success, and good AAU recruiting ties. If you are looking at an assistant coach, which I don't think Utah should have been doing, AAU and recruiting ties are huge and having a great coaching pedigree is a huge plus.

Rice doesn't have a great coaching pedigree. Rice doesn't have AAU ties but does have Bishop Gorman ties which are nice. Rice has no head coaching experience and no experience building a program. Rice could be a decent hire for an established program, like UNLV, that lost its coach to another job and needs to maintain. Rice is a terrible hire for someone trying to build a program. Larry K is also a terrible hire but at least he has head coaching experience and some success in the college ranks.