Greg Lansing

[ahunte1]

I'm with you on Lansing. Three years ago, I may have had him in the number 3 spot, but something happened after the beat down in St Louis two years ago. That program hasn't been the same since.

I don't know if it was that game or something else, but what I hear from him after games just seems sad. The team didn't respond... We had no energy, etc. Obviously I'm not in practice, but I don't see a lot of energy out of Lansing either. It's really strange.

[musiccitybulldog]

It is tough, because I don't follow Indiana State.

From the outside, I see him as a very solid coach and a mediocre recruiter. Maybe that's a product of the city the school is in and the Hullman Center being kind of a dump (sorry Sycamore fans, just saying). It does seem that he has overachieved with some pretty "mediocre at best" rosters.

Is Terre Haute truly any less desirable than other places such as Cedar Falls? Hulman Center could use a little sprucing up, but I would have to rank it above the gyms UNI and Drake play in. These seem like excuses, if Jacobsen can recruit and win at UNI, then I think the right coach could anywhere else in the league.

I always liked Lansing, seems like a stand up and passionate guy....but he hasn't really produced, and the poster who noted his teams seem to run out of gas hit the nail on the head.

I would say Lusk and Simmons should be the first two canned, but next season probably should be Lansing's make or break season.

Terre Haute hosts the Tony Hulman Classic Sprint Car race at the fairgrounds and is the home of Clabber Girl baking products. Cant beat that.

[pafan]

Can someone explain how Marty Simmons has kept his job so long? It has been like 10 seasons and other than a couple CIT/CBI runs, Evansville hasn't amounted to much. His Valley win % is sub .500 and his overall is right around .500. Is it only because he is an alum?

No, it's because the UE administration is timid and/or really likes Marty.

I think Marty would have never been renewed back in 2011 if the "average fan" was in charge.

[pafan]

Terre Haute hosts the Tony Hulman Classic Sprint Car race at the fairgrounds and is the home of Clabber Girl baking products. Cant beat that.

Tony Hulman was to Terre Haute what Charles Koch is to Wichita -- an incredibly important business figure and philanthropist. Unfortunately for Terre Haute, Tony Hulman has been dead for 20 years. As has the Pfizer plant.

[Wufan]

Muller is hinting at something...can he get the recruits without Dana Ford?

What is Muller hinting at?

He's had good not great teams to this point. He's had athletes, some of which had serious talent. I don't know who recruited those guys, but Dana Ford did bring Fred VanVleet to WSU and Teddy Hawkins to ISUr. Did he also bring in McIntosh? Bottom line, can Miller continue to recruit high level players now that Ford is gone? If he can, he's on his way to having a "program".

[Redhawk]

[

He's had good not great teams to this point. He's had athletes, some of which had serious talent. I don't know who recruited those guys, but Dana Ford did bring Fred VanVleet to WSU and Teddy Hawkins to ISUr. Did he also bring in McIntosh? Bottom line, can Miller continue to recruit high level players now that Ford is gone? If he can, he's on his way to having a "program".

That's a fair assessment Wufan. Muller's has been rolling with his first recruiting class of Hawkins, McIntosh, Lee, Wills and Lynch for 4 years now. Ford was a big part of that class and the recruits haven't been to that level since he left.

Muller does have two quality transfers and probably the best recruit since that first class in Clarance coming next year. What might make or break his long term success will be the 2018 class where he should have 4-5 open offers to fill.

[BirdsEyeView]

[

He's had good not great teams to this point. He's had athletes, some of which had serious talent. I don't know who recruited those guys, but Dana Ford did bring Fred VanVleet to WSU and Teddy Hawkins to ISUr. Did he also bring in McIntosh? Bottom line, can Miller continue to recruit high level players now that Ford is gone? If he can, he's on his way to having a "program".

That's a fair assessment Wufan. Muller's has been rolling with his first recruiting class of Hawkins, McIntosh, Lee, Wills and Lynch for 4 years now. Ford was a big part of that class and the recruits haven't been to that level since he left.

Muller does have two quality transfers and probably the best recruit since that first class in Clarance coming next year. What might make or break his long term success will be the 2018 class where he should have 4-5 open offers to fill.

Throw in the tragic death of Assistant Torrey Ward to this mix as well.

