IU will necessarily have to wait until after the NCAA tournament to have a shot at the best coaches.

Having said that, I hope they have some idea of who they will talk to and will have come up with an offer that will make any of the coaches take a long hard look before turning IU down.

There are several coaches that could be successful at IU in time but to get the program back quickly will require a big name. It will be interesting to see what IU will do.

It is going to be a long spring and wait to find out.

I certainly agree w you about the "big name" coach. To me this means you have a great track record in major wars with national recognition. Hungry guys with national scope who have won recent national awards are Tony Bennett and Jay Wright and since Villinova may not make the NCAA perhaps we talk to Wright early.

I fear we will try to "Gerry Faust" this thing and go with a good guy but one who is not ready.

I donot like one and done players anyway . They are difficult to build a team around. Often they donot result in good college teams as they try to put up their own numbers at the expense of others.

Its so much better to build teams like the Purdue squad, Xavier, Drake, Butler,Duke, Fla and schools that lose a few in upper classmen only but still get darn good players. If Eubanks is a "one and done" then perhaps we are just as well off.

Give me a DJ any day over an OJ Mayo

"I donot like one and done players anyway."

I don't understand, under any circumstances, why you wouldn't want a Carmello Anthony, Greg Oden, Kevin Durant, Michael Beasley, etc... Does that mean you also don't like having the Big 10's leading scorer in Cream and Crimson?

It's true that you build "teams" better with four year players, but these "one and done" players often mean the difference between sweet sixteen and final four. I mean, what's wrong with building a team of four year players, with a sprinkle of great ones?

There's a million reasons these guys are "one and done", but the first is because they are really good at basketball. If they are quality kids, like EJ appears to be, I want them on IU, especially if they're from Indiana...but I digress.

"It's true that you build "teams" better with four year players, but these "one and done" players often mean the difference between sweet sixteen and final four. I mean, what's wrong with building a team of four year players, with a sprinkle of great ones?"

That formula has worked rather well for a couple of teams around here. I'm not sure if anyone knows it, but Duke and North Carolina are pretty good squads year in and year out.

Hating one-and-done players is a little close-minded. Would I like to see a good player stay for four years if he's on my favorite team? Yeah. But what if Gordon stayed with Illinois? We'd be all posting about how he's ready and needs to go now!

By the way, Robbie Hummel, I think you're ready.

Having a mix of top notch players that take a couple of years to develop mixed in with the outstanding high school star ready for the cash of the NBA is the way to really excel in the college game now. For the one-and-done guys, you tip your cap after a Final Four run, say "Thank you, young man and good luck" and then start looking to properly fill the void when he is gone.

Curious comments yours................. seeing how none of your examples won anythign except Carmelo, who had 4 other terrific players around him and forced him into team ball. Cuse lost alot early that year directly due to his hogging of the ball. The point is these guys need to sacrifice their game for the team and if not I donot want them.

UCLA, Memphis, Tenn, Duke, UNC, Kansas , UCONN, Georgetown, Xavier, Texas all need a one and done to be in the hunt this year ? How many did Fla have last 2 years ?

Think again with facts this time

I think Horford, Noah and possibly Brewer all thought they would be one and done, but really liked college. Hard to dislike it when you're in Florida I suppose.

UCLA: Kevin Love
Memphis: Derrick Rose

Duke and UNC will not be in the hunt.
Same with Georgetown and UConn (moreso UConn).
Texas' ineffective coach will make sure they aren't in it next year.

Think again with facts before you retort.

The first two you mentioned have impact freshmen who could be NBA lottery picks. Kevin Love is a freshman with similar numbers to DJ White...in the Pac 10.

But, in reality, no, they don't need those impact freshmen to be in the hunt because those teams have rosters full of good basketball players. But, tell me 17 points and 11 boards per game doesn't help UCLA win.

Put another way, does tOSU even get the opportunity to play for the title without Greg Oden (or Connolly)? Is K.St. even above .500 without Beasley. Does IU win 25 games without EJ? I'm speculating, but I don't think so.

