Alford to Indiana

[tarcone]

Lots of rumors flying around Iowa City
seems Indiana has contacted Alford about their coaching position. Thia was done before Davis announced his resignation. Davis found out that indiana contacted Alford and was "sick" when Iowa visited Indiana earlier this month. Davis did this as a protest of the University contacting Alford. It also led to Davis making the comments about Indiana needing one of their own to coach.
Sad to see Alford go, but this is the year as he has an experienced team that is on the verge of winning the Big !0 and then lots of graduations. He is prime to leave

[SackAttack]

Did Iowa give them permission? If not, that's tampering.

[tarcone]

Im sure they did. Big 10 is to tightknt not to have gotten permission. this would also explain how Davis got wind of it

[sovereignstar]

Nice b-ball game the other day.

[Neuqua]

Steve Alford getting one of the most prestigious jobs in the country is just mindboggling to me.

[dubb93]

Steve Alford getting one of the most prestigious jobs in the country is just mindboggling to me.

If he can recruit Indiana's top prospects twice as well as Mike Davis, we still wouldn't have one of the elite Indiana high schoolers on our team.

I'll be happy to give Alford a shot. He went to high school here, and played college ball here. Hopefully that gives him a leg up in the in-state recruiting.

[Neuqua]

Didn't IU have one of the best classes in the country last year? I thought it would be THE best in the country if one of the guys hadn't instead skipped straight to the draft (his name escapes me.)

[sovereignstar]

I remember some services had the Hoosiers 2004 class ranked #1 in the country.

[dubb93]

I remember some services had the Hoosiers 2004 class ranked #1 in the country.

That was with Josh Smith, but pretty well as soon as he commited he played in too many all-star games and was in-eligible, so that was wasted recruiting money. What we are left with from that class is:

DJ White: Big Ten freshman of the year, but hurt all year. Maybe he comes back as good as he was, but when he did play a little this year he looked awful. I'm still hopefull.

Robert Vaden: Averaging 14 points, 5 rebounds and leads the team in assists. But for a 6'5 player has 88 assists to 82 turnovers.

A.J. Ratliff: At the end of the bench.

EDIT--Got a name wrong :)

[sovereignstar]

James Hardy was a Top 75 guy. And I think Josh Smith gave a verbal before he entered the NBA.

[dubb93]

James Hardy was a Top 75 guy. And I think Josh Smith gave a verbal before he entered the NBA.

James Hardy is still on the team? I actually forgot all about him. Where the hell has he been this season?

[dubb93]

James Hardy is still on the team? I actually forgot all about him. Where the hell has he been this season?

DOLA:

He isn't even listed as being on the roster on the Indiana University website.

[sovereignstar]

http://iuhoosiers.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/012706aaa.html

[dubb93]

My bet is that he is yet another member of that class that will never suit up again.

[tucker342]

I really doubt that we would let Alford talk to Indiana in the middle of the Big Ten season... If Alford does end up leaving than good riddance

[tarcone]

You forget Alford has been on the hot seat the last couple seasons. and for all we know he may have an indiana escape clausein his contract
I like Alford and would hate to see him go.
on another note who is his replacement?

[John Galt]

I hope this is true. Support for the basketball team has steadily declined because of his handling of the Pierre Pierce situation. The only way for the team to even get back to Tom Davis levels of performance is for Alford to leave. Good riddance.

[hoosiergoody]

DJ White: Big Ten freshman of the year, but hurt all year. Maybe he comes back as good as he was, but when he did play a little this year he looked awful. I'm still hopefull.


White said he will transfer... we'll see if he does or not. Probably depends on who they hire as coach

[Johnny93g]

Well, i gotta chime in here, being a huge Hoosier fan.

I'm not 100% sold on Steve Alford. There are things i like about him, and don't like. I like the fact his team's always seem competive with lesser known recruits. What i mean by lesser known recruits is he doesnt get many 5 star, nationally visable recruits at Iowa...eg DJ White, Bracey Wright, Marshall Strickland. He seems to be a solid recruiter none the less, who im sure would recruit the state of Indiana very well. If Alford is coach, i see some very good recruiting classes coming in. Mike Davis got a bad rap recruiting Indiana, because he missed on a few guys, but Davis still got his share of home grown Hoosiers. I think Alford is young enough to still grow as a coach, which is important if we can't get a Thad Matta type.

