JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
Nearly everyone I speak with regarding the Iowa coaching search brings up one common name, and that is Tennessee Assistant Steve Forbes, the Lone Tree, Iowa native.
A part of me believes this is a bit of an echo effect, but inside the last 24 hours I have heard a few things from pretty solid places that leads me to believe that a) Iowa is quite aware of Forbes intense interest in the job and that b) Forbes is not going to sit back and allow someone else to get the job without having tried as hard as he can to at least speak with Gary Barta.
Make no bones about it; if offered the jobs, Forbes is your next coach at Iowa. However, as I said two days ago, I believe Forbes may be a bit of an ace in the hole for Barta, if you will. Someone he knows will be there til the end. That isn’t to mean Forbes isn’t worthy for consideration, just that Barta is still in the information gathering process and there may be people with stronger coaching resumes on his first tier. I don’t know that for certain, just an educated guess.
Yet I don’t think Barta will have many realistic names on the list that will cut from the recruiting cloth that Forbes comes from.
The Iowa position needs a recruiter. Period. It probably needs a couple of them. This program needs talent more than anything else, and if a guy hasn’t been a head coach outside of the Juco level, which is the case with Forbes, you can always hire someone who is stronger on x’s and o’s as an assistant. Remember the end of the Alford era when he hired Craig Neal? Who held the grease board during time outs and was drawing up plays? It doesn’t really matter who draws it up, just as long as it’s managed well. This isn’t to say that Forbes is lacking on x’s and o’s, only to say that I wouldn’t draw a line through anyone’s name right now on that aspect of the search if they have shown they can recruit…and Forbes can do that.
I spoke with someone very close to Forbes today, and I asked him how Forbes is able to do what he has done on the recruiting trail, coming from Lone Tree, Iowa.
“It doesn’t matter if its in the cornfields, or if he is in the inner city of Baltimore,†this source said to me. “He just has a way of establishing relationships quickly. Strong relationships, too. People love him.â€
I asked for any recent examples, and he had one. I cannot name the head coach in this instance or the prospect, but I am talking about one of the nation’s best recruits here. I’ll use the word “RECRUIT X†for the player and “COACH X†for the coach. Makes sense, right?
“Take RECRUIT X for instance. His mother really likes COACH X, but she absolutely loves Steve Forbes. And that came from the mouth of COACH X. It’s a pretty high compliment given the tradition of that program and what COACH X has done.â€
Take my word for it…COACH X is a household name at the helm of one of the best programs in the history of the sport. And the recruit is one of the Top Five players in the nation, a bonafide five star and a kid that would get drafted in the first round of the NBA draft were it not for the one year rule in college basketball.
Coach Forbes doens’t have any traditional ‘in’ with this kid. He’s not from the same area and they don’t really know the same people. But Forbes has established a relationship that has him higher in the eyes of a mother than an established head coach that has done all one can do in the sport that coaches for a team that is a blue blood in the history of the game.
That speaks volumes…
Forbes is also a smart man. He’s gone on job interviews in recent years, knowing that he was unlikely to land the positions. But he did that so that he could have the experience of the interview process so that when the right time and place came along, he would be prepared. That doesn’t sound like some guy that is going to come into a job ill prepared and not aware of what it takes to get the job done.
Forbes is also aware of the task that would be ahead of him at Iowa. He knows the program needs players, and he thinks he is the guy to do that. “There isn’t a back road or gym he hasn’t been to in the state of Iowa,†the source told me. When you come from Lone Tree, you already know the back roads. When you have coached in two Junior Colleges in the state of Iowa, you know the back roads. Locking down the borders of this state should be the first priority for any Iowa coach.
And given Forbes ability to forge the unreal relationship with an NBA prospect that I just mentioned, don’t you think he’d have a decent shot of making an impression on fast rising Peter Jok of Des Moines? The crop of talent in the state of Iowa two years down the line is incredibly solid.
I am not campaigning for Forbes, but I won’t deny that I like what I see and hear. I like people that work their tails off at what they do, and I like people that see something they want and do what they can within decency to get it.
There have been jobs that I have wanted in the past and I have followed up to the point of where I was told to hold off on the calls, because they were well aware of my interest and I had already been given an interview. I got those jobs, and was later told that one of the final points of consideration was my persistence. Sometimes that might have a negative effect, I get that. But it’s good to be wanted. And from the people I have spoken with close to Forbes, this is the first time he has ever heavily lobbied for a job in his life. This is the one he wants. Gillispie chased Forbes down and hired him. Pearl chased Forbes down and hired him. By all accounts, Forbes is chasing down the Iowa job right now.
Forbes won’t be the only person out there that wants the vacant head coaching job at the University of Iowa. It’s in the Big Ten, and even though it might have a few warts right now, there are only 11 of those jobs in the world. But I don’t think the job will mean more to any possible candidate Barta can hire than it would to Steve Forbes.
