• Home
  • News
    • Politics & Government
    • Business & Economy
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
  • Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Radio Iowa Poll
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support Page
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters

Radio Iowa

Iowa's Radio News Network

You are here: Home / Sports / McDermott takes over as Creighton coach

McDermott takes over as Creighton coach

April 27, 2010 By Todd Kimm

Greg McDermott with ISU AD Jamie Pollard after being named Cyclone coach 4 years ago.

Greg McDermott with ISU AD Jamie Pollard after being named Cyclone coach 4 years ago.

Greg McDermott was introduced this morning as the new head coach at Creighton. McDermott resigned as the Iowa State coach on Monday and replaces long-time coach Dana Altman at Creighton. Altman was named the new coach at Oregon on Monday.

McDermott says when he took the Wayne State job 14 years ago they were coming off a 7-20 season, and he says U.N.I. was 7-24 when he took that job. He says they were truly rebuilding jobs, but he says Creighton is not. McDermott says Altman did an unbelievable job building the program to the level it is, and knows he has big shoes to fill and he takes that very seriously.

McDermott never had a winning season in four years at I.S.U.  but says he is a better coach and better person because of the experience. He says his relationship with Athletic Director Jamie Pollard and womens’ coach Bill Fennelly and the friendship he forged with them and the things they taught him are “invaluable.”

The Cyclones were 15-17 this past season and McDermott’s four year mark was 59-68. McDermott says they faced some adversity at Iowa State as he says it seemed that whatever could go wrong, did go wrong. He says he was fortunate to have a support system to get through those times and says “Our family wouldn’t trade our experiences in Ames for anything, we’ve made some lifelong friends there, and for that reason it was difficult to leave.”

McDermott says he is happy to be back in the Missouri Valley Conference. McDermott led U.N.I. to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances before taking over at Iowa State in 2006. He says it is a league where the teams care about each other and the decisions that are made are in the best interest of the league and sometimes you have to put your own interests aside.

McDermott will also get a chance to coach his son at Creighton. Doug McDermott helped lead Ames to back-to-back 4A state championships and will join the Creighton program after originally signing with U.N.I. McDermott says they both talked to U.N.I. coach Ben Jacobson and says he was “100-percent in support of Doug having the opportunity to play for me.” He says there is a process to go through, but he is confident that will not be a problem because of Jacobson’s support.

By Tom Stanton KFAB Omaha

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: Basketball, Cyclones

Featured Stories

All bodies of missing now recovered from rubble of collapsed Davenport building

Governor signs child care expansion into law

Iowa seniors have until July 1 to apply for new property tax break

Smoke from distant fires creates colorful sunrise in Iowa

DOT’s Motor Vehicle Enforcement Division to merge into State Patrol

TwitterFacebook
Tweets by RadioIowa

What may be rare Michael Jordan trading card found in unclaimed deposit box

Hawkeye women to play Virginia Tech

Radio Iowa/Baseball Coaches Association High School Poll 6/5/23

Iowa eliminated at NCAA regional

Iowa names Beth Goetz interim AD

More Sports

Archives

Copyright © 2023 · Learfield News & Ag, LLC