UNI beats Witchita State again........Ben Jacobsen

[RockEyeState]

Is certainly one of the best coaches in College basketball.

And it pains me to see Wyatt Lohaus, a former Mr Basketball in Iowa, who
was passed over by Iowa for ???

Yep, brady ellingson

Hard to fathom really

 

[Underscore2]

Great win for the Paynntherrssss

 

[Bearhawk0505]

I watched the majority of the game. It was a war and a great game. We could use that film for a lesson on checking out and playing great man to man D.

 

[RockEyeState]

I watched the majority of the game. It was a war and a great game. We could use that film for a lesson on checking out and playing great man to man D.

^^^^THIS^^^

 

[Ronman]

Is certainly one of the best coaches in College basketball.

And it pains me to see Wyatt Lohaus, a former Mr Basketball in Iowa, who
was passed over by Iowa for ???

Yep, brady ellingson

Hard to fathom really

I'm not going to knock Lohaus, but I really don't see how his 4ppg and under 2apg makes him some sort of game changer. I suspect if Ellingson were getting 17 mpg, he could post at least similar stats.

 

[SJeagleEye]

I would take Jacobsen in a heartbeat! They are the opposite of Iowa, as they have gotten better to close the season. Been nice to see them do that.

 

[SJeagleEye]

Oh and Ellingson over Lohaus.

Thank you, I just lost my supper.

 

[Underscore2]

I watched the majority of the game. It was a war and a great game. We could use that film for a lesson on checking out and playing great man to man D.

I only caught this when neither team scored the last 2 minutes of the 2nd half - stuck at 47 each. Not sure if that was good defense or just bad offense. Good thing the rest of the game was so amazing, though, apparently.

 

[Bearhawk0505]

I only caught this when neither team scored the last 2 minutes of the 2nd half - stuck at 47 each. Not sure if that was good defense or just bad offense. Good thing the rest of the game was so amazing, though, apparently.

If you appreciate great intensity, effort,D,and every bucket having to be earned, it was an amazing game. There was very few open looks and tired legs.

 

[RockEyeState]

UNI personifies TEAM basketball.
With wins over ISU, UNC, Witchita St twice, they should be in the Dance.

 

[And1Hawk]

Iowa 84-61 over WSU. No VanVleet so maybe with him that margin is 10-15 instead but still not close.

Great for UNI but the MVC is really, really bad. The loss of Creighton was big. WSU has been very good in past seasons but despite VanVleet/Baker they are not good this year and are getting a bid based on past performance. Who did they beat this year?

Lohaus good kid but no where near a possible difference maker at the B1G/power conference level. Ellenson looks like he may not be either so what's the point in comparing?

 

[Hawk96]

Iowa 84-61 over WSU. No VanVleet so maybe with him that margin is 10-15 instead but still not close.

Great for UNI but the MVC is really, really bad. The loss of Creighton was big. WSU has been very good in past seasons but despite VanVleet/Baker they are not good this year and are getting a bid based on past performance. Who did they beat this year?

Lohaus good kid but no where near a possible difference maker at the B1G/power conference level. Ellenson looks like he may not be either so what's the point in comparing?

There is a chance Ben is coaching in the Big next year. I'd hate to face him 2x/year

 

[And1Hawk]

There is a chance Ben is coaching in the Big next year. I'd hate to face him 2x/year

It's a whole different level. He'd better get to a program that can attract high level players to play for him. The B1G is not the MVC.

 

[skydog0784]

I'm not going to knock Lohaus, but I really don't see how his 4ppg and under 2apg makes him some sort of game changer. I suspect if Ellingson were getting 17 mpg, he could post at least similar stats.

Sometimes you rationalize too much. Lohaus is far superior of a player. You really just need to watch the game. Lohaus passes the eye test, Ellingson not so much.

Not a knock on Ellingson but just not seeing it.

 

[MepoDawg#]

There is a chance Ben is coaching in the Big next year. I'd hate to face him 2x/year

Where?

 

[DavenportHawk8]

It's a whole different level. He'd better get to a program that can attract high level players to play for him. The B1G is not the MVC.

