***Official Halo Rumor News***

[Karl Marks]

I'm not going to get worked up about any of the lower level candidates (if hired) until I see a couple of his recruiting classes signed.

I am.

FIRE BARTA FIRE (INSERT COACH HERE)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

 

[Gushawk]

I've been fighting with a friend about Kruger today, ISU. I don't want him. Old balls. Short-term solution at best, who's never really had much in the way of shining accomplishments...though he's had plenty of above average teams at various places.

 

[BuffettHawk]

And LMAO at Donovan ever coming to Iowa. That's more pie-in-the-sky than Pearl.

Screw off Cyclone! Let us have this moment before reality sets in.

 

[Lime]

Something I saw posted elsewhere, for whatever it's worth:

Iowa AD Gary Barta and assistant AD Fred Mims (a worthless waste of my tax dollars is this guy's salary) are in Atlanta after flying down yesterday for interviews with at least 4 current coaching candidates. The names are flying around, but the 4 who many seem to think were there for meetings with the seach firm Iowa is using and with the Barta are (in no particular order) Paul Hewitt from Georgia Tech, Jim Boylan from Utah (also a former Michigan State assistant), Fran McCaffrey from Sienna (reported to be heading to DePaul, who reportedly offered something like $2.5 million), and Lon Kruger from UNLV. The story on Hawkeyereport indicated one of the first four head coaches who Iowa met with already withdrew from consideration after the meeting, and that might be either of the last two, but nothing confirmed as yet.

One other name that seems to keep coming back up is Billy Donovan. Yesterday, I was on the phone with a lawyer from a Milwaukee firm, and that lawyer swears that one of his buddies does legal work for Donovan, and he claims his buddy and Donovan are in Atlanta right now. No one confirmed this on any of the Hawkeye websites, but this lawyer is a guy that really has no reason to make that up (he's a huge Marquette booster and was afraid Iowa would go after their coach, but their coach reportedly makes almost $3 million per annum.)

As far as Iowa fans wanting Ben Jacobsen from Northern Iowa, there maybe some who want him to be talked to, but there is almost no interest from either Jacobsen in the Iowa job or from Iowa in him.

Other names that may get interviews: Paul Lusk, a Purdue assistant who played part of 1 year at Iowa before breaking his leg and transferring to Southern Illinois. Duke assistant Chris Collins may get an interview. Mark Turgeon at Texas A & M is reportedly interested, but that is just rumored for now. One more guy lobbying for an interview is former Alabama coach Mark Gottfried, who recruited Cully Payne out of HS to Alabama before he resigned mid season in 2008-09. He may get an interview this week as well
from what I understand.

Kruger would be a good choice IMO. I imagine he wants back into the Big Ten.

And LMAO at Donovan ever coming to Iowa. That's more pie-in-the-sky than Pearl.

I'm inclined to laugh at Donovan, too, but I have heard speculation earlier, and he apparently looked at the St. John's job. Granted, the STJ job is better than the Iowa job, but he may be getting restless at Florida again. Coaches are ego guys, and the re-relegation of Florida basketball to second tier status probably isn't fun for him.

 

[MikeyJoe]

if marshall did decline to interview thats really really sad that a mid major coach wont even listen to iowa.

Mr. Hawk is right - these searches don't happen with Barta faxing over offer letters to these candidates offices at their current schools. It's why I find it so funny when people get upset about "What's the AD's job if they're going to hire a search firm?" This is precisely what they're doing - contacting coaches and their agents behind the scenes.

So Mr. Hawk hears that Iowa "offered" Marshall, and someone else hears that Marshall turned down an interview. If the number in the OP is right, it's entirely possible that the search firm contacted Marshall and said "Would you be interested in talking to Iowa? They're offering $200k more than your current salary."

I wouldn't be shocked at all if someone in a relatively stable situation turned down even talking to Iowa for a small raise. He might just be thinking something better (and for more money) will come along later).

 

[crazed_hoosier1]

Kruger would be a good choice IMO. I imagine he wants back into the Big Ten.

I agree. In fact, a rumor went out when we hired Crean that Kruger had gotten the job. A lot of people were apoplectic about it.

