Granted there are many reasons to be down on this team, but there are just as many reasons to be hopeful.
1) This team is entertaining
Everyone hates losing, but the real reason we (should) watch sports is to be entertained. This is the most entertaining Iowa basketball team in a long time. Almost every single Big Ten game has been close. Sure we've lost most of them, but they were two hours of fun. Style of play is also clearly a factor. It's fun to watch a team that actually tries to score instead of waiting 35 seconds to toss up a poor shot like the Lickliter squads of yore.
2) This team is young
We start two freshman and a sophomore. We only have one senior. Granted, Eric May's has played well this year and has been crucial during Marble's slump. Nevertheless, we lost Jarryd Cole and Matt Gatens and improved each year. We will be significantly better next year and we're already one of the better teams in the Big Ten (record be damned). We should've beat Purdue, Wisconsin and Minnesota on the road despite the fact that our best player is injured/in a terrible slump.
3) McCaffrey can motivate players/this team plays hard
I know people have questioned some of his decisions recently, such as putting Marble in late, but he's clearly good at motivating his players The fact that this team keeps playing hard after every heartbreaking loss is a testament to our Coach. The technical he got in the Wisconsin game worked wonders. I'm not sure whether to credit the coach or the players (both deserve credit), but we keep putting it out there every game. Our rebounding has been phenomenal the last few games.
4) Defense Defense Defense
I think after last year many of us were convinced that McCaffrey was not a good defensive coach. Sure his teams ran and scored a lot of points but they couldn't defend. It seems more likely that he just didn't have the players at the time to execute his schemes. Iowa has been excellent defensively during the Big 10. It's the only thing keeping them in ball games. McCaffrey's constantly changing defensive schemes have keep other teams flustered and off balance.
5) No defections/solid recruiting
We haven't lost a single player since McCaffrey was hired (other than initial transfers and Hubbard and those don't mean much). In addition, McCaffrey has brought in solid recruiting classes each year. These were the major problems with the last two coaches.
1) This team is entertaining
Everyone hates losing, but the real reason we (should) watch sports is to be entertained. This is the most entertaining Iowa basketball team in a long time. Almost every single Big Ten game has been close. Sure we've lost most of them, but they were two hours of fun. Style of play is also clearly a factor. It's fun to watch a team that actually tries to score instead of waiting 35 seconds to toss up a poor shot like the Lickliter squads of yore.
2) This team is young
We start two freshman and a sophomore. We only have one senior. Granted, Eric May's has played well this year and has been crucial during Marble's slump. Nevertheless, we lost Jarryd Cole and Matt Gatens and improved each year. We will be significantly better next year and we're already one of the better teams in the Big Ten (record be damned). We should've beat Purdue, Wisconsin and Minnesota on the road despite the fact that our best player is injured/in a terrible slump.
3) McCaffrey can motivate players/this team plays hard
I know people have questioned some of his decisions recently, such as putting Marble in late, but he's clearly good at motivating his players The fact that this team keeps playing hard after every heartbreaking loss is a testament to our Coach. The technical he got in the Wisconsin game worked wonders. I'm not sure whether to credit the coach or the players (both deserve credit), but we keep putting it out there every game. Our rebounding has been phenomenal the last few games.
4) Defense Defense Defense
I think after last year many of us were convinced that McCaffrey was not a good defensive coach. Sure his teams ran and scored a lot of points but they couldn't defend. It seems more likely that he just didn't have the players at the time to execute his schemes. Iowa has been excellent defensively during the Big 10. It's the only thing keeping them in ball games. McCaffrey's constantly changing defensive schemes have keep other teams flustered and off balance.
5) No defections/solid recruiting
We haven't lost a single player since McCaffrey was hired (other than initial transfers and Hubbard and those don't mean much). In addition, McCaffrey has brought in solid recruiting classes each year. These were the major problems with the last two coaches.