I will say this, he would get the top level talent where ever he is at. He modifies his coaching style to his players. He does not run the same system year in and year out. This year they are much more perimeter oriented, than post. Last year they were dominantly a post feed team. He knows who his playmakers are and game plans for them. He has pipelines up in the Cities and the Chicagoland area. He is like Fran, he spots talent early, but has trouble sealing the deal to come to UNI. He is a great X's and O's coach who can get the best out of his players. He has to be smart where he goes.

If he goes to a Minny/Rutgers/Illinois type set up, he will have to look to transfers to get immediate impact. If he thinks he is getting 4-5 years he is dead wrong. In this conference you have to turn it around in 2-3 years or your gone. So it will be dicey. I think he stays at UNI, he makes good $$ for the valley and I think Marshall is gone from WSU soon. If WSU misses the tourney this year, he is gone and moving onto bigger and better.

 

[JEDN]

If Big Ben is that much of a prize my friends why is he still at UNI!

 

[DavenportHawk8]

If Big Ben is that much of a prize my friends why is he still at UNI!

Greg McDermott scared the crap out of him. I think he saw his former boss get buried at ISU and thought maybe it aint' so bad at UNI. Hell he is making close to a Million dollars at UNI. That's pretty good $$ for the Cedar Valley isn't it?

 

[2432Hawk]

Lohaus had no chance of an Iowa offer from what I heard and it has nothing to do with his playing ability but possibly a liability issue with his heart condition. They didn't feel he'd have medical clearance to compete at Iowa... just something I heard.

 

[Ladell-hawk]

There is a chance Ben is coaching in the Big next year. I'd hate to face him 2x/year

Where?

 

[DavenportHawk8]

Lohaus had no chance of an Iowa offer from what I heard and it has nothing to do with his playing ability but possibly a liability issue with his heart condition. They didn't feel he'd have medical clearance to compete at Iowa... just something I heard.

I hear that while he was in High school and UNI I know is very knowledgable of the situation. You do not see him play a ton of minutes at a time.

The kid is a player and would of loved seeing him in the black and gold, but he is a little undersized. I realize everyone is down on Ellingson right now, but he played at a good school near Milwaukee and held his own. Wasn't he offered by Wisky?

 

[And1Hawk]

I will say this, he would get the top level talent where ever he is at. He modifies his coaching style to his players. He does not run the same system year in and year out. This year they are much more perimeter oriented, than post. Last year they were dominantly a post feed team. He knows who his playmakers are and game plans for them. He has pipelines up in the Cities and the Chicagoland area. He is like Fran, he spots talent early, but has trouble sealing the deal to come to UNI. He is a great X's and O's coach who can get the best out of his players. He has to be smart where he goes.

If he goes to a Minny/Rutgers/Illinois type set up, he will have to look to transfers to get immediate impact. If he thinks he is getting 4-5 years he is dead wrong. In this conference you have to turn it around in 2-3 years or your gone. So it will be dicey. I think he stays at UNI, he makes good $$ for the valley and I think Marshall is gone from WSU soon. If WSU misses the tourney this year, he is gone and moving onto bigger and better.

I am not saying he is a bad coach. What I am saying is the move into the B1G is the big leagues compared to the MVC. He's likely not going to get the calls as a new unproven coach for several years. There will be no breaks meaning his guys will be whistled for fouls when then try to play that lock down D style and then you are not getting the same call on the other end. Fran is finally seeing better calls this year but it's taken 6 years to get to this point. Dr Tom went through the same thing. It's just the way it works especially if you are not going to a marquee B1G program.

He had better be able to recruit at a very high level if you are going up against the programs that bring in more talent by their very status; MSU, Indiana, Maryland, OSU, etc. Then you have established system programs like Purdue, Wisky & Michigan he will be battling. Then most everyone else can beat you on a given night. The MVC has ONE marquee program to battle in WSU... ONE.