My point is that IU should get the best players (if they are quality kids). Your point seems to be that because Florida won the NCAA two years in a row without contributing freshmen, that IU shoud not care about losing a blue-chip recruit. It defies logic.

Great point.

Everyone has said though this is an exceptional freshamn class this year, every year isn't going to be like this. Although their impact is great it still remains a rarity for team who relies heavely on a one and done to win a championship. I like going after them and landing them but history shows maturity and experience win you championships.

He is not a one and done. Just because he is 5 stars and ranked highly does not mean he is one and done. Next years freshman class is not all that great, especially compared to this years. There won't be too many freshman next year declaring for the draft

Devin Ebanks is obviously a spectacular player but right now it looks like Matt Roth and Terrel Holloway will still be coming to IU along with Tom Pritchard and I do not think any of the players currently on the team will transfer so IU will have a solid squad again next year with Eli anchoring the paint and Armon and Crawford in the backcourt with Holloway and Roth coming off the bench we will still have Jamarcus, who will play better next year not being the third or fourth option on the floor,and who knows who the new coach will be able to get from JC


Let Ebanks leave he didnt even make the McDonalds All American Game and he is supposed to be on the top 15 players in the country to me that throws up a red flag

Im Nominating Armon Basset for Big Ten Player of the Year 2008-09 Season

That sucks.

It does suck but hopefully this is the last MAJOR consequence IU pays for KS doing...which further pisses me off at him. Hey maybe this free's up a scholly for someone in the following year and get B-Mac some more PT....just a thought.

Ebanks good luck kid and I understand althoughhhhhhhh.......if you go to rutgers or miami.....enjoy playing in front of 15-125 people per night and good luck making the tourney.....THE BIG EAST tourney that is......

You could at least talk to IU's new coach Anthony Grant, Sean Miller, or Brad Brownell....you can't sign until April anyhow.

Indiana probably isn't all the way out of the picture.....he probably just wants to explore options early because he may not like the new coach at IU....just a thought...or maybe somebody has a nice suv waiting for him

Of course there's something waiting for him. Big A said that Memphis is the frontrunner.

Kelin,

It'd be an upset if he doesn't end up at Memphis.

Um...Miami is in the ACC. And they have a pretty good crowd most nights. And they're probably going to the NCAA tournament this year.

Second, I believe the Big East plays all sixteen teams now. People griped about it, so they changed it. Eventually, they're going to wise up and realize that 16 teams is way too many.

Plus, they have a section for students where they get to come in wearing beach wear.

Er, by "they" (in the third paragraph) I meant "Miami".

the big east tourny will have all 16 teams starting next year, so you were essentially right

Me too...........I find it interesting that Ebanks and Holloway have these out clauses...I never new this could be done but also....what does that say about their 100% confidence in KS was on the straight and narrow? Damn this guy really screwed us and I don't expect him to fight the NCAA at all....

It can't be written into the LOI from what I have read. Could be a verbal agreement between the players and the athletic department.

This is from the National Letter of Intent's Web site:

Is a National Letter of Intent binding if the coach of my sport leaves the institution?

Yes. The National Letter of Intent you signed with an institution is valid if the coach who recruited you leaves the institution with which you signed. When you sign a National Letter of Intent you sign with an institution and not with a coach or a specific team.

Heard on the radio tonight, Sampson is now working as a scout for the Spurs. The pacers are playing there tonight and Sampson was spotted on the Spurs sidelines before the game. I wouldn't be suprised if Sampson called Ebanks up and told him not to come to IU.

I hope that he at least talks to the new coach before making a final decision.

That being said, I find the new poll very interesting. Bruce Pearl did not run a clean program at USI. There may have been no violations, but anyone that went to USI during the time he was there knows what I'm talking about.

Anyone who played against them, too, knew it.

NEWS FLASH...Ebanks bolts to Memphis. The next day Calipari bolts for IU. I don't want Calipari, but that would be some funny schnit.

If IU hires a guys that doesnt know what discipline is then i will never watch IU again or maybe only if they hire Calipari

The only instance I'm aware of in which a school refused to release a player from a letter of intent happened at IU when RMK refused to release Lawrence Funderburke, causing him to go on a long a winding road to graduation. That was a classless move by RMK, and I don't care to see IU repeat it.

