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Hoops9092
Joined: 04 Nov 2008
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 Posted: 02/07/16 1:25 pm ::: Nikki Caldwell Fargas |
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Curious what people down south think of Caldwell's results at LSU.
Last year, Joe Alleva was quoted saying LSU's women's basketball is not as good as it has been, which is obvious. However, there seemed to be a tone there stating it's time to turn it up a notch.
Out west, I wonder what could've been with her at UCLA. I think that was an incredible fit for her, she was recruiting well and had that team in the top 10. I think a few more years there and the Bruins would have been a consistent final four contender under her lead.
With LSU at 8-14 this season and not keeping up on the recruiting front in comparison to Kentucky or South Carolina. It seems there are other programs that are becoming more and more appealing, such as Mississippi State, Florida, Florida State, Miami or South Florida (both in the top 25). Heck even Tennessee, while struggling - has the name recognition and is under consideration by several top recruits.
Now I know LSU has made the tournament the last few years under Caldwell including a run or two to the Sweet 16, but it just doesn't seem like the momentum is there or that things are panning out. In fact, each year under Nikki the results have gotten worse and worse in terms of W/L with now a complete losing season in Baton Rouge. Attendance has also dropped each year that Caldwell has been there.
We hardly knew Nikki in the Pac 12 but sure can't help to think what things would've been like for her had she stayed. In her first few years in Westwood, she had landed top 5 recruit Markel Walker, a verbal from top 10 recruit Justine Hartman, top 20 recruits Kacy Swain and Sheila Boykin...Why had she had such difficulty recruiting top tier recruits to Baton Rouge yet did so in multiple occasions during her early years at UCLA?
Thoughts?
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Durantula
Joined: 30 Mar 2013
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| Posted: 02/07/16 1:58 pm ::: |
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Maybe UCLA was an easier sell to LA kids? More talent in SoCal, so even if you miss on a few kids you have solid backups. Strong academics too, and just basketball history with UCLA's mens team. Plus even though she is relatively young and you'd assume could relate better to recruits, I've heard she isn't a big recruiter and that's fine, but if you aren't getting players you better be good at developing the ones you get.
It makes me think, its not easy for coaches who achieve success in one region of the country to just pick up and go somewhere else and win. Caldwell has had trouble, as has former Cal coach Joanne Boyle. Coach G going from Duke to Texas had trouble, and so forth.
To her defense LSU has been snakebit with injuries but their overall talent level isn't that good to where they'd be in the top quarter of the SEC anyways.
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Durantula
Joined: 30 Mar 2013
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| Posted: 02/07/16 2:05 pm ::: |
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Here are her contract details. My guess is she'd have two more years at least. This was from a 2015 article, so when it says June 30 of this year, obviously that has already passed.
Buyouts:
- Should she leave LSU before June 30 of this year, Caldwell would owe a $650,000 to LSU. That number drops to $450,000 through June 30, 2016, and $250,000 through the end of her contract. Should LSU fire Caldwell, it would owe her $300,000 per year remaining on her contract.
Contract Expiration: June 30, 2019
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summertime blues
Joined: 16 Apr 2013
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Location: Shenandoah Valley
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| Posted: 02/07/16 2:21 pm ::: |
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| Durantula wrote: |
Maybe UCLA was an easier sell to LA kids? More talent in SoCal, so even if you miss on a few kids you have solid backups. Strong academics too, and just basketball history with UCLA's mens team. Plus even though she is relatively young and you'd assume could relate better to recruits, I've heard she isn't a big recruiter and that's fine, but if you aren't getting players you better be good at developing the ones you get.
It makes me think, its not easy for coaches who achieve success in one region of the country to just pick up and go somewhere else and win. Caldwell has had trouble, as has former Cal coach Joanne Boyle. Coach G going from Duke to Texas had trouble, and so forth.
To her defense LSU has been snakebit with injuries but their overall talent level isn't that good to where they'd be in the top quarter of the SEC anyways. |
Considering the injuries to key players, I think Nikki has done pretty damn well with what she's been left with. I don't question her coaching ability.
this year is just worse than usual. The recruiting is another thing entirely. I don't know how you fix that, unless you get an assistant who's a better recruiter. Most coaches have at least one of those. Pat had Mickie DeMoss for a long time, who was a superb recruiter; she had Al Brown for awhile, and Dean Lockwood has been there forever. The assistants lay the groundwork a lot of the time. spot the kids to watch and scout them, sometimes talk to them first. Sounds like Nikki needs one of those and doesn't have one.
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PlayBally'all
Joined: 17 Oct 2013
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| Posted: 02/10/16 12:11 am ::: |
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| summertime blues wrote: |
| Durantula wrote: |
Maybe UCLA was an easier sell to LA kids? More talent in SoCal, so even if you miss on a few kids you have solid backups. Strong academics too, and just basketball history with UCLA's mens team. Plus even though she is relatively young and you'd assume could relate better to recruits, I've heard she isn't a big recruiter and that's fine, but if you aren't getting players you better be good at developing the ones you get.
It makes me think, its not easy for coaches who achieve success in one region of the country to just pick up and go somewhere else and win. Caldwell has had trouble, as has former Cal coach Joanne Boyle. Coach G going from Duke to Texas had trouble, and so forth.
