Coaches on the Move

[Jack of All Trades]

Just saw on DJ Wilson Facebook he going to Buna.  Buna got a good basketball coach with him.  

[Cherokee88]

So does this now make Buna the favorite in this district?

[Jerry West]

@Cherokee88 I think as long as Sutherland is coaching in that district he is the favorite.  Joubert a close second.  I also liked McDonald at OF but the addition of Wilson to Buna will keep them competitive.  Buna has been fortunate to have a good coach, good to see them go get another one.

[Tyler Dixson]

Congrats to Coach Wilson. Not very often you get to replace a good coach with another good coach. Great hire for the Cougs and I would imagine that he will keep them in the race for first as long as he’s walking the sidelines there. 

[whsalum]

On 5/13/2022 at 9:39 PM, Cherokee88 said:

So does this now make Buna the favorite in this district?

Is this a serious question? 

[Football_Fan11]

8 hours ago, whsalum said:

Is this a serious question? 

Why wouldn't it be? Didn't they win the district last year, and bring back a top 2 player in the district? 

[whsalum]

1 hour ago, Football_Fan11 said:

Why wouldn't it be? Didn't they win the district last year, and bring back a top 2 player in the district? 

I think it was like a 3 way tie wasn’t it? I think I remember a multiple play in type scenario. Kountze was really YOUNG and is on the verge of having something special, EC graduated 1 player. For this hire to make Buna the favorite it would have to be a tremendous upgrade which I don’t know much about coach Wilson . Whitmire was good one but the guys in EC and Kountze are special. 

[bullets13]

On 5/3/2022 at 8:23 PM, Charles in Charge said:

Never heard of him.  They should throw the book at Mitchell.  He's a proven program rehabilitator.  I am still hearing DJ Wilson and his aggressive 2-3.

I know some of y'all think I'm a "hater", but there are several accounts on here that suspiciously show up in certain situations and throw Mitchell's name into conversations, and they generally give him too much credit.  I'll preface this by saying I think he's done fine over at Lumberton.  Their record has improved under him, and I do think he has something to do with that.  That said, he also gets a lot of credit for a couple of things that he had nothing to do with.  The first key to Lumberton's newfound success is that year after he took over Lumberton they dropped to 4A after previously having to play in one of the best 5A districts in the state with PAM, Nederland, Central, and Ozen.  His record his first year in which he coached in that district was no better than the guy that came before him (9-17, 1-11).  The second lucky break for him was Brock McClure.  He's coached at Lumberton 5 years.  The year in 5A he went 1-11 in district.  The year in 4A without McClure he had basically a .500 team, and 4-8 in district.  The three years in 4A with McClure he made the playoffs 3 times, had one really good season, and won three total playoff games against sub-.500 or .500 teams.  How much is mitchell and how much is McClure and the drop to 4A?  I'm really curious to see what he does next year.  I don't think it's realistic to expect much more than what Lumberton did this year, but if they return to what they should be without a D1 player (.500ish, fighting for fourth most years) then you have to stop crowning Mitchell as rehabilitation mastermind as well, and just say he does a pretty good job out in Lumberton.  All of the talk of him being an elite coach and whatnot is premature, especially with only one truly good season under his belt at Lumberton in 5 years (a season where he beat two mediocre teams in the playoffs before getting doubled up by Huffman in the 3rd round).    

[Football_Fan11]

1 hour ago, whsalum said:

I think it was like a 3 way tie wasn’t it? I think I remember a multiple play in type scenario. Kountze was really YOUNG and is on the verge of having something special, EC graduated 1 player. For this hire to make Buna the favorite it would have to be a tremendous upgrade which I don’t know much about coach Wilson . Whitmire was good one but the guys in EC and Kountze are special. 

I think so, but it resulted in a 3 team tournament scenario with Buna skunking EC & Kountze in back to back days. 

[Tyler Dixson]

2 hours ago, Football_Fan11 said:

I think so, but it resulted in a 3 team tournament scenario with Buna skunking EC & Kountze in back to back days. 

Buna didn’t play EC. Just Kountze. Buna won the coin toss so didn’t have to play the first game. 

[Cherokee88]

3 hours ago, bullets13 said:

