hawkeyecub

Keno Davis is leaving Drake after one year to take over at Providence. Reportedly for 7 years at $1M per year which I find amazing. That is one hell of a money grab for Keno. He's only 36 so even if it doesn't work out(I would guess that it won't) he'll still be young enough to have a shot at working back up to a high-major. I can't believe Providence would take that kind of chance. He's had one year of head coaching experience. Granted he did dominate the MVC but it was a down year for the conference and he was bounced in the first round of the NCAA's. Based on that you give him 7 years at $1M annually at Providence. How will he be able to recruit in the Northeast?

Hooray for wasting the bench! That wasn't a waste. It was a great move by Lou. No. It was a waste. Honestly, would you rather have Soto or Pie up there in that situation? On the flip side, would you rather have the extra bat/body off the bench if this game goes deep into extra innings again? You don't worry about extra innings when you're trailing. He had to get the best matchup possible there and he got it. Pie's only real use would have been as a pinch runner and I'm willing to sacrifice that.

Good move by Lou. Gets Soto vs. Romero. Williams should have called his bluff and left Gordon in to face Pie.

Yeah, why give a young player a chance to learn from his mistakes. Yeah, who cares about improving your chances of winning. Reed Johnson really gave us something that Pie couldn't have right there. Besides, it's april and we're facing matt morris - what better time to let someone who is supposed to be our top prospect play? If people aren't ever willing to let a young guy play through his struggles, well, then it's no wonder we rarely ever have a decent position player prospect. I don't particularly care about the results of that one AB. Pie has no clue right now. As others said, I'm not saying he should be benched permanently. But you seem to think he'll just magically learn by staying in the game. I don't believe that to be true at all. Coaches have to learn how players respond to things and learn that they have to change. Sometimes you may have to send the message that the approach he had isn't acceptable and the only way to make that clear is by taking him out. It's quite possible that he will learn more from that then by remaining in the game.

Yeah, why give a young player a chance to learn from his mistakes. Yeah, who cares about improving your chances of winning.

http://www.mercurynews.com/sportsheadlines/ci_8874318? Bowlsby is getting some heat over the Trent Johnson situation. It really seems like Johnson wanted to stay there forever but Bob wouldn't give him an extension and nudged him out. Raises the possibility of Montgomery weaseling out of his deal with Cal to come to Stanford. That would be extremely slimy and I don't see that happening. Bowlsby is an excellent fund raiser and very good at rubbing shoulders, but not necessarily as great at the athletics part of the job. If he had his way we would have hired Terry Allen instead of Kirk Ferentz.

So who would be the emergency catcher?

If the Brewers, Twins, White Sox, Cardinals, Royals or Cubs are on ESPN during the week, we don't get it. It's simply amazing that this hasn't been dealt with already.

Just stopping in to say that foul ball by Pie definitely looked like a HR to me. I watched it a few times on the DVR and it sure looked like it disappeared behind the pole.

No, but any thread that gets bumped for the sole purpose of saying, "I told you so!" and then more people piling on has a great chance of being locked. The "Wood will be the greatest closer ever" thread was started Thursday had a number of posts Friday, Saturday and now today yet was locked by Banedon. For what reason? If it's because someone said "I told you so" or was being sarcastic, you're going to have approximately 127 locked threads in the next few months. I didn't post anything in there, it just seems extremely odd.

So will all Kerry Wood-related discussion for the rest of the year be limited to this thread or will this be locked also?

Depending on what happens at Oregon and Oregon State, the Pac-10 could have their strongest group of coaches in a long time. That conference was great this year and will remain top tier with those guys. I think the Big Ten is rising also with their coaches and the Big East is just a beast. The ACC Big 12 and SEC, I'm not so sure about.

Would they consider Majerus? I know he just got to St. Louis but I would have to think he'd take it if offered.

By the numbers they've been pretty good lately. They've ranked 10th, 31st and 54th in defensive efficiency the last 3 years. The two years before that they were 138 and 160 though. Just from watching them they seem to pressure and gamble a lot but will break down.

