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Dane Fife leaves IU staff

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9 minutes ago, btownqb said:

Thats honestly your take from that? 

I can't really say I have a lot of experience reading Asst. Coaches farewell statements, but it seems like a snub to not even mention the fellow coaching staff. Even if he didn't mean it, I would assume that if there was any resemblance of a good relationship still there, he'd acknowledge them for all the work/time they put in together this season. 

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1 hour ago, HoosierTrav said:

The head coach has to be the one who sets the standard operating procedures. John Beilein had similar standards. Worked out ok for him. You should be more concerned about insubordination from staff. Says more about Fife’s character by breaking the rule than it does Woody making the rule.

Well I am guessing there may have been a miscommunication.  I don't know.  Never heard of the issue before.  And sure, your staff needs to follow directions.  

But with that said, I do think it raises a potential issue with Woodson.  5 stars are getting offers left and right.  Not sure getting on campus is required.  You want them on campus to close the deal.   I am not sure IU has the pull to required a campus visit first with the top recruits.  IMHO.  

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3 minutes ago, IGotMeAWoody said:

I can't really say I have a lot of experience reading Asst. Coaches farewell statements, but it seems like a snub to not even mention the fellow coaching staff. Even if he didn't mean it, I would assume that if there was any resemblance of a good relationship still there, he'd acknowledge them for all the work/time they put in together this season. 

That’s my take as well. Easy to acknowledge them and chose not to. Doesn’t have to mean anything but I think it is telling

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1 minute ago, Golfman25 said:

Well I am guessing there may have been a miscommunication.  I don't know.  Never heard of the issue before.  And sure, your staff needs to follow directions.  

But with that said, I do think it raises a potential issue with Woodson.  5 stars are getting offers left and right.  Not sure getting on campus is required.  You want them on campus to close the deal.   I am not sure IU has the pull to required a campus visit first with the top recruits.  IMHO.  

It was just for the first summer for Indiana high school players going into their junior year of high school. 

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1 minute ago, Golfman25 said:

Well I am guessing there may have been a miscommunication.  I don't know.  Never heard of the issue before.  And sure, your staff needs to follow directions.  

But with that said, I do think it raises a potential issue with Woodson.  5 stars are getting offers left and right.  Not sure getting on campus is required.  You want them on campus to close the deal.   I am not sure IU has the pull to required a campus visit first with the top recruits.  IMHO.  

I agree. If I’m Fife and I’ve been recruiting 4 and 5 star college talent and being successful at it for over a decade and then someone comes in having never recruited a minute in college tells my I cannot do it the way I’ve learned to be successful, I’m pissed

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Just now, Chris007 said:

It was just for the first summer for Indiana high school players going into their junior year of high school. 

That’s a very specific and weird rule to make. So if a player was a sophomore or lived a mile over the boarder into Illinois all would be good!

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10 minutes ago, MikeRoberts said:

That’s a very specific and weird rule to make. So if a player was a sophomore or lived a mile over the boarder into Illinois all would be good!

I guess I should have said top 100 recruits within driving distance. He just wanted to focus on seniors at events & bringing juniors to campus to meet him.

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3 hours ago, Dave from Dayton said:

Peegs and TOS have this. Was he fired? Did he not get along with Woody? Where is he going? Who will replace him? 

No insider information here. But it was painfully apparent that something wasn't clicking on the staff during games. Fife was 'assigned' to Woody. Now Woody can pick his assistant. I have no problem with that.

Frankly, I never understood all the love for Fife as a coach?  So he spent ten years with Izzo.  Big deal.  MSU didn't seem to miss whatever he brought to their team.

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So here's the thing.  Nobody cares about the assistant coaches.  As has been said, they come and they go.  It's not that one is leaving.  It's more the how, than the why.  The whole point with the woodson hire was to build a bridge back to Knight era -- which had all been destroyed by previous administrations with an anti-Knight agenda (rightly or wrongly, doesn't matter).   Then you have a former player, one of the last to play for Knight and the last to play for a Championship.  He spent 10+ years working for a succeful program under a highly respected coach (so could he really be "that bad").  He leaves to go help rebuild his alma matter's program -- bold move right there Cotton.  A year later, he's not just gone, but fired.  There had to be a smoother way out of it.  "Encourage" him to get a head coaching job and wish him well.  Hell give him Thad Matta's job.  Something to make it look less dumpter fire.  Keep the dirty laundry inside the program.  It's a distraction that the progam doesn't need right now.  IMO.  

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I don't spend a lot of time thinking about assistant coaches and don't know specifically what each one does. I pay attention to the product on the floor. I liked Fife as a player, anyone who will bite an opposing players leg is alright by me. But as an assistant coach, I have no idea. When I hired people, outside of their technical skill, their potential fit within my team was most important. If I didn't think they would fit, I didn't hire them. Right now, the most important thing is for CMW to find those people. It's his ship and the only thing that matters is that he has people around him who are on the same page.

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13 minutes ago, MikeRoberts said:

That’s a very specific and weird rule to make. So if a player was a sophomore or lived a mile over the boarder into Illinois all would be good!

Basically he was trying to get it back to where receiving an IU offer should he a privilege and make it mean something again to get an IU offer.   Having Indiana kids revive the offer on campus would add to that.    Sounds good in theory but I can’t see that trend continuing for him or the staff.    Booker was told he couldn’t get an offer until he came on campus and then The optics of IU offering Colvin who didn’t get an offer on campus just looked bad in the eyes of some people that matter.   

