Running the IU program requires CEO skills in addition to sharp coaching skills, so I could see why Bennett was hesitant to accept after Greenspan laid it out for him.

Hey I like Grant a lot, but am I the only Skiles supporter? His Bulls teams were fun to watch until this year when his player squit on him because of the GM trying to trade half the team for Kobe. He enforced team basketball which seems to becoming a rare trait in the NBA. He's a disciplinarian who holds his players accountable, and would be a great motivator to all those players not making millions of dollars (Ben Wallace). As far as recruiting, don't assistants do most of that? He's a former NBA coach, so he could definitely be a closer, and would have an inside perspective like Pitino, Monty, Calipari and Tim Floyd have. By the way, Pitino's record in the NBA is 192-220. Skiles is 281-251...AND he owns the record for most assists in an NBA game (30). Imagine what he'd do with Roth and Bassett.

Yup, You might say you are the only one ......shall we say HIGH on Skiles

nice.

yeah we hate to leaving ya hangin.... but yeah your only one. We still like ya though.

Not sure he's ready personally. I'd rather go after Dixon and Miller, but if they don't come and we focus on up-and-comers I'd take Grant over Brownell.

Not sure how old/new this is. But Bruce Pearl was on the Dan Patick radio show today and pretty much told/asked DP that while IU was once his dream job, why would he leave something he has built that he believes is on par with IU now.

I am not so sure this guy wouldnt catch the next puddle-jumper to Bloomington if the money was right, but it doesnt sound too promising.

How has he recruited since leaving Donovan and Pelfrey ? With returning players why did they not get into the NCAA ? Why is it he is not good enough for LSU but good enough for us ?

He has one non_Donavan claim to fame .......upset of Duke last year.

Wake me up when you get to Dixon..........whose success is here and now

Grant has gone 52-14 overall and 31-5 in a highly-competitive Colonial. i know it's not the ACC or anything but still, i don't think there's any reason why Grant couldn't be successful at IU. put him in a big-time program and he obviously can draw recruits. He has a great base in Florida and has a couple of three stars in Joey Rodriguez, Ed Nixon, and Terrance Saintil already to his credit.

You can't blame Grant for Florida's lack of non-conference wins. And the SEC wasn't exactly a power conference this year. Plus, I'm pretty sure I remember reading somewhere that Florida lost a lot of talent recently, which caused them to retool and reload.

"helped Donovan build the program from relative obscurity" What ?

Check the history again guys. Lon Kruger built the program Donovan inherited taking Fla from "relative obscurity" to Final 4.

"they’d be hard pressed to find a better resume than Grant’s." Oh Yea ? This hyperbole w no facts is getting to be too much.

When you do DIxon use bullet points because there are too many things to say w/o writing War and Peace

someone needs a cookie. Come on man turn that sad frown up side down (-:

When you think Florida athletics, you think, oh, right, football.

Before the past couple of years, you hear "Florida basketball" and you "classic 5-12 first round upset".

Donovan has changed that recently, largely with the help of Anthony Grant.

I don't remember Jamie Dixon's teams making it to back-to-back final fours. Or championships.

Grant is in conference that only allows one team into the big dance, and his great players left from last year. What recruits want to go to a conference that only allows one team in ( unless selected by the commitee and thats never). George mason went to a final and they can't recruit anybody. I think he's awesome and if IU gave me permission I would literally quit my job and drive ro Richmond to get this guy.

I wouldn't say the CAA is a perenniel one-bid conference. They've been one of those that have been able to sneak a couple more teams into the mix in recent years.

This year was a bit down, but at the same time, VCU dominated the league. I think some of the other conferences seeing upsets in their conference tournaments helped keep VCU on the outside looking in.

And if IU wants, I'll ride shotgun with jgongora.

sweet

yeaaaaaaah Grant . whoa whoa whoa whoa ( in my awful arsenio hall impression... yes I'm that old).

I think if you look at the options left on the table with ALL things considered and ALL the things many of us are looking for.......such as....

