"Really good is not acceptable." - The New Standard in Iowa City

[2D]

"People sit in mediocrity for a long time because they start to fall in love with really good. I probably had that happen to me when I was in, like, my seventh or eighth year. We went to three straight Sweet 16s and lost by one, two points. ... I always thought we were really good and close. Then I realized that was the biggest issue that we had, was the fact that we were settling for really good."

"Trying to go from really good to being great is something that is really hard to do, and our kids need to understand really good is not acceptable. It's actually worse than being bad."



As the season is drawn to a close and we wait for Selection Sunday, I wanted to present this quote to the board that comes directly from Coach. A new standard is being set in Iowa City. This is the kind of mentality that's been desperately needed for the university for a long time. If we want to be champions, we can no longer settle. Complacency leads to mediocrity. McCollum has experienced settling for really good, and has learned from it, which lead to multiple national titles. It's abundantly clear that those who are national champions in any sport have to have this killer instinct in order to succeed. See Cignetti as another example.

Do you think this is the right mentality to have?

 

[83Hawk]

It absolutely is the right mentality to have!

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

I think too many people (recruits, most importantly) will refuse to buy into his mentality because either the stigma that is Iowa (for the recruits), or they are afraid of being hurt like every other time Iowa ever gets close to success (more for the fans/donors).

It perfectly describes Iowa football, and is slowly becoming the defining trait for wrestling as well.

 

[HawkBall23]

"People sit in mediocrity for a long time because they start to fall in love with really good. I probably had that happen to me when I was in, like, my seventh or eighth year. We went to three straight Sweet 16s and lost by one, two points. ... I always thought we were really good and close. Then I realized that was the biggest issue that we had, was the fact that we were settling for really good."

"Trying to go from really good to being great is something that is really hard to do, and our kids need to understand really good is not acceptable. It's actually worse than being bad."



As the season is drawn to a close and we wait for Selection Sunday, I wanted to present this quote to the board that comes directly from Coach. A new standard is being set in Iowa City. This is the kind of mentality that's been desperately needed for the university for a long time. If we want to be champions, we can no longer settle. Complacency leads to mediocrity. McCollum has experienced settling for really good, and has learned from it, which lead to multiple national titles. It's abundantly clear that those who are national champions in any sport have to have this killer instinct in order to succeed. See Cignetti as another example.

Do you think this is the right mentality to have?

Love that mentality. Love it!

Really good is not great. Greatness is what should always be striving for.


We got the right guy. Good job, Beth. (now get the man some more NIL!)

 

[TampaHawkFan]

That is 100% the right mentality to have IMO, and I feel that has/had long been missing with certain Iowa sports programs. I'm looking at you, football and men's basketball.

I love the hungry attitude. Why settle and not try to be better? May not end up BEING great, easier said than done.. But at least try to get there.

I just hope Ben can get the pieces he needs to be able to win.

 

[2D]

I think too many people (recruits, most importantly) will refuse to buy into his mentality because either the stigma that is Iowa (for the recruits), or they are afraid of being hurt like every other time Iowa ever gets close to success (more for the fans/donors).

It perfectly describes Iowa football, and is slowly becoming the defining trait for wrestling as well.

If I had a nickel every time I heard a podcast, sportscaster, or journalist call us the perennial 8-4/7-5 team, I'd have a shitton of nickels.

McCollum impressed Trey Thompson enough for him to join us at the 11th hour. I think he just needs more time to talk with recruits and implement his system, and things will start falling into place. When you instill the attitude of "good isn't enough", players will buy into it soon enough. Even when we win, McCollum in the post game always has a gripe or criticism and says we could be better. As much as I love Kirk, we can't be crying after every win, especially against nobodies like Nebraska, Minnesota, Purdue, or Northwestern. Winning should be expected in Iowa City if we want to start hoisting trophies. McCollum's philosphies are exactly what we've needed at the university. And I'm hoping it spreads to other sports.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

McCollum's philosphies are exactly what we've needed at the university. And I'm hoping it spreads to other sports.

