The things I hope are thought about when hiring the next head coach:
A good coach is like a good golf swing. There are so many things that have to happen, in order, for a swing to work as it should. I'm sure the same applies to a coach.
1. The foundation of Iowa's next coach should be that he fits well into Iowa culture. I don't want to see a bull in a china shop, but he shouldn't be a stepping stone either. He needs to be the kind of guy who will fight for his team. Absolutely no bus rolling is allowed. Every time I see a coach bus rolling his team I think, this is a guy on the way out.
2. He needs to be a team builder. Role players are fine as long as they work towards the same goal. I actually thought Fran was great at team building but the last couple of seasons have slipped away from him. Given the unfortunate circumstances I can understand how his family came first. Still, maybe that would have been a good time to step aside and let someone else give the team the attention it requires.
3. The next coach obviously needs to be a great recruiter and surround himself with asst. coaches who can find the guys the team needs. Iowa's recruits don't need to be four and five star kids to find success. The next coach will understand it's not about finding and recruiting great players, it's about finding good players who play within a system. If one of those players becomes a star it shouldn't be at the expense of the team's chemistry. I always tend to think of Princeton as one of the teams that can occasionally catch lighting in a bottle. When they are hitting, Princeton is a fun team to watch.
I'm sure there's a lot more to consider. I'm very much looking forward to finding out who will be the next coach and I'm excited, once again, about the possibilities of Iowa Basketball. Go Hawks!
A good coach is like a good golf swing. There are so many things that have to happen, in order, for a swing to work as it should. I'm sure the same applies to a coach.
1. The foundation of Iowa's next coach should be that he fits well into Iowa culture. I don't want to see a bull in a china shop, but he shouldn't be a stepping stone either. He needs to be the kind of guy who will fight for his team. Absolutely no bus rolling is allowed. Every time I see a coach bus rolling his team I think, this is a guy on the way out.
2. He needs to be a team builder. Role players are fine as long as they work towards the same goal. I actually thought Fran was great at team building but the last couple of seasons have slipped away from him. Given the unfortunate circumstances I can understand how his family came first. Still, maybe that would have been a good time to step aside and let someone else give the team the attention it requires.
3. The next coach obviously needs to be a great recruiter and surround himself with asst. coaches who can find the guys the team needs. Iowa's recruits don't need to be four and five star kids to find success. The next coach will understand it's not about finding and recruiting great players, it's about finding good players who play within a system. If one of those players becomes a star it shouldn't be at the expense of the team's chemistry. I always tend to think of Princeton as one of the teams that can occasionally catch lighting in a bottle. When they are hitting, Princeton is a fun team to watch.
I'm sure there's a lot more to consider. I'm very much looking forward to finding out who will be the next coach and I'm excited, once again, about the possibilities of Iowa Basketball. Go Hawks!
