I know this sounds ridiculous, but when I see the way Dusty May comports himself it kind of worries me. It actually worries me a lot. I just don’t think he’s cut out for the job here. It’s plain as day that we need a guy like Chris Beard. Let’s pray that Dolson can see it…
Beard
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On peegs, Rabjohn squashes anyone that talks about Beard. It's kind of annoying. Then discusses that Will Wade is a fine guy.
I don't know who had offers from where but their second unit would have beaten most teams.
He's not an "IU" guy, so no. He is a damn good coach that has won at three different places. What he has quickly managed at a normally downtrodden Ole Miss BB program (13-22 pre-Beard), in the best league in the country, has been pretty impressive. He coaches with a style that has an edge to it that I think IU fans would welcome. Add in the resources available at Indiana that he currently does not have, and I think his success level only climbs. He does have a great respect for what he learned from Bob Knight, which is obviously very impactful on his coaching. That tells me he gets what the Indiana program means to its fans and how great it could be again with the right person at the helm. That's why.
There are compelling basketball specific that make him one of the better fits out there right now.
But the IU job is, and should be, about more than basketball. And I think this is where his connection with RMK is causing people to speak out of both sides of their mouths when talking about Beard, and also failing to see the downsides he has a coach, and then obviously not acknowledging the very real risks associated with hiring him.
Both sides of their mouths... Many people use personality, and the ability to handle the IU spotlight as reasons why a guy like McCollum shouldn't be hired. But completely discount that the only time Beard had a job anywhere near the stress and environment the IU job involves...he "cracked" and had an awful drunken incident with his fiance, and lost that job because of it. Other than his short Texas stint, he's had the luxury of coaching in relative anonymity.
Downsides as a coach...he runs a "bully ball" system. He wins with it. It would actually probably fit the B10 conference pretty well. But it isn't pretty. And to some fans, that will end up mattering. And again...the response to this might be..."who cares if he wins"? I'd ask why its a negative for a guy like McCollum then? He's also had something like 6 head coaching jobs in 13 years. So...how well equipped is he to build and then maintain a high level program? Lots of assumptions being made here...and I suspect those assumptions come largely because he has ties with RMK.
And then the real issue... and I've posted this a couple times recently. Its NOT just whether or not he's innocent or guilty of some horrendous DV incident. And its not just the moral issues that whole incident presents. Its the very real risk that he might do something that normally wouldn't warrant him being fired, that because of that past incident, would almost certainly force Dolson/Whitten to "cancel" him. Or even more likely... if his fiance, at any point, feels like she wants to revise the story again. He's toast. And again, the RMK connection here, I think, is causing many people to just discount those things as non factors.
In short...very good coach. Basketball wise he'd be a good overall fit. But he's not THE PERFECT candidate, like he's become on here with many in the last few weeks.
excellent post, thank you.
Why in the world, with all the potential other great coaches out there, must we accept one with a DV allegation? Having it dropped is meaningless. Can you imagine the humiliation the accuser would have to face if it had gone to court.
How many folks on this board have had to deal with even a charge of domestic assault whether it stuck or was dropped?
He's is NOT an option.
Again, the great thing is none of this has to be decided by anyone on this board. Investigate him and you'll have your answer about his background and the risk it presents in a day. Doubtful the fiance changes her story; I'd imagine she has an agreement in place that prevents further comment. But, as others have said, there's a reason he wasn't a serious candidate for Lville or UK and I suspect that likely gives us our answer for now.
I'm fine with Beard or May seems like it's probably down to them as the front runner. Two different personality's both Knight connections both final four guys I'm good with either one.
Great stuff. I was simply speaking in generalities about his coaching and not promoting him for the job. I have consistently said, both here and on radio, that Beard will not be the picture.
I'd bet that May is the guy thearey
I hope we don't have to go outside of these two options.
The funniest thing about this is that there is not ONE legitimate (known) candidate that someone doesn't like for one reason or another.
there is no next time around. Not for IU and not for Beard.
He is a candidate because there are only a few coaches who could succeed at IU right now and he is one of them. There will not be another time because if IU tanks for another 4 years the fan base will be gone and so will the NIL money.
I DO think Beard is a strong candidate for the IU job.
I also think people who say Buzz Williams is a candidate are the same ones who used to say Lon Krueger was a candidate, and the people who say Mick Cronin is a candidate are the same ones who used to say John Calipari was a candidate.
A coach who wins will bring the fans back. Look at football. Worst program in the NCAA and we went to the playoffs and are selling out the stadium in year one. Because we found a coach who wins.
Not saying it would be good to spend another 4 years with a bad coach, but the fans will always come back.
Not saying it would be good to spend another 4 years with a bad coach, but the fans will always come back.
May is 13-4 all-time vs the Big Ten.
That's over 76%, for those without a calculator.
Pretty solid start for a young coach.
I'd say those four NCAA D2 championships kind of set him apart from Keno Davis.
true, but like I've said, I don't think it's the coaching that generally upends guys that move up in my opinion; they don't forget how to coach. It's all the other tasks, demands and responsibilities of running a major P4 D1 program, imo.
I'm inclined to trust the process at this point. All I can really do I guess. He might be the riskiest of the names mentioned but if he ends up being the guy, I'm hoping Dolson wasn't the proverbial blind squirrel when he found Cig.
