@ams66 Or one of the other blue blood type programs would have with one of them in the last 5-6 years.
I agree some of the top-level coaches were out of reach for one reason or another, but DeVries? This hire was massive for a program coming off two horrible coaches and looking to become relevant again, and Dolson chose this guy. He's a decent coach, sure, but he'll never do what McCollum is doing right now. No chance. (If BM was indeed in the mix, I bet he turned IU down ... and not the other way around.)
Imo, DD is the coach for one of two reasons: (1) Dolson fell in love, or (2) it's the best IU could do. It's sad either way.
@gthomas Timing played a big role, I assume. It wouldn't have taken too many different things happening, I believe, for DeVries to be the coach at Iowa right now... and IU to have a different coach... maybe McCollum.
My guess, worth the same as yours, which isn't much... Dolson did establish connections with DeVries people after Bahamas. But the actual end interview process didn't happen until the very end of IU's season, and then pretty quickly after both IU and WVU were done. I'm sure CDD talked with McCollum's people, if not McCollum himself, at some point during March. But Drake was still playing in the tournament when CDD was hired. I'm sure Dolson felt comfortable he had found his man, in DeVries... enough so, to move on him before the NCAA tournament, to get moving on staff and player recruitment. From what I know from reading about, watching videos of, and following McCollum... it would have been nearly impossible to fully vet him, interview him, etc... while his Drake team was still playing.
If DeVries WVU team had made the NCAA tournament, and/or if Drake had missed the NCAA tournament... the hire could have went very differently. Just a guess on my part.
@hoosiers94 The "smoke" for the last two coaching searches, was that CDD engaged Stevens in both searches, and Stevens, Wright, and Donovan in the Woodson search. There's also a lot of smoke that he engaged May, last year, before retaining Woodson for his final year. I get your gut feelings on how all of those vetting exercises went. But a variable that played roles in all the searches, and especially the CDD hire, was time. I would be pretty surprised, with regards to Stevens, if he didn't basically offer him the keys to the IU bball kingdom. But 1) Stevens has never really shown obvious interest in getting back in to coaching in college, so at some point, you need to take the hint 2)He couldn't wait to go through all the potential check marks that it would have taken to pull Stevens back to college. Portal was opening. Other major jobs were open, and were hiring, so every day he would have waited, he'd have risked missing out on guys that would actually take IU seriously. This is not as simple as locking in on 2 or 3 guys like Stevens or Donovan, and just "making it happen", whatever it takes... If it were, either or both of those guys would be coaching college right now at places like Kentucky, UNC, Duke, Arizona, UConn... all schools that have had coaching openings since Archie. At some point, reality should take over, and you should acknowledge that the likely main reason guys like Stevens, Donovan, Wright, aren't our head coach right now, is because they weren't interested in coaching in college, at all. Once you accept that reality... then the process and the searches should make a little more sense.
And him not at least talking with Drew is a head scratcher, for sure. I don't think Drew is all that great of a coach. But with his ties to Indiana, and the couple of years of high level success he showed a few years ago at Baylor, he should have been worth a talk, I would think. Drew is not very well liked, by a decent chunk of people that I'm sure were, at a minimum, in Dolson's ear, during the searches. But again, its odd he didn't even talk to him.
Drew may have made sense in the past, but not sure about now. He's been at Baylor for over 20 years now and won a title there. Since that title they've been very pedestrian and were terrible last year. Seems like he's cruising and coasting into retirement mode.
@surjay Something about NIL and portal dynamics haven't suited him well.
@hoosiers94 So let me get this straight. You think we did NOT offer Brad and or Jay a boatload of money? That’s two, who else would you have offered the bank to?
To have been a candidate for the IU job, Stevens or Wright would’ve needed to express interest in it. Neither did. It didn’t matter what we offered (and we didn’t “offer” one of them anything), neither of them were coming to IU.
Honestly that seems like the most likely answer. They just weren't interested in coaching college ball any more. If they were, we would likely have agreed to terms. We are not a small school with no ability to put a compelling offer together.
No idea if either are or were interested in college coaching. Just know neither were interested in coaching at IU. Not sure how many ways Stevens can say “No, thanks”, but he respectfully never expressed interest. As for Jay Wright, he had his dream job at Villanova. He wasn’t offered anything by IU.
I agree some of the top-level coaches were out of reach for one reason or another, but DeVries? This hire was massive for a program coming off two horrible coaches and looking to become relevant again, and Dolson chose this guy. He's a decent coach, sure, but he'll never do what McCollum is doing right now. No chance. (If BM was indeed in the mix, I bet he turned IU down ... and not the other way around.)
Imo, DD is the coach for one of two reasons: (1) Dolson fell in love, or (2) it's the best IU could do. It's sad either way.
It was mind boggling for sure. I thought we needed a massive hire after archie and we hired someone just as bad. This time I thought ok for sure they will get a big name and we get DD. The guys who says he has excepted IU will never be elite again is probably right they self inflict with every hire. I mean yes I think this guy can be a middle of the pact big ten coach and make the round of 32 a time or two but no I do not see him making elite 8 runs.
@jackskip23 As North said, if they were interested, but just not interested in IU, someone would have hired them by now.
Stevens, Donovan, Wright -- those guys are not coming back to college IMO.
Insert what ever big name you want .. we didn't go all the way in ... and don't tell me you think DD is the best candidate out there.
And yes perhaps many of them would not have wanted to come. But we will never know
Is LSU trying to corner the market on a-holes? First Kiffin, now Wade (again). And let's not forget about Kim Mulkey.
you've got to be kidding me
https://twitter.com/KeaneyBlueBlood/status/2037259583828205593
Hope is not optimism, which expects things to turn out well, but something rooted in the conviction that there is good worth working for. - Seamus Heaney, Irish poet and likely Hoosier basketball fan.
POTFB
He sucked at IU, he sucks at URI. Why not?you've got to be kidding me
https://twitter.com/KeaneyBlueBlood/status/2037259583828205593
Please let this happen; I need comic relief.
@hoosiers94 I think you’re just guessing about most of this, except for Drew. It will be interesting to see who some of these schools end up with.
@zeke4ahs Did that kid from UK who hit the 40 foot shot to put it into overtime save Pope's job?
While I regarded God as a tyrant I thought my sin a trifle; But when I knew Him to be my Father, then I mourned that I could ever have kicked against Him. When I thought God was hard, I found it easy to sin; but when I found God so kind, so good, so overflowing with compassion, I smote upon my breast to think that I could ever have rebelled against One who loved me so, and sought my good.” C. H. Spurgeon