General Coach Candidate News

[Chris007 62,614]

Just now, OldBuddy67 said:

I want to believe this and probably do! With that being said for those with good sources, is Dolson truly being enabled to do his job this time with no outside interference from Buckner and any of the other idiots on the BOT?

100%. Everyone has been told to stay out of the way in multiple ways and times. Let Scott do his job. 

[reconmkd 4,750]

I think the X'verse is possibly losing it! Lmao!

[jimsorgi 1,134]

7 minutes ago, RoadToZion said:

Just turned my phone on after a few days. Nothing new I don’t think. Besides another 500 pages on this thread. Still Brad or Dusty. Why are people talking about Cronin?
 

65% Brad, 30% Dusty, 5% other. I’ll check back in Sunday. 

We just want to trap Cronin to get his pot of gold. 

[Class of '66 Old Fart 92,240]

8 hours ago, RaceToTheTop said:

I think one thing hidden in all of this is that with IU's NIL, pretty much any coach we are talking about getting will have access to get better players/recruits than at any stop they've been at.  There really hasn't been a shortage of talent under Woodson, just a lack of roster construction DESPITE the fact that the style of play should have discouraged many from coming.

But without a quality coach, a purchased roster won't mean crap.  Woody has proven that.  And if we can't start consistently putting a quality product on the court, that NIL money won't last forever at the current levels. 

[Stuhoo 90,368]

23 minutes ago, Shoes_N_Shorts said:

I think this is a great discussion- thanks for the research. 

I'd point out that Indiana St. was 1-4 vs quad 1 in 2024. Drake is 2-0. 

I think McCollum is the real deal, but only time will tell. 

Lots of statistics can be cited to compare Josh Schertz and Ben McCollum. The bottom line? Their resumes are remarkably similar; McCollum has more Division 2 tourney success but a slightly lesser D2 won/loss record, Schertz has much more D1 experience and now experience and success in a better conference. 

Schertz has a much more modern playing style and pace.

If I showed people a blind comparison most would likely choose Schertz, but it's splitting hairs.

So my summary conclusions:

1. Why in the hell are some people so intrigued by the prospect of McCollum but not about Schertz also?
2. Why in the hell would anyone prefer either of them to McDermott, Buzz, McCasland, and many, many others that have substantial Division 1 accomplishments?

My theory? The reason so many are more intrigued by McCollum than Schertz is because

McCollum looks more like this: 

 

Whereas Schertz (and Buzz lol) looks more like this:

[Dave from Dayton 4,082]

2 minutes ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

Duh.  It's Valentine's Day and Philly is the City of Brotherly Love.

Fish Town...feeling strong now!

[JSHoosier 22,243]

I'm not sure those flights mean much, unless I'm missing something (very possible). Looks like the one from Hanscom is arriving in Philly about the time Pfau's is departing Philly.

[ib4iu 570]

54 minutes ago, jeffincol said:

Have no idea

If you look at the Boston airport (Bedford) that is close to Stevens home and where the C’s fly out of there is also a flight to Philadelphia scheduled for later today. 

[OKHOOSIER 5,894]

6 minutes ago, Home Jersey said:

Coaching searches are normally a lot like professional sport league drafts in that much of the time you’re picking based off of projections of future performance, not previous achievement. IU, with the luxury of NIL, can hopefully land a proven P5 commodity this cycle. Archie had a better resume than McCollum on paper but I don’t think he’s a better coach just because he’s spent more time in D1. Probably how highly (or not) you think of D2 ball / P5 assistant vs HC at lower levels, influences how much you like or hate McCollum as a candidate

I’d be fine with McCollum, I just think we all believe it’s a risk we can’t take. We need a proven commodity, which is why I don’t hate the idea of a Cronin or Brownell (yuck) or Buzz as much as the general consensus. They’d come and get us back in the tournament every year, and even if they got canned after 4 years and we did this again, I’m convinced the program would be in a better spot than today. I don’t think we can project that with certainty around BC (though I think he probably will be successful). 

[Home Jersey 16,509]

3 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

Lots of statistics can be cited to compare Josh Schertz and Ben McCollum. The bottom line? Their resumes are remarkably similar; McCollum has more Division 2 tourney success but a slightly lesser D2 win/loss record, Schertz has much more D1experience and now experience and success in a better conference. 

