General Coach Candidate News

[HoosierFan1994 5,137]

A couple of things to remember: 

1) It's very unlikely that a coach that is already winning at a P5 school is going to leave for another P5 job with more pressure. Ask Kentucky and Louisville. (Think about your profession..if you are happy, would you leave for a job that pays just a little more but has more pressure? I wouldn't) 

2) Nobody knows what's going on and again, that's how it SHOULD be. I can't stress that enough. 

3) Look at what as doomed our last few coaches that have been fired for losing. Crean (his shelf life ran out), Miller (didn't have the personality to win at IU), and Woodson (didn't put in the work necessary to win big here). If we all can see that, I imagine Scott Dolson is making it a priority to find someone that can put in the work and has the personality for Indiana. 

Here is what gives me HOPE...Mike Woodson did not put in the work needed to win Big Ten Titles, make deep runs in the NCAA tournament, and compete for National Championships. It sounds like he did the minimum. Yet, he made the tournament 3 out of 4 years. He was able to convince Trayce Jackson-Davis to come back. He did land some nice recruits and portal guys (JHS, Malik, Ware, Mgbako, Ballo, Rice, etc). Came VERY Close to landing some big recruits (Queen, Fland, Harralson, Mullins, Liam*) Imagine what a coach that PUTS in the work can do. 

I'm warming up to Ben McCollum. Even though I'm from Evansville, I won't do backflips over a Brad Brownell hire. I'll give him a chance and trust he can do better than Woodson but will it be good enough? That being said, I'd take the field over these two guys. It's possible Brownell is this search's version of Porter Moser. 

My advice: enjoy the basketball these next two weeks. March is freaking awesome. While it sucks to be on the bubble and it's NOT where I want IU to be, at least they'll be playing in the tournament. I mention this all the time I live in a divided house. My wife and her father-in-law are HUGE UK fans. They hated the Mark Pope hire. It turned out really well for them this year. They play a fun style of basketball and it looks like they can be a second weekend team this year. He's been able to recruit well. I am sure UL fans hated the Pat Kelsey hire. Again, so far looking good. I trust Scott Dolson to hire the right guy.

[spe317 994]

  On 3/10/2025 at 1:40 AM, Tony! Toni! Toné! said:

Can I get a lifeline? Stars aligning? Pulsar?

[ronzo4IU 353]

  On 3/10/2025 at 2:05 AM, Stuhoo said:

Kelsey grew up a stone cold IU fan. From Cincinnati and wanted to be Steve Alford.

But it looks like he has a substantial buyout, about $9 million it looks like.

Pat Kelsey would be a home run of epic proportions. UL ain’t paying him all that much either; $2.3 m annually.

I wonder why that article says he has a small buyout?

[AZ Hoosier 10,522]

  On 3/10/2025 at 12:17 AM, IUguy77 said:

The same people that don’t want to risk McCollum would have taken May last season based on him making the title game the year before. Mike Davis made a title game too. 

Davis did it with a team that he didn’t build. Dusty recruited and built his FF team.

[8bucks 7,391]

  On 3/10/2025 at 2:16 AM, Uspshoosier said:

Only IU fans can follow a program that has 1 winning conference record in the last 9 years and somehow think their program can turn Stevens away from the NBA to come back and coach college or get Pearl to leave Auburn where he has the number 1 team in the county and the program rolling or get Drew away from Baylor where he won a national championship all because well IU is a sleeping giant with everything set up for a coach to succeed.  Different people have different views on where this program actually is at in its current position in college basketball 

Believe USPS.  When you had to deliver in the blizzard of 78 and your usps truck was struggling to get up so curvy, hilly so central Indiana roads did you give up and call fedex? No!  Did you look at those bags of mail and consider heading home and getting to the tomorrow? No!  If that little truck would not make it up that hill would Uspshoosier ever give up? No!  Even if you only had 1 house out of the last 9 where a big dog did not bite your leg would you have considered not going on to that next house even if it were a dog mansion? No!  Believe.  We are INDIANA and we can lure Brad Stevens or Billy or any of em.
 

Because we believe and we are due. Imagine If Alford had been 1-9 on threes but late in the game as he comes off a Hilman screen and let’s that lovely ball release his hand ( we can all see the backspin can’t we as the ball arches slowly upward) tell me you don’t know it I will hit nothing but net.  

[TTFD 753 4]

  On 3/10/2025 at 1:40 AM, Tony! Toni! Toné! said:

Portal

[12345Brad 510]

If If If iu is digging down to the brownell types of the world, had Sean Miller been mentioned?  He may have zero interest based on us firing his brother, but he was rumored to be one of illinios top candidate when underwood flirted with leaving  a year or two ago.    
 

I’m guessing Xavier NIL is average at best.  

[go iu bb 8,759]

  On 3/10/2025 at 2:05 AM, Stuhoo said:

Kelsey grew up a stone cold IU fan. From Cincinnati and wanted to be Steve Alford.

But it looks like he has a substantial buyout, about $9 million it looks like.

Pat Kelsey would be a home run of epic proportions. UL ain’t paying him all that much either; $2.3 m annually.

