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RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

cgdcreek — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:58:43 GMT

I can't say that I've seen much of an "offensive philosophy" at this point. Of course, Adam Templeton trying to drive and turning it over appears to be one of the philosophies so far.

One of my favorite pictures ever is one the Register posted today, where Josh Young is kinda rolling his eyes, while Phelps is talking to him. Maybe he was just looking at the scoreboard or something, but it's classic.

Josh Young is spectacular; Mark Phelps is not.

Why not Justin Ohl?

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

Drakey — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 10:15:58 GMT

[quote]DUBulldog (4/20/2008)

[quote]iball23 (4/20/2008)

Phelps has been with Sendek for long enough that I assume he'll use a lot of the same tactics. I'm not a huge fan of the Princeton offense.....I hope he surprises us with his offensive philosophy.[/quote]

You got your wish. I know he surprised me. I'm not sure it was the surprise you were looking for though.

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

cgdcreek — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:39:01 GMT

Why not Justin Ohl?

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

cgdcreek — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:15:10 GMT

Agree, of course. It's just feelin' kinda painful right now. Don't wanta go through it again soon.

A positive rationalization / hope .... seems like Butler and SIU have kept it goin' with moving up the next guy in line.
Maybe we should be just as interested in who Phelps hires for a main assistant.
Might as well be speculating about that here. Bring it on! (I have no clue.)

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

getreal4 — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 04:51:46 GMT

I want success for our Bulldogs. If we lose coaches due to that success, its much better than the alternative.

See you all in the fall, looking forward to the new Phelps regime!

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

Big Bull — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 01:55:18 GMT

I want a coach who can win AND will stay. Dreamin', I guess.

Unfortunately the Dana Altman model at Creighton is the exception for small private schools if they have success, not the rule. Unless they have the endowment or deep pocket alums to make things too lucrative for a coach to leave. You can look at Kansas for example and say Bill Self showed loyalty, but K nearly matched OKst for cash and he didn't have to rebuild a hurting program. Besides he's now officially a Kansas god.

If a Valley coach has the chance to go to the Big 10 (alford) or Big 12 (Mcdermott) its tough for them to turn down. Its also interesting to note neither has equalled the success they had in the Valley.

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

cgdcreek — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 23:54:51 GMT

I hate to say it in some ways, but Mark Phelps, or any halfway decent coach, is gonna be successful next year with the players Drake has coming back.

I don't know what to think about recruiting abilities, because Mark Phelps is not gonna be at Drake very long if he wins much for a few years. Which he will, if Josh Young really does stay.

I generally support Maxwell and all that, but I don't like the Butler/Marquette analogy, where you just resign yourself to losing the coach every few years. SIU is another really good example.

I want a coach who can win AND will stay. Dreamin', I guess.

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

SoCalBulldog — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 12:13:24 GMT

I love this hire. He stayed with Herb for a long time (loyalty beyond what our last coach had), he's been at high level programs (better experience than our last coach had), and he has a proven track record of being a great recruiter (something our last coach never displayed). When you add in his charisma and winning personality, Drake players won't be able to do anything but give their all.

I don't think Sandy could have done better. Good things are going to happen next year. I am very excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Go Drake!!!!!!!!

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

getreal4 — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:45:38 GMT

hilarious McBullshat.

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

Mc Bulldog — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 08:21:03 GMT

Thank you, thank you very much.

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

DrakeGuy — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 23:28:19 GMT

I think he has a new crush!

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

Mecha_Bulldog — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 23:17:22 GMT

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

scrove — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 21:57:32 GMT

[quote]Big Bull (4/20/2008)

OK Gordon, all the negativity is now focused outward, how bout bringing some Cohiba Siglo VI's back from Cancun. I won't tell anybody I swear.[/quote]

Now this is something I can get behind!

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

Big Bull — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 20:07:03 GMT

I checked the ISU message board and the Iowa message boards here and here. They're shocked that Drake would make this hire. They think we made a huge mistake going outside the program to grab someone with no midwest ties. They think Drake should have chosen Gary Close or Matt Woodley. The funny thing is I think most of us would've felt Drake settled for a lesser candidate if they'd have chosen Close or Woodley.

