Dan Dakich
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Daniel John Dakich (born August 17, 1962) is an American
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
sportscaster. He is a former player, assistant coach, interim head coach for the Indiana University Hoosiers and former head coach at
Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the ...
. He currently hosts the radio show ''Don't @ Me"'' for OutKick.


Playing career

Dakich attended
Andrean High School Andrean High School is a co-educational, college preparatory secondary school in Merrillville, Indiana. It is located in the Diocese of Gary. The school was founded in 1959, and named for St. Andrew, the patron saint of the first bishop of the di ...
in
Merrillville, Indiana Merrillville is a town in Ross Township, Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 35,246 at the 2010 census. Merrillville is in east-central Lake County, in the Chicago metropolitan area. On January 1, 2015, Merrillville became the ...
. He elected to play basketball for Indiana under coach
Bob Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (born October 25, 1940) is an American former basketball coach. Nicknamed "the General", Knight won 902 NCAA Division I men's college basketball games, a record at the time of his retirement, and currently fourth all-ti ...
from 1981 to 1985. He was a team captain during his junior and senior seasons and the Hoosiers finished with an 84–39 () record during his career. As a player, he helped Indiana win one Big Ten title (during the 1982–83 season), earn three NCAA Tournament berths and finish as the NIT runner-up his senior season. As a junior, he was named All-Tournament at the Indiana Classic and as a senior he earned similar accolades at the Hoosier Classic. Dakich is remembered for his defensive effort against
Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...
in Indiana's upset of No. 1 ranked
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
in the 1984 East Regional semifinal of the NCAA tournament. It was Dakich's sixth start of the year, but Knight assigned him to guard Jordan the afternoon of the game. Knight told him, "Just don't let him dunk on you. That will embarrass you and me both." Dakich commented, "I went back to my room and threw up." Dakich held Jordan to 13 points in Indiana's 72-68 victory, although Jordan spent most of the 2nd half on the bench in foul trouble, with both players ultimately fouling out in what would be Jordan's final college game.


Coaching career


Assistant coach

Dakich was first a graduate assistant coach at Indiana under
Bob Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (born October 25, 1940) is an American former basketball coach. Nicknamed "the General", Knight won 902 NCAA Division I men's college basketball games, a record at the time of his retirement, and currently fourth all-ti ...
from 1985–87 and then an assistant coach at Indiana from 1987 to 1997. He helped the Indiana program win 74% (283–101) of its games over the 12 years he served as an assistant coach. The Hoosiers won a national title in the 1986–87 season and earned a spot in the NCAA tournament in each of his 12 seasons on the staff. IU also captured four Big Ten titles while finishing third or better in 9 of his 12 years. Dakich was the academic monitor on the Indiana basketball staff his last seven years and, under his guidance, every four-year player on the program graduated. He also assisted in the development of six All-Americans and three national Player of the Year candidates, including 1993 Player of the Year
Calbert Cheaney Calbert Nathaniel Cheaney (born July 17, 1971) is an American basketball coach and former player who serves as assistant coach for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He starred as a player for the Indiana Hoosiers fro ...
.


Head coach

From 1997 to 2007 he served as the head coach at
Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the ...
where he compiled a record of 156–140 (). He coached one player who signed a professional contract, including former Indiana Pacers guard
Keith McLeod Keith McLeod (born November 5, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player and current varsity boys basketball head coach at East Canton High School in Canton, Ohio. He is tall. He has also played in the NBA for the Minnesota Timbe ...
. During Dakich's tenure, BGSU never made it to the NCAA tournament. Dakich had losing seasons in four of his last five years with BGSU, and resigned as head coach in 2007. Briefly in 2002, Dakich was named head basketball coach at
West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...
(WVU) to succeed
Gale Catlett Wendell Gale Catlett Article refers to Catlett as "W. Gale Catlett". (born October 31, 1940) is a retired American basketball coach who was head coach at the University of Cincinnati and West Virginia University. Playing career Born in Hedgesvil ...
. When Dakich learned that people affiliated with the basketball program may have been guilty of NCAA recruiting rules infractions,thus returning to Bowling Green as head basketball coach after only a week at WVU. WVU voluntarily reported results of its internal investigation to the NCAA, and the university was not penalized as a result of the infractions. The focus of the investigation, Jonathan Hargett, was banned from WVU athletics for his role in the reported violations. At the end of the 2008 season he served as the interim head coach at
Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...
, following
Kelvin Sampson Kelvin Dale Sampson (born October 5, 1955) is an American college basketball coach, currently the head coach for the University of Houston of the American Athletic Conference. Early life Sampson was born in the Lumbee Native American community of ...
's resignation due to
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
recruiting violations. Under Dakich's guidance, the Hoosiers went 0–2 in postseason play, losing in the first rounds of the Big 10 and NCAA tournaments. After the season, IU declined to offer Dakich the job and hired Tom Crean.


