? He was one of the best and played during perhaps the best era of SDSU basketball. If players truely are having a problem relating to Coach Nagy then there's nobody better than Hanson to bridge that gap. I think he would be a great fit.

[CatchEmAll]

Re: Austin Hanson

Normally, I would agree. But Austin Hanson IS SDSU basketball. Is like having Megan Vogel on the women's staff (although she's a GA). Would anyone complain if she was hired as a FT assistant? He was one of the best and played during perhaps the best era of SDSU basketball. If players truely are having a problem relating to Coach Nagy then there's nobody better than Hanson to bridge that gap. I think he would be a great fit.

I would say that one difference is that SDSU has proven that they can win in WBB with local (SD, MN) talent and Megan Vogel fits the mold of a local player who could recruit local talent. The men's team hasn't proven they can win with any talent. If Austin is a "master" recruiter in the vain of Matt Margenthaler then maybe he's an OK choice. Then again. MM's recruiting areas were Minnesota, Iowa, Illinios and South Dakota - good enough to win in DII, probably not good enough to win in DI.

[collegewatcher]

Re: Austin Hanson

Not sure you can compare men's and women's teams in this case. The surrounding 4 states, including South Dakota, have turned out many more D1 female players than males.

In my opinion, if you want to bring back Austin that would be fine. I am sure he would bring a real passion for SDSU to the job, and would probably be a quick learner. But his "name" means a lot more to those of us that saw him play than it does to kids in Omaha, Kansas City, Chicago, or wherever we go to look for players. They were 10 years old when his college career ended.

He might be more valuable in the fundraising department than as lead recruiter!

[jackmd]

Re: Austin Hanson

Normally, I would agree. But Austin Hanson IS SDSU basketball. Is like having Megan Vogel on the women's staff (although she's a GA). Would anyone complain if she was hired as a FT assistant? He was one of the best and played during perhaps the best era of SDSU basketball. If players truely are having a problem relating to Coach Nagy then there's nobody better than Hanson to bridge that gap. I think he would be a great fit.

I'll argue that Austin represents our success at the DII level. We have to move past that. Things are much different at the DI level as it applies to men's basketball. You have to recruit/appeal to players with more talent and therefore from a wider/more diverse population. I'm not saying Austin can't learn how to do that. Fact is he hasn't really spent any time outside of the geographic area encompassing the former NCC. We need to look outside our usual area for coaches just as we are for players.

[HoopsGuy]

Re: Austin Hanson

Here are a couple of things that some of you need to understand:

1) SDSU men's basketball will never "recruit nationally". Why? I could give you 10 reasons, but I'll give you 3. #1 They don't need to, #2 They don't need to, #3 They don't need to. Yes, they might get a kid from Texas or something here and there, but their recruiting base will always be SD, ND, MN,IA, NE, IL, WI, CO, MO. In otherwords, a state or 2 away from Brookings. Contrary to some people's beliefs - This is easily good enough.

2) The Summit League is basically the NCC when we were still in it. The only difference is the top 3 teams have 3 guys that would be very good MO Valley Players- maybe 1 of those being Big 10 caliber (whether they came in that way or developed) and the rest of the league has 1 or 2. Otherwise, it's basically NCC guys. Look at NDSU's roster, who finished middle of the pack this year- compare it to any SDSU NCC championship squad. I'll take the Jacks. The Bison's seniors-to-be were being recruited by DII not DI when they signed.

3) Austin Hansen (spell his name right, boys!) would be a great hire. Recruits need to know how special it is to play at SDSU and play for Scott Nagy. Austin is an instant upgrade to that staff because he can sell kids on why Brookings (although small) is a great place. He lived it and that goes a long way with kids, no matter where they are from. A "Name" doesn't have that kind of credibility.

Go Jacks!

[JimmyJack]

Re: Austin Hanson

Here are a couple of things that some of you need to understand:

1) SDSU men's basketball will never "recruit nationally". Why? I could give you 10 reasons, but I'll give you 3. #1 They don't need to, #2 They don't need to, #3 They don't need to. Yes, they might get a kid from Texas or something here and there, but their recruiting base will always be SD, ND, MN,IA, NE, IL, WI, CO, MO. In otherwords, a state or 2 away from Brookings. Contrary to some people's beliefs - This is easily good enough.

2) The Summit League is basically the NCC when we were still in it. The only difference is the top 3 teams have 3 guys that would be very good MO Valley Players- maybe 1 of those being Big 10 caliber (whether they came in that way or developed) and the rest of the league has 1 or 2. Otherwise, it's basically NCC guys. Look at NDSU's roster, who finished middle of the pack this year- compare it to any SDSU NCC championship squad. I'll take the Jacks. The Bison's seniors-to-be were being recruited by DII not DI when they signed.

3) Austin Hansen (spell his name right, boys!) would be a great hire. Recruits need to know how special it is to play at SDSU and play for Scott Nagy. Austin is an instant upgrade to that staff because he can sell kids on why Brookings (although small) is a great place. He lived it and that goes a long way with kids, no matter where they are from. A "Name" doesn't have that kind of credibility.

Go Jacks!

I think I agree with most of that. I don't think we're likely to find somebody with a "national" presence. And really, it's probably most important to find a quality person with a good basketball mind who knows Coach Nagy and understands the program's and the university's strengths and weaknesses. I understand the interest in expanding the universe a bit here, but I'd be pretty happy with Austin Hansen.

