What hire could energize the fan base?
- Thread starter HawkeyeGenius
- Start date
I hope we don’t try to emulate what KF has going on. Talk about the epitome of bland, stale, boring, not fan-engaging… Please NO!
Per Drake/Valpo game article:
First-year Drake coach Ben McCollum moved his career collegiate coaching record to 411-93, ranking No. 5 among the all-time collegiate coaches in winning percentage at .815, ranking just below legendary Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp and ahead of Hall of Famer John Wooden who led UCLA to 10 NCAA championships.
First-year Drake coach Ben McCollum moved his career collegiate coaching record to 411-93, ranking No. 5 among the all-time collegiate coaches in winning percentage at .815, ranking just below legendary Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp and ahead of Hall of Famer John Wooden who led UCLA to 10 NCAA championships.
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Yeah, that's pretty accurate. I remember being hopeful, though, since Lick came off as the "Anti-Alford" personality-wise, which was actually refreshing. So much for "hopeful"....
Seriously, what would it matter? 50% of this board would want them gone after the first loss
Oh BS that is a gross exaggeration IMO
Don’t even mess around, Go get Ben McCollum. He’s 43, the guy wins everywhere he goes at a high level. If Iowa doesn’t get him after this year, someone else will.
Seems to me the best possible outcome would be:
Fran resigns at the end of this season.
Beth tries to hire Devries. If she can't get him, hire McCollum.
Both Spurlock and Gatens remain assistant coaches at Iowa.
It seems that Spurlock is a great recruiter. So Beth makes it clear, by both words and actions, that Iowa will do whatever it takes to keep Spurlock here.
Fran resigns at the end of this season.
Beth tries to hire Devries. If she can't get him, hire McCollum.
Both Spurlock and Gatens remain assistant coaches at Iowa.
It seems that Spurlock is a great recruiter. So Beth makes it clear, by both words and actions, that Iowa will do whatever it takes to keep Spurlock here.
The ship sailed for DeVries at Iowa last year. If Fran stays the ship will sail on McCollum this year.
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Watched Marquette play last night (17-3). I'd take Shaka Smart. Sweet 16 last year. Only 47, affordable. Might like a shot at the B1G.
Marquette is getting a better result for their $3 million/yr than we are with Fran at $3.3 million/yr.
The problem with going for a Big Name coach is you have to pay that school for a buyout, pay the name coach big dollars, and also give
Fran $6 million. Then you have fact that Iowa isn't an elite destination so contract has to be guaranteed for longer/salary higher.
I am warming up to the idea of hiring the Drake coach and just giving him a boat load of incentives for filling up
Carver--going on NCAA tourney run. Those type of achievements pay for themselves in added revenue.
You really want to make a statement?. Hire the first woman as a major college coach for a men’s team.
Kim Mulkey
Several national championship banners at Baylor and LSU. And if the basketball team is still crap, at least you’ve got something interesting to talk about.
Kim Mulkey
Several national championship banners at Baylor and LSU. And if the basketball team is still crap, at least you’ve got something interesting to talk about.
We could put incentives in the contract for makeup, Botox and Balenciaga gift cards; talk about motivating the new hire.
How about John Beilein? Maybe he wants to come out of retirement.
Or if we really wanted to make a statement and ruffle some feathers, we could hire T.J. Otzelberger.
I hear he's made a name for himself over the last few seasons, and taking over at Iowa would be a big step up and an opportunity to really compete at the highest stage in the sport.
The DeVries ship has sailed.
I was going to say Yosemite Sam but we have him now.
In all seriousness, it looks like Iowa missed the boat by at least a year if they were looking to make a real splash hire. Most of the big up-and-coming names have already taken the jump up to their next job. Guys like DeVries to West Virginia, Dusty May to Michigan and Mark Byington to Vanderbilt.
But here's a few other names Iowa should probably keep an eye on:
Donte Jackson (Grambling State)
Chris Gerlufson (San Francisco)
Kenny Blakeney (Howard)
Drew Valentine (Loyola, Chicago)
Robert Jones (Norfolk State)
But here's a few other names Iowa should probably keep an eye on:
Donte Jackson (Grambling State)
Chris Gerlufson (San Francisco)
Kenny Blakeney (Howard)
Drew Valentine (Loyola, Chicago)
Robert Jones (Norfolk State)
Interesting. Valentine was an assistant to Porter Moser up until 2021 when Moser took the Oklahoma job. I like Moser. I haven't watched Valentine and the Ramblers this year, so I can't comment on their play. I do know that, after a 4 game skid earlier in the season, they've been sort of up and down as of late. As a student of Moser, I imagine he's learned a lot. If he teaches good defense, then I can see a bright future for him possibly.
Yep, they already blew it on Devries they should try to avoid doing it again but they'll probably do it again.
I'm assuming we'll get one more pointless year of Fran to save money because that would be the typical nutless Iowa thing to do.
I was at Licks intro at Carver. It seemed a little low key.
Valentine is also very young still. Just 33 yrs old. Won the MVC Tourney in '22 and shared the A-10 regular season title last year.
Here's Loyola's rankings through his first 4 seasons-
2021-2022:
Off eff. 42nd
Def eff. 17th
2022-2023:
Off eff. 267th
Def eff. 273rd
2023-2024:
Off eff. 229th
Def eff. 15th
2024-2025:
Off eff. 160th
Def eff. 117th
Fwiw- Iowa has been 21st or better in Offensive Efficiency the past 3.5 seasons, but it's no secret the defense has been trash. Just look no further than out Defensive Efficiency ratings since 2021-2022: 141, 258, 279, 208
Just awful.
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Searched high and low on YT for highlights or games and all I saw were ones from years ago. I record basketball games on YT, mostly Iowa of course, and some NBA, but I have found some Rambler games on there. Just for fun, I'm watching Loyola vs Dayton that aired on CBS Sports 8 days ago.
Or if we really wanted to make a statement and ruffle some feathers, we could hire T.J. Otzelberger.
I hear he's made a name for himself over the last few seasons, and taking over at Iowa would be a big step up and an opportunity to really compete at the highest stage in the sport.
What are the chances ISU fans would trade TJ for Fran? 14 years of 0.500 conference ball is a hell of a run I hear.
Why would TJ want to go to a lesser conference?
Better chance of winning the conference every year/making the playoffs, or so I'm told by ISU football fans..............
