Greg McDermott Resigns For Creighton

Greg McDermott has resigned after four years at Iowa State. McDermott told his Cyclone players late Monday afternoon, he’s accepted an offer from Creighton to be the next head coach of the Bluejays.
McDermott also said his son Doug will follow him to Creighton. Doug McDermott will be released from his scholarship at UNI, where he was expected to play for Doug’s best friend, Ben Jacobson.

Creighton announced the hiring Monday, less than an hour after Oregon introduced former Bluejays coach Dana Altman as its new coach. McDermott will be formally introduced during a news conference Tuesday.
“I’m disappointed to leave, but excited about what’s ahead for me,” McDermott told reporters outside his home in Ames, Iowa.
McDermott, who’ll get a 10-year contract at Creighton, led Northern Iowa to the NCAA tournament three straight years before leaving for Iowa State in 2006.

“Very difficult decision,” Greg McDermott told the Register. “There was certainly an emotional attachment to the people and program, and the people I work with that makes a change difficult. None more than (athletic director) Jamie Pollard and everything he has done for me.”

McDermott has spent the last four years at Iowa State where he compiled a 59-68 overall record and an 18-46 record in the Big 12. Prior to that, he spent five years at Northern Iowa, one of Creighton’s Missouri Valley Conference rivals. In his last three years at the helm of the Panthers, McDermott went to three straight NCAA Tournaments, losing in the first round all three times. In 2004, his UNI squad finished tied for second in the MVC, his best-ever finish. He had a 90-63 record at UNI, which included a 49-41 mark in the conference. Added to a 2-6 record against Valley competition at Iowa State, he is 51-47 all time against MVC foes.

The Cyclones were 15-17 this past season and would have a difficult time moving up in the Big 12 with the loss of potential first-round pick Craig Brackins and the team’s second-leader scorer, Marquis Gilstrap. There were also several other players who have decided to leave the program — including Lucca Staiger (overseas), Justin Hamilton (LSU), Chris Colvin and Dominique Buckley.

There was also a staff shake-up as Ron Smith retired.
McDermott will go from one of the most difficult Big 12 jobs to arguably the top one in the Missouri Valley.