IU Prof

Sure, but as they say in the financial world, past results are no guarantee of future performance.

Thanks for all this. If you can say, would we be surprised by any of the 3 names on the list, or are they guys who've been kicked around here?

One thought that has probably already been posted, but just occurred to me... Let's say Dolson is of the mind to use smokescreens for a search like this. And let's say he landed a big fish (Few, Drew, Pearl, etc.) early on. Brad would be the ultimate smokescreen, in order to keep the true hire protected until after the season...

I hope Dolson's level of surety is more accurate than Woody's, then...

I hope so, but I'm not sure this is consistent with how Goodman has been talking about the job the past couple weeks. I don't thinking he'd be pushing a guy like TJ Otzelberger if he knew Brad was already in the bag. I also think the tweet would likely have been worded differently in that case, without the not a candidate bit. Doesn't mean it's not Brad, just that I'm not convinced Goodman is in on the ruse.

We haven't had a J.R. Holmes rumor yet, have we?

I totally get that. But the recent slippage, plus the lingering questions of burned bridges with Indiana AAU programs make him a bit risky for me. I'd have Otz and Few ahead of Drew, but I'm torn on whether I'd pick TJ or Few.

Agreed. But, for fun, let's say IU can have it's choice of the following (for equivalent money with salary/buyouts). Who do you pick? Few - Proven winner, but no title. Would likely be hungry to get over the hump here. Probably only has 8-10 years left, max, though. Drew - Proven, national championship coach. But recent results slipping a bit. Does he still have the hunger? At 54, could be the guy for ~15 years. Otzelberger- Never advanced beyond the Sweet 16, but has had immediate, impressive success at Iowa State. Clearly still hungry. Could be here 20-25 years if all goes well.

He did. That could be true. But if his source has no idea who the next coach is, it's hard to believe he knows for sure whether the scheduling is related to the new coach. At a minimum, I think we can rule out an unproven mid-major (McCollum) with the type of schedule Dolson is building. So that's not nothing, to me.

So in terms of time frame... If IU doesn't make the NCAA tournament, and it's someone not currently coaching (Brad, Wright, Bennett), we should know in approximately 3 weeks. If IU does make the NCAA Tournament, and it's someone not currently coaching, we should know within a couple days after IU gets eliminated. If it's someone who is currently coaching (e.g., Otz, Drew, etc.), then we should know within a couple days of their team being eliminated (assuming IU's season has also ended by that point). Any way you slice it, we're looking at close to three more weeks of uncertainty, at a minimum.

I definitely don't think we'd be setting up games with St. John's and Marquette, on top of UK, if Ben McCollum was the guy. He'd need to ease into the job year one.

Here's an off-the-wall possibility... We've effectively known since Atlantis that Woodson was cooked. We've also been hearing that Scott has been having conversations with a high level target (assumed to be Brad) since December, at least. TJ Otzelberger reportedly renegotiated his contract to lower his buyout to $4 million in December. What if Dolson has had his guy in place for a while, but it's TJ, not Brad? Edit: This would also explain the relative lack of noise on the search front, Brad's statement to Goodman, and the recent Otz smoke...

I know others have said it, but it seems highly unusual that we'd be scheduling this many non-conference games at this level, without input from the new coach. You'd want to do everything you could to set the new guy up for success, and part of that would be letting him have a big say in the schedule.

I've got to give several long time insiders their due...they're either right about Brad, or intent on going down with the ship this time. Hope it's the former!

Someone posted links in the Scott Drew thread.

HC: Brad Stevens Int'l Recruiting/Immigration Coordinator: Scott Drew

Seems odd the UT folks would have the scoop before IU or Baylor...

Tony Bennett is McCollum's ceiling. Yet people would scream bloody murder if we hire Bennett, and celebrate hiring McCollum. Go figure...

I have no idea what Armond Hill does, but I can guarantee you it is nothing remotely approximating the duties of a modern MBB college GM. Those guys coordinate recruiting, manage NIL negotiations, etc. I am 99.9% sure Armond is doing none of that.

That probably makes it more likely he's the guy, not less. That having been said, I agree he's a long shot.

It's also possible that Dolson has identified his guy, and that guy's agent is wisely zipping his lips until the season is over. If it's not Brad, I'm really hoping that guy is Otz.

Word on the street is that Otz substantially lowered his buyout when he most recently reworked his contract.

TJ ******* Otzelberger https://youtu.be/OldZYBbrTFQ?si=qxMgZXj__NJ6hyeB

I'm convinced that the appeal of Beard for some people has nothing to do with coaching (because his record isn't that good). It's about the perception that he is an alpha, along with some kind of cultural/social signaling about not caring about the DV incident and his other baggage.

Could be true, but from the Michigan fans I know, they'd tell you that the track record of Sam Webb (if that's who it is) is spotty at best.