General Coach Candidate News

[Silat Player]

13 minutes ago, Pagoda said:

IUBB and NUFB really do feel similar, all the down to the school colors and saying "Go Big Red."  It freaks me out.

That said, in my opinion, IUBB and NUFB have different issues, and IUBB is more fixable than NUFB.  This is probably me rationalizing it some extent, but I think it's true.

NUFB has three pretty permanent problems:

1) They have a recruiting issue in that they're in the middle of nowhere.  To be an elite program you've got to recruit the country now and not just a region.  Lincoln is a hard place to recruit to -- it's far away and hard to get to for players, and their families have a tough time going to games too.  Not ideal.

2) Their their strength (steroid?) program is no longer the competitive advantage it was pre-2000.  Every school has a great strength program now that gets great results (without the 'roids).

3) Their NIL is good, but not top-10.

It's true Nebraska has struggled with their coaches, but they have pretty permanent structural programs that hold them back.

IUBB, as we know, seems to primarily be a coach selection problem that persisted mostly due to people meddling with the AD's job for 25 years. Everything needed to be a good program is still present: the top-5 monetary support, the huge fan support, nice facilities, nice town, location is reasonable, etc.

So, I think IUBB is a coach away from getting fixed.  That's not an easy fix, but it's just one move away.  NUFB even with a good coach is going to be fighting a tougher battle given their location, NIL levels, and some old advantages they will never have again.

IU basketball is more akin to Alabama football. It is located in a fertile recruting ground, has a storied history and has a lot of resources, along with a rabid fanbase. 

It is also a high-pressure job that has eaten-up and spit-out more than a few coaches. 

However, if you hire the right coach, the program can win big. The comparisons to Nebraska football have always been dumb. 

[IU Prof]

20 minutes ago, TadQueasy said:

No way they surround any coach they hire this year with coaches like they did Woody.  That was a unique (terrible) situation. 

McCollum would not need this, nor any other of the coaches who have been mentioned in this thread. 

I think you'd have to surround McCollum with at least one elite recruiter, just to get him up to speed on that front.

[Rusty Shackleford]

Has anybody else been following CurryHicksSage on twitter? He's been hosting hours long coaching search season spaces every couple of nights. He's definitely plugged in, especially when it comes to low and mid major jobs. Very, very interesting to listen to. 

I'll try to summarize what he's said that pertains to IU. He's definitely getting info from the agent and search firm side of things. He's very transparent about where his sources come from and how reliable they may or may not be and is open about the fact that some people may be using him to plant smokescreens/disinfo.

1. On Friday and again last night he said the 2 names he's been hearing most related to the IU search are Brownell and McCollum. This could just be agents pushing things or where the search firm is on the vetting list.

2. On Brownell: he says according to a coach who worked with Brownell, he has one of the largest playbooks in D1 and it takes his teams forever to learn his offense. So in his opinion, he doesn't expect IU admin or fans to have the patience for a 3-4 year implementation plus the inevitable portal turnover setting things back. He doesn't see Brownell as a very good fit for IU.

3. On McCollum: He's an enormous fan of the guy and has been advocating for him for a few years now. Says McCollum is a pure ball coach -- "savant" level. But he makes a very compelling argument that the higher you go up the coaching ladder, the less the X's and O's matter. Still matters, but upper level jobs require coaches to be so much more than just ball coaches. And he points out that especially at Indiana, you have to be a politician/salesman as well. So he doesn't think McCollum is a good fit for IU either. Also notes McCollum was very careful about selecting which D1 job to step into and doesn't expect him to jump right to an IU level job. Notes that moving from Drake to IU is a much bigger step than moving from D2 to Drake.

4. His opinion is that IU should go after Wade but he doesn't think he'll be an option because IU wants a "clean" hire. Thinks Wade ends up at NC State.

Take it all with a grain of salt but the info lines up with what other sources have said this past week but moreover, the analysis is spot on, IMO. 

Personally, I'm on the Brad train until it derails but I wanted to share this info since it's out there and like I said, this guy seems very connected.

[IUGRAD06]

6 minutes ago, Hornsby said:

Amazing non on that never ever became public. Just how in the world can you hide something like that.

Sent from my SM-A146U using Tapatalk

Background checks are fun especially for high level jobs.  My firm called people I gave them names to and people I did not.  People talk.  Good and bad.  It’s what they are hired to do.  There were reports that Louisville and Kentucky found more instances of stuff through their process.   Record searches, interviews, etc.   People talk especially when something bad happens and becomes known. 

[Home Jersey]

1 minute ago, Alford Bailey said:

I personally like McCollum but it’s too risky of a hire to make in the NIL era. Gotta get a guy who can leverage the $$ quickly to get wins.

Why do you think McCollum doesn’t know or can’t figure out how to use money to pay players? 

[iu eyedoc]

43 minutes ago, Hoosierfan2017 said:

If the best that IU basketball can do is Ben McCollum, it’s a depressing as hell signal that IU basketball is a middle of the road basketball program so far removed from “blueblood” status. Maybe McCollum is the boy wonder that many on here have convinced themselves of, but IU basketball shouldn’t have to take that chance. How does the program go from allegedly offering Brad Stevens $10+ million a year to McCollum being the next option? 

Name the last "blueblood" program or any program that has convinced a coach to willingly leave his current top 25 team to take over their program.  The only one I can think of is Roy Williams and that was a dream job situation.  All this Few, Stevens,Pearl talk is most likely just silly dreaming. But McCollum, McDermott and the like type hires would not be a woe is me the sky is falling situation, well other than for the eeyores of this world.

