McCollum or Devries?

[NorthKCHawk]

I think they are both very good, up and coming coaches, and I would have been excited to land Devries, but I think we landed an equally good, if not better, guy with McCollum. This probably is not the greatest analogy, but is this not similar to the Stoops/KF debate? Everyone wanted Stoops. We landed KF instead. Both coaches went on to have amazing coaching careers. KF was and remains the perfect fit for Iowa football culture.

Like Stoops, it would not surprise me if DeVries has more success than Ben, especially early. Indiana, despite recent trendlines, is a basketball school first and foremost. They have resources, tradition, history, and a rat's ass shithole gym where a few banners have been hung over the years. Rebuilding Indiana MBB is a much easier job than rejuvenating Iowa MBB. Both seem on their way.

Personally, I believe both men will be successful, but I would bet a good chunk of money that Ben is at Iowa well past when DeVries leaves or is canned at Indiana.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

Time will tell. DeVries won't have any excuses. Indiana is going to throw all the NIL $ he should need to get players. Ben will be asked to turn water into wine with players at Iowa unless stud players just decide to take less to play for him. It'll be an interesting thing to see play out cause they'll be compared quite a bit

 

[thedukeofearl]

I get that people wanted DeVries and I understand why. But he’s vanilla ice cream. Good, solid choice that you’re pretty sure is going to work out. Non-offensive but boring and unexciting. Zero panache.

Iowa does not need vanilla ice cream. We need mint chocolate chip with gummy bears and pop rocks sprinkled on top and that’s (at least so far) what we’re getting with Run BMC.

Fran was jalapeño horseradish ice cream, spicy and pretty interesting in small doses to a small subset of people, but not for everyone and definitely couldn’t make a 15 year diet of it. I still appreciate him for what he was but it got a little boring and hard to eat on repeat. Even though I liked him, his personality will never endear him to fans on a large scale and our program needs someone who gets fans energized, and gets riled up butts in the seats. The crowd and environment is just as important as the roster.

DeVries just gives me REALLY strong Hoiberg vibes and win or lose I can’t get excited or invested in a coach like that. He wouldn’t have worked out at a school like Iowa.

We got the better deal.

And before anyone counters that, tell me one thing DeVries has done other than had a single mediocre to below mediocre season at a P6 school. He hasn’t proven anything and of course he’s going win games in Bloomington. It’s friggin Indiana. The people saying he’s an “Iowa guy…” he ain’t an Iowa guy. He was born here and went to UNI and that’s pretty much where it stops.

Yeah he won at Drake but A) that’s not major college basketball no matter how much you want to make it so, and B) so did our coach.

DeVries doesn’t automatically get admiration because he was born here and his brother played football for the Hawks. It doesn’t work that way.

Run BMC

Damn

 

[Fryowa]

The only loser between Iowa and Indiana in this situation is Drake.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

The only loser between Iowa and Indiana in this situation is Drake.

Drake has become the ultimate stepping stone gig

 

[guffus]

Drake has become the ultimate stepping stone gig

Yes, the last 3 coaches at Drake are now all head coaches in the Big Ten. What an amazing run.