I read the article and then the comments by readers.

Cougar fans are heartbroken about this if true and seem to be in denial. They believe he is "god" and the AD there will not let him leave.

I hope its true. I feel we are witnessing the historic beginning of a new basketball LEGEND in the state of Indiana. I have not felt like this since BMK.

I think it could mean Tony B. is/was tops on IU's list and why wait......
The funny thing is on WTHR this morning they mentioned IU may have found its man and showed pictures of Dakich....I jumped up cussing....and then saw this report.....whew

GOD does answer prayers!!!!

I hope Goodman is right on this one. I think Bennett is the perfect choice for the Hoosiers.

Hope it's true, but I've never heard of Goodman. I'm with others, I'll wait for more "concrete" reports from trustworthy sources. Hope it's true though, and hope he accepts. Also, happy to see he mentioned Jamie Dixon. Wonder if we put out feelers to the bigger coaches and they declined before we offered? So that's why Tony is our #1? Or if he was just our #1 anyway. I mean he DID win over at Peegs.com, maybe the committee just copied them...

Wow other boards are FREAKING OUT about Bennett. They're all pissed, even though Bennett has been in almost everyone's top 3 or top 5 at least. Just because he lost one game vs. UNC (most talented team in the country) and plays a slower style (he had to, less athletic ability) people don't think he can win here. His youtube interview said he's a coach that adapts his offensive style to the personnel he has. Well it will be better personnel here, so the offense will be more open. He's a great coach. People are so fickle it's unbelievable.

A young Bob Knight would have gotten even worse treatment since he was basically a nobody coaching at Army.

I urge everyone to see the YOUTUBE interview and also go to coachesclipboard.com and check out Pack Line Defense and Mover Blocker Offense. The truth is that most fans want both of these styles they just donot know what to call it. They watch a game but donot know what they are seeing.

I hope we announce soon because the new coach has tons of work to do ASAP to keep players ( incl Gordon ) , stabilize '08 recruits, build momentum on '09 recruits, get current players on development programs over the summer etc

Haha I stole the Pack-Line Defense and am using it with my AAU team. It's great. So I'm a fan who knows what he's looking at when he watches WSU!

I'm going to wait for more reports to come out. I don't trust Goodman. Besides, it doesn't say he accepted the offer. Just says he was offered the job. He may turn it down. Let's not get too excited here.

Looks like Dixon maybe off the board but IU is head and shoulders above Cal and ASU so maybe not.

Hey if they get this guy, I'll be happy. I just wish they would at least least talk to sean miller before they hired anyone. I guess they have to take quick action.

Perhaps we have reached out to Miller and other names, but they really are intent on staying put. Miller was reported to be staying at Xavier. So Bennett is the best option for us. If it's true that we offered, then we know what the answer will be IMO.

I wonder if we even needed a comittee. Does anyone feel we as fans dictated who the new coach was going to be. Lets face it if they would have botched another hire we would have had pich forks ready. I think they looked at what we wanted and made a pr choice (though the right choice) so they could cover their own butts. Any takers?

At least , I hope they paid a little bit more Attention to the fans but I will be surprised if what we want makes much difference.

This is not last time but last time the fans said, "Kevin Who?"

I doubt it. I think the national media right away put Bennett out there as the best up and comer. So based on that, and probably recommendations from other coaches (he has midwest roots) they had Bennett on their list. I'm sure they avoided message boards etc. But I can think of about 4 or 5 writers that said Bennett is absolutely the right choice and we need to get him.

You guys are right, it would have been nice though.

I'm not sure who this Jeff Goodman character is, but I'm not believing anything until I hear an official report from either ITH or ESPN. Those are my two reliable sources for Hoosier headlines and I'm sticking to them. Sorry Goodman?

But I hope Bennett does head to BTown.

"And here's Hoosiers head coach Tony Bennett." I like the way that sounds.

I am listening to foxsports radio on wnde.com. Goodman is going to be on the show to talk about IU. Thought you might be interested.

I just watched Espn, and one of the announcers said that IU was looking to sign a coach by Thursday. Then in smart ass tone he said perhaps it goes to Tony Bennett, you know if cal doesn't offer the job first. That peeved me and than they switched to a diffrent show. hmmmmmm

Fox has the journalistic professionalism of a 3 year old. How do they let a guy like Goodman write an article that's garbage? I think I believe the ESPN article of this guys any day.

espn.com article says we're looking to name a coach by Thursday. Bennett is high on the list, as is Mike Montgomery. Bennett himself said he hadn't been contacted but certainly didn't deny any interest.

Noooo, on the radio show he said that he's leaning towards turning the job down because he doesn't want to be under the microscope.

How reliable is this guy?

On the other hand, how embarrassing would that be? I would guess based on Bennett's comments, that he is quite interested. It would look bad if we couldn't even land Bennett or Miller. What if we wound up with Montgomery?

I'm not sure how reliable he is. He also said that Bennett denied reports of being offered the job (which was also reported by ESPN) but said he had his own source that said otherwise. He's like a poor man's Andy Katz.