Schertz has a much more modern playing style and pace.

If I showed people a blind comparison most would likely choose Schertz, but it's splitting hairs.

So my summary conclusions:

1. Why in the hell are some people so intrigued by the prospect of McCollum but not about Schertz also?
2. Why in the hell would anyone prefer either of them to McDermott, Buzz, McCasland, and many, many others that have substantial Division 1 accomplishments?

 

This is not my position, but my honest responses to your questions: 

1. Because he won 4 D2 national titles 
2. Because people think he has the upside to win national titles and those coaches, while having higher floors, also have lower ceilings.

I'm willing to take a higher floor with some upside after the last 8 years, but I will be jealous if someone else hits the lotto big time. 

[kottke 919]

29 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

Well then...

• McCollum had a 395-91 D2 record - 81% winning. 
• There's another young coach now in D1 that had a 337-69 record in D2 - 83% winning, 
  • AND had a 32 win season in Division 1 last year, in the same conference that McCollum is in
  • And has stepped up a level this year and is 14-10, 7-4 (for a team that was 13-20, 5-13 the year before he got there) in a much tougher conference.

So tell me, why in the hell is Ben McCollum a better candidate than Josh Schertz? (Answer: He's not).

You are 100% correct and have reminded me that I've completely forgotten about Schertz! Screw McCollum, let's get Schertz!

In fact, last year at this time, I was desperately hoping they'd fire Woody so we wouldn't miss out on May or Schertz as potential replacements. 

I now remember posting this last year:

[Chris007 62,614]

50 minutes ago, jeffincol said:

Just to add more confusion.  Plane going from Bedford, MA to Philly the same time as Pfau's plane. 

This is some good work, Jeff. Really appreciate you. I feel good about this

[Dave from Dayton 4,082]

1 minute ago, kottke said:

You are 100% correct and have reminded me that I've completely forgotten about Schertz! Screw McCollum, let's get Schertz!

In fact, last year at this time, I was desperately hoping they'd fire Woody so we wouldn't miss out on May or Schertz as potential replacements. 

I now remember posting this last year:

In your honor...just started listening to Leo Koettke - Vasoline Machine Gun.  Saw him and then Leon Redbone and Tom Waits in Madison Wisconsin back about '80.  Far out.

[Chris007 62,614]

9 minutes ago, JSHoosier said:

I'm not sure those flights mean much, unless I'm missing something (very possible). Looks like the one from Hanscom is arriving in Philly about the time Pfau's is departing Philly.

I've heard that planes get delayed sometimes. Wonder if one will get delayed till the other one gets there. Anyway, Happy Friday!!

[IUFAN1976 4,320]

25 minutes ago, RoadToZion said:

Just turned my phone on after a few days. Nothing new I don’t think. Besides another 500 pages on this thread. Still Brad or Dusty. Why are people talking about Cronin?
 

65% Brad, 30% Dusty, 5% other. I’ll check back in Sunday. 

Well said, I feel the same.  

[kottke 919]

6 minutes ago, Dave from Dayton said:

In your honor...just started listening to Leo Koettke - Vasoline Machine Gun.  Saw him and then Leon Redbone and Tom Waits in Madison Wisconsin back about '80.  Far out.

Yes! I'm a huge Leo fan (hence my username)! I play fingerstyle guitar myself and he's always been one of my idols. I've also had the good fortune of seeing him live a few times. Redmond and Tom Waits must have been awesome to see as well!

[Hovadipo 61,707]

21 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

McCollum looks more like this: 



Stu,

[steubenhoosier 1,919]

1 minute ago, Hovadipo said:

Stu,

Can't decipher which of you or @Stuhoo has the bigger man crush going on. :)

[kottke 919]

2 minutes ago, Hovadipo said:

Stu,

[IU Prof 2,372]

I guess I don't understand why people think there would be so many clandestine meetings in Florida for a deal like this. Yes, I think people would want to meet face to face a couple times, but most negotiating can take place over Zoom these days. There's no reason for people this busy to be wasting hours at a time to fly to/from Florida for a discussion that could be held over Zoom in 30 minutes.