Would Indiana be able to lure a rising star to Bloomington?
TJ Otzelberger is one of the best defensive minds in college basketball today.
He’s built Iowa State into a force not just in a stacked Big 12, but nationally with the Cyclones being seen as a potential title contender come March. Could he be in the mix for the Indiana opening?
Otzelberger is a bit of a complicated one. He’s a Midwest guy, having been born in Wisconsin and played at Wisconsin-Whitewater. He cut his teeth in the college ranks in Ames as a longtime assistant for coaches including Greg McDermott and Fred Hoiberg with a short stint at Washington sandwiched in. He even met his wife, former ISU women’s basketball star Alison Lacey, during his time as an assistant.
From there he took on the head coaching role at South Dakota State, leading the Jackrabbits to NCAA Tournament play twice before moving across the country to become the new head coach at UNLV.
He spent just two less than notable seasons in Las Vegas before heading back to Ames to become the Cyclones’ head coach. In four years at the helm, Otzelberger has yet to miss the NCAA Tournament with the Cyclones, taking Iowa State to the Sweet Sixteen in years one and three.
Otzelberger has coached top-10 defenses during all four of his years in Ames, making the program’s games against Kelvin Sampson’s Houston something of a must-watch for those with an inclination toward that side of the court.
He’d probably be a tremendous hire in Bloomington, but is it realistic?
Otzelberger feels pretty firmly entrenched at Iowa State. He obviously has a lengthy history with the program as an assistant prior to his time as its head coach and met his wife thanks to working there.
He’s running one of the top programs in the sport right now. Would he uproot all of that for the Indiana job? It just doesn’t feel all that likely.