I know some of y'all think I'm a "hater", but there are several accounts on here that suspiciously show up in certain situations and throw Mitchell's name into conversations, and they generally give him too much credit.  I'll preface this by saying I think he's done fine over at Lumberton.  Their record has improved under him, and I do think he has something to do with that.  That said, he also gets a lot of credit for a couple of things that he had nothing to do with.  The first key to Lumberton's newfound success is that year after he took over Lumberton they dropped to 4A after previously having to play in one of the best 5A districts in the state with PAM, Nederland, Central, and Ozen.  His record his first year in which he coached in that district was no better than the guy that came before him (9-17, 1-11).  The second lucky break for him was Brock McClure.  He's coached at Lumberton 5 years.  The year in 5A he went 1-11 in district.  The year in 4A without McClure he had basically a .500 team, and 4-8 in district.  The three years in 4A with McClure he made the playoffs 3 times, had one really good season, and won three total playoff games against sub-.500 or .500 teams.  How much is mitchell and how much is McClure and the drop to 4A?  I'm really curious to see what he does next year.  I don't think it's realistic to expect much more than what Lumberton did this year, but if they return to what they should be without a D1 player (.500ish, fighting for fourth most years) then you have to stop crowning Mitchell as rehabilitation mastermind as well, and just say he does a pretty good job out in Lumberton.  All of the talk of him being an elite coach and whatnot is premature, especially with only one truly good season under his belt at Lumberton in 5 years (a season where he beat two mediocre teams in the playoffs before getting doubled up by Huffman in the 3rd round).    

It seems like people get caught up calling someone a great or elite coach after 1 or 2 good years, I would say lets take a wait and see approach on Coach Mitchell and the Raiders. 

[bullets13]

1 hour ago, Cherokee88 said:

It seems like people get caught up calling someone a great or elite coach after 1 or 2 good years, I would say lets take a wait and see approach on Coach Mitchell and the Raiders. 

Agreed.  He’s done some good things over there, but he’s benefited from some very fortuitous circumstances.  I’m curious to see what he does over the next year or two without McClure.  This year they struggled, but they had some injuries.  

[Knox34]

Let's be real for a minute.  He's terrible and was carried by McClure.

[oldschool2]

12 hours ago, Charles in Charge said:

Let's be real for a minute.  He's terrible and was carried by McClure.

I just looked up their schedule for last year.  They beat Kountze and Big Sandy in back to back games.  So... if he's terrible and was carried by McClure, but beat Joubert and Foster without McClure.. what does that make them?

I'm just curious. 

[catfever]

It makes him out of the playoffs in district which is what really matters.

[bullets13]

16 hours ago, Charles in Charge said:

Let's be real for a minute.  He's terrible and was carried by McClure.

I know you're being sarcastic, but he definitely was carried some by mcclure.  How much is yet to be seen.  next season should tell us a lot.  that said, he's obviously not terrible.  

[bullets13]

4 hours ago, oldschool2 said:

I just looked up their schedule for last year.  They beat Kountze and Big Sandy in back to back games.  So... if he's terrible and was carried by McClure, but beat Joubert and Foster without McClure.. what does that make them?

I'm just curious. 

Joubert and Foster are great coaches, but you're also talking about 2A and 3A schools.   while both have good teams, neither is near what they were 7-8 years ago.  There was a time when those schools could beat highly ranked teams in divisions above them (and were even expected to), but they're both at a point right now where a decent 4A team SHOULD beat them most of the time.  Beating those teams isn't meaningless, but it's hardly a feather in your cap these days for bigger schools like it used to be.

[Hawks18]

On 5/18/2022 at 1:14 PM, whsalum said:

I think it was like a 3 way tie wasn’t it? I think I remember a multiple play in type scenario. Kountze was really YOUNG and is on the verge of having something special, EC graduated 1 player. For this hire to make Buna the favorite it would have to be a tremendous upgrade which I don’t know much about coach Wilson . Whitmire was good one but the guys in EC and Kountze are special. 

You do realize Buna beat EC twice and kountze 2 out of 3 times. I can see kounte giving them problems but EC didn’t beat Buna at all last year…

[Knox34]

1 hour ago, bullets13 said:

I know you're being sarcastic, but he definitely was carried some by mcclure.  How much is yet to be seen.  next season should tell us a lot.  that said, he's obviously not terrible.  

Of course I am being sarcastic!  Mitchell won multiple playoff games last year and is the all star coach.  It's not a mistake.  Brock McClure was really good, but maybe that's because Josh Mitchell helped make him good.  Yall said he couldn't win at Lumberton and he proved yall wrong. 

[bigboss667]

Man this thread, I know for a fact McClure would tell you Mitchell prepared him to be a college player and second how many times has Lumberton made the playoffs? I googled Lumberton basketball and Lumberton actually had a kid play at Texas A&M what did Lumberton do when that kid play at Lumberton? I’m just asking because I don’t know much history with Lumberton Basketball. 

[AggiesAreWe]

59 minutes ago, bigboss667 said:

Man this thread, I know for a fact McClure would tell you Mitchell prepared him to be a college player and second how many times has Lumberton made the playoffs? I googled Lumberton basketball and Lumberton actually had a kid play at Texas A&M what did Lumberton do when that kid play at Lumberton? I’m just asking because I don’t know much history with Lumberton Basketball. 

How is that possible?