Television and radio career

Dakich was the host of "The Dan Dakich Show" on
Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
radio station
WFNI WFNI (1070 AM) is a commercial radio station in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is owned by locally based Emmis Communications and carries a sports radio format, featuring ESPN Radio programming. The studios and offices are located at 40 Monument ...
, ESPN radio affiliate, 1070 The Fan. Dakich served as a college basketball studio analyst for the
Big Ten Network Big Ten Network (BTN) is an American sports network based in Chicago, Illinois. The channel is dedicated to coverage of collegiate sports sanctioned by the Big Ten Conference, including live and recorded event telecasts, news, analysis programs, ...
for the 2009–2010 college basketball season. Beginning in November 2010, Dakich joined ESPN as a college basketball color commentator and studio analyst, replacing
Steve Lavin Stephen Michael Lavin (born September 4, 1964) is an American men's college basketball coach and broadcaster who is the head coach of the San Diego Toreros men's basketball, San Diego Toreros of the West Coast Conference (WCC). He previously se ...
.


Relationship with Bob Knight

Dakich spent 16 years with Knight, four as a player and twelve as an assistant. Dakich has said the reason he stayed so long, was Knight promised him that he would be Knight's successor at IU. In recent years their relationship has deteriorated. In 2017 Dakich said that he had 'lost all respect' for Knight after Knight failed to attend a ceremony honoring the undefeated 1976 IU basketball team.


Controversy

In October 2019, Dakich was suspended from his show for failing "to adhere to the journalistic principles valued by" Emmis Communications, which owns WFNI. In March 2020, Dakich responded to the firing of Scottsburg (IN) High School basketball coach Brent Jameson by "calling a player a 'methhead,' urging listeners to go 'take a dump' in Scottsburg and threatening, 'I may just drive down there and beat the hell out of every school board member.'" He also called Scottsburg "a town full of 'meth and AIDS and needles.'” Dakich responded by saying, ""Tone is important people. . . . Sometimes you can’t get tone out of newspaper articles and things. Sometimes what's funny when said or trying to be funny doesn't come across." According to reporter Ian Kennedy, Dakich criticized Dr. Nathan Kalman-Lamb and Dr. Johanna Mellis, co-hosts of The End of Sport podcast, using "sexist and misogynistic" language for their discussion of the ways college athletes are mistreated and exploited. Dakich reportedly called Kalman-Lamb "a d-bag” and declined “'going at it' in a pool with Dr. Mellis, saying that if he did, because it was a public place, he’d 'have to get divorced.'”


Head coaching record


Personal

Dakich married his first wife Jackie in 1990 and they divorced in 2012. They have two children together, Andrew and Laura. In 2015 Dakich married Leigh (Ross) Dakich.


References


External links


Bowling Green bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dakich, Dan 1962 births Living people Basketball coaches from Indiana American men's basketball players Basketball players from Gary, Indiana Bowling Green Falcons men's basketball coaches College basketball announcers in the United States College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball coaches Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball players People from Merrillville, Indiana Sportspeople from Gary, Indiana American men's basketball coaches Sports YouTubers YouTube podcasters