Drake wins. Next UMN Coach?

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McCollum makes so much sense. Coyle is a Drake alum from Iowa. Can speak/sell the opportunities of moving to Gopher job -- compared to McCollum being at Iowa or Indiana. McCollum knows Midwest/Minnesota recruiting. Move up for McCollum, great payday, and he gets a pretty long runway because Gopher basketball is in rough spot. McCollum also has sent players to pros in U.S. and Europe. He has a long track record of winning for a young guy - a five-time NABC NCAA Division II coach of the year. Program builder. Enthusiastic. Hopefully can help shake dollar trees to get players. Hopefully keeps Coach Thorson to join him in building a Minnesota player pipeline to Dinkytown. Could be beginning of rebuilding a program.

Amazing how every year there's new bright shiny objects in schools' continual search for finding the diamond in the rough coach who can win all the time.
 

gopher watcher said:
McCollum makes so much sense. Coyle is a Drake alum from Iowa. Can speak/sell the opportunities of moving to Gopher job -- compared to McCollum being at Iowa or Indiana. McCollum knows Midwest/Minnesota recruiting. Move up for McCollum, great payday, and he gets a pretty long runway because Gopher basketball is in rough spot. McCollum also has sent players to pros in U.S. and Europe. He has a long track record of winning for a young guy - a five-time NABC NCAA Division II coach of the year. Program builder. Enthusiastic. Hopefully can help shake dollar trees to get players. Hopefully keeps Coach Thorson to join him in building a Minnesota player pipeline to Dinkytown. Could be beginning of rebuilding a program.

Amazing how every year there's new bright shiny objects in schools' continual search for finding the diamond in the rough coach who can win all the time.
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I like the way you think.
 

gopher watcher said:
McCollum makes so much sense. Coyle is a Drake alum from Iowa. Can speak/sell the opportunities of moving to Gopher job -- compared to McCollum being at Iowa or Indiana.
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Curious, what are those things he could sell to McCollum that would persuade him to go to Minnesota instead of Indiana or Iowa? Not saying they don't exist, just curious what you have in mind.
 


tjgopher said:
Curious, what are those things he could sell to McCollum that would persuade him to go to Minnesota instead of Indiana or Iowa? Not saying they don't exist, just curious what you have in mind.
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Indiana only needs one head coach, and I don't believe it'll be McCollum.
 

If you are a wuality candidate looking at this job, how much guaranteed money does it take (per year/years/combined) given the perceptions about this job? How much more to work here vs. IA or IN?
 

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tjgopher said:
Curious, what are those things he could sell to McCollum that would persuade him to go to Minnesota instead of Indiana or Iowa? Not saying they don't exist, just curious what you have in mind.
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You could make it to year four year with a performance that would have you fired much earlier at Iowa or indiana
 

tjgopher said:
Curious, what are those things he could sell to McCollum that would persuade him to go to Minnesota instead of Indiana or Iowa? Not saying they don't exist, just curious what you have in mind.
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A few: This is a great large city, compared to Bloomington and Iowa City. NBA is in town, which should be a selling point for recruits. Minnesota has awesome high school hoops. A lot of prospects within driving distance of campus. Gopher job is so latent. It's just waiting for someone who can put pieces together and help it take off. Fans will loooooooove any coach that gets them into the 2nd round of the tournament, and such a performance will likely lead to another big payday, either at U of M or somewhere else. Indiana is delusional and thinks that should be the standard. Hawkeye fans also are delusional. This also could be a career spot for a good coach.
 



gopher watcher said:
A few: This is a great large city, compared to Bloomington and Iowa City. NBA is in town, which should be a selling point for recruits. Minnesota has awesome high school hoops. A lot of prospects within driving distance of campus. Gopher job is so latent. It's just waiting for someone who can put pieces together and help it take off. Fans will loooooooove any coach that gets them into the 2nd round of the tournament, and such a performance will likely lead to another big payday, either at U of M or somewhere else. Indiana is delusional and thinks that should be the standard. Hawkeye fans also are delusional. This also could be a career spot for a good coach.
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Additionally, P.J. might have fled long ago if this weren't such a kick-ass place to live.
1. A job is what you make of it.
2. Is there really anyone in this forum who'd rather live in Iowa City than MSP? If so, why are you here and not there?
 

