ISU Coaching Poll
- Thread starter Gunnerclone
- Start date
If JP shells out several times more for a less-proven coach, he had better produce.
And Minnesota. There is no reason why we shouldn’t land more recruits from Minneapolis area. Steve had a shot to open up that area with McKinley Wright. When they wouldn’t take Wright’s commit his staff burned every burned with the AAU programs in Minnesota.
Eric Musselman would have been my dream hire if he didnt go to Arky. We wont be able to pry him away.
A guy I've had my eye on lately is BYU's Mark Pope.
A power program will take another chance on Travis Ford, Anthony Grant, or Prohms mentor Kennedy.
Who is awful is Stackhouse at Vandy.
A guy I've had my eye on lately is BYU's Mark Pope.
A power program will take another chance on Travis Ford, Anthony Grant, or Prohms mentor Kennedy.
Who is awful is Stackhouse at Vandy.
Has anyone considered Tech's top assistant, Ulric Maligi? He was named as one of the best coaches under 40 by ESPN. He assists with on court coaching, he is the lead opponent scout and lead recruiter. He could bring defense to Ames and I think having an African American coach, one of only 2 in the conference, would be a huge deal.
who were the last Minnesota players that came directly to Iowa State out of high school?
serious question, I can’t really think of any since Sullivan.
MN seems like there is a really big spread between the players they produce. There are quite a few top top guys, then massive fall off.
So, I've been thinking about this part of the equation a fair amount lately.
I would say I was in a different camp prior to that. I typically prefer watching Orr/Hoiberg type offense-focused basketball, and I think recruiting is crucial for both that style and short term success. So, I was leaning towards the TJ / rehire Hoiberg or someone in that mold that would bring in good recruits and play a free flowing, offense-focused style of ball.
However, after hearing the description of Craig Smith, I think the defensive, rebounding and toughness mindset may be more important. If you look at the teams that have had the most sustainable success in college basketball, they typically are very good at defense. While they weren't as fun to watch style-wise as the Orr/Hoiberg teams, the Floyd and Eustachy teams (at least after the system was in place) were pretty darn successful. Heck, if you look at the best Kenyucky teams, while most people focus on the scoring of folks like John Wall, they played great defense and rebounded well.
Ultimately, solid defensive and rebounding teams don't have the ups and downs year over year that offense-focused teams do because you don't have to be a + athlete to contribute to them. So, when good recruits leave earlier than anticipated or transfer, the junior who only knows how to play great defense and rebound (and take good, unforced shots) can fill a hole easier than in a system where that same player has to be able to break down a defender, create and make shots. Similarly, when a transfer comes into a culture where everyone else is working their butts off on defense and rebounding, it's easier to get them to change their mindset. Sure, you'll lose a few studs (like Tech and WV do almost every year) along the way because they don't want to be pushed that hard, but it is still sustainable once you've got the culture in place.
So, I guess I'm saying I'm now in the Craig Smith, Devries, Maligi or somebody like them group. While I'm not looking forward to it and hope that it's not necessary, I'm now willing to potentially have 2 more down years as the culture is established so that we can sustain success over time.
Should I have Gunner create another coaching poll (Offense/Recruiter versus Defense/Culture)?
Thats impossible. Everyone knows if you dont have a good freshman season you will never be good at all.
I was wondering, because I can’t think of any high school players from Minnesota we’ve signed in forever.
the way the post was stated, it was because prohm didn’t take Wright, no one in Minnesota AAU wants anything to do with Iowa State. I’m just trying to think of any high school player since Sullivan we’ve gotten from there.
good catch. I honestly had forgotten all about him. Mcdermott got one.
Quick search, post-Sullivan (not counting transfers), I found:
Calvin Godfrey
Andrew Skoglund
Cory Johnson
Highly possible I missed someone
Certainly have tried to get a few each year but to no success. Some think Coffey would have come if Fred had stayed - who knows.
It's not because they're going to Minn. Actually, Marquette seems to have a nice pipeline here themselves. A few to TX or Baylor, but, o/w, Duke, Gonzaga, or other B1G schools. ISU was supposedly in on Walton, but he went to UNC. Can't argue with that (though they're not very good this year).
Just prior to Sullivan -- Martin Rancik
I was unable to search prior to that period. I can't forget about Brad Dudek, but that came 15 years before that.
It’s a shame that we haven’t been able to get a foothold in there.