Gotnext Women's Basketball Boards

heythere · Joined: 20 Aug 2002 Posts: 200 Location: Phx

The Phoenix Mercury will hold a press conference, Tuesday, October 11, 2005, at 11:00 am to name the new head coach for the 2006 season. The press conference will be held at AWA in the Dick Van Arsdale Room.

Hmmm... Wonder who it is...

Mercurymaniac · Joined: 04 Aug 2002 Posts: 1197 Location: Scottsdale

Cam, any thoughts?

CamrnCrz1974 · Joined: 16 Jun 2003 Posts: 1689 Location: Central Phoenix

Think NBA.

caune · Joined: 12 Jun 2002 Posts: 1562 Location: Phoenix

Well golly Cam, that narrows it down to about 3000 choices :roll:

maybe some more hints like, only been an NBA assistant, or has no ties to the Suns in the past, come on now, we need to narrow this down a tad :wink:

caune · Joined: 12 Jun 2002 Posts: 1562 Location: Phoenix

OK, as reported on 2 other boards, the new Coach is Paul Westhead.
Seems a home run for Seth and the Organization. He's an up tempo coach who's won an NBA championship. He has tons of experience and a great coaching pedigree.
I think this will help bring fans and make the players happy too

mranderso · Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 11:25 am Post subject:

Sounds like good news for Angelina Williams. Players better being
doing some extra wind sprints in the off season.

http://www.bbhighway.com/Talk/Coaching_Box/Ask_Coach/atc_q237.asp

azmindwalk · Joined: 29 May 2003 Posts: 5 Location: Glendale, AZ

Sounds like the new coach will elevate the game, no doubt. Anyone besides me feel like Seth is skating on thin ice? Have to admit, it made me feel a tad uncomfortable.

peoriamercfan · Joined: 30 Apr 2004 Posts: 54

Presser video: mms://phxsuns.wmod.llnwd.net/a205/o2/merc_coach_051011.wmv

caune · Joined: 12 Jun 2002 Posts: 1562 Location: Phoenix

Quote: Sounds like the new coach will elevate the game, no doubt. Anyone besides me feel like Seth is skating on thin ice? Have to admit, it made me feel a tad uncomfortable.

why?
I hope this coach does take us to the next level and then all jobs will be safe :D

SuziQ · Joined: 17 Apr 2004 Posts: 288 Location: Phoenix

I feel reassured - nice to know after the CC and JS experiments, the last 2 choices have been REAL coaches. This latest leader seems most experienced of all. And I wouldn't get tired of the hype - "First coach to win a championship in both NBA and WNBA."

Some questions - how does his philosophy mesh with the squad we currently possess? What effect might it have on our lineup?

azmindwalk · Joined: 29 May 2003 Posts: 5 Location: Glendale, AZ

My concern for Seth originated from my assessment of the dynamics I was watching during the press conference, and, of course, my assessment could be entirely wrong. It certainly is subjective, but here goes:

First, the new coach, while sitting immediately next to Seth, thanked Coangelo and Sarver for hiring him. A few moments later, he made a one-line reference to "having had a very brief phone call with Seth this morning." Made it sound like Seth had no part in his hiring, and that maybe he didn't see himself as even answering to Seth?

This, of course, was also preceded by Brian's comment about Sarver "asking him to become a good deal more involved in the Mercury organization."

Furthermore, I felt like Seth looked noticeably uncomfortable and almost like he felt out of place or didn't belong. I've known Seth for years, as many of us on the board have, and he just didn't seem "right."

I hope I am wrong -- I do know that I felt uncomfortable with what I saw. I am one of those who hold that Seth's passion for and commitment to this organization and the WNBA has been vitally important. By his example, he has made the Mercury organization accessible to the fans, and made the fans feel a part of a "Mercury family." One has only to visit a few eastern franchises (where such is lacking) to know how much that really does contribute to the overall Mercury experience.

caune · Joined: 12 Jun 2002 Posts: 1562 Location: Phoenix

hmm, OK, I didn't see the press conference, well I saw the last 5 seconds....and I'm of 2 minds on this as usual :roll: I am a Libra....
It's seems good that Sarver is getting involved in that he is the owner he should be taking as much interest in this as all his other businesses. As far as Bryan Colangelo getting involved, I just look at that as he's Sarvers representative and he does know a bit about running a team :wink: .
But it does seem Seth may be getting his powers usurped, maybe he could use the help? Of course I'd feel more confident if the help were coming from people who actually attended more then 4 games last season :roll: Lets hope they are studying film.....if they need opinions, they have a few folks here they could consult :wink:

librarygeek · Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 176 Location: Central Phx

My observations are similar to azmindwalk's. Westhead didn't really mention or acknowledge Seth and Bryan Colangelo seemed to be running the press conference. And there was that troubling comment about Sarver asking Bryan Colangelo to be a lot more involved in basketball operations. It was definitely the Bryan and Robert show. I could be overreacting but I'm a little concerned for Seth. He's basically the class act that separates the Mercury from other franchises and I would hate for that to change.

mranderso · Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2005 11:00 am Post subject:

When I'm sitting at a press conference and the 'Managing Owner and
Vice Chairman' and 'President, Basketball' are there, and I'm
'General Manager and Vice President, Operations', I'll be following
their lead.