swede2 said:
If you are a wuality candidate looking at this job, how much guaranteed money does it take (per year/years/combined) given the perceptions about this job? How much more to work here vs. IA or IN?
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This is a better job than Iowa. There is more apathy there than here.
 






gopher watcher said:
McCollum makes so much sense. Coyle is a Drake alum from Iowa. Can speak/sell the opportunities of moving to Gopher job -- compared to McCollum being at Iowa or Indiana. McCollum knows Midwest/Minnesota recruiting. Move up for McCollum, great payday, and he gets a pretty long runway because Gopher basketball is in rough spot. McCollum also has sent players to pros in U.S. and Europe. He has a long track record of winning for a young guy - a five-time NABC NCAA Division II coach of the year. Program builder. Enthusiastic. Hopefully can help shake dollar trees to get players. Hopefully keeps Coach Thorson to join him in building a Minnesota player pipeline to Dinkytown. Could be beginning of rebuilding a program.

Amazing how every year there's new bright shiny objects in schools' continual search for finding the diamond in the rough coach who can win all the time.
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The barn animals can wear McCollum's white shirt and Maroon tie!
 


Bad Gopher said:
During yesterday's game, the broadcast crew mentioned that he dresses professionally for games, which they remarked is less and less common "in this age of the quarter zip."
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I love quarter-zips. Wear them all the time.

Last time I saw PJ Fleck at the grocery store in the neighborhood, we talked about how he keeps wearing quarter-zips during games that don't appear to be available anywhere, and when can I get them.

He said they're still trying to ramp up that part of marketing.
 

Unregistered User said:
I love quarter-zips. Wear them all the time.

Last time I saw PJ Fleck at the grocery store in the neighborhood, we talked about how he keeps wearing quarter-zips during games that don't appear to be available anywhere, and when can I get them.

He said they're still trying to ramp up that part of marketing.
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Everybody's wondered where he gets his. Are they, what, made custom for him?

P.J. dresses up with a collar and a tie under that sweater. Greg Gard was in a suit the other night. I don't expect that, necessarily, but don't look like you went out to the convenience store on a Saturday morning before you showered and didn't want to leave the house in your sleepwear. At least pretend it's casual Friday at the office or something.
 


Bad Gopher said:
During yesterday's game, the broadcast crew mentioned that he dresses professionally for games, which they remarked is less and less common "in this age of the quarter zip."
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The problem with the quarter zip is that I'd guess you can't really take that off and toss it on the ground. You knew things were getting serious when Clem shedded the suit coat and loosened up the tie.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
The problem with the quarter zip is that I'd guess you can't really take that off and toss it on the ground. You knew things were getting serious when Clem shedded the suit coat and loosened up the tie.
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That's how they sell it at the clothier: it's a garment AND a prop!
 


tjgopher said:
Curious, what are those things he could sell to McCollum that would persuade him to go to Minnesota instead of Indiana or Iowa? Not saying they don't exist, just curious what you have in mind.
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Well, I can't imagine money being one of them. If there is a bidding war between Indiana, Iowa, and Minnesota, and yet-to-be-named others, I have little doubt that the Gophers would lose that one.
 

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TwistingMyMelon said:
Well, I can't imagine money being one of them. If there is a bidding war between Indiana, Iowa, and Minnesota, and yet-to-be-named others, I have little doubt that the Gophers would lose that one.
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What's the line from Despicable Me: in terms of money...we have no money. 😂

Largely because of the program's continued demise, we have no money, and we can't reverse the demise without money. How does a program pull out of such a death spiral? Does the program and the U actually have enough of a survival instinct to even resist a death spiral?
 

