HoosierHuddle

Well, we can't say for certain what Dolson or anyone in power is thinking about Brownell (a man I like quite a bit) and what makes him a candidate but in direct comparison to Alford and looking in the NIL era: Brownell had a strong season in 2023-2024 and then a great tournament run. He is having Clemson's best ACC season in the history of the program after losing PJ Hall and Joe Girard. He also does not have the "former great IU player" tag that could be a detriment in this particular coaching cycle. Compare that to Steve Alford...he has not been past the round of 64 since 2016-2017, Nevada is 15-10 and 7-7 in the Mountain West. You could argue that one is on the ascendancy and the other is on the decline. In addition, I know many AAU coaches and high school coaches in the state of Indiana (certainly cannot speak for all of them) like and respect Brad Brownell and do not feel the same way about Steve Alford. I'll close with...I do not believe either will be offered the job and this conversation is likely moot.

Fair enough...that is a good point and very possibly correct. Perhaps I was too literal about picking apart the "identical" assertion in your original post when there were multiple differences. I hope it does not get beyond "tier one", although I admit to personally liking Brad Brownell more than most (for many reasons...some on the court and some off of it) and I am curious about Ben McCollum.

You posted Otzelberger and qualified it with an opinion (very possibly a correct one!) that he very likely would not leave Ames, you left off McCollum and McDermott and placed Brownell on the second tier by himself and then took a shot at IU fans for vastly overvaluing the job. I don't think the two things are "nearly identical" but alrighty. Still, I'm sure some on his Discord are calling him an idiot and continuing to tell him that it's Brad Stevens and he's a fool for not believing it or that Scott Drew's friend from 30 years ago told them Scott Drew was definitely never leaving Waco...I'm just guessing he did not get a whole lot of "wow, this is really encouraging and I love this list" positive feedback on the internet because that's generally not how it works, unfortunately.

Trilly posted his hot board...I did not see it so I am relying on the information provided to be accurate. Likely all agents and other coaches speculating but for whatever it is worth, his list was as follows: Tier One - Otzelberger/Drew Tier Two - McCollum/Brownell/McDermott

Single-season wins record at a school was the stat referred to.

I can't speak to whether or not Brownell will be offered (doubt it) or if he would take it but I absolutely agree with you on the area. I live 20 minutes from campus and my family and I love it here. Yes, Clemson's campus reminds me a lot of Bloomington and we love walking with our dogs and kids and stopping for '55 Exchange ice cream...there's no Mother Bears but it definitely has a lot going for it!

Not yet...you didn't miss it. That information has been withheld (or, doesn't exist)!

Unfortunately, yes, I can imagine something like that happening to IUBB ha. It would be all kinds of weird optically and everyone would get their cheap jokes in on social media but then IU would be left with a very good college basketball coach leading the program and hiring a great staff so worse things could (and probably will) happen!

Someone posted that exact "theory" on Peegs. I don't see why on earth a long-time AD would take a position as a glorified capologist and director of recruiting after being in Ames for 20 years and running a whole athletic department. If IU hires a GM, it should be someone with extensive ties in the recruiting world. That is the only point of a position like that and Pollard would not be that person unless he has some secret life deeply involved in the AAU basketball circuit. All that written, I suppose crazier things have happened but not many!

If we are to take the post from "Jackal" as gospel (and really, why would we not? Ha) and there is a list of five that somehow was shared and Cronin, Buzz Williams, Greg McDermott and Brad Brownell are not on that list then my guess for the five would be: 1. Scott Drew, 2. TJ Otzelberger, 3. Tommy Lloyd, 4. Ben McCollum, 5. Will Wade as someone being heavily vetted by the search firm?

I think it would be very interesting if IU played Baylor in Dayton....not at all out of the question. There would be some real layers to that hypothetical matchup ha.

Small school? Creighton is in the Big East and is routinely in the top ten in attendance nationally. He's not my top choice by any means but he's a darn good coach with a long track record of success and he's considered one of the better offensive minds in the sport by industry experts and other coaches. I watch quite a lot of basketball, probably too much, and they are a lot of fun to watch! Since 2016, he's averaged 23 wins, made the NCAA Tournament all but one season and he's been to the Elite Eight once and Sweet 16 two other times in the past four seasons. In that time, here are Creighton's KenPom numbers: -2016 - 40th (43 offense/49 defense) -2017 - 28th (32/46) -2018 - 30th (25/58) -2019 - 55th (47/83) -2020 - 12th (3/78) -2021 - 22nd (25/32) -2022 - 50th (112/19) -2023 - 12th (23/14) -2024 - 11th (9/24) Again, not my top choice but I don't see anything that suggests he would be a complete disaster. Plus, he's certainly not short! To each his own though and I am hopeful it ends up being someone else.

The "new contract" for TJ Otzelberger was initially talked about a while ago. It was just signed on February 26 of this year. The new deal raises his salary to $4 million and drops his buyout to $4 million. That deal was on the table for a while it seems and was just now signed, shortly after Goodman and Fanta and others put out information about why IU should go after Otzelberger as their top choice. The deal then gets signed on Tuesday of this week and lowers the buyout to one that IU would not even blink before paying. Interesting.

I do not think Brad Stevens is going to be the new head coach but I don't know how that all is going to play out. Certainly not with any level of confidence. I would be VERY surprised if Bryson Tucker or Mackenzie Mgbako are on IU's roster next season.

For those that care...apparently Trilly posted on his Discord (I am not a paying member for that) that Ben McCollum would choose Iowa over IU if he were offered both positions. This brought much gnashing of teeth and "woe is me" fatalism from many. Meanwhile, on Peegs, Jeff Rabjohns posted that Ben McCollum is "one of the coaches IU has reached out to/about". He posted that McCollum is not the only one but he is one. What does any of it mean? That is for people smarter than me (there are many, many options that qualify) to figure out!

