Washington's Lorenzo Romar on TJ Otzelberger's Departure
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@TravisHines21: Tons of stuff on Iowa State recruiting and some thoughts on the Lorenzo Romar quote http://t.co/TMoUpxkJiC
“I think if you look in the next few months it will become pretty obvious,†Romar told the Seattle Times. “And I’ll just leave it at that.
â€That’s being interpreted by many as an indication ISU coach Fred Hoiberg is on his way out the door for the NBA soon.
Let’s all just slow down.
Romar could have certainly been insinuating that, but it’s a vague insinuation.
Here’s what I know: Hoiberg has publically been linked to a bajillion (approximate) NBA jobs in the past few years. It’s gotten to the point where (I believe) he’ll simply be attached at least tangentially to every opening in the immediate future just because front offices have to at minimum appear to be doing due diligence on a coach everyone believes could make for a fine professional option.
Also, the talk among coaches during the Final Four, which hosts the National Basketball Coaches Association Convention, was that Hoiberg’s future is in the NBA. Again, that’s a generally held thesis and prediction, not fact. The NABC convention is a place where coaches go look for jobs, network and, quite often, gossip. Hoiberg-to-the-NBA has permeated to the conversation where many just accept it as fact when everyone close to him I speak to accepts it as a possibility.
So maybe Romar knows something no one close to Hoiberg seems to. Or maybe he’s just connecting dots that media, message boards and pundits have already done for years.
The last thing I know is that ISU is a sure-fire top-10 and maybe top-five preseason team with national championship aspirations, at least one All-American, a potential NBA point guard, a 6-foot-9 shot blocking machine and a host of 3-point shooters helmed by one of the most respected young coaches in the game.
That seems like an attractive situation for any assistant, whatever the future of the head coaching position is.
- See more at: http://amestrib.com/hines-hoops/recruiting-and-romar#sthash.Rqac47Yg.dpuf
The Romar quote
Now, let’s step aside from recruiting for a second. Washington coach Lorenzo Romar has set the ISU corner of the Internet ablaze today when he responded to a question as to why assistant T.J. Otzelberger would return to ISU.
“I think if you look in the next few months it will become pretty obvious,†Romar told the Seattle Times. “And I’ll just leave it at that.
â€That’s being interpreted by many as an indication ISU coach Fred Hoiberg is on his way out the door for the NBA soon.
Let’s all just slow down.
Romar could have certainly been insinuating that, but it’s a vague insinuation.
Here’s what I know: Hoiberg has publically been linked to a bajillion (approximate) NBA jobs in the past few years. It’s gotten to the point where (I believe) he’ll simply be attached at least tangentially to every opening in the immediate future just because front offices have to at minimum appear to be doing due diligence on a coach everyone believes could make for a fine professional option.
Also, the talk among coaches during the Final Four, which hosts the National Basketball Coaches Association Convention, was that Hoiberg’s future is in the NBA. Again, that’s a generally held thesis and prediction, not fact. The NABC convention is a place where coaches go look for jobs, network and, quite often, gossip. Hoiberg-to-the-NBA has permeated to the conversation where many just accept it as fact when everyone close to him I speak to accepts it as a possibility.
So maybe Romar knows something no one close to Hoiberg seems to. Or maybe he’s just connecting dots that media, message boards and pundits have already done for years.
The last thing I know is that ISU is a sure-fire top-10 and maybe top-five preseason team with national championship aspirations, at least one All-American, a potential NBA point guard, a 6-foot-9 shot blocking machine and a host of 3-point shooters helmed by one of the most respected young coaches in the game.
That seems like an attractive situation for any assistant, whatever the future of the head coaching position is.
- See more at: http://amestrib.com/hines-hoops/recruiting-and-romar#sthash.Rqac47Yg.dpuf
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I don't know Fred personally, but I'd bet my meager life savings that he wouldn't leave Georges, Monte, Naz, etc and what they've built up to this point. Absolute worst case scenario, I see him coaching only one more year. I also doubt he wants his last college basketball game to be the UAB loss.
CycloneErik
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I'm not worried about Fred leaving and this is probably Romar's way of stirring the pot because he's not happy about losing his top assistant. Whenever Fred moves on to something else - and hopefully that isn't anytime soon - I would sure hope that we could hire someone better than TJ as head coach. Nothing against TJ but ISU is not the place to give him his first head coaching job IMO and this program has become one of the better programs in the country now that we should be able to land a proven head coach that has been successful at another major program when that time comes.
One question I DO have...
I'm curious as to why TJ's contract hadn't yet been renewed at Washington, yet people there seem stirred up by his departure?
Seems like a long time for a non tourney team to get a wanted commodity re-signed.
I'm curious as to why TJ's contract hadn't yet been renewed at Washington, yet people there seem stirred up by his departure?
Seems like a long time for a non tourney team to get a wanted commodity re-signed.
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No way Fred leaves this year, as many of stated. After that.....
TJ has been JP's guy for a while.
TJ has been JP's guy for a while.
Maybe Romar doesn't think TJ was all he was cracked up to be? In the same convo he goes on to talk about UW's good recruiting classes the next 2 years getting them back on track. You can just as easily read that he thinks his program will improve over the next few months/years, without TJ. He was clearly ok with TJ leaving. Weird that people take a quote from a question about one person, then draw all these conclusions about another person.
My guess, and only a guess, is that the whole staff at UW seats are getting a bit warm. No need to sign extensions to only have to pay them out later. I also believe that assistant coaches do not have really long contracts as a rule. I could be wrong though.
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I cannot buy Fred leaving.. Give up a great shot at being a Legend like Izzo, Mike K, etc... or maybe be okay with the Bulls? Not a chance he becomes a NBA legend. If he goes to NBA there is a 70% chance he wants back at ISU in 3-7 years.. which by then will have lost the momentum with recruits.. My opinion, but would be a terrible, short term gain, move.
CF offseason threads:
1- Enter a thread.
2- Choose a side.
3- Attack other side as being irrational.
4- GOTO 1 (for all you FORTRAN/BASIC users)
1- Enter a thread.
2- Choose a side.
3- Attack other side as being irrational.
4- GOTO 1 (for all you FORTRAN/BASIC users)
That'd be a huge mistake, 5 years ago, sure gambling on an unproven guy made sense but after Fred has turned things around. JP would be insane to not at least play the field. This job is the most attractive its been since JP has been here.
Right - but if it was up in May, what do they expect him to do? He sure as hell isn't going into next fall without a contract.
Not buying any of them are going to get fired. Only BVD fires people in May, and I don't believe he's the AD there.
Tend to agree with this. That some of our guys elected to stick around tells me something. I would be surprised that Fred would leave his guys with what they have going into next year. Would seem out of character IMO.
This is where I buy into the theory that many of us let emotion get in the way. I WANT to believe Fred wants to be the next Izzo or Coach K...but what I WANT and what he and his family may want could be very different.
Since we can't control it and nobody knows, let's just enjoy the thought of Fred being our coach forever.
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