Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - STUNNED: Why Darian Devries SPURNS Iowa Hawkeyes for Indiana Basketball job

Starting point is 00:00:00 Darren Vries is off to Indiana. Iowa does not get its top choice. Is it time to freak out today? Locked on Hawkeye You are locked on Hawkeye's your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeye's Part of the Locked On Podcast Network your team every day Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hey, welcome in. I'm Trent Condon and this is the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every day. We're available wherever you find podcasts. You can also find us on YouTube.

Starting point is 00:00:37 While you're there, make sure you hit that subscribe button. Just takes a moment and helps us get in front of more Hawkeye fans. Today's episode of the Lockeddown Hawkeyes Podcast is brought to you by the all new two thousand twenty-five Nissan Armada. Stay with us for the Armada team of the week later on in the episode. Well, the first big blow of the coaching coaching search happens earlier today as we find out that Darren DeVries was not a candidate anymore for the Iowa job. We were speculating about what that

Starting point is 00:01:09 meant and we find out that he is off to Indiana. So, this has led to a lot of consternation, a lot of frustrations, and we're gonna get into all of that here today. We're, of course, going to talk about some of the other candidates that make sense. Ben McCollum's certainly at the top of that list and the other candidates that make sense. Ben McCollum certainly at the top of that list and the big conversation that is happening right now. Beth Gatz, the new athletic director at the University of Iowa. Already plenty of angst out there. Is

Starting point is 00:01:34 she over her head? We'll talk about that here today but let's start at the top with Darren DeVries and as you've been listening here if you're an everydayer to the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast, over the last two months, it is no surprise that Darren DeVries was the A number one candidate for this job. It proved out to be that. I think we know, reading between the lines in this situation, what this was and the way that this was playing out. And very frankly, this was very close to the finish line of happening that Darren DeVries was going to be Iowa's next basketball coach. And we go back to selection Sunday and the shocking, shocking decision by the NCAA committee not

Starting point is 00:02:20 putting West Virginia in. When you have over 100 bracketologists and all of them have West Virginia in the field and they aren't selected, that shows you that maybe they didn't get this one exactly right. But what it did is it changed the timeline. And it changed the timeline where Beth Getz was going into the NCAA tournament with her two most understandable coaching hires. They might not be at the top of our list, but the ones that we all felt made the most sense. Darren DeVries, an Iowan for a long time, a lot of connections to the University of Iowa, connections to the state of Iowa, in so many different ways that that made a ton of sense. And then of course Ben McCollum, who still, as we sit here here today is at Drake University. Those were the top two. Those were the easiest candidates to get to. When we got to the end of the season, the decision frame of Caffrey was being let go. We thought that both of these teams were going to be playing in the NCAA tournament. And when that didn't happen, it changed it.

Starting point is 00:03:25 Look, if West Virginia was preparing for a game, even a first four game, this wouldn't be happening the way it is right now. And Beth Getz would still be sitting back, talking to agents, maybe having different kinds of conversations with Darren DeVries, but it didn't. Because Indiana was not going to wait.

Starting point is 00:03:44 Indiana wants to be able to hit the ground running and when the portal opens next week, they want to be able to go out there and use their huge war chest of funds to go out and get the best players. That's what they're going to have the ability to do. Again, timeline changed a lot in the way this is playing out. As I said, it was close to happening. But when Indiana heard no from a couple of their candidates, they continued to move. And when they got to Darren DeVries, they were able to offer a financial package that

Starting point is 00:04:19 wasn't close to what Iowa was. This is not Darren DeVries just saying no to his Dream Job. And where did this Dream Job stuff come from, by the way? I've seen so many people on message boards and social media. I've never seen it once acquainted actually to Darren DeVries. I've talked to people that know Darren. Yes, he knows what Iowa basketball could be. But Dream Job, come on. Where does this stuff come from? And it just manufactures itself. It builds on itself over and over and over again. That aside, he took Indiana because they could offer $5 million a year.

Starting point is 00:04:53 He is going to be one of the top 12 paid coaches in college basketball this year. I was not offering that. But most importantly, Iowa currently cannot offer what Indiana can as it pertains to NIL payments. It's as simple as that. Don't read more into this.

Starting point is 00:05:13 Don't believe that Beth gets that she got played by Darren DeVries. Indiana had to go down further their list. They want to have something happen quickly. They want to be ready to go. They won't want to be waiting for teams to play coming up this weekend. They want to be ready to go and be at the front of the line as it pertains to NIL. And Darren DeVries gave him the ability. And when he got $7 million compared to at best 3, 3.5, maybe 4 million from Iowa,

Starting point is 00:05:38 that is a huge chunk of change. And that's where we are. It's as simple as that. It's money. It's money for DeVries and it's money to pay the players. That's it. You don't have to go searching for any more answers. The answer to all of your questions is money. And it's the same thing here. It's about money as simple as that.

