Andy Katz ESPN

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koolhandlick

Well-Known Member
ESPN'S Andy Katz is saying that if Iowa makes a change UNI coach Ben Jacobson and Utah St. coach Stew Morrill will be given looks. Does anyone know what Morrill has done in the past ? To be honest I've never heard of him.
 
They better be "glances" rather than real "looks". They must get someone that will get the fans excited and back in the seats. Even if they are good coaches, neither of these guys meet the criteria.
 
I just looked him up and hadn't heard of him before now but he's taken Utah State to the tournament 6 times and they've been to the NIT a bunch of times as well. Basically every year he's been at Utah State they've been to the post season. Looks like he's done a solid job where he is at.

I'd, personally think, that we'd go after an assistant or current coach of a bigger school if Lick is not going to be here next year. It seems like Barta would be taking a risk going after a mid-major coach (of course he'd be taking a risk period as there are no guaranteed great hires).
 
Stew Morill
Player Bio: Stew Morrill - UTAH STATE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE
In 11 seasons prior to this season Stew has taken Utah State to the NCAA Show 6 times. Didn't see what they have done this year.


Since Andy Katz is reporting something it tells me, that the Iowa situation has now reached the National Media's full radar screen.

Barta needs to make an announcement soon. This can't keep dragging along.
 
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Ben Jacobsen would be a good hire if ISU didnt have the disaster with Mac and hire didnt have a disaster with a mid major coach who plays a slow/boring style (exactly how UNI plays)

Ben will be successfull somewhere but it wont be Iowa
 
busabus114 said:
Ben Jacobsen would be a good hire if ISU didnt have the disaster with Mac and hire didnt have a disaster with a mid major coach who plays a slow/boring style (exactly how UNI plays)

Ben will be successfull somewhere but it wont be Iowa
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I don't mind slow and boring. A majority of college basketball is slow and boring because most college players aren't that good (compared to the NBA). If Iowa teams could defend like UNI did this year I wouldn't mind Jacobsen. I miss watching a team that can actually make stops.
 
HawkPrdatr40 said:
Stew Morill
Player Bio: Stew Morrill - UTAH STATE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE
In 11 seasons prior to this season Stew has taken Utah State to the NCAA Show 6 times. Didn't see what they have done this year.


Since Andy Katz is reporting something it tells me, that the Iowa situation has now reached the National Media's full radar screen.

Barta needs to make an announcement soon. This can't keep dragging along.
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Why does he need to make an announcement soon?
 
Jake is a good guy. May be a great Coach. But there is already a gu like that in the league and it's Bo Ryan. He us established with that style. Iowa needs to go the other direction.
 
If either of those two are considererd then Barta needs to follow Lick out the door. I couldn't find the article, is he talking about it on a radio show?

Morrell is a Mormon. I would say there is about 0 chance of him leaving Utah.

Jacobson has been a head coach for 5 years in a mid-major conference. Do we really want to go down that path yet again? He has had a nice run the past three years but I don't want to pay another mid-major coach to learn on the job. If you look at his recruiting class(s) it's a bunch of Iowa kids that are either no star or two star with a 3 star sprinkled in. He hasn't proven that he has the contacts to recruit successfully.

Keno Davis is not the answer.

The best available PROVEN recruiter who can turn a program around in a hurry is Gillispie. I would hope that he at least gets a look.
 
I know he has done well in that conference but Stew Morrill seems like a bad fit for a couple of reasons.

That mention sounds to me like Katz doing a favor for a friend, and the friend isn't Iowa.
 
HawkPrdatr40 said:
Why shouldn't he? listen if your making a coaching change why the drama? Let's move on.
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Because as I've said before, coaching changes DON'T happen before the tournament is OVER. This isn't football where a meaningless bowl game is at stake. Nearly every team has a legit shot at winning once they make the tournament. No coach is going to give up that opportunity.

Lick may be fired before the tournament, but we aren't going to have a new coach until after teams start losing games in the big dance (unless it's Gillispie).
 
bcl20 said:
I don't mind slow and boring. A majority of college basketball is slow and boring because most college players aren't that good (compared to the NBA). If Iowa teams could defend like UNI did this year I wouldn't mind Jacobsen. I miss watching a team that can actually make stops.
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I agree with you but 95% of the fanbase wants something different. Like ive said all along the style of play doesnt matter if you win. If you start losing with a boring brand of bball, the 1st thing people criticize is the style of play.
 
bcl20 said:
A majority of college basketball is slow and boring because most college players aren't that good (compared to the NBA).
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IMO college players are just as talented or more talented than they were 20 years ago. However, the style of play has changed from letting players make their own plays (isolation plays) to more of a system approach (working the shot clock for the best possible shot). One symptom of this is the decline of the midrange jump shot.
 
CHShawk said:
IMO college players are just as talented or more talented than they were 20 years ago. However, the style of play has changed from letting players make their own plays (isolation plays) to more of a system approach (working the shot clock for the best possible shot). One symptom of this is the decline of the midrange jump shot.
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There may be one or two players who are NBA talented on a handfull of teams but the majority of the teams players aren't that good.

I do agree though that system play has taken over some teams and I wonder if it's because, in college athletics, we place a lot more emphasis on the coach than the player.
 
bcl20 said:
There may be one or two players who are NBA talented on a team but the majority of the team isn't that good. I do agree though that system play has taken over some teams and I wonder if it's because, in college athletics, we place a lot of emphasis on the coach.
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I agree and would also agree that so much emphasis is on the coach. Overcoaching runs rampant in college basketball.

BTW, here's the link to Andy Katz's twitter account.

Andy Katz (ESPNAndyKatz) on Twitter

"If Iowa pops then Northern Iowa's Ben Jacobson will get a great look and don't be surprised to hear Utah State's Stew Morrill's name either"
about 2 hours ago via TweetDeck

"Still waiting on official words at Oregon, fate of Norm Roberts should be after NIT, Rutgers? Iowa? All should be decided here very soon."
about 3 hours ago via TweetDeck
 
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Stew Morrill

Was hired at Utah State to replace Larry Eustachy from what I recall. Former Utah State AD Bruce Van De Velde loved him, and thought about bringing him to ISU with him after Eustachy was canned but didn't think it would go over well.

Not exactly Mr. Charisma, though, from what I understand. In fact, he sort of reminds me a lot of what you're about to get rid of. I don't think Jacobson sends season ticket holders back flocking to Carver-Hawkeye Arena either, for that matter.
 
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