That Smith kid for Purdue…

[VanPastorMan]

I fully agree and for two great coaches, it was kind of sobering to see how they ended their tenures at these two rival schools. Knight fired and Gene suffering 3 seasons that resembled nothing like the teams he assembled the previous 22 years. The plaque presentation to Keady at Assembly Hall was a touching acknowledgment of appreciation for what a great rivalry there was for 2 decades between these two coaches. As much as they seemed to dislike each other, it was so interesting to see the photos of the two visiting with each other as Knight began to decline.

Keadys teams were so bad Coach Mike Davis had a winning record against him. And I love Coach Mike Davis as a man.

 

[ams66]

It does, but I think this notion that this next hire will seal our fate, one way or another, is overly dramatic, and likely not even close to accurate.

When IU finally hires the right guy...even if its not this next guy, or even the guy after that... our machine will fire back up, and it'll be one of the best programs and environments, in all of college bball again. Also, coaches like Davis and Crean prove that Indiana doesn't "need" to have RMK/Coach K levels of coaches to have elite moments again. So I suspect anyone we choose this next time, will energize the fan base, and there will be special moments again, even if he doesn't get the program fully back to where many of us remember it being.

In basketball, only 6 coaches -- ever -- have won three or more national titles. Realistically, the chances that IU ever gets back to that kind of success again are quite low. But I agree that it wouldn't take that to get the fan base engaged and excited again. Most of us would be thrilled to just see good basketball being played, winning or being near the top of the conference, and being competitive nationally. I.e. what was stated by the AD as the expectations for the program.

 

[OneWayStreet]

Keadys teams were so bad Coach Mike Davis had a winning record against him. And I love Coach Mike Davis as a man.

Don't forget that Keady could not recruit against Knight in his heyday. That's why Lee Rose resigned after his final four appearance in 1980 although he was highly successful. Keady's genius was that he took projected last place teams and turned them into conference champions in a true blue collar fashion. And in some ways, it's been the Painter way as well.

 

[IUNorth]

In basketball, only 6 coaches -- ever -- have won three or more national titles. Realistically, the chances that IU ever gets back to that kind of success again are quite low. But I agree that it wouldn't take that to get the fan base engaged and excited again. Most of us would be thrilled to just see good basketball being played, winning or being near the top of the conference, and being competitive nationally. I.e. what was stated by the AD as the expectations for the program.

I was just as excited about watching IU basketball during the 2 Cody/Vic years, as I was during the Cheaney/Bailey years. Despite knowing that we were not nearly as well coached, and that winning a natty with those teams was unlikely. Winning a natty, with pretty much any team, to your point, is technically unlikely. Outside a handful of historically good teams, the odds are just stacked against a singular team expecting to win it, and then doing it.

Just find a coach that puts a good product on the floor, that is fun to watch, that is routinely a top 20 level team, and is competitive at the top of the B10. AND that attracts enough talent that they realistically compete every few years for a Natty. Find that guy, have him coach at IU for 10-15 years...get us number 6 at some point, with multiple years where we're in the mix for it.

 

[Boilermaker03]

UCLA does not have the most National titles in the Big Ten, but nice try.

There's a B10 team that has more than 11 NCAA titles?

 

[Blimpy]

Keadys teams were so bad Coach Mike Davis had a winning record against him. And I love Coach Mike Davis as a man.

Soo! Gene Keady had a winning record against Bobby Knight!

 

[VanPastorMan]

Soo! Gene Keady had a winning record against Bobby Knight!

Therefore Mike Davis is a better coach than Bobby Knight. lol

 

[77 grad]

There's a B10 team that has more than 11 NCAA titles?

UCLA was a Pac 8 team coached by a Purdue grad then.