General Coach Candidate News

[Hoosierfan1901 7,442]

2 minutes ago, go iu bb said:

The problem is that they were at the end of the season instead of the beginning. It's unlikely that he'll get another year. This is one thing the NCAA has actually been consistent on.

Unfortunately..

[str8baller 6,619]

1 hour ago, Silat Player said:

There are probably a hundred coaches out there that can get IU an occasional league title

I think up until Archie every 4 yr coach going back to forever had won a league title and maybe made the tourney too. 
 

God Archie sucked. And Woody isn’t much better in that regard.

[AH1971 2,206]

1 minute ago, Unexpectedflash said:

I have no way to verify one way or the other but I don't think that's true but whatever 

From somebody who regularly used to travel to Omaha for work, I'm telling you it's true. UConn and St John's are the only other two BE schools who compete. 

[Unexpectedflash 1,387]

1 minute ago, AH1971 said:

From somebody who regularly used to travel to Omaha for work, I'm telling you it's true. UConn and St John's are the only other two BE schools who compete. 

Lol I literally live here 

[IU Prof 1,745]

It's all a matter of perspective. Would I rather have Brad, Otz, Dusty, or Drew? Sure.

But are we in a good position if McDermott or Cronin are the floor for this search? Absolutely.

Either one would be the best coach at IU since Sampson.

So yes, by all means take a swing at all the HR candidates. But if McDermott is willing to come, he's a really nice fallback option.

[AH1971 2,206]

1 minute ago, Unexpectedflash said:

Lol I literally live here 

Then you’d know there’s a ton of Berkshire money running through that school. If Buffett himself ever decide to get involved personally, it’d be game over.

[LamarCheeks 21,186]

11 minutes ago, Motley's said:

Wasn't being negative at all. I've never understood how posting factual stats is viewed as positive or negative. 

Relax. Lighten up a little.

It was a joke in reference to this always fun rant by Slick Rick. 
 

 

[DSUMMITT 198]

14 minutes ago, Hoosierfan1901 said:

I think he said he was around the cutoff since he played 10 games. And I think Illinois ended up playing 33 back in 2022-2023

Such a pain to figure out (which games are considered exempt always seemed to be the argument for real number of games played)   - I remember all the info surrounding if X would get his extra year (he played 11? 10.5 I think but it rounds up) - I remember being surprised by how much this actually happens in college football and how often they rubber stamp it. Hopefully it works out,

[AZ Hoosier 9,589]

This should spark some debate...

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/44099476/mens-college-basketball-2025-mid-low-major-coaches-power-conference-potential-2025

THE LIST
 

1. Ryan Odom, VCU Rams
This was a fairly unanimous pick for the top spot. He checks nearly every box. He was a high-major assistant at Virginia Tech, led both UMBC and Utah State to the NCAA tournament as a head coach, and has VCU poised to win the Atlantic 10 regular-season championship. He also has an NCAA tournament win under his belt from when he led UMBC to its 16-over-1 upset against Virginia. He has the name, the pedigree and the track record. He has been linked with Virginia and will likely be named as a candidate at Villanova should it open.

2. Alan Huss, High Point Panthers
Huss' head coaching résumé isn't nearly as long as Odom's, but he is now 2-for-2 when it comes to winning regular-season championships. He's 53-14 in two seasons at High Point, going 27-5 in the Big South. He has high-major recruiting experience from his time as the head coach at high school powerhouse La Lumiere, as well as six seasons as an assistant at Creighton. High Point does have a resource advantage over the rest of the league, but the two-year dominance is noteworthy. As one agent said, "He's playing with pocket aces, but he's [still] very good."

3. Bucky McMillan, Samford Bulldogs
"Bucky Ball" nearly took the country by storm last March, when a blown call against 4-seed Kansas in the first round cost Samford a potential upset win. But the longtime high school coach did lead the Bulldogs to back-to-back SoCon regular-season titles and an NCAA tournament appearance in his first four seasons in charge, before notching his fourth straight 20-win season this year. He plays an up-tempo style, and while some have concerns about whether that can translate to a higher level, those were outweighed by the credit many give him for winning at a place where nobody had won in 25 years.

