Don't Dismiss the B.J. Armstrong Talk

It is all fair speculation,Jon..don't bogart that info,my friend...pass it over to me.


C. As noted before, his stint on NBA Fastbreak was kind of a disaster. Not because he was not articulate,but he made odd comments. I will never forget a comment he made one nite, where him and Jamal Mashburn were asked about how important a coach was to the success of an NBA team,and Mash said...it is players. BJ said it was all about the coach...which left the other two incredulous...BJ would not back down..saying that Phil Jackson was as important as MJ. Odd.

OK, here's a couple of questions:

How many rings does MJ have without Jackson as coach?
How many rings does Jackson have without MJ as a player?

I think BJ has a strong argument. Jordan may have won a title or two without playing for Jackson, but I really doubt he wins six. On the other hand, Jackson wouldn't have 10 rings without having players like MJ, Kobe and Shaq. It is a credible argument.
 
I could give a rip if BJ has any head coaching experience. Right now our basketball program is on life support and we need a shot of adrenaline. Thousands of disinterested fans who long for the Hawkeye Basketball of years past would come back instantly with BJ as head coach. BJ would kill on the I-Club circuit drumming up support for this program, something Lickliter struggled with. Like it or not this is not just an X's and O's position. A coach has to be able to shake hands and kiss babies like he is running for office. Alford had that ability at first before people began to find him arrogant and both incidents with PP. Lickliter seemed disinterested in this aspect of the job.

This would be an incredibly ballsy move by Barta and I would absolutely love it.
 
To be fair...

So an NBA agent is going to be a D1 basketball coach?

Sorry, I just don't buy it.
The kids BJ would be recruiting weren't alive when he played for Iowa.

this "NBA agent" also happens to have played college basketball and played in the NBA for 10+ years. And also represents one of the most recongizable players for today's generation (Derrick Rose).

No, most of the kids he's recruiting today would not remember who BJ was as a player. But they would see the championship rings and they would know that Rose trusted him with his professional career management.

Not saying that this is the way Iowa should or would go, but if Armstrong were to hire a staff that complemented him, it could work.
 
My wife used to be interested in Iowa basketball, but that died with her feeling that the Pierce case was badly mishandled. Lickliter did nothing to bring her back. I mentioned that Armstrong might be interested. She got very excited at the prospect. Not all casual fans would remain casual if BJ was the coach.

And although he might give up the Rose commission, $2.5 mill/year isn't exactly chump change.
 
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Re: To be fair...

this "NBA agent" also happens to have played college basketball and played in the NBA for 10+ years. And also represents one of the most recongizable players for today's generation (Derrick Rose).

No, most of the kids he's recruiting today would not remember who BJ was as a player. But they would see the championship rings and they would know that Rose trusted him with his professional career management.

Not saying that this is the way Iowa should or would go, but if Armstrong were to hire a staff that complemented him, it could work.

BJ was on a Wheaties box.
 
Let's clear up a few things here....

BJ Armstong wouldn't have pull with kids because no one would remember him. False.
While "Hi, I'm BJ Armstrong" might not get kids excited, "Hi, I was Michael Jordans point guard wanna see my three NBA title rings?" certainly will.

BJ Doesn't know x's and o's. False.
He was a point guard in the NBA for a decade, played under and understood the "Triangle", and played for Phil Jackson. He has more than enough x's and o's knowledge to run an offense and or put together people to help him do it. People that point to his struggles in the booth don't get those are two different things. People that point to Isiah Thomas in NY don't get it wasn't lack of x's and o's that caused him to fail it was the garbage roster he put together while there.

He will make more money as Derrick Rose's agent. Probably False.
NBA Agents make 3-4% on most contracts (not the 10% someone previously threw out there). They also make 10-15% on endorsement contracts. That probably puts his Derick Rose earnings in the 3-4 million range. If he does sign as the Iowa head coach it will likely be for a minimum of 10,000,000 in the 4-5 year range.
 
I don't for one minute think this would work. BJ's never coached! What other college program has the head coach as the figure head/recruiter and the assistants as the X's and O's guys? I can't think of one. Head Coaches are like dictators when it comes to college basketball. They have control over everything.

This would be an experiment. Can we really afford to try an experiment at this point in time for our program?
 
It looks like Dunlap will be interviewing for the Oregon job so.......my B.J./Dunlap dream team could be in jeapardy.
 
Let's clear up a few things here....

