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The case for extending coach Bzdelik

GoldenBuff

Club Member
Club Member
I was going to put this in a reply in a recruit's thread but realized that it probably shouldn't be cluttering things there. I have very good sources (let's just say a senior AD official) that has told me that we are already in the process of extending coach Bzdelik. I agree with this decision and I'd like to explain why. I know that a lot of people want to wait until next year and/or until he produces a tournament team and that the AD's previous decisions on extending coaches haven't really been good ones. I think that this extension would be a good decision though and I'll tell you why.

A lot of people are going to point to the premature extension of our football coach. You can compare it all you want to the Hawk situation but other than being a coach at CU, the comparison ends there. Bzdelik has a far better resume than just about any coach we've ever had and he's backing it up with results on the court. He's proven himself to be a successful program builder in past jobs (including in the NBA) and he already has a better winning percentage than Hawk in less time. I also think it's a lot harder to achieve results at CU in Bball than football but the reasons for that could take up a thread in and of themselves. He's proven himself to be a good judge of talent (Alec Burks anyone?) and that he's not afraid to use that talent. He also has the personality you want in a coach. When we lose, he accepts responsibility and tells it like it is. He doesn't say that we were 10 baskets shy of a post season berth (which in this case is probably not inaccurate). He sucks it up and doesn't make excuses. The last thing, and most important in my mind, is that he's shown that you can do things the right way and get good results on the court.

I've been to every football and basketball home game for the past 5 years and I can tell you that coach Bzdelik is really building something special here. The KU game this year was the first I've ever seen where Coors wasn't "Allen Fieldhouse West" The fan base was energized, the team played lights out, and I had the thought that THIS was what college basketball was all about. I've never felt as energized about CU athletics as I did at that game. We're going to see some amazing stuff happen if we can keep this program growing and I think that Coach Bzdelik is the right guy to take us to the heights. To that end, we should do whatever we can to keep him as long as we can and if that means extending him now, then I hope it's done tomorrow.
 
The difference between Buzz and Hawk is like the difference between Monday and Today in my weather (back side of Pikes Peak, good dump of snow and ice here now.)

Both are good guys who I think earnestly want to win and do what is right for their kids. Big differences

Buzz is recruiting higher quality players the longer he is here. Burks and the point guard who is redshirting from last year as examples. Big guys are harder to find but it looks like we are in solid contention for a couple of serious Big XII quality big guys now, how long has it been since we could say that. Other than Harrison who was the last big guy we had that anyone in the top 4-5 in the conference would have wanted, for that matter how many players period have we had that meet that description. This year Higgins, Burks, Relphorde, all would have been welcome and played decent minutes for most if not all the teams in the league. Harris-Tunks, Thorne, Tomlinson were at least Big XII quality players, a couple of others have real potential.

Buzz is developing players. For the first time in many years I see CU basketball players getting better throughout the year and throughout their careers. Roby was impressed enough with Buzz as a coach to stay another year (injuries then hurt him so it didn't turn out but it says something.) Players have a confidence on the floor.

We are competing. This years teams was literally a couple of wins away from post season play. We won some Big XII games and other than KU and Mizzou were close in every other game. The trend is definately up.

Attendance is up. There is an excitement, an enthusiasm in Coors that hasn't been there for a while and Buzz in addition to making the team more competitive is coaching a fun style of basketball to watch.

Buzz is a real pro at the non-basketball elements of the job. He handles the media well, he works well with alumni and donors, he presents a quality image to the fans. For all of Hawk's talk about accountablilty and academics Buzz's kids have done a better job of staying out of the papers for negative stuff and he without making a show holds them accountable in the classroom.

The job is not to big for Buzz. He has coached in the NBA with individual players making more than the BB budget is in Boulder. He has handled media, coached against the best of the best and is highly respected for what he has done.

I don't want to tear into Hawk but on a point by point basis I think it is clear that the two situations are not the same. I don't see coach Buzz ever having a program melt down around him. We will probably never be Kansas or even Okie State but I think that Buzz can bring us to a point where we are on a yearly basis contenders for the tourney and looked at as a quality program. I also see him as a guy who is willing to put his heart and soul into this program and stick with it given the opportunity. He has been in higher profile jobs and I think would like to make a home in this one given the support to make it happen.
 
Golden -

We're in agreement here. Our AD doesn't belong in his position if he allows a previous, unrelated decision to make him gun shy. If Bohn believes that Bzdelik is the guy, then it's his job to secure the relationship into the future.

This is definitely a risk decision, though. A valid argument can be made that Bohn should also be expected to learn from past mistakes and not extend a coach before that coach has had a winning season. Hawkins also had a great resume and was extended when he demonstrated that he had his program moving forward and that they were almost a good team. The similarities between 2007 Football and 2010 Men's BB are definitely there, at least superficially.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I can see both sides of the argument. I simply believe in Coach Bzdelik and feel that if Mike Bohn does too, then it's his job to extend him.
 
Like I posted in another thread, I really wouldn't mind extending him AFTER the recruiting season. We have an obvious need and it is a perfect test to see if he can recruit well enough to fill the hole(s) we have on our roster. We won't know if the guys will pan out for quite some time, but at least we will know that BZ can do some good recruiting.

Does that 7 foot center from Cornell have a younger brother that loves the mountains?
 
I think it's easy to see that the MBB program is on the rise and we should keep Buzz. I wish I could say the same about Hawk but he hasn't gotten it done.
 
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