General Coach Candidate News

[Bowhunter 2,913]

10 minutes ago, Old Friend said:

Rather than scroll over 988 pages...

What are opinions on Ben McCollum?  43 years old....4 national titles at D2 (similar to Bo Ryan before he went to Wisconsin), eats, sleeps, and breathes basketball, and a similar personality and resume to Curt Cignetti.

Failing Stevens or Beard, he's my horse.

Not interested in guys who don't fit i.e. Bruce Pearl, Cronin, Buzz Williams

Ben is a winner, but his slow style of basketball is not fun to watch from what I gather. Never really liked the Tony Bennet, Bo Ryan slow offense. I’m scared that the better athletes will not want to play that way and we end up below expectations.  I’d say with him we would be a tournament team every year, which is a hell of an improvement. However,  he would be a little farther down on my list for now. 

[JSHoosier 21,600]

1 hour ago, JerryYeagley23 said:

Michigan AD spoke on a podcast today and stated an updated contract is in the works for Dusty May. Not surprising. 

Not surprising at all. The theory that he wanted a lower buyout in case IU opened up didn't really pass the smell test to me. If we wanted him we should moved last year.

[Muskie plays the four 664]

19 minutes ago, Old Friend said:

Rather than scroll over 988 pages...

What are opinions on Ben McCollum?  43 years old....4 national titles at D2 (similar to Bo Ryan before he went to Wisconsin), eats, sleeps, and breathes basketball, and a similar personality and resume to Curt Cignetti.

Failing Stevens or Beard, he's my horse.

Not interested in guys who don't fit i.e. Bruce Pearl, Cronin, Buzz Williams

I'm all about Mcollum it's pretty basketball. Watched him live at ISU and was easy to tell who was running the show. Going to be a problem if he ends up at Iowa 

[Dave from Dayton 3,892]

4 hours ago, Bowhunter said:

Ben is a winner, but his slow style of basketball is not fun to watch from what I gather. Never really liked the Tony Bennet, Bo Ryan slow offense. I’m scared that the better athletes will not want to play that way and we end up below expectations.  I’d say with him we would be a tournament team every year, which is a hell of an improvement. However,  he would be a little farther down on my list for now. 

Here it is folk.  Which do you want?

Better athletes or better basketball players.

Reminds me of the RMK platitude:  Mental over physical as 3 to 1.

But that is not where I am.  I want a coach that understands Xs and Os and can get the best out of matchups.  And one that is a winner at IU.  

Not fun to watch, huh? Yeah, I guess defense is not fun to watch.  Nor is sharing the ball and passing./s

  I want winners.  

Bob Knight's teams must have been not fun to watch.  Could have fooled me and I was there when they went undefeated.  They refused to lose.  Not fun to watch.

 We need a coach that is a winner.   It would be really nice if that coach did not have a lot of, uhm, issues that would possibly hurt the school's image...funding...and scare off recruits.  Would be nice if that coach would be able to change and adjust depending on the team makeup and the opponents.

[MrBBall 514]

7 hours ago, Demo said:

That’s the one thing I’m absolutely not worried about. Dolson would have known 11 months ago that where we are now was well within range of outcomes. I can’t imagine he hasn’t spent that time profiling what they want, researching at least some obvious candidates and developing a hiring process that he could just flip a switch on. Anyone he would presumably  have interest in other than Stevens has at least 6 more weeks of their season left. So, if it’s not Stevens, and count me in the I’ll believe it when he’s at a presser in AH and not before camp, this is gonna go on for probably 8 weeks, minimum. 

And do t forget it doesn’t have to be Brad. Could be his wife meeting again with Scott and possibly Pam. I’d bet that more than most. 

[coonhounds 10,096]

Here it is folk.  Which do you want?
Better athletes or better basketball players.
Reminds me of the RMK platitude:  Mental over physical as 3 to 1.
But that is not where I am.  I want a coach that understands Xs and Os and can get the best out of matchups.  And one that is a winner at IU.  
Not fun to watch, huh? Yeah, I guess defense is not fun to watch.  Nor is sharing the ball and passing./s
  I want winners.  
Bob Knight's teams must have been not fun to watch.  Could have fooled me and I was there when they went undefeated.  They refused to lose.  Not fun to watch.
 We need a coach that is a winner.   It would be really nice if that coach did not have a lot of, uhm, issues that would possibly hurt the school's image...funding...and scare off recruits.  Would be nice if that coach would be able to change and adjust depending on the team makeup and the opponents.

