LamarCheeks

Wow -- both Penn State and Minnesota hire top assistants, instead of head coaches. Interesting. I thought Brian Dutcher would be a natural fit at the Barn. Guess they wanted someone younger -- and apparently, a locak guy.

Watched this about half the way through. Jeez -- I felt as if was listening to an evangelical preacher who essentially was saying IU basketball is dying and Dane Fife is the only who can heal it. ... He makes an odd argument, though. ... We hired "proven" head coaches the past three times, so let's hire an unproven one this time? Huh? ... To be honest, I don't know a whole lot about Kent Sterling, but just about every time I hear him speak -- which hasn't been much -- to me, he comes off as a kind of a doofus.

Nice job, ladies! ... Let's win the next one and get to the Sweet 16!

I was just messin' with ya. Coach K was 9-17 in his last year at Army. Talk about a giant leap of faith. What school -- particularly a P5 school in arguably the country's best conference -- hires a coach who just went 9-17???

I'm a big Tony Bennett fan, but ... 1. I know the chances of him coming to IU are probably less than 5 percent. One reason is he said no several years back and I don't see him changing his mind. 2. So that leaves no reason to continue discussing him. 3. Because for everyone who brings him up, saying he'd be a fine hire -- LCS will hunt you down like a dog, just to tell you that you are wrong. 4. So that's another reason to discontinue discussing him -- unless you really wanna just give LCS something to do.

Keep up the good work!

You're joking, right? ... It ignited a firestorm about 15 pages back!

Yep. I have no doubt Wooden had some top-notch coaching chops, but it really, really helps when the nation's best players are being dropped off at your doorstep by a rich booster. ... If memory serves, Kareem has said there's no way he'd have gone to UCLA without Gilbert's "help."

Weiskamp dribbling 1 on 1, gettin' cute, trying to do a little shake and bake -- Oregon dude just walks up and takes it away from him. That was funny.

It was the same with Archie. He could've taken us to three NCAAs in four years (no tourney last year) and LCS would've still wanted him gone.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love Tony Bennett. But he said no in 2008 -- word back then was he wasn't comfortable with the 'fishbowl' that is IU. I live in Virginia, so have seen him for a while and I think he'd be fine -- he's personable and is very well-spoken, whereas Archie seemed to be quiet, focused and almost shy (not sure that's the right word -- but he doesn't appear comfortable in the spotlight). But unless Bennett has had a change of heart, I don't see it happening. Of course, I know absolutely nothing. Just my opinion.

Monday -- UCLA

Tinkle.

A HOME RUN hire (allcaps)? A much more established coach than we might think? This is pretty simple. Who hit more home runs than anyone (steroids aside)? Barry Bonds. Where did Bonds play the bulk of his career? San Francisco -- or the Bay Area. Who coaches in the Bay Area? Steve Kerr. It's so easy if you just simply follow the clues. Our next coach will be Steve Kerr. Or if you follow the anti-steroid argument ... Who hit the most home runs? Hank Aaron. Where did Hank Aaron play when he became the HOME RUN king? Atlanta. Who coaches in Atlanta? Josh Pastner. So -- our next coach will either be Steve Kerr or Josh Pastner.

'Bout time we created the Wayne Tinkle thread!!!

I'm still puzzled by what went wrong with Smith. He's a smart dude -- it can't be easy to graduate from the Kelley School in three years. He's not a great basketball player, but is an exceptional athlete. I wonder if it went off the rails when Romeo came aboard. Maybe Archie kissed Romeo's a$$ too much? I just don't know. But like someone wrote -- maybe you -- Justin had every opportunity to succeed on the court at IU. He was a Crean recruit and decided to re-commit after he was fired. That was his decision, so obviously he found something appealing about Archie.

Justin Smith with an 8 foot shot that came up a foot short. That's the Justin we know and love ...

Beard was trying to rile up the crowd before tipoff. Crowd: You come back here for a press conference in a week or two if you wanna hear some cheering!

If memory serves, Crean was fired on a Wednesday or Thursday. We found out Archie was the man two Saturdays -- or a week and a half -- later. My guess is we're in for at least another week of this.

Not saying Matta should necessarily be our next coach, but I wonder why Goodman says IU "Doesn't fit him at all." Matta spent several years coaching in Indiana (albeit not at IU), lives in Indianapolis, has years of B1G experience, is very media savvy, has a bit of a personality (unlike the ultra-serious Archie). Other than the possible health issues, he'd be a very solid choice. What doesn't fit?

Not only that, but two of his boxes were RMK approval and the former players' approval. Knight and the former players wouldn't approve of Stevens? That's asinine. I mean -- he's not coming, but to say Smart checks boxes Stevens doesn't is just ridiculous. The only box Smart could check that Stevens can't would be as a former player.

I really hope this Mike Woodson talk is just that -- talk. His coaching acumen is debatable at best. And when he has been a head coach, someone else provided the personnel. In college ball, you have to go get your own players -- something he has never done. Saying an assistant would handle that is just silly, and not feasible -- the head coach is the face of the program and needs to be able to recruit talent. To think we'd hire a soon-to-be 63-year-old who has never recruited and has a below-average coaching record just seems beyond preposterous. Love Mike Woodson the IU player, but I just don't see how anyone can think a guy who played 40 years ago and has a losing NBA record will be able to persuade 16- and 17-year-old kids to come play for him. I'm just flummoxed by this.

I'm ready to move on. If what Chris007 and IUwins0708 reported is true, we've done more than enough to try to lure Stevens. If he doesn't want to be in B-town -- then let's put him in our rearview mirror. I want someone at IU who really wants to be there and is qualified -- not because he couldn't say no to an insane amount of money.