Ok, I am now a 100% coolaid drinking supporter of this hire. If the Clone and Hawk crowd think we made a mistake considering who their past hires were and their level of success, and considering their hallowed BCS status then ship me down to Phelps town poor me a big glass.

Lets see, we have for the Hawks Steve don't anoy me with your problems because my hair is too cool for you univeristy Alford.

For Iowa state, we can start with the regional sales director for Natural light and the video series "Eustachy's gone wild. Followed by the next in program pick Wayne what do mean another player just got arrested Morgan. Finally the UNI coach who is realizing he has gone to the dog of the Big 12 and didn't realize how good he had it at UNI.

Yeah these are the fans who know Drake.

OK Gordon, all the negativity is now focused outward, how bout bringing some Cohiba Siglo VI's back from Cancun. I won't tell anybody I swear.

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

OldDogII — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 18:49:08 GMT

I agree with trusting SHC - she obviously knows the candidates better than us and would know Mark Phelps very well, so I trust her choice. And how can we say that he will run things the same way as Sendek? Every coach has a philosophy of how HE OR SHE would do it THEIR way if they were a head coach. We just had a great example of this with Keno - his head coach was his own FATHER and yet Keno had his own ideas of doing things and look what happened in just his first year!

So let's trust SHC and get behind Mark Phelps and look forward to more Drake winning basketball.

Here we go Bulldogs, here we go................

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

Mecha_Bulldog — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 17:53:40 GMT

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

Gordon Gottschalk — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 17:51:25 GMT

I think the system will work great for Drake. Besides, regardless of the system, if the coach allows the players to run up the floor and take a shot early in the clock if it's there, they will be a very entertaining team. Also, the Princeton offense was designed to be run by very intelligent players, with perhaps not quite as much ability or size as the elite programs. It relies on movement, reading opposing defenses and creating mismatches off of picks, backdoors and threes. Sounds like Drake to me.

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

SaintMaury — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 15:33:17 GMT

Phelps worked for Sendek for eleven years. I always thought Herb was highly underrated as a coach with a philosophy I liked. Shouldn't be much of a difference from what Drake has done under Keno.

Look for a little of Pete Carril's Princeton mixed with Rick Pitino style offense. Lot's of threes.

I see some 2-3 matchup zone and, as Phelps gets players in his system, maybe some 1-3-1 and man-to-man with some pressing.

Think of a combination overall of West Virginia under John Beilen, Kentucky under Pitino and NC State under Herb. Maybe not neccessarily the talent level, but a philosophy that's a proven winner.

Another thing to ponder...they brought in some foreign players at NC State under Sendek and Phelps. These guys were good shooters and, while not always the most physically gifted athletes, had really good basketball IQ. Some of the national experts, Fraschilla, Bilas, Gillen, ect., talked about how Drake's team reminded them of National teams from eastern Europe in style of play. Might we see a foreign player or two at Drake in the future?

Despite not having the name recognition, I see good things from this hire that can truly expand Drake's basketball reach.

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

DUBulldog — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 15:30:32 GMT

According to the Register, this guy is coming along as an assistant. Looks like he had the same GPA as AE did.

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

iowajazz — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 15:09:55 GMT

I hope it works out, but I don't see how it is a better hire than Matt Woodley would have been!

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

Bigdog66 — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 14:53:46 GMT

Thanks to DMR for joining the party. Wondering how they leave the local ABC affiliate out of the picture. WOI was the one that broke it open last night.

As far as Phelps, give the man a chance. Didn't see a whole lot of people jumping for joy when Keno was hired. But he didn't turn out so bad. No reason to be negative with this guy.

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

Mecha_Bulldog — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 14:51:16 GMT

Here is a story about Phelps working with stud transfer Eric Boateng.

So far, he’s seen 10 to 20 minutes per game off the bench; minutes he’s grown into through well-documented, grueling workouts with assistant coach Mark Phelps while sitting out last season as a transfer.