Although Fayne and even Purcell were good JuCo finds..not sure who the lead recruiter was on those two?

[mvfcfan]

I am an Indiana State fan and Lansing needs to go. He's a decent recruiter, but his coaching just absolutely sucks. We get out rebounded all the time because he will only play 4 guards and 1 big guy. It's pathetic. That and he can not discipline his players. B Scott basically does whatever he wants and we have guys just chucking it up from the cheapseats. Our offense is awful and our defense isn't much better. But we've been going the wrong way for years and this year is just the deal breaker for me. How do you go from nearly beating Iowa State and beating Butler to being in last place in the weakest MVC in years? If they were disciplined at all and had better coaching we would be in the upper half of the conference.
I'm just sick of it (and him) and I'm ready for someone new. I mean we're playing on Thursday this year and I have little confidence that we will actually make it to Friday to get our rears handed to us by either Wichita or ILST. Sorry but Lansing needs fired as soon as the season is over. (And to be clear I supported him for a long time, but I just can't anymore.)

[All-MVC Fan]

Having been a follower of MVC basketball for more than 40 years, this Lansing thread is interesting. ISUB is going through a problem that has been theirs for more years than just about anyone but Drake - a coach who is underperforming even modest expectations.

At this point, I think Lansing has lost what little momentum he had in his program from the Odum years. And frankly, I think those teams generally underachieved. But once a coach loses momentum in a program, it is virtually impossible for that coach to get it back. Hence, for the good of the ISUB program, Lansing and ISUB should part ways.

But this is nothing new to the MVC. A team has some success, and in a drunken rush to make sure he never leaves, the school coughs up a contract which is totally slanted towards the interests of the coach, leaving the school virtually no recourse to get out of it. Ahem, SIU, I'm talking to you...among others...

What MVC programs need to do is follow the WSU/UNI model - first, go get yourselves an AD who knows what the hell is going on with your flagship sport. Then, hire a proven winner and give him the resources he needs to be successful. Success begets success, not to mention more money from NCAA shares, ticket sales, etc. (which all grow the pie for the rest of your athletic department). Pay the coach well, but don't give up the farm at the first hint of success, because how many times have we seen coaches have a good year or two and then fall back into the abyss (Ah, yes, my favorite word from the old ValleyTalk board)? I'm all for a middle of the pack MVC base salary, heavily laden with incentives for performance, which can take a coach from the $300K range to $600-800K for good years. Give him something to work his ass off for.

In short, invest in your program to make more money down the road. You don't have to have a Gregg Marshall to be successful. God bless WSU for having, and keeping, HCGM. If you have the right resource allocation and an AD who knows what he's doing, there's always another good coach out there...

[BirdsEyeView]

Having been a follower of MVC basketball for more than 40 years, this Lansing thread is interesting. ISUB is going through a problem that has been theirs for more years than just about anyone but Drake - a coach who is underperforming even modest expectations.

At this point, I think Lansing has lost what little momentum he had in his program from the Odum years. And frankly, I think those teams generally underachieved. But once a coach loses momentum in a program, it is virtually impossible for that coach to get it back. Hence, for the good of the ISUB program, Lansing and ISUB should part ways.

But this is nothing new to the MVC. A team has some success, and in a drunken rush to make sure he never leaves, the school coughs up a contract which is totally slanted towards the interests of the coach, leaving the school virtually no recourse to get out of it. Ahem, SIU, I'm talking to you...among others...

What MVC programs need to do is follow the WSU/UNI model - first, go get yourselves an AD who knows what the hell is going on with your flagship sport. Then, hire a proven winner and give him the resources he needs to be successful. Success begets success, not to mention more money from NCAA shares, ticket sales, etc. (which all grow the pie for the rest of your athletic department). Pay the coach well, but don't give up the farm at the first hint of success, because how many times have we seen coaches have a good year or two and then fall back into the abyss (Ah, yes, my favorite word from the old ValleyTalk board)? I'm all for a middle of the pack MVC base salary, heavily laden with incentives for performance, which can take a coach from the $300K range to $600-800K for good years. Give him something to work his ass off for.

In short, invest in your program to make more money down the road. You don't have to have a Gregg Marshall to be successful. God bless WSU for having, and keeping, HCGM. If you have the right resource allocation and an AD who knows what he's doing, there's always another good coach out there...

Great Post!