What I don't like about him is the inconsistancy of his teams. Alford has made the tourny just twice. Mike Davis' record is better then that. Iowa seems to struggle in the big 10 in recent years. That maybe because of easy non conference schedules not preparing the Hawkeye's. I don't know. I don't like how he handled the Pierre Pierce situation either. He was in a tough spot on that however.

Indiana "fans" want the best coach we can get, and if that means Steve Alford, im not sure thats an upgrade over Mike Davis immediatly. I think it also makes them hypocrites for wanting Davis out. I understand the Indiana angle on this however. Bottom line I will support whoever our new coach is, win or lose.

Some note about the players

DJ White: as previously mentioned, he has a season ending injury. I think its likely he will follow Davis to another school in the south. If Davis doesnt get an immediate coaching job, he may still leave. 50/50 right now

Robert Vaden: Vaden says he is considering a transfer, but I don't believe it. Vaden is from Indianapolis. Whoever the new coach is will make Vaden a centerpiece for the offense. 80% he stays.

AJ Ratliff: Very dissapointing this season. Never rebounded from early season injury. His shot as been way off, and his confidence just isnt there. Much better as a freshman. Still, the potential is there. He's from the Hoosier state, and i expect him to stay.

James Hardy: Redshirted because of football injuries. I expect him to become a full time football player with Davis gone. He had a excellent season recieving, and without the coach who recruited him, he has no reason to continue playing basktball. 20% he is on the team next season

That is all

[Kodos]

I'm hoping they get Few instead.

[Young Drachma]

Few? No way he leaves Gonzaga for Indiana. Especially not after the way they treated Davis.

He'd only leave Gonzaga for a closer to top tier job, not a fixer upper.

[Kodos]

Um. IU is one of the most prestigious jobs in college b-ball, even though there's been an obvious slump of late.

[revrew]

My impressions of Alford:

1. Recruiting is still a question -- the team stunk early, and is only now returning to prominence. With a little prestige comes recruits. The next few years at Iowa would be a better guage of his recruiting ability.

2. Character - He's an oustanding person with convictions and discipline. His ability to handle primadonna players, however, is highly suspect. Blue collar hard workers will love him and play for him. "I'm going NBA after 2 season" types seem to spin out of control on his teams.

3. Game strategy - a solid defensive coach, but his offensive game planning is beyond miserable. It's a wonder his teams ever score more than 50 points a game. The 94 they put on Michigan was a complete fluke.

4. Game time leadership - Alford is a respectful, even keeled, but passionate coach who quietly demands players just "stick to the game plan". The problem is, he has a horrible time managing the later stages of the game. The Hawks blow big leads all the time, and Alford doesn't seem to understand the need to bury an opponent while the buryin' is good.

5. Age - He's young, and needs to learn more. I only question whether he is really teachable and how long it will take him to learn to coach an offense and build the kind of ruthless powerhouse needed to shoot for a national championship.

The current Hawks, by the way, I believe to be a loveable group of overachievers who give everything they have, who work their butts off, who have mastered many fundamentals, but likely lack the true athletic ability to go for the final four. If Horner, Haluska, and Brunner (and the solid, deep bench) had an all star center, they'd be my picks to win the Championship, hands down. But without a true superstar to round out the starting lineup and give them more in the paint, the Hawks are likely to be another overachieving sweet 16 tops.

[John Galt]

revrew, I'm curious how you reconcile your statements about Alford's character and his handling of Pierre Pierce. I thought he sacrificed a lot of "character" to stick with his best player.

[Young Drachma]

Um. IU is one of the most prestigious jobs in college b-ball, even though there's been an obvious slump of late.

But to leave a job at Gonzaga that he can have for as long as he wants?

