Toggle sidebar

IF Brad Stevens goes to IU....

H

H00SIER-Cat

All-Conference
Dec 6, 2016
2,074
4,880
0
What would be the realistic expectations. Some seem to think he is hands down the next John Wooden. I've also seen it pointed out that he benefitted from a weaker conference and some players that were surprisingly much than expected. Lightning in a bottle if you will.
Don't get me wrong he would be a great hire for anyone, but the legend of Brad Stevens may be a unicorn.
 
B

bthaunert

Heisman
Apr 4, 2007
29,518
21,619
0
ganner918 said:
He'll win there. Championships? Yet to be seen. Will depend on how well he can recruit to IU. But make no mistake, the guy is a hell of a coach.
Click to expand...
Agree. He is as close to a home run hire as possible. At a school like Butler, you don’t go to the championship game, lose 2 of your 4 top scorers, 1 being the 9th pick in the NBA draft and then go back to the championship game the next year unless you have a great coach.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Panthur, EliteBlue, wildcatwelder_rivals and 13 others
MdWIldcat55

MdWIldcat55

Heisman
Dec 9, 2007
21,687
87,639
113
See Shaka Smart. The previous "can't miss" who took an even bigger nonentity than Butler to the Final Four and came close the next year. In Year Six he's hoping to win his first NCAA tournament game at Texas.

He'd be an upgrade from Archie Miller (who also had two very good years with a mi-major) but not a dramatic one. Miller had two very good years with a mid-major but couldn't take the next step. Stevens had two incredible years with a mid-major but hasn't been able to succeed after that.

Lets put it this way. Indiana hasn't won a title in 35 seasons. IU has been beyond the Sweet 16 once in 28 seasons. I suspect in five years it'll be 40 and 33 seasons for those two categories.
 
  • Like
Reactions: kl40504_rivals, H00SIER-Cat, RoyKent and 1 other person
B

bluejesus

Sophomore
Nov 25, 2009
78
122
0
MdWIldcat55 said:
See Shaka Smart. The previous "can't miss" who took an even bigger nonentity than Butler to the Final Four and came close the next year. In Year Six he's hoping to win his first NCAA tournament game at Texas.

He'd be an upgrade from Archie Miller (who also had two very good years with a mi-major) but not a dramatic one. Miller had two very good years with a mid-major but couldn't take the next step. Stevens had two incredible years with a mid-major but hasn't been able to succeed after that.

Lets put it this way. Indiana hasn't won a title in 35 seasons. IU has been beyond the Sweet 16 once in 28 seasons. I suspect in five years it'll be 40 and 33 seasons for those two categories.
Click to expand...
 
B

bluejesus

Sophomore
Nov 25, 2009
78
122
0
do you think shaka has raised his stock this year?? conference tourney win and while not the favorite, still a team capable of making a run.....he's only 43...
 
  • Like
Reactions: H00SIER-Cat
M

ManitouDan_anon

Heisman
Dec 7, 2006
20,073
32,434
0
Would make them a leader in the little ten most years , but the b!G will return to normalcy next year . He would be a great hire and bring them up for crap to top 20 every year .
 
  • Like
Reactions: H00SIER-Cat
W

westerncat

Heisman
Feb 19, 2012
15,923
20,891
0
It depends on how good a recruiter he is IF IU gets him. Indiana has some good players coming out of HS there. I just don't see IU getting him. I really hope they miss on him and have to settle on someone way down on their list.
 
  • Like
Reactions: H00SIER-Cat and michael895
K

kb22stang

All-Conference
Dec 11, 2005
10,902
4,384
0
dbmhoosier said:
Realistic expectations? Probably similar to what Izzo has done the last 20 years. Not necessarily get to all the FFs just have us in the mix most years. Most would be thrilled with that.
Click to expand...

This seems to be a very realistic expectation.
 
MdWIldcat55

MdWIldcat55

Heisman
Dec 9, 2007
21,687
87,639
113
cuthbert said:
do you think shaka has raised his stock this year?? conference tourney win and while not the favorite, still a team capable of making a run.....he's only 43...
Click to expand...
Sure. He's done a decent job this year. We'll see where it ends up. But it is Year Six. People were predicting for Shaka -- like they already are for Stevens -- that he'd be a perennial in the Final Four.

One more point on Stevens: His Butler run was exactly 11 and 10 years ago. That was a much different era -- no G-League competition, no top recruits going to New Zealand or China, no transfer portal, no "social justice" movement in which lots of old school techniques aren't working.