Finally, he can get by with a team weakness in the MVC but that does not fly in the B1G. If you are soft inside teams will kill you. If you fail to rebound good luck with that. If you fail to hit shots expect to lose. Not play D effectively at all 5 positions good luck out scoring your opponent. Your guards are weak good luck making plays and closing games. Got 2 great scorers? Better have a 3rd and 4th option because opponents are going to lock 1 & 2 down with the athletes they have. Weaknesses will get exploited at this level.

Let's look at IL. The last 2 mid major coaches have struggled. Weber took Selfs talent to the finals but after he brought in his own guys he eventually got run never getting back anywhere close to those heights. Groce made a sweet 16 I think at Ohio and has struggled mightily. This is IL with a great history, large arena and access/proximity to Chicago. Struggling!

Now look further at Dan Monson going to Minny after being the first to get Gonzaga going and now Richard Pitino. Both disasters. In between Tubby had some success at Minny but had a proven power conference career prior. Look at Iowa with Licklighter who was the national coach of the year and that disaster. How about McDermott to ISU and compare that to what Hoiberg did.

What Fran has done is amazing considering the odds but he had spent some time on Notre Dame's bench so there was some high level experience there. What is Jake's high level experience? None.

This is the B1G leagues.

 

[2432Hawk]

I hear that while he was in High school and UNI I know is very knowledgable of the situation. You do not see him play a ton of minutes at a time.

The kid is a player and would of loved seeing him in the black and gold, but he is a little undersized. I realize everyone is down on Ellingson right now, but he played at a good school near Milwaukee and held his own. Wasn't he offered by Wisky?

No Wisky was low on rides. Happ has turned out well for them. I saw Ellingson play AAU and he was very good player. I think it is really hard to judge him in the spot minutes he's had. His last AAU season he was a big shot maker hitting key buckets late. Had a huge buzzer beater his senior year as well. I don't understand why fans don't realize it takes time for kids to adjust and fit a role. I'm not giving up on Brady.

 

[L. Wade Childress]

Lohaus had surgery to fix his heart condition. However he looked bad for most of the year. I'm not sure he'd look any better than Brady in the big ten.

 

[DavenportHawk8]

I am not saying he is a bad coach. What I am saying is the move into the B1G is the big leagues compared to the MVC. He's likely not going to get the calls as a new unproven coach for several years. There will be no breaks meaning his guys will be whistled for fouls when then try to play that lock down D style and then you are not getting the same call on the other end. Fran is finally seeing better calls this year but it's taken 6 years to get to this point. Dr Tom went through the same thing. It's just the way it works especially if you are not going to a marquee B1G program.

He had better be able to recruit at a very high level if you are going up against the programs that bring in more talent by their very status; MSU, Indiana, Maryland, OSU, etc. Then you have established system programs like Purdue, Wisky & Michigan he will be battling. Then most everyone else can beat you on a given night. The MVC has ONE marquee program to battle in WSU... ONE.

Finally, he can get by with a team weakness in the MVC but that does not fly in the B1G. If you are soft inside teams will kill you. If you fail to rebound good luck with that. If you fail to hit shots expect to lose. Not play D effectively at all 5 positions good luck out scoring your opponent. Your guards are weak good luck making plays and closing games. Got 2 great scorers? Better have a 3rd and 4th option because opponents are going to lock 1 & 2 down with the athletes they have. Weaknesses will get exploited at this level.

Let's look at IL. The last 2 mid major coaches have struggled. Weber took Selfs talent to the finals but after he brought in his own guys he eventually got run never getting back anywhere close to those heights. Groce made a sweet 16 I think at Ohio and has struggled mightily. This is IL with a great history, large arena and access/proximity to Chicago. Struggling!

Now only look further at Dan Monson going to Minny after being the first to get Gonzaga going and now Richard Pitino. Both disasters. In between Tubby had some success at Minny but had a proven power conference career prior. Look at Iowa with Licklighter who was the national coach of the year and that disaster.
How about McDermott to ISU and compare that to what Hoiberg did.

What Fran has done is amazing considering the odds but he had spent some time on Notre Dame's bench so there was some high level experience there. What is Jake's high level experience? None.

