SwirlinLingerie
Well-Known Member
I've been reading for years now and am finally getting around to post...
I agree Keno shouldn't be the number one target or even in the top five initially, but some aspects of hiring him intrigue me.
Does he have any type of relationship with the Tennessee assistants, especially Tony Jones or Forbes? I know ADs need to let coaches bring in their own guys, but why not feel this out if you're Barta? Ask Keno about bringing in one of these two guys as his associate head coach. Maybe Forbes does it because it's a half promotion up from assistant and close to home. Jones is already an associate head coach, so he may be more of a reach, but if Barta is willing to dig as deep as some people think, maybe you offer Jones a $100k bump, or double his current salary. That seems like enough to convince an assistant to make a lateral move. And if you've hired Keno instead of Pearl (assuming he says no), you should have more than an extra couple hundred grand to bring in a top assistant.
I'm also assuming Chris Davis and Rodell Davis make the move with Keno. Chris Davis is getting a reputation as a recruiter, and along with his ties to Michigan, he's spent the last two years trying to recruit in the shark tank of the Big East.
Rodell Davis has Chicago ties - another nice aspect of this potential staff. And let's not forget Tony Jones, if you lured him with the right cash, contributing to the top notch classes at Tennessee. I also assume he still has some pretty good connections to Detroit (as well as being a native, he was a high school coach there).
This may be another reach, but I'd think there could be a spot on a staff like this for Kenyon Murray, perhaps as the lowest assistant/director of basketball operations. My sense is he has a desire to coach again at the collegiate level, especially if it was at Iowa. I acknowledge he only coached a couple years at Indian Hills, but you could do far worse for one of your low level assistants. And his Michigan ties are a nice bonus.
So your primary staff would be:
Keno
Tony Jones (or Forbes)
Chris Davis
Rodell Davis
Kenyon Murray
Compare this to the staffs, top to bottom, that we've had the past 11 years, particularly the ones without Craig Neal on them. It's not bad, and I don't think it's completely unrealistically to assemble such a staff. Maybe Tony Jones would never work for Keno in a lateral move, but it seems more likely to come up with the money to lure him on board than it does Pearl. And if not, see if Forbes wants a raise. I also like that this staff would have more African-Americans on it than the last 20 staffs combined.
I was pretty dismissive of the Keno idea at first, but I think if you look deeper into his accomplishments at Drake (let's not forget he helped build the team he eventually took over) and early recruiting progress at Providence (and that's a brutal spot to compete for recruits), it's apparent he has been and will be a winner at tougher venues than Iowa. Couple that with an exciting style, the opportunity to fight for his dream job, solid relationships with potential assistants with good recruiting ties, an understanding of the Iowa fan base and a passion for what he will be selling, and Barta could do far worse than Keno.
For me, the x-factor is having Keno bring in a top assistant who is nearing head coaching status himself.
I agree Keno shouldn't be the number one target or even in the top five initially, but some aspects of hiring him intrigue me.
Does he have any type of relationship with the Tennessee assistants, especially Tony Jones or Forbes? I know ADs need to let coaches bring in their own guys, but why not feel this out if you're Barta? Ask Keno about bringing in one of these two guys as his associate head coach. Maybe Forbes does it because it's a half promotion up from assistant and close to home. Jones is already an associate head coach, so he may be more of a reach, but if Barta is willing to dig as deep as some people think, maybe you offer Jones a $100k bump, or double his current salary. That seems like enough to convince an assistant to make a lateral move. And if you've hired Keno instead of Pearl (assuming he says no), you should have more than an extra couple hundred grand to bring in a top assistant.
I'm also assuming Chris Davis and Rodell Davis make the move with Keno. Chris Davis is getting a reputation as a recruiter, and along with his ties to Michigan, he's spent the last two years trying to recruit in the shark tank of the Big East.
Rodell Davis has Chicago ties - another nice aspect of this potential staff. And let's not forget Tony Jones, if you lured him with the right cash, contributing to the top notch classes at Tennessee. I also assume he still has some pretty good connections to Detroit (as well as being a native, he was a high school coach there).
This may be another reach, but I'd think there could be a spot on a staff like this for Kenyon Murray, perhaps as the lowest assistant/director of basketball operations. My sense is he has a desire to coach again at the collegiate level, especially if it was at Iowa. I acknowledge he only coached a couple years at Indian Hills, but you could do far worse for one of your low level assistants. And his Michigan ties are a nice bonus.
So your primary staff would be:
Keno
Tony Jones (or Forbes)
Chris Davis
Rodell Davis
Kenyon Murray
Compare this to the staffs, top to bottom, that we've had the past 11 years, particularly the ones without Craig Neal on them. It's not bad, and I don't think it's completely unrealistically to assemble such a staff. Maybe Tony Jones would never work for Keno in a lateral move, but it seems more likely to come up with the money to lure him on board than it does Pearl. And if not, see if Forbes wants a raise. I also like that this staff would have more African-Americans on it than the last 20 staffs combined.
I was pretty dismissive of the Keno idea at first, but I think if you look deeper into his accomplishments at Drake (let's not forget he helped build the team he eventually took over) and early recruiting progress at Providence (and that's a brutal spot to compete for recruits), it's apparent he has been and will be a winner at tougher venues than Iowa. Couple that with an exciting style, the opportunity to fight for his dream job, solid relationships with potential assistants with good recruiting ties, an understanding of the Iowa fan base and a passion for what he will be selling, and Barta could do far worse than Keno.
For me, the x-factor is having Keno bring in a top assistant who is nearing head coaching status himself.
