PJ says once you're in the boat...no stepping out

[Northside Hawk]

Yep. Rivals site has an interview up right now with recruit D'Vonte Keys. In it he says he appreciates the low key approach and how Iowa doesn't pressure you to commit.

True, and on the flip side the type of kid who appreciates the low key recruiting approach may be the type who can be trusted to hold his water in critical situations on the field. And vice versa. There are obviously exceptions both ways, but get that type of kid and you win will more than you lose.

In, recruiting, coaches, and current players, are looking for more than ability on the field. Many coaches turn their recruits loose with the current players and then players report back to the coach. Steve Alford famously reported back to Coach Knight that Keith Smart mentioned that he needed discipline to round out his game. That was a green light for Knight, who was cutting down nets a year later largely because of Smart.

It can go the other way too. Joe Barry Carroll was on the Iowa campus for a visit and the players reported back to Lute that JBC was uncommunicative and spent most of two days with his head down and his earphones on. Rejected! Ironically both ended up making the final four in 1980 anyway.

Knight and Hayden Fry liked to get to know the mothers and older siblings, if there were any. They said they could learn a lot about a recruit from the mother. Barry Alvarez would find out who biggest influence on the player was, whoever it may be. His wife Cindy would sometimes have a one on one with the player's girlfriend, like in the movie "All The Right Moves". Barry won over Larry Station when he found out the the person who influenced Larry the most was his high school counselor. They could also learn a lot from the older brother(s) especially if they didn't keep their mouths shut. Isiah Thomas older brother got into a shouting match with Knight in the living room and it almost cost Indiana the services of Thomas. Bobby, Isiah and Thomas high school coach, the legendary Gene Pignatore, had to reconvene at the high school to conclude the meeting and get Thomas to commit.

 

[racerhawk]

PJ reminds me of Niedermeyer from Animal House. "Killed in Vietnam, by his own troops." He has to have a high turnover of assistant coaches...can you imagine hearing PJ year after year tell the same sucky stories with the same "row the boat" gimmicks. College kids don't typically go in the tank on him because they leave after 4-5 years.

Win one, for the win!

 

[Northside Hawk]

Ski-U-Mah!

 

[Jonrn]

Flecks approach on high pressure recruiting works great at a MAC school where you aren’t dealing with 3 and 4* recruits, but these kids have bigger egos and expectations and this selling a time share approach can’t work. Although Minnesota is a MAC-ish program anyways.

 

[Northside Hawk]

I wonder if he drops in his "Row The Boat", "Ski-U-Mah", "H-Y-P-E-R", outlandish quotes, and other quasi-philosophical diatribes when he makes his recruiting pitches. The fact that he uses them in press conferences, sideline interviews, and paid speaking engagements would seem to indicate that he does.

The funniest quotes are when he tries to name drop Steve Prefontaine into his soloquities. He wouldn't know Steve Prefontaine from Joan Fontaine. Then again Steve was known for bold, outlandish statements, then choking in his biggest races, so you never know.

The jury is still out on PJ. I like how physical and opportunistic they looked in dismantling Purdue and Wisconsin late in the year. Can they maintain it consistently and compete for the West? That's a taller task.

 

[hawkeyebob62]

I wonder if he drops in his "Row The Boat", "Ski-U-Mah", "H-Y-P-E-R", outlandish quotes, and other quasi-philosophical diatribes when he makes his recruiting pitches. The fact that he uses them in press conferences, sideline interviews, and paid speaking engagements would seem to indicate that he does.

The funniest quotes are when he tries to name drop Steve Prefontaine into his soloquities. He wouldn't know Steve Prefontaine from Joan Fontaine. Then again Steve was known for bold, outlandish statements, then choking in his biggest races, so you never know.

The jury is still out on PJ. I like how physical and opportunistic they looked in dismantling Purdue and Wisconsin late in the year. Can they maintain it consistently and compete for the West? That's a taller task.

Actually, a couple of the coaches at Kaneland (PJs high school) were compadres of Pre. He's been hearing about Pre for a while.

 

[Northside Hawk]

Actually, a couple of the coaches at Kaneland (PJs high school) were compadres of Pre. He's been hearing about Pre for a while.

Pre's strengths as a runner, which helped him dominate against collegiate athletes, were his albatross against the seasoned, more experienced Euros. Of course it's come out over the years that Lasse Viren and others were doping, but that's a different story. He wanted Viren bad in the 1976 Olympic games. His life being cut short ended that dream. He ran for Bill Bowerman and was a close friend and running partner to Phil Knight, the lynchpins of the shoe empire that would eventually become Nike. Many who knew Pre say he would have passed on working for Nike. He would have turned to coaching after his running career ended.

I respect the hell out of Pre and his running style, but could never emulate it. He was a front runner who set a blistering early pace. I've always made sure I saved enough for a strong finishing kick.

 

[hawkeyebob62]

Pre's strengths as a runner, which helped him dominate against collegiate athletes, were his albatross against the seasoned, more experienced Euros. Of course it's come out over the years that Lasse Viren and others were doping, but that's a different story. He wanted Viren bad in the 1976 Olympic games. His life being cut short ended that dream. He ran for Bill Bowerman and was a close friend and running partner to Phil Knight, the lynchpins of the shoe empire that would eventually become Nike. Many who knew Pre say he would have passed on working for Nike. He would have turned to coaching after his running career ended.

I respect the hell out of Pre and his running style, but could never emulate it. He was a front runner who set a blistering early pace. I've always made sure I saved enough for a strong finishing kick.

The other disadvantage Pre had was being younger. We know now that "younger" is a disadvantage in distance running vs. sprinting. Excepting, of course, those who have more PED than plasma in their blood!