Are we better off with FH than GM?
- Thread starter ISUPoker
- Start date
I find this post striking.
Re-energization and stability are fine...BUT WE NEED WINS...QUICKLY. All of this focus on stability, doing it the right way, and personality is totally misplaced focus in my opinion. The focus should be, must be on winning.
You are wrong...ISU had its best teams when we had some solid talent on the team...1986...Grayer and Hornacek...2000...Fizer and Tinsley. You need talent to compete. I am probably a little more concerned with Hoiberg from a recruiting perspective than a coaching perspective. Not everyone is cut out to do what is necessary in the recruiting process. I don't think Freddy has any experience asskissing kids, parents, and handlers. This is what doomed Drexler at UH.
Luck...another word I am sick of hearing from ISU fans...GM was victim of bad luck, hopefully Freddy will have good luck...IT IS NOT ABOUT LUCK PEOPLE!
Freddy will have my full support and the full support of all Cyclones but to maintain that support as our coach he is going to, for me at least, have to produce and that means winning on the recruiting trail and winning on the court.
We need to win and win now...now is not the time for patience and 4 or 5 year plans...WE NEED TO WIN QUICKLY.
the last 4 years McD is the one who looks like he never coached above the kindergarten level.
Yup. Coaching in the Big 12 is one hell of a lot tougher than coaching in the Mo Valley, even if you have a fifteen year track record of success in building programs on a couple levels. Mac fleeing to the Valley again is an admission of that.
In light of that, hiring the guy who has never coached anything is sort of a puzzler.
I wish FH all the luck in the world. He is going to need it!
realistically who was ISU going to get? Another mid-major? How many mids get BCS jobs and succeed, 10%?
I think Fred will be fine. Its not like he joined Paul Rhoads staff, he has been around basketball all his life and will be just fine.
Have to agree with this. Anyone who thinks that we didn't win without alot of talent simply is blind towards the level of talent the most successfull teams had. Make no mistake there is a direct correlation between the level of talent and the number of wins. The ISU teams that won at ISU had some solid talent.
With this being said, I don't think the focus should be on winning. Yes, ultimately winning is the number one goal. But winning is the end result of alot of critical little things that when put together result in a solid foundation that breeds succees and results in wins.
You should never concentrate or focus on the end result rather focus and work on the areas that will allow you to acheive the desired end result. The end result will present itself.
It's like racing, if you take to the track with the mind set that "I want to go fast" (which is ultimately the end result you want - ie winning). You are not concentrating or working on all the little skill sets (brake markers, turn-in, throttle pick up, body position, etc) that when done correctly allow you to go fast.
"He's Fred. He'll be fine," is a leap of faith. No doubt the choice will energize fan base and donors, but the basketball coach's job is to win games and I haven't got the slightest idea what proof there is that Hoiberg will do that as head coach.
Big risk. Not sure if it is smart taking a risk like this when you are trying for your fourth coach in seven years, particularly when you chose quickly without interviewing any established coaches. I hope it pays off, but I gotta be honest. The odds aren't real good.
Big risk. Not sure if it is smart taking a risk like this when you are trying for your fourth coach in seven years, particularly when you chose quickly without interviewing any established coaches. I hope it pays off, but I gotta be honest. The odds aren't real good.
My crystal ball is telling me that you will be a very unhappy camper for the next two years. We are at rock bottom, and at the tail end of recruiting. Freddie will have to work with what he has, while installing a whole new system. He will need a bit of time (anyone would). We do have some good kids still around that have experience, and if some of the new guys pan out in a big way, we could be competitive this year, but I just don't see a postseason berth next year, and possibly the year after. If he does turn it around that quick, he will have done a fantastic job by any objective measure.
I will look at this hire as half full glass. I think we will have some NBA copnnectiuons on this staff and better talent will come polay for us. I do not see sudden tranmsfers as a problem unless the player cannot justify playing time. I see an involved coach. I see chances again to win home games although road warrioprs we will not be. If this had happened a year ago, HB might have considered staying in town more.
Bottom line is Greg had hit Peak Wins with what he could do. His system would never work in the Big 12 as the opposing guards would kjust run over it, though it, anbd squah it. It took people four years toi realize The System needed even better players to make it a success. So much for experiments. We just finished ours. Greg came out smelling like a rose, and he should be very happy for himself. He can hopld his head high because he did not stay around for a ten win season. Now, I have hopes we can win 15 next fall. If Reggie Theus, Johnny, maybe Sully help out a little on the side, Hilton can be pumping again. They might even have the Hilton KU game on again on ESPN. Adios, Greg.