A total classless act by RMK and I remember that. Release him now and if we get a top notch coach who knows. Some boring mid major and no way.

He really did that? Now I know he's a jerk.

Hey he was allowed to go to Ohio St and play his final 3 yrs. Inner Conf trans are rare.

Yes I like Bruce Pearl not totally sold on him if he had some issues at USI...I want a squeaky clean coach, if IU goes through this again I say SHUT down the basketball program FOREVER.

If I had to label the coaches I would do this.....
Sure fire proven coach, no risk.....Sean Miller
Great coach some risk......Bruce Pearl
Good up and coming coach, great recruiter, could win, some risk .....Anthony Grant

Vive le Anthony Grant!
http://collegebasketball.rivals.com/content.asp...

How does Anthony Grant get the "up and coming" label and not Sean Miller???

I've got to be honest, I don't get the Anthony Grant thing. He's a second year coach. He plays in what I consider a "second-tier" mid-major. The Colonial isn't exactly CUSA or the Horizon League. I get that he engineered a great tourney victory last year, and almost beat Pitt in the 2nd round. I get that he's been under the tutelage of Billy Donovan. All well and good.

But he's got a guy on his team that doesn't belong in the Colonial. Eric Maynor is REALLY good. And he's not Grant's recruit. So, is it the coaching or is it Jeff Capel's recruiting?

I'm not saying it's one or the other. I'm just saying that's too big of a question for a program like Indiana to attempt to answer.

Who has VCU beaten in Grant's time? You could argue they really haven't beaten anyone they shouldn't have this year. A win over Houston is nice. Their one quality win this year is at Maryland, which is a GREAT win. So, we're hanging our hat on 2 quality wins in 2 years? When the reason for those wins could be a player that could start for a lot of Top 25 teams? When that player wasn't recruited by said coach?

Sean Miller is already there. He has a team in the top 10. VCU's not ranked, so that leaves Grant as an "up-and-coming".

Ah, I guess when I originally read it, I took his lack of "up and comer" status as a knock.

Hard to believe a 38 year old is already "there", but I truly think he is.

Miller '08: Yes we can!

I think he's garnered a lot of respect nationally for being able to handle the constant turnover at Xavier and then go out and do so well with the talent he has. Granted, they lost last night, but losing at St. Joe's isn't like losing at, say, Northwestern.

Two things, the CAA is pretty much in league with the MVC. Of the "mid-majors" (cleans foul taste out of mouth), the CAA is tops with the Missouri Valley. You have to look at the strength of the entire league, and not just the top team in the league (as with Memphis and Butler in the C-USA and Horizon, respectively). The CAA will probably field two teams this year in the tournament, which is a bad year for the CAA. They have recently been counted on four three to four teams with a few others sitting on the bubble (remember, George Mason and UNC-Wilmington are CAA schools). The Horizon gets two schools in only if Wright State upsets Butler.

Second...beating Maryland at Maryland isn't that great a deal this year. American did it. Why aren't we talking about Jeff Jones. Ohio also won there this year. Virginia Tech did it, and they're firmly on a very tenuous bubble for the NCAA.

Considering Grant was Major oart of recruiting the players that won them 2 championships I think he can recruit.

We need to look at recent history for this hire. If we consider IU to be on the level historically of UCLA, Kansas, Kentucky and UNC then we should look at the blue print as all of those school have hired new coaches in the last 5-8 years or so, and all have been successful (Jury still out on Gillespe I suppose).

None of those schools went the "young up and coming" route. They all went with a somewhat battle tested coach from a major conference, but not necessarily a major program (Williams from Kansas the exception).

Howland came from Pitt (Big East), Self came from Illinois (Big Ten), Gillespe from A&M (Big 12) and Williams from Kansas (Big 12). You could argue IU already did this with Sampson, but I would say two things. 1) Minus the violations he was being successful on the court. 2) The blueprint seems to work, you just have to actually do your homework and work it correctly.

With all that being said, I would start the search with this list before going the "young unproven route". I'm sure I'm missing some, so feel free to add.

