TJ best coach we have ever had?

ISUChippewa

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Are we talking about all ISU sports, or just basketball?

I love what's he doing so far, but personally I would still have to give the edge right now to LE. Two straight regular season conference championships and an Elite Eight.

Granted, his fall (along with that of the program he led) was swift and steep, but those two years (besides the end of the second season) still hold a special place in my heart.

TJ, so far though, is right up there, especially in proportion to where he started with a 2-win program.

I'm at the point right now where I would be very disappointed if he doesn't win Big 12 Coach of the Year. Kelvin Sampson should get his fair share of credit for Houston being as great as they are, but they were also just as great last season and were expected to be this good. We were not.
 

Bret44

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Certainly post-Johnny he is. TJ might even surpass Johnny as both inherited losing programs. I’ll give the edge to Johnny as his inheritance was decades old.

And it is much easier to rebuild today with the transfer portal then what Johnny had.

Although taking a team from that was 2-22 the year before and making the NCAA tournament is one of the greatest coaching accomplishments in all of sports that isn't recognized enough.
 

jdoggivjc

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Tough to top Orr… unless TJ takes us to a Final Four this year. Sure, TJ resurrected a program that Prohm killed, but Orr built a program that barely existed before his arrival.

I was going to say Eustschy, but then realized outside of 1999-2001 he actually didn’t do a whole lot outside of party with coeds.
 

Cyrealist

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The furthest back I can remember was Maury John. He may have been great had he been able to be here longer. Johnny put the program on the map and established Hilton as a tough place to play. As someone else posted Larry E had two regular season titles and an Elite Eight. Freddy has the highest winning percentage. In my opinion, I'd put Otz behind Johnny right now but probably only because it's only his third year. If he's able to build on what he's started another two or three years, then we can talk greatest.
 

Cyhig

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It's too early in his career to make that judgement.
 

Cyrealist

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And it is much easier to rebuild today with the transfer portal then what Johnny had.
But it takes a pretty good coach to sort through potential transfers and bring in guys that fit the program and then get them to accept their roles and play as a team. Not everyone is willing or able to play with the defensive intensity Otz demands.
 
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fsanford

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Would have been interesting if LE didn't have his other issues what he could have accomplished
He was the only coach ISU had that actually assembled a roster that could win it all and was underseeded in the tourney as a 2.

Like this team..They are better than the previous 2 TJ teams offensively. I know its like say they are the tallest dwarf, but they do have guys who can hit shots more consistently than in the past.

Its hard to compare because the transfer portal can help for a rapid rebuild, though at the same time it can torpedo you with an unexpected transfer
 
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alarson

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Tough to top Orr… unless TJ takes us to a Final Four this year. Sure, TJ resurrected a program that Prohm killed, but Orr built a program that barely existed before his arrival.

I was going to say Eustschy, but then realized outside of 1999-2001 he actually didn’t do a whole lot outside of party with coeds.

If not for the alcoholism, i think he would have had an upswing with the players that were coming in that Wayne Morgan ended up coaching.
 

CycloneVet

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Would have been interesting if LE didn't have his other issues what he could have accomplished
He was the only coach ISU had that actually assembled a roster that could win it all and was underseeded in the tourney as a 2.

Like this team..They are better than the previous 2 TJ teams offensively.

Its hard to compare because the transfer portal can help for a rapid rebuild, though at the same time it can torpedo you with an unexpected transfer

Larry had Curtis Stinson and Blaylock coming in. I think their freshman year would have been better if he was coaching