I hope so....I was impressed by the news conference even though it is pretty much a rah rah,he felt genuine and really believes they can win here.,fingers crossed.
Who will have a better career? Medved at Minnesota or McCollum at Iowa?
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bleedsmaroonandgold
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I agree that sports fans sour too quickly on a good but not great coach.
Fran is an interesting situation. I think his overall performance was solid for a non blue blood B1G team. He never did bad enough over a long enough stretch to warrant firing, but also had a fairly low ceiling. It is bizarre to have had the record he did over that number of years and never having reached the sweet 16. So I think Iowa was in a position where replacing him probably makes the team worse, but as long as he stayed, there was no reason to think they'd take the next step.
Oatmeal Savage
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McCollum to Minnesota was an interesting thought for awhile to me. So, like many, I've followed him from afar, so much so, that I even watched his introductory press conference too. What was clear (like Niko's), is that Iowa was the place that he's always wanted to be (and I don't think that's just him laying it on thick). He talked about going to youth basketball camps there. Knowing all the Iowa players because that was his basketball universe growing up; not following the NBA. He acknowledged he wasn't a good enough player to make it there, but now he's there as a coach.
Sure, if Iowa spurned him as a coaching candidate, maybe he would have ended up here and spite would have driven him to stick it to Iowa. But I think he ended up where he ideally wanted to be and the same for Niko. Let the rivalry begin!
Sure, if Iowa spurned him as a coaching candidate, maybe he would have ended up here and spite would have driven him to stick it to Iowa. But I think he ended up where he ideally wanted to be and the same for Niko. Let the rivalry begin!
SplitDecision
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The MN tide of beating Iowa teams in all sports has turned in our favor.
gopherbadgerman
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McCollum because he’ll get more institutional support. I don’t necessarily think he’s a better coach though.
We should change the title of the thread to the Maroon Colored Glasses Crystal Ball.
Niko is 51 years old. He has a career record of 222-172 for a .563 winning percentage.
Ben McCollum is 43 years old. He has a career record of 426 - 95 for a winning percentage of .818. That's .255 winning percentage points better. (and with 127 more games in the big chair.) And 204 more wins.
Niko won the SoCon conference in 2017. He won a MW tournament title this year. A coaching award in 2017 and 2024. That is it.
Ben has won:
I have no idea how any one would conclude Niko is the better coach. But, it would be nice if you are right.
I'm going to guess like Bill Musselman coming from Ashland...Ben is convinced Iowa will win the Big Ten this year. Will he? He and and his players I'm betting will think so.
Coaching, recruiting, winning would be my three tenets of coaching. You delegate fundraising.
Niko is 51 years old. He has a career record of 222-172 for a .563 winning percentage.
Ben McCollum is 43 years old. He has a career record of 426 - 95 for a winning percentage of .818. That's .255 winning percentage points better. (and with 127 more games in the big chair.) And 204 more wins.
Niko won the SoCon conference in 2017. He won a MW tournament title this year. A coaching award in 2017 and 2024. That is it.
Ben has won:
| Championships |
|---|
| Awards |
| 4 NCAA Division II tournament (2017, 2019, 2021, 2022) 12 MIAA regular season (2012, 2014–2024) 8 MIAA tournament (2016–2020, 2022–2024) MVC regular season (2025) MVC tournament (2025) |
| 5× NABC Division II Coach of the Year (2017, 2019–2022) 3× Clarence Gaines Award (2012, 2020, 2022) 5× NABC Division II Central District Coach of the Year (2017, 2019–2022) Basketball Times Division II Coach of the Year (2019) John McLendon Collegiate Basketball Coach of the Year (2019) 8× MIAA Coach of the Year (2012, 2015–2017, 2019–2021, 2023) MVC Coach of the Year (2025) |
I'm going to guess like Bill Musselman coming from Ashland...Ben is convinced Iowa will win the Big Ten this year. Will he? He and and his players I'm betting will think so.
Coaching, recruiting, winning would be my three tenets of coaching. You delegate fundraising.
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Ski-U-Ham
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I would be willing to bet there are some AAU coaches with better win percentages than McCollum. They'd obviously be better coaches.