5fouls

Ben McCollum would take his 3 stars and beat your 5 stars.

Play it safe now, regret it later. The upside with McCollum is too good to ignore. I wanted Stevens and I'll concede the idea of May over McCollum, but I can't go beyond that. We're Portland at that point.

Agreed. I think we can also agree that discussion and debate is the purpose of a message board. If we all thought the exact same way, it would be kind of boring.

So, we're at the point where we accept a slightly better version of mediocrity? I get it that Stevens said no. I get it that May might say no. But, look for the potential home runs from the other names on the list. Cronin has already proven over the course of 21 years to NOT be a home run.

Well, if Cronin gives birth in the tournament, that would definitely be newsworthy.

Not counting this season, Mick Cronin has made it past the Sweet 16 exactly ONCE in 21 years of coaching. Factor that piece of information into whether you're okay with him as a candidate for the job

15 people would have to turn down the job before either one of those guys is given a second look. They aren't real candidates beyond a message board. Stevens said no, but May, McDermott, Cronin, Williams, McCollum, McMillan, Few, Oates, Pearl, Jay Wright, Shaka Smart, etc. The list of coaches you approach before on of those goes through candidates that would not say no. Heck, it wouldn't surprise me if Alford is higher on the list than either of those guys. Brownell and Beard are candidates only within message board speculation. It's not real.

And, if we hire Mick Cronin, Buzz Williams, Chris Beard (Yes, I said Beard), etc. then Iowa is going to be kicking our backside for years to come.

Schertz was losing in those DII tournaments that McCollum was winning. On the same stage, McCollum proved to have more Championship mettle. I fully understand that McCollum is not going to be IU's coach for the very reasons you have mentioned. But, if this coaching search falls past Stevens and May, there is a good chance that we are back here in 4-5 years, and even a better chance we (IU) regret not more strongly consider McCollum. He's not going to be available next time around.

Let's say the experience on the off the court stuff is a significant edge to McDermott. On the flip side, I view the on the court comparison as a clear win for McCollum. McDermott has some DII time that can be used as part of that. Navigating the off the court stuff can be learned much easier than someone suddenly becoming a better on the court coach. The argument becomes even more relevant when you consider McDermott is 60. McDermott is like Drew Brees. Long career of success without being a real threat year end and year out, but is good enough to get over the hump (intentional use of that word) should things break right. McCollum is Tom Brady.

McDermott (60): D1 and D2 combined. 4 Sweet 16's and beyond with a peak of a single Elite 8. Defined as 'proven' McCollum (43): D1 and D2 combined. 8 Sweet 16's and beyond with a peak of 4 National Championships. Implied to be 'unproven'. I would disagree with that logic.

With all due respect to Schertz, while he was making DII tournaments prior to coaching ISU, McCollum was WINNING those same DII tournaments prior to coaching at Drake. There is never a 'guarantee' when a coach moves up in competition, yet every coach that wins a championship started somewhere other than the top. If an athletic director gets cold feet making the decision to put faith in an unheralded coach when warranted, we're destined to hiring retreads with a lower ceiling.

Is it first and goal at the 2 with Jalen Hurts or 4th and 37 on our own 2 with Anthony Richardson?

You may have seen some Drake games this year, but have you watched any of his 4 national championship teams play? They did not play that way. He adopted that style this season to win games with the roster he had. A coach that adapts.....hmm. Save this post and use it against me in the future if you can. If we DON'T get Stevens, then 5 years from now, McCollum will be universally viewed as a better coach than whoever we end up hiring.

Stuhoo, I promise I'm not ignoring your post. At work and not good at navigating around some of the pop-ups I get on my phone when viewing the site. Suffice it to say, we are focusing on different things when we are analyzing what we want in our new coach. Everything you mentioned is true about McCollum. I just don't think those things are as difficult to overcome as being a natural leader, gameplanning, and knowing how to coach and make adjustments on gameday. A lot of coaches out there, even currently coaching in the Big Ten, who can check off the things on your list, but are drastically lacking the things on mine.

For those concerned about McCollum and his rumored 'Tony Bennett style' deliberate play, I found these stats doing a little research. I didn't look up every one of his teams, but I did capture his first championship year ('16-'17), the 31-1 Covid season ('19-'20) and the last of his 4 championship years ('21-'22). The '16-'17 team averaged 78.4 points per game The '19-'20 team averaged 83.1 points per game The '21-'22 team averaged 76.1 points per game While those may not be vintage Loyola Marymount scoring averages, they certainly aren't vintage Tony Bennett either. What they show to me is that he has the ability to adapt to the personnel he has. This year's Drake team may be more deliberate, but that is likely McCollum changing his preferred style in order to win games (which is what he should do). The tempo argument is a shaky one, at best. If anything, it strengthens his resume. The man wins, and has the ability to change his style in order to do so. https://bearcatsports.com/sports/2014/4/29/mbbstatsarchive.aspx

I think there is a segment of recruits that will look elsewhere. But there is also a group of players that would jump at the chance to be coached and play for a team that wins 90 plus percent of the time.

Fair enough. But, for the love of everything good about Toy Story, I really don't think hiring Buzz to replace Woody is a good idea.

Come on Stu. Love the debate (even though I only have 125 posts), but winning at a basketball factory like Montverde, where the best of the best are funneled to your program every year is not the same as creating a dynasty using players rejected by 360+ D1 programs. The guy is a tremendous coach, and elite coaching translates across levels. Bob Knight was not hired away from UCLA, Texas, or Alabama. He came from Army.

With a coach that did this.

Part of that could be the coach game-planning what needs to be done to win the game (novel concept). If he had a team that was more adept at playing a faster pace, he might very well do that. Winning is the #1 priority. Right?

And, the best W/L record among that list?

Most people don't choke and bite their fiancee'. Overlooking drinking is one thing. Overlooking domestic violence just cannot happen.

I would rather win playing at a deliberate pace than play exciting basketball and not win.

Stevens is my choice 1A, 1B, and 1C. I personally think McCollum's resume is better than May's Yes, it's DII, but the level of domination he had there is unmatched since Mid 60's through early 70's UCLA. I would be fine with Drew, but he's not coming to IU.