Especially when lots of other schools that would pay lots to have him? No way he'd go to Indy for all the crap they gave Davis, especially since Few is an outsider too.

[dixieflatline]

Does IU really need "one of it's own" to coach there? I would be at least looking at the coaches in the MVC like Altman(crieghton), Turgeon(WSU), or Lowery(SIU). These guys look like the next Thad Matta's to me.

[Drake]

IU doesn't need one of its own. We just need a coach who will win games. All the criticism goes away when you win.

[Chas in Cinti]

Read the ESPN page 2 article by Whitlock. That tells you how IU fans feel. It's about having a coach that embraces IU, and loves IU... Davis never embraced IU.

On a side note, Chris Lowery (SIU coach) actually played with Calbert Cheaney in High School (a year behind). I was pretty good friends back then with Chris as we were in a lot of math classes together. Great guy! We were lucky back then as we had D-1 players 5 straight years (Derek Kelly, Eastern Illinois; Calbert Cheaney, Indiana; Chris Lowery, SIU; Brent Kell, Niagara then Evansville; and Walter McCarty, Kentucky)... not to mention Kevin Hardy in football (Illinois). We also had a few play D-2 basketball; Joel Thomas and Brett Hewitt (Southern Indiana for Bruce Pearl) and Dana Pope (Alaska-Anchorage? or maybe it was somewhere in Oklahoma... can't remember).

Gosh... I forgot how lucky I was in High School with the guys I knew and played with and watched play.

Regards,
Chas

[tarcone]

the pierce situation was unfortunate. i can see why alford gave him a 2nd chance after the sexual misconduct issue. But, hell, if a naked girl comes to my dorm in the middle of the night, what do you do? the only problem with the situation was that she ended up with anal bruising, so it sounds like pierce may have gone too far. anyway, he did deserve a 2nd chance in my IMHO. then he went to Des Moines and screwed up again. Alford should have immediately booted him.

[Swaggs]

I think expectations will be so great for Alford here, that he will almost have to be perfect to succeed at Indiana.

[dubb93]

I think expectations will be so great for Alford here, that he will almost have to be perfect to succeed at Indiana.

Not true, as long as he doesn't constantly tell us he wants to coach in the NBA, he wants to coach down south, or that he is an outsider we will give him every chance. Mike Davis is an asshat and is as unlikable as a coach as I've ever seen.

Who takes a team to the national title game and then tells the fans he wants to coach in the NBA? Mike Davis. Seriously, that was his big chance, but all he thought about was himself. He didn't try to embrace the university. He tried to get interest from an NBA team which never came.

All Davis had to do was not be an asshat. He failed miserably.

[Johnny93g]

Not true, as long as he doesn't constantly tell us he wants to coach in the NBA, he wants to coach down south, or that he is an outsider we will give him every chance. Mike Davis is an asshat and is as unlikable as a coach as I've ever seen.

Who takes a team to the national title game and then tells the fans he wants to coach in the NBA? Mike Davis. Seriously, that was his big chance, but all he thought about was himself. He didn't try to embrace the university. He tried to get interest from an NBA team which never came.

All Davis had to do was not be an asshat. He failed miserably.

He also thanked god during his first 3 seasons at every post game conference for giving him the chance to coach at a school like Indiana. It seemed to me he knew how lucky he was. Ive also seen many quotes stating that Indiana is a mecca of college ball, it is top tier, nothing bigger, and how proud and honoured he was to be there. You can argue either way i think, but i for one, was not ashamed of Mike Davis coaching my Hoosiers

[dubb93]

He also thanked god during his first 3 seasons at every post game conference for giving him the chance to coach at a school like Indiana. It seemed to me he knew how lucky he was. Ive also seen many quotes stating that Indiana is a mecca of college ball, it is top tier, nothing bigger, and how proud and honoured he was to be there. You can argue either way i think, but i for one, was not ashamed of Mike Davis coaching my Hoosiers

Let's just agree to disagree. Any coach that gives up the way Davis has this year shouldn't still be the coach. I'm glad he will be gone at the end of the year, I just wish they would can him right now so someone may be able to salvage an NIT berth.