[HasBeen36]

Guys this whole Mitchell thing is ridiculous. I was on staff with him in little ole Deweyville. Single handily turned a girls program around there and made them super competitive- maybe 17-18 wins? I don’t exactly remember. He coaches hard and makes his players better. To say he’s carried by Brock is so dumb. Brock is really good. I watched him his junior year and thought that there was absolutely no way he was a D1 player and then he was Developed, at least in part, by Mitchell. 
 

two years under 15 wins and that was his 2nd And 3rd year at lumberton. He’s right at .500 during his career and right under .500 at lumberton. Lumberton plays so dang hard. Those kids are always prepared. Most of the time out matched- and most of the time in the game. Defensively, Mitchell is in the elite of coaches in SETX. Y’all just don’t like him because he makes you uncomfortable because he coaches so damn hard. 

[oldschool2]

18 hours ago, bullets13 said:

Joubert and Foster are great coaches, but you're also talking about 2A and 3A schools.   while both have good teams, neither is near what they were 7-8 years ago.  There was a time when those schools could beat highly ranked teams in divisions above them (and were even expected to), but they're both at a point right now where a decent 4A team SHOULD beat them most of the time.  Beating those teams isn't meaningless, but it's hardly a feather in your cap these days for bigger schools like it used to be.

Lumberton wasn't a decent 4A team last year, right?  They didn't even get in for various reasons.  Meanwhile, Big Sandy went undefeated in district and multiple rounds deep, beat other 4A schools, and yes.. habitually beats bigger schools. And Kountze got a share of their district title in just one classification lower.  Also.. Kountze also beat bigger schools and often does as well.  Even though they're both normally on a different level (over the last decade or so) they still were able to beat much bigger schools last year.  Yet Mitchell (terrible, right?) found a way to get those two wins over area coaches who frequent deep playoff runs.. with a Lumberton team minus their D1 stud from a year before that didn't make the playoffs.

Save the dumb reasoning.. I absolutely believe that Foster is the best coach in SeTx and I believe Joubert is in that conversation as well.  But to imply that Mitchell is a terrible coach who only rode the coattails of McClure is beyond ridiculous.  He may not be the pick for Coach of the Century but he coaches his tail off and gets what he can out of what he has.  People that base success on record alone are moronic. .. In my opinion.

[KF89]

31 minutes ago, oldschool2 said:

Lumberton wasn't a decent 4A team last year, right?  They didn't even get in for various reasons.  Meanwhile, Big Sandy went undefeated in district and multiple rounds deep, beat other 4A schools, and yes.. habitually beats bigger schools. And Kountze got a share of their district title in just one classification lower.  Also.. Kountze also beat bigger schools and often does as well.  Even though they're both normally on a different level (over the last decade or so) they still were able to beat much bigger schools last year.  Yet Mitchell (terrible, right?) found a way to get those two wins over area coaches who frequent deep playoff runs.. with a Lumberton team minus their D1 stud from a year before that didn't make the playoffs.

Save the dumb reasoning.. I absolutely believe that Foster is the best coach in SeTx and I believe Joubert is in that conversation as well.  But to imply that Mitchell is a terrible coach who only rode the coattails of McClure is beyond ridiculous.  He may not be the pick for Coach of the Century but he coaches his tail off and gets what he can out of what he has.  People that base success on record alone are moronic. .. In my opinion.

The post about Mitchell being terrible was sarcasm, by a poster that thinks Mitchel is a good coach. I agree Mitchell is a good basketball coach at Lumberton, coaches with high intensity, with great passion & has brought the program to respectablility & the highest winning status in the schools history, but I can't give him Elite status at this time until he starts winning a few district titles & makes a few more deep playoff runs.

[bullets13]

13 hours ago, HasBeen36 said:

Guys this whole Mitchell thing is ridiculous. I was on staff with him in little ole Deweyville. Single handily turned a girls program around there and made them super competitive- maybe 17-18 wins? I don’t exactly remember. He coaches hard and makes his players better. To say he’s carried by Brock is so dumb. Brock is really good. I watched him his junior year and thought that there was absolutely no way he was a D1 player and then he was Developed, at least in part, by Mitchell. 
 

two years under 15 wins and that was his 2nd And 3rd year at lumberton. He’s right at .500 during his career and right under .500 at lumberton. Lumberton plays so dang hard. Those kids are always prepared. Most of the time out matched- and most of the time in the game. Defensively, Mitchell is in the elite of coaches in SETX. Y’all just don’t like him because he makes you uncomfortable because he coaches so damn hard. 

I don't like him because he keeps making new screen names and coming on here and talking about how great he is, and how bad other coaches are.  As for coaching, I don't have any issue with him as a coach, but he's been very fortunate at Lumberton with them dropping classifications and having a D1 player drop in his lap.  That in itself is just part of coaching, and I don't fault him for it.  I just take exception to the folks (including "not him") that have declared him an elite coach, one of the best in the area, etc. etc., when he's won a couple of playoff games against .500 and below teams and had one really good regular season, despite dropping from an exceptional 5A district to 4A, and despite having the services of the best L-town player in the program's history for 4 years.  The fact that he won 1 district game in 5A, and then missed the playoffs the first year McClure is gone, has me curious to see what happens the next couple of years over there.