hoosierbgh

He's using IU for more Nike $ in my opinion. Whether just an increase in his own salary or an increase in his own salary plus a higher player pay rolll, I'm not sure.

For some reason having a staff made up of assistants that almost certainly received impermissible benefits while in college does not give me the warm and fuzzies.

Do those reputable people think Bennett is a complete F'ing moron? He would have to be one to leave the ACC when K, Williams, Boeheim, and Hamiliton are all rapidly approaching retirement. Bennett could easily have a strangle hold on that conference for a decade, why would he want to take on even a minor rebuild in the BIG?

I wouldn't hold my breath on that.

Oh, I could root for Drew... but I'd be constantly waiting for the shoe to drop with NCAA violations and leaks of player problems.

Why would IU fan's be excited about Virginia's coach? To be perfectly clear, when I say Virginia's coach, I mean Bennett is not leaving Virginia.

It's better here than in the other threads arguing about Bennett, who is even less likely to come to IU than Stevens.

You mean Sam Gilbert? Wooden might have been a good coach but he did nothing without Gilbert's bags of cash.

An 80% free throw shooter missing the front end of a one and one and two blown layups are not on the coach.

So Beard went from "I don't talk about open positions" to telling the world he's not interested in relocating? Yeah, without a direct quote, I tend to think it's some would be reporter trying for clicks and follows.

Matta would certainly be a better option than Woodson. If the purpose of the Woodson rumor was to make Matta more palatable then it worked.

Or perhaps it was floated as a trial balloon to see what the response from the fan base would be. I'm not sure even that one "all Alford, all the time" guy could get behind that move.

I see two main differences between Beard and Bennett. First, Beard's teams seem to play the way they do in the Big 12 because that gives them the best chance to win. I might be mistaken but I think Beard's team at A-LR played a bit faster. Bennett's teams play the way they do no matter what. The other main difference is that Beard is a candidate, maybe a long shot, but still a possibility. Bennett is... well, let's just say that Brad Stevens is more likely to be the coach at IU than him.

Man, I love watching ACC teams lose in the Hall! Especially when it's Bennett.

Yes, Bob did. Pat didn't. Few people can hold a grudge like Knight. There's no reason for Beard to have any grudge in the first place.

I get the impression that Enfield would be pretty hard to pry out of California. He can coach though.

In all likelihood JB is only an option if it doesn't work out with any of the other top candidates so it is probably not very likely. However, if it does happen, better to hire a good coach for 4-6 years before he retires than to reach on a coach that is not ready then fire him in 4 years anyway, IMO.

Well, bye.

He has won nearly everywhere, but everywhere else it is just basketball, in the BIG every game is a combination of basketball and a MMA match. Does his style translate or can he adapt? He wouldn't be the first quality coach that had trouble adapting to the BIG.

It certainly couldn't hurt for BIG refs to receive a bit of that ire directed at them on IU's behalf every once in a while.

I think playing in the tournament at Assembly Hall helped our chances with Beard immensely. It has to help put things in perspective for him.

I have concerns about how well Musselman's style translates to the BIG as well him jumping back to the NBA but he looks like a good candidate. I'd still rather have Beard though.

You missed the couple of people constantly spamming for Steve Alford or another IU guy but otherwise an excellent summary.

The problem I see is that the nice smokescreen likely does a lot of harm to people's excitement for and perception of the new coach. I could see going all in on Stevens and making him refuse in public so that fans are less likely to be constantly pining for him but it would be dumb to do that merely as a smokescreen.

Absolutely! I will never understand why supposed adults can't control themselves even a small bit and must act like utter fools, throw tantrums and attack people when they get disappointing news.