There is a difference between REASONS and EXCUSES... Ben Johnson is well aware of the pressure he is getting from local Gopher fans that want him to get commits and signees from the talented Minnesota class of 2022. I am sure there are many discussions that we are not privvy to that have either ended in "WE WILL WAIT AND SEE HOW YOU COACH THIS YEAR, COACH JOHNSON!!" or "WE HAVE DECIDED TO LOOK ELSEWHERE THAN MINNESOTA!"
It takes time anywhere to get your footing but I was very afraid this would happen initially.. Without head coaching experience, it is very difficult to break into a conference like the BIg Ten. Minnesota has a really good coaching staff. That is not a problem... But Ben not having head coaching experience is going to make people hesistant to commit. Ben is going to have to show that his teams play hard, even if there is not a successful win-loss record. That is his only chance to get top players from instate.. Relationships are important but all of us that are Gopher fans have to understand that a lot of coaches at other colleges have relationships with these kids, as well. TOP Minnesota kids dont exactly have the reputation of wanting to stay home and play as it is, except for Daniel Oturu and Amir Coffey, in recent years.. I AM NOT OFFERING EXCUSES BUT I AM OFFERING REASONS.
BIG REASONS WHY THEY ARE RECRUITING SUCCESSFULLY, IN MY OPINION
IOWA STATE COACHING STAFF actually is pretty accomplished in its own right... Head coach T J OTZELBERGER has recruited at Iowa State for a long time.. This is his third stint with the team.. REMEMBER, he was associate head coach under FRED HOIBERG, when they had those NCAA tourney teams. He was turning around a virtually dead UNLV program when he got the call to come back to Iowa State as head coach, He started at Iowa State under Greg McDermott. He got a TON OF PUBLICITY from national pundits like ESPN when he took the assistant position at Washington under Lorenzo Romar for a couple seasons and became instrumental in signing a national top 10 class. OTZELBERGER WAS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE BEST RECRUITERS IN THE NATION, as an assistant and then was doing it as a head coach.
Otzelberger turned heads as a HEAD COACH when he beat 4th ranked San Diego State when he was with UNLV... BUT BIGGER THAN THAT was when he beat the NUMBER ONE TEAM IN THE NATION, OKLAHOMA, when he coached at South Dakota State. His teams in the few short years always got the attention of the opponents because they were a fun team to watch, offensively.
You have to know that his teams were ranked in the top 10 in the nation in Division 1 at least 3 times offensively at different colleges. Twice with South Dakota State and not only were they fun to watch, but they were pretty efficient.. He has gotten players to the pros so he is not just some obscure name.
HIS ASSISTANTS. Know he has has an "IN" in the Twin Cities with Iowa State assistant Kyle Green, who is from Minneapolis. Graduated from Hamline in St. Paul. He is considered a solid basketball man and has contacts all over the Twin Cities. He was considered one of the best assistant coaches in the conference and has been at it a long time.
He has 2 other assistants in JR Blount and Daniyal Robinson that are pretty good, as well.. They are well connected in organizations that promote black assistants to head coaches so they are known nationally.. Both went to Loyola-Chicago and are familiar with how to win.
I BRING ALL THAT UP TO SAY THAT IOWA STATE IS GOING TO BE A FORMIDABLE PRESENCE IN RECRUITING AS LONG AS OTZELBERGER IS THERE. Ben has to get himself established and show a program that is fun for the players to play in, especially offensively, and one that will improve. TO get big names in the 2022 class will take showing that his teams play hard and cohesive, as well as a fun team to watch.. Ben knows more than anyone that his work is cut out for him. BUT I HOPE THIS THREAD SHEDS SOME LIGHT AS TO WHY IOWA STATE IS HAVING THE INITIAL RECRUITING SUCCESS IN THE STATE OF MINNESOTA.. Otzelberger is a VERY DIFFERENT HIRE THAN BEN because Otzelberger is an established head coach with a track record of success.
It takes time anywhere to get your footing but I was very afraid this would happen initially.. Without head coaching experience, it is very difficult to break into a conference like the BIg Ten. Minnesota has a really good coaching staff. That is not a problem... But Ben not having head coaching experience is going to make people hesistant to commit. Ben is going to have to show that his teams play hard, even if there is not a successful win-loss record. That is his only chance to get top players from instate.. Relationships are important but all of us that are Gopher fans have to understand that a lot of coaches at other colleges have relationships with these kids, as well. TOP Minnesota kids dont exactly have the reputation of wanting to stay home and play as it is, except for Daniel Oturu and Amir Coffey, in recent years.. I AM NOT OFFERING EXCUSES BUT I AM OFFERING REASONS.
BIG REASONS WHY THEY ARE RECRUITING SUCCESSFULLY, IN MY OPINION
IOWA STATE COACHING STAFF actually is pretty accomplished in its own right... Head coach T J OTZELBERGER has recruited at Iowa State for a long time.. This is his third stint with the team.. REMEMBER, he was associate head coach under FRED HOIBERG, when they had those NCAA tourney teams. He was turning around a virtually dead UNLV program when he got the call to come back to Iowa State as head coach, He started at Iowa State under Greg McDermott. He got a TON OF PUBLICITY from national pundits like ESPN when he took the assistant position at Washington under Lorenzo Romar for a couple seasons and became instrumental in signing a national top 10 class. OTZELBERGER WAS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE BEST RECRUITERS IN THE NATION, as an assistant and then was doing it as a head coach.
Otzelberger turned heads as a HEAD COACH when he beat 4th ranked San Diego State when he was with UNLV... BUT BIGGER THAN THAT was when he beat the NUMBER ONE TEAM IN THE NATION, OKLAHOMA, when he coached at South Dakota State. His teams in the few short years always got the attention of the opponents because they were a fun team to watch, offensively.
You have to know that his teams were ranked in the top 10 in the nation in Division 1 at least 3 times offensively at different colleges. Twice with South Dakota State and not only were they fun to watch, but they were pretty efficient.. He has gotten players to the pros so he is not just some obscure name.
HIS ASSISTANTS. Know he has has an "IN" in the Twin Cities with Iowa State assistant Kyle Green, who is from Minneapolis. Graduated from Hamline in St. Paul. He is considered a solid basketball man and has contacts all over the Twin Cities. He was considered one of the best assistant coaches in the conference and has been at it a long time.
He has 2 other assistants in JR Blount and Daniyal Robinson that are pretty good, as well.. They are well connected in organizations that promote black assistants to head coaches so they are known nationally.. Both went to Loyola-Chicago and are familiar with how to win.
I BRING ALL THAT UP TO SAY THAT IOWA STATE IS GOING TO BE A FORMIDABLE PRESENCE IN RECRUITING AS LONG AS OTZELBERGER IS THERE. Ben has to get himself established and show a program that is fun for the players to play in, especially offensively, and one that will improve. TO get big names in the 2022 class will take showing that his teams play hard and cohesive, as well as a fun team to watch.. Ben knows more than anyone that his work is cut out for him. BUT I HOPE THIS THREAD SHEDS SOME LIGHT AS TO WHY IOWA STATE IS HAVING THE INITIAL RECRUITING SUCCESS IN THE STATE OF MINNESOTA.. Otzelberger is a VERY DIFFERENT HIRE THAN BEN because Otzelberger is an established head coach with a track record of success.
