by Kent Sterling
Kenny Johnson is a popular man these days.
If Indiana Basketball is in a position where losing assistant coach Kenny Johnson deals them a significant blow in courting and signing talent, then Indiana is not the program fans believe it to be. If the state university in the middle of an area teeming with talent that has great heritage, beautiful facilities, and a commitment to winning has to rely upon a pipeline from the east coast to compete, they Hoosiers are in big trouble.
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Johnson is a very popular assistant basketball coach these days. Maryland and Louisville are supposedly courting the east coast recruiting wizard who was responsible for bringing Stanford Robinson, Troy Williams, and Noah Vonleh to Bloomington last year, and freshman Robert Johnson in the 2014 class.
Indiana is reportedly working to give Johnson a significant salary bump to compel him to reject overtures from Mark Turgeon and Rick Pitino, and remain with the Hoosiers.
Johnson’s body of work is hardly complete and judging the value of his effectiveness in attracting those three freshman is silly at this point, but the Hoosiers 17-15 record didn’t please many inside or outside the program.
Could Indiana have suffered a worse result than not qualifying for any tournaments without Johnson last season? The 17-15 record doesn’t exactly scream for anyone to be regarded as untouchable. If you can’t see the loss of an assistant coach from a 17-15 team as an opportunity for growth, what does that say about the overall health of the program?
In no way am I saying that Johnson can’t recruit or teach at a very high level, but based upon what evidence does Johnson represent the kind of value that demands emptying the bank to keep him?
All things being equal, an assistant coach who can lock down Indiana kids like Trey Lyles, Trevon Bluiett, Gary Harris, Glenn Robinson Jr., Mitch McGary, and Zak Irvin would provide a more sustainable talent stream than a guy plugged into Team Takeover, Boo Williams, and the rest of the east coast AAU structure.
It’s not a bad idea to poach the occasional kid from the east to plug a hole, but to build a program in the state of Indiana, where basketball is the sport of choice for the best athletes doesn’t seem like a very Hoosier thing to do – especially when John Beilein and Tom Izzo win regularly with Indiana kids.
Understanding why a Maryland native like Victor Oladipo would pledge Indiana isn’t difficult. He was ranked #150 in his class, and was exceptionally raw. Where Indiana was at the time, taking a chance on Oladipo made sense, and given the dearth of offers for Oladipo, his pledging IU was logical.
Oladipo’s summer basketball program was Team Takeover, the same group for whom former Hoosier Maurice Creek played, and Johnson coached and worked.
Building an Indiana program with talent from Virginia, Maryland, and Massachusetts isn’t sustainable if a relationship with Johnson is the only reason recruits are coming.
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Johnson grew up in Maryland, graduated from Maryland, and coached in Maryland and Virginia. That’s where he’s from, and offering him enough money to make it impossible for him to leave Indiana to return seems cruel and guarantees only a short-term reprieve from his departure anyway.
It’s not unusual for assistant coaches to bounce from program to program, and if Johnson leaves Indiana, Tom Crean will have an opportunity to hire another coach who can communicate well with players and recruit a different specific geographic area – maybe one closer to home.
Johnson has always been friendly and knowledgeable, and clearly has the ears of the players. He seems to be a very good assistant coach, but he’s not the only one. His leaving shouldn’t be inferred as a step back for the program or Tom Crean, but an opportunity to move ahead.
If IU and PU just split the Indiana kids from the squads of Michigan and Michigan State they would be awesome. Although Yogi and the Movement will surely lead IU to the “Promise Land.”
Sounds like you are doing some preventive damage control. IU is losing too many Indiana recruits as it is (Trey Lyles, Trevon Blueitt, Jaquan Lyle). I would hate for them to lose
their east coast connection, too. I think it would definitely be a step backwards. None of these events that has happened this off season is a big deal singularly. However, accumulatively it is telling.
Could be inferred as damage control, or an attack on the preoccupation with east coast recruits.
I would love to have Indiana recruits. I can’t see losing a connection to any region being a positive thing.
Depends on who replaces him. The early returns on the east coast wave of talent are incomplete.
Crean’s assistants are awful. Buckley and McClain give me a break. Tim Buckley are you serious. Maybe those are the only assistants Crean can get though. Don’t you want assistants that are so good they are candidates for head coaching jobs in the future. You know like Chris Collins at Duke or even Gene Keady’s coaching staff during his good years or even Knights coaching staffs of Kohn Smith, Jimmy Crews, Dan Dakich.
Dakich was already the head coach here, and was an embarrassment. Would love to have someone like crews or even Fred hoiberg at the helm here.
Dakich didn’t have the type of situation to be fairly evaluated. He pretty much ran Knight’s teams. If he coached now, his present notoriety would be a great asset in recruiting.
If Dan wanted to be a head coach today, he would be. If he ever decides to go back to coaching, he is going to be a great hire for the university smart enough to grab him.
Not advocating an Indiana guy as head coach, but there was nothing embarrassing about Dan as the coach. He brought order to chaos.
I am a big fan of the Indiana kids I see playing elsewhere.
I was trying to make a point are Steve McClain or Buckley ever going to be candidates for a head coaching job……NO
Not at a school in a major conference.
Excellent piece, Kent. I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Until Indiana can get back to having the best basketball players wanting to go to play for Indiana they will just be a run of the mill program. I long for the days when they won championships with key players from our state. It pains me to see the best talent go elsewhere.
And by the way Dakich would be absolutely great hire!
Great article!!! Dakich would be a fine candidate for any program.
I agree completely with everything said in the article.
We need a pipeline to Indiana, not the east coast.
Why do you think it is an either/or proposition? Why not have both?
It’s a matter of branding. Are you the place where Indiana high school players dream of winning a championship or not? If you brand yourself in that vein, recruiting becomes a fait accompli.
You guys are all dumb. Dakich will not go back into coaching. If IU have another bad year in this 2014 season, I don’t see him being IUs head coach the season after. If IU gets rid of Crean, I see the head coaching candidates being, Mike Woodson, Steve Alford, Brad Stevens, or Shakka Smart.
Never read a post or comment here that mentioned that Tom Crean should not be the coach or that Dan would take the job if offered. Dan would do a great job if he decided to go back – regardless of the school.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME, REALLY BABY ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? NOT THE DOCK ITCH, WHOM I LOVE!!! THEY NEED THE LAAZ… THE SUPPER SUB AND THE KITCH…..MAN THAT WOULD BE SPECIAL ASSISTANCE FOR TOM FOR A YEAR OR SO. TED AND JOHN THEY ARE SPECIAL. NOT SAYING FIRE OR LET GO ANY OF THE PRESENT ASSISTANTS, KEEP THEM. JUST ADD JOHN AND TED TO THE CREW.
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