In no particular order:
Crean (Big East)
Wright (Big East)
Pearl (SEC...Assuming he's clean NCAA wise)
Matta (Big Ten)
Hewitt (ACC)
Barnes (Don't really like him, but he fits the criteria here)

Just my two cents. If we go the young route, I would then go with Miller or Bennett.

AMEN ! B(MD). FInally a guy on this site who wants PROVEN vs SPECULATION....therefore no Grant , Brownell in the list ......even though they could be good at IU over time. I want to recruit and win now.

Wall Street Journal has on the front page of the Weekend section a sleazy story about recruting of Delmar Derozan at USC. KS maybe broke rules but sleazy ?????

i disagree. i think IU should definitely go the "young up and coming route." UCLA, Kansas, and Kentucky is a pretty small sample size - and those three weren't nearly in the same shape that IU is right now when they hired their coaches (even Lavin went to five Sweet 16s in a row before a bad 2003 season).

just because Scott Drew, Brad Brownell or Anthony Grant haven't had head coaching experience with a major program doesn't mean they couldn't develop into successful (and more importantly long-time) coaches at Indiana.

So what you disagree with is " I want to win now".?.........or is it that Bennett, Wright and Miller are too PROVEN ? We want it to take longer ? Mark Few is too experienced ?

I think I said your boys are good just not ready NOW

i didn't say that Drew, Brownell or Grant are better than any of those guys above (except Crean who is awful). im just saying that immediately disqualifying your "guys that aren't ready" from the coaching search because they aren't PROVEN is ridiculous.

let's face it, regardless of who comes in, IU is going to have to rebuild for 1-2 seasons (at least). it's not like Wright or Miller is going to suddenly take the 2008-09 IU team to a Elite 8/Final 4 and someone like Grant or Brownell would automatically take them to the NIT.

IU should be willing to give the young "unproven" guys that don't already coach big-time programs a chance to come in and continue the promise they've already shown with their schools (Grant: VCU, Brownell: UNCW, wright state and Drew: baylor, valpo). those guys have all had a lot of success and are great recruiters - it's not like i'm advacating hiring dane fife here.

I understand you have an open shot but your shot keeps falling short.

You are aiming for a 2pt shot while I am aiming for the 3 and the win,,,NOW.

Bo Ryan did not take 2 seasons to reload after losing 60+% of his scoring from last year. Sampson did pretty well last yr with what he was handed.

funny that you would mention Bo Ryan. where did he coach before landing the head coaching gig at Wisconsin?

UW-Platteville and UW-Milwaukee. good thing that Wisconsin didn't follow you're "PROVEN with a big-time program" approach that you want IU to follow.

three Big Ten Championships later, id say Wisconsin did pretty well with that hire. thanks for proving my original point that IU should take a shot on an unproven guy fthat has had a lot of success with mid-majors.

I'm with getting a Young Coach like Miller or Grant. Watch some of Pearl's prev loss' like the UK game. He got outcoached. Crean-way overrated. Barnes is a coach who can recruit but cant do much of anything else. A young guy like Miller or Grant have some heat and excitement to them. I'm sure if they can recruit at Flordia State,VCU and Xavier and have top teams thy would be able to at IU and Win now.

"Crean-way overrated"--Finally someone sees it. I do not want Tom Crean roaming our sidelines.

Even though I'm on the Sean Miller bandwagon (because I think he is nominally proven), I like the idea of Paul Hewitt being floated out there. I've always respected his teams, and let's take a look at his recruiting...

Chris Bosh
Javaris Crittenden
Jarrett Jack
Thaddeus Young
Luke Schenscher
Will Bynum
Anthony Morrow
BJ Elder
Mario West

Quite the load of talent. However, I guess you could argue Hewitt hasn't gotten far with said talent, even though it's a little tougher in the ACC.

SOrry SOcks but I think you made the wrong case here ( good players but no championships )for a good coach.

You need to try his success w Siena in the NCAA as your argument then you have something

Kind of why I'm on the Sean Miller bandwagon. Was just saying Hewitt was a name I hadn't considered, and he's a good recruiter.