1. Young guy
2. Can keep this team in tact
3. Can recruit
4. Will be here for awhile and nowhere near social security age
5. Div 1 experience and some success

Anthony Grant should be right there with Brad Brownell. I am not anti Jamie Dixon, I am anti scott skiles though. But with Grant, at VCU given the hand he is dealt with being in the conference he is in, he has had some success. The guy has to get a phone call without a doubt.....

Miller, Grant/Dixon. I think Greenspawn needs to put as much effort into finding a good coach as he is in keeping this so tight lipped.

What I'm thinking now, after Bennett turned us down, and Miller being locked into Xavier, is that IU is going to go with a more established coach, rather than an up and comer. I think those two were it, and now we're going to be stuck with Tom Crean.

In 5 head coaching seasons :

o 5 consecutive 20 win seasons
o 5 consecutive NCAA's
o 2nd best coaching start EVER in Div I history
o 100 wins in first 126 games is among fastest ever

How does this sound to you ?

And you guys are talking about Anfernee Grant in the same breath . Crazy

Jerry and I are officially heads of the Get Jamie Dixon Club. Jerry, you wanna drive to Pittsburgh with me and kidnap him?

I will give him personally my 1997 Merceds 500SL ragtop w 18k miles. We can kidnap him in my QX56

I'm in. Besides his record, I love the fact that he brings recruiting ties to NYC and the east coast.

I don't care so much about the current class, just because I want a coach that can bring us back to prominence long term, but with that said I think Dixon may give us a decent shot at keeping Ebanks.

Never head of this guy. He could be a decent choice if the top prospects don't pan out.

Can somone tell me the differences between Grant and Bennett aside from skin color. I like grant and think he even possibly be a better recruiter than Bennett. On paper their resume's they are nearly identical. Has race played a factor in the reason his name has not been high on peoples list?

No. Being in the CAA and not the Pac-10, as well as not making the tourney vs. Bennett's Sweet 16 run. And the national media pushing Bennett and ignoring Grant. That would be why. Not race.

I don't want to say that race is a factor, but Bennett had a shot in a good conference. I acknowledge that he did wonders but a good coach can do that as long as your in a big conference. I contend that Grant has not been given the chance to show what he can do in a major conference.

Ask yourself why Pelfry, a Fla assistant, got a major conf gig but Grant left Fla on a "high" for the Colonial. Ask yourself why LSU and So Carolina did not offer him jobs but we are supposed to.

Then be a good laddie and get behind the Dixon train

perhaps for this reason. The Couth Carolina basketball stinks and is completely underfunded because they are putting all their resources towards football ( including their massive football profits). Grant knows this, and he will not be ridding second fiddle. As far as LSU goes I believe their leaning towards a person who has an lsu back ground ( I admit I'm not sure).
By the way Don't call me laddie. I respect your opinion and I don't resort to calling you names ( and believe me I'm quite clever I can think of plenty of good ones) I expect you to do the same with me and try not to belittle my opinions with crap. I won't complain if we get Dixon but if he says no Mr. Grant is just a good a candidate.

I owe you an apology . I have to add that i did not consider laddie to be disrepectful but that judgement is rightfully yours and not mine.

Thanks for repsecting my opinions, I do repsect yours and for not calling me the usual as well as the clever names that I frequently hear

we cool dude.

Don't have to worry about Grant bolting for South Carolina. Western Kentucky's coach already did.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=332...

I'm not sure Indiana is the place to "show what you can do". Washington State is a place in a major conference where you can do that.

To be the head guy at IU I think you have to have already shown what you can do at the that level.

I disagree that any good coach can do wonders at a big conference school. It's much harder to recruit a talented team to compete with UCLA and Arizona in your conference when you're at WSU, compared to a coach at VCU in smaller conference recruiting a team to compete against George Mason and Old Dominion.