This is the B1G leagues.

All good points in terms of coaching, but by your logic Collins at NW should be near the top of the Big Ten. He was an assistant at Duke, so he should be dominating because he had experience from the best.

Some coaches have it and never experience it until they get to the Bigger Leagues. I look at coaches like Turgeon, who was an assistant at several places, his first head job was at Jacksonville st, WSU, Texas A&M and then finally Maryland. He has been all over the place and had success.

Bens only two stops are at UND and UNI. He has found a place to coach and if you can continually build success in the MVC you will be a good coaching candidate to move up. Look at all the good coaches to come from that league. Dana Altman at Oregon, Doug McDermott at CU, Matt Painter at PU, Cuonzo Martin at CAL, Keno Davis Directional school MICH, Tubby Smith Texas Tech, and Barry Hinson (SIU).

So there are several good coaches who have made it out of that league and I think Jacobsen would be right there with them. He can surround himself with good coaches and he has the pipelines into two major recruiting areas in the midwest. Yeah he would take his lumps early on, but I guarantee you he would be successful wherever he is at. It might take time at some spots. You look at the Big Ten teams who are struggling, are any of them in a bad place (Minny & Rutgers). Those two jobs would be tough to build, but could be done given the right amount of time. Illinois job seems to be a good one, but still going to need some time.

I think Jake could take one of those programs and given 3-4 years could turn it around.

 

[And1Hawk]

All good points in terms of coaching, but by your logic Collins at NW should be near the top of the Big Ten. He was an assistant at Duke, so he should be dominating because he had experience from the best.

Some coaches have it and never experience it until they get to the Bigger Leagues. I look at coaches like Turgeon, who was an assistant at several places, his first head job was at Jacksonville st, WSU, Texas A&M and then finally Maryland. He has been all over the place and had success.

Bens only two stops are at UND and UNI. He has found a place to coach and if you can continually build success in the MVC you will be a good coaching candidate to move up. Look at all the good coaches to come from that league. Dana Altman at Oregon, Doug McDermott at CU, Matt Painter at PU, Cuonzo Martin at CAL, Keno Davis Directional school MICH, Tubby Smith Texas Tech, and Barry Hinson (SIU).

So there are several good coaches who have made it out of that league and I think Jacobsen would be right there with them. He can surround himself with good coaches and he has the pipelines into two major recruiting areas in the midwest. Yeah he would take his lumps early on, but I guarantee you he would be successful wherever he is at. It might take time at some spots. You look at the Big Ten teams who are struggling, are any of them in a bad place (Minny & Rutgers). Those two jobs would be tough to build, but could be done given the right amount of time. Illinois job seems to be a good one, but still going to need some time.

I think Jake could take one of those programs and given 3-4 years could turn it around.

Could he work? Maybe but I have my doubts. He's going to need a great deal of things to go his way.

You say he has these pipelines to Minny and Chicago. Name some of the highly rated players he has signed out of either location?

Let's go through your coaching list.....

Dana Altman. Do you realize he coached at Kansas State prior to going to Creighton? That's power 5 experience. He was also an assistant at KSU prior. That's power 5/6 experience before he ever went to the best program in the MVC when they were a member.

McDermott at Creighton. His time in the Big East is 3 years one of which was the last year with his son. What has he done since Doug departed? The jury is still out on him now that Creighton was moved into that situation. He was not hired into the power 5/6. We know the disaster in the Big12 under his watch.

Painter & Martin both played in the Big Ten. As players alone that gives them some practical knowledge of what it takes to be successful at that level. As for Painter he was hired as an associate coach and got to serve a year under Keady who had a scheduled retirement. Martin spent 7-8 years on Keadys staff including a year also as an associate coach. That's before he took an MVC coaching job for 3 seasons.

Then there is Keno Davis. He was fired from his only big time job at Providence in the old Big East. How is that successful?

Barry Hinson??? No power 5/6 level head coaching jobs? How is he a relevant example of success going from MVC to power 5/6 head coaching success?

