why Not BJ Armstrong for coach

K

km2149

Member
I bet he would recruit really well. he is smart as hell. he played both College and NBA he has ties to both which would help recruiting. and hire Kenyon Murray as an assistant. he is another guy who is smart and can probably do a great job. they would definitly get people excited again about our program and fans would fill the seats. i would bet everything that those guys would do a great job too.
 
Why? Has he been a head coach at any collegiate level? He might be able to recruit. That might make him George Raveling: the Sequel.
 
BJ was/is my favorite Bball player of all time. I once stood in a line for 3 hours at Merle Hay Mall to his autograph. This wouldn't qualify him to be a successful coach or even make him interested in the position.

He has no experience as a high profile head coach at a BCS level not to mention head coaching experience at all. What offense would he run? What defense would he run? How well would he understand recruiting practices? What would be his motivation financially? I imagine he probably made a pretty decent amount in the NBA.

It sounds like a good idea but it really isn't. He was a great analyst on ESPN and they were stupid for letting him go. The BTN is very dumb for not having him for part of their broadcast team.
 
Last edited:
It amazes me how easily people want to dismiss a person who has played 9, 10 years in the NBA such as Bob Hansen or BJ Armstrong becuse of "no head coaching experience" as if they do not know anything about what it takes to be a head coach! Would you hire Magic Johnson?? How about Larry Bird?? Bird was hired to coach the Indiana Pacers with no previous coaching experience. Tony Larussa had I think 1 year of minor league experience before being hired by the White Sox and now he is the 3rd on the all-time wins list. If I was Barta I would call a few former players like Armstrong and Hansen and ask their opinion about what they think needs to be done to turn around the Iowa program. He might like what he hears!!
 
And Magic Johnson sucked as a coach. After the way the Lick hire went I think he absolutely have to make a hire that works or risk completely destroying any chance of getting back to the level we were at before Alford.
 
Bird was decent but he is also the exception. Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, and Kevin Mchale have been terrible coaches. Bird himself gave most of the credit for his success to Rick Carlise who is still coaching.
 
So I was watching some game the other night with Bob Knight working the game. They were talking about the woman's basketball team and their record they were breaking when Knight said that if he were searching for a coach either men's or women's he would call Geno Auriemma. Makes a guy think.
 
Head coaching experience is overated. The ability to recruit at the college level is the key. Calipari isn't any better of a coach than anyone else but he can recruit. If you can get top notch talent to come they can win 20 games a year with just that. Coaching is secondary at the collegiate level.
 
Magic Johnson coached 16 games as a fill-in for the Lakers. My point is that I am more impressed by an NBA resume of a Fred Hoiberg or a Bobby Hansen to coach at a BCS school than I am by some of these asst coaching or small school head coaching jobs!! You have to recruit first and foremost to succeed at the BCS conferences and having an NBA career is a good door-opener. Having said all that, IF Lickliter resigns or is fired I would pursue Pearl, Mark Turgeon and if not successful I would much rather have Bob Hansen coach this team than another mid-major coach!!
 
I totally agree km. He is one of the first names I thought of when I heard this. That would definitely energize the fan base and create a buzz.
 
If you want a successful NBA player with head coaching success go after Bill Lambeer (sp?) Alford didn't have any consistent success until he aquired Craig Neal. Whoever the new coach is ( if there is one) needs to bring in a very good staff also. I think that is why BJ is pie in the sky for me. I want an established coach who will bring in a solid staff. I want the Bball version of Ferentz which is what I thought we had in Lick
 
If Iowa hires a new coach, you can bet that coach will have been paid to coach at some level somewhere. Barta will not go with somebody that has never had a paid position as a basketball coach.

While I love BJ and believe that with experience he would be a great coach if it were even his desire to be a basketball coach, he will not be the next mens head basketball coach at the University of Iowa if the next mens head basketball coach at the University of Iowa is hired within the next five years.
 
Argh.... How many times do we have to go over this? BJ Armstrong was a great player, but it doesn't make him a great coach. He has zero coaching experience. ZERO. Not as a head coach. Not as an assistant.

NO.
 
If Iowa hires a new coach, you can bet that coach will have been paid to be a basketball coach at some level somewhere. There is no way that Barta hires someone who has never had a paid position as a basketball coach.

While I love BJ, and believe that with experience he would make a great basketball coach if it were even his desire to be a basketball coach, there is no way he is the next mens head basketball coach at the University of Iowa if the next head mens basketball coach at the University of Iowa is hired within the next five years.

This is simply an impossible hire for Barta to make.
 
Am I making myself clear, or do I have to repeat myself again (sorry--computer froze--thought I lost the first post).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Share this page

Top