4. Ben McCollum, Drake Bulldogs
McCollum is one of the more fascinating candidates of this coaching cycle, and a name we're already seeing linked to potential vacancies in the Big Ten. He was wildly successful at the Division II level at Northwest Missouri State, winning four national championships before leaving last spring to replace Darian DeVries at Drake. McCollum brought most of his Division II team with him and promptly led the Bulldogs to the Missouri Valley regular-season title and a likely NCAA tournament appearance. The only concern from voters was his lack of Division I recruiting experience.

5. Jerrod Calhoun, Utah State Aggies
Losing back-to-back games by a combined 44 points recently wasn't ideal, but Calhoun is likely to take Utah State dancing in his first season at the helm. The Aggies have been an assembly line when it comes to producing high-level coaches the past few years, with Craig Smith, Ryan Odom, Danny Sprinkle and now Calhoun all going to Logan and winning quickly. All that shouldn't necessarily count against Calhoun, given that he won a league title at Youngstown State in 2023 and won 46 games over his last two seasons with the Penguins.

6. Niko Medved, Colorado State Rams
Medved has a strong résumé at three different schools: He built up the program at Furman before leaving for Drake, turned things around at Drake for a season and then left for Colorado State, where he has gone to the NCAA tournament in two of the past three seasons. This campaign looked lost after 10 games, but the Rams have won 10 of 12 to get back into tourney consideration. It's Medved's fifth 20-win season in the past six years.

7. Russell Turner, UC Irvine Anteaters
Turner was a hot name on the carousel a few years ago but is once again an intriguing option after leading the Anteaters to back-to-back Big West regular-season titles -- while sitting one game back of UC San Diego this season. Irvine has won seven of the past 11 conference titles under Turner and gone to a pair of NCAA tournaments. He also has plenty of high-major assistant experience at Wake Forest and Stanford and was an assistant for the Golden State Warriors for several seasons.

8. Takayo Siddle, UNC Wilmington Seahawks
Siddle has yet to get over the final hump and earn a trip to the NCAA tournament, but he has had consistent success at UNCW since taking over in 2020. An assistant under Kevin Keatts at both UNCW and NC State, Siddle struggled in his first season with the Seahawks but has since rattled off four straight 20-win seasons, winning 96 games and one regular-season championship in the process. If Siddle could guide the Seahawks to a CAA tourney title this season, he could be an interesting name to watch.

9. Tony Skinn, George Mason Patriots
Skinn was part of the George Mason team that went on a historic Final Four run as an 11-seed in 2006, and after several seasons playing professionally overseas and spending time as an assistant at three different high-major programs, he returned to the Patriots in 2023 when Kim English left for Providence. All he has done in the two seasons since is win 20 games in each and position George Mason in the regular-season title race.

10. Eric Olen, UC San Diego Tritons
Olen has been at UCSD since 2004, spending a decade as an assistant coach and then leading the Tritons in the move from Division II to Division I in 2020. In the Tritons' first year of eligibility for the NCAA tournament, they have been one of the best mid-major teams in the country, with Olen guiding them to a 26-4 record, the lead in the Big West and a legitimate chance at an at-large bid.

11. Daniyal Robinson, Cleveland State Vikings
A difficult final month cost Cleveland State the Horizon League regular-season title, but Robinson has now won 20-plus games in each of his three seasons in charge and had a pair of top-two finishes. He also has plenty of high-major experience from two different stints as an assistant coach at Iowa State. If he gets to the NCAA tournament, it's not hard to see him getting in the mix.

12. Ross Hodge, North Texas Mean Green
Hodge has a tremendous reputation in the coaching industry, even if he has been a Division I head coach for less than two seasons. The Mean Green went to the NIT last season but are on Memphis' heels in the AAC standings this season, winning 15 of their past 18 games entering the week. Hodge doesn't have any high-major experience, but he worked under Grant McCasland at both Arkansas State and North Texas and has strong ties in the Texas area.