Then Tubby Smith? Do you realize he spent multiple years as an assistant at South Carolina and Kentucky. His first head coaching job was Tulsa. That's not a power 5/6 job but typically in the next level down and often in a conference better than the MVC. Then he has been at Georgia, Kentucky, Minnesota and now Texas Tech. I fail to see where he had no power 5/6 experience as a coach and assistant like Jake.

So again, Jake has zero experience at the power 5/6 level as a player, assistant or head coach. NONE.

 

[And1Hawk]

^^^^^
Oh yes and I left out Turgeon who you included. He played for Kansas and was an assistant at Kansas and Oregon for 10 years as well as spending a year on an NBA bench. Again experience as an assistant and player at the power 5/6 before taking a head coaching job.

Collins at Northwestern is completing year 3 as a head coach. He's landed some pretty good young players. They had some injuries this year to Olah (part of the season) and Vic Law (out all year) that really hurt them. The jury is still out but there's a chance he leads them to their first ever NCAA bid in the next 2-3 years. That's an example though of taking a tough job in the power 5/6 and he does have power 5/6 experience as an assistant and REAL connections to Chicago recruiting.

 

[Ronman]

Sometimes you rationalize too much. Lohaus is far superior of a player. You really just need to watch the game. Lohaus passes the eye test, Ellingson not so much.

Not a knock on Ellingson but just not seeing it.

Never said that Ellingson was the better player. Just pointing out that the stats Lohaus puts up aren't that impressive. Probably too early to make any final determination about either one of them.

 

[RocknRollface]

Sometimes you rationalize too much. Lohaus is far superior of a player. You really just need to watch the game. Lohaus passes the eye test, Ellingson not so much.

Not a knock on Ellingson but just not seeing it.

4ppg and 2apg is what it is.

 

[DavenportHawk8]

Could he work? Maybe but I have my doubts. He's going to need a great deal of things to go his way.

You say he has these pipelines to Minny and Chicago. Name some of the highly rated players he has signed out of either location? Eric Coleman was one of them, he dominated Iowa and ISU. He was a very good college ball player. Alegbha the PG, who lead them to an upset of #1 Kansas. There are several other players who are not "top rated recruits" but they are good enough to win the Valley. You do realize that no 4-5 star player is going to the valley correct? So he gets what he can get at this level. If he is given a bigger budget and more options, I am sure he can recruit to a higher level. Hell they got a kid from Austin,TX come up to UNI over Texas! Pretty good sell right there.

Let's go through your coaching list.....

Dana Altman. Do you realize he coached at Kansas State prior to going to Creighton? That's power 5 experience. He was also an assistant at KSU prior. That's power 5/6 experience before he ever went to the best program in the MVC when they were a member.

McDermott at Creighton. His time in the Big East is 3 years one of which was the last year with his son. What has he done since Doug departed? The jury is still out on him now that Creighton was moved into that situation. He was not hired into the power 5/6. We know the disaster in the Big12 under his watch.

Painter & Martin both played in the Big Ten. As players alone that gives them some practical knowledge of what it takes to be successful at that level. As for Painter he was hired as an associate coach and got to serve a year under Keady who had a scheduled retirement. Martin spent 7-8 years on Keadys staff including a year also as an associate coach. That's before he took an MVC coaching job for 3 seasons.

Then there is Keno Davis. He was fired from his only big time job at Providence in the old Big East. How is that successful?

Barry Hinson??? No power 5/6 level head coaching jobs? How is he a relevant example of success going from MVC to power 5/6 head coaching success?

Then Tubby Smith? Do you realize he spent multiple years as an assistant at South Carolina and Kentucky. His first head coaching job was Tulsa. That's not a power 5/6 job but typically in the next level down and often in a conference better than the MVC. Then he has been at Georgia, Kentucky, Minnesota and now Texas Tech. I fail to see where he had no power 5/6 experience as a coach and assistant like Jake.

So again, Jake has zero experience at the power 5/6 level as a player, assistant or head coach. NONE.