I was actually somewhat intrigued. I think he, more than Self or Weber, was responsible for Illinois' revival after Henson left.

If you guys hired Kruger, I think it would be a very good get.

And LMAO at Donovan ever coming to Iowa. That's more pie-in-the-sky than Pearl.

Yeah, that would stun me. UK fans have been salivating over Donovan (a former UK assistant) for the better part of a decade. And he's turned them down more than once....and for some pretty big money, too.

 

[newsbreaker]

If TK thinks that post counters in any way the information posted there then he isn't very bright. I am, however, happy for the subscribers over there. For once they were given information within 3 weeks of TK acquiring it.

 

[Karl Marks]

Lon Kruger is a coaching vagabond. He'll do a nice job and turn this thing around in 4 years, then we'll return to interwebz speculation as to the next coach.

 

[Pseudonym]

Big 10 Network money ain't all its cracked up to be boyz

 

[MikeyJoe]

Big 10 Network money ain't all its cracked up to be boyz

Lack of willingness to spend money =/= nonexistence of money

 

[crazed_hoosier1]

I've been fighting with a friend about Kruger today, ISU. I don't want him. Old balls. Short-term solution at best, who's never really had much in the way of shining accomplishments...though he's had plenty of above average teams at various places.

That sounds like the sort of (really bizarre, IMO) attitude that likely led to Tom Davis being shown the door.

"Yeah, he's been good. His teams have always competed and been in the top half or third of the conference. But so? Where are the banners?!?!"

We did the same thing here with our football team back in the mid-90s when it was decided that Bill Mallory was only good enough to field competitive teams...and we wanted Rose Bowls, dammit!

Phew....it's been mostly rough ever since then, let me tell you.

Trust me, Gus: you guys could do a whole lot worse than Lon Kruger. There's something to be said for somebody who's demonstrated a capacity to succeed at the level you want him to succeed at.

 

[lilzaphod]

Big 10 Network money ain't all its cracked up to be boyz

It's better than the cracker jack prize you guys get from the Big12 at the end of each season.

 

[ISUFan98]

Lon Kruger is a coaching vagabond. He'll do a nice job and turn this thing around in 4 years, then we'll return to interwebz speculation as to the next coach.

He's been at UNLV longer than he was at either K-State or Illinois.

Even if he was only at Iowa for four years, and left the program much better off than it was when he got there, wouldn't that be a good thing?

 

[ISUFan98]

Big 10 Network money ain't all its cracked up to be boyz

It's better than the cracker jack prize you guys get from the Big12 at the end of each season.

This is also true.

 

[lilzaphod]

I've been fighting with a friend about Kruger today, ISU. I don't want him. Old balls. Short-term solution at best, who's never really had much in the way of shining accomplishments...though he's had plenty of above average teams at various places.

That sounds like the sort of (really bizarre, IMO) attitude that likely led to Tom Davis being shown the door.

"Yeah, he's been good. His teams have always competed and been in the top half or third of the conference. But so? Where are the banners?!?!"

We did the same thing here with our football team back in the mid-90s when it was decided that Bill Mallory was only good enough to field competitive teams...and we wanted Rose Bowls, dammit!

Phew....it's been mostly rough ever since then, let me tell you.

Trust me, Gus: you guys could do a whole lot worse than Lon Kruger. There's something to be said for somebody who's demonstrated a capacity to succeed at the level you want him to succeed at.

No Illini trash.

 

[Karl Marks]

If true, I still can't believe the athletic department will spend 50 million of Carver renovations and facilities, but they go cheapskate on the new coach needed to rebuild the program.

 

[Karl Marks]

Lon Kruger is a coaching vagabond. He'll do a nice job and turn this thing around in 4 years, then we'll return to interwebz speculation as to the next coach.

He's been at UNLV longer than he was at either K-State or Illinois.

Even if he was only at Iowa for four years, and left the program much better off than it was when he got there, wouldn't that be a good thing?

Yeah, that would be quite the accomplishment.

