Report: T.J. Otzelberger headed for Iowa State

WhoISthis

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So, assuming it is TJ, can someone who has watched him at SDSU or UNLV give some analysis on what his teams' identity is like? I'm hoping for improvement in any of the following (maybe even more than one, just trying not to be greedy!): rebounding, defense, ball security, offensive sets, shot selection, shot making, clock management, player management, etc.
So far it’s been discount Hoiball. Not quite as efficient on offense, no where near as good on defense. His time at UNLV lacked identity imo. With a better staff hopefully that improves here.
 
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Tornado man

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Pollard is a great asset for Iowa State. We are very fortunate that he chose to be a Cyclone. Trust his judgment. He has a very tough job that he is very good at.
What does he know about basketball? Besides wins and losses, what? Hope he had a posse of bball insiders/experts to guide him.
 

werdnamanhill

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Eastern IA -> Raleigh, NC -> Madison, WI
To be fair, Iowa State fans cheered when Creighton took McDermott off our hands and he's been great for them.


True. After listening to CW and Blum's podcast, I am a bit more hopeful.

I think if TJ can recruit similar to Prohm, but be better at player retention and roster management, that could be a recipe for success.
 

NetflixAndClone

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So is everyone really mad at the TJ hire or that they feel robbed of the two week long spectacle that a coaching search brings? Flight trackers and speculation are huge fun on the message boards. If Pollard would make the assistant coach search a circus, would that make folks happier?
little bit of column A and a little bit of column B.

I think a lot more would be happy with TJ if JP did a big search with interviews over 2-3 weeks. If it sounded like TJ was the best interview and really sold his view of Iowa State I think more would be happy with the hire. There would still be some that don't think he proved his chance to get the job though.

This quick turnaround hire just reeks of, I know better than everyone else I will hire my friend like I wanted to the first time around. I think that is what is upsetting the most like myself.

If TJ is the best for the job great, but why not give someone else an opportunity to make a case before giving it to him?
 

RealisticCy

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TJ is an ok hire but it sucks we don't really have coaching searches, nice of JP to warn us though. His video yesterday basically said, I'm going cheap, you better be okay with it. He's done great things at ISU but man does he come off condescending every time he makes a decision he knows will be questioned.

He's a damn good AD but he turns into an arrogant little ***** remarkably fast......
 

cycloneworld

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You are exactly correct that Baby J biggest weakness is his ego. He has done good things in terms of facilities but only has one great hire and one lucky hire for the power sports despite numerous attempts. History says there is a greater chance this flops vs succeeds given his track record of hiring. That is his history.

Come on now. He hired the greatest coach in ISU football history and a basketball coach that had the most sustained success in ISU MBB history while locking up the greatest coach in WBB history. His coaching hires have been pretty epic when compared to his peers.
 

cyclone87

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I think UNLV would probably want this to happen as quick as possible so they can start looking for a new coach/staff and try to keep their roster and recruits in place. I would wait for our AD to confirm since it’s probably not 100% finalized if it is happening.
 
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jsb

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Believe me. They will be.

You are that confident he’s going to be super successful? What makes you think that? What evidence do you have?

I hope he’s successful. I have my doubts but I also realize I know nothing. You seem to think you know everything.
 

LLCoolCY

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Even if tj isn't a great in game coach, if he can retain players and manage the roster better...

it is key. The biggest benefit of taking the PR hit and just hiring TJ now is he can start that process before some of the current players eyes start to wonder. Plus the Transfer market is in full force right now as teams season end.
 

cycloneworld

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It's entirely possible and maybe likely that TJ came for an interview and a UNLV guy took that to mean he was offered and the job. UNLV is still saying it's still "speculative" at this point.

CBS Sports is also reporting its agreed upon but working through the details. My guess is UNLV released this to put pressure on ISU to get the deal done.

Nothing is done until its announced by ISU but certainly trending that way.
 
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Cymon

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He just fired an 0-18 coach two years after extending him. We couldn’t do worse this past year. It’s fair to say he’s as blind as anyone here in MBB.

Jamie came at the right time for an average AD to look better than they are. He’s not Prohm inheriting Hoiball bad, but we’ll be just fine without him
I'm guessing you weren't in Jack Trice with 9,000 other fans watching us get pummeled in football over and over. The AD has made leaps and bounds since JP took over.