To be good in today's game at a school like iu you have to have both. Great athletes who have a great coach. I don't think you can be elite with just great coaching

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[Dave from Dayton 3,892]

7 minutes ago, coonhounds said:

To be good in today's game at a school like iu you have to have both. Great athletes who have a great coach. I don't think you can be elite with just great coaching

Sent from my SM-S926U using Tapatalk
 

It takes all three: Great Coach; athletes; and those basketball players that have drilled fundamentals, understand team play, and are willing to put in the work to do the things winners do.  

Right now we are looking at the coach.  We need a winner.

Let's look at Coach Cignetti.  A winner.  Did he have world-class athletes at his previous gig.  No.  Did he have world-class athletes at IU this year?   Arguably no.  Some really good receivers...the line was pushed around by OSU....

Will he get world-class athletes...maybe.

Sure, basketball is different.  Fewer players make it to the court and impact the game.  And players like XJ and GC are not going to take IU to the next level.  

We need glue guys along with the athletes.  Sure hope those athletes know enough to not dribble when defended by 3.  Yeah, they need quick feet, and smart heads.

[IU Prof 1,516]

Last year around this time lots of folks were hot for Josh Schertz, convinced he was the next big thing while he was guiding Indiana State to a gaudy record in the MVC. Fast forward one year, and he's sitting at 14-11 in the A10. 

So while McCollum is having a great season at Drake, there's no guarantee that he will win at a higher, let alone the highest, level. 

[JF87 1,966]

7 hours ago, JerryYeagley23 said:

Michigan AD spoke on a podcast today and stated an updated contract is in the works for Dusty May. Not surprising. 

Unfortunately, IU missed their window to hire Dusty last year.  The good news is that Brad won an NBA Championship last year and he has one last accomplishment on his bucket list and that is to win an NCAA Championship with IU.  

[5fouls 226]

7 minutes ago, IU Prof said:

Last year around this time lots of folks were hot for Josh Schertz, convinced he was the next big thing while he was guiding Indiana State to a gaudy record in the MVC. Fast forward one year, and he's sitting at 14-11 in the A10. 

So while McCollum is having a great season at Drake, there's no guarantee that he will win at a higher, let alone the highest, level. 

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.

[mdn82 25,782]

6 hours ago, Hovadipo said:

There was one here too. I found it when I became a mod and it’s hidden and buried. All of those pages are just dead links now. 

HoosierReb was truly one of a kind.

[OKHOOSIER 4,995]

5 minutes ago, IU Prof said:

Last year around this time lots of folks were hot for Josh Schertz, convinced he was the next big thing while he was guiding Indiana State to a gaudy record in the MVC. Fast forward one year, and he's sitting at 14-11 in the A10. 

So while McCollum is having a great season at Drake, there's no guarantee that he will win at a higher, let alone the highest, level. 

To be fair to Shertz he also has that team in 4th place that finished second to last last season and has eclipsed last seasons total conference win total. They are also 200 spots better in adjusted defensive efficiency. They have taken a slight step back on offense. McCollum took over a team that went 27-8 last season. The conferences IMO are comparable given the rankings, but the edge probably goes to the A10. Shertz has made clear improvements to a team that was not good last season. McCollum has continued at a program that has won 25+ every season since 2020-21. St. Louis hasn't won 25 in over a decade. 

TL;DR: I still like Shertz and think he will continue building SLU. McCollum is also a good coach, but landed in a much better spot. 

[Mr. Hoosier Pride 1,045]

Last year around this time lots of folks were hot for Josh Schertz, convinced he was the next big thing while he was guiding Indiana State to a gaudy record in the MVC. Fast forward one year, and he's sitting at 14-11 in the A10. 
So while McCollum is having a great season at Drake, there's no guarantee that he will win at a higher, let alone the highest, level. 

Fair point, but where's Schertz's 4 National Titles at any level?

While McCollum might be a question mark; I don't think they're the same.

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[HoosierX 1,757]

6 hours ago, Old Friend said:

Rather than scroll over 988 pages...

What are opinions on Ben McCollum?  43 years old....4 national titles at D2 (similar to Bo Ryan before he went to Wisconsin), eats, sleeps, and breathes basketball, and a similar personality and resume to Curt Cignetti.

Failing Stevens or Beard, he's my horse.