Crean plays at a faster pace than anyone in the Big Ten. Hooray variety! Good hire for IU, he'll energize the fan base and do a good job. I have to say I think Miller is a better coach, though this may be recognized as more of a "big name" hire.

I really think you are selling her coaching and sales skills short. I think the problem would be with other coaches/AD's but not for the kids, not nearly as much as you think. And I think you're being completely unrealistic about the thought process of a 17 year old male. You haven't provided one reason why any talented guy would want to play for her. I'm telling you they don't care that she won with women. None of them care about women's basketball. They know that she's never coached men and never sent a player to the NBA. That matters. There also would be a ton of pressure from his friends and peers. You're also completely ignoring the spotlight and pressure that would be on her and her team. Why would they want to willingly go into that and if they did, you don't think it would have any impact? It's a challenge and a real man would be up for that challenge. But I'm asking you why a guy would rather play for her than a proven, successful men's coach who has sent players to the NBA? Just because he wants a challenge? Come on. He can find a challenge anywhere. A challenge to make it to the NBA. A challenge to win a championship. A challenge to find playing time at a power. A challenge to turn a mediocre program into a winner. A challenge to live up to expectations at a local school. Ask any group of top athletes if they would rather play for her or (insert name of any of the top 50 programs in the country). I'm guessing you wouldn't find many "real men".

I really think you are selling her coaching and sales skills short. I think the problem would be with other coaches/AD's but not for the kids, not nearly as much as you think. And I think you're being completely unrealistic about the thought process of a 17 year old male. You haven't provided one reason why any talented guy would want to play for her. I'm telling you they don't care that she won with women. None of them care about women's basketball. They know that she's never coached men and never sent a player to the NBA. That matters. There also would be a ton of pressure from his friends and peers. You're also completely ignoring the spotlight and pressure that would be on her and her team. Why would they want to willingly go into that and if they did, you don't think it would have any impact?

what possible motivation would she have? She'd be at a historic basketball school and be a ground breaker for woman in coaching a male team. Plus that, she's one of the greatest coaches in history. Yes I'm sure she can X and O fine in the men's game after some transition. But why would it be a good idea in any other facet? The media attention and scrutiny would be crazy. Recruiting would be awful. Do you think recruits who want to go to the NBA are going to trust her even though she's never sent anyone to the NBA or coached men for a single game? Or would they rather go play for any number of coaches who have gotten to the Sweet 16 or beyond and sent someone to the NBA? She's been to the Championship more times than any male coach in the NCAA. I'm sure a lot of kids would rather play for her than a lot of the bozo's that are out there. You think an 18 year old guy cares about women's basketball? You're "sure" a lot of kids would rather play for her? I'm sure that they wouldn't. That's crazy. No top 100 kid would take the leap of playing for a woman. It wouldn't happen. What does she say when they ask her who she has put in the NBA and how she can get them there? "Well I have put some girls in the WNBA..." Meanwhile there are countless other coaches who can tell them they've been to the Sweet 16 or better and put a player in the NBA. You think a 57 year old woman and 18 year old guy have a lot in common? You think they'll relate to each other well? If coaching basketball was only X's and O's, you may have something. But it's not and it would be a disaster in my opinion. She wouldn't get top recruits and would be under the biggest microscope ever. I would have doubts as to how hard she would get guys to work for her and buy into what she's saying. It could work at the D-3 level with men. As much as a 57 year old man has with an 18 year old girl. It's completely different and you know it. Men have been coaching women in basketball for as long as women have been playing basketball. It's accepted. The machismo would never allow it to work at the highest level the other way. You coach/coached high school boys right? You should know the amount of crap they would get for deciding to play for the only woman coach in the country. Basically any top 200+ player has his pick from going to a power conference (or top mid-major) to play for a man who likely has won at the men's level and has a former player making money playing the game. For what reason would they choose to play for Pat Summit? Because she has been successful coaching women? You really think they care? She would never get those kinds of guys. So then she would have to win coaching the leftovers. Certainly possible, but she would have to get them to buy in 100% to make it work while also adjusting to the differences in the men's game AND dealing with the massive spotlight that would be on her and the team at all times. I don't think the probability of all of that happening is real high.

