Ron Sanchez and Louis Rowe Supposedly in the Running for JMU Coaching Job
Hearing James Madison will be Ron Sanchez from uva or Louis Rowe from bowling green
— Coaching Changes (@CoachingChanges) March 29, 2016
Your guess is as good as ours as to the accuracy of this report, but it seems reasonable. Rowe is a former JMU player (and a great one at that) who’s had multiple stints as an assistant coach for the Dukes. He was one of Matt Brady’s assistants from 2010-2012. He also was an assistant under Dean Keener for the 2007-2008 season. After JMU, Rowe was an assistant at both Rider and Florida International University, prior to assuming his current role as a member of the Bowling Green coaching staff. He played for 2 years under Lefty Driesell after transferring to JMU from Florida. He was part of the CAA Championship squad in 1994 and followed it up by averaging 21.7 points per game as a senior.
Ron Sanchez is currently Associate Head Coach at Virginia. He’s been a member of Tony Bennett’s staff for seven years. He also served as one of Bennett’s assistants at Washington State prior to making the move to Charlottesville with him. As Bennett’s top assistant, he’s definitely got some credibility. Sunday’s second half notwithstanding, Bennett has a well earned reputation for coaching poised and mature teams. Sanchez has been with him for a decade and has tremendous experience helping take teams on deep NCAA tourney runs. He played basketball at SUNY-Oneonta, where he was the conference player of the year. The real question is whether Sanchez wants to make the leap to be a head coach at a school like JMU or stick around and be a top assistant on a national contender.
Two intriguing candidates. One with ties to the school and one with ties to a top tier coach. What say you?
I prefer Louis Rowe. If you can get a qualified candidate with legit ties to the school, I would always prefer to go that route. If you can get a coach for JMU that is ready to be a head coach and wants the JMU job added to that a coach that is JMU to the core and bleeds purple I think that is the way to go. Also I think it is important to note that a lot of the off the court/behavioral issues under Brady began after Rowe was no longer with the program — coincidence, I think not.
Sanchez is also a good candidate but I think Rowe is a much better choice.
While I love Lou Rowe I vote for Sanchez. We have seen this movie before with Rowe in Sherman Dillard. Rowe has done nothing to distinguish himself as a coach. Go for the proven entity. We aren’t Michigan and don’t need a “Michigan Man”. We want to go to the NCAA tournament regularly.
My heart says Rowe my brain says Sanchez.
Sanchez is the better choice. Louis Rowe was a great player, but he has not shown he can be a coach on a top tier team. Look at all the teams where he has coached. They are all, including JMU, mid-majors at best with no winning tradition. Sanchez has spent the last 10 years at power-5 conference schools. Which means he has been coaching at the level where JMU dreams of playing, and he has been with successful programs with a nationally acclaimed head coach. He has learned to recruit, coach and win at the top level of collegiate basketball.
The fact of our current situation is that JMU is an entry level coaching job. We can either continue to pay lower salaries with so-so facilties (I know they are trying to build a new one, but not much money seems to be coming in for that) and settle for coaches destined to play at this level throughout their careers (Brady), or JMU can get an up and coming coach for a couple of years before he moves on to the big time at a major conference school. That is what Sanchez is, and those guys always seem to produce better results. Kenny Brooks (who bleeds more purple than any coach ever) just left for this reason. He woulda/coulda/shoulda jumped to a major conference years ago if he wasn’t so in love with JMU. We need to grab a coach at the start of his career when he is still in the JMU price range, hope for the best, and wish him well when they inevitably move on to the bigger stage. I feel this way about the women’s program too.
And what exactly has Sanchez done/proven. He has been an assistant for Tony Bennett on good teams. Seems we have seen this movie before with Dean Keener (if we want to use that analogy) and that was much worse than Dillard.
They are both solid candidates.
Both of these candidates are better choices, I think, than any of the other names we have heard as possibilities. Just hope we can get one of them in place soon.
I think if we can get Sanchez that is the way to go. He is associated with a great head coach and is the thing that would energize JMU basketball. It just makes sense if we can get him then we should. he has helped UVA and we need help in both basketball games and getting money for a new areana. I hope we sign him soon before someone else does.
I prefer a proven head coach like Kelsey. I could care less about ties to JMU so don’t want a Sherman Dillard, and I don’t think being an assistant at a winning program proves anything either – Dean Keener. Being head coach is much more responsibility than being an assistant. I don’t want either of those two guys.
Sanchez
The only proven head coaches we can attract are mediocre ones. I’d rather roll the dice on getting a fantastic up-and-comer from a currently top program. Bonus is that he’s been pretty local to the region and would likely have a better handle on recruiting the area. Plus, the Bennetts have shown they can coach so I would think a top assistant from their circle can do the same. If he impressed that he can lead during the interview I think it’s a no-brainer.
And I don’t care about ties…an assistant that has bounced around on mediocre staffs doesn’t excite me.
“Seems we have seen this movie before with Dean Keener (if we want to use that analogy) and that was much worse than Dillard.”
Dean Keener learned under Paul Hewitt. Sanchez is learning under Tony Bennett. Big difference there.
Yeah you are right……Paul Hewitt actually has taken/coached a team to the Final Four.
Had an opportunity to hire a great recruiter, college experience, outstanding character, proven winner, and a JMU grad / player. Check out Kevin Sutton’s resume / bio. Who is in charge of hiring process? The same guy who can not keep a coach at JMU…
I’d prefer Sanchez. I loved Lou Rowe as a player, but he’s bounced around as an assistant at mediocre (or worse) mid-majors. Sanchez has worked at P5 programs for the guy who is arguably the best defensive coach in college basketball.
And Final Four run or not, Hewitt isn’t in even the same ballpark as Tony Bennett coaching wise. He had one winning ACC season at GT. He’s a good recruiter and an OK coach. Bennett has been voted national coach of the year multiple times and has won more ACC games in his first 7 years at UVA than Hewitt won in 11 at GT.
Couldn’t argue with Sutton, but my gut tells me Sanchez in this particular choice. Also, how did Dawkins get hired at UCF without getting a sniff from JMU?
Sure Bennett is a better coach than Hewitt……all I was pointing out was that JMU got Kenner from GT while Hewitt was a ‘hot’ coach. Very similar scenario for Sanchez. It is certainly fair to compare Keener to Sanchez if folks also consider it fair to compare Dillard to Rowe.
Fair point @ShadyP It’s a leap of faith with either of these guys. Personally, if I’m taking a chance on a guy w/o head coaching experience, I’d prefer the guy who was an understudy to the better coach or a part of better programs. It’s not a risk free decision though.
I say go with younger guy….Sanchez…….but dont think we can afford him
All these scenarios suck
Is the domain firejeffbourne.com available? That guy is a complete stooge and dumbass. Everything he touches turns to s***.
Thank you Jesus I’m on vacation in the Florida Keys and will soon be moving here to get very far away from the sham that is JMU sports. Louis Rowe is a desperation hire. Bourne is a complete idiot. I won’t be following, watching or in any way participating further. I’m headin back to the bar for another mojito. Good luck.
Sorry, but I am a Duke for life. I will be cheering on all of the Dukes through thick and thin.
Go Dukes!
I just don’t understand hiring a guy who’s extremely limited experience includes being on the staff of two coaches at JMU who got fired and playing for a “legendary coach” who also got fired. This is a desperate, desperate move by a JMU administration that seems hell-bent on bumbling away the athletics department.