I love bill as our coach!!!!!

[cykadelic2]

Incorrect - Post #18 is mine and I don't say I want Bill gone. I say if he's not willing to adjust, it's probably time to go a different direction. Some of you act like he's above reproach because of what he's done in the past, and that's ridiculous, as are the excuses people continue to roll out (Soares injury, etc.).

I don't say too much in these threads, but I have an excellent inside source as to what goes on within the team, and have for several years. I try not to break confidence and keep my comments "general" by design, but my intel is solid.
A couple items for offseason debate, as I'm curious what the die-hard Bill supporters believe:

1) How good is Bill at talent development? I'm of the opinion he's mediocre at best. Ashley Joens is / was self-driven and it's well-documented she developed her counter moves at home with her father. Did Bill make Ashley better? How about Lexi and Emily? I think those two regressed this year - how can that be? I was in the COVID sparse Hilton the night Lexi scored 32 points as a freshman, which remains her high point.

2) Is the revolving door of potentially useful transfers OK - Kylie, Aubrey, MEM, Maggie V all leaving when they could be contributors, some at positions of need? I don't want to hear about who needs how many minutes - they could all benefit from a few minutes of rest.

3) Does Bill play favorites and does he have a doghouse, which is difficult to escape once a player is placed there? Most of the team hung around Ames and played together last Summer. MEM reportedly did her own thing and "returned" when the fall semester began. She got in Bill's doghouse, never got out and is now in the portal.

4) Is it really OK for Bill to lie? Several weeks ago there was limited debate about whether or not MEM was still injured. Somebody who claims to have inside information (not me) said she was fine and was immediately attacked by the Bill faithful. Now the Register comes out and says she was fully healthy all season, which quite a few of us already believed. Still the die-hards make excuses, such as he was "protecting her".

5) Best debate topic for last. Whether we like it or not, Caitlin Clark is killing it for EIU. I believe CC was ISU's if we wanted her, with brother Blake on the football team and at least one of her parents an alum. I know Ashley didn't like the idea of playing with CC, nor did Aubrey. Did Bill bow to pressure and stop recruiting CC, for fear of losing Ashley to the transfer portal? I believe he did, under the premise she would damage team chemistry. With the benefit of hindsight, was that the proper decision? Hell no - she's a once in a lifetime college talent, makes players around her better and should be leading ISU to the Final Four, not EIU. Bill should have been a good enough coach to bring in Caitlin and retain Ashley - can you imagine those two on the same court? Would Lexi be better playing alongside CC - let's ask Gabby Marshall!?! My opinion - Bill screwed up hugely when he didn't go to the wall for CC.

Now let's have a good old-fashioned respectful debate, with honest exchange of thoughts and minimal disrespect / dumbing of posts. It's going to be a long off-season until hopes springs eternal with the new class of freshman and whomever we can court in the transfer portal. Go...

I don't know the details on MEM outside of what was reported in the Register. Healthy or not, Bill should have known that her contributions were going to be limited this season and combined with Aubrey J's departure, him not backfilling perimeter depth with at least one other B12 quality player was a huge mistake and it put a ceiling on results even if Soares stayed healthy.

I am not going to bust Bill's chops on Clark ending up at TOE, especially after he locked up Donarski and Ryan in that class. I do agree that the lack of improvement by Donarski and Ryan this past season was troubling but I think excessive PT by both due to the lack of perimeter depth was a huge factor. Fatigue and foul aversion (due to the lack of depth) impacted their defense and fatigue played a role in 3 pt shooting as well. And obviously if the starters weren't hitting shots, there was no one on the bench besides Diew to bail them out and that racked up some unexpected losses which cost them home court the first weekend of the NCAAs.

It will be interesting how Bill handles the new influx of talent. If he doesn't diversify the offense with more motion and if he continues to not utilize his available depth, I think the results could continue to disappoint.

And I do strongly think Bill has earned the right to retire on his terms but given no conference championships in 20+ years, he has not earned the right to name his successor. It would be time for new blood.

 

[Cyclad]

on a different tangent...right now if I were to look at the coaching tree out there and pick one I'd like to see as our next coach? Originally...several years ago it was Frese. That's out of the question now (I assume). My next choice? Abrahamson.