Starting point is 00:06:03 Darren DeVries is going to be able to do more with his roster at Indiana than he can at Iowa. And Iowa wasn't outmaneuvered financially by some podunk program here. This is a blue bunny. This is one of the top programs in the country, both on a financial sense and a historic sense. Yes, they've fallen on hard times. Yes, they made some bad hires. But boy, the defeatist attitude of some people in the Iowa community right now, Iowa fan, knock it off. You're looking like idiots.

Starting point is 00:06:34 Slow down. You missed. Have you watched anything that has happened in coaching searches across the country in a multitude of different sports. This is the way that it goes. There is another candidate out there. There is a candidate that, and can make a very strong argument, makes a whole lot more sense than Darren DeVries does for the University of Iowa. That's Ben McCollum. His Drake team is playing coming up this week

Starting point is 00:07:01 against Missouri in the NCAA tournament. This is a guy that has done more with less. That's what I was going to have to do going forward. And the crazy thing is, I know there's a group of people out there that thought the end all be all is daring to breeze. Let's slow down. There are plenty of coaches out there that can win and win at a place like Iowa with what they've been able to do and what it sounds like Beth gets has been able to build for their NIL chest.

Starting point is 00:07:31 They're not going to be a big spender. They're not going to be able to compete with Indiana. They're not going to be able to compete with some of the basketball programs out there at the Big 10 level that spend, but they're going to be better. And they can be better. Does it suck that it comes down to us as fans that we're the ones that are going to have to pay for this? Yeah, it does. But it's our reality for right now. We can sit here and complain, and we can whine about it, or we can do something. And the something that you can do right now is donate to the Swarm Collective and have those funds go to the men's basketball program.

Starting point is 00:08:07 Let's talk a little bit more about Beth Getz. Get into some of those other candidates. We got a lot going on here. Back at it after being away for a couple of days. My niece's baptism. Glad to be back with you here on the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. We came to you from the road over the weekend and back at it here. We will hit the ground running Of course, we got the women's basketball team in the NCAA tournament We'll talk about their opening round matchup and a path that looks pretty darn good. We got this coaching hire We got a lot happening here. I got some candidates maybe a little bit deeper down the board We need to talk about so much going on in Hawkeye athletics and we got you covered here on the Lockdown Hawkeyes Podcast we continue. We continue, we're

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Starting point is 00:11:40 Back with you once again on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast thanks for being with us. I'm Trent Conant. Glad to be talking a little Hawkeye sports with you and back on the road again as we get ready for where this coaching carousel takes us next. Beth Getz, behind the scenes, leading into what we talked about last week, that Darren DeVries is the leading candidate. He is many people's top choice. And many of the financial people, the people, the big donors, this is who they wanted. The connections to the state made a whole lot of sense. The people that Darren DeVries knew made a whole lot of sense. Those

Starting point is 00:12:22 were all things that were a necessity and bringing this together. Now, are there going to be some donors that if it was Darren DeFries were going to invest money, invest significant money? I'm sure there are a few, but don't look at this as some kind of death knell for the people that are there.

Starting point is 00:12:41 For what I continue to hear, Beth Getz has done a good job of generating that booster base and getting them involved and understanding that what we're doing right now isn't going to work. Iowa the lowest in terms of NIL budget for basketball. Maybe Minnesota was the only one of the public universities that they were outpacing. We can't allow that to happen anymore. Again, I was not going to be at the top, but you have to make up some ground. And they're doing that. They're working to make that happen. Couple other things on that surface. And what is happening to drum up the interest. And

Starting point is 00:13:23 the way this coaching search is going, now the people that are already making this an indictment, it's too quick for that. You got outbid. I think all of us have been there. Maybe you're playing poker, right? The guys just got you because they got more chips. That was the case with Indiana. They have more chips. So now what is next? What is next for Beth Getz? For the people that think, well, did she even have a plan? If she couldn't get the top choice, she must not have a plan for getting rid of frame of caffeine. No, that's not the way that these things go. Again, I point back

Starting point is 00:14:02 to any coaching search that has been out there. Yeah, people say no. This is a different environment than what we're used to. And now we're seeing mid-major coaches that make over a million dollars a year. So making the jump has to make sense. Then you throw in the NIL component. I was behind and they're working to close the gap. That's Beth Getz. That's her biggest job at this point. Yes, you got to make the right hire. And then we get into what is next. And the other code number one easy choice, name that's been bandied about the most, is Ben McCollum. Ben McCollum is a coach that has done incredible things.

Starting point is 00:14:48 Now, albeit only one year at the Division I level, at Drake, we look at the season that he put together, bringing four players with him from D2, including what turned out to be the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, and Garrett Sturtz. I know a lot of people look at the pace this year, and it was something that has concerned me, too.

