General Coach Candidate News

[WayneFleekHoosier 51,419]

I sincerely hope its not Cronin.  I do want a winning coach but I hope we can find one that is not a complete curmudgeon.

[Scotty R 3,682]

I know there won't be a candidate that all the fans will endorse as our next coach.  I just hope this fan base can unite and get behind whoever is chosen as our next HC because that will make it easier for that coach to succeed.

[Home Jersey 16,078]

  On 2/10/2025 at 3:13 PM, WayneFleekHoosier said:

I sincerely hope its not Cronin.  I do want a winning coach but I hope we can find one that is not a complete curmudgeon.

It may just be the Jersey in me, but I kinda love a guy who walks around p!ssed off all day for no apparent reason... 

As they say, better to be p!ssed off than p!ssed on...

[OKHOOSIER 5,892]

  On 2/10/2025 at 2:59 PM, Certified Sunshine Pumper said:

I prefer these weeks compared to the weeks of "start of the season until now", personally. 

Listening to posters whine every time there is a subject being discussed they don't like is more annoying than repeated information, though. 

I’m not bothering with the discussion on his past, but I will pose a question. 
 

Let’s assume you are willing to ignore all the issues with Beard, or just call them fake news and hand wave them— after nearly 10 years of futility do you really believe that IU can take the risk of something happening and torpedoing the hire? When something with this candidate has already happened and torpedoed a job for him elsewhere?

The next hire at IU is going to be the highest stress position in CBB. Period. There will not be a coach in the country under more pressure to win and keep winning. Can we take the chance on him imploding when there are lots of other good options? 
 

Look, if Beard wasn’t laden with baggage that Dolson wouldn’t get through the first presser without getting asked about, he’d be the obvious choice. Unfortunately that is not the case.

 

The “whining” isn’t anymore annoying than people stumping for a guy who is never getting considered because of what he did to lose his last high profile job. 

[Deserthoozier 1,130]

  On 2/10/2025 at 2:37 AM, IUFAN1976 said:

Most people drink.  His being excessive is not actually known.  To me, if he’s a drunk, it would be hard to coach and run a solid D1 program like he does

Howdy! 

[MBORO615 40]

I think we also need to consider how revenue sharing plays into all of this. If they pay Stevens 9-10 million a year that will really cut into revenue payouts for players. Of course, there will still be NIL separately - but something to definitely consider.

 

Count me in for Beard.

[iu eyedoc 4,466]

  On 2/10/2025 at 2:25 PM, Certified Sunshine Pumper said:

what issues does UNC have that we have? firing a former player? 

Aversion to domestic violence

Prefer the Men's HC not be glassy eyed at the Blubird.

 

A very good to great basketball coach that can't get a sniff at any storied or even good basketball program. Funny how all these administrations just let him slip through the cracks.

Hmmmmm, that doesn't seem to make much sense.

When you hear hoof beats don't think zebras.

[Scotty R 3,682]

  On 2/10/2025 at 3:14 PM, Home Jersey said:

It may just be the Jersey in me, but I kinda love a guy who walks around p!ssed off all day for no apparent reason... 

I want a coach who will hold players accountable and Cronin does that

[IndianaSconnie90 806]

  On 2/10/2025 at 2:14 PM, GP711 said:

fwiw, any Beard smoke that is there is coming from the agent side because beard wants the job. It's a hard no from the athletic department side, he was passed on before het got arrested. 

You seem to be dealing in absolutes. So I'm going to need to clarify if you're a sith or if you have some serious connections within the program so I know whether to mentally lightsaber your head off 

[IvanRenkosillegitimatechild 811]

  On 2/10/2025 at 3:10 PM, Certified Sunshine Pumper said:

he's got a lot of good stuff.... the "Country Roads" was great, done a couple of cool things with his teams honoring veterans. 

And he’s got a solid record too!

[Hornsby 3,870]

I know we is old and many think he is a slimeball but looks like pitino still has it.

Sent from my SM-A146U using Tapatalk

[jermhoosierfan 293]

  On 2/10/2025 at 3:03 PM, jimsorgi said:

Giving a yourself a cavity to try to pry information from Dusty May's cousin's wife while she was jamming tools in your mouth is dedication.

 

Kudos.

Hey, I try to show my dedication.

[Ryno6284 4,438]

I know Beard won’t happen, so I’m done talking about him! However the more I read up on Buzz and what he does for communities, the more I’m going to start beating that drum! I really like what he could bring to IU!

