General Coach Candidate News

[kottke 866]

6 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

Cignetti was a P5 assistant coach for many years, including for Nick Saban at Alabama!

McCollum has never been a division one assistant coach. If McCollum had been a multi year assistant coach for Coach K, then this would be a completely different discussion and he would be a great candidate.

I’m very torn on McCollum. If it’s not Brad, Dusty, Oats (highly unlikely), there’s part of me that’s thinking let’s roll the dice with McCollum. I have a weakness for the young coach who can be here 20+ years.

However, as we all know, they absolutely can’t mess this hire up. He’s a pretty big gamble, but could also be a grand slam.

[Jet812 63]

1 hour ago, Uspshoosier said:

Bad fit maybe.    Since then he went to Creighton and the Big East which is a Power 4 conference and has won consistently.    

What about ISU made it a bad fit?  Do the same conditions exist at IU?

[TargaFlorio 90]

1 hour ago, Juwan Moye said:

To the point:

Yes, Cignetti was a great hire and showed some coaches can make the leap from lower level competition to higher level competition. But this isn’t definitive and is not indicative of how we should pursue our basketball hire.

The football program has always been a laughing stock whereas, at least historically, the basketball program is top tier. This is why the approach should be different and IU should start at the absolutely highest level when considering candidates.

Too often schools and pro teams try to do copycat hires. "Coach Cig was super successful so let's find a basketball version of Cig!" Juwan Howard had a nice start at Michigan, so schools (including IU) said "we need to find our version of Juwan." We didn't set out to hire Woodson but Howard's success gave more credence to his candidacy when other names fell away. Both Howard and Woodson have now flamed out. 

[RoadToZion 786]

On 2/11/2025 at 2:02 PM, RoadToZion said:

Going off the grid for a week and a half in Vietnam so I’ll leave you with this.

My gut tells me Stevens will be our next coach. ✌️ 

Checking in from Ho Chi Minh. How we feeling? 

[MrBBall 330]

1 minute ago, RoadToZion said:

Checking in from Ho Chi Minh. How we feeling? 

More importantly, sir, is how are you feeling?

[GP711 543]

Morning fellow Hoosiers. Just wanted to give a quick update on where things are from my point of view.

Obviously we all know brad has his 2 weeks to decide. We knew this would come at some point. From my point of view, i think more things have to go wrong for him to say no then things have to go right for him to say yes. We know he missing coaching and teaching, we gave brad everything he said he needed. His son could come play for him here at iu. Brad knows it's his last chance. I still think Scott will close him.

With that being said, while brad can say yes at anytime, he can also say no. In Scott we trust!

[RoadToZion 786]

1 minute ago, MrBBall said:

More importantly, sir, is how are you feeling?

Buzzed.

[Golfman25 6,099]

15 minutes ago, RaceToTheTop said:

If you only want coaches who won a title that are on the move, who you want?  Pretty small list.

Just a sarcastic comment on the over the top love for Stevens.  There are plenty of guys who could do the job.  
 

My real concern with Stevens his whether he really wants to do it,   2 weeks to decide is too long.  

[Demo 21,247]

1 minute ago, RoadToZion said:

Checking in from Ho Chi Minh. How we feeling? 

I had to scrape ice off my windows this morning. I don’t care if Stevens comes or not, you’ve already won. 

[Stuhoo 84,330]

18 minutes ago, kottke said:

I’m very torn on McCollum. If it’s not Brad, Dusty, Oats (highly unlikely), there’s part of me that’s thinking let’s roll the dice with McCollum. I have a weakness for the young coach who can be here 20+ years.

However, as we all know, they absolutely can’t mess this hire up. He’s a pretty big gamble, but could also be a grand slam.

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).

[HinnyHoosier 5,360]

35 minutes ago, Pagoda said:

Looks like he got bit by a zombie and is in the process of turning into one.

There were so many to choose from but I'm glad I found that particular picture of him lol

[MrBBall 330]

3 minutes ago, RoadToZion said:

Buzzed.

Proper for SE Asia in Feb

[Unexpectedflash 1,232]

Can any McCollum fan tell me if his D2 teams ever took 25ish 3s a game? I know someone will say it doesn’t matter he just wins but i think that does matter at higher levels.  I’ll be hoping he changes his coaching style if not and I’m kind of tired of that

[HoosierPapi4 69]

10 minutes ago, RoadToZion said:

Buzzed.

Any new word on this fine Friday morning? 

[Dave from Dayton 3,642]

13 minutes ago, RoadToZion said:

Checking in from Ho Chi Minh. How we feeling? 

Chao.

Try the BBQ on the stick from the street vendors!  

 

[Jet812 63]

5 minutes ago, Golfman25 said:

Just a sarcastic comment on the over the top love for Stevens.  There are plenty of guys who could do the job.  
 

My real concern with Stevens his whether he really wants to do it,   2 weeks to decide is too long.  

Agreed.  He has known this day would come, for at least a year, the longer this drags out the more likely it indicates reluctance & that he or others need convincing.  I’m an admitted skeptic & hope I’m wrong, but if he’s coming, I think the deal is already done. This is possible, but imo, unlikely.  The longer it drags on, the less likely. The good news is, that we’ll know well before the season is over, giving plenty of time to pursue other options.

[MrBBall 330]

14 minutes ago, RoadToZion said:

Buzzed.

What’s the good word on coaching from your end?

[LamarCheeks 20,474]

14 minutes ago, TargaFlorio said:

Too often schools and pro teams try to do copycat hires. "Coach Cig was super successful so let's find a basketball version of Cig!" Juwan Howard had a nice start at Michigan, so schools (including IU) said "we need to find our version of Juwan." We didn't set out to hire Woodson but Howard's success gave more credence to his candidacy when other names fell away. Both Howard and Woodson have now flamed out. 

TBH, I don't think Howard's early success had anything to do with what IU did. Quinn Buckner pushed through the hiring of his friend -- that's what IU did. Howard was 42-17 in his first two years. He could've been 17-42 and it wouldn't have had any effect on our decision. That was all about Buckner bullying through the hiring of his old pal. 

[coonhounds 9,844]

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

Isnt this when one of our insiders should jump in and say. ITS ALL HAPPENING!

Sent from my SM-S926U using Tapatalk

[Dave from Dayton 3,642]

9 minutes ago, Jet812 said:

Agreed.  He has known this day would come, for at least a year, the longer this drags out the more likely it indicates reluctance & that he or others need convincing.  I’m an admitted skeptic & hope I’m wrong, but if he’s coming, I think the deal is already done. This is possible, but imo, unlikely.  The longer it drags on, the less likely. The good news is, that we’ll know well before the season is over, giving plenty of time to pursue other options.

What's the hurry?

Just because fans want an answer.  Immediate gratification R us.

Maybe Brad has to get back from his meeting with the Lealtor checking out houses on Lake Monroe.  Maybe Brad's better half is seeking to become the representative of all of the basketball players on the Pacers as well as the Celtics.   Maybe Brad wants two weeks and other coaches are still coaching games.  

Patience grasshopper.