JPCIVOP

Am coming more around on Drew. I've always been under the impression that they had plenty of resources to work with at Baylor, and that IU wouldn't be a massive step up in that regard, but that has likely changed with realignment. Think all three would do well here, though I'd prefer May because of the program ties.

Yeah... I think I would accept an immediate Tony Bennett hire, if only for the sake of getting the coaching hire over with. Bet IU has the resources to set up the kind of structure where he would only have to tend to the coaching aspects. Seriously; I think he could put in the same hours, doing the same things Woodson did, and win 25-30 games a year here.

Not that Crean would have deserved to be fired. And almost certainly the administration was not of a mind to do something so mercenary. But, in hindsight, two trips to the title game from the Horizon League should have been a clear message; 'No hard feelings, Tom, but we have to do this for the good of the program.'

A great irony is that, had Zeller chosen Butler, that might have given IU the courage to dump Crean after a 12-20 season, in order to hire the generational coaching talent up the road in Indianapolis. If push comes to shove, I am glad that Crean got the chance to win after taking on the coaching job when he did. But Stevens would have certainly made the leap, had he been offered in 2011.

Just took a breath. 90,000 feet sounds like the height from which the program-destroying bomb would be dropped.

I like to imagine Dolson seeing a need to calm down the message boards by floating a Brad Brownell or Mark Turgeon every couple of days. Waiting for Pat Chambers to be floated on Wednesday!

This is where the Cronin psy-op comes in; once the fan base is introduced to the idea of a guy with one Sweet Sixteen in his last 15 years of coaching, Mick Cronin looks like a Dusty May-level grand slam.

Didn't you know that this board retains priority at all times during a coaching search? Vacations take a back seat!

Plus, as has been mentioned, there are a few institutional things (admissions, NIL) that make the IU program more competitive than UM. Hopefully, that plus Dusty's roots here makes this an appealing jump.

Bucky McMillan would be a sign this search has gone sideways. According to Torvik, he's only ever had one top-100 team in efficiency. Archie at least got teams to the 50s.

Am coming more onboard with Cronin with more digging; think UCLA has a very poor level of support compared to what IU would offer. If it gets past May, think they could do worse. Cincinnati hasn't been the same since he's left.

Hopefully, it's a Roy Williams/UNC situation; even a run to the title game with Kansas didn't keep him from heading back to UNC.

If it's a question of taking a stab at someone, safest options that could take off - IMO - are these: McCollum Schertz Wade All have very favorable advanced numbers. McCollum's team is almost totally made over from last year's team, but hasn't fallen off. Schertz put together the best ISU team in memory, same with Wade at McNeese St. All three are young.

Think this is right on. The thing that has me hopeful for the future of the program is the changing financial landscape, Indiana's traditional interest in basketball, and Dolson's newfound freedom. Think that this is the first time that IU is willing and able to take a massive swing at reviving the program since the Sampson hire; just hoping this one works out better!

Much better; Wade in a class of his own!

You could be right; I think it's all a percentage question. Am willing to revise Drew ahead of Calipari. Cronin has made decent tournament runs more consistently, and more recently. I'd feel a lot better if Drew had more recent tournament success. Baylor's Championship team is one of my favorite recent teams. They're also Drew's only time getting to the Sweet Sixteen in the last 7 years.

Think it's a testimony of the strength of the candidate list. RE: Drew, even if you ignore his first three seasons, he's only advanced to the Sweet Sixteen 5 times in 19 years and to the Elite 8 three times. Think his teams have often underperformed. The Championship is the only thing that keeps me from putting him down a category.

Appreciate the new list; did one as well. Of all coaches mentioned in the two polls (plus one fun name I've seen) here is a ranking of the candidates - in my opinion - just on basketball merits. Regarding the Beard controversy, this list leaves personal vetting of all candidates to the Athletic Department and University. If the hire comes from outside this list, hats off to Dolson for running a quiet search! Class of His Own 1. Brad Stevens Clear Non-Stevens Priority 2. Dusty May Sufficiently Established Elite Winners 3. Chris Beard 4. Bruce Pearl 5. Nate Oats 6. TJ Otzelberger 7. Todd Golden 8. Grant McCasland Elite Wild-Card Options 9. Billy Donovan 10. Matt Painter 11. Rick Pitino 12. Mark Few 13. Jay Wright 14. Tony Bennett 15. Bill Self (Lost his fastball?) Elite DII Winners w/ Sufficient DI Success 16. Ben McCollum 17. Josh Schertz Solid Winners 18. Mick Cronin 19. John Calipari (Lost his fastball?) 20. Scott Drew 21. Eric Musselman 22. Buzz Williams Strong Next-Level Options 22. Steve Alford 23. Will Wade 24. Chris Jans 25. Shaka Smart 26. Greg McDermott 27. Darian DeVries Step Down From Above Group 28. Dennis Gates 29. Chris Collins 30. Brad Brownell 31. Micah Shrewsberry 32. Richard Pitino 33. Chris Mack 34. Mark Byington Step Down From Above Group 35. Alan Huss 36. Jerrod Calhoun 37. Bucky McMillen 38. Ryan Odum 39. Eric Henderson 40. James Jones (Yale)