Bill Fennelly

Sometimes it feels like people on CF only want suck ups to write about Iowa State. I like the reporters for CF, but they aren't often critical of coaches or players.
Iowa media, and especially a media business built on being a fan, is not going to push hard on a women's basketball coach who essentially created the program from scratch. I always laugh at the folks who expect the media to challenge coaches like they're covering the Boston Celtics.
 
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I’ll use the situation of Denae Fritz going to Baylor. Promised big things and spent a year in misery. I’m not sure money is worth that. If you’re going to transfer, which I doubt she will, find a place that’s a fit and offers decent moolah.
Life is about trying things and being uncomfortable, especially when your young. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't, but if you don't try, you'll never know. Understand your value, clarify the offer and what it means , and get your buck while getting some fresh air. AB is capable of being successful, anywhere if the expectations are understood. I think being pushed by a better coach would only make her more money, post graduation.
 
Do we think his seat is warm? Is he our Kirk Ferentz of WBB?
I would guess crooks is gone and probably brown as well. Why would both come back when the same thing has happened three years in a row. Crooks is a special offensive player, but needs much better talent around her to hide her defensive deficiencies. You can argue that crooks brown and Williams are the only three athletes on the team. Crooks is such a huge liability that we can't full court press if we get behind because she can't get back. It's time to blow this up and start over because next year will be the exact same thing. We will beat up lesser talent, but get our butts beat when we play good teams, and we will end up in more mediocrity.
 
As a fan it would suck to lose her, but if I'm Audi I'd absolutely take the bag.

The W is a really hard league to make it in. Ashley Joens is a good analogy. She was also an elite scorer in college but an overall much more versatile player than Audi, and she couldn't make it.

She was a high-end 3 level scorer & a sensational RBer, especially for a guard….

But to play in that league, you have to be at least an above average scorer and an above average perimeter defender, or….an otherworldly scorer & elite playmaker.
 
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I have a gut feeling, hope I’m right, we might only lose 1 or 2. My biggest worry is that Addy will get some pressure to find a better support situation for improvement to have a good pro career. But she knows better than anyone else how much her health has impacted the growth in her game. I think Audi values her connectedness too much to leave. I think all the talk about how close this team is is very real. One or two key SO or JR additions (defense!) could really make us a great team next year.
 
One of the lessons I learned first hand in my career is that money isn’t everything and is way down the list compared to being happy with your job and the people you work with.

Bingo…. when you’re 30 and even 40 it seems pretty important. When you’re 50+ you realize it never really was that important.

Now, that’s easy for a fat, balding, middle-aged white man to say… But there’s a lot of things in my life that if I could change (don’t actually foster regret, its useless ) money would be way down at the bottom of the list of things I considered.

Jesus Christ, family, family, family & friends would come way before
 
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I have a gut feeling, hope I’m right, we might only lose 1 or 2. My biggest worry is that Addy will get some pressure to find a better support situation for improvement to have a good pro career. But she knows better than anyone else how much her health has impacted the growth in her game. I think Audi values her connectedness too much to leave. I think all the talk about how close this team is is very real. One or two key SO or JR additions (defense!) could really make us a great team next year.

In my opinion, Addy is the one that matters. As I’ve now preemptively said 50 times I’m a big Audi Crooks fan. When she’s rock’n & rollin’ her and the Cy- ladies are fun to watch and she’s a joy of a human being… But I believe Addy Brown is a future WNBA player with the right growth and she would be a monumental loss. More so than Audi in my opinion.
 
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The lowest seed ever to win the NCAA women's tournament is 3. 16 different teams...total...have ever won the title. Heck, only 20 unique ones have lost the title game!

The NCAA tournament and the elite tier of college basketball is not an open tournament. Its title should not be the goal of most teams. The discrepancy is much too great. Early round wins and conference tournament success is the unspoken objective of every sane coach who isnt at UCONN, South Carolina or not named Muffit McGuillicuddy, victim of circus pants.

So last season for the Cyclones was successful. This one was not. They didnt crush Syracuse and should have. They played like crap in the real tourney. Too bad.
 
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If they cant woo Jennie Baranczyk or Mark Campbell, we could do much worse than Billy.

Jennie isn’t leaving OU to get less NIL, nor is Campbell and the coach that left Florida Gulf Coast (Karl Smesko) after 20 years to go to the WNBA. Shows there are way more coaches in women’s college basketball than casuals would realize. Never in 100 years would I pick anyone currently on Iowa State staff over many many many options.

There are several very good women’s basketball coaches right here in the Midwest
 
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The lowest seed ever to win the NCAA women's tournament is 3. 16 different teams...total...have ever won the title. Heck, only 20 unique ones have lost the title game!

The NCAA tournament and the elite tier of college basketball is not an open tournament. Its title should not be the goal of most teams. The discrepancy is much too great. Early round wins and conference tournament success is the unspoken objective of every sane coach who isnt at UCONN, South Carolina or not named Muffit McGuillicuddy, victim of circus pants.

So last season for the Cyclones was successful. This one was not. They didnt crush Syracuse and should have. They played like crap in the real tourney. Too bad.

Unfortunately, this is 1,000,000,000% true
 
Jennie isn’t leaving OU to get less NIL, nor is Campbell and the coach that left Florida Gulf Coast (Karl Smesko) after 20 years to go to the WNBA. Shows there are way more coaches in women’s college basketball than casuals would realize. Never in 100 years would I pick anyone currently on Iowa State staff over many many many options.

There are several very good women’s basketball coaches right here in the Midwest
That's fascinating. Name one that could helm one as massive as ISU.

Just one.
 
EXACTLY. And these are 2nd tier coaches. The gap between 1st and second is huge but once you realize you have to drop to 3rd...Fennelly looks much much better.
Im getting way ahead of myself because Bill isn’t going anywhere, but…

We have the model that works at ISU now. We need coaches who can instill the “controllables” into the team: full effort all the time. We won’t have the best talent or the highest budget (but I repeat myself). Coaches who can identify underrated players and get maximum effort out of them can have success at ISU.

We need to find that coach on the women’s side who fits within our price range.
 
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EXACTLY. And these are 2nd tier coaches. The gap between 1st and second is huge but once you realize you have to drop to 3rd...Fennelly looks much much better.
If your bar is to only look at poaching coaches from the top of the P4 then no we can't afford them.

We could have afforded Molly Miller before ASU got her. Right now, we could afford Kaya Karuis from Green Bay who has went 54-14 in her two seasons there.
 
EXACTLY. And these are 2nd tier coaches. The gap between 1st and second is huge but once you realize you have to drop to 3rd...Fennelly looks much much better.
To some maybe...but not to everyone! Some see a guy who gives the effort of a semi-retired guy. Some see him as a coach who just doesn't mesh with today's game. Some see a guy who is living off of past success. A young, aggressive coach looks pretty good in comparison. Doesn't guarantee anything though...but what does Fennelly bring to the picture? Success from the late 90s/early 00s?
 
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