In the context of this discussion, I would define "proven" as a coach who has demonstrated that he can recruit and compete, and has done so for many years (not one, not two, not even several) at a P5 D1 school. Maybe some of those coaches haven't achieved the success at those schools that we desire at IU, but Dolson is going to have to extrapolate their past achievements/qualifications into our current situation to decide if the candidate is a worthy hire.
It's guess work. My point is that a coach who hasn't been able to prove that on a D1 level is more of a risk than the ones who have.
I wish McCullom had another year under his belt at Drake and maybe a couple of years at a Washington or New Mexico.
I also wish Chris Beard didn't have that ugly night in Texas in his past.
I also wish that Brad Stevens' wife really wanted to move back to Indiana.
We can wish all we want, but the truth is, BM is a pretty decent risk at this point.