Starting point is 00:15:10 Drake this year was the slowest team in the country, in terms of tempo. They held the ball offensively the most of anybody, again, to the end of the shot clock more than anybody. That's what you got. That's the way they had to play. They're not deep and the way that they're built that is the best way for them to go. But you also look at offensive efficiency numbers from before that at Northwest Missouri State. They're really good and I think it was maybe Iowa Hawkeye guy Dave on Twitter, something like that.

Starting point is 00:15:45 I had the numbers that looking back, going back to I think seven seasons at Northwest Missouri State, and that's what they were. So this is a team. They're never going to be fast. But if you win, that cares all. Ben McCullum wins. And for Iowa. And the way that Iowa is going to be, even with the improvements that they are working to make in their NIL budget for men's basketball. Even with that, Ben McCollum is the coach that very well could bring the most out of this program, that can get the most from what they are. There's a big contingent of Indiana fans that are apoplectic. That they have, Darren DeVries is their coach and they wanted Ben McCollum because they saw on the football

Starting point is 00:16:32 field, what a guy that came from a different kind of background, came from a place that well, you can't win bringing those kinds of guys along. And he did in Kurt Signetti on the football field. And they thought that Ben McCollum could be theirs. How great would it be if Iowa was able to get Ben McCollum? Iowa was able to get the guy that many Hoosier fans wanted, and he flip-flopped it. Who's going to be able to squeeze more out of the roster? Who's going to be able to do more going forward?

Starting point is 00:17:01 The pressure is going to be different for the Iowa coach compared to what the Indiana coach is definitely going to have to go by. And we understand that and Derivrize, he has set himself up for plenty of people that will be asking questions. And if it doesn't go well, it goes downhill in a hurry. As a lot of coaches found out here recently, semi-recently, the last 25 years at Indiana. Mike Davis plays for the National Championship, is gone within a couple of years. Tom Kareen has a number one seeded team, gone a year later. That's how things go at Indiana. Yeah, they'll support you financially, but they're also going to be quick to let you go. We know at Iowa, you get that job and you're at least competitive, you're going to have

Starting point is 00:17:50 a chance to hold onto that job for a really long time. You can't be a toddler, but if you're just pretty good, that's good enough. As a whole, we're ready for something new. We're ready for something new. We're ready for something different. The Framicafferee program at Grownsdale. Right wrong or indifferent, it's the reality. And for a lot of people, there's a lot of indifferent. And that's where we are.

Starting point is 00:18:18 Ben McCollum, Darren DeVries, neither of these guys are dynamic personalities. What you have to do is win. McCollum can win in Iowa City. He can do it without not having everything lavish like Indiana is going to have, like other programs that the Big Ten is going to have. I believe that he is that kind of guy. Problem? I was not the only coaching job open. So we got to come up with a few more

Starting point is 00:18:46 names. We will do that. McCullum's the easy one now. That's easy choice number two. Behind door two, Ben McCullum. After that, now we got to dive a little bit deeper. We'll do that as we continue. This is Locked On Hawkeyes. Scaling your businesses requires the right expertise at the right time. With Upwork, you can find specialized freelancers in marketing, development, design, and more. Experts ready to help you take your business to the next level. Upwork gives businesses flexibility by connecting them with top freelance talent across multiple industries, including IT, AI, web development, and marketing. Whether you need extra hands for a project or a long-term partner, Upwork makes hiring simple and affordable. If you need help with a marketing campaign, Upwork can connect you with a freelance expert who has delivered in the past incredible results. Posting a job is free and simple within a

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Starting point is 00:20:15 Upwork.com to connect with top talent and grow your business today. That's Upwork.com. upwork.com. The NCAA tournament is here and so is the bracket breakdown. Locked On Podcast Network and Amazon Fire TV channels are teaming up to deliver NCAA tournament coverage like never before. Watch studio shows featuring former players and Locked On's local experts as they guide you through every upset, buzzer beater, and bracket matchup. Stream it all for free on Amazon Fire TV

Starting point is 00:20:47 channel. Search bracket breakdown to see it all for free. It's your team every day. Tournament right around the corner looking forward to seeing all the everything that the guys have set up with that gonna be a whole lot of fun. Let's get back into it. Here are the Locked on Hawkeyes podcast and talk a little bit about what we have going on. So once we get past Ben McCullough, we got to go deeper. Now Chris Jans at Mississippi State. Jans is one of the highest paid coaches in college basketball. He's in the top 20 in the country. The financial commitment that would take to get a guy like that's gonna cost a lot. However, two things. First, Mississippi State is at the bottom of NIL funding in the SEC as a whole. Also, their basketball budget is very small in comparison. It's not to say that Iowa is going to be able to knock them out of the park, but the local connection, has he taken Mississippi

Starting point is 00:21:51 State as far as he believed he can? You look at their matchup obviously, what they have coming up this week in the NCAA tournament, they're sitting in an 8-9 game, which, okay, it's an 8-9 game, right? But then, as Mississippi State gets by in the opening round, they got Duke waiting for them. They beat Baylor, there's Duke. Probably not going to happen. Yes, upsets happen, I get it. As Chris Jans though, that's the question he has to be asking himself.

