Let's be patient with coach Jacobson

[GonzoCat]

I read a lot of people that seem to be expecting to pick up right where we left off, make a 4th consecutive trip to the NCAA next year, etc.

Look people we are losing 3 of our top 6 players, all of whom were fantastic defensive guards, one of whom some believe to be the best player ever at UNI.

I expected next year to be a rebuilding year and on top of that the MVC is going to be stronger than ever, most of the other top teams are hardly losing any players. We only came in 6th place in the conference this year, I have a hard time seeing us improve on that. I think we know 4 is the upper limit for Valley teams in the NCAA.

That was my expectation before todays news. Now we are losing over half our coaching staff and we won't know for awhile how many members of what was to be the best recruiting class in history are still coming.

I think expectations need to be lowered a little for next year, coach Jacobson deserves about 3 years to get us back where we were and hopefully some of the other conference teams have some losses and drop off a little. I hope people don't get all up in arms about Jake because he doesn't meet unreasonable expectations.

Now, if he does exceed my expectations, so much the better and we'll all be saying greg who? sooner than I think.

[uni1988]

Has Ben Jacobsen been hired as the Panthers head Coach?

[Matt Trump]

Has Ben Jacobsen been hired as the Panthers head Coach?

Press conference is tomorrow.

[uni1988]

Do we know what time?

[GoCats05]

11:00 a.m. is when the announcement is going to be made. I hope Coach Jacobson is camping out on doorsteps of our 4 recruits. It would be devastating to lose any of those kids, not to mention the message that would be sending out. It would be a sign of approval if they all stay.

[JCPanthers]

I have faith in Jake and PJ and can assure you they are doing everything they can to keep our recruits. I feel real good about our chances.

[UNIAlum95]

I have faith in Jake and PJ and can assure you they are doing everything they can to keep our recruits. I feel real good about our chances.

JC you got the impression from Jordan's quotes of late that he thought if he had waited, he probably could have ended up at a bigger school. His comments all along have been that he committed to coach Mac. This is his chance to "move up" in his eyes. He will be gone. Koch from Wisconsin will likely have a change of heart and stay closer to home. Who knows what may happen with this class. Recruits will almost always jump when the coach does. Hopefully with the assistant being promoted maybe some of that won't happen.

[jordana33]

The four recruits aren't going anywhere. I heard the Q and A of Macs press conference and he said he called the 4 and told them to honor their commitments to UNI. I choose to believe this because his best friend is now the UNI Coach

[UNIAlum95]

The four recruits aren't going anywhere. I heard the Q and A of Macs press conference and he said he called the 4 and told them to honor their commitments to UNI. I choose to believe this because his best friend is now the UNI Coach

We will see in the next week. I will truly be amazed if both Jordan and Adam honor their commitments to UNI.

[Newsbreaker]

Has Ben Jacobsen been hired as the Panthers head Coach?

Do you even bother to read the posts on this site?


None of us have a clue what the recruits will do. By keeping a good chuck of the staff, especially the guy who does the lionshare of the recruiting, we have a good shot to buck the traditional trend.

[jordana33]

Question. Isn't up to Hartzell whether to let these guys out of their LOI? Just curious, Im not familiar with the rule there.

[UNI MadCat]

The four recruits aren't going anywhere. I heard the Q and A of Macs press conference and he said he called the 4 and told them to honor their commitments to UNI. I choose to believe this because his best friend is now the UNI Coach

No, he told them to honor their comitments. That is something completly different than them saying they would honor the comitments. Choosing to believe that Mac said this has nothing to do with whether they are staying.

That said, I'd like to know where you people think Koch would go. The way I see it, he has virtually zero chance of contributing for Wisconsin. Remember, they also have their best recruiting class in history coming in and will have Stiemsma and Landry back (along with the others, Tucker, Taylor, Krabbenhoft, Butch, Flowers, Gullickson, et al... they are only going to get BETTER).

[panther2317]

It is up to Hatzell whether to release them from their letter of intent or not. I would hope he makes them honor their commitment.

[GonzoCat]

MadCat I think he had an offer from W-Green Bay. That would be closer to home. Maybe he could get an offer from W-Milwaukee, that's a very good progam at a similar level to UNI.

As for the LOI issue, I do not know all the rules, but I feel sorry for these kids. They thought this was about sport and passion and they just learned a hard lesson that it is just a business to many. A lot of people in business will lie through their teeth in order to be successful. It usually works in the short term, but comes back to bite them in the rear long term.

Although I feel sorry for the kids, UNI can't be left twisting in the wind indefinately. I don't even know if this is possible under NCAA rules, but I'd like to see RH tell them they are released from their LOI, but can freely sign a new one immediately if they are still committed to UNI. They can think about it if they want, but in the meantime UNI is free to pursue other recruits to fill those scholarships. That seems like an extremely fair solution for all parties, which means it's probably not allowed by the NCAA.