JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
ESPN’s basketball analyst Andy Katz has written a coaching search piece today for their website that runs down the available jobs and the names that he’s hearing.
Here is that link: CLICK HERE
Katz throws out two names for Iowa: Utah’s Stew Morrill and Dayton’s Brian Gregory.
As it relates to the opening at Iowa, Katz has written the following, in part: “According to sources, both would listen if called.â€
I don’t know his sources, but he talks to people in the business every single day for his job. Doesn’t mean he’s always right, and he certainly gets his share of scoops. Guys like Katz make their living off of creating and maintaining solid relationships with coaches. Often, they hear from either the coaches themselves or their agents, and they aren’t beyond doing favors for the guys they really like, as in floating their names out there to drum up some interest.
Please don’t take this as me dishing on Katz; he works hard and does a solid job.
However, we could list ten names right now and put ‘would be willing to listen, if called.’
As it relates to Gregory, we have talked about him a little bit. Protege of Tom Izzo, once Michigan State’s Associate Head Coach, which has basically turned out to be a launching pad to a head coaching job for the other two guys that have held that title under Izzo; Tulsa Doug Wojcik and Indiana’s Tom Crean. Gregory is at Dayton right now.
With regards to Morrill, he is at Utah State and has had success there. He began his coaching career as an assistant at Gonzaga then he moved on to Montana under Mike Montgomery. He would later get the head coaching job at Montana and took them to an NCAA tournament in the early 1990’s. From there it was on to Colorado State and then to Utah State.
He lacks any experience as an assistant or head coach of a program that has to recruit against the best of the best, which is something that concerns me regarding any candidate that Iowa may look at. As you have seen me write time and again, the Iowa job needs a very good recruiter (or two or three of them) on staff. I am not sure that Morrill fits that mode. Gregory does.
Here is that link: CLICK HERE
Katz throws out two names for Iowa: Utah’s Stew Morrill and Dayton’s Brian Gregory.
As it relates to the opening at Iowa, Katz has written the following, in part: “According to sources, both would listen if called.â€
I don’t know his sources, but he talks to people in the business every single day for his job. Doesn’t mean he’s always right, and he certainly gets his share of scoops. Guys like Katz make their living off of creating and maintaining solid relationships with coaches. Often, they hear from either the coaches themselves or their agents, and they aren’t beyond doing favors for the guys they really like, as in floating their names out there to drum up some interest.
Please don’t take this as me dishing on Katz; he works hard and does a solid job.
However, we could list ten names right now and put ‘would be willing to listen, if called.’
As it relates to Gregory, we have talked about him a little bit. Protege of Tom Izzo, once Michigan State’s Associate Head Coach, which has basically turned out to be a launching pad to a head coaching job for the other two guys that have held that title under Izzo; Tulsa Doug Wojcik and Indiana’s Tom Crean. Gregory is at Dayton right now.
With regards to Morrill, he is at Utah State and has had success there. He began his coaching career as an assistant at Gonzaga then he moved on to Montana under Mike Montgomery. He would later get the head coaching job at Montana and took them to an NCAA tournament in the early 1990’s. From there it was on to Colorado State and then to Utah State.
He lacks any experience as an assistant or head coach of a program that has to recruit against the best of the best, which is something that concerns me regarding any candidate that Iowa may look at. As you have seen me write time and again, the Iowa job needs a very good recruiter (or two or three of them) on staff. I am not sure that Morrill fits that mode. Gregory does.