Note the caveat at the end of my diatribe. Don't think he's a winner, but just an interesting candidate.

I do like Miller. I think he kind of falls somewhere in the middle of the already proven/young up and comer.

Maybe we can all compromise with that.

To CoveyDale: I hear what you're saying, but how many historically major programs are there? UNC - Kentucky - UCLA - Kansas...Maybe Duke? Well I mentioned four of those five in my list. With the available pool of major programs, that's a large sample size.

What's Bill Self done at Kansas? Lost to Bucknell in the first round. Hasn't advanced far since. He can recruit, but what does he do with those recruits?

Roy Williams won, but with Matt Doherty's players. If he doesn't go to the Final Four again this year, there might be some grumblings coming from Chapel Hill.

Gillespie has guided Kentucky to a very tenuous bubble position for the NCAA.

The only one out of there that has done really well has been Howland. And like Coveydale said, Lavin had already put a pretty solid core there (bunch of Sweet 16s in a row). So don't think because a guy has been able to do well briefly makes him the best solution for Indiana long term.

Marquette has been grossly overrated in Crean's time there, Pearl is excelling in an SEC that features Vanderbilt and a rebuilding LSU, Florida and Kentucky squads, Matta isn't going anywhere, Hewitt is a colossal underachiever at Ga Tech (seriously? Matt Causey?) and Rick Barnes is an even greater choke job in Texas.

Of the "established" coaches you've listed, only Wright or Matta would make the cut, as far as I'm concerned.

You just made absolutely no sense at all, and with your logic there are no good coaches in the country. You just questioned the coaching abilities of the men coach the #1, #3, #4, #5 and #9 teams in the country. Plus Hewitt and Matta have both taken teams to the championship game and Gillepe took Texas A&M to the Elite 8...Texas A&M?!?!

There's so many Final Fours and championship game appearances in that list that I don't even have the time to research the total number.

IU should be so lucky

You need to ask yourself, then, do you want to be highly ranked or do you want to be winning championships.

You need to look past the rankings. UNC is terribly flawed and will most likely not be number 1 next week. How many championships did Roy Williams win at Kansas again? Memphis is in a league of also rans, at best. Tennessee looked oh so impressive at Florida, a team that probably won't make the tournament this year, but is still living high off the bounce of beating a horribly overrated Memphis team. Duke

Matta, good coach. Gillespie? Eh, the jury's still out. Hewitt's run to the final game was a fluke. Just how good is Ga Tech this year in a down ACC? Are they even over .500? Yeah, they played IU tough and Kansas tough, but to say that Paul Hewitt is the answer to anything other than "Who coached the team that lost to Connecticutt the second time" is delusional, at best.

I think you need look past the tournament. The tournament is a crap shoot most of the time. Keith Smart's jumper hits front rim and all of the sudden Boeheim and Knight have the same # of titles, and Knight hasn't won anything since 1981.

I'm looking at a complete body of work. Roy Williams has been to multiple final fours and championship games (winning one), consistently recruits McDonald All-Americans and is consistently in the top 10 whether at Kansas or UNC. You bashed Bill Self above, he consistently recruits 5-star and 4-star players and is in the top 10 every year.

You know what, I'll take that body of a work from a coach and roll the dice in the tournament.

Does Williams recruit McDonald's All-Americans, or does the names "Kansas" and "North Carolina" do the recruiting for them? Matt Doherty had no issues getting talent into Chapel Hill; what he did with it was the problem.

I'm not saying Self is anywhere near what Doherty was/is, but you have to admit that his teams are consistently underpeformers in the tournament. What was the big criticism of Knight for his final years in Bloomington? That he kept getting bounced in the first round.

Self is young enough, he may establish himself down the road, as a lot of peple had the same criticism of Florida (being highly ranked and yet making early exits from the tournament year after year) under Donovan. I don't think anyone is going to criticize him now.

Part of it it's the program and part of it is the coach, but I think we need a proven recruiter at a high level. The name on the front of the jersey has not been getting the recruits for IU recently.

