Don't Dismiss the B.J. Armstrong Talk

Here is the thing about this, there are lots of things necessary to be a good coach.

1) You have to excite potential players. BJ - check.
2) You have to excite the fanbase - ummmm yeah.
3) You have to be able to go out and fundraise - see #2.

In a lot of ways being a head coach is a figure head. BJ would be excellent in this regard. If he were to bring in the necessary X's and O's guys, this would be a great hire.

The question is, does he know what a great X's and O guy looks like? Is he capable of filling up his staff with the right people, and then be without ego enough to let them have that big of a role?

That's a pretty big question.
 
4000 hits. if barta wants a home run, this may be it, regardless whether or not you like this hire, I am willing to bet you would jump on and support B.J. anyway. Moreso than a hire such as Gregory.
 
JonDMiller said:
Nothing wrong with that at all.

This was not an opinion post on whether or not I think BJ would be a good hire for Iowa. I expressed no opinions in it whatsoever. I posted what I heard tonight. I never said that Barta was talking with BJ, I never said BJ is a legit candidate.

What I did say was that BJ has some interest in helping out the Iowa basketball program in its current state, and that would include heading the band, putting together a staff that has strengths across the board...

There will be more posts here, and elsewhere in the days to come, that once Barta has hired someone, we will look back on and think 'Wow, we were chasing our tails there.'

That's what happens with clandestine coaching searches. I understand Barta's desire to keep it low. I have no problems with that. Most AD's do it that way, out of necessity.

That being the case, if I or anyone covering the Hawks just sat back and said 'Well, we're not going to talk about what we are hearing, because in the end, 99% of it will not lead anywhere' we may as well just run stories on Iowa volleyball or track and field from the releases we get from Iowa.

I don't doubt what I heard tonight, given where I heard it from. The gist is this: BJ has an interest in helping out the Iowa basketball program and I am not just talking about a financial contribution. It has been conveyed to my source that that would include the head coaching position if he were sought in that capacity, but he is not going to campaign for it.

I think it would be a long shot, just as I think Pearl would be a longshot. But don't confuse opinions with relaying things that I am comfortable enough to relay, given where I heard it.
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Jon,

Thank you, I very much appreciate the insight. Keep them coming. If the people here really had an idea, they would know that just as in football the assistant coaches do most of the work anyway. Therefore, having a Hawkeye hero out front for recruiting and bring the program to prominence purposes sounds like an amazing situation.
 
Love BJ Armstrong as a Hawk. I hope like hell he gives his input on the search and helps bring players our way. As a head coach, I have a better shot at hitting the Powerball.
 
It is all fair speculation,Jon..don't bogart that info,my friend...pass it over to me.

My immediate thoughts on BJ are that :
A. I would be shocked if he actually wanted to leave LA and his budding success as a superagent for Arn Tellum(who will be retiring soon) to chase after 18 year olds in Sioux City and Carroll...but you never know. Derrick Rose considers him about his closest confidant,and he has done a fine job mentoring Rose. I think Derrick lived with him in the summer when he trains in LA.

B. I do think he knows some people in the AAU world,as he does scout for new clients. But, I just am not sure that he is really wired into the current recruiting scene like a Forbes or Barbee or Pastner.

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.

Dunlap has to be the assistant...NBA experience.

Whatever, the more the merrier...but this is a real longshot.
 
Experience factor keeps getting thrown around. Coach Lickliter had lots of experience and it didn't work out. Larry Bird had zero coaching experience and they made him the coach of the Indiana Pacers. Larry did a great job, look what's happened to the Pacers since he left and they now have a coach with "experience".
 
I have heard that Rick Carlisle was doing most of the real coaching when Larry Bird was the head coach of the Pacers.
 
JHHawk said:
I have heard that Rick Carlisle was doing most of the real coaching when Larry Bird was the head coach of the Pacers.
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If the BJ senario played out (which i'm not really buying into at this point) wouldn't this be a simular situation more than likely?

BJ would be Iowa's Joe Pa.
 
Do you people really believe a guy like Keno Davis knows more about basketball than B J Armstrong?? Not in a million years!! I want Jon Miller to call some guys like Bob Hansen or Tom Norman former Iowa basketball players who still live in Des Moines and ask them who they think should be the next Iowa coach. Tom Norman also has the advantage of being married to Bob Bowlsby's sister!!
 
condorrr27 said:
Do you people really believe a guy like Keno Davis knows more about basketball than B J Armstrong?? Not in a million years!! I want Jon Miller to call some guys like Bob Hansen or Tom Norman former Iowa basketball players who still live in Des Moines and ask them who they think should be the next Iowa coach. Tom Norman also has the advantage of being married to Bob Bowlsby's sister!!
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Yes....
 
condorrr27 said:
Do you people really believe a guy like Keno Davis knows more about basketball than B J Armstrong?? Not in a million years!! I want Jon Miller to call some guys like Bob Hansen or Tom Norman former Iowa basketball players who still live in Des Moines and ask them who they think should be the next Iowa coach. Tom Norman also has the advantage of being married to Bob Bowlsby's sister!!
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I would say keno knows more about coaching basketball, which is what I thought the job was. They're not going on a basketball trivia show.
 
condorrr27 said:
Do you people really believe a guy like Keno Davis knows more about basketball than B J Armstrong?? Not in a million years!! I want Jon Miller to call some guys like Bob Hansen or Tom Norman former Iowa basketball players who still live in Des Moines and ask them who they think should be the next Iowa coach. Tom Norman also has the advantage of being married to Bob Bowlsby's sister!!
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I dont think having an idiot for a brother in law should disqualify Norman.
 
With Bj's connections, i think he might make a great recruting cordinator. Not sure how he do as a head coach, since he has never been one. But maybe bring him on as an asst coach. What iowa really needs is someone who can recruit. Someone who has connections to aau, and chicago. BJ fills that requirement. But it scares me that he has never been a head coach before. Oh and i agree with jon, that i want someone who can play uptempo ball.
 
JonDMiller said:
I have said repeatedly that it's a long shot. But I have every reason to believe that BJ is interested in helping the program...and has even discussed the top position with some people.

So say 'I don't think this will happen' and leave it at that.
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I'll stick with "It will not happen".
 
Norse23 said:
The secret assistant would have to be Mike Dunlap, correct?
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If this were the case......BRING ON B.J. ARMSTRONG!!!!!!!!!!

B.J. to bring in the recruits, fans and excitement.....Dunlap to coach them.

I've been a Dunlap man since before Lick was hired.....I want him as head coach but would take him as an assistant. He is looking for work, too since Kent was fired. And he was an assistant at Iowa under Raveling!

I think I just wet myself with excitement.......
 
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