Four Finalists, per Tony Paul

Maybe Izzo knew it was a dead end job! Now with Montgomery he might not say as much seeing as Montgomery was here and would know what he is getting into! Izzo and Stephens were and still are very close!

If that speculation is true (that Izzo discouraged DS from taking the Titan job but is endorsing MM) I can see why it could happen that way. I think Izzo is well aware of the issues at U-D/UDM/Mercy/etc. and probably thought that Stephens would eventually find another opportunity for his first head coaching job, one where he would be more likely to have success. If Stephens went to him for advice, which is likely, I could see Izzo advising him to wait for something better. It's different with Montgomery. He's been a head coach before, and has worked at Six Mile and Livernois recently. He knows what he's getting into. If Montgomery came to Izzo and said, "Coach, I am applying for this job and would appreciate your support", I can easily see Izzo giving a clear endorsement.

I don't think Izzo is anti-Titan. He's not an advocate and friend of the program the way he is with Oakland, but I think he probably doesn't think about us too much one way or the other.

If Montgomery is the hire, I'm fine with that. As the Commissioner has said, the people doing the interviewing and evaluation know more about the candidates than I do. I like the fact that he has experience as a head coach and recent experience here. He's obviously still motivated; otherwise I imagine he'd be happy to serve as an assistant coach to Izzo for the base salary of $424,000 rather than take on the tall task of trying to rebuild the mess that is Titan basketball. He's obviously well known among local high school and JUCO coaches. Whether or not he (or anyone) will be able to overcome all the issues in the program is anyone's guess.

As far as his record at NIU, over his last five full seasons there, the win/loss record was 84-79, a big improvement from his early years there. In the 2019-20 season, the team was 18-13, and finished tied for first in the MAC west division. That's pretty good for NIU. Evaluating him as a candidate, I find it a positive that the end of his tenure was more successful than the beginning.

After working the tournament this weekend and seeing all the amenities big programs have at their disposals up close, I just really hate the idea of hiring a big assistant. We hardly even have a creative team much less the stuff they are accustomed to. If it was 2018 sure no big deal, but in the new era of CBB will they be too spoiled to be able to upstart this on their own?

Disagree 100%. We need someone who knows that all of that exists and is leader enough to force the University to implement those same things here. Bringing up a coach who knows no better has no ability to create better. This is a Poverty mentality. I want someone who has a vision to influence and implement the presence necessary in recruiting, development, media of all types, etc and is willing to turn over every stone to make it happen.

A coach will know better even if he comes from a successful D2 program their Administrative and faculty support is head and shoulders above ours. A coach coming from a program like Ferris, Grand Valley or Northern is going to be used to a lot more support than is offed at UDM.

I thought about that myself. Lou's in Tulsa, Oklahoma these days, just finished up his second year as a high school coach there. He's got a lot of positives, including roots in Michigan and Oklahoma, along with a lot of experience. I will trust the judgement of whoever the next coach is when it comes to assembling a staff, but you could do a lot worse than Lou.

JR Blount, from his players...