Philosophy as in..........National Championship philosophy???

 

[eyesofhawk]

"People sit in mediocrity for a long time because they start to fall in love with really good. I probably had that happen to me when I was in, like, my seventh or eighth year. We went to three straight Sweet 16s and lost by one, two points. ... I always thought we were really good and close. Then I realized that was the biggest issue that we had, was the fact that we were settling for really good."

"Trying to go from really good to being great is something that is really hard to do, and our kids need to understand really good is not acceptable. It's actually worse than being bad."



As the season is drawn to a close and we wait for Selection Sunday, I wanted to present this quote to the board that comes directly from Coach. A new standard is being set in Iowa City. This is the kind of mentality that's been desperately needed for the university for a long time. If we want to be champions, we can no longer settle. Complacency leads to mediocrity. McCollum has experienced settling for really good, and has learned from it, which lead to multiple national titles. It's abundantly clear that those who are national champions in any sport have to have this killer instinct in order to succeed. See Cignetti as another example.

Do you think this is the right mentality to have?

That is 100% the right mentality to have IMO, and I feel that has/had long been missing with certain Iowa sports programs. I'm looking at you, football and men's basketball.

I love the hungry attitude. Why settle and not try to be better? May not end up BEING great, easier said than done.. But at least try to get there.

I just hope Ben can get the pieces he needs to be able to win.

Ben can speak for his own teams.

But there is absolutely no evidence that the Iowa football program has been "settling". To even suggest that is to disrespect a level of consistent winning that commands nothing but one's respect.

"Complacency"? From who? Nobody. I'm not sure you could say a more disrespectful thing about any Hawkeye athletic team.

To suggest that Iowa players and coaches don't have killer instinct is abundantly clueless

 

[eyesofhawk]

If I had a nickel every time I heard a podcast, sportscaster, or journalist call us the perennial 8-4/7-5 team, I'd have a shitton of nickels.

McCollum impressed Trey Thompson enough for him to join us at the 11th hour. I think he just needs more time to talk with recruits and implement his system, and things will start falling into place. When you instill the attitude of "good isn't enough", players will buy into it soon enough. Even when we win, McCollum in the post game always has a gripe or criticism and says we could be better. As much as I love Kirk, we can't be crying after every win, especially against nobodies like Nebraska, Minnesota, Purdue, or Northwestern. Winning should be expected in Iowa City if we want to start hoisting trophies. McCollum's philosphies are exactly what we've needed at the university. And I'm hoping it spreads to other sports.

If I had a nickel for every time someone has idiotically called Iowa football "mediocre".

It could be interpreted as "settling", as often as Ben refers to successes at smaller gigs.

Myself, I couldn't care less about his record at anywhere but Iowa.

I would much more prefer Ben to say, "we haven't done a damn thing at Iowa. And are just hungry to get the next win, to try to build something here at Iowa".

I have full confidence that Ben will do great things at Iowa. But it hasn't happened yet. To infer that a hall of fame coach needs to do things more like a guy that's in his first year, and barely snuck his team into the dance, is classic fan crap

 

[2D]

Philosophy as in..........National Championship philosophy???

I'd say so. When a reporter talks about the team's effort and they "played a really good team well", he always counters with "I want to win" or something to that affect. He never entertains the idea of moral victories. Knowing the coach has that kind of hunger to be better is always reassuring after a loss.

 

[eyesofhawk]

I'd say so. When a reporter talks about the team's effort and they "played a really good team well", he always counters with "I want to win" or something to that affect. He never entertains the idea of moral victories. Knowing the coach has that kind of hunger to be better is always reassuring after a loss.

I enjoy Ben's competitiveness as well.

But for the record, whether he said it or not, Ben's vibe after, I believe the Michigan game, was very much that of a moral victory. He was beaming.

Not feeling assured that every coach at that level is always hungry to get better, is to be completely out of touch

 

[Anon1751457816]

Philosophy as in..........National Championship philosophy???

Second place is the first loser

 

[Hawkangler]

If you are 2nd, you are last.