She will get way more $ where she is.

 

[cykadelic2]

on a different tangent...right now if I were to look at the coaching tree out there and pick one I'd like to see as our next coach? Originally...several years ago it was Frese. That's out of the question now (I assume). My next choice? Abrahamson.

My preferred replacement would be someone younger and outside of the BF tree. One to keep an eye on IMO would be Robyn Fralick from Bowling Green and another would be down the road with Alison Pohlman.

TCU hired Mark Campbell from Sac State to be their new HC. He was instrumental in Oregon's recent success and did a quick and impressive rebuild in two years at Sac State.

 

[BoxsterCy]

She will get way more $ where she is.

Plus she'll be in her 60's by the time we have a HC opening and Big Ten and SEC jobs are going to be better jobs than Big 12 school jobs in WBB.

 

[peatyscotch]

I don't want him gone, I'm just saying he's not above criticism. I also don't want the keys handed to Billy. JFC our women's hoops fanbase are a bunch of sensitive Sally's when it comes to Bill.

If you consider it okay to post an opinion criticizing Bill, how can you then criticize other people who post in support of Bill. Comme ci, comme ca.

 

[WartburgClone]

Does Bill play favorites and does he have a doghouse, which is difficult to escape once a player is placed there? Most of the team hung around Ames and played together last Summer. MEM reportedly did her own thing and "returned" when the fall semester began.

I'm beginning to wonder if there was more to the story of MEM not traveling with the team to Morgantown "for personal reasons".

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

If you consider it okay to post an opinion criticizing Bill, how can you then criticize other people who post in support of Bill. Comme ci, comme ca.

I'm fine with peoples opinions of Bill, people jumped all over me for posting mine...

 

[BCClone]

1) I think this is a fair criticism to a certain extent. However, I think it's clear that Ryan and Donarski developed from the freshman to sophomore years before the fall off this season. Donarski obviously became a great defender, and Ryan's scoring was definitely better in her sophomore year than her freshman. Sure, Donarski's high scoring point was still her freshman year, but 32 points is high for anyone; I don't think we should expect that to be broken, even with development.
2) I have been one to defend the starters' minutes to a certain point. It isn't what I would do if I were a coach, but I still don't think that it actually has resulted in the worse single-game performances that some people seem to think it has. I think there can be reasonable criticism when players that contributed or could contribute transfer out. But also, with the current construction of the team, I still just have a hard time criticizing the playing time aspect. Would any of those notable players really have stayed if they knew they'd play 15 minutes instead of 10? Those roles aren't that different.
3) Was it really a doghouse or was she just not playing well? She averaged 17 minutes last year, shooting 46% from three. This year she averaged 9.5 minutes, shooting 19% from three. Seems like it's reasonable to get significantly less minutes if you aren't making shots any more, especially with the defense and rebounding that Fritz provides.
4) I was one of those people believing Bill, which I maintain was entirely reasonable (the coach vs. a poster on CF?). But also, I'm not sure the Register article and Bill's comments are necessarily completely in opposition. The Register didn't actually give a quote from Maggie talking about health. It's possible she came into the season more healthy than the last couple years, but she still had issues later in the season. Or it's possible that she still stayed out of full, 100% practice as a precaution.
5) I guess I can't speak to this at all. But do we really know that Bill didn't try that hard for Clark?

The answer to #3 is Fritz was hurt last year. MEM got some of her minutes, otherwise she probably sees similar minutes to this year.

 

[MJ271]

The answer to #3 is Fritz was hurt last year. MEM got some of her minutes, otherwise she probably sees similar minutes to this year.

That too. Although if MEM shot 46% from three this year, I have no doubt that she would have played at least a few more minutes, regardless of Fritz.

 

[cyclone13]

My preferred replacement would be someone younger and outside of the BF tree. One to keep an eye on IMO would be Robyn Fralick from Bowling Green and another would be down the road with Alison Pohlman.

TCU hired Mark Campbell from Sac State to be their new HC. He was instrumental in Oregon's recent success and did a quick and impressive rebuild in two years at Sac State.

It'll be interesting to see how Pohlman does the next 2 seasons (I think the roster is mostly JB's players).