 

[PlannedSickDays]

dochterman just tweeted:under the radar name, don't discount witchitas marshall

 

[crazed_hoosier1]

Lon Kruger is a coaching vagabond. He'll do a nice job and turn this thing around in 4 years, then we'll return to interwebz speculation as to the next coach.

Well, only because he was a climber back in the 90s.

He hopped from K-State to Florida -- which seems like an obvious move. And then from Florida to Illinois -- which, at the time, would've been considered a step up.

And then he cashed out for the NBA.

Besides, I think one could argue strongly that every college program he's coached was in stronger shape when he left than when he was hired. And that will include UNLV, whenever he leaves there.

 

[Pseudonym]

Fire kok!

 

[Pseudonym]

Big 10 Network money ain't all its cracked up to be boyz

It's better than the cracker jack prize you guys get from the Big12 at the end of each season.

Let me have some fun while I can. Fall is not that far away.

 

[PlannedSickDays]

dochterman has pwnd this search too.

 

[crazed_hoosier1]

No Illini trash.

Illinois didn't trash him. He trashed them...for a big payday in the pros.

They were sick when he left, and I can't say I blame them. He had things going in the right direction. And Self picked up where he left off.

 

[Hacksaw Jim Duggan]

I would be all about Krueger if the original Marshall post was close to truth.

Krueger has taken 12 teams to the tourney, been to a final 4, coached in the Big Ten, and been around for a long time and proven winner over time.

Even if this is his last gig if he can take the Hawks back to any recognizable form of competitivness in Big Ten I'm in.

Fans would have jumped at this hire like a starving rapid jackal on methamphetamines to a piece of raw meat if you saw this an option after the Minny road game.

 

[hawkeyenerd]

Here's what we're hearing from sources we believe to be credible.

• This is Barta's hire, he's taking the lead and and it's his baby for good or bad.
• 29th is apparently the date for the hire, but they could have someone as early as tonight.
• Gregory offered but turned it down.
• Greg Marshall offered but no word yet. He makes 1 mil and the offer was around 1.2.
• Boylan at Utah was interviewed but not offered.
• Hewitt interviewed but not offered.
• Lusk, Forbes and any other assistant off the table. They want a head coach.

Take it for what it's worth.

great post, Hawk!

now if we can get a rumor about someone we actually want as coach...

 

[BuffettHawk]

I wonder what kind of influence Mims is having on this search and/or Barta. He's always been a bit of a wet towel, and I wonder if he's restricting our pool of candidates.

 

[hawkeyenerd]

Greg Marshall was at Winthrop before becoming the Shockers head coach. He took Winthrop to several first round NCAA defeats. Not sure that is where we should go, though. He doesn't spell excitement to me in the least.

man, for the first time i have the feeling Barta is going to royally mess this up.

 

[cjhawks]

Who is the most obvious, up and coming coach in the US? That is who Barta will pursue. Catch a rising star, not a falling knife.

I believe that he resides in the northern part of Iowa somewhere.

No, Iowa Lakes CC baskeball has been down in recent years.

 

[Gushawk]

crazed, I don't entirely disagree with your opinion, but I think there's a difference between a hiring decision and a firing decision in this context.

 

[crazed_hoosier1]

I would be all about Krueger if the original Marshall post was close to truth.

Krueger has taken 12 teams to the tourney, been to a final 4, coached in the Big Ten, and been around for a long time and proven winner over time.

Even if this is his last gig if he can take the Hawks back to any recognizable form of competitivness in Big Ten I'm in.

Fans would have jumped at this hire like a starving rapid jackal on methamphetamines to a piece of raw meat if you saw this an option after the Minny road game.

I don't know why this wouldn't be a more popular opinion. Not that I have a dog in the hunt one way or another. I was kinda hoping you'd hang on to The Criminal a few more seasons.

But I'm convinced that the primary reasons so many college basketball fans are lukewarm on Lon Kruger are (in no particular order)

1) He shares a first name with a classic horror film actor
2) He shares a last name with an 80s cheese-gore film villain
3) Unibrows just aren't very appealing....especially at 1080P.

Other than that, the guy's got a pretty good track record -- including at the upper echelons of the Big Ten.

