Extreme Example of a Coach leaving for Greener Pasture turning out well

[Aaron 4,293]

I have talked before about how a coach resigning for what is allegedly a better job only to have the next guy come in and do even better and elevate the program to the next level. Obviously this happened with Brad Stevens at Butler when Todd Lickliter was snatched by Iowa. 

Well turning to IU baseball I keep saying I hope Jeff Mercer coming in and Chris Lemonis being snatched by Mississippi St. turns out this way. An example of this right down the road is Louisville. I have known for a long time that Dan McDonnell elevated the Louisville program to elite level just over a dozen years ago.

What I didn't know is prior to that the Cardinals had a guy named Lelo Prado (https://gocards.com/news/2006/6/16/Prado_Resigns_To_Accept_USF_Baseball_Position.aspx) who was snatched up by USF in Florida which was allegedly a better job then. Without Prado leaving Louisville is not what they are today. I am really hoping that Mercer coming in after Lemonis spurned us for MSU is much like this. It sounds silly, but Louisville prior to McDonnell was much worse that what IU is today. I know the Cards have done some nefarious things overall as a school we never want to duplicate but the model is a good one to follow for baseball.

Obviously the ACC is stronger than Big Ten but there is no reason IU being the southern most school, can't take the next step under Mercer that both Stevens and McDonnell led their programs to after someone was snatched up and dominate the Big Ten year in and year out. It could be in 10 years it will look silly that Lemonis left for MSU and this is the better job if Mercer can pull what McDonnell has and there is a chance he could. A great start has been the fact we have owned Louisville head to head since 2013 College World Series year. Also the player development that was missing under Lemonis appears to have been fixed which is what was ceiling us out with previous regime.

I will have no complaints if we stay where we were with Lemonis under Mercer as just an upper pack conference regular tourney participant but I will be ecstatic if he can pull what McDonnell did.               

[MoyeNeeded 3,073]

4 hours ago, Aaron said:

I have talked before about how a coach resigning for what is allegedly a better job only to have the next guy come in and do even better and elevate the program to the next level. Obviously this happened with Brad Stevens at Butler when Todd Lickliter was snatched by Iowa. 

Well turning to IU baseball I keep saying I hope Jeff Mercer coming in and Chris Lemonis being snatched by Mississippi St. turns out this way. An example of this right down the road is Louisville. I have known for a long time that Dan McDonnell elevated the Louisville program to elite level just over a dozen years ago.

What I didn't know is prior to that the Cardinals had a guy named Lelo Prado (https://gocards.com/news/2006/6/16/Prado_Resigns_To_Accept_USF_Baseball_Position.aspx) who was snatched up by USF in Florida which was allegedly a better job then. Without Prado leaving Louisville is not what they are today. I am really hoping that Mercer coming in after Lemonis spurned us for MSU is much like this. It sounds silly, but Louisville prior to McDonnell was much worse that what IU is today. I know the Cards have done some nefarious things overall as a school we never want to duplicate but the model is a good one to follow for baseball.

Obviously the ACC is stronger than Big Ten but there is no reason IU being the southern most school, can't take the next step under Mercer that both Stevens and McDonnell led their programs to after someone was snatched up and dominate the Big Ten year in and year out. It could be in 10 years it will look silly that Lemonis left for MSU and this is the better job if Mercer can pull what McDonnell has and there is a chance he could. A great start has been the fact we have owned Louisville head to head since 2013 College World Series year. Also the player development that was missing under Lemonis appears to have been fixed which is what was ceiling us out with previous regime.

I will have no complaints if we stay where we were with Lemonis under Mercer as just an upper pack conference regular tourney participant but I will be ecstatic if he can pull what McDonnell did.               

The sad thing is if you look at the Louisville roster over the last 10yrs, it is full of kids from SoInd. There are quite a few littered amongst the farm systems and in the show. IU definitely could've used some of those players.

[TheWatShot 13,997]

Is being the southern-most school really an advantage? I ask because I've heard some of our fans claim we should dominate the league for this reason. Michigan and Minnesota have pretty good histories in baseball and they're far from southern. And on a given day, I doubt the weather in Champaign or Columbus is that much colder or wetter than Bloomington.

[Brass Cannon 24,801]

I have been wondering about this. I hope Mercer is the guy to do this. Looks promising for sure would love to dominate the big ten in baseball like Kansas basketball had dominated the Big 12. 

I just hope that if Mercer is the guy we decide to invest more to make sure he can have a quality staff. Maybe it the Big Ten to get rid of that ridiculous rule that shorts is an assistant. And most of all would like to see some more perks to the players. 

Im sure some local kids would love to stay home but the amenities in the SEC are just too hard to pass up. 

[Aaron 4,293]

11 hours ago, TheWatShot said:

Is being the southern-most school really an advantage? I ask because I've heard some of our fans claim we should dominate the league for this reason. Michigan and Minnesota have pretty good histories in baseball and they're far from southern. And on a given day, I doubt the weather in Champaign or Columbus is that much colder or wetter than Bloomington.

It definitely is an advantage. The reason Minnesota and Michigan have been so good is they invested in the baseball program years before we did. 

IU decided to not take baseball seriously until 2006. As much as people hate Rick Greenspan he deserves 100% credit for getting the baseball program where it is today. Basically his son Ben (who I have met a few times) wanted to be a coach and close to his dad but was embarrassed for what our baseball program and nudged Rick to 'retire' Bob Morgan and hire Tracy Smith (who Ben still works under at ASU). From there the rest is history.

Given that IU has only taken baseball seriously for about 12 years and Minnesota and Michigan have since about the 1950's its remarkable the ground team has made up given our Hoosiers were 50 years behind.  

If we keep investing in the program as we have the last decade that 'Southern most Big Ten School' thing is a huge leg up and it's why we have caught the other programs in the Big Ten so fast as soon as we took the sport seriously. Keep giving baseball the resources you have the last 12 years and we have every chance to be the conference power in the sport.