Starting point is 00:22:21 Is this the high water mark? He's made the tournament a bunch of times now at Mississippi State, but that's it. Local connection. Definitely a name. The phone call has to be made. Now, there's also a little bit of a background. And at a previous stop, we're talking about 15 years ago, had an incident at a bar with a woman and that's also another part of the conversation. But as a basketball coach, the dude's an absolute stud and definitely needs to be on the list that you're putting together. Look, financially, it could be a very simple note for him. And you look at the salary that he has, it probably is. But you have to make that phone call. Some other names. As you kind of go through this coaching list of who would make sense.

Starting point is 00:23:11 We talked about in the past a guy like Steve Forbes. Steve Forbes though, hard to generate a ton of excitement, right? Has not made the NCAA tournament now in four years awake for us. That's going to be a tough one. Ryan Odom at VCU, a lot of people think that he's going to be the guy that is going to get the job at Virginia. Porter Moser ended up taking Oklahoma to the NCAA tournament this year. He's another guy though that might be looking for an out. Finally made the tournament after four years at Oklahoma. Another team though, likely one and done. If it's

Starting point is 00:23:45 more than one it's not going to be better in two to one. And you go through the list from there then you're getting into the mid-major coaches. And a lot of people talking about Alan Hus. He's got a connection to the McDermott regime and because of that people are trying to connect some dots. Really good offensive coach. Of course we just went through that and maybe some people are saying no but he's done a really good job at high point and doing it a place that it's not exactly easy to win. You could go that direction. Eric Olin out at UC San Diego they're kind of the apple of a lot of people's

Starting point is 00:24:24 eye. They've been building this moment. Last couple of years, he's been there as a transition and the Tritons have turned into a D one program finally eligible this year for the NCAA tournament. They're going to get Michigan right away. So a lot of people are definitely talking about that one. Would that be something that would make sense? It's still a stretch. Like when you're talking about so many of these different teams, it's a stretch when you're talking about going for that mid-major level and making the jump up of what it's going to be and what it's going to look like. And that's where we continue to kind of go down these conversation path to what it's

Starting point is 00:24:56 going to look like. Eric Henderson, he's done a great job of South Dakota State. Made the tournament a couple of times, 21 seasons basically every single year. He also inherited a program that T. J. Otzelberger had running at a high level and seeing South Dakota State as a whole has been really good now for a while at the mid-major level. Scott Nagy before, Otzelberger, their tournament team. Has Eric Anderson did anything different? Probably not this season. Chris Crutchfield gets Omaha to the tournament for the first time ever out of the Summit League. These are mid-major coaches that are hard to get overly excited about. I don't think we're going to have to get to this point. That we're going through the mid-major

Starting point is 00:25:45 ranks and looking and hoping McCullum, again, different conversation. But this next tier, this lower tier of candidates, I don't believe we're going to have to get there. I don't. The Big Ten as a whole. We know financially the SEC and the Big Ten are in a completely different stratosphere. You gotta get the NIL funds up. You have to be able to spend the money. And I think Iowa is going to be competitive. Not able to be in Indiana as we found out today, but gonna be able to be competitive. We'll be back with you tomorrow. We'll update things. Also coming up later this week, we will have a full preview of everything happening with the NCAA Wrestling Tournament. We'll preview

Starting point is 00:26:25 the Hawkeyes. We're going to be talking with our guy Zach Saco from Lockdown Knitting Lions, also our host from Lockdown Oklahoma State. All three of us are going to come together. We're going to preview the National Wrestling Tournament for you coming up. We got to get ready for the Iowa Women as they make their way down to Norman, Oklahoma to take on Jenny Branchek and Oklahoma likely in the second round. I was got to get past Murray State first. We'll preview that matchup as well. Action packed each and every day. We are with you. Your team every day here on the Lockdown Network. Thanks for being with us and always making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. For your second listen, make sure you

Starting point is 00:27:00 checked out Lockdown College Basketball with Isaac Schoddy and Andy Patten. March is here and be the most informed college basketball fan all throughout the madness. Find Locked On College Basketball on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. We got you covered. Anything happens, anything changes in the Iowa coaching search, we'll be right with you on Locked On Hawkeyes. Thanks for being with us here today. We'll talk to you again tomorrow. Until then, go Hawks!

Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - STUNNED: Why Darian Devries SPURNS Iowa Hawkeyes for Indiana Basketball job

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