 

[Kerky]

Kakert's response to MH: Marshall was never offered, he even turned down the opportunity to interview.

Bumping myself because I didn't make that up.

I honestly don't care. Those guys have some sort of weird insecurity over there. I'm just passing along info from credible sources. It might be completely wrong information. If it's wrong, we'll still have been right (and first) about a bunch of stuff over the last few years.

What I can say is that as everyone knows, in coaching, "offers" aren't made like when you people go to work in a cubicle at Wells Fargo. In the coaching ranks, it's often done through third parties, feeling each other out, and many times "offers" can be construed as one party knowing what the deal is, and deciding whether or not to send the message back and "formally" interview. Everyone knows that. It gives them all plausible deniability. So, for all we know, the message went out to Marhsall that he would be "offered" if interested, and he decided he wasn't interested, so no "offer" was made.

That information will be $10 or $99 for the year, and if you try to cancel, please know that you'll spend 4 hours on the phone with someone and they still probably won't cancel you.

You can avoid the 4 hours by canceling your old credit card number and having a new one re-issued. Ironically, they can be quite persistent in requesting you update your subscription information.

 

[hawkeyenerd]

i subscribe to Hawkeye Insider (scout), not Hawkeye Report (rivals). Hawkeye Report is in serious need of a redesign. both have good info, but HI usually has more content, and videos, and better forums. and now im just babbling.

 

[Karl Marks]

I would be all about Krueger if the original Marshall post was close to truth.

Krueger has taken 12 teams to the tourney, been to a final 4, coached in the Big Ten, and been around for a long time and proven winner over time.

Even if this is his last gig if he can take the Hawks back to any recognizable form of competitivness in Big Ten I'm in.

Fans would have jumped at this hire like a starving rapid jackal on methamphetamines to a piece of raw meat if you saw this an option after the Minny road game.

After the Minnesota game, people would have been excited if I was the next coach.

 

[L. Wade Childress]

what was winthrop seeded for those losses?

wichita will be preaseason #1 in the MVC next year. if he is making $1mm per (which surprises me) why would he take only a $200k per year raise for an uncertain situation? he will get a better option down the road.

 

[crazed_hoosier1]

crazed, I don't entirely disagree with your opinion, but I think there's a difference between a hiring decision and a firing decision in this context.

Fair enough.

But let's assume that Kruger was hired and he brought the program back to roughly Tom Davis levels (ie, generally competitive, in the hunt for B10 titles, the occasional top 10 caliber team, etc.)

Are you saying you'd be dissatisfied with that? That you'd rather roll the dice and hope like hell you land the next Thad Matta from the crop of up-and-comers out there instead of landing the next Todd The Criminal?

I have no idea what Kruger would do at Iowa if you hired him. But I do know that he's already demonstrated -- at 4 different D1 jobs (incl. 2 high majors), in 4 different conferences -- that he can build solid teams and programs.

You make it sound like it would be settling for "pretty good."

My point is: sometimes "pretty good" is, well, pretty good.

 

[Hacksaw Jim Duggan]

1) He shares a first name with a classic horror film actor
2) He shares a last name with an 80s cheese-gore film villain
3) Unibrows just aren't very appealing....especially at 1080P.

:rollfloor:

I agree with this.

 

[JamesMouton]

what was winthrop seeded for those losses?

wichita will be preaseason #1 in the MVC next year. if he is making $1mm per (which surprises me) why would he take only a $200k per year raise for an uncertain situation? he will get a better option down the road.

Winthrop was a 14, 15, or 16-seed in his first 6 NCAA appearences there and went out in 1st round. Marshall's last year(2007), Wintrhop was an 11-seed and upset Notre Dame in the first round.

 

[Du Hawk Du Mich]

Kruger was my first choice the last time around

 

[Gushawk]

If I was confident that Kruger could, within 1-2 years, repeat his past levels of sucess at Iowa and maintain it for 3 or so years until he retires, I'd take it in a heartbeat. I'm just skeptical that he still has the energy level and passion to do it at this point. This program is a huge project at this point, and I think it will take alot of enthusiasm and drive to climb the mountain that stands between it and respectability.

