@valpotx Makes sense. MVC is a top 10 (or top 9 depending on what stats you look at) in the country. 2nd behind the P6 + MWC and A-10. I personally count the MW as a power conference now that the PAC-12 is gone. The move to the MVC, while coming at the worst possible time, was actually a huge boost for the program as a whole in terms of national conference stage.
Ben McCollum to Drake.
This is a good hire. Bet some Drake players in the portal come back in out of the cold (except you know who).
It is interesting that it took this long for someone to pry him away from NW MO State. Long-term success at one of the top D-2 schools. We've seen several examples of successful D-2 coaches making that transition to a strong mid-major program, such as Schertz with ISUb, who recently withdrew from the Louisville job consideration
@valpotx I have been watching NW Mo St the past few years as my daughter goes to school there. Ma y of you were giving me all in jest grief when I brought up his credentials in the past as a D2 coach. Ben McCollum was waiting for the right opportunity and was not actively searching. My feeling is that Ben has a decent feel for recruiting in the region and will be successful at Drake.
McCollum has a great shot at being successful but I doubt he gets reaction from those transferring out of "oh wait, I've got to get back there".
If Shertz is gone from ISU after tonight’s game, I’m guessing that they move quickly to make Matt Graves the head coach to keep most of the team in tack. Over 20 years in coaching, including head coaching experience and a couple years as an assistant in the Big East.
News outlets this morning report Josh Schertz will announce his departure to St. Louis with a contract worth $12-million for six years plus incentives. It remains to be seen how many better players may follow and exit Indiana State, a demise of the existing team made possible by developments in the last two decades. The Sycamores this season have been a wonder to watch, both on and off the court, and they now can be seen as an example of the best and worst of college basketball.
On the positive side, a relatively unknown coach and players rallied a depressed program and its community to heights of success and excitement not experienced since the 1970s. However, they were denied a berth in the NCAA tournament by a shameful system that unfairly favors larger programs and conferences. Despite this setback, the team forged forward and embraced their role in the NIT, playing well enough to reach the championship game and offering the media plenty of feel-good narratives to help ratings, only to lose in a heartbreaking fashion, as often seems the case in such situations.
Nevertheless, the university, the fans, and the local community embraced and exemplified the spirit that once epitomized the finest of competition by student athletes. Now, that same exploitative system that has been designed in a way that severely disadvantages smaller programs may again strike, causing disintegration of a basketball team whose fans will be forced to face the reality of higher education economics, media manipulation, transfer portals, and NIL payments as if they were crashing from a sugar rush.
This is a perfect sample of current college basketball that displays why I still love the game when it is being played on the court in front of fans, but I hate the corrupt environment surrounding the sport and that has been conceived by corporations or in court cases during recent decades.
Well said, Pal.
I see Avila going to a P5, versus following Schertz to SLU. He gained so much public attention that he is bound to get some solid NIL deals elsewhere
@valpopal Just saw that he announced his move in a team meeting. Its hard to want to stay with a school that currently doesn't have an AD and has a president who is openly hostile and disapproving of athletics. ISU could have been a staple leader in the Valley, but the players will probably abandon ship once Dead Week ends. ISU has some of the best fanbases and facilities in the country for mid major but it will probably fizzle out here soon enough as the stars leave. ISU has the potential for a huge NIL donorbase, but with their president not being fond of athletics and such, that hurts. Wish nothing but the best for Shertz, and for ISU.
SHertz's own brother is being used by SLU fans as a troll post member of the ISU board and...holy moly the amount of disrespect he is getting from the fanbase. Its humiliating and embarrassing to see them take their anger out on him. JS owes them nothing. This has been a done deal for a while now.
He took a dead program and made them relevant. I agree that he owes them nothing. If Powell revives Valpo and leaves for a better opportunity, we should thank him for making our job attractive again and move on.
He took a dead program and made them relevant. I agree that he owes them nothing. If Powell revives Valpo and leaves for a better opportunity, we should thank him for making our job attractive again and move on.
Think about it. Elevating ISU to a national level reawakened a dead donor base as well. I expect ISU to get a bump in enrollment and see more money come into NIL funds and to the university as a whole. Shertz's success will ultimately prove to be a net positive for ISU even though he left. Not to mention they are now on the radar of Pat McAfee who will keep ISU in the national eye in talking about the team.