Either way this debating is fun, this is what sports is all about:)

I noticed somewhere above that Miller is a guy your hoping for. Even though I'm hoping for a little more proven guy, I can definitely get on board with Miller. He was a smart player and seems to be a smart coach as well. I think he's kind of meeting in the middle of our sides of the debate.

Yeah, Miller's my pick, Brownell is second.

I'm all about the younger coach who can connect with the kids more. I think that a lot of recruiting (outside of the top programs) is the charisma of the coach. So, I think, a younger coach is more able to get into a kid's living room than someone more established and older, unless that older guy is at a top program.

Matta's team may not make the NCAA Tournament this year. Are you trying to say that he's better than the other coaches mentioned? I just don't follow and need explanation...I'm not being a smart-allic.

i agree to the extent that i will never pick Kansas to EVER make the final four as long as bill self is there.

as for crean, i couldn't agree more. he is a chronic underachiever that hasn't done anything outside of the 2003 squad led by dwayne wade and travis diener. hiring him would be a disaster.

And trust me, you should have heard the scathing criticism of Williams when he lost to Georgetown last year. If he hadn't won the championship with Sean May et. al. he probably would have been run out of town.

And when I say "Matta isn't going anywhere", I say it as "Matta is very happy at Ohio State, a team that he is building into a national powerhouse and is not coming to Indiana, as much as I'd like him to". Read the whole post next time.

since you hate UNC, duke, tennessee, and memphis (and all of their head coaches) so much, who is in your top five this year? Davidson?

Ha, good call calling out my inner hypocrite!

Davidson can't be, because they lost to NC State. As far as hating a program, NC State is tops on my list, even moreso than Purdue.

As I would rank them, right now:
1) UCLA
2) Kansas
3) UNC
4) Texas
5) Louisville

I think UCLA is the real deal, and I think Kansas is balanced.
A lot rests on Ty Lawson's ankle at UNC.
Texas is talented, but like Kansas, the big question mark is their coach.
Louisville is playing some really good basketball right now and they are peaking at the right time.

I threw the records out the window and tried to look at talent and who is playing good basketball right now.

IU should hold him to that LOI until they hire a new head coach.

let ebanks be free to explore whatever options he wants in the meantime. i think he should at least give IU the chance (and if he doesn't, IU make him) to bring in somebody new and see if he can develop a good relationship with that coach and if he likes his philosophy.

rememeber, DJ originally said he was definitely transferring after davis left until he got the chance to sit down with sampson and then decided to stay. vaden bolted town before even giving sampson a handshake.

I agree. Make him meet the new coach before you let him out, assuming IU makes a quick decision once the season ends. If they drag their feet until the NCAA hearing in June (which I don't think they can afford to do or will do) then you have to let him out beforehand.

So, let's look at the last 10 national champions:
Billy Donovan
Billy Donovan
Roy Williams
Jim Calhoun
Jim Boeheim
Gary Williams
Coach K
Tom Izzo
Jim Calhoun
Tubby Smith

Those are pretty household names. Who out of these guys were "up and comers"?

Answer: none. They had paid their dues, for the most part, at their respective schools.

Just trying to make the point that this thing won't happen over-night, so hopefully WHOEVER coaches next year gets a very big grace period.

Good work SOcks. Now we need to peal the onion back to final 4's, 8's Coaches of the Year etc. If so then the last 2 COY's were Jay Wright and Tony bennett. Bennett won 7 COY's last year, I believe that is more than other coach you listed in any one year. More than Wooden ever.

Billy Donovan was hired from Marshall while he was an up-and-comer.
Roy Williams was established.
Jim Calhoun was an up-and-comer through Northeastern.
Boeheim was an assistant coach and then named head coach, both for Syracuse.
Gary Williams had been an up-and-comer when he went to Ohio State, then went home to Maryland.
Coach K was an "up and comer" from Army when he was hired at Duke. In fact, K almost was canned after three years at Duke.
Izzo wasn't even a head coach before Heathcote handed the reins over, so he wasn't even up-and-coming.
Tubby Smith had established himself as an up-and-comer when he was hired at Georgia, where he continued success. His years at Kentucky are already well documented.

