Drake Coach Ben McCollum Reads Like A CCC Resume
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Offense is the slowest in D1 (legit ranked 364th). I think that crosses him off the list. IU fans can’t handle 55-45 wins.
Disagree. We can’t handle sucking. Virginia fans loved every minute of their natty season
They might be slow according to your numbers but Drake only averages about 5 points less a game. Seems like they have a very efficient O. And they play great defense. Hmmmmm. Sounds like someone else we’re familiar with.
Obviously a very good basketball mind, and basketball coach. His concerns are his lack of P4 experience, his offensive philosophies, namely pace of play...and then potentially his personality and whether he'd be comfortable under the big lights of IU bball.
There are some core aspects of his offense that I think most of us would love watching. They're very spread out...lots of pick and rolls with pocket passing, lots of back cutting, lots of penetrating and kicking to shooters.
The part I think many of us, including myself, wouldn't love...they do work late in "most" shot clocks, they don't push transition much, despite having a very good defense, and their best player dribbles around A LOT.
I have no idea what McCollum would do if he had access to the types of players he would at IU...but his style and pace of play would be a concern if I were Dolson. Not a disqualifying concern, but not ideal. Its very possible he'd play faster at IU, and its also very possible having Bennett Stirtz is leading to some of this.
If people are complaining about Bennett this guy is far worse in pace. Legit slowest in D1. Not my stats. Kenneth Pom
Another take at a "list", for me...
Coaches I'd be ELATED about: Stevens, Oats, Pearl, Donovan
Coaches I'd be excited about: Otz, Smart, McCollum, Few
Coaches I'd be happy about: Williams, McCasland, Drew, McDermott, Altman, May
Coaches I'd be "mid" about: Cronin, DeVries, Calhoun, Byington, Randy Bennett, Gates, Brownell
Coaches I know would win, but I'd be wary about the baggage: Beard, Golden, Jans, Wade
That's probably true. But he'd need to win, pretty much immediately, or people like me would be bitching about the limited possessions style not maximizing what Indiana University Basketball "could be". And when/if we lost out on some key recruits, people, like me again probably, would start linking our style with losing recruits.
In the end...I think most of us would just prefer a faster, more up tempo style and pace.
But I do encourage anyone with these concerns, to actually watch McCollum's Drake team play. There WILL be some frustrating stretches where Stirtz dribbles around for entire possessions, but there will also be long stretches where their defense and offensive movement are beautiful things to watch.
No, it's not. We all want points or defense or whatever, but as soon as we lose a couple of games we'll all be upset with the lack or offense or the need for better defense. I compare it to play calling in football. Nobody's ever happy.
I’m assuming he is probably smart enough to play to the strengths of his players. One thing I know for sure, he finds good shooters. That would be crazy to watch an IU game where we have shooters, and we win… even by a low score… I love me some good ole whoop ass defense.
Drake has scored 1709 points this year.
Divide by 24 games= 71+ per game
I’ll take 71 a game and win a lot
Divide by 24 games= 71+ per game
I’ll take 71 a game and win a lot
Then someone will say they don’t have any competition. That’s what people were saying about the IU football competition and why Cignetti was able to win games
Watch one of their games, if you haven't already. They do bleed a lot of shot clocks. It is a valid concern.
But as I've typed a bunch of times, wrapped up inside a bunch of those possessions are REALLY good motions and actions, a wide open, spread out design... And I suspect that a lot of this years later shot clock situations is McCollum's HEAVY reliance on and usage of Bennett Stirtz. That could be both a concern or a strength, depending on how you look at it.
Doesn't really matter, but I hope if McCollum does end up being a primary candidate, that Dolson and company go back and look at how his earlier NWMS teams played, before Stirtz... A player like Bennett Stirtz can change things. Matt Painter completely changed his entire offense around to maximize Zach Edey. Stirtz isn't Edey, but he's a really, really good basketball player, that has won McCollum a lot of basketball games.
In all fairness, we’ve been shitty for so long, we may not be able to handle winning at all.
But is that his style or is he adapting to his talent? I listened to him for a few minutes and one thing he said is he builds the team/players towards its strengths. So, with D2 players, and now Drake, typically not being elite athletes, he may be working to get the most out of the strengths his players have.