[iu eyedoc 4,466]

  On 2/10/2025 at 2:49 PM, Chris007 said:

Just a casual conversation over some beers. 

*Chris Beard just entered the chat.

[MrBBall 982]

  On 2/10/2025 at 3:15 PM, MBORO615 said:

I think we also need to consider how revenue sharing plays into all of this. If they pay Stevens 9-10 million a year that will really cut into revenue payouts for players. Of course, there will still be NIL separately - but something to definitely consider.

 

Count me in for Beard.

Just an FYI that’s now how it will work. I wouldn’t worry about revenue to players. Separate bucket. 

[iu eyedoc 4,466]

  On 2/10/2025 at 2:57 PM, kottke said:

We've got like 40ish days to go, so we will be rotating daily through the candidates. Mondays are the Beard special.

It's going to be a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong few weeks.

Fat Tuesday and St Patty's day are also reserved for Beard talk.

[Certified Sunshine Pumper 11,884]

  On 2/10/2025 at 3:17 PM, IvanRenkosillegitimatechild said:

And he’s got a solid record too!

And when you take out a rebuilding year or two, at football schools, I think it's very impressive. JMO

  On 2/10/2025 at 3:14 PM, OKHOOSIER said:

I’m not bothering with the discussion on his past, but I will pose a question. 
 

Let’s assume you are willing to ignore all the issues with Beard, or just call them fake news and hand wave them— after nearly 10 years of futility do you really believe that IU can take the risk of something happening and torpedoing the hire? When something with this candidate has already happened and torpedoed a job for him elsewhere?

The next hire at IU is going to be the highest stress position in CBB. Period. There will not be a coach in the country under more pressure to win and keep winning. Can we take the chance on him imploding when there are lots of other good options? 
 

Look, if Beard wasn’t laden with baggage that Dolson wouldn’t get through the first presser without getting asked about, he’d be the obvious choice. Unfortunately that is not the case.

 

The “whining” isn’t anymore annoying than people stumping for a guy who is never getting considered because of what he did to lose his last high profile job. 

I've not seen too many stumping for him. Just willing to have a conversation. He's in my Tier 3. 

  On 2/10/2025 at 3:15 PM, iu2win said:

Regarding Beard and the DV incident, my past experience with a particular friend involved in a similar incident caused me to notice in the initial police report Chris said Trew was going after his "private parts".  Bite marks can certainly indicate an infantile reaction during an angry rage but they could also result from a desperate attempt to stop someone if they literally have you by the balls.  Also, like my friend said when he came knocking on my door in the middle of the night, "what was I going to do, drop my pants and tell the cops look what she did to me?".    

 

They'll come for you. 

[Artie86 3,495]

  On 2/10/2025 at 3:09 PM, Home Jersey said:

An analogy, IMO...

Picking out a great coach from the lower ranks is a lot like betting on a penny stock.

For the situation IU is in, we're looking for a blue chip guy to come in and pay dividends right away.

There could be higher upside to buying in early, but we need stability and good yield right away.

...In a different cycle I'd love taking a flyer on McCollum. Don't think it's in the cards this time around though.

....I posted a few months ago that the hiring of Coach Cignetti, his raise and increased raises of his coaches will pay huge dividends for our next coach! Any coach looking at IU NOW can see we are serious about paying our coaches and basketball will be next!

#1. Right now, this opening IS a Top 5 landing spot mostly because of the commitment from the president and Dolson to take care of their coaches by being able to pay TOP dollar to the best coaches in the country. 

Yes, IU's history does play a part too, but money talks more now.

#2. Bucker doesn't have the pull/backing he had on the last hire.

[MrBBall 982]

And for the record, everyone, write off Beard. Won’t happen. Move on. You can continue to argue here but there will be names much better in the pool to be considered. Carry on. 

[IU Prof 2,364]

  On 2/10/2025 at 3:11 PM, Hoosierfan2017 said:

Every coach comes with risks, even Brad Stevens. Beard’s risks are entirely off the court. There’s no question he’d come here and win a lot of games. Just depends on which risks you’re willing to take, I suppose. 

I think most would probably agree that all else being equal, Kelvin Sampson is a better coach than John Beilein. But I also think most would agree that, in hindsight, IU would have been better off hiring Beilein than Sampson. And that's because all else is never equal, and it can never just be about coaching strength. You always have to weigh that against the other factors.