The best coaches in the game -- not just Cal but Roy (two year record of roughly .500) and K and Izzo (play-in game) are struggling to find the way. Coming back to the game after ten years is going to be a shock - if Stevens does. I believe he's smart enough to want no part of that legacy-killing trap that Bloomington is. I guess we'll see.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Samurai Cat, kl40504_rivals and H00SIER-Cat
H

hootervillearnolds

Junior
Apr 17, 2015
340
262
0
Stevens can coach. Not only got to two FFs and won semi game each time. He has also been more successful in the NBA than Pitino and Cal.

If IU lands Stevens it would be....

A friggin miracle, because it ain’t happening.
 
  • Like
Reactions: kl40504_rivals
true-blue1

true-blue1

Heisman
May 15, 2007
13,114
11,648
93
westerncat said:
It depends on how good a recruiter he is IF IU gets him. Indiana has some good players coming out of HS there. I just don't see IU getting him. I really hope they miss on him and have to settle on someone way down on their list.
Click to expand...

Stevens is one of 2 choices that I honestly would love to see replace Cal and the other choice is Donavon. His style of play is second to none!
 
  • Like
Reactions: kywildcat41086 and westerncat
B

Blueworld_3.0

Heisman
Sep 23, 2008
14,131
11,260
113
There's a BIG difference in coaching at Butler and coaching at IU. At Butler there is literally no pressure to be a championship contender every year. That changes if Stevens takes the IU job. Especially if he wins the lottery with a sweet contract deal. There will be a TON of scrutiny on him in Bloomington.
Remember, Alford is a homegrown Indiana hero too. That guy could have been governor at one point if he had wanted the job. But, he has no interest in the job and seems to persona non grata at IU now for some reason.
Much like the Kentucky job, I think the IU job isn't for everyone. Evidenced by the last 4 guys to sit in the chair at IU.
Stevens seems to have a very laid back attitude and that's good. 'Cause he will be tested if he leaves the NBA to go back home.
 
  • Like
Reactions: kl40504_rivals and RunninRichie
T

theetommyt_rivals

All-Conference
Mar 13, 2012
10,149
1,824
0
Blueworld_3.0 said:
There's a BIG difference in coaching at Butler and coaching at IU. At Butler there is literally no pressure to be a championship contender every year. That changes if Stevens takes the IU job. Especially if he wins the lottery with a sweet contract deal. There will be a TON of scrutiny on him in Bloomington.
Remember, Alford is a homegrown Indiana hero too. That guy could have been governor at one point if he had wanted the job. But, he has no interest in the job and seems to persona non grata at IU now for some reason.
Much like the Kentucky job, I think the IU job isn't for everyone. Evidenced by the last 4 guys to sit in the chair at IU.
Stevens seems to have a very laid back attitude and that's good. 'Cause he will be tested if he leaves the NBA to go back home.
Click to expand...
I'm an Indiana fan, I'll get that out there.

Besides the crazies in every fanbase these would generally be the expectations:
out of 10 years:
9+ tournament appearances
4+ sweet 16's
2+ Final Fours

Championships would be icing on the cake, but it's really hard to win championships.

For Alford, a long time ago he was the golden boy. Then he went to Iowa, intervened in a sexual assault case with Pierre Pierce trying to get the girl not to go public, got fired for performance anyway. Did alright at New Mexico, got the UCLA gig and failed there as well. He's a twice failed P5 coach with a really ugly mark on his record from the Pierre Pierce incident. No one at Indiana University wants him because he's not a great coach and he has a checkered past.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Victorbmyboy and Crayfish57
B

bthaunert

Heisman
Apr 4, 2007
29,518
21,619
0
MdWIldcat55 said:
See Shaka Smart. The previous "can't miss" who took an even bigger nonentity than Butler to the Final Four and came close the next year. In Year Six he's hoping to win his first NCAA tournament game at Texas.

He'd be an upgrade from Archie Miller (who also had two very good years with a mi-major) but not a dramatic one. Miller had two very good years with a mid-major but couldn't take the next step. Stevens had two incredible years with a mid-major but hasn't been able to succeed after that.

Lets put it this way. Indiana hasn't won a title in 35 seasons. IU has been beyond the Sweet 16 once in 28 seasons. I suspect in five years it'll be 40 and 33 seasons for those two categories.
Click to expand...
I think you brought up Shaka in another thread around Stevens. There is zero comparison between a guy who had a miracle run to a Final Four once and a guy who made a run to the championship game, lost his stud player then went back again next year. And while he might not have made the Finals in Boston, he’s been to the Conference Finals 3 of the past 4 years. That’s definitely not terrible.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Panthur, EliteBlue and RunninRichie
B

bigblueinsanity_rivals250340

Heisman
Apr 13, 2002
44,001
97,152
0
CROCAT said:
Didn't Stevens hate recruiting, allegedly?

Then good luck dealing with AAU parasites who all think their son/nephew/cousin is the next LeBron and should play 35 minutes a game with 20 shots allowed minimum
Click to expand...