I'm not sure if that makes sense, but it did in my own head when I was writing it :)

Race is clearly NOT a factor: Grant cannot say these following things:

1. historical turnaround in first season
2. back to back NCAA's
3. Pac 10 vs Colonial
4. national & international recruiting vs maniacal focus on Fla
5. National Coach of Year by 7 different sports org's
6. Mid west , B-10 roots
7. Top 100 recruit this coming year

Read the Tony Bennett stuff on WSU web site and please listen to the YOUTUBE video. That ought to do it

Do some research before you throw the race card around. Their HEAD coaching resumes aren't in the same league.

Its nearly end of day Monday. I hope our ill advised self imposed deadline is not forcing us into a bad decision.........again.

In order to have it wrapped by Thursday we need to be ending discussions in 24 - 36 hours , preparing and signing docs on wednesday to set up the presser Thursday.

To do this we needed to have a short prioritized list ..........much shorter than the number of candidates reviewed here would indicate.

Strange we never heard from EASY about whether he has parents and why they are not forking over the $100k for him that I was going to match

No need for the 100K you and I are just kidnapping Dixon. It's cheaper. We'll split gas costs. That'll still be close to $100K though.....

Ouch ! Maybe we rent a Prius w a full tank, drive all night so we don't eat and then abandon the car in Spencer after dropping him off at Greenspans

Anyone else agree that it is about time for Pitino to move on from Louisville? I mean its been 8 years already. He could wear that white suit to every home game for all I care. Just give me 5 good years Rick and you can retire.

Rumor (apparently) on the Peegs forum is we are in negotiations with Pitino. We'll see. The guy I trusted most is the guy that told me our targets were Pitino, Pitino, Pitino, and then Bennett. So....maybe it's true? Beats me. But a lot of people would be ecstatic after all the doom and gloom yesterday.

Pitino seems unlikely just due to the fact that I feel like he's happy at Louisville. Aren't they getting ready to build him a big new arena? I'd love to have him, but doesn't seem likely. Sooo....

Divide the driving three ways cause I'm going to Pennsylvania with Easy and Jerry

Yeah I don't believe it myself. I would rather get a guy who when we look back on his career he is regarded as Indiana's coach. Pitino would not be that guy. Dixon could be! Ryan, welcome to the car ride! Mr. Dixon will be surprised!

I wouldn't mind if we got pitino. He has a record any student athlete could respect. I think we have a 40% of getting him.

I don't think its fair bashing Grant and comparing him to Bennett. First off Bennett said NOOOOOOOOOOOO. live with it and move on. second the washington st. position was handed to him because his dad left ( not to say he is not a great coach). Grant still young had to work his way up to even get a chance at vcu. In grants first season he took a blah VCU team and defeated duke in the first round in his first year at the helm. He recruited all the stars for the back to back national champions in florida, and he recruited three three star athletes to VCU ( do you realize how hard that is to do in thatleague?). Most importantly I don't think he is afraid of taking a high level position like IU, and handle all the critcism thats going to be placed on him. Bennett was ofered the position and my opinion he backed off because he did not want that preasure ( and to me thats fine he's still a great coach). Don't pick on him because he's not Bennet I don't think thats fair to anyone.

Jgongora- see my apology earlier

I donot think we are comparing Bennett to Grant anymore I thought it was DIxon

They won't hire Grant b/c he is black. Does anyone really, I mean really think that IU will hire 3 consecutive black coaches. You are all more naive then I already thought you were. You know, by you all thinking IU is still a big time position.

