I have no predictions for the season, still early but it is fun to watch and look forward to Cyclone basketball again. I was a pretty diehard fan, was at ISU when Orr came and got things started. Followed them for years as I moved around the country, grad school, jobs etc. Live in rural Mississippi for the last 20 some years, Cyclone basketball was the main reason I got cable TV. Planned my week around games. Last couple of years were really soul-crushing, got to the point I didn't even know if they were playing, didn't really care. I'd watch if I noticed a game was on, but was hard to watch that product. I wasn't a big fan of the way the TJ hiring happened, but really didn't care, I didn't think resurrecting John Wooden himself would really help in the short term. So fun to be excited again and make sure I know when the games and don't miss a one. Win or lose, fun to watch.. well we haven't lost yet so that is easy to say LOL.
What a difference a year can make.
- Thread starter Mississippi Clone
- Start date
Curious why you and others weren't a fan of the "way the TJ thing happened". JP had his man and knew he was a perfect fit from TJ's last tenure at ISU. It happened kind of similar to how the Hoiberg hiring happened. If Jamie was just hiring a friend, TJ would have had the job when Prohm got it. TJ was probably unqualified for the job back then, but has grown since. I'm sure there will eventually be a losing streak this season, but this team and coach have already exceeded all reasonable expectations.
This team plays hard and hustles. Not sure that can be said about maybe the past two teams. But, winning makes things always seem better.
Maybe the thread title needs to be: What a Difference a Coach Can Make!
I am one of those "others" myself. I said last winter/spring that I was okay with TJ being on the "short list", but that I did not want him to be THE short list. Obviously, so far he has been a perfect hire, but I think this is the sort of situation that reasonable minds can disagree on without being disagreeable. TJ has shown himself to be a great hire so far, but I think the concerns over him being handed the job within the first couple of days after Prohm's dismissal without other candidates even being interviewed (as far as we know) were also valid at the time.
I was just a little uncomfortable with how quick it happened, I wasn't mad they hired TJ and obviously now it was a great hire. I just thought it seemed a little rushed, and i was a little offended as a guy who contributes like $100 a year that Jamie didn't call me personally for my opinion LOL..
I DID want us to take a look at Craig Smith. Also Dennis Gates, from Cleveland State. I thought at the time it might be worth it to kick the tires on gauging Mark Turgeon's interest.
As I wrote above, TJ ended up being the perfect hire. He's absolutely blown me away and even just 8 games in has far exceeded my initial expectations.
People assume a lot of things, like every hot name wants to come to Ames, IA to rebuild a program at its lowest. Fans tend to overestimate the allure of the ISU BBall job, especially when it comes to not having any connection to the program or AD.
To be fair, Jamie wanted to hire TJ at that time as well but Leath wouldn't allow it. While you'd certainly get no qualms from me that he's a much better coach today than he likely was then, he certainly would have done more with the roster he inherited than Prohm did. IMO, how it would have went down is similar to Scott Drew's first several years at Baylor where he won a lot of games while mastering his craft.
I'd love to know what's going through Prohm's mind right now. After watching this rapid turnaround, he's probably contemplating selling insurance rather than coaching.
Probably just checks his bank account to make sure all's well.