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

Mecha_Bulldog — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 14:43:03 GMT

The Register is finally reporting it. Only took them 14 hours.

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

DUBulldog — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 13:15:40 GMT

mid-major fan (4/20/2008)

I bet they sometimes even leak false things.

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

mid-major fan — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 13:08:40 GMT

You do not hire a coach based on the system he runs. Even Drake knows that. If Phelps can coach, he'll be fine regardless of his Xs and Os philosophy.

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

Mecha_Bulldog — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 13:00:31 GMT

Mc Bulldog (4/20/2008)

Interesting reading -http://www.cyclonefanatic.com/forum/state-rivals/27162-drake-hires-new-bb-coach.html

I don't think the Sendek style is as big a departure from Keno's style as the ISU posters seem to think. Arizona St's tempo has been painfully slow in Sendek's two years, but I don't read too much into his style there yet. I think hiring Sendek was a "blow it all up and start over" kind of hire, so ASU doesn't have the players to run the style Sendek wants yet. I look more to NC State's stats as what Sendek wants to run.

Pomeroy has the stats for Sendek's final three years at NC State, and I see a lot of similarities to what they ran and what Drake ran last year. Slightly slower than average tempo. Highly efficient offense. Not as efficient defense. Good free throw shooting. Low turnover rate. High percentage of shots taken as 3's. The biggest difference is those NC State teams didn't focus on offensive rebounding nearly as much as Drake did.

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

Loco Bulldog — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:28:20 GMT

The Princeton offense has a lot of similarities to what Keno ran....if we didn't get a transition shot or the trail-behind 3 to Bucky or KK, Drake ate up the shot clock and ran the double high post. You had kick out threes, layups, or passes to Bucky near the hoop as the shot clock ran down. Set up is the same - all 5 outside the arc. Keno tried to get mismatches...usually a larger guy on Josh Young or Houston.

I like it. Good hire.

Princeton offense
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Princeton offense is an offensive basketball strategy which emphasizes constant motion, passing, back-door cuts, and disciplined teamwork. It was used and perfected at Princeton University by Pete Carril, though its roots may be traced back to Franklin “Cappy” Cappon, who coached at Princeton in the late 1930s.[citation needed]

The offense usually starts out with four players outside the three-point arc with one player at the top of the key. The ball is kept in constant motion through passing until either a mismatch allows a player to cut inside to the basket or a player without the ball cuts toward the unoccupied area under and around the basket, and is passed the ball for a lay-up. Having a strong post player is important because this player is critical to passing to backdoor cutters, and can draw help defense to open outside shots.

The hallmark of the offense is the backdoor pass, where a player on the wing suddenly moves in towards the basket, receives a bounce pass from a guard on the perimeter, and (if done correctly) finds himself with no defenders between him and a layup. Alternatively, when the defensive team attempts to pack the paint to prevent backdoors, the offense utilizes three point shots from the perimeter. All five players in the offense-- including the center-- should be competent at making a three point attempt, further spreading the floor.

The offense is a very slow developing one, relying on a high number of passes, and is often used by teams facing opponents with superior athletic talent, to maintain a low-scoring game (believing that a high-scoring game would favor the athletically superior opponent).

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

Mc Bulldog — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:12:28 GMT

Interesting reading -

http://www.cyclonefanatic.com/forum/state-rivals/27162-drake-hires-new-bb-coach.html

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

DrakeGuy — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 11:29:14 GMT

CBS Sports posted the story today as well.

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

Drake72 — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 10:26:39 GMT

Compared to the names that were being thrown around earlier, Phelps sounds like a great hire. I don't understand the negativity of some of the earlier posts.

1. Just because Phelps has no previous Midwest ties doesn't meant that he won't be able to recruit in this area. I know that Kansas and Drake are apples and oranges, but when Roy Williams was hired by KU in 1988, he was a little known assistant with no connections whatsoever to the Midwest. Just look at the players he recruited from the State of Iowa alone -- Raef LaFrentz, Kirk Hinrich, and Nick Collison. I'm more excited that Phelps may actually be able to expand the recruting base.

