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Doug Zaleski, who was spot on in his coverage of the Thompson resignation at Ball State, mentions Dan's name among coaches who are reportedly interested in the Ball State job. I think that would be a curious move, considering his reasons for leaving WVU. I can't imagine he'd go somewhere with the NCAA sniffing around, no matter who was responsible for the violations.

Also interesting is that Ray McCallum's name has been floated since the start of the Thompson rumblings... if he took the BSU job, it would leave an asst. coach opening at IU, which could be available to DD if he were interested.

Muncie Star-Press link

Good point. I do not see DD staying at IU in the Director of Basketball Operations for the long term.

I'm not a conspiracy theorist... but TG, I actually thought your scenario was plausible back when Dan took the IU DBO position and think that the plausibility of that scenario probably had SOMETHING to do with his taking it. I don't think he took it to be DBO at IU... I think he took it to become an assistant at IU, which was always one Ball State firing away from happening.

ZiggyZoomba wrote:I'm not a conspiracy theorist... but TG, I actually thought your scenario was plausible back when Dan took the IU DBO position and think that the plausibility of that scenario probably had SOMETHING to do with his taking it. I don't think he took it to be DBO at IU... I think he took it to become an assistant at IU, which was always one Ball State firing away from happening.

I too don't believe that DD is or would be content with a DBO position anywhere. He's in that position to pay his bills and be in line for an assistant position. I wonder if he could compete for an MVC head coach opening.

McCallum was among the best recruiters this conference has had, and he did a good job of keeping his talent. If McCallum can continue his success with personnel, BSU could quickly re-emerge.

It's also interesting that JD Campbell is employed by IU now as well...it's like those two are attached at the hip...maybe they are both waiting for Krebs to invite them to New Mexico...I would not be shocked.

I'd say them both ending up at IU was more coincidence than anything (although I don't know if I'd be surprised if DD helped JD's cause in the hiring process). IU is "home" for Dakich, and if you're an SID, landing a job in the IU hoops office has to be one of the premier spots in the biz.

I don't see DD leaving Indiana. Being an IU alum and being back, and I believe his son is in high school and so he wouldn't want to move again, I see DD staying at Indiana and either taking an open assistant position again or really doing something special as director of basketball operations.

People still remember DD "shutting down" Jordan here in Indiana. I could see him at BSU. He is always good at recruiting the slow, big guys from Indiana.

tiznow wrote:People still remember DD "shutting down" Jordan here in Indiana. I could see him at BSU. He is always good at recruiting the slow, big guys from Indiana.

I agree 100%. DD was a great x's & O's coach, but he was one of the worst recruiters. He had no connections in the big city league programs and no connections in the big Catholic leagues. Getting big, slow rural boys did him in.

Getting PG's with no court sense and an inability to retain playerswere two of Dan's biggest issues...the slow kids didn't help him any either

Dr.Sooner wrote:

tiznow wrote:People still remember DD "shutting down" Jordan here in Indiana. I could see him at BSU. He is always good at recruiting the slow, big guys from Indiana.

I agree 100%. DD was a great x's & O's coach, but he was one of the worst recruiters. He had no connections in the big city league programs and no connections in the big Catholic leagues. Getting big, slow rural boys did him in.

Uh, what does rural have to do with it? Isn't the big, fast part what matters? Does being from the suburbs or the city a skill that translates to basketball?

h2oville rocket wrote:

Dr.Sooner wrote:

tiznow wrote:People still remember DD "shutting down" Jordan here in Indiana. I could see him at BSU. He is always good at recruiting the slow, big guys from Indiana.

I agree 100%. DD was a great x's & O's coach, but he was one of the worst recruiters. He had no connections in the big city league programs and no connections in the big Catholic leagues. Getting big, slow rural boys did him in.

Uh, what does rural have to do with it? Isn't the big, fast part what matters? Does being from the suburbs or the city a skill that translates to basketball?

You know us dumb rural kids get all the breaks on our 40 times with those short rulers and the use of Flee Market watches by uneducated Bumpkins. We also score a lot of points using those wide-mouthed peach baskets during games in the barn behind the school. It just aint basketball (or any other sport) in the country like it is in the city and suburbs.

It shocks the media when rural folks attain athletic, academic and financial success despite our obvious ignorance. Truthfully, the number of kids growing up in rural areas today is declining while suburban kids are increasing in numbers. This is the reason why most DI players are from the urban areas and is the reason most coaches don't look rural.

Unfortunately, many of those same suburban kids look down on rural kids even though we know they are the dumbazzes. I couldn't believe how many suburban Cleveland kids believe you can tip a cow and thought the cow can't get up on it's own. Loved to take them home for a little eye-opener.

I don't think this has been mentioned, but Lehigh's Billy Taylor has been named as head coach at Ball State. Lehigh named Taylor's replacement today.