13. Matt Langel, Colgate Raiders
Had we done this exercise six months ago, Langel likely would have been much higher on the list. One agent still had him in contention for his No. 1 choice. Prior to this season, Langel had guided Colgate to five Patriot League regular-season championships in the past six years, and each of the past five NCAA tournaments. This season, however, the Raiders are just 13-18 overall and 10-8 in the league. With multiple Big 5 schools expected to open this season, Langel could still make a move. But, as one agent said, "He picked a bad year for a bad year."

14. Preston Spradlin, James Madison Dukes
Spradlin's trajectory is clearly on the way up. After leading Morehead State to two regular-season Ohio Valley championships and two NCAA tournaments in his final four years with the Eagles, Spradlin replaced Mark Byington at James Madison -- and immediately won a share of the Sun Belt title. "I don't know how the best Spradlin was offered the last few years was James Madison," one agent said. "It's crazy to me."

15. Drew Valentine, Loyola Chicago Ramblers
Another name that would have likely been higher on the list had we done this in the preseason, Valentine has actually done a pretty good job this season given the Ramblers' injuries. Entering the week, Loyola Chicago was tied for third in the Atlantic 10, one year after winning a share of the regular-season title. Valentine also led the Ramblers to the NCAA tournament in his first season at the helm in 2022. He has a lot of positives on his résumé, and it seems like only a matter of time before he makes the jump.

16. Eric Henderson, South Dakota State Jackrabbits
Scott Nagy and T.J. Otzelberger both had it rolling in Brookings, South Dakota, and Henderson has continued the tradition. In the past five seasons, he has led the Jackrabbits to at least a share of four Summit League titles and two NCAA tournament appearances. They finished third in the standings this season, but it was yet another 20-win season. He has also been linked to high-major jobs in the past.

17. Mike Morrell, UNC Asheville Bulldogs
Morrell was a longtime Shaka Smart assistant who made the jump to UNC Asheville in 2018. After going 4-27 in Year 1, Morrell quickly flipped the program and has now rattled off three straight 20-win seasons -- including a regular-season title and NCAA tournament appearance in 2023. The Bulldogs finished tied for second this season, despite losing two-time Player of the Year Drew Pember. "This might have been his best year," one agent said, "to lose Pember and do this."

18. Bryan Hodgson, Arkansas State Red Wolves
Hodgson seems well-suited for the modern era of college basketball, excelling at stockpiling talent in the transfer portal. He was an assistant under Nate Oats at Alabama for four seasons, and he has carried over some of the same offensive principles: pace and shooting 3s. Arkansas State made a run to the league title game last season and won a share of the regular-season title this season, also notching a road win at Memphis in December.

19. Mitch Henderson, Princeton Tigers
Henderson is another coach who would have likely been higher at this time last year, when Princeton was coming off its third consecutive Ivy League regular-season title, and he was just one year removed from making a Sweet 16 run in the 2023 NCAA tournament as a 15-seed. He's been at Princeton since 2011, and this will be just the second time he has finished lower than third in the league. He spent 11 years at Northwestern as an assistant and could be a name there if Chris Collins ever left.

20. Bob Richey, Furman Paladins
Did Richey miss his best chance to jump? That's a popular concern among industry sources after he went to the 2023 NCAA tournament and beat Virginia in the first round -- capping a six-year stretch in which he won at least 22 games five times, earned a share of the 2023 SoCon regular-season title and never finished lower than third in the standings. But he opted to stay at Furman and has now finished fifth in the league in back-to-back seasons. The résumé is still good enough, however.