I have only spoken to the man one time, and that was back in the early 1990’s when Louisiana Tech was coming to Carver Hawkeye Arena to play the Hawkeyes. I interviewed him in advance of that ‘homecoming’ and here are some of the excerpts from that article from long ago. He expressed his love for Iowa basketball then, just like he is expressing that to quite a few people right now:
When Louisiana Tech takes the floor in Iowa City on Saturday night, one member of the program will be returning home, so to speak.
Steve Forbes is currently an assistant coach for Louisiana Tech, but he has eastern Iowa roots.
Forbes played high school basketball on some talented Lone Tree teams in the early 1980’s and played against Marv Cook in a spirited state playoff game in 1983, a game that Lone Tree won much to the regret of a 12-year old Jon Miller.
â€I remember playing against Marv in that game,†Forbes told me. “We both had great teams that year.â€
Forbes came to Tech after serving two seasons as the associate head coach at the University of Idaho. Prior to Idaho, Forbes coached at Barton County Community College in Great Bend, Kansas, where he compiled a record of 68-28 in three years as head coach. Before becoming the head coach at BCCC, Forbes was the head coach at Southwestern Community College in Creston, Iowa.
Creston native Kyle McCann attended some of Forbes’ camps when he coached at SCCC.
â€My Iowa roots run deep,†Forbes said. “My father and brother work for the University and my mother used to work there. My sister graduated from Iowa as well.â€
â€My aunts and uncles asked me if it was OK if they still wore black and gold to the game when we get up there.â€
Forbes, like most eastern Iowa kids, grew up watching and listening to Iowa basketball games.
â€I remember listening to the radio and trying to emulate Kevin Kunnert,†Forbes said. “Ronnie Lester and Bruce King were also some of my favorite players.â€
â€I still follow Iowa basketball. Deep down, I am still an Iowa fan in the sense that we are all basketball fans at heart.â€
Forbes has been able to keep an eye on Steve Alford and what he has done with the program in his two years at Iowa. Forbes likes what he sees from the head Hawkeye.
â€Steve is doing a great job.†Forbes said. “I was a big Tom Davis fan and really appreciated his body of work while he was at Iowa. But Steve is trying to take things to the next level at Iowa.â€
â€We have a very good nucleus coming back this season and we can go nine or ten deep.†Forbes said. “Our recruiting class was in the top 40 last year.â€
Forbes said that this Tech team plays very good defense. Even though he earns a living coaching for Tech these days, his juices will be flowing as he finally gets a chance to come home.
â€It’s going to be an exciting night for me, personally,†Forbes said. “I am very excited to get a chance to play against Iowa for the first time, as a player or a coach. It will just be very exciting.â€
A part of me believes this is a bit of an echo effect, but inside the last 24 hours I have heard a few things from pretty solid places that leads me to believe that a) Iowa is quite aware of Forbes intense interest in the job and that b) Forbes is not going to sit back and allow someone else to get the job without having tried as hard as he can to at least speak with Gary Barta.
Make no bones about it; if offered the jobs, Forbes is your next coach at Iowa. However, as I said two days ago, I believe Forbes may be a bit of an ace in the hole for Barta, if you will. Someone he knows will be there til the end. That isn’t to mean Forbes isn’t worthy for consideration, just that Barta is still in the information gathering process and there may be people with stronger coaching resumes on his first tier. I don’t know that for certain, just an educated guess.
Yet I don’t think Barta will have many realistic names on the list that will cut from the recruiting cloth that Forbes comes from.
The Iowa position needs a recruiter. Period. It probably needs a couple of them. This program needs talent more than anything else, and if a guy hasn’t been a head coach outside of the Juco level, which is the case with Forbes, you can always hire someone who is stronger on x’s and o’s as an assistant. Remember the end of the Alford era when he hired Craig Neal? Who held the grease board during time outs and was drawing up plays? It doesn’t really matter who draws it up, just as long as it’s managed well. This isn’t to say that Forbes is lacking on x’s and o’s, only to say that I wouldn’t draw a line through anyone’s name right now on that aspect of the search if they have shown they can recruit…and Forbes can do that.
I spoke with someone very close to Forbes today, and I asked him how Forbes is able to do what he has done on the recruiting trail, coming from Lone Tree, Iowa.
“It doesn’t matter if its in the cornfields, or if he is in the inner city of Baltimore,†this source said to me. “He just has a way of establishing relationships quickly. Strong relationships, too. People love him.â€
I asked for any recent examples, and he had one. I cannot name the head coach in this instance or the prospect, but I am talking about one of the nation’s best recruits here. I’ll use the word “RECRUIT X†for the player and “COACH X†for the coach. Makes sense, right?
“Take RECRUIT X for instance. His mother really likes COACH X, but she absolutely loves Steve Forbes. And that came from the mouth of COACH X. It’s a pretty high compliment given the tradition of that program and what COACH X has done.â€
Take my word for it…COACH X is a household name at the helm of one of the best programs in the history of the sport. And the recruit is one of the Top Five players in the nation, a bonafide five star and a kid that would get drafted in the first round of the NBA draft were it not for the one year rule in college basketball.