This is where I think he'll struggle. Even mark few sold his soul to the devil getting jalen suggs and chet.

I think that's another reason cal wants to pivot to the transfer market because recruiting is so unbelievably dirty it's nearly impossible to navigate. Stevens best bet would be to do the same.

I obviously have no inside info, but it certainly feels like IU actually has a chance to make this happen.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CROCAT
MdWIldcat55

MdWIldcat55

Heisman
Dec 9, 2007
21,687
87,639
113
bthaunert said:
There is zero comparison between a guy who had a miracle run to a Final Four once and a guy who made a run to the championship game, lost his stud player then went back again next year.
Click to expand...
The year after Shaka took VCU to the Final Four, with a win over #1 Kansas, he had them back in the tournament as a #12 seed, and upset #5 seed Wichita State, then led a tough #4 seed Indiana (a team that would give Kentucky's champions a run for their money) until the last minute, before losing by two points. He went back to the tournament with VCU each of the next three years - five straight years with a program with no previous basketball history whatsoever. That's a long way from one "miracle run" and there was a strong consensus that he was the hottest young college coach out there after Stevens left Butler for the NBA.

Stevens is a no-brainer hire if he's willing to go to Indiana. Smart was too, at Texas. My point is that it's very hard to succeed at a high-pressure program, and it is far from a sure thing that Stevens would. I guess we'll know in about five years in the unlikely eventuality that he takes the job.
 
  • Like
Reactions: kl40504_rivals, theetommyt_rivals and H00SIER-Cat
3

3236

All-Conference
Dec 12, 2003
7,341
4,258
77
Stevens will win if he goes there. No doubt in my mind. Does that mean he's chalking up championships left and right? I don't have any idea about that but he would be a guy to bring them back. He's smart, doesn't lose his focus, has coached at a place without elite resources and is coaching in a spot that is a storied NBA franchise so he knows what the pressure cooker is like.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AllBall
B

bthaunert

Heisman
Apr 4, 2007
29,518
21,619
0
MdWIldcat55 said:
The year after Shaka took VCU to the Final Four, with a win over #1 Kansas, he had them back in the tournament as a #12 seed, and upset #5 seed Wichita State, then led a tough #4 seed Indiana (a team that would give Kentucky's champions a run for their money) until the last minute, before losing by two points. He went back to the tournament with VCU each of the next three years - five straight years with a program with no previous basketball history whatsoever. That's a long way from one "miracle run" and there was a strong consensus that he was the hottest young college coach out there after Stevens left Butler for the NBA.

Stevens is a no-brainer hire if he's willing to go to Indiana. Smart was too, at Texas. My point is that it's very hard to succeed at a high-pressure program, and it is far from a sure thing that Stevens would. I guess we'll know in about five years in the unlikely eventuality that he takes the job.
Click to expand...
I agree 100% with your last paragraph.

VCU had Jeff Capel and Anthony Grant prior to Shaka. Those guys turned their success at VCU into coaching gigs at Oklahoma and Bama. There was some history there prior to Shaka.

As you say, time will tell. I think he will be a big time winner wherever he goes.
 
R

Runnin'Ramel

Heisman
Jan 19, 2005
35,684
13,594
113
westerncat said:
It depends on how good a recruiter he is IF IU gets him. Indiana has some good players coming out of HS there. I just don't see IU getting him. I really hope they miss on him and have to settle on someone way down on their list.
Click to expand...
This is the key. He'll probably land all the top talent in Indiana again - which is what Crean was supposed to do ... and Archie promised to do ... if he does that, he'll be set up nicely as a starting point.
 
  • Like
Reactions: westerncat
*CatinIL*

*CatinIL*

Heisman
Jan 2, 2003
24,651
40,237
113
YardCat said:
He is like Tom Crean (a good year every 5)
Click to expand...
Watch it now! Coach Tom Crean was the GREATEST thing to ever coach at that Barn they call *** Hall! IU is cursed for many years because they let him go...
 
chroix

chroix

Heisman
Jul 22, 2013
11,061
28,147
113
Stevens clearly said no in an interview yesterday. Poor poor IU.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
KSR

Latest

  1. 01 KSR Horse Racing Sovereignty Triumphs in the Breeders' Cup Classic
  2. 02 KSR Football Mi'Quise Humphrey-Grace is 'bonafide star' on Kentucky's defense
  3. 03 KSR Football Ty Bryant, Jordan Castell are giving Kentucky 'uncommon' play and production at safety
  4. 04 KSR Cats in the NFL Former Kentucky guard Jalen Farmer set to make first career start for Indianapolis Colts
  5. 05 KSR Football Meet your 2026 College Football Playoff committee
Top Bottom