 

[Palmerhawk]

How long will Iowa fans put up with mere top 4 finishes and tourny bids which in Ben's eyes are meaningless because they are not championships?
Iowa is probably sitting at 18th in the league in 2026 recruiting ratings.
We are losing our 1st team all league ,1st round draft pick pg.
Unless Ben has a tremendous portal pickup spring, Iowa will be picked right near bottom of the league.
I like his " not settle" mentality but it could be severely tested in an unforgiving league the next couple of years.
Cignetti combined great coaching with ample resources to pull off a miracle.
Ben needs an infusion of 10 million to take another step up next season. Sad,but true.

 

[Slim45]

How long will Iowa fans put up with mere top 4 finishes and tourny bids which in Ben's eyes are meaningless because they are not championships?
Iowa is probably sitting at 18th in the league in 2026 recruiting ratings.
We are losing our 1st team all league ,1st round draft pick pg.
Unless Ben has a tremendous portal pickup spring, Iowa will be picked right near bottom of the league.
I like his " not settle" mentality but it could be severely tested in an unforgiving league the next couple of years.
Cignetti combined great coaching with ample resources to pull off a miracle.
Ben needs an infusion of 10 million to take another step up next season. Sad,but true.

We need 1 portal PG and we’ll be better next season. Even without a portal pg we’ll be fine with Combs running the show. Guys will step up without stirtz around

 

[TheGuy9]

If you are 2nd, you are last.

Nope. I can assure you that's not true. People in professional sports tend to get paid based on where they finish in a competition. Take Golf for instance. Finish first, make a million. Finish second make $450K. Finish last. Maje $3,234.
Big. Big difference there.
It's the same for almost every other sport. Take the NFL for example. Win the Superbowl make $178 K. Lose the Superbowl make $103K. Don't make the playoffs Make ZERO money.

Heck in college, it's the same. Many coaches have incentives above their base pay for achieving certain standards that don't necessarily require them to win the National Championship, and I am absolutely certain that players now have incentives or soon that will pay out something even if they don't finish first.

 

[83Hawk]

Nope. I can assure you that's not true. People in professional sports tend to get paid based on where they finish in a competition. Take Golf for instance. Finish first, make a million. Finish second make $450K. Finish last. Maje $3,234.
Big. Big difference there.
It's the same for almost every other sport. Take the NFL for example. Win the Superbowl make $178 K. Lose the Superbowl make $103K. Don't make the playoffs Make ZERO money.

Heck in college, it's the same. Many coaches have incentives above their base pay for achieving certain standards that don't necessarily require them to win the National Championship, and I am absolutely certain that players now have incentives or soon that will pay out something even if they don't finish first.

I believe hawkangler’s post went over your head.

 

[eyesofhawk]

We need 1 portal PG and we’ll be better next season. Even without a portal pg we’ll be fine with Combs running the show. Guys will step up without stirtz around

Sorry, but that's going to take a miracle.

If they were good enough to step up, it would have happened this season, as more help for Stirtz was needed.

Stirtz isn't holding anyone back. Rather he makes everyone better.

Guys like Koch, Folgueiras, Sage, and Jirak will continue to get better.

But a portal PG is an absolute must. The guard court was already thin this season, and the pro will be lost.

Roster must continue to be upgraded

 

[Slim45]

Sorry, but that's going to take a miracle.

If they were good enough to step up, it would have happened this season, as more help for Stirtz was needed.

Stirtz isn't holding anyone back. Rather he makes everyone better.

Guys like Koch, Folgueiras, Sage, and Jirak will continue to get better.

But a portal PG is an absolute must. The guard court was already thin this season, and the pro will be lost.

Roster must continue to be upgraded

If i went back i bet i could find some posts where your dumbass said we wouldn’t make the tournament this year either. But you ain’t worth the time

 

[onionman1]

I think too many people (recruits, most importantly) will refuse to buy into his mentality because either the stigma that is Iowa (for the recruits), or they are afraid of being hurt like every other time Iowa ever gets close to success (more for the fans/donors).