2. Herb Sendek may run a "Princeton type" of offense, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Phelps will. Just look at the differences between Dr. Tom and Keno. Keno replaced his father's revolving door subsitution patterns with a system where his starters generally played 30 minutes or more per game. In addition, it sounds like the offense that Sendek runs features 3-point shooters and a post player who can shoot from outside. Josh Young and Bucky could thrive in this system.

3. If he in fact has the charisma that the articles I have read seem to indicate, Phelps will be just what our returning players, recruits, and fans need after the blues we have all suffered for the last week. My gut feeling is that we may have the best recruiting we have had at Drake for many, many years.

4. Most importantly, I trust SHC and her judgment.

My only question is whether Phelps completely understands the challenges that Drake's academic requirements for athletes pose. He may not be used to placing such a high premium on a young man's ability to succeed in the classroom in the recruiting process.

I say that we should stop griping and welcome Mark Phelps. I'm very excited about this hire.

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

mid-major fan — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 10:25:08 GMT

Fair enough comment about the Register but not everyone - including the Register - publishes everything they know immediately when they know it. The same is true of a message board. Sometimes people are told things in confidence and sometimes they are told to leak things. I don't know exactly when Phelps was offered the job or when he accepted or when(or even if a contract has been signed) but I do know that the earliest he could have been offered was Friday afternoon so I think the information got "out there" pretty fast.

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

puttheDbackinDrake — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 10:24:33 GMT

No comment yet from MMF!!! Are we sniffing in the right or wrong place. You were the one with the early ASU post as the mystery man.

Are we hot, cold, or all wet as always.

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

Grandpa — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 10:23:47 GMT

I think Gannon broke Keno's trip to Providence when he didn't show up at the statehouse.

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

MadTownDrakeFan — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 10:13:59 GMT

I am just a blowhard in Wisconsin without any sources or anything like that and I want to thank the guys that have been monitoring this and have been giving us the information that they had.

Keno leaving is easily in the Top 5 sports stories in the past year, and the Des Moines Register has provided virtually nothing in terms of who their "sources" have told them may get the job. One would think that a newspaper with a budget that dwarfs a bunch of individual people on this website would have been able to get this information first.

Maybe their next story will be "Keno Says That Drake Makes the Wrong Decision in Hiring." It might be wise for the Register to try and get a scoop once in a while instead of just waiting for the press release to come out.

Thanks again guys.

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

Drakey — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 10:04:53 GMT

DUBulldog (4/20/2008)

Drakey (4/20/2008)

[quote]Mc Bulldog (4/20/2008)

BS .. I put it up first. Sandy called my and told me about it yesterday morning.

I called Sandy and told her about it on Friday.

Lair[/quote]You mean McBull of course?

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

Mecha_Bulldog — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 10:02:41 GMT

This is from the 2006-07 Blue Ribbon's preview of Arizona St while Sendek was preparing for his first season at ASU:

"A steal. It's a complete steal for Arizona State," Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenburg said. "I'm sitting in these league meetings with Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski and [Sendek] is by far the brightest guy in the room. He always sees things from a unique angle, an intelligent light."

And...

As for Sendek's coaching style, it includes man-to-man defense, an emphasis on fundamentals, and a Princeton-style offense that makes abundant use of screening, cutting, passing and the three-pointer.

I see a lot of good things for Phelps to carry over to Drake.

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

DUBulldog — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 09:59:26 GMT

Drakey (4/20/2008)

Mc Bulldog (4/20/2008)

BS .. I put it up first. Sandy called my and told me about it yesterday morning.

I called Sandy and told her about it on Friday.

Lair

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

Drakey — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 09:57:20 GMT

Mc Bulldog (4/20/2008)

BS .. I put it up first. Sandy called my and told me about it yesterday morning.

I called Sandy and told her about it on Friday.

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

DUBulldog — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 09:54:28 GMT

Two assistant coaches for Sendek early in his career were Thad Matta and Sean Miller...I'd say those guys turned out ok.

RE: It's Official/Mark Phelps is new coach

Grandpa — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 09:31:24 GMT

Jeff Goodman at Fox put it up now. (link)