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 Thanks to commenter 'Jackie Treehorn' for this idea but since people are talking about Bob Knight coming back to IU, what about Scott Skiles as the guy who finishes out the season with IU once Sampson is let go? Kind of a 'Have clipboard, will travel' kind of deal? I know, I know...relax a little bit. I'm not 'breaking news', but just giving you something to talk about before the weekend.
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Here is what Skiles has going for him. He'd probably be fairly cheap
since he's still getting paid for by the Bulls, he has Big Ten
experience since he played at Michigan State, he's always talking about
Jud Heathcoate and how he influenced his coaching and.....he lives in Bloomington. That's right, he's walking around town right now. Esteemed commenter The GM
even said Skiles was in his store recently buying a rifle! You want to
see IU playing some intense defense??? Bring in Skiles. You want to be
entertained by a coach who isn't afraid to let his opinion to be known?
Your man is Skiles.
On the flip side, Skiles showed an inability
to get through to the Bulls younger players this season but did OK in
the past with Ben Gordon, Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich. Next, people have
been complaining all season about the offense IU is running and that
would be no different with Skiles, although he is supposedly a
mastermind at drawing up set plays out of timeouts. It's doubtful IU
would switch up their offense this late in the season to Skiles
patented 'drive and kick' strategy. Also, Skiles has never been a head
coach in college and while 'basketball is basketball', there is a
difference, sorry I'm not going to list the differences. Finally, since
Skiles is almost certainly looking for his next NBA head coaching job,
this would only be a hiring for the rest of the season with both
parties going their separate ways after the NCAA Tourney. I guess that
could actually be a good and a bad. Good because it would allow IU to
form a search party for their next coach and bad because of the whole
'four head coaches in four seasons thing'. Thoughts? |
4 Comments
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Interesting idea Jack. I'm on the fence as of now if this idea would make good reality for a few reasons:
Pros: (no pun intended)
1. Indiana Guy (born and raised)
2. Big 10 history (as you mentioned)
3. No nonsense type of coach
4. Hard nosed player and coach
Cons:
1. Skiles hasn't had to recruit day in and day
out for his players (only wine and dine for
a short time).
2. His temper won't work well with today's
youth.
3. If he succeeds at IU, will he make the jump
back to the NBA at the drop of a hat?
4. Personality to close to The General? Will
the admin. see it as the same old song and
dance?
Just a few thoughts for ya Jack. What do you think?
I'll admit that Skiles is a long shot...
-But if you gave Scott a go we'd have a top tier defense within a matter of a few weeks.
-The man has an off the charts basketball IQ.
-Big name recruits want a coach that will breed them for the NBA. What better man to do it than a guy that coached for one of the 3 or 4 best NBA franchises?
-No bullshit. If anyone could step into this shit storm and restore some dignity it would be Skiles.
That being said...I still think we should give Bruce Pearl the first look.
As I asked you before Jackie..... Can you imagine Pearl painting himself all in crimson? He'd look like the slasher in a Rob Zombie flick.
A few weeks ago, I mentioned to some friends at the lunch table my view of Scott Skiles. I went to high school with him and have followed his career with great interest. Indiana University would do itself a great favor by hiring him as their basketball coach. There are very tough times ahead for the program and it will take a man with "Ditka-like" qualities to guide them back to respectability. Skiles is a warrior searching for a war: he would meet the challenges that come about and back down from no one. He can and will recruit top prospects because he is honest and can get them to the professional level where he has played and coached. Hiring Skiles is what IU should do....it is the right move.