It perfectly describes Iowa football, and is slowly becoming the defining trait for wrestling as well.

The recruits who don't buy into this mentality - who don't even want to try to be great - aren't ones we'd want here anyway.

 

[onionman1]

Nope. I can assure you that's not true. People in professional sports tend to get paid based on where they finish in a competition. Take Golf for instance. Finish first, make a million. Finish second make $450K. Finish last. Maje $3,234.
Big. Big difference there.
It's the same for almost every other sport. Take the NFL for example. Win the Superbowl make $178 K. Lose the Superbowl make $103K. Don't make the playoffs Make ZERO money.

Heck in college, it's the same. Many coaches have incentives above their base pay for achieving certain standards that don't necessarily require them to win the National Championship, and I am absolutely certain that players now have incentives or soon that will pay out something even if they don't finish first.

In terms of $$, yes.

In terms of competition itself, there's only one winner and second place is indeed the first loser.

 

[eyesofhawk]

If i went back i bet i could find some posts where your dumbass said we wouldn’t make the tournament this year either. But you ain’t worth the time

Yes, but am I worth a bet?

 

[DukeSlater]

Ben can speak for his own teams.

But there is absolutely no evidence that the Iowa football program has been "settling". To even suggest that is to disrespect a level of consistent winning that commands nothing but one's respect.

"Complacency"? From who? Nobody. I'm not sure you could say a more disrespectful thing about any Hawkeye athletic team.

To suggest that Iowa players and coaches don't have killer instinct is abundantly clueless

Show us the quotes from Kirk where he has said anything similar to what McCollom said. When Hayden Fry took over a football program that hadn't had even a winning season in nearly 20 years, he said he had taken the job to break the stranglehold Michigan and Ohio State had on the Big Ten. He said he came to Iowa City to win conference titles and go to Rose Bowls. And in only his third year, without the portal, he did exactly that--won the first Big Ten title and Rose Bowl berth for the Hawkeyes in 22 years. In Fry's first season he admonished Iowa fans for cheering the team after close losses. He said that was the problem with Iowa . . . they forgot how to win and were satisified with merely being competitive now and then. Fry said that was unacceptable. He said his first job was to raise expectations and to teach players and fans what it took to win. And he did, following up with Big Ten titles in 1985 (when Iowa was No. 1 in the nation for half the season), and 1990.

Kirk Ferentz, OTOH, has always talked about being a developmental program. He's never publicly said anything anywhere close to what Fry and now McCollom have said. Instead, he's always seemed to accept that he's coaching little ole Iowa where you do what you can and don't expect too much.

Now I'll be looking for those bold quotes from Kirk. But I won't be holding my breath.

 

[QChawks]

That’s a great quote and all, but unless we find a bunch of AIL money soon, nothing‘s gonna be changing

 

[Tsawvell55]

Let me understand you all believe we have money for a portal pg but not enough for a hs pg. That makes 0 sense but someone explain that rationale, I could be persuaded, maybe.

 

[Slim45]

Yes, but am I worth a bet?

 

[Roncuba65]

Kirk Ferentz showed that he didn't care about titles @ Columbus in 2009.

 

[eyesofhawk]

Show us the quotes from Kirk where he has said anything similar to what McCollom said. When Hayden Fry took over a football program that hadn't had even a winning season in nearly 20 years, he said he had taken the job to break the stranglehold Michigan and Ohio State had on the Big Ten. He said he came to Iowa City to win conference titles and go to Rose Bowls. And in only his third year, without the portal, he did exactly that--won the first Big Ten title and Rose Bowl berth for the Hawkeyes in 22 years. In Fry's first season he admonished Iowa fans for cheering the team after close losses. He said that was the problem with Iowa . . . they forgot how to win and were satisified with merely being competitive now and then. Fry said that was unacceptable. He said his first job was to raise expectations and to teach players and fans what it took to win. And he did, following up with Big Ten titles in 1985 (when Iowa was No. 1 in the nation for half the season), and 1990.

