I think we could say for ISUs successful coaches there was a huge factor of having the right guy at the right moment given where the program was at the time. Johnny was the right guy to do the job ISU needed at that time for sure.
Official Announcement of TJ as the New Iowa State Mens BBall Coach
- Thread starter werdnamanhill
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Johnny has a statue, a premium gathering space named after him, and induction into the ISU athletics hall of fame. He was also an Iowa HS coach for 8 years, so maybe those HS coaches aren't bad options. He's in 8 different hall of fames/honors.
Fred brought back Hilton Magic after it was left for dead. To this day, ticket resale prices were higher under Fred. Same for actual ticket usage. Most games were filled under Fred, that hasn't been the case with TJ for whatever reason. For example, there are six seats in my row that only get used once a year. Fred is in 5 different hall of fames/honors.
TJ's teams have been so strong of late that Hilton Magic never really seems to fire up. There is a hint that it still hides in waiting, but only really comes out about twice a season. TJ can be the coach with the most success but Johnny will always be the one that made Hilton relevant. Johnny was here for 14 seasons, no coach since has made it more than Prohm's 6.
IMO, TJ is still chasing Johnny. Stay for a decade or more
TJs just been crazy lucky, like a 25 handicapper chipping in from a deep bunker 4 holes in a row.
He'll revert back to double & triple bogey golf soon.....whiffing...mulligans...foot wedge action...throwing clubs...reverse weight shift....flying right elbow...chunk city...marking down incorrect scores....
Attendance and environment in Hilton has always been great, but it's been a little weird over the years. Even in the good stretch of Floyd teams as a student my friends and I would come back during the break because you could get great seats for next to nothing in the buy-games.
There's definitely a factor of expectations when it comes to the environment. I think we've had enough ups and downs through the years that as a fan base we don't become too spoiled. But it definitely seems the crowd is more reactive than proactive and nuts. It might also be that the more expensive tickets and more seats requiring more donor dollars tends to result in an older and different crowd.
I loved LE but this is the truth. In terms of building a competitive roster, it's TJ way out front with Fred a distant second. LE didn't have access to all the next generation data that TJ does on recruits and transfers, however.
I would agree the crowd is a little different but I also feel like the games are different to. Fred team were always falling behind and I felt like there was more urgency/desperation when cheering. I went to the Marquette game. I feel like the crowd was there/loud when it was needed which was pretty just the opening minutes of the game and when Marquette went on a quick run in the second half. Hard to have proactive energy in the crowd when you’re up double digits and controlling things for most of the game.
ISU is only going to be the underdog in 4 or 5 games for the entire season, and maybe not even once in Hilton. They're a lock for the tournament, so the outcome of each game means less. It's just a different comparison with this team and Fred's, or even previous TJ teams.
I also think historically we think about how the crowds were in the past, we don't probably think of a Tuesday night game where one of Fred's teams beat a bad Texas Tech team by 15. Based on my memories, a similar game against a bottom-half team, mid-week where ISU is a big favorite has probably always had relatively similar environments.
I have not been a consistent season ticket holder, but have been to a fair number of games, with a handful in the last Orr years (though I don't remember them that well). So keep that in mind when I share my opinions, but the loudest I have ever experienced Hilton, or any sports venue, was in year 2 of the Willoughby, Pratt, Cato team vs. KU.
The rowdiest on a per person basis I have ever experienced was last year's game during the winter storm against Houston. It obviously wasn't close to a full house, but probably because it was a night for hardcore fans and the intensity of every minute of the game was off the charts, but the people that were there were amped for 40 minutes.
The crowd was there in the Utah game. When Utah had that small lead early, the crowd was up and getting loud to get the team back in it. Once they got the lead back, they never gave it up again and it wasn't really close, so there wasn't really a need for the crowd to go crazy. I expect the Kansas game next week to be nuts.
TJs teams in Hilton are inevitable. They only need the magic once in awhile anymore. Someone brought up the Marquette game. Beating a top 10 team in Hilton is expected now.
When we beat a top 10 Michigan team in 2014 it was a big deal because it hadn’t been happening very often. How many times in the last 4 years has it happened? A lot.
When we beat a top 10 Michigan team in 2014 it was a big deal because it hadn’t been happening very often. How many times in the last 4 years has it happened? A lot.
CycloneErik
Well-Known Member
I doubt we're an underdog in anything other than a title game vs. Auburn, and that one would likely be something like Auburn -1.5 or a tossup.
We will be an underdog @ kansas and @ houston in the regular season. And that's assuming we stay 100% healthy as we are now
Agree to all the points made about Hilton recently. We have won 26 straight at home. It’s the expectation anymore. It doesn’t seem the team needs the crowd to show up to smother an opponent like they used to. The crowd is always there, lurking, but when you have the lead from start to finish as much as we have recently, the crowd will of course be down played. It’s comparing apples to bricks in my opinion. TJs teams take pride in this home court, and seems a team will have to rip it away from them.
Orr needed the home crowd to play a factor. Fred’s teams were mercurial as hell. Won a ton at home but needed some straight up miracles to pull some out. It’s a better feeling to not need the magic, but as I said earlier, it’s always lurking.
Orr needed the home crowd to play a factor. Fred’s teams were mercurial as hell. Won a ton at home but needed some straight up miracles to pull some out. It’s a better feeling to not need the magic, but as I said earlier, it’s always lurking.
These teams might not need the crowd, but they really do appreciate us, almost always mentioned in the post game radio interviews by whatever player interviewed and always by TJ
There were some Saturday afternoon games (love Saturday afternoon games btw) that were pretty lackluster during Fred's tenure when playing average/sub-par teams. Games were never really close and very workmanlike.
What were season ticket sales like with Fred compared to now? Or even single game?
I was told season tickets for the 2011-12 season were something like $100.
Fred's first two seasons it felt like demand wasn't quite through the roof. A single season ticket in the lower level has always been $400+ (higher in certain sections). Wouldn't doubt a balcony corner season ticket was ~$100 during his first couple of seasons.
It felt like everything changed going into his 3rd season. Lower Level season tickets sold out (sold out essentially since that season) and remained sold out through the re-seat process and price increases.
I think the last two years have been the pinnacle in basketball ticket demand at Iowa State (with the 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons being right there).