This is the joy and pain of a rumor....

Tony Bennett...Joy
Mike Montgomory...Pain
Nice guy for someone else...........Tony please bro take the damn job so my life can begin again.......

I like the idea of announcing next week and capitalizing on all the free publicity by being concurrent w the Final 4.

I am trying not to pee my pants in the mean time while I wait

What if Bennett says no and the other top coaches we wanted stay put, who are our second tier candidates? I don't care for Montgomery, or Stallings. Could we talk to Alford? would we talk to Alford?
As some people are high on Grant, and Drew I don't think IU would hire these guys, just because it isn't a high profile name or hot commodity.
Could Alford be a secondary answer? My answer would be yes, what do the rest of you think??????????????

Wow that would suck. I guess it would be Monty or Stallings though...how awful would that be?

Andy Katz ( I know take it for what its worth) says that Bennett has not been offered the job and that Mike montgomery is high on the list. I really don't want Montgomery. It would prove that this ccomittee has no clue what its doing and will bring our program down. Their are 10 coaches I would rather have than Montgomery. Still root for the hoosiers, but I will be pissed.
1. sean millet
2. tony bennett
3. Anthony Grant
4. Bruce Pearl
5. Rick Pitino
6. Thad Matta
7. Jamie Dixon
8. The guy who is coaching davidson ( have you seen those screens to open up Curry).
9 Jeff Capell
10. Dan Fife ( I would rather invest 4 years of sb par seasons of development, than mediocrity with Montgomery.

sorrry for the horrific writing

TRUST ME WHEN I SAY THIS....I've seen Dane Fife coach at the college level here in Ft Wayne...and brother, YOU do NOT and I emphasize NOT want Dane Fife driving the Hoosiers!

I hope I am not in the minority here when I say I don't want IU to talk to Alford. There is plenty of other coaching talent out there than to go after him. He wasn't successful in Iowa and I would rather not hire someone strictly because he has a history with the university. I think if Bennett is offered the job, he will take it.

Damn man...why you gotta be so PESSIMISTIC??? Have some faith before you start throwing Monty, Stallings, and for God's sakes ALFORD in the conversation!!!

What a buzz-kill!

You're like the four year old kid who comes walking in the bedroom right before....well, you're married with kids, you know what I'm talkin about!

If it's Monty I will spend every day sending Greenspawn an email telling him he is an idiot

If we hire montgomery I will flip out.

Hutchens updated his blog, and he's always reliable.

Fox was inaccurate. We didn't offer. But we are interested. And whatever report said Bennett was going to turn us down because he didn't think he was a good fit is inaccurate. Sources close to Bennett say that he'd have "some interest." I'd rather read that "he'd love to go to Indiana," but I guess they can't say that now can they? His agent, AD, and himself have all stated there has been no contact with IU. Personally, I'd like for us to get on this before Cal makes some big offer to pry him away. I'd be surprised if he went within the Pac 10 though.

So basically we are where we were yesterday. Bennett is high on our list. He has some interest. We are going to look at a few candidates, and make a hire later this week. Only real new info to me is that Miller's buyout is "too rich for our blood." That would go along with my theory that if it came down to Bennett and Miller, and we considered them equal, we'd get Bennett to save money. But I was still surprised to read that.

Hello Easy - since there is not more to talk about coaching changes can you tell me some things ?
1. How well did Pack-line defense work against dribble drive penetration ?
2. Did you also adopt or play against serious mover blocker offense and how did that work out ?

Haven't done anything with blocker-mover, and in fact I meant to check that out online, but haven't found it yet. So the offense I can't tell you much about, other than it looks like a good amount of screening. We run a 1-4 high set with lots of screening that has been effective against bigger, more athletic teams (simply because my players execute it well).

Pack line worked. We had only practiced it once. Then we scrimmaged a much bigger (their PG was as tall as our C. Yes, we are small.) more athletic team. Our kids were younger so they were intimidated at first and caved to some pressure D. But, as we went on there was a lot of improvement. Once the girls got the hang of it, they couldn't score in the halfcourt without a serious breakdown (forgetting who they were supposed to guard). It feels a bit like a zone because you are packed in, kind of like a zone, so it feels like you're guarding an area, not a person. That was the cause of some of the defensive breakdowns.

Now, a lot has to do with communication. They have to talk on screens, cuts, etc. But we did a nice job in our first try. Forced a lot of turnovers, and it forces a lot of outside shots. Being small that is what we want. That is why WSU ran it. Now posts generally are supposed to front, though our team may switch that. And you're supposed to hedge and recover on screens. Our team has struggled with that so we're just going to switch it. But it's not complicated to learn, and it is definitely effective. Forced a good amount of travels and fumbled passes. I like it a lot and our players like it so far too. Just a matter of getting used to it.

Thanks for the run down

A few things here.....

Get T.Bennet on campus and open up AH and let the fans welcome him and get the hell out of the way 10 man blue ribbon committee

Mike Montgomory has made it known he IS interested in the job.....Let me get this straight....how can you put a Tony Bennett and Mike Montgomory on the same list....without putting Miller, Grant, and Brownell on there first.