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2 minutes ago, tomallenfan1 said:

Don’t know if I’m adding much, but I was able to get some insight from inside the program.

Dane was not a Woody pick but hired simply because of his IU connection. He never fit in with the staff, players, or other staff the entire year. His personality rubbed people the wrong way and he internally expressed the thought he was the next HC in waiting.

His personality was not mean or bigoted, and he was genuinely a nice guy. He showed interest towards the support staff’s roles. and wanted to knows the ins and outs of the program.

… He just was never a part of the team. And this was expected from inside the program. Zero surprise from my source.

Is ”inside the program” a knock off of “inside the hall?” 

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21 minutes ago, Golfman25 said:

Well I am guessing there may have been a miscommunication.  I don't know.  Never heard of the issue before.  And sure, your staff needs to follow directions.  

But with that said, I do think it raises a potential issue with Woodson.  5 stars are getting offers left and right.  Not sure getting on campus is required.  You want them on campus to close the deal.   I am not sure IU has the pull to required a campus visit first with the top recruits.  IMHO.  

Could be the feeling that when a school gives offers left and right, they aren't really that serious about recruits they are giving offers to.  We've certainly been through that where we offered pretty much every high level recruit, spread our resources thin, and missed out on some important ones while getting some in that we ended up not really having spots for and not really having the need for them once they got here.

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I'm kinda shocked how many people seem to think this somehow reflects poorly on Woodson. Look, let's be honest: a LOT of us (not all, clearly, but a lot) assumed, consciously or subconsciously, that Fife was in line to be our next coach. It's only after a rupture like this that it becomes clear just how dysfunctional and problematic it would be to even have that idea floating around. 

It's not hard to envision a scenario in which Fife internalizes that idea and starts sending signals that he thinks it's already his program. Woodson can't allow the perception that he's not in charge, nor should he have to. I'm sure that's an especially sensitive issue considering the perception among *some* fans that IU "settled" for Woodson after the Stevens debacle. So it's completely fair for Woodson to make moves to make it crystal clear who's in charge if he gets the sense that someone in the program doesn't fully understand or respect that. That's not the same as being a prima donna or demanding obsequiousness from the assistants. 

Again, I don't have any inside info, this is all just pure speculation and my gut feeling about what kind of dysfunction there may have been between Woodson and Fife.

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3 minutes ago, Golfman25 said:

So here's the thing.  Nobody cares about the assistant coaches.  As has been said, they come and they go.  It's not that one is leaving.  It's more the how, than the why.  The whole point with the woodson hire was to build a bridge back to Knight era -- which had all been destroyed by previous administrations with an anti-Knight agenda (rightly or wrongly, doesn't matter).   Then you have a former player, one of the last to play for Knight and the last to play for a Championship.  He spent 10+ years working for a succeful program under a highly respected coach (so could he really be "that bad").  He leaves to go help rebuild his alma matter's program -- bold move right there Cotton.  A year later, he's not just gone, but fired.  There had to be a smoother way out of it.  "Encourage" him to get a head coaching job and wish him well.  Hell give him Thad Matta's job.  Something to make it look less dumpter fire.  Keep the dirty laundry inside the program.  It's a distraction that the progam doesn't need right now.  IMO.  

Just a sec.....you want to move him to Thad Matta's job if Woodson feels like he doesn't fit?  I can't think of a worse idea.

In terms of a distraction to the program.....no.  Literally the biggest news today was Lander in the portal, and we all knew that was coming.  

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1 minute ago, Vauxhall and IU said:

I'm kinda shocked how many people seem to think this somehow reflects poorly on Woodson. Look, let's be honest: a LOT of us (not all, clearly, but a lot) assumed, consciously or subconsciously, that Fife was in line to be our next coach. It's only after a rupture like this that it becomes clear just how dysfunctional and problematic it would be to even have that idea floating around. 

It's not hard to envision a scenario in which Fife internalizes that idea and starts sending signals that he thinks it's already his program. Woodson can't allow the perception that he's not in charge, nor should he have to. I'm sure that's an especially sensitive issue considering the perception among *some* fans that IU "settled" for Woodson after the Stevens debacle. So it's completely fair for Woodson to make moves to make it crystal clear who's in charge if he gets the sense that someone in the program doesn't fully understand or respect that. That's not the same as being a prima donna or demanding obsequiousness from the assistants. 

Again, I don't have any inside info, this is all just pure speculation and my gut feeling about what kind of dysfunction there may have been between Woodson and Fife.

I think there’s been very very little here about this reflecting badly on Woody.

And the longer it’s discussed the more it seems not great for Fife.

 

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1 minute ago, brumdog45 said:

Could be the feeling that when a school gives offers left and right, they aren't really that serious about recruits they are giving offers to.  We've certainly been through that where we offered pretty much every high level recruit, spread our resources thin, and missed out on some important ones while getting some in that we ended up not really having spots for and not really having the need for them once they got here.

No question.  There is an art to it.  But requiring kids to get on Campus might be a bit much.  As a preference, sure.  But as a requirement, you're just asking for issues.  It's a "rule" that sets you up to fail.  And if it's in state kids we are talking about, no reason the head coach can't motor on up for a visit -- that will tell you the level of interest.   

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