Dakich should be hired since my man Bennett turned it down

ok first I fond your comment ignorant but in more ways than one. One it is racist and your saying tha tthe committiee is sitting aorund saying no..no we can;t hire him he's black no not him either he's jewish...nope not that guy he's Italian. God get over that crap. The other is your given the Greenspan too much credit. He can't get a good hire let alone be racist about it.

you're a moron. I guarantee you have not been around any black people your entire life. Comparing Black hires to Jewish hires and Italian hires??? That's a MAJOR stretch. READ what I wrote. I'm sure about 95% of people on this site will agree with me. It's not a racist comment...it's a reality brah...b/c I will strike down upon thee with GREAT vengance....
I just clobbered you. Take it like a man

Our last coach was native american...brah

Would this be a good time to mention that Sampson's not black?

haha, exactly my point

si.com has an interview with Bruce Pearl linked from the Dan Patrick Radio Show. He says Pitino outcoached him. He also talked about the Indiana opening. He says feelers were sent out but he was never officially contacted. IU used to be his dream job. But Tennessee gave him his chance and he feels it is on par with Indiana now. He's not coming. Fine by me, never wanted him, but he said nice things about our program. I wish him the best of luck at Tennessee.

Wow I couldn't get onto the site for a min. Kept getting the Word Press error. I had Dt's and a panic attack. Im 'still shaking and sweating.....too close for comfort.

Hey guys, IU alumni and Hoosier native that has holed up in Richmond (VA) since '94. I've obviously been exposed to a lot of Grant and here are my 2 cents.

Obviously he's very popular around here. VCU as a whole is a school on the rise, and the hoops program is leading the charge on the athletic front. They have a nice new facility in the Siegel Center, so the VCU job is nothing to sneeze at. The Colonial is a great mid-major conference. George Mason and VCU have proven that in the past few years. VCU would have made another appearance in the big dance this year after winning the regular season but got upset in the conf. tourney (tough loss). Bottom line is that there is some pretty decent hoops being played in the Commonwealth as of late. Grant and VCU are in great position to prosper despite the one-bid conference.

Grant was a heartbeat away from the Fla. job last spring when Donavon had his foot in the door to the NBA. We were all but convinced that he was gone but then Billy did his 360 and ended that whole ordeal. We even had the "jet watch" going on w/the local talk radio show. It's understood though that Grant's days are numbered, despite the Fla job closing back up.

My assumption is that it is quite a jump for Grant to end up in Bloomington. Not that he's not qualified, because he is. But there is a huge difference between lounging around the South and spending winters in Bloomington. We're still waiting for snow this year in Richmond..... His recruiting base is in the deep south and now in Virginia, which is great, but does not really translate well to the B10. He CAN recruit, he'd just have to spread roots in a new region, which won't necessarily happen overnight. At IU, he'll have enough to deal with outside of recruiting.... His comfort zone and assumed final destination will likely be in the SEC somewhere.

If you have watched a Fla. game or saw VCU sned the dookies home last year, you know how his teams play. It's fast-paced, and they play hard. They get after it that's for sure. It's sometimes difficult for a Knight-motion offense junkie to watch, but it has been getting the job done.

Overall, I think that IU would be OK with Grant at the helm. He's a fresh slate, and a coach with plenty of gas left in his tank. He can win, period. But ultimately I just can't see IU being the place he ends up at....

Hey everyone can breathe a little easier...Alford just signed a 3yr extension with New Mexico. I personally thought he would have been an alright choice, apparently he has a top 15 recruiting class coming in next season

http://blogs.heraldtimesonline.com/iusp/
Forgot to post the link regarding Alford

I hears a very sobering commentary or rant on IU today that hits home for us all.....from JMV on WNDE....whom I like a ton....

JMV said, IU nation deal with it, IU is a destination job but we are going to HAVE to go through a rebuilding process and if, Armon, Ellis, and the others want to leave....."Don't let the door hit you in the *&%$$....."

This is a tough pill to swallow but a true one.
I don't want a one and done coach.....
I don't want players getting suspended for "stuff:"
I don't want to look for another coach in 5 years.....
I don't want a bunch of one and done players......
I don't want ANY hint of preparing players for the NBA...you come to IU to play for IU, not a contract..........