If IU hires Montgomory, the FURY will open up on Greeny and IU to the extent, you WILL see players walk....McGhee, Bassett, and Crawford to name a few. Then you know what WILL hit the fan. Midnight Madness will be a sellout crowd of 2500 people and we will experience the LOWEST point in IU history for the next 4 years.

Montgomory is a good coach but NOT for IU right now. Whomever mentioned they would email greeny if Montgomory is hired, you better type faster and sooner than me cause that may happen............

Gary Parrish of CBS Sports is reporting that Bennett will decide within 24 hours so that if his decision is no, it will allow for Indiana to move on.

http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/sto...

Nice article...is this guy an idiot or does he usually know what he's talking about?

He's usually pretty reliable, but it's hard to say with all that's being reported.

Normally his articles are dismissed because he and Doyel are perceived to have an anti-IU bent over how Davis was treated.

Right or wrong, I have no clue. He's got significantly more credibility than Goodman though.

Wow. I'm actually somewhat disappointed to read that. I would like to think that if Indiana went after a guy like Bennett, there would be no doubt in his mind that he'd take it. I guess he has to figure out stuff with his family, but as far as WANTING the job I'd like to think there is little doubt. I will be shocked and EXTREMELY disappointed if Bennett says no.

That will be the ultimate sign to me that we really are no longer elite. Or as close as we think. Which would be pretty devastating. Since when can an elite program NOT automatically get the best young up-and-comer?! Unheard of...

If Montgomery is Hired I say we all to to midnight madness with shirts that say on teh front FIRE GREENSPAWN and on the Back Bring Back BOBBY. (not to really bring him back just to piss them off, plus we will have all -1 star players coming in anyway)

Would we really consider hiring a guy that's 61 years old? I mean, we're going to have to do all this again in four years either because the guy is ready to retire or because he sucks too...Montgomery would be a terrible hire and I can't force myself to believe that 10 educated people familiar with athletics would think that a 61 year old is good for revitalizing a program.

And whoever even said the A-word earlier (hint: he now coaches in New Mexico), please don't get that negative! I mean, surely we can find a solid high school coach before having to resort to that kind of nonsense.

Yea, I really wouldn't understand the logic in hiring somebody that old, just seems like we're setting ourselves up for failure.

If Monty is actually high on the list I have to ask the blue ripoff committee if any of them watch or even keep up with college basketball. Also he must know someone on the committee. This isn't the job to hand out to a buddy because he's cool. I mea damn people this is INDIANA friggin basketball. Do some homework for god's sake. Watch the tourney. Basketball is the lifeblood in this state and if your goal is to take IU sports to a level below Indiana St that's what you will be doing if you hire Montgomery because nobody will take us seriously anymore and you will have set this program back 10 yrs. GOD this better not be true.

I'll be pissed too. I like jerry yeagley in the committee, but hell if we get Montgomery I can't even forgive him. Man, I'm going to be pissed. Big A what do you guys think?

IU has talked to Bennett. As far as what he told Katz, do you really expect him to say he's talked to IU?

Any truth to the "he's not interested" reports? Is there a real possibility that he turns us down? I'd be so embarrassed.

I'll be weighing in here shortly.

Bold statement....If we hire Montgomory it will be hard for me to stay an IU fan. This is the team I grew up with but it is turning into one of the biggest jokes in college basketball.........we go from Mike Davis....Kelvin Sampson....to Monty. I could name 15 coaches that I don't want but would take before Monty's name came up....
1. Brad Brownell-he would be ok
2. Dan Dakich
3. Ray McCallum
4. Pat Knight
5. Todd Licklighter
6. Randy Whitman
7. Keith Smart
8. Chris Collins
9. Dan Fife
10. Kevin Stallings-slightly ok
11. Buzz Peterson
12. Jack Keefer (lawrence north)
13. Barry Collier
14. Mike Davis
15. Monty

Hey you forgot Greg Graham lol.

Thanks for the entertaining post. I hope your list was just for laughs. There are only two guys on that list that would even be in my top 25. As far as the coaching search, I think people are reading to much into the whole Bennett waiting 24 hours. Think about it, don't most of us think 24 hours before we change jobs? Let alone a job when you are moving across the country and possibly facing scations. My guess is he is calling people to find out what kind of mess he would be in if he went there, and who could blam the guy for that. If he does accept I think we have the guy who can bring IU basketball back to glory. GO IU! GO TONY BENNETT!!

Yeah I don't believe that he hasn't had any kind of conversation. Nowadays alot of things are done behind the scenes. He's just using the standard playbook on the right pc thing to say so he doesn't piss anyone off at WSU.

Definity my list was entertainment purposes only.....hopefully....

wow would we be pissed if Dane Fife was announced as the head coach on Monday for about $35k....

Dane makes $70k + @ IPFW.....I doubt he would come to IU for a paycut

Wow you can;t tell teh NCAA and CBS love UNC playing at home till the final four can ya

our hoosiers are the 3rd most popular team in the nation....not bad.
http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/