Steve Prohm at ISU never had POWER 5 experience. He has his team in the top 25.
Larry Krystkowiak from Utah, no Power 5 experience. Top 15 team in the nation.
Bryce Drew, Baylor head coach. No Power 5 experience top 20 team,

Sorry but there are examples of guys who had no power 5 experience and turned out to be pretty good coaches. If you are put in the right situation and get a good group of assistants, you can turn a program around. Imagine if Fran hadn't gotten Speraw to come to Iowa with him. That was a bonus for Iowa.

 

[I.S.Who]

I would take Jacobsen in a heartbeat! They are the opposite of Iowa, as they have gotten better to close the season. Been nice to see them do that.

So you would take a bubble team as compared to a 4-6 seed?

 

[tedboy78]

UNI personifies TEAM basketball.
With wins over ISU, UNC, Witchita St twice, they should be in the Dance.

They only get in if they win today. Too many bad losses and a low rpi, a loss today and they're out.

 

[tedboy78]

Iowa 84-61 over WSU. No VanVleet so maybe with him that margin is 10-15 instead but still not close.

Great for UNI but the MVC is really, really bad. The loss of Creighton was big. WSU has been very good in past seasons but despite VanVleet/Baker they are not good this year and are getting a bid based on past performance. Who did they beat this year?

Lohaus good kid but no where near a possible difference maker at the B1G/power conference level. Ellenson looks like he may not be either so what's the point in comparing?

They are a serious bubble team. Very flawed on the "key wins" side.

 

[And1Hawk]

Steve Prohm at ISU never had POWER 5 experience. He has his team in the top 25.
Larry Krystkowiak from Utah, no Power 5 experience. Top 15 team in the nation.
Bryce Drew, Baylor head coach. No Power 5 experience top 20 team,

Sorry but there are examples of guys who had no power 5 experience and turned out to be pretty good coaches. If you are put in the right situation and get a good group of assistants, you can turn a program around. Imagine if Fran hadn't gotten Speraw to come to Iowa with him. That was a bonus for Iowa.

The jury is still out on Prohm. I would bet if you ask an honest ISU fan if they think the team has met expectations up to this point the answer would be a resounding no. Coming into this season they were ranked in the top 4 with final four expectations. They also had aspirations of winning the league title and went 10-8. I would like to see how he does over the next 3-5 years when his guys are in place. This could be like Weber at IL. I do think Prohm has the ability to be a very good coach but your listing him as a shining example in year 1 of an inherited front runner is a stretch. To me he has gotten a huge lesson on welcome to the big leagues. He's had a lot to deal with both on and off the court that he had no experience dealing with prior.

Now Krystowiak is s former NBA player who had a 10 year run in the league. He also sat on the bench in the NBA as an assistant for 2 different teams and was a head coach in the old CBA all before he got the Utah job. To me being a player and assistant at the highest level means you have seen the best players and been around some pretty good minds. His example hardly equates to Ben J who has ZERO experience as a player, assistant or coach at any higher level of basketball than the MVC. NONE.

Bryce Drew is at Valpo and had a cup of coffee as a player in the NBA. He has yet to get:take a power 5/6 job. Now his brother Scott Drew is at Baylor and would be a valid exception but I want to point out both of these guys come from a fairly respected basketball man in Homer Drew. Homer was a very successful coach at Valpo.. Scott spent probably 10 years under his dad at Valpo and therefore was likely exposed to a decent network of connections via Homer prior to going to Baylor. I will grant you Scott as he does fit the no experiences at a level higher than a mid-major as a player, assistant or head coach but he does have some uniqueness to his background.

There are a few expectations to every norm but you can see it's going to be risky given his background and he had better get to the right place, with the right support and the right patience otherwise he will be chewed up and spit out. There is a reason he has not jumped yet. He's a smart guy.

 

[And1Hawk]

^^^^^^

Ben J has really been apart of building one program in terms of UNI but he was not the principal architect of this original run that started under McDermott. He was one of several on that staff. He's done a great job building on what they started.