I WANT Indiana kids.....
I want the Steve Eyl player to become relevant again...the human SCREENER.....
I WANT to watch a team that will play hard every night.....
I WANT a coach who will build/rebuild the program that includes on the court, off the court, and rebuild the name on the front and not on the back....
I WANT Indiana to be the BEST program in state and take back what Butler and Purdue have stolen from them......the IU way of doing things.......
I could care less how many IU players are in the NBA......I want IU players playing next weekend.........
I WANT to watch Matt "freakin" Roth run off screens for 3-4 years at IU
I WANT to see kids get as pumped about a charge taken than an alley oop.....
I WANT a coach who coaches the team and not just players, and who will not only go to Lawrence North to recruit kids but also to Yorktown.......

Having said all of this...........If I read this enough and put names in a hat that could get this done.......then my candidates are....Brownell, Whitman, Grant, ...thats if Miller says no.

I am fed up with this BIG name garbage...A BIG name got us in this situtation. If guys want to leave....IU will survive...right Vaden, Keeling, Shaw, Recker, Owens, Funderburke, and the list goes on and on......

A team like Davidson shows you in College if you have a GOOD team with GOOD players who do the right things you can compete with ANYONE...even a 5 star squad like Kansas. Now although Davidson didn't make it over the hump, if you recruit Indiana well, like Purdue and Butler has, you will be in the mix for years to come given the talent pool here.....

Since your post got overshadowed by the late breaking news let me be the first and hopefully not the only one who loved this post ................even though your candidates are a near miss.

I think we all need to relax and show we can handle pressure even if the players cannot

http://www.wthr.com/global/story.asp?s=8091959

see ya later armon and ellis. this should make getting a new coach all the more easier. i am finding it really hard to be a hoosier fan now a days... what the hell do i have to look foward to? 3 years of rebuilding!?

They are not 100% gone. If we get a coach in the next week or so we can still keep them. I dont want to see Armon go.

HAHAHAHAHA!!! Ellis and Bassett just got kicked off the team!!! Now hopefully some of the moron-a-thons that post on here will realize that noone wants this job...except fo my main man Dakich. IU has to keep him now!!!!! As usual I was right from the get go!!!!

as usual your posts are full of arrogance.

if dakich is the coach i probably won't be too excited about iu basketball for awhile.

Dakich will not BE the coach but Dakich IS the coach. He has the responsibility to keep the team disciplined and ready to play for IU whether they like it or not.

No matter what his status he runs the team. The players do not run the team. if they don't want to listen to the coach they need to go home. IU doesn't need any player enough to give control of the team to them.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?A...

Looks like they did get kicked off.

wow.. speechless.

DD shouldnt be near these kids until we get the real head coach.

The kids have been hurt by the way this was handled and they cannot , at their young age, take responsibility for their teams late collapse.

All the more reason it seems for a coach change by Thursday............even though I donot think the deadline was wise.

I like Ellis and especially Bassett but they need to live and learn. Practicing patience right now would be good for them and all of us

Good for Dan!

So Dakich kicks 2 guys off the team that he is the interim coach of and that is acceptable to his boss? How can a de facto coach kick guys off a team and undermine a search for a new coach? What coach will want to come in knowing he has no chance to keep these guys? The new coach should be making these decisions, not Dan. If I was Greenspan, I would pull DD aside and rip up his contract and send his arrogant ass out the door. He is resorting to the tactics of the players and is just destroying the program because he realizes he is not going to be the head coach. He isn't head coach material and this just adds to that thought. Do I think players should be disciplined for missing meetings? You bet. But I think you let it ride until a new coach is hired, advise new coach and let new coach deal with it in a way he sees fit. What meetings could be taking place that have any relevance at this point? The program is in limbo. There's nothing to discuss right now. It's wait until the new coach comes in and then there is some meaning to it. Dakich just lost whatever fondness I had left for him. He looks like a fool.

I think Dakich is good for the program, not as a head coach, but definitely as an assistant, and I was of the thinking that whoever the new coach ended up being, that Dakich should remain on the staff.

I have now completely changed that opinion. I'm all for discipline and a clean honest program, but this guy is the interim coach and highly unlikely to remain the head coach. Unless the players we arrested (which did not happen, every report is that they skipped a meeting), this coach should not have this authority. Who does he think he is? This completely undermines whoever the eventual coach is, and SHOULD all but eliminate his chances of getting the fulltime job.

