If there's anything to the Jamie Dixon...

So why even try, right? Barta should just resign himself to the fact that Iowa is a second class program that would only be able to hire second class coaches.

No offense, but that is loser talk. I refuse to believe that...given the right offer...Barta would not be able to hire a top-flight coach.

As for the fans being underwhelmed at whoever is hired....I guarantee there will be people complaining on the message boards no matter WHO it is.

Did he say that Barta shouldn't try? He said that we wouldn't be able to land Dixon which is probably true and we proably won't land any of the current successful head coaches in the major conferences.

Keep in mind... there does need to be mutual interest. I wish it was easy as Barta just going out and getting his pick of the litter.

The national perception of this program is a lot different than the people of this state or this message board.

This is a huge project for a coach. We will not be very good next year. We have to start winning games to energize the fan base to come back to CHA. Don't think this is a small enough project to turn it around over night.
 
So why even try, right? Barta should just resign himself to the fact that Iowa is a second class program that would only be able to hire second class coaches.

No offense, but that is loser talk. I refuse to believe that...given the right offer...Barta would not be able to hire a top-flight coach.

As for the fans being underwhelmed at whoever is hired....I guarantee there will be people complaining on the message boards no matter WHO it is.

I never said Barta shouldn't try. But I can guarantee you that Barta will not land a top flight coach. And by that I mean a coach in a BCS conference that has went to the NCAA tournament at least 2 of the last 5 years.

Iowa Basketball is probably in the bottom 15% of all BCS conference basketball programs in America. Iowa Basketball is pathetic right now.
 
I think a lot of people are aware of the situation and where the program is. I also think that a lot of people understand that we probably won't get a big name coach. Furthermore, this is a message board where people are free to speculate and many have asked about who they thought should be the next coach.

In light of that, I have been a proponent that GB should make a big run at big time coaches before settling for the low hanging fruit if you will. You have to remember that things are not always as bad or as good as they seem. Many people were complaining that Lick should have been able to turn this thing around faster and there is no doubt that the next person is going to have quite the task of rebuilding. When you think of the enormous task of rebuilding Iowa's program, it is natural to think of some name coaches that people think could start this process by re-energizing the fan base, etc., guys like Pearl and Dixon will have their names brought up. Whether we get them or not, is one thing, but you have to try. If people like me who bring up names like Dixon bothers people or makes the posts laughable then so be it. I am not sold that we can get a bigname coach or need to get one, but I feel like we should try since we have the resources to do so.
 
I think a lot of people are aware of the situation and where the program is. I also think that a lot of people understand that we probably won't get a big name coach. Furthermore, this is a message board where people are free to speculate and many have asked about who they thought should be the next coach.

In light of that, I have been a proponent that GB should make a big run at big time coaches before settling for the low hanging fruit if you will. You have to remember that things are not always as bad or as good as they seem. Many people were complaining that Lick should have been able to turn this thing around faster and there is no doubt that the next person is going to have quite the task of rebuilding. When you think of the enormous task of rebuilding Iowa's program, it is natural to think of some name coaches that people think could start this process by re-energizing the fan base, etc., guys like Pearl and Dixon will have their names brought up. Whether we get them or not, is one thing, but you have to try. If people like me who bring up names like Dixon bothers people or makes the posts laughable then so be it. I am not sold that we can get a bigname coach or need to get one, but I feel like we should try since we have the resources to do so.

Its the notion that people think the program is a lateral move to a lot of current jobs is what I find laughable.

Memphis > Iowa
Pittsburgh > Iowa (although I realize there are other reasons for suggesting Dixon)
Kansas State > Iowa (I almost jumped through the computer when someone posted about Frank Martin earlier today)
Marquette > Iowa
Tennessee > Iowa
Florida > Iowa (another one that is ridiculous)
Louisville > Iowa
I guess if you want to try to get big time candidate you can do so, but your going to be wasting resources doing so, and time to recruit.
 
I agree that Iowa is not a lateral move for a lot of coaches. That is why I say that we will find out what kind of salesman GB is. He will have to bring up the history, along with the potential of the program and the new facilities and then spend a lot of money to bring an established coach in here. Our program could return to being a good program if we hire the right coach. It doesn't have to be a big name, but it would help at this point in terms of building credibility with the fans overall.
 
I wish I would have kept a log from last Monday for the initial 'list' of names after it was confirmed TL was out
Pearl - appears to have said no
Forbes - doesn't appear to even be the lead recruiter for TN
Turgeon - doesn't appear interested
BCG - personal issues
BJ Armstong - He was a great player for Iowa.
Scott Drew - considered dirty by some posters.
 
Agreed, I don't think people are being realistic with how bad this situation is.

Its laughable reading some of the names people just throw out there.