This is way over dramatic. Another 4-5 years of mediocrity won't chase everyone away. We've been a mediocre program since the late 90s. We'll survive another bad hire, if that happens. Sure, some people might become apathetic, again. But everyone will reengage when the next hire comes around. And if that person wins, the excitement, support, energy will come rushing back.
I think the odds are heavily in Dolson's favor, that he'll get a guy that comes in and starts building a good, solid program. And with where we've been the last 8-9 years, most will be excited about it and will get behind him.
Absolutely. I just hope there is a "process". I feel like with Sampson and Archie, and even to a degree with Woodson (had his backers pushing him) and Crean (few takers) we locked in on one candidate and didn't conduct a thorough search. Form a small committee to help prevent biases and interview everyone who is a possible candidate and see if someone just knocks your socks off. If we'd hired the "hot" name, we'd have never ended up with Knight or Cignetti.
I guess I'm assuming this is how Dolson is approaching it? But now you have me worried. Ha ha.
Pretty much all my "takes" on this have been operating under the assumption that Dolson would approach this whole thing like he did with Cig. And that he'd have a handful of really smart, plugged in, up to date on current college bball trends and dynamics...people, helping him sift through potential candidates. Both bringing candidates to the table, AND vetting them away from the table if necessary.
Yep, I don't want a huge committee, but I'd include Whitten, (at least with the final2-3), a former coach/bball guru to analyze their knowledge/approach, and an interviewing/psychologist type to try and pick up on lies or incongruities.
I'm not saying he's the guy, but the dude can flat-out coach. He'll make some high-major D1 school quite happy in the not-too-distant future, imo.
Definitely...maybe an analytics type guy too, to help flush out styles of play, modern efficiency theories, etc... That would be a great 5 person group, in my opinion.
Dolson
Whitten
Former college coach/guru
Psychologist/interviewer
BBall analytics type person
Too many hens in the hen house. This isn't a high-level CIA position that involves national security.
Let Dolson run point. If he wants to pass the ball, fine. If he doesn't, even better.
The committee needs someone with a BS detector. My theory is that we have locked into candidates because we think we have landed them. It doesn’t matter if IU thinks a deal is in hand, or the candidate would take the job.
Maybe...one of the things that I think is essential, right now, for IU bball is that they shed the decades long "good ole boy club" influences. Having a "committee" like what Kkott and I suggest, helps to get that mindset and vibe going. No more Quinn Buckners, no more Kent Bensens, no more influential donors pulling strings. Dolson obviously leads it all, but including Whitten means the entire University is behind this new approach...making sure the old bball coach guru isn't necessarily an "IU guy", and just a really smart basketball guy, helps keep everyone open to all styles, basketball backgrounds, etc... Having an analytics person helps ensure they keep an eye on what's successful NOW.
In the end...its important that it is Dolson's call. But how he gets to that decision could play a huge role in how successful the choice ends up being.
that's why I think it's important to have a small committee and include someone who's an interviewing specialist/psychologist. These guys all believe in themselves, no bball way better than Dolson or Whitten and will present themselves well and be convincing. You need to have a couple other folks to make sure you all feel the same and someone didn't pick up on something that tips a problem off. The hardest position I ever interview for is salespeople for the same reason: they are good at selling themselves and picking up on what you want to hear and regurgitating that. Maybe we've done this in the past, but I've generally gotten the feeling we more identified and prioritized a list and worked our way down it.
There's a lot of discussion about what Rabjohns of Peegs recently said about the coaching search that's getting a lot of discussion on other IU sites, but nothing on here. So I'll throw it out, fwiw
They report that he said that he is hearing only 3 names with respect to the IU search.....namely May, Drew, and Cronin. He also said that he personally did not expect the search to go beyond those 3 names, and that Beard was not under consideration.
Got to think Cronin's loss at UCLA and once again bashing the players and fans afterwards puts the kibash on any IU consideration. And Drew to IU seems very doubtful. If he is correct (a big IF, I know) and Dusty doesn't want it, we'll see who is Plan D.
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If that's true, I would go with the order you typed them... And my excitement level would diminish a fair bit from May to Drew, and then a fair bit more from Drew to Cronin.
But...any of those 3 would right size our program, and get us headed in a better direction. And there are a million reasons, if that's true, why they'd be zeroing in on those guys. And probably the most applicable one would be...most others weren't interested. If I somehow found out they didn't look in to McCollum and/or McCasland, and just focused on those 3 fellas. I'd be incredibly disappointed in them.
Cronin's latest remarks are the worst, because they are weird and not just angry. They were 17 points up and choked the game away. He was critical of the players in a sarcastic way and said the crowd's nervousness had affected the players. I think he's talked his way out of consideration.
Also....I don't know if Rabjohns has any credibility, just mentioning what he said. I do think Beard is out of the picture based on so many 'insiders' saying so. There would be pushback if he was the choice.
Maybe but he was coming into a situation that was even worse than what we have today. We've just been underachieving with Woodson. Any good coach would think he could fix that. Fewer had any desire to come in and clean up the mess after Sampson.
Universities aren't built that way. If you have 5 people on the committee the other 3 will be U hacks or at least people with IU connections. At least one would probably be a Trustee. Just go with Dull Son and Whitten. You could run questions by experts on a contract basis.
Nothing against Division 2 but Davis was Ap coach of the year in 2008 too. Guys like Ray Harper, Mike Leaf, Pat Douglass, Wayne Champman all won mutiple championships in D2 never heard if any of them.
