Isaac Brown: Head Coach

[Aargh]

I think it has evolved into potential assistants if Kennedy or one of the others move on.

I learned long ago not to listen to what assistants say. Assistants are either 100% loyal and dedicated to the HC, no matter what the HC does, or they are looking for jobs outside of basketball. What I'm hearing out of Gudino and Waterman seems to have a ring of truth. It's not just the cliches that get thrown around that show support.

Marshall wasn't an easy guy to work for. It's possible the assistants, like some players, might be happier under IB than under Marshall.

[pie n eye]

Does IB have any ties to Hinson or Lansing? If not I don’t see much reason to worry about them one way or the other.

[IndianaShocker]

Does IB have any ties to Hinson or Lansing? If not I don’t see much reason to worry about them one way or the other.

Lou was a member of Lansings staff at ISU. Not sure if there's a direct connection with IB.

[shock]

Don't quote me without full context. Duechebag.

When you rank at the bottom in resources it absolutely is. Dudes coaching in a top 10-11 league with the resources of a SWAC team. He's consistently punched above his weight class.

The few years he had talent he won. The other seasons he took a bunch of DII quality players and was competitive in a mid-major conference.

Ben Jacobsen can coach. Lansing is a fine coach at that level.

[ShockTalk]

I learned long ago not to listen to what assistants say. Assistants are either 100% loyal and dedicated to the HC, no matter what the HC does, or they are looking for jobs outside of basketball. What I'm hearing out of Gudino and Waterman seems to have a ring of truth. It's not just the cliches that get thrown around that show support.

Marshall wasn't an easy guy to work for. It's possible the assistants, like some players, might be happier under IB than under Marshall.

Once again, the target has been missed. First, it is not too far fetched to think that Kennedy might not stay on. Also, that Gudino might have a head coaching offer. Guido and Waterman were Marshall hires not Brown's. That's not to say they don't fit. This is a fan board.

[Kel Varnsen]

From the Taylor article (not behind a paywall).

There of course is a Gregg Marshall part in all of this.

While that may be awkward for WSU’s administration considering how things ended and what he was accused of, the current coaching staff has no problem giving credit to their former boss.

“Bottom line, none of this is possible without Gregg Marshall,” Waterman said. “At the end of the day, these players all came here to play for him. He gave all of us our jobs. It’s very unfortunate what happened to him, but at the end of the day it’s because of Gregg Marshall that we’re even in this position.”

Marshall has remained in Wichita and, still emotionally invested in the program, has been supportive to the players and coaches from afar. He doesn’t try to overstep his bounds and inject himself into the day-to-day operations, but he does remain in contact with the coaches and offers them encouragement and support.

“Coach Marshall has been supportive through all of this,” Gudino said. “We’ve all stayed in contact with him. He’s been checking up on us and he’s just been a great person to have trying to help.”

Every person on WSU’s staff had only known one way their entire time in Wichita — the Marshall way. From the way practices were run to film sessions, every last detail had been carefully curated by Marshall.

Not having his presence moving forward was daunting. After all, he was the man in charge when the Shockers made the Final Four, finished 35-1 and went to seven straight NCAA Tournaments.

Instead of trying to overhaul what was in place, Brown made the decision early on that WSU was going to keep the same system that Marshall installed more than a decade ago. It proved to be a wise decision given WSU’s success this season.

“Coach Marshall put this all together,” Gudino said. “But we’re competitive people and we knew that we had to put our best foot forward.”

“We truly believed in ourselves because we felt like Marshall had us here for a reason,” Waterman said. “We know what we’re capable of doing as a staff, we know the system and we just all had to step up and do our jobs at the highest level we could.”

Brown said he didn’t feel any pressure when he had the interim label. That all changed once he knew he would be the full-time coach to follow Marshall.