Yea no way would Tubby Smith leave a program like Kentucky and head to Minnesota! Come on people. Coaches leave schools all the time for Money and for a change in scenery. Was Minnesota a lateral move for Tubby Smith? No it was a huge step down, but he did it because he was sick of not being appreciated at Kentucky. Barta hopefully can find a coach in a situation where he is looking for a change in scenery and we can pay the next coach well...Barta has already made that clear. A coach from a major school is not out of the question.
 
Yea no way would Tubby Smith leave a program like Kentucky and head to Minnesota! Come on people. Coaches leave schools all the time for Money and for a change in scenery. Was Minnesota a lateral move for Tubby Smith? No it was a huge step down, but he did it because he was sick of not being appreciated at Kentucky. Barta hopefully can find a coach in a situation where he is looking for a change in scenery and we can pay the next coach well...Barta has already made that clear. A coach from a major school is not out of the question.

Getting ran out of town is a little different than, "leave a program like Kent. and head to Minnesota". The real question is this, "Is Iowa out of the question for a coach from a major school?"
 
Yea no way would Tubby Smith leave a program like Kentucky and head to Minnesota! Come on people. Coaches leave schools all the time for Money and for a change in scenery. Was Minnesota a lateral move for Tubby Smith? No it was a huge step down, but he did it because he was sick of not being appreciated at Kentucky. Barta hopefully can find a coach in a situation where he is looking for a change in scenery and we can pay the next coach well...Barta has already made that clear. A coach from a major school is not out of the question.

Tubby was very clearly forced out. Completely different situation.

Coaches don't leave better programs to go to programs in the dumps all the time.
 
Do not dismiss Jamie Dixon.

I did a little research. Pittsburgh has some serious athletic budget issues. Pitt's athletic budget is about half of Iowa's. It is roughly the same as Iowa State's. Even then, expenses exceed revenues by about six to eight million dollars a year. In comparison, revenues exceed expenses by about 10 million a year at Iowa.

The state legislator wants Pitt to be self-sufficient in athletics like big brother 140 miles to the east. The Pitt athletic director has come out and stated that the school cannot be competitive without the state subsidies that cover the deficits.

Also, the Big East does not evenly share the revenues from the NCAA tournament like the Big Ten. They have some convoluted system where schools get more money for getting into the tournament and advancing. The Big East revenue-sharing for basketball is contingent on how many times the school participates in the NCAA tournament and then how many wins, with the formula covering four or five years.

While the basketball program is very healthy, Pitt sells out its 22,000-seat arena virtually every game, Pitt may have to slash the basketball budget to become self-sufficient. Without the state subsidies, Pitt may have to divert income from the basketball program to cover the costs of other programs.

Further, if the Big East implodes in football due to Big Ten expansion, Pitt could have even bigger budget problems.

True, Iowa’s program is not as attractive as Pitt’s is today. But it has the potential to be better than Pitt’s. Don’t forget the two gorillas, the football program and the Big Ten Network. Iowa’s basketball program lost 1.5 million dollars last fiscal year and Iowa’s athletic budget still dwarfs Pitt’s.
 
I never said Barta shouldn't try. But I can guarantee you that Barta will not land a top flight coach. And by that I mean a coach in a BCS conference that has went to the NCAA tournament at least 2 of the last 5 years.

By "guaranteeing" Barta will not land a top flight coach you are pretty much implying he shouldn't even try. Why should he? If there is NO WAY he can get a top flight coach, why waste his time trying?

I am going to remain postitive....it can be done....if Barta can find the right guy (one who...for whatever reason...would consider leaving his current position) and make the right offer.
 
By "guaranteeing" Barta will not land a top flight coach you are pretty much implying he shouldn't even try. Why should he? If there is NO WAY he can get a top flight coach, why waste his time trying?

I am going to remain postitive....it can be done....if Barta can find the right guy (one who...for whatever reason...would consider leaving his current position) and make the right offer.

Please throw out an established BCS coach who would consider coming to Iowa and your reason why.
 
Please throw out an established BCS coach who would consider coming to Iowa and your reason why.

How would I know? I'm not on the search committee and I'm not the Iowa AD. It is not MY job to find this person.

Why be such a defeatist? What makes people think there is "no chance" Iowa can hire a top flight coach?

I say it *can* be done.
 
If the budget issues at Pitt are true, then I don't think that it is going to be a major pay raise that is going to lure Dixon away.

It is going to be commitments to the basketball program financially.

If we have to compete against Oregon for him, it's over as they can have anything they want. BUT, it puts Iowa in the game. They can make him one of the highest paid coaches in the game and be forced to continue improvements to the basketball program facilities.
 
If we have to compete against Oregon for him, it's over as they can have anything they want. BUT, it puts Iowa in the game. They can make him one of the highest paid coaches in the game and be forced to continue improvements to the basketball program facilities.

The good news is Oregon can only take one candidate away from us, so hopefully they make a decision soon so we don't have coaches pushing us away to see if they have a chance with Oregon. Unfortunately, Mike Belotti resigning won't likely help matters.....
 
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