Compare that to Fran who played a year at the power 5/6, spent 11 years as an assistant at Notre Dame and then has rebuilt and taken 3 mid-majors (all 1 bid leagues) and now Iowa to the big dance. He's taken Iowa to the NCAA tourney 3 of 4 years with an NIT runner up. He's won 24 league games in the last 2 years, the most since 86-87 at a school with decent but not overwhelming resources or support. Yet look at the pressure and respect.... He delivers but here comes the slew of 'next level' guys who are dissatisfied because you could/should have won even more despite being up against some prestigious programs in one of the best basketball leagues in the country. You lose some games and here comes the 'time for the next coach, kick you to curb' guys and the 'I do not like his demeanor now, love to pile on when things are down' guys. It has not been all rainbows and unicorns with Fran but he's done one hell of a job but some of our fans have zero respect for what it takes day-in, day-out. Has Ben J had anything close to this high stakes environment in his back ground? Is he prepared for what have you done for me lately no matter what was accomplished prior? That's what he is stepping into at this level of basketball and he has no prior experience as a player, assistant or head coach above the MVC.

 

[grosie#2]

Where?

I heard Wisconsin but maybe not so much now. Their current coach is doing pretty good.

 

[hawkeyemike23]

LOL people are really lamenting passing on Wyatt Lohaus, you have to be kidding me. We really need a kid who's scored in double figures three times all year while playing in a down MVC conference and who shoots under 30% from 3. That's exactly what this team is missing. And his 6'2" 185 lb size would definitely be an asset in th B10.

 

[hawknut]

LOL people are really lamenting passing on Wyatt Lohaus, you have to be kidding me. We really need a kid who's scored in double figures three times all year while playing in a down MVC conference and who shoots under 30% from 3. That's exactly what this team is missing. And his 6'2" 185 lb size would definitely be an asset in th B10.

we need a guard who can not only shoot 3's, but can drive and score. Other teams are full of them, why do we have to have the 1 dimensional shooting guard?

 

[hawkeyemike23]

we need a guard who can not only shoot 3's, but can drive and score. Other teams are full of them, why do we have to have the 1 dimensional shooting guard?

Are you saying Lohaus would be that guy? Because he can't do either of those things well at the MVC level even.

 

[DavenportHawk8]

^^^^^^

Ben J has really been apart of building one program in terms of UNI but he was not the principal architect of this original run that started under McDermott. He was one of several on that staff. He's done a great job building on what they started.

Compare that to Fran who played a year at the power 5/6, spent 11 years as an assistant at Notre Dame and then has rebuilt and taken 3 mid-majors (all 1 bid leagues) and now Iowa to the big dance. He's taken Iowa to the NCAA tourney 3 of 4 years with an NIT runner up. He's won 24 league games in the last 2 years, the most since 86-87 at a school with decent but not overwhelming resources or support. Yet look at the pressure and respect.... He delivers but here comes the slew of 'next level' guys who are dissatisfied because you could/should have won even more despite being up against some prestigious programs in one of the best basketball leagues in the country. You lose some games and here comes the 'time for the next coach, kick you to curb' guys and the 'I do not like his demeanor now, love to pile on when things are down' guys. It has not been all rainbows and unicorns with Fran but he's done one hell of a job but some of our fans have zero respect for what it takes day-in, day-out. Has Ben J had anything close to this high stakes environment in his back ground? Is he prepared for what have you done for me lately no matter what was accomplished prior? That's what he is stepping into at this level of basketball and he has no prior experience as a player, assistant or head coach above the MVC.

Well I suppose by your Logic that Steve Alford should be having success, but his two Power 5 stops have been less than stellar. Sorry I got the "Drew" boys mixed up.

Sorry but people I have spoken to who at UNI when McDermott was there, Jake was the X's and O's coach and that's why they were able to have success. Yes he has built a nice program at UNI and I think it will keep going up. Its his decision moving forward, I think he could stay at UNI be a constant contender for the Championship and NCAA's. If he leaves, he just has to make sure he goes to right spot. I would not take the Rutgers or Illinois jobs right now if they open up. The Minnesota job could be doable, but would need 3-4 years at least to get the program turned around.