what possible motivation would she have? She'd be at a historic basketball school and be a ground breaker for woman in coaching a male team. Plus that, she's one of the greatest coaches in history. Yes I'm sure she can X and O fine in the men's game after some transition. But why would it be a good idea in any other facet? The media attention and scrutiny would be crazy. Recruiting would be awful. Do you think recruits who want to go to the NBA are going to trust her even though she's never sent anyone to the NBA or coached men for a single game? Or would they rather go play for any number of coaches who have gotten to the Sweet 16 or beyond and sent someone to the NBA? She's been to the Championship more times than any male coach in the NCAA. I'm sure a lot of kids would rather play for her than a lot of the bozo's that are out there. but Women's College Basketball has the worst parity of any sport I can think of. There are half a dozen teams each year that are light years ahead of the competition. Rarely do you see upsets in their tournament. She deserves tons of credit for getting Tennessee where it is, but her competition in recruiting in a power conference in men's basketball will be something I would worry about I'd love to see her get a shot. She is in a power conference right now and she can recruit, and obviously, coach. but her only real competition for recruits in the women's game are UConn, UNC, Duke, etc. she doesn't have much competition in the SEC outside of some good LSU teams Can't the same be said about UCLA and Kansas? Heck no. How many national championships have UCLA and Kansas won in the last 20 years?

what possible motivation would she have? She'd be at a historic basketball school and be a ground breaker for woman in coaching a male team. Plus that, she's one of the greatest coaches in history. Yes I'm sure she can X and O fine in the men's game after some transition. But why would it be a good idea in any other facet? The media attention and scrutiny would be crazy. Recruiting would be awful. Do you think recruits who want to go to the NBA are going to trust her even though she's never sent anyone to the NBA or coached men for a single game? Or would they rather go play for any number of coaches who have gotten to the Sweet 16 or beyond and sent someone to the NBA? She's been to the Championship more times than any male coach in the NCAA. I'm sure a lot of kids would rather play for her than a lot of the bozo's that are out there. You think an 18 year old guy cares about women's basketball? You're "sure" a lot of kids would rather play for her? I'm sure that they wouldn't. That's crazy. No top 100 kid would take the leap of playing for a woman. It wouldn't happen. What does she say when they ask her who she has put in the NBA and how she can get them there? "Well I have put some girls in the WNBA..." Meanwhile there are countless other coaches who can tell them they've been to the Sweet 16 or better and put a player in the NBA. You think a 57 year old woman and 18 year old guy have a lot in common? You think they'll relate to each other well? If coaching basketball was only X's and O's, you may have something. But it's not and it would be a disaster in my opinion. She wouldn't get top recruits and would be under the biggest microscope ever. I would have doubts as to how hard she would get guys to work for her and buy into what she's saying. It could work at the D-3 level with men.

what possible motivation would she have? She'd be at a historic basketball school and be a ground breaker for woman in coaching a male team. Plus that, she's one of the greatest coaches in history. Yes I'm sure she can X and O fine in the men's game after some transition. But why would it be a good idea in any other facet? The media attention and scrutiny would be crazy. Recruiting would be awful. Do you think recruits who want to go to the NBA are going to trust her even though she's never sent anyone to the NBA or coached men for a single game? Or would they rather go play for any number of coaches who have gotten to the Sweet 16 or beyond and sent someone to the NBA?

Any word on where he's transferring? As for the "Lopi", I'm not really surprised about Brook but I am a bit by Robin going pro. I would assume more of his decision was due to wanting to go pro at the same time as his brother. I think Robin could have really benefited from a year of development and being "the man" inside. Then again if his offensive game doesn't improve much and they don't have as good of a year, he could be more exposed.

I'm not particularly fond of Dakich kicking players off the team days before a new coach is announced, much less when he's publicly campaigned for the job. I would certainly hope this wasn't a unilateral decision, but, even still, I think it could've waited. As to why, you have heard the "rumored" reasons for the earlier suspensions, no? That's your answer. Out with it man.

They have no fire or passion.

Yep, every fast guy has "all of the tools to be the next Rickey Henderson." Also, Rickey never hit for power. Only bunts and slap-hit singles.