I'm late getting here, sorry, but this was my first thought. And then I considered this:

1. Niemann was the coach at Simpson, where your entire recruiting base is low-level Iowa kids who need to be coached up to something better.  You can't have that job for as long as he did without an eye for talent and some pull with high school coaches.

2. Morgan had been a high school coach nearly 20 years ago, and most coaches who he would have known from his tenure at West High have long since left.  But he kept pulling two-star diamonds out of the rough because (1) he's great, but (2) Iowa's reputation with high school coaches in the state, rather than Morgan's existing relationships, gave him the inside info on guys they might want.  That reputation for treating kids fairly isn't leaving.

I was kinda hoping for an Iowa high school coach, too.  But this makes more sense for what they need, particularly in the actual coaching part of things.  I think it's a pretty good hire, all things considered.

My favorite part of any Mike Holmes show ever was the time someone contacted him because their home had some innocuous, straightforward problem.  Holmes, of course, tore the entire thing down to the studs without telling them.  They came to see what was going on, and I think the poor guy just about died of shock.

There's some smart, insightful stuff on Holmes on Homes.  You just need to be able to see past the spray foam bullshit.

Wisconsin's entire roster is from the Big Ten footprint, save for an occasional foray into Florida.  Oliver has recruited Michigan for the Badgers, primarily.  He beat Iowa for Lorne Bowman this year.  He got Taylor Currie, who had a weird scenario where he pushed up his graduation by a year and Michigan no longer had a spot for him.  And hey, if Dean can crack a nut that Iowa hasn't meaningfully cracked since the early days of Dr. Tom -- if he can occasionally beat Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Wisconsin, all the Ohio schools, etc. for top-end talent out of Michigan -- then sure, that makes sense.  Similarly, if he's some kind of defensive wunderkind and can graft Wisconsin's defensive efficiency onto McCaffery's system diametrically opposed to everything Wisconsin does offensively, then he's a great hire.

But all I've seen -- and all you apparently cite -- is that he's (1) at Wisconsin, (2) is really enthusiastic and young and dynamic, (3) can coach guards because he played guard, and (4) played at Iowa.  I don't care about (1) and, frankly, you shouldn't either.  There are plenty of guys who fit (2) who also already work in recruiting areas where we have won and can win, where a new coach can build on his past relationships and Iowa's current presence on the east coast and mid-Atlantic and pick up where Francis left off.  We have two Division I point guards already on staff, including the head coach, so I don't get why a third is some sort of coup.  And (4) really doesn't matter to anyone except Iowa fans who, for whatever reason, think every open job has to be filled by some alumnus coming back to save the day.

Put it this way: If McCaffery wanted to replace Francis with a guy who had some modest success pulling 90s Tom Davis-level recruits out of Michigan during a few years at Wisconsin and he had played college ball at Marquette 20 years ago, would you be jumping into comment threads to start shit?  Because I don't think you would.

Wow, I was not expecting a hot Mike Holmes supertake in the timeline today.

Is that a haiku?

Moss in overtime:

Belmont is in. Liberty is a 12. Cats are chasing dogs.

Tyler Cook vs. Zion would be worth the pain.

Sup bros. Is there a tournament of some kind to talk about?