 

[Shecky O'Malley]

Kruger would be a great hire, I just can't imagine that he'd take the job. The guy is a very good coach and doesn't need blue chip talent to win.

As a fall back, we could do a hell of a lot worse than Gregg Marshall. The guy is a good fucking basketball coach. The cupboard was entirely bare at WSU after Turgeon left. He's rebuilt them into a MVC contender, which no one but Turgeon had done since the late 80's. And he's done it by bringing in some damn fine athletes. No question in my mind that they were the most athletic team in the MVC last year.

 

[StinkyMcFadden]

If I was confident that Kruger could, within 1-2 years, repeat his past levels of sucess at Iowa and maintain it for 3 or so years until he retires, I'd take it in a heartbeat. I'm just skeptical that he still has the energy level and passion to do it at this point. This program is a huge project at this point, and I think it will take alot of enthusiasm and drive to climb the mountain that stands between it and respectability.

I can say with 99.9% certainty that Lon is not at all interested.

 

[gls]

Gregg Marshall's teams at Winthrop were more athletic than any Iowa team since the beginning of the decade.
He will be able to recruit and he knows what players it takes to win at the major college level.

Good golly fellas, stop being so negative to everything.

 

[PipeDaddy]

I'm by no means a Barta apologist, but let's be real here. Iowa is not a top tier BB coaching job. Barta can offer money, but not much more. Iowa is a damned hard place at which to win consistently. The in state talent pool certainly isn't Big 10 worthy.

Within the Big 10 I'd put it behind Minnesota, Michigan, Michigan State, Illinois, Indiana, Purdue, Wisconsin, and Ohio State in terms of attractiveness of the job.

I tend to agree with this. It's really a bitch of a situation for Barta. Fans want a big name with a strong track record who's not scummy. I don't see those guys coming to Iowa. Pearl's supposed love of Iowa was the only shot we had, and it doesn't look like he's going to take it.

If he wasn't capable of reeling in a big name, then he should have retained The Criminal.

Perhaps. Unless mass defections were imminent. But this list is, shall we say, completely underwhelming.

 

[MikeyJoe]

http://gazetteonline.com/blogs/docs-office/2010/03/23/latest-iowa-coaching-rumor-wichita-states-gregg-marshall

I’ve spent all day on this one. Gregg Marshall was interested in the Iowa job in 2007 when he coached at Winthrop. Now he’s at Wichita State.


I spoke with his agent, Myles Soloman, who said politely, “I really can’t comment on any searches going on. That’s something that you’d have to take up with Coach Marshall.”


Wichita State’s athletics director said Iowa has not asked for permission to interview Marshall. A Wichita State assistant, Chris Jans, coached Kirkwood Community College in the mid-1990s and hails from Iowa. Jans didn’t want to talk about the subject.

 

[L. Wade Childress]

what was winthrop seeded for those losses?

wichita will be preaseason #1 in the MVC next year. if he is making $1mm per (which surprises me) why would he take only a $200k per year raise for an uncertain situation? he will get a better option down the road.

Winthrop was a 14, 15, or 16-seed in his first 6 NCAA appearences there and went out in 1st round. Marshall's last year(2007), Wintrhop was an 11-seed and upset Notre Dame in the first round.

thanks. i didnt know the numbers but i was fairly sure that they would back up my point.

 

[Gushawk]

"It might have more legitimacy than most of the rumors I've chased down this week."

Perhaps not a ringing endorsement, but not dismissive either.

 

[MikeyJoe]

Interesting that out of everything in Mr. Hawk's OP people around the net seemed to have fixated on the Marshall bullet point.

 

[Gushawk]

The stuff about Gregory might have been worse...and the thought of the Utah guy makes me want to vomit.

 

[castichawk24]

Interesting that out of everything in Mr. Hawk's OP people around the net seemed to have fixated on the Marshall bullet point.

The bullet makes it seem like it is Marshall's job if he wants it, so naturally that one stuck out the most. (to me at least)

 

[Mr. Hawk]

"It might have more legitimacy than most of the rumors I've chased down this week."

Perhaps not a ringing endorsement, but not dismissive either.

Where's that from?