[jackmd]

Re: Austin Hanson

Here are a couple of things that some of you need to understand:

1) SDSU men's basketball will never "recruit nationally". Why? I could give you 10 reasons, but I'll give you 3. #1 They don't need to, #2 They don't need to, #3 They don't need to. Yes, they might get a kid from Texas or something here and there, but their recruiting base will always be SD, ND, MN,IA, NE, IL, WI, CO, MO. In otherwords, a state or 2 away from Brookings. Contrary to some people's beliefs - This is easily good enough.

2) The Summit League is basically the NCC when we were still in it. The only difference is the top 3 teams have 3 guys that would be very good MO Valley Players- maybe 1 of those being Big 10 caliber (whether they came in that way or developed) and the rest of the league has 1 or 2. Otherwise, it's basically NCC guys. Look at NDSU's roster, who finished middle of the pack this year- compare it to any SDSU NCC championship squad. I'll take the Jacks. The Bison's seniors-to-be were being recruited by DII not DI when they signed.

3) Austin Hansen (spell his name right, boys!) would be a great hire. Recruits need to know how special it is to play at SDSU and play for Scott Nagy. Austin is an instant upgrade to that staff because he can sell kids on why Brookings (although small) is a great place. He lived it and that goes a long way with kids, no matter where they are from. A "Name" doesn't have that kind of credibility.

Go Jacks!

Excellent 1st post, good points. I guess I didn't mean to say that we can't expect a guy like Austin to be successful. I just don't want the search to end with him. As for recruiting being the same as when we were DII and in the NCC, I don't agree. The stakes are higher as our staff is finding out. Does that mean the talent isn't within the 8 or 10 state region commented on by HG, no I don't suppose it does. I think we have to aspire to elevate the program well above and beyond a middle of the pack Summit league team. In order to do that we need to recruit areas outside of our traditional NCC stomping grounds. Whether thats a major paradigm shift or just an addition to our current strategy doesn't matter. Its definitely a change. The decision regarding our next assistant (or 2) is going to be interesting, thats for sure.

[jacksfaninne]

Re: Austin Hanson

I hope we find the best person for the job, the person that brings the most of what's currently missing in the program. Whether that's recruiting, personality, coaching, or the perfect mix of all of the above, doesn't matter to me. Heck, if that's Austin Hansen or Austin Powers, doesn't matter to me. I just want to get the program back on track ASAP.

[Nidaros]

Re: Austin Hanson

I hope we find the best person for the job, the person that brings the most of what's currently missing in the program. Whether that's recruiting, personality, coaching, or the perfect mix of all of the above, doesn't matter to me. Heck, if that's Austin Hansen or Austin Powers, doesn't matter to me. I just want to get the program back on track ASAP.

Amen.

[Jacked_Up]

Re: Austin Hanson

Since leaving SDSU, Hansen has spent several years learning the ins and outs of coaching in a solid program. D-1 or D-II experience probably doesn't make a lot of difference. He's a competitor and, most importantly, a winner. As a bonus, he's got a natural loyalty to the Jacks. I think he'd be a great addition to the staff. The question is, who would work with post players in practice? A third assistant?

[hoops_guy]

Re: Austin Hanson

Since leaving SDSU, Hansen has spent several years learning the ins and outs of coaching in a solid program. D-1 or D-II experience probably doesn't make a lot of difference. He's a competitor and, most importantly, a winner. As a bonus, he's got a natural loyalty to the Jacks. I think he'd be a great addition to the staff. The question is, who would work with post players in practice? A third assistant?

You don't have to be 6'9" to work with post players. Post play is about footwork, angles, and positioning. What position a guy played in college or high school has nothing to do with being able to effectively coach post players.

As far as needing a coach with DI experience, just find someone who can find and recruit talented players who are good people. My guess is that Mankato would have been 6-0 against SDSU the last three years and would have finished in the middle of the pack in the Summit at least, so the fact that Hansen is coming from "DII" Mankato is irrelevant in this case.

[BornBredBunny]

Re: Austin Hanson

Austin would be an ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING hire for SDSU! Not having any D1 experience is pretty irrelevant.....good coaches are guys/gals who can get the most out of players, yet still relate to them (regardless of division) and it's hard to imagine there is someone out there better suited to fill that role at SDSU than Austin! If he learned anything about recruiting from Margenthaler, then he'll be a big upgrade from where we have been. I don't know who else has applied for this position but they would have to have one damn impressive resume before I would hire him over Austin.....this should be a slam dunk hiring for Dr. Oien!

As for working with the post players, aren't we going to a new offense that supposedly de-emphasizes the traditional post up player? Drive, draw, and dish offenses are much more about spacing, passing, driving, etc... and I think all of those are part of Austin's specialty! What post up play we will have, I'm 100% sure Austin can coach just fine....Hoops Guy is exactly correct on how you coach the big oafs in the paint!

GO RABBITS!!

[filbert]

Re: Austin Hanson

I don't have a problem per se with bringing in Austin - - he should I think have a good handle on local recruiting, which we do need to stress.

But we also need to add an assistant who can tie us into the more national coach's network--what DC did for us, IMHO. I think you need both--the local angle and the national (read: Juco and beyond the 5-state region) angle. Hope that's what we're building toward.