Not interested in guys who don't fit i.e. Bruce Pearl, Cronin, Buzz Williams

Not a fan, for four reasons:

1) Dead last in the country in tempo

2) Doesn’t emphasize threes

3) Will likely take several years to get his system going 

4) I don’t think elite athletes will want to play in his system because of #1 and #2. And in the end, Johnnies and Joes are more important to winning a championship than X’s and O’s.

I don’t want to sit through several years of rebuilding and then have sweet 16 as our ceiling. Obviously all just my opinion, but to me he is Archie Miller 2.0.

[IU Prof 1,516]

26 minutes ago, OKHOOSIER said:

To be fair to Shertz he also has that team in 4th place that finished second to last last season and has eclipsed last seasons total conference win total. They are also 200 spots better in adjusted defensive efficiency. They have taken a slight step back on offense. McCollum took over a team that went 27-8 last season. The conferences IMO are comparable given the rankings, but the edge probably goes to the A10. Shertz has made clear improvements to a team that was not good last season. McCollum has continued at a program that has won 25+ every season since 2020-21. St. Louis hasn't won 25 in over a decade. 

TL;DR: I still like Shertz and think he will continue building SLU. McCollum is also a good coach, but landed in a much better spot. 

Just to be clear, I didn't intend to suggest that Shertz isn't a good coach or won't ultimately be successful. I was just observing that he was last year's McCollum, and now he's not even on our radar.

There are plenty of coaches who have won big at lower levels without it translating to the P4 level. Bo Ryan was the exception, not the rule. 

[str8baller 6,417]

5 minutes ago, HoosierX said:

Not a fan, for four reasons:

1) Dead last in the country in tempo

2) Doesn’t emphasize threes

3) Will likely take several years to get his system going 

4) I don’t think elite athletes will want to play in his system because of #1 and #2. And in the end, Johnnies and Joes are more important to winning a championship than X’s and O’s.

I don’t want to sit through several years of rebuilding and then have sweet 16 as our ceiling. Obviously all just my opinion, but to me he is Archie Miller 2.0.

How did Jay Wright attract enough athletes to win multiple titles, playing so slow? 
 

Also, I’ve got some bad news about some of those Brad Stevens teams…

[IUFAN1976 4,320]

8 hours ago, JerryYeagley23 said:

Michigan AD spoke on a podcast today and stated an updated contract is in the works for Dusty May. Not surprising. 

Still doesn’t mean he will update anything until after the season.  I personally still think DM will be our coach next year.  The BS possibly considering IU seems fun for some to hope for, but I really can’t see him leaving the Celtics, he’s got it too good.  If BS is truly coming here, this needs to get done and announced before the end of the season, IMO

[Stuhoo 85,510]

36 minutes ago, HoosierX said:

Not a fan, for four reasons:

1) Dead last in the country in tempo

2) Doesn’t emphasize threes

3) Will likely take several years to get his system going 

4) I don’t think elite athletes will want to play in his system because of #1 and #2. And in the end, Johnnies and Joes are more important to winning a championship than X’s and O’s.

I don’t want to sit through several years of rebuilding and then have sweet 16 as our ceiling. Obviously all just my opinion, but to me he is Archie Miller 2.0.

McCollum is clearly good, but how about the main reason:

He has never in any way been associated with any D1 program until this year; not as a player, grad student, assistant coach, or head coach. This year he has coached exactly four games against NET top 100 teams. It's almost impossible to be 23-2 and not projected to be in the tourney unless you win your conference tourney, but that's Drake currently.

 

[Scotty R 2,803]

6 hours ago, Old Friend said:

Rather than scroll over 988 pages...

What are opinions on Ben McCollum?  43 years old....4 national titles at D2 (similar to Bo Ryan before he went to Wisconsin), eats, sleeps, and breathes basketball, and a similar personality and resume to Curt Cignetti.

Failing Stevens or Beard, he's my horse.

Not interested in guys who don't fit i.e. Bruce Pearl, Cronin, Buzz Williams

He would be in my top 4 candidates 

[HoosierX 1,757]

20 minutes ago, str8baller said:

How did Jay Wright attract enough athletes to win multiple titles, playing so slow? 
 

Also, I’ve got some bad news about some of those Brad Stevens teams…

How many times did either one finish dead last in tempo? 

I'm not saying he can't be successful, and honestly in the age of NIL the recruiting aspect of it probably matters less. I just think the deck will be stacked against him.