BJ Armstong wouldn't have pull with kids because no one would remember him. False.
While "Hi, I'm BJ Armstrong" might not get kids excited, "Hi, I was Michael Jordans point guard wanna see my three NBA title rings?" certainly will.

BJ Doesn't know x's and o's. False.
He was a point guard in the NBA for a decade, played under and understood the "Triangle", and played for Phil Jackson. He has more than enough x's and o's knowledge to run an offense and or put together people to help him do it. People that point to his struggles in the booth don't get those are two different things. People that point to Isiah Thomas in NY don't get it wasn't lack of x's and o's that caused him to fail it was the garbage roster he put together while there.

He will make more money as Derrick Rose's agent. Probably False.
NBA Agents make 3-4% on most contracts (not the 10% someone previously threw out there). They also make 10-15% on endorsement contracts. That probably puts his Derick Rose earnings in the 3-4 million range. If he does sign as the Iowa head coach it will likely be for a minimum of 10,000,000 in the 4-5 year range.

10 million in the 4-5 year range for BJ Armstrong. Are you listening to yourself? That is absolutely one of the most ridiculous things I have heard in the past week.
 
Good work Duff. Now, do I think he would be the best guy to coach the team? Probably not, but I don't think he should be dismissed as quickly as some of you seem to want to do. If nothing else, the man gets mad props for actually wanting to come back and do this. There aren't many former NBA players, that are living cushy lives, that would be looking at the possibility of resurrecting their college program.

Let's clear up a few things here....

BJ Armstong wouldn't have pull with kids because no one would remember him. False.
While "Hi, I'm BJ Armstrong" might not get kids excited, "Hi, I was Michael Jordans point guard wanna see my three NBA title rings?" certainly will.

BJ Doesn't know x's and o's. False.
He was a point guard in the NBA for a decade, played under and understood the "Triangle", and played for Phil Jackson. He has more than enough x's and o's knowledge to run an offense and or put together people to help him do it. People that point to his struggles in the booth don't get those are two different things. People that point to Isiah Thomas in NY don't get it wasn't lack of x's and o's that caused him to fail it was the garbage roster he put together while there.

He will make more money as Derrick Rose's agent. Probably False.
NBA Agents make 3-4% on most contracts (not the 10% someone previously threw out there). They also make 10-15% on endorsement contracts. That probably puts his Derick Rose earnings in the 3-4 million range. If he does sign as the Iowa head coach it will likely be for a minimum of 10,000,000 in the 4-5 year range.
 
An assisstant with head coaching experience would probably be more valuable in the day to day "running the program" aspects than he would with the x's and o's. That would be a far tougher adjustment than running an offense for most retired NBA point guards.
 
10 million in the 4-5 year range for BJ Armstrong. Are you listening to yourself? That is absolutely one of the most ridiculous things I have heard in the past week.

I'm not saying we should do it. I'm saying that is what it will look like if we do it.

1) To get BJ it would have to be on par with what he is making now.
2) Iowa is on the record as saying money is not an object.
3) It's the going rate.
4) We paid Lick 1.2 million for 7 years, why would paying BJ 2 million for 5 be crazy?
 
It certainly would make a splash, but this will never happen. Barta is going to tie his job to a coach with no experience at any level?? No way.
 
Sorry for a quick off topic comment...I saw an earlier reference to my favorite middle school langauge arts teacher...Mr. Calkins. I only have one question.. Do you still wear the bowling shoes?
 
I'm not saying we should do it. I'm saying that is what it will look like if we do it.

1) To get BJ it would have to be on par with what he is making now.
2) Iowa is on the record as saying money is not an object.
3) It's the going rate.
4) We paid Lick 1.2 million for 7 years, why would paying BJ 2 million for 5 be crazy?

No prior coaching experience maybe? Need I say more?
 
Sorry for a quick off topic comment...I saw an earlier reference to my favorite middle school langauge arts teacher...Mr. Calkins. I only have one question.. Do you still wear the bowling shoes?

Jesus!! How many WB'ers do we have here?!?!?
 
My wife used to be interested in Iowa basketball, but that died with her feeling that the Pierce case was badly mishandled. Lickliter did nothing to bring her back. I mentioned that Armstrong might be interested. She got very excited at the prospect. Not all casual fans would remain casual if BJ was the coach.

And although he might give up the Rose commission, $2.5 mill/year isn't exactly chump change.

$2.5MM gets paid to one person and one person only...of the names I've mentioned.

If we look at the more realistic names on the board...we're probably looking at less money than we paid Lickliter.
 
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