“Now that’s pressure right there, trying to follow a Hall of Fame coach” Brown said. “I’ve been here for seven years and we’ve had some great runs. I remember when I first got here with Fred (VanVleet) and Ron (Baker) and we went to that Sweet 16. We want to continue to compete for championships with good student-athletes and try to get back to this NCAA Tournament.”

To IB and the staff's credit, they understand how they got here. I think all Shocker fans can appreciate that. Marshall is single-handedly responsible for a number of cottage industries around Wichita, this one included.

[Shockm]

Isaac Brown was as loyal as they come. He toiled under GM, who I would agree probably wasn't easy to work for, and was very successful (unlike Ford for example) for a long time. The most difficult for a lifetime Assistant Coach to master, especially for a nice guy like IB who is well liked, is that being well liked isn't really vital to success.

He is going to find out that he has to shift gears and sometimes be a "hard ass". Now, I don't mean that he has to treat people badly (although they might take it that way). However, anyone on here who has led others knows that it is their decision that has to be the bottom line in the end, and they make decisions that will determine success. He may have friends who are his Assistant Coaches, but he may have to "fire" them in certain circumstances for success, and that isn't easy for someone who has been an Asst. his whole career, and probably wanted to be treated a certain way by his superior. IOW, he can identify with how the Assistant Coach feels because he had been one for a long time.

He's probably hearing this exact thing from his mentor Billy Kennedy, and this could be one of the most difficult thing to overcome for him. If also could apply to a player who just isn't as good as they thought, and he needs to go and make room for a player who is better. GM didn't seem to have a problem with that, but IB may.

[WeWillShockU]

I am excited for the future of Shocker Basketball. Get out and recruit Head Coach Brown! Good to hear that GM is still in contact with the staff. I hope the assistants got a good salary jump.

[ShockTalk]

Ben Jacobsen can coach. Lansing is a fine coach at that level.

There is a lot of assistants, good assistants, that don't even have a chance to be or succeed as a head coach "at that level".

I am wondering if the impact of losing both CU and WSU has hurt UNI recruiting. UNI was most likely better than ISU when both schools were there. Now, UNI and ISU have split every other year over the last four seasons on who has finished higher with both coaches winning 37 conference games during that time. UNI finished lower by 4 games this year.

As a note, Valley teams have finished conference play with ALL playing the full 18 game conference season.

[Shockm]

There is an article in the newspaper this morning on IB and the other coaches who are grateful they still have jobs. I know there is a paywall and many of you don't have access so here is a portion of the article that I though very interesting, and it shows wisdom on IB's part. GM has stayed involved with the staff to a degree.

‘NONE OF THIS IS POSSIBLE WITHOUT GREGG MARSHALL’


There of course is a Gregg Marshall part in all of this.

While that may be awkward for WSU’s administration considering how things ended and what he was accused of, the current coaching staff has no problem giving credit to their former boss.

“Bottom line, none of this is possible without Gregg Marshall,” Waterman said. “At the end of the day, these players all came here to play for him. He gave all of us our jobs. It’s very unfortunate what happened to him, but at the end of the day it’s because of Gregg Marshall that we’re even in this position.”

Marshall has remained in Wichita and, still emotionally invested in the program, has been supportive to the players and coaches from afar. He doesn’t try to overstep his bounds and inject himself into the day-to-day operations, but he does remain in contact with the coaches and offers them encouragement and support.

“Coach Marshall has been supportive through all of this,” Gudino said. “We’ve all stayed in contact with him. He’s been checking up on us and he’s just been a great person to have trying to help.”

Every person on WSU’s staff had only known one way their entire time in Wichita — the Marshall way. From the way practices were run to film sessions, every last detail had been carefully curated by Marshall.

Not having his presence moving forward was daunting. After all, he was the man in charge when the Shockers made the Final Four, finished 35-1 and went to seven straight NCAA Tournaments.

Instead of trying to overhaul what was in place, Brown made the decision early on that WSU was going to keep the same system that Marshall installed more than a decade ago. It proved to be a wise decision given WSU’s success this season.

