Drake Hires Ben McCollum

[MissouriValleyUnite]

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story ... 106310007/

Drake just hit back-to-back home runs IMO. I'd be so excited if I was a Drake fan.

[DUBulldog]

Love the quotes from big name coaches. And, these are coaches that never worked with him or played against him.

"Ben McCollum is a special basketball coach who understands the connection between culture and winning. He possesses a rare combination of tremendous relational skills, extreme work ethic, an innate ability to evaluate and develop talent, and a terrific basketball mind. Drake has hit an absolute home run with this hire." – Marquette University men's basketball head coach Shaka Smart.

"Ben McCollum is an elite coach in every category I know of. He knows the game as well as anyone, both on offense and defense, but what separates him is the relationships he builds. That allows him to hold guys accountable to the highest standard of winning, but he doesn't just win championships, he builds programs that can sustain championship capabilities. I'm thrilled that Ben and his family get the opportunity to be at a dream school like Drake and have no doubt he'll have tremendous success." – Texas Tech University men's basketball head coach Grant McCasland.

"Ben McCollum is one of the best teachers and coaches in America, at any level. He is direct, honest, and incredibly passionate about helping players improve. Drake hit a home run." – University of Michigan men's basketball head coach Dusty May.

He is obviously known and respected within the coaching community

[TheDrake]

Count me in as very excited.

[Sir Sci]

Definitely think Drake made the right hire. Though I'm also ecstatic with Zo back at the helm at Missouri State, it's going to be interesting to see how these programs progress from this point since McCollum hypothetically could have been the choice at MO State as well (not saying he was one of the top two candidates Smart mentioned, nor am I presuming he would have picked MO State over Drake - just saying it was a hypothetical).

Naturally, McCollum will be taking over a top Valley program while Zo enters a situation where the team was ninth place so performance won't be purely who won in the head to head or who ended the season better. But if the Bears are still mediocre (or worse) while McCollum thrives, then that would be hard to stomach. And inversely, if the Bears take a leap forward while McCollum struggles to make the transition to D1, then that would vindicate the rehiring. But really, my preferred outcome would be that both teams succeed and both programs end up being competitors.

[MissouriValleyUnite]

Another Des Moines Register article
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story ... 175905007/

Huggins and Molinari were once finalists for the Drake job

And furthermore, I don’t know what Hardin’s candidate pool looked like, but I’m pretty sure former West Virginia coach Bob Huggins was not on the list. I bring up the Hall of Famer because back when the Bulldogs were searching for a Gary Garner replacement after the 1988 season, the candidates were Tom Abatemarco (who got the job), Jim Molinari and Huggs.

Wonder how heated Valley boards got during that search.

[DUBulldog]

Another Des Moines Register article
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story ... 175905007/

Huggins and Molinari were once finalists for the Drake job

And furthermore, I don’t know what Hardin’s candidate pool looked like, but I’m pretty sure former West Virginia coach Bob Huggins was not on the list. I bring up the Hall of Famer because back when the Bulldogs were searching for a Gary Garner replacement after the 1988 season, the candidates were Tom Abatemarco (who got the job), Jim Molinari and Huggs.

Wonder how heated Valley boards got during that search.

For a long time Drake had an amazing run of picking the wrong guy

Picking Howard Stacey instead of Denny Crum in 1971
Abatemarco instead of Huggins in 1989
Kanaskie instead of Homer Drew in 1997
Phelps instead of anybody with a pulse in 2008
Giacoletti instead of whoever else was in the mix in 2013 Two guys who wanted the job (and weren't even interviewed) were Darian DeVries and Nick Nurse

They've gotten the last 3 right, even if Niko bolted after one season. Different President and AD make all the difference in the world.

[TylerDurden]

Agreed. IMO, Drake hit the mark on both Niko and DeVries. I also think McCollum is a home run hire. It's to be seen how he'll do, but I don't have any reason to bet against that guy.

I was trying to think of another MVC school that did something similar.

I'd probably count SIU - Weber, Painter, Lowery - despite how it ended with Lowery.

There might be another, but I think it's been a pretty rare occurrence. Goes to show that hiring coaches can be a crapshoot.

[BUFanatic]

I’m surprised you spell out N1&@‘s name. I was so angry when he did what he did to Drake that he’s been dead to me ever since he left.

[Drakey]

Another Des Moines Register article
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story ... 175905007/

Huggins and Molinari were once finalists for the Drake job

And furthermore, I don’t know what Hardin’s candidate pool looked like, but I’m pretty sure former West Virginia coach Bob Huggins was not on the list. I bring up the Hall of Famer because back when the Bulldogs were searching for a Gary Garner replacement after the 1988 season, the candidates were Tom Abatemarco (who got the job), Jim Molinari and Huggs.

Wonder how heated Valley boards got during that search.

For a long time Drake had an amazing run of picking the wrong guy

Picking Howard Stacey instead of Denny Crum in 1971
Abatemarco instead of Huggins in 1989
Kanaskie instead of Homer Drew in 1997
Phelps instead of anybody with a pulse in 2008
Giacoletti instead of whoever else was in the mix in 2013 Two guys who wanted the job (and weren't even interviewed) were Darian DeVries and Nick Nurse

They've gotten the last 3 right, even if Niko bolted after one season. Different President and AD make all the difference in the world.

To be fair they tried to hire Homer Drew. I believe he took the job and then backed out. Kanaskie was a secondary choice.

[DUBulldog]

I’m surprised you spell out N1&@‘s name. I was so angry when he did what he did to Drake that he’s been dead to me ever since he left.

He’s usually referred to as PeeWee on the Drake board, due to his resemblance to PeeWee Herman.

In a way, he did Drake a favor by bailing. He’s been successful at CSU, but I don’t think he would have had nearly the success that DeVries had if he’d stayed at Drake.

But, he’s still a prick.