Anybody but Keno!

I will say Collins does intrigue me to the degree that his early roots are in IL. He has good coaching blood lines.

I think he's a long shot but you never know. If he turns out to be the next coach I will support him fully.
 
I will agree with you on Keno. It has nothing to do with me thinking Keno isn't or won't be a hell of a coach, eventually he will be. But Iowa absolutely cannot afford another miss and Keno just leaves too much of a question mark in my mind. If he came in and won right away and had the ship going in the right direction in year two I think fans would be okay with that, but if we were sitting in year 3 and still struggling to finish in the top half of the Big Ten....idk, I wouldn't necessarily think it was a bad hire, circumstances would dictate that, but I think a lot of fans would be calling for another coach, and Iowa has to avoid that at all costs. And as much as I would love Keno to be the next head coach of the Hawkeyes, it would kill me to have Hawkeye Nation turn on him.....
 
storminspank said:
I do agree with this, but my mindset was... Lickliter is in year 3 of a 7 year contract, at least give him until the end of 4. It's not a big deal either way, but if you are going to oust him, you had better bring someone better in. I have an EXTREMELY hard time justifying that Keno is better than Lickliter. Perhaps on par, but not better. And if that's the case, why break up a program to do that. I am just expecting Barta to go past someone of Keno's abilities.
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I can really follow your logic. I'm very interested in your thoughts plus/minus on Keno. I have my reservations with him also but I do think he is an upgrade over Lick for these reasons...

- Relationship with players
- Recruiting
- Style of play - His teams can play multiple styles
- Understands Iowa / Landscape

Keno would not be my number one but I would have him in my top 5.

#1 Bruce Pearl - don't think we can afford him even if he's interested
#2 Scott Drew
#3 Keno Davis
#4 Tony Barbee ? - want to be sure he's on the up and up (Coach Cal ties make me nervous)
#5 Kevin Stallings ? - Toss up here
 
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ColumbusHawk said:
I do not understand people's infatuation with Keno Davis.

I feel sorry for the fans who think the glory years of Iowa basketball were under Tom Davis. He had a tremendous opportunity to make Iowa an elite program. But, frankly, he blew the opportunity. He took over what was probably the deepest, most talented team in the country. The program went downhill from there. In order, he won fourteen, twelve, ten and four conference games in his first four seasons.

I can just hear the screaming on these boards if the successor to Ferentz wins seven, six, five and two conference games, respectively, in his first four seasons. He will be run out of town on a rail.

There is very little difference in Tom Davis' last ten seasons and Alford's eight seasons at Iowa.

During Davis' last ten seasons, his record in conference games was 89-87. Throw in his two losses in the BTT and he was an even five hundred. In those ten seasons, Iowa never seriously challenged for the Big Ten title. The best Big Ten record was in '97, at 12-6, four games behind first place Minnesota.

Alford was 61-67 in his eight seasons at Iowa. Add in his 13-6 BTT record and he finished one game above five hundred. Alford did seriously challenge for the conference championship in '06 finishing one game behind Ohio State.

Talk about mediocrity! One game above five hundred, no Big Ten regular season championships and one sweet 16 appearance in 18 seasons. People blame Alford for this mess but the demise of Iowa basketball started under Tom Davis.

Iowa fans of my generation, mid-fifties and older, began losing interest in Iowa basketball early in the Tom Davis years. We remember Big Ten titles and final four appearances. Sure, there were a few lean years in there, but more years than not, Iowa challenged for the Big Ten championship. The loss of Raef LaFrentz sealed the deal with the people of my generation.

Jon talks about his birthright to see up-tempo basketball. Well, I cut my teeth under Ralph Miller. I feel it is my birthright to see Big Ten championships.

Also, do not put the entire blame on Bowlsby. Davis had as much or more to do with his exit than Bowlsby. In addition, the attendance decline started under Davis. However, both of those subjects would be much longer than this post.

I am not trying to defend Lickliter, but if we gave Lick ten more seasons, I seriously think he could have done what Davis did over his last ten seasons. Hell, in his fourth year, he probably would have won fifty percent more conference games than Davis did in his fourth year. While the program was not nearly as bad as Alford detractors think, it was not close to being the deepest, most talented team in the country
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Lot of good points. With that said I would be able to accept Keno as coach. I could go into more depth on Mr. Davis if i was not so lazy.
 
rockbreaker said:
I like your list, but am surprised you don't list Barbee. I know some people are scared off by the fact he is a Calipari protege. I guess I assume Barta will do his due diligence and if he gets by that, he seems like an up and comer. UTEP has improved every year since he has been there.
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Stormin, where are you on Barbee? He seems to be getting some traction with TPTB.
 
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tweeterhawk said:
Stormin, where are you on Barbee? He seems to be getting some traction with TPTB.
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Before people have started to dig into names and what-have-you, I hadn't given't him a second look.

The Calipari connection doesn't scare me. I like his recruiting ability. His resume is close to Lickliter's, except with less NCAA appearances and conference crowns.

I'm definitely not against Barbee, he'd be ahead of Keno.
 
Yes, Keno would be terrible. Can you imagine how bad it would be to have kids like this playing basketball for Iowa? All we need is a good "system", not 4 star kids.....

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdwGv6lR7fs"]YouTube- Friar Recruit Gerard Coleman[/ame]
 
After Keno wrapped up signing his 3rd TOP 100 recruit for the year (2 which are top 60 players), he told him he would not be going to Iowa.

The 5-foot-11 Tharpe was the point guard for the prep school national champions and was the MVP of the New Hampton Tournament.

“I think he’s a true point guard,” Smith said. “A lot of high school points are high volume shooters. This guy has a basketball IQ and makes guys better. He was great down the stretch for us this year.”

Tharpe was ranked No. 62 in the Scout.com Top 100 junior list."


goodmanonfox- Tharpe chose Providence over Boston College. Source said Keno Davis assured Tharpe he will not be going to Iowa.
^^^twitter

Oh by the way, how many top 100 players did Lick ink in his 3 years at Iowa? And Keno wouldn't be an upgrade? You just can't make this stuff up....
 
storminspank said:
I don't want to get into it anymore. I've given my reasons multiple times.

If Iowa settles for Keno, then Barta has failed.
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I will help you Stormin...Gottlieb said it best, "You don't want Keno at Iowa, if his last name wasn't Davis you wouldn't consider him." Defense is something Keno doesn't get.
 
So when did Doug Gottlieb become the only one who knows basketball? There are many, many "experts" that would disagree with that statement.
 
loesshillshawk said:
I will help you Stormin...Gottlieb said it best, "You don't want Keno at Iowa, if his last name wasn't Davis you wouldn't consider him." Defense is something Keno doesn't get.
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I disagree with this and the assumption that Keno wouldn't be successful at Iowa wholeheartedly!

I think first he would bring people back to the arena, if you don't believe this your are not being honest. Secondly, people would truly enjoy watching a team that pushes the ball hard up the court. Lastly, I think everyone is underestimating how well Keno can recruit. Really, truly lastly... I believe he would uphold the integrity of our university and represent the state properly.
 
If Keno had never left Drake and led them to two more NCAA borths, it wouldn't even be a question that he was on the top of our list.

Going to Providence and not having major success right away is not an indictment in my book.

I'm not saying he is the best candidate, but I would be more than happy with him.
 
According to twitter:

Multiple media folks stationed at the Providence regional are reporting ongoing dialogue between Keno Davis & U of Iowa.
 
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