Coaching Changes 2020

[MissouriValleyUnite]

ISU MBB Budget Rank - 208

Year - KenPom
11 - 108
12 - 137
13 - 92
14 - 108
15 - 169
16 - 168
17 - 199
18 - 138
19 - 208
20 - 117

1 NCAA, 2 NITs, 1 20-point IU beatdown. Outperformed budget 9/10 years, 8/10 years by 35+ spots. 2 freshman bigs >8 PPG. Arrow’s up and few get more juice per squeeze than Lansing.

[tribecalledquest]

ISU MBB Budget Rank - 208

Year - KenPom
11 - 108
12 - 137
13 - 92
14 - 108
15 - 169
16 - 168
17 - 199
18 - 138
19 - 208
20 - 117

1 NCAA, 2 NITs, 1 20-point IU beatdown. Outperformed budget 9/10 years, 8/10 years by 35+ spots. 2 freshman bigs >8 PPG. Arrow’s up and few get more juice per squeeze than Lansing.

Exactly. It's the worse job in the MVC on many levels. Lansing has kept them competitive more years than not and has won more than anyone since Larry Bird was on campus. Be careful what you wish for.

[mvfcfan]

Is the Indiana State AD still Greg Lansing's wife?

No. They actually got divorced a few years ago. She does still work in the athletic department and is sort of second in command around there. When Prettyman left she was the interm-AD until they hired Clinkscales. I wouldn't trust any of his hires. He hasn't exactly impressed me as our AD. Our local TV guy told me that Clinkscales wants him gone, and I am going to assume his ex-wife wants him gone too. I would say barring a miracle he will he gone after next season.

[Lusuperfan1]

Bump.

I've always thought Lansing was one of the better coaches in the league, even before today's game. I'm still not sure he survives if InSU is for whatever reason a Thursday team because you have to either extend him or fire him in March to avoid a lame-duck year. There's an old Bill Walsh quote where he talked about not being any place more than 10 years because the organization needs a fresh perspective (paraphrasing here obviously). That might be what Indiana State needs, but again I'm not on the ground there so I'm not the best source. Perfect world honestly, he gets fired at InSU, Porter loses an assistant, and hires Lansing for his staff bringing in a good basketball mind with really solid Indiana recruiting ties and knows the Valley.

Edit: didn't realize ISUb is that high in the standings. I got lazy, saw ISU and kinda assumed it was Illinois State given recent history and I forgot they're rebuilding this year lol

[Bulldog2323]

If you read the feature from The Athletic from a different thread, you'll see Lansing has moved from 5 year revolving contracts to next year being a contract year for him baring an extension before then.

[Milanmiracle]

No offense to those schools but if ISUb or Valpo won't buy out one year of a lame duck coach, that doesn't bode well for how they can compete in the Valley.

Personally, I don't think Valpo escapes Thursday, so if I'm them, I think you have to eat that final year of Lottich's contract and go back to Bryce. He'll be looking to get back into coaching after a year of doing nothing. The Drew family looms large at that school. Plus, he won't be unemployed for long. Gotta strike while the iron's hot.

I don’t think there’s any chance Valpo buys out Lottich, no matter how the season ends. It’s not their style. Go back and look at Homer’s first four years and you’ll see what I mean. They kept the football coach for years despite obvious and utter ineptitude. Same with other coaches at the university, you’re likely to finish your contract there, for better or worse.

As for Bryce, I’m not sure he wants to come back, and I’m not certain they would welcome him with open arms either. I could be way off here, but I think there was some animosity on how he left, as well as his frustrations with the lack of improvements to the program. Again, I could be way off here. If Bryce were willing to come back, that would be a big step up for the program.

IF Lottich is let go now, or in the future, the next Valpo coach should be Greg Tonagel at Indiana Wesleyan University. He developed the program from nothing and has won everywhere he’s been in his basketball career, from high school final 4, to 4 NCAA tournaments to 3 national titles. If he’s willing to come, you’d not get a better coach. Both Homer and Bryce recommended him according to newspaper articles, as well as a former Valpo assistant. He didn’t get an interview the last go round.

[VUGrad1314]

The fact that Tonagel wasn't even granted an interview was SUCH an egregious mistake that might come back to bite Valpo if they do end up looking for a new coach. Some think he's not a fit for the Valpo culture but I don't think I buy that at all and he ought to be on the short list of candidates if we search again. There's division among the Valpo fanbase as to whether the bad blood that may have existed is still there or not. Our list should be:

Bryce

Tonagel

Diebler

Ragland

Gore

Just off the top of my head

[CheeseheadCrusader]

If Tonagel wants to be a D 1 HC he needs some experience on that level. He has nothing left to prove at IWU yet he hasn’t sought out an assistant gig at a higher level. You don’t go from NAIA to a top ten D 1 conference. Regardless of his ties to the school, Valpo would be laughed out of the league if they made that hire and rightfully so.

[Milanmiracle]

If Tonagel wants to be a D 1 HC he needs some experience on that level. He has nothing left to prove at IWU yet he hasn’t sought out an assistant gig at a higher level. You don’t go from NAIA to a top ten D 1 conference. Regardless of his ties to the school, Valpo would be laughed out of the league if they made that hire and rightfully so.

Actually he turned down both Bryce and Lottich according to reports in the paper when they offered Greg an assistant coaching position at Valpo. If you believe Valpo would be laughed out of the conference for hiring a wildly successful alumni as their coach, I can’t help you. Bo Ryan went from Wisconsin-Plattville to 2 years at Milwaukee (30-27) to Wisconsin, a MUCH better conference than the MVC. Steve Alford went from DIII Manchester to SW Missouri St in, yep, the MVC. Bruce Pearl went from DII Southern Indiana to Milwaukee. There are more, but I’ll stop now. I evaluate coaches by their abilities, not by some hierarchy that says they have to be an assistant at a D1 school.

*Technically he was already an assistant at Valpo during his 6th year when he was listed as a player coach, and his knees were so bad he couldn’t practice. Only injuries to teammates forced him back into playing.

[BCPanther]

I don't think it's fair to judge Lottich until he has a budget, facilities and a home arena that fit into the league he's in