Coach Phelps in transition
- Thread starter 7ICoug
- Start date
Has WSU replaced him? If so who? Who is WSU looking at to replace him? Who would be some good candidates to replace him?
Phelps is, was a awesome assistant coach at WSU. Tough to replace that. But Smith will find a good replacement.
I'm not surprised. I observed him on the bench throughout the season and he just didn't seem very engaged in the game. Did anyone else notice this?
I also acknowledge he is way out of his element in small town Pullman given he grew up in NYC.
Don’t blame him for making a move. He just turned 50 and watched his former teammate at UNC coach in the NCAA championship game.
Or maybe he just decided to do something else with his life for the same reason above.
Could be a significant loss. I've heard Phelps had the best rapport with the players and was a lead recruiter. He's been with Kyle Smith for several years at 3 different schools, so I can't imagine there's any problem on that front.
Glad Cougar
Glad Cougar
Oh I didn't realize he was that old. Kind of old to be an assistant if he aspires to be a head coach at a D1 school. I wish him the best. Like you said he may just need a change.
It's been mentioned on other boards and threads. I guess I take what other people closer to the program post as the truth unless they've proven to be non-credible.
Glad Cougar
Here's a link to that podcast if you're interested. https://www.si.com/college/gonzaga/videos/iso-phelps
Funny, all the speculation and quoting BrandX! Coach Phelps has a house in NYC and no doubt wants to get back to the city. Clearly from the podcast he is a big Wazzu believer and a big city guy. FWIW there is no one very close to the program. As to replacements. Pure speculation but Coach Plank!
Did Coach Plank stay at USF or did he go with Golden to Florida? I would imagine if he's still at USF, coming to Pullman would be a definite step up and he'd be a logical, good candidate to replace Phelps. He certainly knows what to expect in Pullman.
Glad Cougar
Glad Cougar
Is that who WSU/Smith chose as replacement, or is that a candidate, or is that who should be a replacement, in your opinion, and who is he(Besides the name).
Hunter was WSU's recruiting coordinator I think in Kyle's first year in Pullman before going to UC Riverside. I see that he was just hired this offseason to join St. Mary's staff as an assistant coach. Not sure if he would leave Randy Bennett so soon, but it's possible.
EDIT: Now I have it figured out. Smith hired Wayne Hunter away from UC Riverside to be WSU's recruiting coordinator last summer to replace Michael Plank. But he only stayed in Pullman for a short time as Bennett hired him as an assistant coach at St. Mary's before this past season.
Glad Cougar
EDIT: Now I have it figured out. Smith hired Wayne Hunter away from UC Riverside to be WSU's recruiting coordinator last summer to replace Michael Plank. But he only stayed in Pullman for a short time as Bennett hired him as an assistant coach at St. Mary's before this past season.
Glad Cougar
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Unless he is coming back as the recruiting coordinator and they are elevating someone else into the assistant position.
It will be interesting to see where Phelps lands. This can't be ideal for "us" but good they were able to bring in someone they already hired on the staff in Hunter. Sounds like he has a lot of roots in California. That can't hurt things.
My only question is, can he recruit? Looks like he has no problem pulling up stakes and moving on.
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