Official Announcement of TJ as the New Iowa State Mens BBall Coach

[ISUCyclones2015]

I'm so happy you guys actually paid us to take him. I never want to see any program sputter hard that isn't in our conference so I hope he works out for you.

See you in September at Allegiant! We a football school now!

 

[joefrog]

And is said buddy going to have a longer leash than any other coach if he isn't successful?

Narrator: He will indeed. Although every coach at ISU is given a very long leash, because we have an AD that never makes mistakes. Just ask him.

 

[dahliaclone]

Truth be told, if we would have parted ways with Prohm after last year which was likely to happen without COVID, I think the tune would have been a little different with TJ being named. Maybe not. No, he hasn't done great as a head coach but he knows what it takes to succeed here and can recruit. If it's true that Loesner will be on staff that is a huge benefit.

My biggest issue is that this seems to have been a six year in the making hire. Pollard was tunnel visioned to make him our coach at some point and he got his wish. If we didn't reach out to some big names to kick the tires I'll be pretty disappointed.

We need this hire to compete and beat Self, Kruger, Drew, Huggins, etc on a regular basis to get out of the cellar of the Big 12. Is TJ the one to do that? I have concerns.

That being said...he really could be very successful and as long as successful here for a long long time. He has my support! Go Cyclones!

 

[HFCS]

I'm so happy you guys actually paid us to take him. I never want to see any program sputter hard that isn't in our conference so I hope he works out for you.

We thought the same thing when Greg McDermott was one of our worst coaches ever and Creighton somehow took him off our hands when he was surely going to be fired for taking the program nowhere for many years.

Turned out everyone won. ISU got a great new coach and McDermott was somehow a good coach at Creighton after failing at ISU.

Maybe UNLV and ISU improve. Probably not but it could happen.

 

[joefrog]

I just hope half the board is as wrong about this as they were about Fred's years.

I usually like all of our hires and that means I've been wrong about a few bad ones so maybe I'm wrong to not be super pumped up today.

Oh I hope I am wrong. And my problem isn't with TJ as a candidate, but the process and arrogance of our AD.

 

[ribsnwhiskey]

Disagree. That message was specifically for a lot of people around here.

There are a bunch of people who just flat out seem to hate TJ around here.

I'm excited for the next chapter. I think TJ addresses a lot of the issues Prohm had. The one that everyone seems focused on is not being an X's and O's coach and I'm optimistic that he will address that with an assistant coach.

The reality is DeVries and the experienced coaches were just not a realistic option. I think it really came down to Smith and TJ. Between those I can see prefering Smith, but it was really a six of one half a dozen of another situation. We didn't settle for someone like we did last time (all of the candidate were settling including TJ due to the timing).

I am excited for TJ to bring us back to the Hoiberg style of basketball after Prohm took us away from that.

Expectations are way outta wack around here. Dana Altman was NEVER a possibility. Thad Matta hasn't coached in 5 years. Hoiberg wasn't a reality. Belien is what, 67 or 68? The other options were going to be mid and low major coaches with nothing to prove they could win at this level, just like TJ.

 

[WhoISthis]

Someone should do a rundown of the coaches CF wanted when we hired Fred and do a “where are they now”.

Someone should ask where is Fred and why isn’t he here. Your grandma still alive? Get her on with CW

 

[4theheckofit]

I don't get the hatred for TJ.....it's pretty obvious in JP's sales pitch of a video that TJ has the credentials to lead this program. Is all the hate stemming from his time at UNLV....a dumpster fire of a program? And don't tell me he only won at South Dakota State bc of Daum... NEWS FLASH....it takes good players to WIN! Excited to start crawling out of the whole we've unfortunately fallen in. Go Cyclones!

 

[jctisu]

Someone should do a rundown of the coaches CF wanted when we hired Fred and do a “where are they now”.