Coach Forbes doens’t have any traditional ‘in’ with this kid. He’s not from the same area and they don’t really know the same people. But Forbes has established a relationship that has him higher in the eyes of a mother than an established head coach that has done all one can do in the sport that coaches for a team that is a blue blood in the history of the game.
That speaks volumes…
Forbes is also a smart man. He’s gone on job interviews in recent years, knowing that he was unlikely to land the positions. But he did that so that he could have the experience of the interview process so that when the right time and place came along, he would be prepared. That doesn’t sound like some guy that is going to come into a job ill prepared and not aware of what it takes to get the job done.
Forbes is also aware of the task that would be ahead of him at Iowa. He knows the program needs players, and he thinks he is the guy to do that. “There isn’t a back road or gym he hasn’t been to in the state of Iowa,†the source told me. When you come from Lone Tree, you already know the back roads. When you have coached in two Junior Colleges in the state of Iowa, you know the back roads. Locking down the borders of this state should be the first priority for any Iowa coach.
And given Forbes ability to forge the unreal relationship with an NBA prospect that I just mentioned, don’t you think he’d have a decent shot of making an impression on fast rising Peter Jok of Des Moines? The crop of talent in the state of Iowa two years down the line is incredibly solid.
I am not campaigning for Forbes, but I won’t deny that I like what I see and hear. I like people that work their tails off at what they do, and I like people that see something they want and do what they can within decency to get it.
There have been jobs that I have wanted in the past and I have followed up to the point of where I was told to hold off on the calls, because they were well aware of my interest and I had already been given an interview. I got those jobs, and was later told that one of the final points of consideration was my persistence. Sometimes that might have a negative effect, I get that. But it’s good to be wanted. And from the people I have spoken with close to Forbes, this is the first time he has ever heavily lobbied for a job in his life. This is the one he wants. Gillispie chased Forbes down and hired him. Pearl chased Forbes down and hired him. By all accounts, Forbes is chasing down the Iowa job right now.
Forbes won’t be the only person out there that wants the vacant head coaching job at the University of Iowa. It’s in the Big Ten, and even though it might have a few warts right now, there are only 11 of those jobs in the world. But I don’t think the job will mean more to any possible candidate Barta can hire than it would to Steve Forbes.
I have only spoken to the man one time, and that was back in the early 1990’s when Louisiana Tech was coming to Carver Hawkeye Arena to play the Hawkeyes. I interviewed him in advance of that ‘homecoming’ and here are some of the excerpts from that article from long ago. He expressed his love for Iowa basketball then, just like he is expressing that to quite a few people right now:
When Louisiana Tech takes the floor in Iowa City on Saturday night, one member of the program will be returning home, so to speak.
Steve Forbes is currently an assistant coach for Louisiana Tech, but he has eastern Iowa roots.
Forbes played high school basketball on some talented Lone Tree teams in the early 1980’s and played against Marv Cook in a spirited state playoff game in 1983, a game that Lone Tree won much to the regret of a 12-year old Jon Miller.
â€I remember playing against Marv in that game,†Forbes told me. “We both had great teams that year.â€
Forbes came to Tech after serving two seasons as the associate head coach at the University of Idaho. Prior to Idaho, Forbes coached at Barton County Community College in Great Bend, Kansas, where he compiled a record of 68-28 in three years as head coach. Before becoming the head coach at BCCC, Forbes was the head coach at Southwestern Community College in Creston, Iowa.
Creston native Kyle McCann attended some of Forbes’ camps when he coached at SCCC.
â€My Iowa roots run deep,†Forbes said. “My father and brother work for the University and my mother used to work there. My sister graduated from Iowa as well.â€
â€My aunts and uncles asked me if it was OK if they still wore black and gold to the game when we get up there.â€
Forbes, like most eastern Iowa kids, grew up watching and listening to Iowa basketball games.
â€I remember listening to the radio and trying to emulate Kevin Kunnert,†Forbes said. “Ronnie Lester and Bruce King were also some of my favorite players.â€
â€I still follow Iowa basketball. Deep down, I am still an Iowa fan in the sense that we are all basketball fans at heart.â€
Forbes has been able to keep an eye on Steve Alford and what he has done with the program in his two years at Iowa. Forbes likes what he sees from the head Hawkeye.
â€Steve is doing a great job.†Forbes said. “I was a big Tom Davis fan and really appreciated his body of work while he was at Iowa. But Steve is trying to take things to the next level at Iowa.â€
â€We have a very good nucleus coming back this season and we can go nine or ten deep.†Forbes said. “Our recruiting class was in the top 40 last year.â€
Forbes said that this Tech team plays very good defense. Even though he earns a living coaching for Tech these days, his juices will be flowing as he finally gets a chance to come home.
â€It’s going to be an exciting night for me, personally,†Forbes said. “I am very excited to get a chance to play against Iowa for the first time, as a player or a coach. It will just be very exciting.â€
