Things got a little heated in hour one of the show today.
To the seasoned caller “Paul” who called us some choice names to our producer while waiting on hold, your passion for the sport of track and field is unrivaled. Here’s an online tip of the that to you.
Back to the topic at hand, let me make a couple of things very clear:
1) I really want Drake basketball to be relevant. I am a college basketball nerd. There is nothing I would love more than to be able to go to the Knapp Center as a fan to watch meaningful basketball in February on a random Tuesday night.
2) Ross and I both respect the history of the Drake Relays. We do not think that many people actually care about the Drake Relays, but we respect the event and the hard work that goes into it.
What do these two things have to do with one another?
Mainly, getting people to care, which Drake hasn’t done a great job of lately.
How do you get people to support Drake basketball? Like we have said on our show since day one, the next coach needs Iowa and at the very least Missouri Valley ties.
I think selling beer at the Knapp Center would be a genius move when it comes to attracting young professionals. Creighton, who also plays its games downtown in an area where a lot of young people live, also does this. But that’s another topic for another day.
Names like Craig Smith (South Dakota) and Niko Medved (Furman) are fine candidates and I’m sure are good coaches. If they get the job, we will root for them.
Do we believe that they are going to move the needle with young people here in Des Moines though?
Not in the slightest.
The way I see it, Drake needs to do one of two things.
Overspend for a coach who normally wouldn’t consider taking the job. My sources tell me that this isn’t happening and the names of candidates that we currently know backs that up.
At this point, with a guy like Darian DeVries reportedly not being interested, so I say go completely off the board and local. Why not former Hawkeye Jeff Horner? Drake alum Matt Woodley would be intriguing or even my old Clarinda buddy (former Drake player and 4A state champion coach at West Des Moines Valley) B.J. Windhorst.
Crazy, huh? Well Oklahoma State might hire a sports talk host as its next coach. And Drake can’t think outside the box?
I don’t have all of the answers. I do think I have an idea as to the type of candidate that MIGHT get casual sports fans in Des Moines interested in Drake basketball.
The names being mentioned are not those guys.
If Drake isn't going to spend money, they might as well try doing something different. It’s hard to get much worse than things have been for almost a decade.