Others receiving mentions: John Griffin, Bucknell; John Becker, Vermont; James Jones, Yale; Brian Wardle, Bradley; Josh Schertz, Saint Louis; Dustin Kerns, App State; Dan Earl, Chattanooga; Darris Nichols, Radford; Brad Korn, Southeast Missouri State; Mark Schmidt, St. Bonaventure; Pat Skerry, Towson; Talvin Hester, Louisiana Tech; Duane Simpkins, American University; Brian Earl, William & Mary; Chris Markwood, Maine; Steve Smiley, Northern Colorado

[RaceToTheTop 29,006]

29 minutes ago, Artie86 said:

....I heard he may be looking for a way to get another year at IU.

He is but I am going to say 99.99999% he doesn't get one.  The one year in question he was over the 30% limit AND was playing games at the end of the year.  I can't think of a single player that has gotten eligibility back in those circumstances.

[Ryno6284 3,684]

Can we just get a coach who can win more of the “didn’t think we had a chance” games and lose less of the “we should’ve beat them” games? Is that too much of an ask?

[RaceToTheTop 29,006]

1 minute ago, DSUMMITT said:

Such a pain to figure out (which games are considered exempt always seemed to be the argument for real number of games played)   - I remember all the info surrounding if X would get his extra year (he played 11? 10.5 I think but it rounds up) - I remember being surprised by how much this actually happens in college football and how often they rubber stamp it. Hopefully it works out,

But Goode played games in the second half of the year (think he played in the last few games).  I think his season was kind of stop and start with the injuries.  I do not think there is any precedent for a player getting a redshirt year in those circumstances.

[Pagoda 2,968]

58 minutes ago, LamarCheeks said:

All the negativity on this board SUCKS. 

Folks, I got news for ya: Arthur Schabinger is not walking through that door. Red McManus is not walking through that door. Tom Apke is not walking through that door. 

The sooner you realize that, the better this program -- and this board -- will be. 

The only thing that's gonna turn this around is being upbeat and positive. 

I can only speak for myself, but I think Scott will identify the right candidate and he and Pam he will get them to sign.  They’ve done it before and they can do it again, especially with IUBB being more appealing that it has been historically due to NIL/rev share/media deal.

[Scotty R 2,913]

I see a lot of post saying we have to get a coach who consistently will have us contending for titles, which I agree with. What I see as a problem is that every candidate that is brought up people are saying that coach hasn't show the ability to compete for championships. . My thinking is the coaches who have won championships or are a contender every year are not coming here. Even coaches people like on here like TJO or Beard hasn't shown the ability to be a contender every year. We are going to have to hire a coach and hope with our resources they will be in better position to be a contender every year.

[Uspshoosier 51,397]

16 minutes ago, AH1971 said:

From somebody who regularly used to travel to Omaha for work, I'm telling you it's true. UConn and St John's are the only other two BE schools who compete. 

Marquette has money on par with the top of the Big East 

[Asha’man 336]

33 minutes ago, Silat Player said:

I can absolutely agree with that. I wouldn't hate a McDermott hire. He's a solid coach.

I just feel like if you're going to hire a 60 year old coach, he'd better be a guy who can get you a title soon. He isn't going to develop anymore. He's a completely finished product.

And no more "bridge" talk. Such a stupid and unnecessary idea, especially in the age of NIL and the transfer portal. 

You make the case we should hire a 60 year old coach every time. No more bridge talk bc of NIL. You’re 100% right. We don’t want a coach who has to learn and grow. We need a coach who knows what he needs to win, spend the NIL to get it done, then go win. See Cignetti for it working at IU. Why take a flier on potential. If a coach is here for 6-7 years but can win, then that’s all we need. The infrastructure is in place at IU. it just needs a strong coach. Then go hire a ready made, strong coach, every 6-7 years. If we can get a younger proven winner, even better. 

[Kentuckysucks 3,603]

7 minutes ago, AZ Hoosier said:

This should spark some debate...

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/44099476/mens-college-basketball-2025-mid-low-major-coaches-power-conference-potential-2025

Buckyball would be so fun to watch.  And with his style and personality the recruits would line up to play for him especially with our NIL.  But Samford to IU is going to be too big of a jump for Dolson to make.

