Miller: Barta Prepared to Make Most Important Hoops Hire in Iowa History?

[Soonernation]

I agree that this will be one of the most important and also most difficult hires that Barta ever has to make. I hope he can get plenty of help in this tough decision from past Hawkeye players and others who really know basketball and that he is not forced to take advice from an outside adviser who does not know Iowa and Iowa basketball. The easy part will be getting fans back into Carver arena if the right hire is made and also in fund raising, again, if the right hire is made. Everyone wants a winning program and will do whatever it takes to turn this around. The hard part will be finding a coach who can bring in real Big Ten talent, not some kid who was 2nd team all state here in Iowa or South Dakota, but who has played bigtime high school and AAU ball in some larger metro areas. Someone who can recruit good athletes with speed and size, unlike Iowa football, where we can find Iowa kids and over a couple years time, put weight and muscle on them to make good offensive and defensive linemen. Our state is not blessed with many Division I BB players, especially ones who can play in the Big 10. I personally have no idea who can fill this position and who would want to take a step down from a better basketball school or who might be a great new, younger coach at a smaller school. I don't think we want to go down that road again, we have just done that twice with the last two hires. We need someone with proven big time experience, not someone who is looking for on the job experience. I wish Mr. Barta well, he has a very difficult and challenging job ahead of him.

 

[BPsTapeRecorder]

Can someone hit my record button? Bruce is busy right now.

 

[FreddyBrown]

Jon, I can't argue with your rating of the Iowa job right now as maybe the 7th or 8th best in the Big Ten. However, in terms of its appeal to good coaching candidates, the key modifier is this:

In the Big Ten.

We will attract good candidates. But I do hope Barta is ready and able to aim high and learned something from the last time.

 

[tweeterhawk]

Can someone hit my record button? Bruce is busy right now.

How long did it take you to come up with that oh-so-clever nick?

 

[BPsTapeRecorder]

How long did it take you to come up with that oh-so-clever nick?

​

I'm just glad Bruce is old school and doesn't use a digital recorder. It's more of an art to splice tape than it is to edit digital content.

 

[DodgerHawki]

The reason that geography isn't important to Kansas...

"Probably the 7th or 8th best job in the Big Ten"

I don't buy it, and my gold-tinted glasses are off. From a prospective coach's POV, the "best job in the Big Ten" is the one that's available. The wins/losses immediately prior are not relevant compared to the resources and support the school brings to bear: finances, arena, facilities, fan support, TV exposure, etc. In fact, Iowa's losing record may be a positive, or at worst a wash, as it tempers expectations. There are some quality players to build on; not All-Big-Ten just yet, but they never are when a coach has just been fired.

Geography is simply not the recruiting problem it is in football, not nearly to the same degree. Otherwise please explain the success of Kansas, Gonzaga, New Mexico, Wisconsin, etc. Recruits view Iowa geographically as "part of the Big Ten", and the whole Big Ten feasts on Chicagoland recruits (at least the winning teams do). Even so, had Iowa kept its best players in-state the last 10 yrs, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

There will be plenty of interest in the Iowa job.

is that they one of a handful of schools that is able to recruit anyone, anywhere. If Bill Self or Coach K picks up the phone and calls a recruit, that immediately puts them in that player's Top 5, no matter where they are located.
Most of Gonzaga's roster is from the Pacific NW, with a couple of Texas kids and Gibbs from Iowa. New Mexico's roster is almost entirely regional (Texas, NM, CA) with one kid from the east, Dairese Gary, who had signed with Iowa when Alford was here but then followed him to NM. Wisconsin's roster is very regional, dominated by Wisconsin/Minnesota/South Dakota/Iowa kids, with Trevon Hughes from NYC but went to high school in Milwaukee.
There are certainly positives at Iowa, but it's not the plum job in the conference. In terms of facilities and recruiting base, we are certainly no higher than 7-8. That doesn't mean you can't win here, just that there are not the inherent advantages here that there are elsewhere.

 

[Husky28]

Loyal? They follow a winner well, but loyal?

I'd say loyal as well... If you had the privilege to watch Iowa football in the 70's that gives you quite an impression to see full stands with subpar teams - for 10+ years. Granted today's youth may not have that connection due to the increased access to the many distractions... I think that there are plenty of generations with the loyalty that the youth will come on board easily enough. Most of these youth have parents that were around and want to experience the same we did...

 

[nationalchamps]

Plus we have the resources to give any prospective coach a big payday. I think we could pay our basketball coach as much as our football coach, if it was necessary to get the guy we wanted.

Exactly. We aren't Iowa State I'm sure if we offered Roy Williams 5 million per year he'd at least listen. Coaches will always listen if the money is there.

 

[1010]

Barta should take his time and hire someone who has accomplished something at the power conference level. His job is likely riding on this hire so he can't go with another mid-major flavor of the month.

 

[JonDMiller]

Barta should take his time and hire someone who has accomplished something at the power conference level. His job is likely riding on this hire so he can't go with another mid-major flavor of the month.

Why would someone that is getting it done in a power conference job want to come and take on the challenge that is the Iowa job right now?

 

[1010]

Why would someone that is getting it done in a power conference job want to come and take on the challenge that is the Iowa job right now?

The challenge of turning the Iowa program around and possibly a pay raise (if Iowa is as flush as everyone says. Hiring another mid-major coach would have epic fail written all over it.

 

[JDeMoney]

Why would someone that is getting it done in a power conference job want to come and take on the challenge that is the Iowa job right now?

Keno Davis won 19 games (including two Top 15 wins) his first year in a power conference last season. Does that count?

 

[nilkin]

Keno Davis won 19 games (including two Top 15 wins) his first year in a power conference last season. Does that count?

Count? IMHO, no......Providence was a senior ladden team, made up of players that Keno had nothing to do with bringing them to the school. An assis't could have coached that team by just staying out of the way.