Win-win situation.
We'll never know - the job wasn't even open for 24 hours before JP decided to go all in with his career and ISU basketball.
And before you say no one else was interested, at the very least Gillispie and at least 6 other successful DI coaches were interested in the job.
I honestly hope this works out. If it doesn't, it very well could destroy ISU basketball.
Count me on the severely concerned side. I like Hoiberg. I even liked him a little when he played, and I was an Iowa fan at the time, but this is definitely a leap of faith. I agree with Mr. Swan in that the first thing I thought of is how would Iowa look if they hired BJ Armstrong? The next thought I had was even scarier, Isiah Thomas. yikes bad. I know neither situation is the same as there likely isn't a perfect comparison for this but the fact that there are more bad comparisons than good doesn't help my comfort level. I will also grant you that despite all the irrational exuberance, we might have not gotten a name coach that was very interesting either. Certainly not to everyone at least. I am hopeful, and even a little giddy at the thought of Freddy rolling onto the court at Hilton the first time but come next spring we better know he can coach, even if the results in the first year arent great. I also hate the thought that this goes south and at some point we have to send him packing. :no: Lets hope that is a day we never see. Fred, Cyclone fans are behind you, some farther than others, but we wish you luck. Please bring back our MAGIC!
I absolutely 100% agree with this highlighted part. In fact, this is how I have always coached.
The best coach I ever had never once mentioned winning to us (and we won a lot). We focused on fundamentals, being prepared, and being the best we could possibly be. If you listen to or read about what great coaches like Nick Saban do this is exactly what they do...they know what to focus on and they focus on the process not the result. Because they know what to focus on they end up with the desirable result.
This is the "issue" you have with hiring a guy like Hoiberg...he has no experience whatsoever in coaching...will he know what to focus on during the process to ensure the desirable outcome (winning)? That is the $64 million question. Obviously, we all hope and pray that he will be able to.
To answer the OP. We would be better off with a pet rock than what we had before. At the very least the rock wouldn't have run every talented players off.
Is this a good hire? I have questions but in the end I think he will be successful. He is a natural leader, he will build positive relationships with donors and players, and he is very smart. I think the key to his success is who will he puts on his staff. If he follows the CPR model and hires top drawer people he will win.
Is this a good hire? I have questions but in the end I think he will be successful. He is a natural leader, he will build positive relationships with donors and players, and he is very smart. I think the key to his success is who will he puts on his staff. If he follows the CPR model and hires top drawer people he will win.
Did we give him a 20 year contract with unlimited extensions? I'm very concerned with recruiting... I'm very concerned with the lack of head coaching experience, and I'm very concerned about how rushed this was. JP's following the model he had with CPR, but I'm not sure that is what we needed here. We need to bring in some solid recruits...
I wish FH all the success in the world.
I wish FH all the success in the world.
Last edited:
I think everyone agrees we are better off...that is not really at question.
The question is can Fred have the kind of success we should expect...in the discussion for NCAA Tournament every year and making it 70-75% of the time at a minimum.
Make no mistake, JP has taken a calculated risk here...of course any hire he would have made would have been a calculated risk to some extent...but he has taken the risk of hiring someone that while a fan favorite, hometown hero, and Cyclone great has zero coaching/recruiting experience on his resume.
A couple of questions...
Why not hire Grayer as head coach? He was a better player for certain.
Is it a prerequisite now for any coaching hire we have to be an Iowa native? It sure looks like it from my chair...maybe I should send my resume in.
The question is can Fred have the kind of success we should expect...in the discussion for NCAA Tournament every year and making it 70-75% of the time at a minimum.
Make no mistake, JP has taken a calculated risk here...of course any hire he would have made would have been a calculated risk to some extent...but he has taken the risk of hiring someone that while a fan favorite, hometown hero, and Cyclone great has zero coaching/recruiting experience on his resume.
A couple of questions...
Why not hire Grayer as head coach? He was a better player for certain.
Is it a prerequisite now for any coaching hire we have to be an Iowa native? It sure looks like it from my chair...maybe I should send my resume in.