Not sure about Fralick - I am not familiar with BGSU's WBB history so cannot judge how the program was overall. I understand, Curt Miller was the HC before he went to the WNBA and Jennifer Roos had 4 losing seasons in her last 4 (out of 6) seasons. So she might have to rebuild a program.

And we don't know how many more years BF wants to coach and let's say 2 years - it's still a long time and lots of things can happen. I recall the candidates to replace LE when he was fired and within couple of years, a lot of them ended up getting fired or simple flamed out etc

 

[BCClone]

See how Jenny does at OU in the SEC, see if she prefers Iowa.

 

[mred]

See how Jenny does at OU in the SEC, see if she prefers Iowa.

I bet she's Iowa's first call whenever Bluder retires.

 

[Three4Cy]

See how Jenny does at OU in the SEC, see if she prefers Iowa.

Jenny will only coach at one other school in Iowa, and it's not ISU.

Jenny is a good coach, but she has never taken a team past the tournament's first weekend. She had a golden opportunity to do it this year and didn't do it.

Her top players in the last two years were all Sheri Coale's recruits. Let's see how she does with her recruits and having to recruit against Kim, Vic, Dawn, and Kellie Harper and play against them in the conference season.

 

[NickTheGreat]

I work with a former player who has said the exact opposite, so whose source do we believe?

I used to work with a parent of a former player who said it was.

 

[Three4Cy]

I used to work with a parent of a former player who said it was.

Congrats - I don't think anyone knows, but people like to just assume Jamie will turn the program over to Billy.

Bill's contract runs until 2027, so I think at this point, it's the least of our worries.

 

[NickTheGreat]

Congrats - I don't think anyone knows, but people like to just assume Jamie will turn the program over to Billy.

Bill's contract runs until 2027, so I think at this point, it's the least of our worries.

All joking aside, I think this guy was afraid that was going to happen. I don't think he'd been told that.

I do'nt want to comment on Billy any further, as I really don't know anything about the guy, good or bad.

 

[acoustimac]

Incorrect - Post #18 is mine and I don't say I want Bill gone. I say if he's not willing to adjust, it's probably time to go a different direction. Some of you act like he's above reproach because of what he's done in the past, and that's ridiculous, as are the excuses people continue to roll out (Soares injury, etc.).

I don't say too much in these threads, but I have an excellent inside source as to what goes on within the team, and have for several years. I try not to break confidence and keep my comments "general" by design, but my intel is solid.
A couple items for offseason debate, as I'm curious what the die-hard Bill supporters believe:

1) How good is Bill at talent development? I'm of the opinion he's mediocre at best. Ashley Joens is / was self-driven and it's well-documented she developed her counter moves at home with her father. Did Bill make Ashley better? How about Lexi and Emily? I think those two regressed this year - how can that be? I was in the COVID sparse Hilton the night Lexi scored 32 points as a freshman, which remains her high point.

2) Is the revolving door of potentially useful transfers OK - Kylie, Aubrey, MEM, Maggie V all leaving when they could be contributors, some at positions of need? I don't want to hear about who needs how many minutes - they could all benefit from a few minutes of rest.

3) Does Bill play favorites and does he have a doghouse, which is difficult to escape once a player is placed there? Most of the team hung around Ames and played together last Summer. MEM reportedly did her own thing and "returned" when the fall semester began. She got in Bill's doghouse, never got out and is now in the portal.

4) Is it really OK for Bill to lie? Several weeks ago there was limited debate about whether or not MEM was still injured. Somebody who claims to have inside information (not me) said she was fine and was immediately attacked by the Bill faithful. Now the Register comes out and says she was fully healthy all season, which quite a few of us already believed. Still the die-hards make excuses, such as he was "protecting her".

5) Best debate topic for last. Whether we like it or not, Caitlin Clark is killing it for EIU. I believe CC was ISU's if we wanted her, with brother Blake on the football team and at least one of her parents an alum. I know Ashley didn't like the idea of playing with CC, nor did Aubrey. Did Bill bow to pressure and stop recruiting CC, for fear of losing Ashley to the transfer portal? I believe he did, under the premise she would damage team chemistry. With the benefit of hindsight, was that the proper decision? Hell no - she's a once in a lifetime college talent, makes players around her better and should be leading ISU to the Final Four, not EIU. Bill should have been a good enough coach to bring in Caitlin and retain Ashley - can you imagine those two on the same court? Would Lexi be better playing alongside CC - let's ask Gabby Marshall!?! My opinion - Bill screwed up hugely when he didn't go to the wall for CC.