I'm going to puke. With every passing day this situation gets worse.

Wow...This has to be the most piss poor organization and program in the country right now. While we have the Pabst Blue Ribbon Committee, comprised of an ex football player and the former soccer head coach, our current interim coach is kicking kids off the team. Our new coach will have to hold tryouts at the SRSC to field a team. Who is running this show? If you are going to hire Dan Dakich, fine! Do it and tell people so we don't look stupid for letting a lame duck coach kick kids off a team that won't even be his anymore!

I am torn here.....

On one hand, I have heard TOO MUCH stuff about players on the team "inhaling" that ....where there is smoke there may be fire...Not accusing any of these kids of that but suspensions before the season, during the season, and after the season is utterly ridiculous....Lets not forget, no matter what the label is at this time Dak IS the coach and they have to do what HE says......

On the other hand........the kids know he more than likely WON't be the coach for long so his authority is somewhat undermined. Maybe Greenspan should have made this call but it is a tough situtation for an interim coach, who at the very least should get a look and some position.

My personal thoughts....Kids you are on scholarship for INDIANA university, NOT the KS on your shoes or Armon or Jamarcus University but INDIANA U...the University is Paying your tution, NOT the KS on your shoes.....at what point will YOU stop revolting and REALIZE it is INDIANA U...not YOU and then INDIANA.....

Damn I ought to patten that last line....give me points people I am on fire tonight (just pissed at this situtation)

I wonder if this Dakich pulling some kind of stunt to try to keep the job.

I was in this guys corner (as I said above to remain an assistant, but definitely play a role in the program) but I think he should be removed immediately as interim coach, and the players should be reinstated, until a new coach is named.

That coach can then look at the situation and determine if the players should remain on the team.

amen

I agree with that. Sure, maybe DD shouldn't be making that call, but I am sick of how selfish this team is. You are still going to school for free... go to the meetings! Also, this isn't the first time that these guys have gotten in trouble. If we have to clean house, then so be it. Guys were getting suspended before sampson left, so you can't use the coaching situation as an excuse for everything.

One other point, you never hear any of this crap about Gordon. I bet he was at the meetings, and he probably won't even be here next year. He went to practice the day that DD was hired too. It is like some of these guys have no appreciation for playing for Indiana. I grew up dreaming about playing for the hoosiers, and some of these guys don't even seem to care.

But it should be up to the new coach to decide, not Dakich.

Maybe that is true, but does that mean that they should just do whatever they want until they have a new coach IU named DD as the coach and until someone else is named, they need to do what he says. The hoosier scoop also says that were asked to run after they missed the first meeting and they refused.

These guys need to grow up. Even if they hate DD, they just need to suck it up for a couple of more days. The real world is going to be a rude awakening for these guys. All that said, maybe DD shouldn't be the one to kick them off the team, but I don't feel sorry for them at this point.

OK, two kids get kicked off the team. How many players did Knight kick off? I heard he kicked off the entire team one night...

The kids may be kicked off but can they come back? Is Dakich just proving a point to them?

I still can't take this seriously, there has been no official announcement regarding the player's releases. Until ESPN or the official IU Hoosiers site says anything about this, i consider this all just to be rumors.

Ellis has kids, so i don't see why he would do something so stupid, like getting kicked off a team. He's a junior now, and if he transfered, i just don't see how that would work out, and in fact, it wouldn't.

I'm sure this bit of news will just have the coaches running the other direction, as if they wasn't already.

All of this shows why Wooden was right and Bennett was the cool hire. Bennett does not care about your stars as a recruit but your character.

Wooden said "the coaches best tool is the bench, even for your stars "

I feeel bad that this all has to be discussed under A Grant headline. he doesn't deserve this even though I am not his fan over Dixon

Just for fun you should profile Steve Lavin.