Of that list, we have four guys who were hired because they played for those teams.
Only R. Williams, G. Williams, and Smith had prior coaching positions at major (now-BCS schools) schools. Two of them (Izzo and Boeheim) were top assistants who were given the head coaching positions from there.

Of those ten men (Donovan and Calhoun counted only once), it was a combined 124 years to win a national championship, or roughly 15.5 years to do it. Izzo was the shortest at 5, Boeheim the longest at 27.

So, you're right, no one's going to win this thing overnight. But at the same time, there's no guarantee that an established coach will do the trick any sooner than a young up-and-comer

Exactly why I'm behind Sean Miller.

I'm with you guys on Miller. He's the one "up and comer" maybe along with Bennett, that would excite me.

I think the A-10 falls somewhere between Major and Mid-Major, and Miller has proven himself somewhat in the tournament.

They were one bad call last year away from sending Oden and Conley to the NBA a lot sooner.

Sounds like most of us can agree on Miller.

That's another part of this for IU. Bringing the fan base together.

Ol Matt just layed some serious smack down with that post. I like and agree.

I like Miller but give the nod if possible to Bennett. He fights the bigger wars in bigger arenas with as much success at a place that has never had much. Xavier plays in smaller wars, smaller arenas, with a basketball program created by Gillen, Matta before him. He also brings West Coast recruting to his Midwest roots. Miller is not national in scope.

Could live with either Miller or Bennett.

I checked out Miller vs Bennett on recruiting scope just to check my facts.

Miller has 8 players from Ohio , 2 Indiana, 2 Pa etc. I say pretty narrow but OK.

Bennett has Australia, New Zealand, Serbia, Germany, Colo, Ca, WIsc, Ore, Wash etc.

Sound slike Tony wil go the end of the effing earth for players. Maybe we could see the next Manute Bol at IU................ok, Hasheem Thabeet, Hakim Olajuwon

How about the next Uwe Blob:)

You also have to think about how Miller's recruiting base is going to be limited to the area around Xavier, so Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania would be pretty much the meat and potatoes of the recruiting base.

Moving up to somewhere like IU, then he'd have a lot more area to go with.

If you toss out the foreign players, then most of Bennett's recruits are localized and then the Wisco kids from his connection to that program.

Major programs (Duke, UNC, Kansas, Kentucky, UCLA, Indiana and so on) can go more national.

Not saying Miller cannot do it but keep in mind he starts "nationally or internationally " at ground zero w nothing to build on.

Bennett has enough national and international scope to compete w teams you mentioned right away, and, he can flat out coach against tough teams in tough venues night in and night out. They are the same age.

I would go w Jay Wright if I could becasue his meat and potatoes is in championship areas NY metro, Balt/Wash, Phila.

That's another thing to bring up. Everyone says, "this is an Indiana/Midwest guy so he'll be able to recruit the state". But that's limiting.

Bring in a guy like Wright (just an example) who has ties elsewhere and that broadens the recruiting base. Whoever the coach is will be able to recruit Indiana and Midwest guys just being the coach at Indiana, assuming he's a half decent recruiter. Add to that ties from another region and we'll be even better...Especially places like NYC, Philly & Balt/DC.

FYI- Jay Wright's current roster is from NY metro, Balt/Wash and Philly.

Thus I would want to know Miller's recruiting strengths a little better since he appears to stick to Cincy and Toledo for about 1/2 his players

Bruce Pearl

Have another, Tom.

I won't go to far back but Anthony Grant coached his team to an NCAA win vs. the almight Duke a couple of seasons ago....if you combine his VCU track record with his time at Florida....he is definitely in the top 4 candidates.

BUT.....I would not be upset if we began and ended with Sean Miller. Forget the conference he is in.....he produces good teams with what he has and competes against the big boys year in and year out. I saw them when the beat IU and the difference in the game was he outcoached KS primarily from the offensive end. IU did not know what the hell Xavier was doing.......Defensively.....they played in your FACE the entire game. Greeny if you are on this site....that is your FIRST phone call.

I DO NOT want Rick Barnes, Boehim, or anyone of that group.....go get a young coach who will be here for a long time....