Now let's have a good old-fashioned respectful debate, with honest exchange of thoughts and minimal disrespect / dumbing of posts. It's going to be a long off-season until hopes springs eternal with the new class of freshman and whomever we can court in the transfer portal. Go...

If post #18 is yours and you say if he’s not willing to adjust he should leave…then you want him gone if he doesn’t meet with your criteria.

#1 - talent development? I could give numerous examples, but the one I’ll post about was Pop. I watched her develop from a raw freshman who could barely find the rim on a free throw to an all-conference player who was deadly at the line. If that isn’t development I don’t know what is. As for what happened with Ryan and Donarski this year…ever see a player have slight regression before? If you look at the stats the regression was relatively minor. It wasn’t like they fell off the face of the earth. Instead, their performance matched up quite well with last year’s in many ways.

#2 - Why did Kylie leave? She likely was told what she needed to do in the off season and didn’t like it. Aubrey? Inconsistent as a performer. She wanted more time and with the recruits coming in didn’t see it happening. Obviously left on good terms and Bill helped her find her new gig. M&M and Maggie? How would they contribute any different than they did this year? There’s more talent coming in that would likely push them further down the totem pole.

#3 - pure speculation on your part. Why did M&M stay away? I don’t know but would guess it had to do with healing up. Are there favorites and a supposed doghouse? Likely, but I saw it more in the past than I have in the past 5-6 years. Saying M&M was in the doghouse is what I said - pure speculation. She wasn’t the 1st or 2nd off the bench and getting significant minutes if she was in some doghouse.

#4 - Not worth responding to as the premise is just baiting.

#5 - As others have said there was a VERY good reason why Clark didn’t come here. Fit. Chemistry. It wasn’t there and she found a coach who was willing to let her do things her way.

 

[StClone]

Why does everyone assume Billy is going to be the next coach? I love the people who think Jamie will say, "here you go, Billy, good luck!"

Congrats - I don't think anyone knows, but people like to just assume Jamie will turn the program over to Billy.

Bill's contract runs until 2027, so I think at this point, it's the least of our worries.

If you don't think Billy has the "IT" to coach and is not the best candidate (post-Bill) this 2018 article has some back story information that he should be given some consideration at least on his recruiting prowess. Remember this is a 2018 article and we just signed (for 2023) our best class ever with Billy's help I am sure:

Billy Fennelly: The recruiting guru

Editor’s Note: Brenda Frese was originally listed as a player under Billy Fennelly. Brenda was an assistant coach, while her sister played under Bill Fennelly. It’s been six seasons since Billy Fennelly was promoted to assistant coach. But deep down, Billy Fennelly has bled cardinal and gold...

iowastatedaily.com

One of the recruits Billy seems to have a hand in landing was one of my top three favs Emily Durr. Billy is not my first choice, but what do you do if he is the best at the moment needed?

 

[farcyted]

im tired of everyone calling for a change. i love coach bill. he loves ISU and this is where he wants to be. before bill came here who would have ever thought of average 6000 people in the stands. mulitple sell outs. we just completed another big 12 tournament title ( that makes 3 under his tenure). he represents our school like i want a head coach to act. not like a certain former baylor coach. we are always in the conversation for upper half of the big 12 conference. consistantly always near 20 wins

we have maintained consistency under bill and his coaching staff. you can tell by the reaction of ashley in the interview on saturday that she didnt want her experience to end. he brings in quality players and players that are respectful. ( welle, freese,taylor , poppins , prins ,christopherson , oniel, carlton, ashley the list goes on)

yes this year ended like we did not want but they still get to hold a big 12 tourney title.

feel free to roast me but i would not want anyone else to lead our program

Bill is ISU. He exemplifies everything good about ISU athletics.

But, Bill needs to recruit a complimentary team (all positions, including centers) that are big12 worthy and he needs to add athleticism and quickness to the team.

 

[BCClone]

Donarski leaving. Whats going on?