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The Virginia Tech men’s basketball team is on the verge of their second consecutive losing season under James Johnson. The team is currently 8-13, having lost 10 of their last 11 games and destined for last place in the ACC. It’s clear that hiring James Johnson was a last-ditch effort by former Athletic Director Jim Weaver when he fired Seth Greenberg the day before signing day. Each year under Coach Johnson the team has gotten worse as the year progressed. That is the opposite of what you would want out of a rebuilding program. The team severely lacks fundamentals like spacing, cutting, and passing. The most glaring hole in Coach Johnson’s teams is the horrid defense, year in and year out. Virginia Tech is 345th in the nation in creating turnovers this year, limiting their own offensive possessions. The team is allowing 70.1 points per game. Even with the nation’s leading scorer, Eric Green, Coach Johnson could not even produce a record above .500 last year. This year, there are several rifts with Coach Johnson and his players, specifically Cadarian Raines and Marshall Wood. In post-game press conferences, Coach Johnson has openly doubted not only Raines’ work ethic but also his talent. Coach Johnson justifies benching the senior by claiming he is only the third best post player on the team. But the performance on the court says Coach Johnson should be starting Raines. He has outplayed freshman Trevor Thompson and sophomore Joey Van Zegran in almost every game this season. Raines not only scores more points per minute, but the team also has a more efficient plus minus rating when he is on the court. No matter what’s going on inside the locker room, no coach should publicly degrade his own players. So how will Virginia Tech afford to hire a new coach when AD Whit Babcock fires Coach Johnson?
With Virginia Tech on the hook to pay Jim Weaver $500,00 per year over the next two years and Seth Greenberg $300,000 per year, the budget is limited. Add an extra $120,000 for James Johnson’s buyout and that’s $920,000 the school has to pay former employees. Currently, the school is losing $400,000 in revenue and attendance is down 45.6 from the Greenberg era. James Johnson’s current salary is $680,000 per year and firing him would be about a $560,000 difference. Add the $400,000 in revenue that gives us $960,000. We are now back in black on the budget resulting in a $40,000 surplus. Now granted we are not going to find a quality coach for $40,000 per year. That means we are going to have to dip into the reserve trusts created under AD Jim Weaver. That means Virginia Tech could afford to reasonably spend around $1.2 million per year without emptying the bank as all three previous contracts run out in two years. Now who is within our budget? Let’s see.
Wish List
1. Bruce Pearl: 231-99 record, 8 NCAA Tournament Appearances, 1 Elite 8. Bruce Pearl turned Tennessee around from a 14-17 season and went to six consecutive NCAA tournaments during his time there. He is an excellent coach and recruiter. He’s currently a free agent after having resigned at Tennessee. Pearl made $1.9 million per year a Tennessee. Although it may seem like he would be taking a pay cut, he hasn’t found a new job in two years and would most likely jump on the chance to coach in the ACC and battle powerhouses like Duke, UNC and Syracuse perennially.
2. Greg Marshall: At age 50 he is arguably the most sought after basketball coach in the nation. After taking Winthrop to seven NCAA tournaments, he has went on to take Witchita State to two consecutive NCAA tournaments and the Final Four last year. This year, his team is 23-0 going for a perfect record. The only downside? Getting the man to come to Blacksburg. He is on slate to make $1.6 million this year. Now before you right him off, you have to think about how much he might make up for that hefty salary in revenues. Winners put butts in seats, win championships, and much more. Even more importantly he may want to take his talents to the ACC to prove his legacy as a head coach.
3. Donnie Tyndall: 114-84 at Morehead State. That included a Sweet 16 run and two NCAA tournament appearances. He produced All-American’s Kenneth Faried and Demonte Harper and is currently at Southern Miss only making $230,000 per year. Yes, that is $230,000 per year he is an extreme bargain. His Southern Miss Eagles are 18-3 right now, exactly where Tech fans would love to see their team.
4. Mike Lonergan: Current Head Coach at George Washington University. Overall 417-198 record. He meets a lot of credentials. He’s only 47. He has quality head coach experience. Was previously DIII coach at Catholic winning a national title there along with three sweet 16 appearances. He took Vermont to the post season the consecutive years before landing the gig at George Washington University where they are 16-3 right now. George Washington notably off VCU this year. Most importantly his salary is only $310,000 per year.
5. Ray Harper: He came to Western Kentucky University and turned the team around immediately. They were one of the worst teams in the nation in 2011-2012, worse than Virginia Tech is currently if you can imagine that. They fired their previous coach and promoted Harper from assistant to head coach. His team had an excellent year last year making the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive year. It’s hard to overlook his 366-78 overall head coaching record. With his current base salary at $375,000 per year he could be looking at a significant pay increase if he took over Coach Johnson’s old train wreck.
6. Greg Lansing: Took Indiana State to the big dance in his first year. In his fourth year there the team is 16-4 poised for another NCAA tournament bid. He was a long time assistant at the University of Iowa and has taken his team to the post season each of the past four years since becoming head coach at Indiana State. He as well would come very cheap as he currently only rakes in $219,000 a year
7.Chris Mooney: He has everything an ACC caliber school looks for when searching for a head coach. He’s only 41. He’s taken the Richmond Spiders to the NCAA tournament two times including one Sweet 16 run. He’s one of the few coaches in the nation to figure out Shaka Smart’s VCU team. His current salary has him at $700,000 per year which is well within reach.
8. Jeff Jones: He took UVA to five NCAA tournaments in the 1990’s, including a run at the Elite 8 in 1995. He then went on to take American to two NCAA tournaments and is now at Old Dominion University. ODU is having a good year and looks to have a good chance to make the NCAA tournament. At 53 years old, his base salary is only $206,200 per year and would be a good back up plan if some of these other coaches are not willing or available to take over the Hokies.
Virginia Tech Athletics Insider 