And if I'm the new hire, I know which among of the three
egos I'm going to be stroking.

I thought it was great that Sarver was there. Hell, I thought it
was great Westhead was there. It makes for much better TV.
(Visa trouble prevented Graf from being at the one announce her.)

Most of all, I though it great the I couldn't see 5 inches of white
shirt sleeve sticking out of the black 46-short jacket Seth just
borrowed from the guy at the scorers table. :) As they say, there
might be a reason he works on radio. :)

librarygeek · Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 176 Location: Central Phx

Good points, mranderso.

Are you taking over the role of fashion commentator, mr. fancypants? :wink:

SportsFan48 · Joined: 12 Jun 2002 Posts: 1136

mrandero, good points as usual.

I can understand where azmindwalk is coming from but here is my take on the situation...

Sarver knew what he wanted in the next coach and he set the expectation. I believe he wanted a coach with experience similiar to the two coaches in the WNBA finals this past season, i.e, successful professional coaching experience and a lot of it. Plus he wanted someone who could help draw some attention and respect from some of those who think the WNBA is not very credible.

The best place to get that (professional basketball coaching experience & basketball respect) is from the NBA ranks.

Bryan Colangelo was brought in because he was familiar with the NBA and who might or might not be available and interested. In fact, in the Sarver organization, I would think Bryan would be the most qualified and informed person with that specific information.

As far as Bryan running the show, he is President of the organization. Plus, I think they wanted to show the media that the Mercury are important to them and a viable product that should have the media's attention. They are trying to bring credibility to a product that many people might consider less credible. And in our world, the media adds credibility.

As for whether Seth's job is on the line, I would say yes. If Sarver is really committed to bringing us a champion then ANYONE is the organization could be subject to losing their job if expectations are not met. Sarver wouldn't be a very dedicated owner (Bidwell) if he didn't analyze and make changes if things are not working.

As for whether Seth is in immediate danger, I don't think so. Just as Bryan is the "expert" on the NBA and men's game, Seth is the organization's expert for the women's game. And his "expertise" is recognized not only by the Phoenix organization but on the national level as well. I don't think his involvement with the women's national team is fluke. And I would hope the Phoenix organization recognizes that as well.

The most negative thing about this whole situation, IMO, is the timing of the announcement on the same day as Amare's knee surgery. Fortunately, from what I saw of the local news coverage, Westhead still got good mention. I have to wonder with all that is going on in the sports world right now if that would have been the case if Bryan and Sarver had not been there.

PA71 · Joined: 29 Aug 2004 Posts: 28

I'm glad to hear. from your observations, that sarver & bryan are getting involved more with the merc. If sarver was the one to hire westhead, great! It"s about time someone took the reins from seth because IMO, since he took over the gm duties when cm left, seth has put the merc in a downward trend that i felt the merc were doomed. I am not of your feelings that seth is the greatest, but that he needs to be FIRED and should have been FIRED years ago. Thank you sarver and bryan for usurping seths power. And by the way anna is a choker!!!!!

1carol · Joined: 17 Jul 2003 Posts: 1048 Location: Phoenix AZ

Quote: PA71 Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2004 7:27 pm Post subject:
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Here's my theory. The Merc were, at inseption. just another business venture of the Colangelo group. Jerry was a great gimmick guy. Get this person, we'll put people in the seats. Get this person, we'll put people in the seats..so on and so forth. Every year we fans bought into that. He passed that trait on to his son, Brian. Brian passed that trait on to Seth, the Merc GM. There have been several gimmicks over the life of the Merc. The best was, and ever will be Cheryl Miller, which is a subject in and of itself for another time. The biggest gimmick failure of course was Cindy Cooper, which almost singlehandedly destroyed the Merc franchise. Then there was John Schumate, who was trying out for a position with the Phx Suns.
Quote: PA71 Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2004 1:31 pm Post subject:
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Maria? Heck no. It' all been a pipe dream. Another one of the "Ghost of Colangalo Gimmicks" that has been handed down to Seth Sulka and continues to manifest itself from year to year. Everybody needs to quit buying into this line of B.S.
Quote: PA71 Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2005 12:14 pm Post subject:
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I'm glad to hear, from your observations, that sarver & bryan are getting involved more with the merc. If sarver was the one to hire westhead, great! It"s about time someone took the reins from seth because IMO, since he took over the gm duties when cm left, seth has put the merc in a downward trend that i felt the merc were doomed. I am not of your feelings that seth is the greatest, but that he needs to be FIRED and should have been FIRED years ago. Thank you sarver and bryan for usurping seths power. And by the way anna is a choker!!!!!

According your previous posts, it appears you've changed your opinion of Brian Colangelo. Seems you do like gimmicks on occasion. :?
Your comments will be interesting to read as the new season progresses :roll:

peoriamercfan · Joined: 30 Apr 2004 Posts: 54

Bryan

caune · Joined: 12 Jun 2002 Posts: 1562 Location: Phoenix

hmm, Colangelo a gimmick guy?
He is one one the founders of this league, he was Sterns right hand man on rallying all the other owners...and if they did it as a gimmick, well Fabulous! I happen to love this gimmick :D