To her defense LSU has been snakebit with injuries but their overall talent level isn't that good to where they'd be in the top quarter of the SEC anyways. |
She took a pay cut to get a contract extension. I agree that the injuries are the cause for this year's total collapse. She shows every year come SEC Tournament time how well she can coach. It makes you wonder if the staff just gets lazy during the season or exactly what makes her such a better tournament coach than in season coach.
Considering the injuries to key players, I think Nikki has done pretty damn well with what she's been left with. I don't question her coaching ability.
this year is just worse than usual. The recruiting is another thing entirely. I don't know how you fix that, unless you get an assistant who's a better recruiter. Most coaches have at least one of those. Pat had Mickie DeMoss for a long time, who was a superb recruiter; she had Al Brown for awhile, and Dean Lockwood has been there forever. The assistants lay the groundwork a lot of the time. spot the kids to watch and scout them, sometimes talk to them first. Sounds like Nikki needs one of those and doesn't have one. |
She is such a good tournament coach, it makes one wonder what the problem is during the season with all the inconsistent results. This year is def the result of injuries left and right.
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LitePal
Joined: 08 Sep 2005
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| Posted: 02/10/16 11:00 am ::: |
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Caldwell's strengths and weaknesses were well documented at UCLA but her weaknesses became much more apparent at LSU. She did not take a pay cut for her extension but she didn't get a raise either. Her base and incentives, which she almost certainly won't get for the rest of her tenure at LSU, remain the same. Her contract was simply rolled over to 2019.
As for her being a strong tournament coach, at UCLA she never accomplished what a Pac team needed: A win over Stanford. At LSU, her record is 5-1 at Maravich and 0-3 away. Her recruiting philosophy and coaching stemmed around combo wings who couldn't shoot. It was centered around defense with very little half court sets. As the other teams increased athleticism, she began having more and more trouble because her teams had trouble scoring. Her player evaluation was head scratching. Instead of pursuing Reshanda Gray, she attempted to sign Erica Payne.
When her time is up at LSU, look for her to follow Carolyn Peck into broadcasting.
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PlayBally'all
Joined: 17 Oct 2013
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| Posted: 02/10/16 11:45 am ::: |
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| LitePal wrote: |
Caldwell's strengths and weaknesses were well documented at UCLA but her weaknesses became much more apparent at LSU. She did not take a pay cut for her extension but she didn't get a raise either. Her base and incentives, which she almost certainly won't get for the rest of her tenure at LSU, remain the same. Her contract was simply rolled over to 2019.
As for her being a strong tournament coach, at UCLA she never accomplished what a Pac team needed: A win over Stanford. At LSU, her record is 5-1 at Maravich and 0-3 away. Her recruiting philosophy and coaching stemmed around combo wings who couldn't shoot. It was centered around defense with very little half court sets. As the other teams increased athleticism, she began having more and more trouble because her teams had trouble scoring. Her player evaluation was head scratching. Instead of pursuing Reshanda Gray, she attempted to sign Erica Payne.
When her time is up at LSU, look for her to follow Carolyn Peck into broadcasting. |
Right you are. I see that LSU has simply announced her salary to be $300,000. That doesn't include media etc, which is another $300,000. The funny thing is that when she was first hired they made a big deal about the fact that she had a $900,000 contract. The AD has since taken so much heat he wants to downplay how much she makes.
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cthskzfn
Joined: 21 Nov 2004
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Location: In a world where a PSYCHOpath like Trump isn't potus.
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| Posted: 02/10/16 12:22 pm ::: |
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| Where is LSUALUM? He might have some insight.
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Hoops9092
Joined: 04 Nov 2008
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| Posted: 04/08/20 6:09 pm ::: |
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With Karen Aston being let go at Texas, it made me stumble upon this thread from 4 years ago about Nikki Caldwell/Fargas at LSU.
Not much has changed in 4 years. What are the thoughts of those in the south and watching the LSU program? Seems like Fargas never really got things going on the top tier in Baton Rouge which was expected after her regular season success in Westwood
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Howee
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ClayK
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Howee
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summertime blues
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cthskzfn
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Howee
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Durantula
Joined: 30 Mar 2013
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| Posted: 04/12/20 7:55 am ::: |
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| Hoops9092 wrote: |
With Karen Aston being let go at Texas, it made me stumble upon this thread from 4 years ago about Nikki Caldwell/Fargas at LSU.
Not much has changed in 4 years. What are the thoughts of those in the south and watching the LSU program? Seems like Fargas never really got things going on the top tier in Baton Rouge which was expected after her regular season success in Westwood |
They were 7th in the SEC this year. Would they have made the tourney? She may have been lucky it was cancelled.
They have a couple of nice pieces in Pointer and Aifuwa but both will be seniors, and I don't know if they are recruiting the caliber of player to replace them. In general though the recruiting is not good enough to jump into the top 4-5. They are probably going to be situated 6-7 like recent years, and that means when the SEC is strong, its probably good enough for a tourney berth. This year SEC wasn't that good RPI wise, so maybe they were outside looking in.
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