T. J. Otzelberger, the ‘Fans’ Choice’, Hired as Iowa State’s Next Head Coach
T. J. Otzelberger was the fans’ choice to be the next head coach of the Iowa State Cyclones after Steve Prohm was shown the door. And one day later, “Otz”, as fans call him, is heading to Ames, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Don’t believe it? Just head to Twitter and check it out. They’ve been pinging me for the last month, especially because I left him off my list of potential coaches to replace Prohm. My reason? My coverage of the Big 12 pre-dates Otzelberger’s time at Iowa State. But I did my research, and for Cyclones fans, the reasons for tapping Otzelberger to replace Steve Prohm make perfect sense.
Otzelberger served as the lead assistant to ‘The Mayor,’ Fred Hoiberg, the former Iowa State player who served as head coach from 2010-15. Otz served as the associate head coach from 2010-13. For four years prior to Hoiberg’s arrival, he was an assistant coach under Greg McDermott.
Otzelberger earned a reputation as a great recruiter, so it probably hurt ISU fans to see him head to Washington to work as an assistant coach with the Huskies from 2013-15 under Lorenzo Romar. Otz returned for one more season at Iowa State, 2015-16, which just happened to be Prohm’s first season, before moving on to take his first head-coaching job at South Dakota State.
Local roots and success as part of a program can be important components in hiring a head coach. Otz has those. He was born and raised in Wisconsin. He spent close to a decade in Ames as an assistant coach. He helped the Cyclones recruit well and fueled their success under Hoiberg, and even helped ease Prohm’s transition to head coach. In that vacuum, Otz seems like the right choice to take over the program.
READ MORE: Iowa State Basketball: Candidates to replace Steve Prohm
READ MORE: Iowa State Fires Basketball Coach Steve Prohm
So his time at UNLV as head coach? Well, it’s LOOKS average. But one must always look into the details. Sure, the Runnin’ Rebels were 17-15 last season, but they finished in a tie for second place in the Mountain West, going 12-6 in league action. UNLV upset undefeated San Diego State on the road.
This season was a bit more forgettable, but many teams had that type of season due to COVID-19. In fact, Otz caught it in December. The Runnin’ Rebels finished 12-15 overall and 8-10 in Mountain West action.
But help may be coming. If you’re a Cyclones fan, you know that Otz can recruit at a high level. Well, guess what he was just doing Sin City? He was owning the Las Vegas area and he is sitting on the No. 16 recruiting class for 2021, per 247Sports.com.
One is Top 50 national player and Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) High School point guard Zaon Collins. He also grabbed Durango High School’s Keshon Gilbert, also out of Las Vegas (No. 209 nationally). He also had another Top 50 player coming in Glendale, Arizona’s Arthur Kaluma.
In just two seasons he’s proved he can keep the local stars home in Las Vegas’ fertile recruiting ground and improved UNLV’s recruiting profile from No. 136 in 2019 to No. 59 in 2020 to No. 16 this year.
Midwest roots or the promise of a rise in the desert? That was Otz’s choice. And thankfully for Cyclone Nation, he picked the former.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
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