It's always fun to look back at coaches who people thought would be the next best thing. I mean we had Gene Chizik who was praised as an amazing hire, but it just didn't work out here. McDermott was seen as a pretty good hire considering what he had done already, but he just didn't quite fit here either. Fred was a risk, but he had a vision and plan that worked to perfection. We shall see how TJ does, and I am going to support the team no matter what. Am I sold on the hire? Not exactly, but let's see how it goes and I hope to eat a lot of crow.

 

[GTO]

"And the award for the TJ Otzelberger Iowa State College basketball coach goes to... Drumroll please...

 

[Go2Guy]

I don't think we'll ever see a 2-win season in our generation. My Frosh year of 1975 was a 3-win, but they were all conference wins. Still, I'm of the mind-set that TJ must prove it to me and I'm not convinced Jamie had any other interviews.

Oh and we gotta start treating the Iowa game like it's a "Superbowl" so our sissy fan base can quit making excuses for losing by double-digits.

 

[joefrog]

/Doubt

I'm about over that jackwagon.

 

[HFCS]

Oh I hope I am wrong. And my problem isn't with TJ as a candidate, but the process and arrogance of our AD.

I just look at how we identified Campbell from "outside" the family and hope that means TJ really does have something.

I mean maybe he was more responsible for some of those years with Fred than we thought. Remember when people thought Lickliter was a genius coach and he had Brad Stevens assisting him. Extreme example but if there's even a little of it that could be something.

 

[CyStalker]

Ok, so you are making comparison to a bunch of coaches who weren't available. Can you show the same comparisons to coaches who may have been potential hires? And I'm not criticizing you, I'm just saying, it would be more informative to know how TJ compares to actual candidates, not coaches we weren't going to hire.

I only did this for perspective. T rank only goes back 14 seasons. I didn't look at too many that we didn't hire because it seems irrelevant. I did look at Craig Smith and I can tell you his T Rank numbers scream up and comer. He took South Dakota from 229 in his first year to 79 in his 4th season. At Utah State he has been 42, 38, 39. He has Utah State ranked 9 in adjusted defense this year. If our AD was serious about the basketball program, this is someone that appears to have the chops to both turn a program around and compete with the coaches in the Big XII.

 

[isucy86]

TJ wouldn't have been my first choice. But I am going to trust Jamie and very excited that ISU hoops is headed in a new direction. I look forward to supporting TJ and ISU basketball. And can't wait to step inside Hilton Coliseum for ISU's first basketball game in the TJ Otzelberger era!!

 

[allfourcy]

Not sure if you expected ISU to come in and spend big $'s on an unknown or some "veteran" coach. TJ represents a known and will enable an easy transition. As for $'s....they simply aren't there given the COVID year. Support the team or don't...it is what it is.

Agree. Everyone has a right to voice their own opinion, disappointment or not, but there is absolutely no reason GOING FORWARD for Cyclone Nation to do anything but support this coach and give their positive energy toward a goal we all want!!! Welcome TJ.

 

[jcisuclones]

Don’t give a **** what scummy UNLV fan thinks. This is obviously what I would say if I were a butthurt mid major fan.

Yeah I'll never forget how they delusional they were during the Rashad Vaughn recruitment. Can't wait to piss pound their football team in September.

 

[RebelBill]

Wonder if David Jenkins Jr would consider following TJ again. Dude was a stud for him at SDSU and UNLV

Jenkins has to be wide open. He needs a good point and a teammate that draws off the defense ( i.e Daum). Incapable of making his own shot.

 

[boone7247]

I am meh over the hire, not because I have something against TJ or anything. We will have to wait and see if it plays out as JP hopes it does.

The only question someone in the media should ask, is if TJ would have been on the short list if he had never been at ISU previously? Does his resume look like a P6 coach in waiting? Or was this done because you know him and think he can do the job. Because It sure looks like the latter not the former on the face of it. Especially when it is done 72 hours after the firing of the previous coach.

 

[ZuriCyclone]

All that matter is success is in football , which brings most of the revenue. I am fine with the program taking a risk on TJ, hope they got him for cheap.