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I think a better question to ask is just how good could this Iowa team be, given they signed the best player available at the most important position in the sport, and who arguably is their best point guard in the past 25-30 years. With 2/3 of the roster still TBD. I see more upside/high ceiling...

And to be fair, maybe most of the feedback was that a coaching change was needed. And/or changes to Carver. So beyond his control at that point (with the changes requiring more funds that wouldn't be donated until he was gone).

Kirk came to his crossroads after 2014 and decided to take in the feedback from fans and Mary, and even hired a PR firm to get additional perspective. Beth collected all kinds of fan feedback from focus groups around the state this past year. I'm guessing when presented with fans' sentiments...

Sounds like Gaten will not be on staff. Wouldn't have expected any staff holdovers given McCollum's background is already Iowa and Missouri.

I don't know anything about Dix, other than he seemed like a quiet, even-keeled kid who played really hard. And on the court, totally played the right way. Made the extra pass, moved the ball, bought into the team basketball concept. Who knows.

It's also not football. You can't simply hire a defensive coordinator and let him do his thing with a mutually exclusive set of players. Fran's whole system is getting the ball up the court as quickly as possible and hopefully getting a shot in transition before the defense can get set. ("Best...

Totally, Freeman should get what he can. From a team's strategic standpoint, though, I wonder what his value is? NBA teams look at a Win Shares metric. From that perspective, I would guess there are players available under $500k that stack up as well as Freeman if not better when it comes to...

It'll be interesting to watch analytics increasingly be embraced in college basketball, especially for these portal guys with some significant sample sizes at the D1 level. I would guess most teams aren't doing this yet, at least not compared to what's been taking place in the NBA for years now...

Totally agree. Seems like a very cerebral player. Plays with patience and pace. I want to see him in this system so much.

Yeah, I totally get it. West Coast Conference was more my dream for him, not what I thought he'd want.

Right, definitely for a few years...which makes me think Fran wasn't expecting to be gone within the year.

I know he looks whiny, but the guy is actually super engaging. I still listen to Dan Barreiro from my years living in Minneapolis (top radio guy there), and Pitino still comes on the show from time to time despite being fired over 4 years ago. Think about that compared to Fran's approach...

I'm still trying to wrap my head around his house moves. I'm not sure I understand the trouble of selling your house, buying a new house and remodeling it if you KNOW you are leaving within a year. Wouldn't you just stay in your house at that point?

Yeah, it'll be interesting to see how his system works when there is no clear advantage in recruiting/money across your competitors. I get he graduated from Penn, but I thought he should have flipped coasts for his final gig. No idea what jobs are open, but I would have loved to see him in...

His oldest son was all-state and a senior this year, but my understanding is not a D1 player. I was thinking Beth really should have made it a condition in negotiations that his son can never walk on, or even be a student manager. Or grad assistant or any position on staff one day. (Nothing...

I'm a Josh Dix fan. Good for him if he can help his family.

No idea if Dix has interest in coming back, or if Iowa can afford him, but man....can you imagine a back court of Dix and Stirtz under McCollum? Dix strikes me as a cerebral, patient player who understands team basketball on both ends. I would love to see what McCollum could do with him...

Couldn't disagree more. Goetz and Stevens have a very good relationship. He wanted Iowa to promote her, and he wants to see her succeed. I think it is very likely they discussed McCollum when he was still in D2, and Stevens tagged him as one to watch. It was very much about Xs and Os.

I think part of the reason this hire is so exciting is that he must see the unique aspects of the Iowa job - good and bad - and yet this is the one he wants. Because I think he could have easily found a job with better salary and payroll. If not now, then next year. He had his best player...

I like Fran too, but you gotta be either a McCaffery or a staff member, right?