It could even be almost $11M. If he gets to the NCCAT within the first 3 years, there is an automatic 1 year extension. Since he'll get there this year, it will trigger that clause. That means he'll have 5 years left on the contract instead of 4 and the buyout is 95% of remaining contract.

$2.3M x 5 x 0.95 = $10.9M

If that year doesn't count toward the buyout, it's still $8.7M like you said.

That said, it is expensive to hire a good P5 coach so IU should be prepared for that if it's what they want to do.

[Uspshoosier 53,208]

  On 3/10/2025 at 2:41 AM, 8bucks said:

When you had to deliver in the blizzard of 78

I was born in 78.   Heard my parents talk about the Blizzard a lot though 

[Hardwood83 4,950]

  On 3/9/2025 at 11:13 PM, IU5355 said:

So without reading the last 40 pages. Is it safe to assume this search is not going well? 

No one here has the slightest idea. But since nature abhors a vacuum we've convinced ourselves that IU will be lucky to get Brad Brownell if we triple his salary and beg. Apparently "we" expected the next coach to be hired 15 mins after Woodson's announcement..... in February. The fact it hasn't been announced can only mean the absolute worst possible outcome. Fortunately we've had a lots of posters repeat this over....and over....and over. It's been an impressive pooling of ignorance. So yeah 40 pages of that.  

[hoosierbannerd 3,163]

  On 3/10/2025 at 2:59 AM, Uspshoosier said:

I was born in 78.   Heard my parents talk about the Blizzard a lot though 

I was 8..it was a blast building snow forts, sledding and especially being out of school for weeks!

[12345Brad 510]

  On 3/10/2025 at 3:07 AM, Hardwood83 said:

No one here has the slightest idea. But since nature abhors a vacuum we've convinced ourselves that IU will be lucky to get Brad Brownell if we triple his salary and beg. Apparently "we" expected the next coach to be hired 15 mins after Woodson's announcement..... in February. The fact it hasn't been announced can only mean the absolute worst possible outcome. Fortunately we've had a lots of posters repeat this over....and over....and over. It's been an impressive pooling of ignorance. So yeah 40 pages of that.  

Why, if it hasn’t been announced yet, is the worst possible outcome?  If it’s a current college coach, they probably want to focus on their team the rest of the way.  If it’s non-current college coach, they may not want to distract the current IU team.  I wouldn’t doubt, as part of the forced retirement, Woodson asked nothing be announced until their season is completely over.   Just a guess though.  That’s how I’m reading it.   

[Hardwood83 4,950]

  On 3/10/2025 at 3:11 AM, 12345Brad said:

Why, if it hasn’t been announced yet, is the worst possible outcome?  If it’s a current college coach, they probably want to focus on their team the rest of the way.  If it’s non-current college coach, they may not want to distract the current IU team.  I wouldn’t doubt, as part of the forced retirement, Woodson asked nothing be announced until their season is completely over.   Just a guess though.  That’s how I’m reading it.   

Sorry, I thought it was clear I was being a super condescending d!ck. Read that again dripping with thinly veiled contempt and you'll get my drift. 

[HoosierHoopster 7,933]

  On 3/10/2025 at 2:59 AM, Uspshoosier said:

I was born in 78.   Heard my parents talk about the Blizzard a lot though 

Lol it was 3 feet deep across the town, I was just a kid but even IU shut down for weeks. That was before Bloomington had actual snow plows, town was totally unprepared— and as a kid out weeks of school? It was a blast

[Golfman25 6,531]

  On 3/10/2025 at 12:28 AM, Sobchak_Security said:

If Collins is such a great coach, how come no one else has come along and stole him from Northwestern?

My guess is he doesn’t or didn’t want to leave.  Young kids, home town, I think his dad is still in town, etc.   Nothing wrong with making a few million and living on the north shore of Chicagoland.  

[12345Brad 510]

  On 3/10/2025 at 3:13 AM, Hardwood83 said:

Sorry, I thought it was clear I was being a super condescending d!ck. Read that again dripping with thinly veiled contempt and you'll get my drift. 

Ha!  As I was replying, I was thinking “is this sarcasm?!”   Makes sense now!

[12345Brad 510]

  On 3/10/2025 at 3:28 AM, Golfman25 said:

My guess is he doesn’t or didn’t want to leave.  Young kids, home town, I think his dad is still in town, etc.   Nothing wrong with making a few million and living on the north shore of Chicagoland.  

Yup. He’s happy.  BUT - I think he’d leave for the right job/fit - not just anywhere to get a raise.   IU would be a place he’d be interested in. 

[ceast11 258]

Now that Beard has came and gone (allegedly), who is the legit leader in the clubhouse? 

[Iufan71 12]

  On 3/1/2025 at 11:54 PM, Henryville Hoosier said:

Successful first year power 5 Head Coach.....Byington at Vandy. Why not more Underwood talk??

 

  On 3/1/2025 at 6:54 PM, Henryville Hoosier said:

Thats Hooparazzi.....he is well-known for that!!!

Edited March 10 by Iufan71

[rcbowla 8,109]

Given the update:

1. Donovan

2. Lloyd

3. Wade

4. McDermott 

5. McCasland 

6. Schertz

7. McCollum