“Coach Marshall put this all together,” Gudino said. “But we’re competitive people and we knew that we had to put our best foot forward.”

“We truly believed in ourselves because we felt like Marshall had us here for a reason,” Waterman said. “We know what we’re capable of doing as a staff, we know the system and we just all had to step up and do our jobs at the highest level we could.”

Brown said he didn’t feel any pressure when he had the interim label. That all changed once he knew he would be the full-time coach to follow Marshall.

“Now that’s pressure right there, trying to follow a Hall of Fame coach” Brown said. “I’ve been here for seven years and we’ve had some great runs. I remember when I first got here with Fred (VanVleet) and Ron (Baker) and we went to that Sweet 16. We want to continue to compete for championships with good student-athletes and try to get back to this NCAA Tournament.”

[WuShock16]

As a note, Valley teams have finished conference play with ALL playing the full 18 game conference season.

They also played each opponent on back-to-back nights at the same location. Not saying right or wrong...but their different schedule plan probably made that easier when/if games had to be made up.

[ShockTalk]

They also played each opponent on back-to-back nights at the same location. Not saying right or wrong...but their different schedule plan probably made that easier when/if games had to be made up.

Yeah, I did mention that in a different thread.

[ShockingButTrue]

From the Taylor article (not behind a paywall).



To IB and the staff's credit, they understand how they got here. I think all Shocker fans can appreciate that. Marshall is single-handedly responsible for a number of cottage industries around Wichita, this one included.

Hell yes! I thought all along that selecting a GGG protege was the smart move if they weren't going to get Matta or Beilein.

[ShockingButTrue]

Isaac Brown was as loyal as they come. He toiled under GM, who I would agree probably wasn't easy to work for, and was very successful (unlike Ford for example) for a long time. The most difficult for a lifetime Assistant Coach to master, especially for a nice guy like IB who is well liked, is that being well liked isn't really vital to success.

He is going to find out that he has to shift gears and sometimes be a "hard ass". Now, I don't mean that he has to treat people badly (although they might take it that way). However, anyone on here who has led others knows that it is their decision that has to be the bottom line in the end, and they make decisions that will determine success. He may have friends who are his Assistant Coaches, but he may have to "fire" them in certain circumstances for success, and that isn't easy for someone who has been an Asst. his whole career, and probably wanted to be treated a certain way by his superior. IOW, he can identify with how the Assistant Coach feels because he had been one for a long time.

He's probably hearing this exact thing from his mentor Billy Kennedy, and this could be one of the most difficult thing to overcome for him. If also could apply to a player who just isn't as good as they thought, and he needs to go and make room for a player who is better. GM didn't seem to have a problem with that, but IB may.

With all due respect I disagree.

What I have evaluated thus far in IB's short career is that he doesn't get red-assed and hoot and holler at the refs, or his players; what I have seen however is that he doesn't have a problem with very politely saying "young man, you missed a box out; take a seat down there at the end of the bench. I'll call on you if I need you before this game ends." He's also said, several times that I noticed, in December and January, that the bottom line is "we have a game to win."

[Shockm]

With all due respect I disagree.

What I have evaluated thus far in IB's short career is that he doesn't get red-assed and hoot and holler at the refs, or his players; what I have seen however is that he doesn't have a problem with very politely saying "young man, you missed a box out; take a seat down there at the end of the bench. I'll call on you if I need you before this game ends." He's also said, several times that I noticed, in December and January, that the bottom line is "we have a game to win."

Did you actually read what I said? I agree with what you said and I didn't even mention the aspect of in game coaching. He has showed that he can coach during a game.

The aspect I was talking about is when a Head Coach has to "fire" a friend who is also an Assistant Coach. It could also include a Head Coach having to tell a player who was recruited to WSU that he isn't good enough to play here. Both of those things has to be handled by a Head Coach, and he hasn't had to do that yet. That is a task of leadership that isn't easy.