I see a lot of posts comparing, at least in passing, ISU to the Dukes, Kentucky's and Kansas' of the world. That is a bit idealistic, imo - quite a bit, actually. We just made the NCAA for the fourth straight time for the First Time in our History. We have had, I believe, 1 Elite 8 (not counting the final four in '44.) 2 outright conference titles in forever and a smattering of Conference tourney championships.
We revere Johnny Orr (and should) but in all honesty, his record is high mediocre. Fred gave us Johny Orr a bit better. But we still had those maddening, unexplicable losses. And, this year, everyone talks about the coming from behind 6 (or whatever it was) times in a row, but never mention the basically crappy play that put us so far behind. We are a good, not great, program that has the potential for a rare and very special year. We ARE relevant. We are NOT elite.
The problem is that the Big XII is loaded with a lot of coaches with NCAA success. So, hire the assistant and hope for the best? Hire a head coach from the lower ranks and hope for the best? Try to ply Hornacek away from Phoenix and hope for the best? Find a successful coach from the 7 (include Big East and AAC) Conferences and hope for the best?
Point is, there are no sure things and whoever is hired we will have to hope for the best. None of us know. Truth be known, the people doing the hiring don't know either, for sure. But, as professionals in the sports industry, they have a much better chance to get it right.
We revere Johnny Orr (and should) but in all honesty, his record is high mediocre. Fred gave us Johny Orr a bit better. But we still had those maddening, unexplicable losses. And, this year, everyone talks about the coming from behind 6 (or whatever it was) times in a row, but never mention the basically crappy play that put us so far behind. We are a good, not great, program that has the potential for a rare and very special year. We ARE relevant. We are NOT elite.
The problem is that the Big XII is loaded with a lot of coaches with NCAA success. So, hire the assistant and hope for the best? Hire a head coach from the lower ranks and hope for the best? Try to ply Hornacek away from Phoenix and hope for the best? Find a successful coach from the 7 (include Big East and AAC) Conferences and hope for the best?
Point is, there are no sure things and whoever is hired we will have to hope for the best. None of us know. Truth be known, the people doing the hiring don't know either, for sure. But, as professionals in the sports industry, they have a much better chance to get it right.
