Where do we go from here?

Dean Murdoch wrote:I saw this morning that the Pac-12 has hired a search firm to look for their next commissioner.

That got me thinking. Has UP ever used one of these search firms for one of its hires?

The answer is, YES, UP has used a search firm in the past, but NO, they are NOT using a search firm this time.

Why?

1.  Scott would rather see the money that would be spent on a search firm reinvested in the program.
2.  Up has a number of staff members who are currently "underemployed" due to the pandemic who can do the leg-work a search firm would normally do.

Well, I tried hard in 2016 to get UP to consider Matt Logie. He has the basketball DNA and Pacific Northwest roots to make UP men’s basketball great again! Here was my pitch in 2016. All he’s done since then is WIN, WIN, WIN. I made sure Logie was on Scott’s radar over the summer. Logie deserves a chance to coach Division I and we deserve a chance to WIN. In Scott we trust.

Tue Mar 22, 2016 11:24 pm
by The Wingman
Pilot basketball needs a strong basketball coach and an even better recruiter. Yes, I know UP has its challenges recruiting but so did so many other mid-majors who have gone on to be successful. We need a young, charismatic, hungry coach. I really liked Reveno, but his style grew stale and complacency began to creep in. I've attended the vast majority of home games during Rev's tenure and I saw him losing his players. So, what's the solution? Here's a start: "Matt Logie, formerly the Associate Head Coach at NCAA Division I Lehigh University, has done what no other NCAA Division III men's basketball coach had ever accomplished in his four seasons at Whitworth.

Heading into his fifth year at the helm, Logie has posted a record of 100-18 over his first four seasons, becoming the first head coach in Division III history to reach the 100-win plateau in only his fourth year as a head coach. He also has a 58-6 mark in the Northwest Conference, and he has led the Pirates to the NCAA Division III tournament in each of his first four seasons. (See below for year by year results.) Whitworth has extended its streak of Northwest Conference regular season championships to six in a row over Logie's first four seasons and he has been named NWC Coach of the Year three times (2012, 2014 and 2015). In 2013 he was a finalist for the Glenn Robinson National Coach of the Year award.

Logie has guided several of his players to impressive post-season honors. Most recently Kenny Love was voted as Northwest Conference Player of the Year and a Third Team All-American by the NABC. Dustin McConnell was the Northwest Conference Player of the Year and a First Team All-Region (NABC and D3hoops.com) and Third Team All-American as a senior in 2014. He developed into a dominating point guard in his three seasons under Logie's guidance after playing a total of 55 minutes as a freshman.

McConnell was also First Team All-NWC in 2013, along with teammate Wade Gebbers. Gebbers was also selected First Team All-Region (D3hoops.com).

In 2012, Idris Lasisi and Felix Friedt were both named First Team All-NWC and Second Team All-Region (NABC). Lasisi has gone on to reach the top level of professional basketball in his home country of Belgium.

Finally, both McConnell and Friedt were finalists for the prestigious Jostens Award, giving to the NCAA Division III player with the strongest combination of basketball ability, academic success and community service.

The eighth leading scorer in Lehigh school history upon his graduation, Logie completed his second season as the associate head coach at his alma mater in the spring of 2011. Logie re-joined the Mountain Hawks coaching staff for his second stint prior to the 2007-08 season and played a large role in leading Lehigh to the 2009-10 Patriot League regular season and tournament championships.

In 2010 Logie was named as the top Patriot League Assistant Coach in men's basketball in a Foxsports.com Coaches Poll and was later recognized as one of the top 50 Assistants in Mid-to-Low Major College basketball by Hoopscoop on-line magazine. Furthermore, his recruiting efforts not only led to highly ranked Lehigh recruiting classes, but built the foundation of the 2012 Lehigh team that would go on to beat Duke in one of March Madness’s all-time greatest upsets.

After returning to his alma mater in 2007, Logie's role as the top assistant coach and associate head coach at Lehigh played out most notably in the recruitment of C.J. McCollum who was selected as the 2010 Patriot League Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year after leading all NCAA Division I freshman in scoring, and in his scouting and game planning for the 2010 Patriot League Tournament and NCAA First Round game against overall-top seed Kansas. McCollum would go on to finish his Lehigh career as the all-time leader in Patriot League scoring, an AP 1st Team All-American, and first round pick (#10 overall) of the Portland Trailblazers in the 2013 NBA Draft.

Logie has coached under several mentors, including current Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. Billy Taylor coached Logie during his senior season at Lehigh before Logie joined Taylor's Mountain Hawk staff for three seasons (2004-06). Taylor is now on staff at the University of Iowa under former Lehigh head coach, Fran McCaffery. Logie also worked for Jim Christian at Kent State in 2006-07. Christian was named head coach at Boston College in the spring of 2014.

During his playing days at Lehigh, Logie scored 1,524 career points and his 262 three-point field goals is still a school record. In addition, Logie twice led the Patriot League in free throw percentage for a season. He graduated from Lehigh in 2003 and earned his Master's in Educational Leadership in 2006.

Logie grew up surrounded by the game of basketball as the grandson of Mercer Island High School head coach Ed Pepple. Pepple, a legend in Washington's high school ranks, won 952 games and four state championships in 49 years as a head coach, 42 of which came at Mercer Island. His 1985 squad, which featured future Duke star and current Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder, is regarded by many as one of the Washington's greatest teams. His career win total is nearly 300 more than Pat Fitterer of Ellensburg, who is next on the list with 680 victories in 34 years.

Logie was part of two state championships while playing for his grandfather from 1997-99. He earned First Team All-State as a senior while leading the Islanders to a 27-3 record and a state 3A championship in 1999." Whitworth basketball website.


Last edited by The Wingman on Tue Mar 22, 2016 11:57 pm; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : Needed to credit my source of information.)

The Wingman wrote:was later recognized as one of the top 50 Assistants in Mid-to-Low Major College basketball by Hoopscoop on-line magazine.

Pilot Nation rules, everybody take a shot!!

Dean Murdoch wrote:

The Wingman wrote:was later recognized as one of the top 50 Assistants in Mid-to-Low Major College basketball by Hoopscoop on-line magazine.

Pilot Nation rules, everybody take a shot!!

But to be fair, back in 2016 very few of us had heard of Hoop Scoop, and it would be a couple of years before we stopped believing what they were writing...

Regardless, as I have written in another thread, Logie deserves a shot...and he is #3 on my (as yet unpublished) list.

Not to be confused with Footballscoop.com which actually provides some pretty great and often true football coaching gossip.

Also my uncle coached Fran McCaffery's wife in high school. So this Logie guy must be pretty good.