Jan 3rd-4th MVC games

[mvcfan]

Here is Ford's bio at TSU. It is interesting that he left WSU (as fulltime Assistant) within 8 months of time. "We barely knew ye" He sure claimed more than his share of credit for the Top 20 ranking, and #4 seeding in the NCAA Tournament for not even staying one year on the staff.
He had served Marshall as a Grad Asst. for two years at Winthrop and WSU and he sure mentions them for his success more than ISUR. He even served at Chipola under Greg Heier. I almost forgot that Chris Jans was at Chipola with Heier and was an Asst. Coach at WSU helping Ford get the Chipola job. The last connection to WSU was John Cooper is a graduate of WSU.

The announcement will signal a homecoming of sorts for Ford who was an assistant under former TSU coach John Cooper from 2009-2011.
Ford was instrumental in recruiting talented classes for the Tigers including players who went on to have professional careers in Robert Covington and Kellen Thornton. TSU went 20-13 in Ford’s last season, including the upset of previously unbeaten Murray State.

After his success with the Tigers, Ford became an assistant at Wichita State in 2011-12, helping head coach Gregg Marshall guide an NCAA Tournament team to a final Associated Press ranking of No. 18. The Shockers were 27-6 overall and claimed the 2012 Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship.

Ford then joined the Illinois State coaching staff for the 2012-2014 seasons, where he assisted in the Redbirds’ 36-31 mark that included an appearance in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) semifinals. He was ISU’s recruiting coordinator and managed players’ academic progress along with his coaching duties.

Before TSU, he served as an assistant coach at Chipola Junior College (Fla.). While there, he helped lead Chipola to an impressive 35-2 overall record, its sixth-consecutive Panhandle Conference Championship with a 12-0 record, its fifth FCCAA State Championship in 10 years and a third-place finish at the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Tournament

Prior to Chipola, Ford served two years as a graduate assistant under Marshall at Wichita State and Winthrop. While at Winthrop, the Eagles captured their first NCAA Tournament win, defeating Notre Dame and finishing the season ranked No. 22 in the Associated Press and USA Today Top-25 polls.



A 2006 graduate of Illinois State, Ford earned a Bachelor of Science degree in political science. While at ISU, he was a four-year letterwinner from 2002-06 and was voted the squad's defensive player of the year after being ranked in the MVC top-10 in both steals and blocks.

[2livewu]

Dana brought Fred to Gregg.
He should get a statue.

Yeah, you're really not as smart as you think you are. We were in on Fred long before Dana arrived.

Chris Jans was by far and away the most important contact there.

[Rollbird5]

Dana brought Fred to Gregg.
He should get a statue.

Yeah, you're really not as smart as you think you are. We were in on Fred long before Dana arrived.

Chris Jans was by far and away the most important contact there.

Found this from an article talkin about wsu final four run.

There's freshman guard Fred VanVleet, who said he virtually ignored about 30 calls from then-Wichita State assistant Dana Ford before he finally decided to hear his pitch about the mid-major program VanVleet knew little about. He made the 10-hour drive from Rockford, Ill., to Wichita in a small car with his AAU coach, Doc Cornell.
"I was not really too interested in driving 10 hours to see them," VanVleet said. "Like most people, I didn't know anything about Wichita State or where it was at. They convinced me to come and I loved it. We fly in private jets everywhere. It would be a high-major if it had a different name."

Sounds like once he finally heard Dana's pitch he decided to visit and fell in love with it

[Championz]

I see he used the word "they". I also see amenities, such as flying private jets everywhere, was a big factor in his decision-making. It sounds like the school resembling a major program was pretty important to him.

Unless I'm misinterpreting and Dana Ford owns a private jet?

[Rollbird5]

I see he used the word "they". I also see amenities, such as flying private jets everywhere, was a big factor in his decision-making. It sounds like the school resembling a major program was pretty important to him.

Unless I'm misinterpreting and Dana Ford owns a private jet?

Yea your exactly right. I was responding more to 2livewu's comment that wsu was in on fred long before Dana arrived. From the blurb from the article I posted it made it sound like he wasn't considering wsu very hard but once he finally heard Dana's pitch he decided to come visit, which got the ball rolling to see the other things that you mentioned and ultimately decide it was the place for him.

[WhiskeySierraUniform]

I hope Dana is enjoying his 3-13 season with 1 win over a D-1 opponent (Kennesaw St.).

[Cdizzle]

I hope Dana is enjoying his 3-13 season with 1 win over a D-1 opponent (Kennesaw St.).

He'll get it turned around. I can see people trying to get in Marshall's corner on this one, but at the end of the day, there is also a reason Marshall hired this guy like 3 times. Now, if I was a fan of a team he was coaching, I would not have high expectations of him sticking around after a good year.

[Redbird Recon]

Dana brought Fred to Gregg.
He should get a statue.

Yeah, you're really not as smart as you think you are. We were in on Fred long before Dana arrived.

Chris Jans was by far and away the most important contact there.

This article says you weren't: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nc ... /19336567/

I can find plenty of articles that say Dana was the point-man for Fred's recruitment.
Just curious, do you have any that disagree with that assessment?

[2livewu]

Dana brought Fred to Gregg.
He should get a statue.

Yeah, you're really not as smart as you think you are. We were in on Fred long before Dana arrived.

Chris Jans was by far and away the most important contact there.

Found this from an article talkin about wsu final four run.

There's freshman guard Fred VanVleet, who said he virtually ignored about 30 calls from then-Wichita State assistant Dana Ford before he finally decided to hear his pitch about the mid-major program VanVleet knew little about. He made the 10-hour drive from Rockford, Ill., to Wichita in a small car with his AAU coach, Doc Cornell.
"I was not really too interested in driving 10 hours to see them," VanVleet said. "Like most people, I didn't know anything about Wichita State or where it was at. They convinced me to come and I loved it. We fly in private jets everywhere. It would be a high-major if it had a different name."

Sounds like once he finally heard Dana's pitch he decided to visit and fell in love with it

I didn't say Dana wasn't involved. I corrected your opinion with fact. Dana didn't deliver Fred. He was involved sure. Jans did the heavy lifting and follow up. Dana was usually chasing skirt.

[2livewu]

Dana brought Fred to Gregg.
He should get a statue.

Yeah, you're really not as smart as you think you are. We were in on Fred long before Dana arrived.

Chris Jans was by far and away the most important contact there.

This article says you weren't: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nc ... /19336567/

I can find plenty of articles that say Dana was the point-man for Fred's recruitment.
Just curious, do you have any that disagree with that assessment?

I have first hand fact.