Cornell Mann hired, Abdelmassih promoted

[Dryburn]

Yippee. Michigan recruiting ties. Michigan isn't the place that comes to mind when I think of "fertile basketball recruiting grounds."

Don't try and tell Johnny Orr that.

However, I will say that I am not sure that Detroit and surrounding area can be what it once was in terms of a "hotbed" of athletes. Detroit is at its lowest population level since the early 1900's. A lot of jobs, and a lot of people have left the area, so that is bound to have an effect on the number of potential top recruits.

[Cydkar]

Coaches are only allowed to recruit in one state.

[BryceC]

I do wonder who will be the X & O's guy, I hope Mann is up to it and Fred learned a lot last year.

[madcityCY]

Coaches are only allowed to recruit in one state.

exactly. at first glance, 60% of the Dayton roster this year is Ohio kids. I'm sure Mann has contacts w/ HS and AAU coaches there. Also not a bad state to recruit big basketball talent.

[acgclone]

I do wonder who will be the X & O's guy, I hope Mann is up to it and Fred learned a lot last year.

I tend to believe that Fred learned an awful lot last year and will continue to re-analyze the games last year to see where he can improve. B-ball isn't as much about actual X's & O's as it is having good players to put in positions where they can play to their talents. I think he'll have quite a little depth and athleticism that he didn't have this year. We'll be able to put several different line ups on the court and can play to our opponents weaknesses.

[clonetil01]

Don't try and tell Johnny Orr that.

However, I will say that I am not sure that Detroit and surrounding area can be what it once was in terms of a "hotbed" of athletes. Detroit is at its lowest population level since the early 1900's. A lot of jobs, and a lot of people have left the area, so that is bound to have an effect on the number of potential top recruits.

MOST, not all, of the population decline from that area doesn't include what we'd exactly call the hot prospects and their families. It's not a joke or a racist comment it's just factual. The public schools that have produced in the D, as well as D. Country Day, are still producing A LOT of players.

[IceCyIce]

"......This is a home run hire for us."

Great Fred!

Shouldn't this be "a slam dunk hire for us"

[Ciclone]

Shouldn't this be "a slam dunk hire for us"

Depends. To me the usage of slam dunk is more of a "sure thing" which I'd rather call a "Fred Hoiberg free throw." I don't recall how many dunks I saw in games this year, but I do know I saw several missed dunks, so the percentage can't be as high as a "Freddie." Oops, I just changed the term.

And a "home run" is the biggest play in baseball (considering a grand slam is still a home run, like a Royal Flush is still a straight flush). A slam dunk is definitely a big play as well, but one could argue the three pointer is bigger as it scores more points. Fred, of course, did both of these things well.

So, in short, I'd call it a Freddie hire, both literally and figuratively.

[imnclone]

I do wonder who will be the X & O's guy, I hope Mann is up to it and Fred learned a lot last year.

Dayton Daily News : Mann takes job on Iowa State's staff

Mann added: “I still believe in what we did (at UD) … but that pro, open offense that coach Hoiberg runs — that’s attractive to players.”


Maybe CFH will never be known as an X & O's guy, but I think he will show us soon he knows what it takes to win.

[kingcy]

I tend to believe that Fred learned an awful lot last year and will continue to re-analyze the games last year to see where he can improve. B-ball isn't as much about actual X's & O's as it is having good players to put in positions where they can play to their talents. I think he'll have quite a little depth and athleticism that he didn't have this year. We'll be able to put several different line ups on the court and can play to our opponents weaknesses.

Dont forget Fred can call on guys like Floyd, LE, Larry Brown and Flip Saunders for X and O advice. I feel Fred had a good game plan going into games and runs a good scheme. He also became a better gametime coach as the season went on. In this day in age I think the most important part of being a coach is getting through to players and having a staff that can relate to them. Fred has proven to do that thus far and it sounds like his staff is the same way.

[ontheverge]

I do wonder who will be the X & O's guy, I hope Mann is up to it and Fred learned a lot last year.

I agree with you. When ISU had it's great run of hoops about 10 years ago under LE. All 4 of his assistants had head coaching experience. Lute Olson typically had 3 guys who were former D1 coaches. X's and O's still matter big time. The Big 12 is as tough of basketball conference as there is, and the 2 worst teams(typically) just left. They need to figure out how to stop(defensively) some of these teams in the Big 12. Both of these coaches sound like great people and good recruiters and hopefully will turn out to be significantly better then the last assistant hire, who was let go(not Bobby).

[jsb]

Dont forget Fred can call on guys like Floyd, LE, Larry Brown and Flip Saunders for X and O advice. I feel Fred had a good game plan going into games and runs a good scheme. He also became a better gametime coach as the season went on. In this day in age I think the most important part of being a coach is getting through to players and having a staff that can relate to them. Fred has proven to do that thus far and it sounds like his staff is the same way.

I tend to think this too. I also think that Lutz was given the reigns on things because he was so good. It probably wasn't that Hoiberg couldn't handle it, it was because Lutz needed an important role.

Hoiberg addressed the defense in one of the articles about the new coaches and said that Mann is a good defensive guy. I actually thought our defensive schemes were pretty good all year, we just couldn't quite execute. I looked at the Kansas State game at Manhatten and I really thought we played excellent defense that day.

[Rural]

The old X and O rocket science thing.

I'll give you the best X and O thing, right here.

(1)Recruit great players

(2)Tell them, "Go kick their ***".

[Mr Janny]

The old X and O rocket science thing.

I'll give you the best X and O thing, right here.

(1)Recruit great players

(2)Tell them, "Go kick their ***".

signed,
Scott Drew

[ca4cy]

I tend to think this too. I also think that Lutz was given the reigns on things because he was so good. It probably wasn't that Hoiberg couldn't handle it, it was because Lutz needed an important role.

Hoiberg addressed the defense in one of the articles about the new coaches and said that Mann is a good defensive guy. I actually thought our defensive schemes were pretty good all year, we just couldn't quite execute. I looked at the Kansas State game at Manhatten and I really thought we played excellent defense that day.

I agree with this. Our schemes were ok, we just didn't have the legs to execute down the stretch when everybody was playing 36+ minutes a game. With the depth we'll have next season and hopefully in the future, I think we'll look a lot better in crunch time due to our studs being fresh.

Lutz will certainly be missed and I'm sure Fred still has some learning to do, but I'm confident that Fred will continue to improve on any weaknesses that he may have, and I don't think there are a lot of them.