[Hovadipo 60,043]

1 minute ago, Uspshoosier said:

Marquette has money on par with the top of the Big East 

^^^^ From the IndyStar in 2022:

Big East finances

Rankings by basketball budgets (head coaches’ salaries in parentheses)

$14.04 million, Marquette ($3.29 million)

$13.81 million, Georgetown ($3.40 million)

$13.02 million, Villanova ($6.19 million)

$12.45 million, Providence ($3.45 million)

$11.55 million, St. John’s ($1.63 million)

$10.61 million, UConn ($2.975 million)

 $9.36 million, Creighton ($1.93 million)

 $9.21 million, Xavier ($1.70 million)

 $8.04 million, Seton Hall ($2.31 million)

 $6.62 million, DePaul ($1.42 million)

 $5.85 million, Butler ($1.60 million)

Sources: Budgets are from U.S. Department of Education’s Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA). Salaries are from Column E, Schedule J of universities’ IRS Form 990 (except for University of Connecticut, which is from Dan Hurley’s contract through open-records request).

[DSUMMITT 198]

7 minutes ago, RaceToTheTop said:

He is but I am going to say 99.99999% he doesn't get one.  The one year in question he was over the 30% limit AND was playing games at the end of the year.  I can't think of a single player that has gotten eligibility back in those circumstances.

He played last 10 games - so weird - didn't realize that:
 

 

GP	GS	MIN	FG	FG%	3PT	3P%	FT	FT%	OR	DR	REB	AST	BLK	STL	PF	TO	PTS
28	0	8.9	0.6-2.0	32.7	0.6-1.5	37.2	0.1-0.2	66.7	0.6	1.2	1.8	0.5	0.1	0.0	0.9	0.3	2.0
10	0	13.8	1.5-3.1	48.4	0.8-1.9	42.1	0.2-0.2	100.0	0.4	1.2	1.6	0.4	0.4	0.5	1.7	0.2	4.0
38	7	20.1	1.9-4.7	39.7	1.6-4.1	38.9	0.4-0.6	65.2	1.1	2.5	3.6	0.6	0.1	0.3	1.8	0.5	5.7
30	14	26.3	2.9-6.8	43.3	2.0-4.9	41.2	1.4-1.5	91.3	0.7	2.2	2.9	0.6	0.2	0.8	2.4	0.4	9.3
106	21	18.3	1.8-4.4	41.0	1.4-3.5	39.8	0.6-0.7	81.8	0.8	2.0	2.7	0.6	0.2	0.4	1.7	0.4	5.6

 

Not sure why he doesn't have a Covid year? Was he part of the first class not to get that?

Google AI agrees with you:

Eligibility requirements 

 

• The injury or illness must be season-ending
• The injury or illness must occur before the season's halfway point
• The athlete must not participate in more than 30% of the season's games

[OKHOOSIER 5,252]

3 minutes ago, Hovadipo said:

^^^^ From the IndyStar in 2022:

Big East finances

Rankings by basketball budgets (head coaches’ salaries in parentheses)

$14.04 million, Marquette ($3.29 million)

$13.81 million, Georgetown ($3.40 million)

$13.02 million, Villanova ($6.19 million)

$12.45 million, Providence ($3.45 million)

$11.55 million, St. John’s ($1.63 million)

$10.61 million, UConn ($2.975 million)

 $9.36 million, Creighton ($1.93 million)

 $9.21 million, Xavier ($1.70 million)

 $8.04 million, Seton Hall ($2.31 million)

 $6.62 million, DePaul ($1.42 million)

 $5.85 million, Butler ($1.60 million)

Sources: Budgets are from U.S. Department of Education’s Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA). Salaries are from Column E, Schedule J of universities’ IRS Form 990 (except for University of Connecticut, which is from Dan Hurley’s contract through open-records request).

So McDermott is doing this with money that is decidedly mid. Pretty impressive.