Bad Gopher said:
What's the line from Despicable Me: in terms of money...we have no money. 😂

Does the program and the U actually have enough of a survival instinct to even resist a death spiral?
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I don't know. I'm not sure I'd use the term "death spiral" because other than the Tubby period and a few years scattered between the Monson and Pitino eras, the basketball program has been among the cannon fodder group of teams (PSU, Northwestern, Nebraska, Rutgers, and possibly newcomer Washington) this century.

This certainly has been the worst era of the bunch this century but it probably had to get worse before it got better. The Todd Lickliter era appeared to have shocked Iowa into making some upgrades for the basketball program. I guess we'll see whether the Johnson era does the same for this program or the administration will be content with a big fish hockey program, a competitive second-tier football program, and a perennial bottom feeder basketball program.
 
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Minnesota should just become a FIBA franchise and recruit from within FIBA for players.
 

Just to play devil's advocate........


gopher watcher said:
This is a great large city, compared to Bloomington and Iowa City.
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Not sure that's a big selling point specific to this candidate. Guy may like smaller towns. He was born in Iowa City (population 75,000), grew up in Storm Lake (population 11,000), went to junior college in Mason City (population 27,000), went to college in Maryville, Missouri (population 10,000), coached in Emporia, Kansas (population 24,000), returned to coach in Maryville (population 10,000), and now in Des Moines (population 210,000).


gopher watcher said:
NBA is in town, which should be a selling point for recruits.
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Meh. Based on the number of NCAA national champion programs who reside in NBA cities, probably not much impact.

gopher watcher said:
Fans will loooooooove any coach that gets them into the 2nd round of the tournament, and such a performance will likely lead to another big payday, either at U of M or somewhere else
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Last guy who got the Gophers to the second round was run out of town two years later. Guy before that who went to the second round was run out of town two days later.

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
You could make it to year four year with a performance that would have you fired much earlier at Iowa
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Iowa's current guy has been there 15 years. We've been through three coaches in that same time. Minnesota hasn't had a men's basketball coach leave the program as a non-fired coach since at least the 1970s, possibly the 1960s. Not sure job security is a great selling point.
 
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tjgopher said:
Iowa's current guy has been there 15 years. We've been through three coaches in that same time. Minnesota hasn't had a men's basketball coach leave the program as a non-fired coach since at least the 1970s, possibly the 1960s. Not sure job security is a great selling point.
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Yes, but the fans currently hate him and want him gone yesterday. Iowa fans forgot a long time ago how bad they were under Todd Lickliter. McCaffrey got all of his extensions under former AD Gary Barta who was famous for locking up coaches to contracts much longer than the fans wanted. I can see the value of Barta's practices but the fans don't see it that way. Remember the simple rule of sports fans: fans always want more. If the team is bad, fans will want at least modest success. If you achieve modest success, fans will want greater success. If you achieve greater success, fans will want to see you in the hunt for the national championship.
 

TwistingMyMelon said:
Yes, but the fans currently hate him and want him gone yesterday. Iowa fans forgot a long time ago how bad they were under Todd Lickliter. McCaffrey got all of his extensions under former AD Gary Barta who was famous for locking up coaches to contracts much longer than the fans wanted. I can see the value of Barta's practices but the fans don't see it that way. Remember the simple rule of sports fans: fans always want more. If the team is bad, fans will want at least modest success. If you achieve modest success, fans will want greater success. If you achieve greater success, fans will want to see you in the hunt for the national championship.
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Fran had some great years at Iowa. He's had teams ranked in the Top 5, teams that have been 2-seeds in the NCAA, multiple players who won National Player of the Year awards, won a Big Ten Tournament championship, and was pretty consistently in the postseason. There was good reason for his contract extensions. His main failure was not getting to at least the Sweet 16. Had he done that, he would be riding out his career there. But, that probably won't be the case.

But, in general, your point is exactly what I'm saying. Fans who say the Drake guy will come here because if he gets to the second round we will looooooove him, will only want more. And more. So, that won't be a great selling point, in my opinion.
 

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