[iu eyedoc]

11 minutes ago, hoosierhoo said:

Hornsby just showed up. Team Wallow is rallying.

I wasn't going to name names...

[TadQueasy]

1 minute ago, IU Prof said:

I think you'd have to surround McCollum with at least one elite recruiter, just to get him up to speed on that front.

Well sure, but I do not see that in the same situation as what they did with Woody.  McCollum is smart enough to do this on his own.  Woody needed people there to hold his hand about everything college related.  

[IU Prof]

Just now, Silat Player said:

IU basketball is more akin to Alabama football. It is located in a fertile recruting ground and has a lot of resources, along with a rabid fanbase. 

It is also a high-pressure job that has eaten-up and spit-out more than a few coaches. 

However, if you hire the right coach, the program can win big. The comparisons to Nebraska football have always been dumb. 

I think this search will say a lot about whether Nebraska or Alabama is the better analogy. Do we get our Nick Saban, or our Mike Riley?

[Alford Bailey]

1 minute ago, Home Jersey said:

Why do you think McCollum doesn’t know or can’t figure out how to use money to pay players? 

Bigger issue may be players not wanting to play his style.

[HoosierHoopster]

14 minutes ago, Hornsby said:

So beard is out? Unreal.

Sent from my SM-A146U using Tapatalk
 

He was never in. This thread is comical.

[AH1971]

1 minute ago, IU Prof said:

The vetting must have turned sour quickly!

IU talked and vetted Beard well before yesterday. Rabby probably got the info from IU after Goodman's tweet once Beard's name instantly went to the top of the list for many. 

[Kentuckysucks]

2 minutes ago, Silat Player said:

IU basketball is more akin to Alabama football. It is located in a fertile recruting ground and has a lot of resources, along with a rabid fanbase. 

It is also a high-pressure job that has eaten-up and spit-out more than a few coaches. 

However, if you hire the right coach, the program can win big. The comparisons to Nebraska football have always been dumb. 

UT football is a good comparison which has turned around the last couple years.  We just need a good coach and the sky is the limit.

[CSP]

So... you all have watched a lot of Drake this year to have these informed opinions on McCollum, I assume? 

[jimsorgi]

26 minutes ago, iu eyedoc said:

Brownell/Turgeon wallow in misery day on BTB

[IU Prof]

4 minutes ago, Rusty Shackleford said:

Has anybody else been following CurryHicksSage on twitter? He's been hosting hours long coaching search season spaces every couple of nights. He's definitely plugged in, especially when it comes to low and mid major jobs. Very, very interesting to listen to. 

I'll try to summarize what he's said that pertains to IU. He's definitely getting info from the agent and search firm side of things. He's very transparent about where his sources come from and how reliable they may or may not be and is open about the fact that some people may be using him to plant smokescreens/disinfo.

1. On Friday and again last night he said the 2 names he's been hearing most related to the IU search are Brownell and McCollum. This could just be agents pushing things or where the search firm is on the vetting list.

2. On Brownell: he says according to a coach who worked with Brownell, he has one of the largest playbooks in D1 and it takes his teams forever to learn his offense. So in his opinion, he doesn't expect IU admin or fans to have the patience for a 3-4 year implementation plus the inevitable portal turnover setting things back. He doesn't see Brownell as a very good fit for IU.

3. On McCollum: He's an enormous fan of the guy and has been advocating for him for a few years now. Says McCollum is a pure ball coach -- "savant" level. But he makes a very compelling argument that the higher you go up the coaching ladder, the less the X's and O's matter. Still matters, but upper level jobs require coaches to be so much more than just ball coaches. And he points out that especially at Indiana, you have to be a politician/salesman as well. So he doesn't think McCollum is a good fit for IU either. Also notes McCollum was very careful about selecting which D1 job to step into and doesn't expect him to jump right to an IU level job. Notes that moving from Drake to IU is a much bigger step than moving from D2 to Drake.

4. His opinion is that IU should go after Wade but he doesn't think he'll be an option because IU wants a "clean" hire. Thinks Wade ends up at NC State.

Take it all with a grain of salt but the info lines up with what other sources have said this past week but moreover, the analysis is spot on, IMO. 

Personally, I'm on the Brad train until it derails but I wanted to share this info since it's out there and like I said, this guy seems very connected.

Thanks for this. In particular, I think the points about McCollum are insightful.

[Home Jersey]

1 minute ago, Certified Sunshine Pumper said:

So... you all have watched a lot of Drake this year to have these informed opinions on McCollum, I assume? 

He’s had a thread since either before this season or like 3-4 games in… lot of people here have been following Drake this year

[southernindianahoosier2]

11 minutes ago, Hornsby said:

Amazing none of that never ever became public. Just how in the world can you hide something like that.

 

Sent from my SM-A146U using Tapatalk

 

 

 

Great Coach - Personality would be the best fit for IU... Skeletons in the closet. IF McCollum says no... swallow your pride IU and hire Beard

[Stuhoo]

4 minutes ago, Certified Sunshine Pumper said:

So... you all have watched a lot of Drake this year to have these informed opinions on McCollum, I assume? 

The style of play criticism of McCollum is nonsense in my opinion. Really excellent coaches adjust their style of play to their personnel and competition. If McCollum is truly a coaching savant he would do exactly that.

The legit criticism of McCollum is program management - NIL budget, high school and portal recruiting, agent interaction, large staff management, booster and fanbase interactions. Not saying he couldn't do that well, but he has pretty much zero experience in those tasks.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

"X" f/k/a Twitter is down that can mean only 1 thing.   Dolson is sending out hundred of tweets announcing our new coach.  Or, it could be something else