Monday, April 26, 2010

Ciaching Carousel Continues

Oregon, after reaching for the stars (Few, Dixon, Izzo, etc.) hired Creighton's Dana Altman. Altman was a hot commodity a few years back - actually leaving for Arkansas and then deciding against it. He led Creighton to 5 straight NCAA appearances from 1999-2003. Since then, he's only made it twice. Altman may find success at Oregon but this hardly seems to be the hire they wanted. Prior to Creighton, Altman had coached at Kansas State, going 68-54 with 1 tournament appearance.

Replacing Altman is Greg McDermott of Iowa State. McDermott left Northern Iowa following the 2006 season so he is quite familiar with the Missouri Valley. Interesting that Creighton has now hired its last two coaches from the Big 8/12. McDermott was probably facing a make or break season in Ames and saw the writing on the wall. He left UNI having taken them to 3 straight Big Dances so he's had success here before.

I'll be curious as to which lasts the longest in their newest position. Some think Oregon with all the Nike money and facilities is a sleeping giant and the Pac-10 is wide open but I like McDermott's chances at Creighton..

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