I responded to his post about that with disbelief...that is insanity. I was on (a never-used benchwarmer and practice dummy) his high school team and Conley was unbelievable. The best natural ballhandler and passer/creator I have seen in the past 25 years (am I that old...yes, I guess I am, sigh). He was a no doubt awesome player and I truly cannot believe there were power conference head coaches that believed he might not be good at the next level. Then again...Mike Woodson is a head coach at IU so maybe it's not so wild.

If (big IF) Brad Stevens is considering the IU offer and there are offers and then Stevens' camp comes back with counters and IU meets those and then Stevens comes back with more or says that he needs more time or tells Scott that he'll consider and let him know his decision once the job is actually open...basically, if Brad Stevens is anything less than "all in" on being the head coach for IU basketball and all that the job entails, I would turn to Scott Drew or Mick Cronin or whoever else is next on Scott Dolson's list that really wants the job. That is not to suggest that's what is occurring or will occur but Brad Stevens needs to be completely ready to do what it takes to win at the highest level, particularly given the investment level IU will be laying out to get him. It cannot be a case of "it would be nice to be the head coach at IU and if you put all of these things in place that make it easier for me to do, I guess I'll do you a favor and take it". Does that make sense? I don't know if it does but in my head, after Mike Woodson's serious lack of effort, I want a coach that will refuse to be outworked.

I'm not suggesting there should be confirmation from Brad Stevens that he's taking the IU job or anything like that. I'm just wondering why there have not been any rumors or sourced information coming from the NBA or Boston Celtics insiders and everything concerning Brad Stevens has come from the IU side with the exception of the unconvincing Jeff Goodman tweet/story. I certainly would not be upset if he was the guy, far from it. Anyway, thanks for the information you share, as always!

That makes some sense...I don't necessarily believe it but that is a plausible explanation. Thanks!

I really want to believe the Brad Stevens stuff. I am, by no means connected, but I do know there are people that give a lot of money to IU and are connected that believe Brad Stevens to IU is a done deal. They have not waivered. My biggest reason for not being able to be "all in" on belief is that all of this stuff comes from the IU side of things. It's either IU donors or sources or insiders or whatever you want to call it. I understand no legitimate journalist can publish anything but there has been no information coming from the NBA side or the Boston side. As far as I know, not a single insider/source from that side of things has come out and given any credence whatsoever to "Brad to IU" being a done deal or real or even considered. Why would that be the case? If there were actually a signed deal or a verbal agreement, if it was that far along, why would nothing come from the NBA side or the Boston side? I'm not saying the posters like RTZ or Chris or JerryYeagley23 or any others are wrong but I'd love to hear opinions on why I'm just being too pessimistic.

I have read fan message boards for Texas Tech that are sure McCasland will stay at Texas Tech OR leave for the Texas job and I have heard comments on podcasts from Matt Norlander, Gary Parrish and Pat Forde that say they would be shocked if Grant McCasland took a job outside of the state. Perhaps "all accounts" is too strong but I have not seen, heard or read anything that would indicate he is at all a candidate for the IU job.

By all accounts, Grant McCasland has no interest in leaving the state of Texas.

There's a long time before we have resolution but if the three main candidates that are being zeroed in on are Scott Drew, Dusty May and Mick Cronin...I will be quite satisfied with the outcome and results. Scott Drew and Dusty May are certainly my two preferred options but I think Mick Cronin is really good as well. The positives for these three candidates are many, what about the weaknesses or potential red flags? -Dusty May - only in his first season at a high-major program, unsure how he'll handle the constant exposure and pressure of the IU job -Scott Drew - Baylor has dipped a bit since the National Championship but the "dips" are still mostly outstanding (currently 29th in KenPom despite 16-10 record, 15th last season and a 3-seed, 16th last season and a 3-seed, 4th and a 1-seed in 2022), how does he recruit the state of Indiana after being in Texas for so long? I think a couple of good staff hires can alleviate that issue. -Mick Cronin - will he be able to produce good enough offenses? I think any of the three would raise the level of the program in a significant way and I think would be quite exciting.

Whew...I didn't look at the board at all from Friday evening until Monday morning and it took a Herculean effort to scan through the 120+ pages of eclectic content. If IU ends up with Brad Stevens, all of what I am writing below is moot. Same thing with Dusty May. If both are a "no", it gets interesting. I love Greg McDermott's offenses and think he could do great at IU. I am not advocating for Mick Cronin but I do think there are a few things that could be in his favor if he were to get a real chance at the job, if these things were already posted previously and I missed them, my apologies: 1. I think there is a decent chance he could get Michael Lewis to rejoin his staff. Lewis is well-regarded and I'd imagine IU would give him a raise from what he is making at Ball State. I think that would be great for offense and in-state recruiting. 2. I am not an "insider" by any means but I do have some long-standing connections within the state's basketball community. Mick Cronin does have connections to the Indiana Elite program and he has a prior relationship (I don't know how close they are but there is a relationship) with Drew Adams. Adams is an assistant coach with Cincinnati right now, previously worked for Bradley and is considered an ace recruiter in the Midwest. Woodson should have hired him but of course, there are a lot of things Woodson should have done. Adams on staff would make a ton of sense for Mick Cronin. 3. Indiana's NIL resources would give Cronin the biggest chest of resources he has had in his coaching career...BY FAR. He is very well thought of in the coaching community and I think IU's floor in nearly every season would be making the NCAA Tournament as a 5-7 seed and being top 5-6 in the Big Ten. In short, I don't really understand the vitriol towards Mick Cronin as an option if Stevens and May end up not taking the job.

Stevens speaks....tells Goodman he is not a candidate. It was all a farce.