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

[Cyched]

I do like TJ and want him to succeed here. I'm glad he went and got HC experience at a couple (very) different places before coming back here. Great recruiter and high character guy, and his ISU connections are known. We know he'll work his ass off here.

I will say that Pollard's video message didn't quite sit right with me. I don't recall him having to sell the fans this much on a new hire. His tone was almost pleading. If TJ does fail, combined with the friendships with JP and the media, having to let him go is going to be very messy.

Ideally, TJ starts winning and we forget all about this discussion

 

[jctisu]

No amount of success would ever allow me to support a program with Fran at the helm.

 

[allfourcy]

Pretty anticlimactic end to this situation. I'm sure I'll get on board with TJ but its kind of a bummer other options weren't explored. Feels pretty meh...almost how the Prohm hiring felt. I'm not sure why JP didn't just announce this Monday instead of lecturing the fanbase about lowering their expectations.

where is the proof that 'other options weren't explored'?
The Prohm decline has been in play for most of the season, piggybacking on last season.

 

[madguy30]

This is not lazier than the Wayne Morgan hire. So you appear to have a very short memory even if you've been here 30 years.

Wonder if it would have been labeled 'lazy' if TJ were hired in 2015.

 

[ribsnwhiskey]

Stats showing Daum didn't really improve under TJ. SDSU didn't get better. UNLV actually got worse. Craig Smith has a much better record. Oh, and nepotism: the practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs.

I was definitely in favor of Smith too. Nepotism is usually defined as favoring relatives.

 

[WhoISthis]

Spent millions to bring in the 7th place coach in the Mountain West. This program is a ******* joke.

What were you expecting? We’re just Iowa State

 

[cycloneworld]

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.

Not really. Most people are able to rationally think through this hire. If TJ hadn’t coached at ISU, there is a 0.0% chance he’s hired here. So basically his resume outside of being an ISU assistant doesn’t warrant getting a P6 job.

That said, I realize that does matter. Significantly. Which is why I’m fine with the hire. But I fully understand why people are not thrilled.

There is a very small chance Craig Smith even had a shot at this. I’m guessing he wasn’t interviewing or thinking through this while preparing for their NCAA tournament game. Lets Not pretend we did some exhaustive search. This was wired to TJ the whole time.

 

[CYphyllis]

This is not lazier than the Wayne Morgan hire. So you appear to have a very short memory even if you've been here 30 years.

This choice has been the default for 6 ******* years, it doesn't get lazier then that.

 

[Urbandale2013]

I don't know.

When you look at KU's dominance of the Big 12 historically...and see where they got a challenge from the few times they had a challenge. It's been ISU as much or more than any other program.

As a coach I look at ISU as a place you can win in a major conference. That's really only about 40-50 destinations...5-10 of those being blue bloods. Ames might not be a nationally desirable city for coaches, but our program is in the top 20% of college basketball very easily in terms of a place you can win and get a ton of support.

I agree that we are a good job, and one of the better jobs out there. Probably third behind Texas and Kansas in the Big 12.

I just don't think there really were a whole lot of great "names" out there this year. No one seems to be able to argue who we are actually missing out on to hire TJ.

 

[CyGuy5]

Does it seem like we are crying poor in the video to anyone else? It seems like we’re trying to use that as the main justification for the hire

 

[Cyclones423]

When do we find out how much we're paying Prohm, UNLV, and TJ? What about the buyout in TJ's contract?

 

[rochclone]

This is prohm 2.0

No. It’s not that. We will never have a season under T.J. where we fail to win a game or finish in last place in the conference. Under CSP we finished in 9th or 10th 50% of the time. Sort of amazing.

 

[carvers4math]

I was definitely in favor of Smith too. Nepotism is usually defined as favoring relatives.

Cronyism is the practice of partiality in awarding jobs and other advantages to friends or trusted colleagues

 

[brett108]

C'mon now; nobody (at least that I've seen/read so far) "hates" TJ. However, fans have a right to have some concerns about the hire and express that. Other fans also have the right to be excited and happy about the same hire.

Count me in the first group there, but now that it's official I'm looking forward to the next chapter of ISU men's basketball, even if the first couple of pages might start out rough and uneven. I'll be fine with something like 10 overall wins next season, and if is season two we make the NIT or even the NCAA's then I think we'll definitely be on the right path moving forward. I'm willing to be patient.

No coach was going to do well next year. I just dont think you can change out the roster that fast. TJ can recruit at a CSP level, and he cant be a worse X/O coach. This will be better. Whether it will be great is yet to be seen.

 

[jctisu]

No. It’s not that. We will never have a season under T.J. where we fail to win a game or finish in last place in the conference. Under CSP we finished in 9th or 10th 50% of the time. Sort of amazing.

I agree with you on the on the never winning a game part, but TJ could definitely finish last place in the conference next year alone. Hope not, but he's got some work to do and the Big 12 is tough. Not banking on last place but it's not insane.

 

[Kaner04]

Am I happy with TJ? I don’t know we’ll see in a couple years. But I just know that Iowa State University just isn’t the same without Hilton Magic and pray that Hilton will be rocking very soon.

 

[CyCloned]

Yeah if we just compare him to Prohm this year, TJ actually won conference games with a bunch of new players and COVID issues. Still seems like a low bar

Hiring a coach is always going to be a bit of a crap shoot. Up until this year I was defending Prohm because I just thought he had a lot of bad luck with injuries and guys going pro early. In the end his teams lacked a lot of discipline and fundamentals. In the years he had a lot of talent, like Monte, he was able to win games because the players did all the coaching on the floor. The last couple years you could see how guys were just not getting in the right places, and trying too hard to win games on their own.

I like that they got it done right away, because now he can get to Ames and start damage control right away, and also get in on the transfer market. The transfer market is going to be huge this year, with more guys than ever looking to make a change.

 

[Die4Cy]

I agree that we are a good job, and one of the better jobs out there. Probably third behind Texas and Kansas in the Big 12.

I just don't think there really were a whole lot of great "names" out there this year. No one seems to be able to argue who we are actually missing out on to hire TJ.

Well there really isn't a great way to find out if you hire the guy you wanted six years ago, one day into your search.

Look, JP lasering in on Otz puts pressure both on Otz and JP. So it has to work and probably needs to more quickly than any other choice would have had to, IMO.

I'm sure it is all going to be fine. TJ will work his ass off for ISU.

 

[WhoISthis]

Does it seem like we are crying poor in the video to anyone else? It seems like we’re trying to use that as the main justification for the hire

Jamie going to Jamie. For someone that came in claiming we needed to expect more, think of ourselves as a major conference program, no one uses it as a crutch more.

What coaches you can attract, and get donors to pay for is a reflection of the AD. Other things as well.

 

[whatthewhat]

No coach was going to do well next year. I just dont think you can change out the roster that fast. TJ can recruit at a CSP level, and he cant be a worse X/O coach. This will be better. Whether it will be great is yet to be seen.

I really hope that TJ is wildly successful, but have we really dropped to the level that anything that is better than Prohm is acceptable?