Comments on: Dominique Ferguson headed to Florida International

By: MMA Narcisist URDirt

MMA Narcisist URDirt — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 08:24:30 +0000

Testing Disqus commenting system, sorry admin feel free to erase my comment.

By: MMA Narcisist URDirt

MMA Narcisist URDirt — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 01:24:30 +0000

Testing Disqus commenting system, sorry admin feel free to erase my comment.

By: Diesel

Diesel — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 23:36:12 +0000

Although he did have a winning record, look at the group of players he had. After three consecutive winning seasons and first round playoff exits, he was fired for “underperformance”. He reportedly was a player's coach, but so much so the Pacers went completely opposite to Rick Carlisle. As far as the reception, I believe he would receive a warm one from the IU faithful.

By: kate545

kate545 — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 21:41:49 +0000

Denim shirt? Far be it for me to try to deflect a little KS scorn, but he was a successful coach – he parlayed endless small infractions into a history of misadventure. He obviously thought he wouldn't be caught, and then he thought he wouldn't be caught again.

Look at the Zeke list – I'd say the last two listings put him on a scale beyond KS.

By: BFowler

BFowler — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:23:38 +0000

That is a very interesting question you pose. While The Denim Shirt was at Oklahoma, I was amazed with the job he did there. He showed his ability to coach in his first year here, when that group played as hard as any since the Knight era and gave runner-up UCLA a solid run for its money in the 2nd round. As much as I despise his blatant disregard for the rules, he obviously has some value as a coach, therefore the NBA job. I agree with your assessment as much as it pains me.

As far as Zeke, I have never seen his ability to coach. I loved him as a player, but as a coach, he has yet to prove it. There had been rumors that even while with the Pacers (his only quasi-successful stop), it was really Larry Bird running things behind the scenes.

By: CraiginOR

CraiginOR — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 19:07:33 +0000

Sun Belt conference fan base can't match Indiana high school, the conference is the place community college and junior college kids go to live the dream. As Alex said “The Indiana staff had expressed interest in Ferguson after he opened up his recruitment, but didn’t offer a scholarship.” but this is the coincidence of the week ….”Always remember there is a huge difference between evaluating a prospect and actually offering one.” Coach Crean on Twitter

By: indiananorthshore

indiananorthshore — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 18:20:29 +0000

I think for Indiana character should and does count. However there are programs such as Memphis, UNLV,K-State where character doesn't count. I guarantee you Zeke will have his team in the tourney every year. If I were a one and done who can prepare me better then Isiah for the NBA. Not just from a playing stand point, he was also a 20 year old playing with men when he entered the league.
As far as his reception coming back to Bloomington, Big Ten, National titles, got his degree, his very vocal and proud of his IU roots. Friend of The General, and has offered assistance to Tom Crean. I suspect he would get a very warm welcome.

By: Diesel

Diesel — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 17:47:51 +0000

At the risk of opening a new thread, did you think Kelvin Sampson was a good coach? I actually did, and I think his employment in the NBA speaks to that, but ultimately it was his character that tarnished our beloved program and kept away multiple recruits. So I do think character matters and if I were a 5-star recruit, character would be important to me.

Would Derrick Rose have followed Zeke? Perhaps, he did have someone take his test for him, so character isn't big quality trait for him. Would he have chosen FIU over Memphis? I don't think so, particularly if you add in the World Wide Wes factor.

By: BGleas

BGleas — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 15:33:34 +0000

I actually think his style of play is perfect for IU and Crean's system, but agree that he isn't a good fit for the program due to everything else that seems to come along with him. I guess it really only would have been a negative for IU if he ended up at Kentucky, Louisville or another Big Ten team.

By: Kelin Blab

Kelin Blab — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 22:59:31 +0000

I wonder what type of reception Isiah would get if he walked into assembly hall? I know we like the guy, but it seems it has been tarnished some. I wonder if that Hoosier great that plays for the hawks would get a good reception…J-Smoove himself? I can't believe Mike Davis actually said he would always be a hoosier…..