After looking at Miller's narrow recruiting and few Top 50 players I would not rank him as high as I originally would have. With 1/2 his players from 2 cities in Ohio and 8 overall I wonder about his readiness to recruit at the level we expect. He is a darn good coach

Contrast w Jay Wright however w all players from NY metro, Balt/Wash metro and Phila metro . Plus keep in mind he has Big East exposure in Chicago ( Marquette, Depaul, ND ) area and Ohio/Kentucky ( Cincy, Louisville) and FLorida.

As a result I voted for Bennett, would have voted for Wright and l like Miller. But I feel Grant , Brownell , Drew are just not in the same league as yet.

Kelin is usually pretty smart but perhaps you have not caught VCU on tv this year. ODU outcoached Grant to win and he was fortunate against GMU in the 2 games I saw. Nice D however. Did he recruit the Russian ?

I guess an argument for Miller in that case would be, look at who he's beating with less talented players, must be a good game coach. It's not exactly easy to recruit to Xavier when you're batting Big Ten and Big East schools in the region.

I assume that his recruiting would have to improve at IU, so imagine him coaching the same winning ways, but with even more talent.

Agreed.

I guess it depends on what scope IU wants its program to have. I viewed KS as building a National program ala Duke, UNC, UCLA, Kansas, UCONN etc. and I admit to wanting that . Not to say Purdue fans with regional players are not happy right now.

My point is that Miller has no experience winning recruiting wars in the top 100 and appears to have limited relationships outside a small subset of Ohio. He may have inherited those from the program built earlier by Gillen. Prosser, Matta. Before putting him #1 we need to assess his recruiting scope and success.

Applying the same logic to the limited info I have on Bennett and Wright however I get a very different and more comforting feeling about their desire, energy , experience , relationships and ability to take us National (or International in Bennett's case) when recruiting. Bennett recruited Devin Harris , Alando Tucker and even Brian ( the bastard ) Butch before leaving for WSU.

Therefore I put Miller below both men . They can all coach like crazy . Wright's 3 guard offense would be perfect for us now

In regards to Grant, Greenspan would never hire another african american to be IU's hoops coach. I personally would love Grant to be our coach, but Greenspan would try to appease the most vocal section of our fanbase (you know what I'm talking about). I mean look how he passed over Ray for Double D so he wouldn't get more heat...and if you need more proof, look who's in last place in the poll on this site!

I honestly don't think our coach is out there right now. I think this is a bad time to be going through this situation. We can't make a bad choice rule wise, so I think they will stay away from calapari and pearl. We will end up with Miller or Bennett and I honestly think they will be 3 or 4 and don.e

I would go Bennett #1 then Miller. You have to look at the fact that Bennett has done a great job at WSU where there was no previous success. He recruited Penny, Tucker, devin harris, and Butch just to name a few while at Wisconsin. He played in the NBA and overseas in New Zealand I believe. He is what I call a system coach that can find players that fit his system while not always needing to rely on the one and done player. He has basketball experience since birth, and is a proven recruiter. Just think a minute where he coaches Washington State a middle of the pack to bottom feeder Pac10 basketball school that is on the west coast where there is limited tv exposure to the rest of the nation, not to mention the fact that he has to go up against UCLA and Stanford for recruiting every year. Quick name a player on their roster...................exactly you can't and he still wins just think what he can do at IU where I would say half the recruitng is the name INDIANA on the jersey..give him the keys and let him drive, plus he's not a bad singer either....http://wsucougars.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/bennett_tony00.html

http://wsucougars.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/... http://goxavier.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/mi... Compare the 2 and draw your conclusions

Either guy lets us compete against Painter, Weber for the best hair on a coach in the B-10.

I keep wondering why we all ignore Jay Wright. he recruits the big citites on the east coast, wins w short guys/guards in a tough conference, has national exposure due to the big east reach from Chicago to CIncy to Fla to Boston. ............and he too can win the hair competition

the most important short-term goal for the hoosiers is to keep the returning players. the most important long-term goal is finding the perfect coach to fit their storied program. i think it's a major loss to have a kid of ebanks caliber back out, but it would be more of a loss to lose players already in uniform.