Kirk Ferentz, OTOH, has always talked about being a developmental program. He's never publicly said anything anywhere close to what Fry and now McCollom have said. Instead, he's always seemed to accept that he's coaching little ole Iowa where you do what you can and don't expect too much.

Now I'll be looking for those bold quotes from Kirk. But I won't be holding my breath.

I don't care what any of them say or don't say.

Kirk has a hall of fame career full of results.

How many coaches talk about raising the level of the program and it never happens? How many coaches have raised the level of their program without ever talking about it?

You think Kirk punches above his weight for the high majority of 26 years at Iowa without high expectations? That's beyond laughable.

You can think whatever you want about Kirk. It doesn't change the fact that suggesting a hall of fame coach needs to do something more like a first year guy is classic fan crap

 

[Max Rebo]

So, how many years do we give Ben to win a title then? 2? 3? 5?

Much more than that and we’re “settling,” no?

 

[eyesofhawk]

Yeah I don't care for losing bets either.

Certain claims only go so far when archives exist

 

[MAXIMUSHAWKEYE]

That is 100% the right mentality to have IMO, and I feel that has/had long been missing with certain Iowa sports programs. I'm looking at you, football and men's basketball.

I love the hungry attitude. Why settle and not try to be better? May not end up BEING great, easier said than done.. But at least try to get there.

I just hope Ben can get the pieces he needs to be able to win.

I wish that Ben had the financial support that other schools enjoy. I have no doubt that Ben can coach with the best. He will continue to punch above his weight. The limiting factor is the money.

 

[MAXIMUSHAWKEYE]

Ben can speak for his own teams.

But there is absolutely no evidence that the Iowa football program has been "settling". To even suggest that is to disrespect a level of consistent winning that commands nothing but one's respect.

"Complacency"? From who? Nobody. I'm not sure you could say a more disrespectful thing about any Hawkeye athletic team.

To suggest that Iowa players and coaches don't have killer instinct is abundantly clueless

I would argue that KF settled when he refused to fire or demote Brian. He was absolutely way over his head. But I will give KF credit for finally getting it right with Lester and perhaps he will put out his best teams in his final years. The problem is we don't have the West anymore to rack up wins.

 

[eyesofhawk]

I would argue that KF settled when he refused to fire or demote Brian. He was absolutely way over his head. But I will give KF credit for finally getting it right with Lester and perhaps he will put out his best teams in his final years. The problem is we don't have the West anymore to rack up wins.

Seems pretty hard to feel like you're settling during your winningest handful of years.

No, not having the big ten west isn't a problem. Iowa was winning a lot of ballgames before the big ten west

 

[Slim45]

Yeah I don't care for losing bets either.

Certain claims only go so far when archives exist

Well the archives show that you’re an absolute tard that everyone laughs at on here while you bang the drum of fan superiority. Go ahead, carry on with your dipshittery

 

[The Big Z]

I wish that Ben had the financial support that other schools enjoy. I have no doubt that Ben can coach with the best. He will continue to punch above his weight. The limiting factor is the money.

Same with Kirk then?

 

[eyesofhawk]

Well the archives show that you’re an absolute tard that everyone laughs at on here while you bang the drum of fan superiority. Go ahead, carry on with your dipshittery

I will. Feel free to question anything that I actually say.

At least when it comes to football, if everyone is laughing at me, then I know I'm in the right place, as 85% of football fans are clueless about football

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

as 85% of football fans are clueless about football

Including you....at least you're humble enough to admit it.

 

[eyesofhawk]

I would argue that KF settled when he refused to fire or demote Brian. He was absolutely way over his head. But I will give KF credit for finally getting it right with Lester and perhaps he will put out his best teams in his final years. The problem is we don't have the West anymore to rack up wins.

Did you ever say Brian was way over his head before his last two seasons ?

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

Did you ever say Brian was way over his head before his last two seasons ?

 

[nu2u]

Did you ever say Brian was way over his head before his last two seasons ?

lol that was common knowledge.