At IU, he could/would/should attract better athletes and tweak his style to utilize the athletic strengths of the players. At least, that's my opinion. I find him intriguing and he's moving up my list. Gotta finish the podcast though.
I agree, but will the fan base have the patience from when a Cig like basketball coach is named?
I suspect there's going to be a lot of angry people if it's not a household name like Stephens, Beard, May, etc. Not that there's anything wrong with those guys if you can get them, but if you can't and Scott has to start looking at the 2-3 Cig like names out there, I don't see people having faith in him regardless what happened in football.
I really believe McCollum will win like Bo Ryan did at Wisconsin. I would love to see him at IU. But your point about the fan base having patience will most likely be the reason he wont happen. If not for the Covid pandemic, he most likely would have won four D2 national titles in a row.
Does it really matter if it’s modern or old school? Maybe he’s smart enough to do a mix of both based on opponent. I’m looking for a coach who will bring winning basketball, no matter what it looks like.
Too many “fans” will never be satisfied.
Score 50 a game and win big and nobody cares, nearly everyone would be happy. Don't win huge, need to be much more entertaining.
I'll side with win big however he can.
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I'll side with win big however he can.
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No, the pace is the slowest in D1. Pace is determined by offense, defense and opponent offense and defense.
To see if they are actually the slowest offense, would need average time of offensive possession.
They might not have the slowest offense, but when they rank 364 in avg possession length and tempo, they are gonna be close to the bottom by default.
That is a wild stat by the way, 364 in both tempo and possession!! That is dead last.
And yet they average a little over 70 pts/game. Sounds like they might actually go slower to set up a great shot.
Well, maybe most are right. Let’s play fast and have shitty shots and turnovers.. that’s really enjoyable to watch. Seems familiar for some reason.
It would be interesting to see similar numbers from McCullins’ D2 teams. I wonder if he coaches to his teams’ talents or if he strictly adheres to his concepts.
Do players generally prefer playing in a modern offense? If so, how might that impact recruiting? A system that doesn't appeal to top talent could make it harder to attract elite players, which in turn could affect wins and losses. Additionally, which style of play is more engaging for fans? While winning is the ultimate goal, entertainment value plays a role in keeping fan support strong, which can also impact NIL, etc.
Does his style of play translate to P4? I dunno, but they are 21-2 doing it his way at Drake year 1. And he won 81 percent of his games at NW Missouri State over 15 seasons (btw they are 4-18 this season without him), including 4 D-II ships over 6 seasons from 2017 to 2022 (including a 38-0 season). If he was just making the D-II tournament every year and winning under 70% of their games running his style of play, I would have concerns. But to win at the clip year in and year out that he has, it tells me they play a disciplined brand of basketball that imposes their will/play style on their opponents.
I am tired of watching (as I think we all are) our teams wilt under pressure and sh*t the bed down the stretch year in and year out. If we can't get a guy who is a slam dunk winner (baggage or no baggage) then this guy would be the next best thing. I could see this guy end up at Iowa and kicking our asses for the next two decades.
Iowa fan here and a Northwest Missouri State alum.
He is the real deal and hope to god that our AD gets Fran out and McCollum in. Above all, his teams play with a crazy amount of toughness. They work the shot clock but are super efficient- lots of high ball screen action and options off of that. His teams will run when it is there but really value the ball. He is 21-2 at Drake with 3/5 starters being former D2 guys. Stirtz is one of the better players I have seen in CBB this year as he is leading his league in points, assists, and steals.
Very nice insight. Thank you for your comments. I noticed the same thing when I was at Ford Center in Evansville for Division II finals. I’m assuming Dolson will find out the same thing in his research and possible interview with him. If a coach is great at evaluating his players and the opponent, it doesn’t matter which Division it is in. Great coaches figure it out.
Zero doubt he is a great coach and X/O guy. The only real question is can he bring in the kind of talent it will take to win at BIG10 level and beyond.
Those are good questions, but they’re kind of backwards. It sure seems to me players are more interested in money than modern. And winning will always drive fan/backer/nil enthusiasm.
Hmmm... probably dribbles even more than X did. But is quite a lot better overall player than X ever was. Stritz is constantly probing for openings, and looking for cutters and lanes for himself. I'm not certain X had that much intent and focus with his dribbling. And he certainly wasn't as good at it as Stirtz is.
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