Ahmad Wagner a Hawk

[Stanzi]

Looking at the guys Fran is going for now might be an indication of the problem as Fran currently sees it. Changing the athletes will change the culture and might make it more attractive for some of the types he's been missing on.

Agreed. I really like how this class is shaping up so far.

 

[ArvadaHawk]

Haha, you don't make any sense.

How many combined seasons did Somerville and Smith play for Iowa? Who cares if SA got them to sign with Iowa? Most of them either washed out and transferred or werent developed under Alford and staff.

It seems like every year under Alford, Iowa was playing with about 8 scholarships players. If you want to throw out any similarities between Alford/Lick/Fran it should be the terrible job of player retention that was done by both Alford and Lick.

The only marquee name that Lick got in an Iowa uniform was Gatens and he would have been a Hawkeye if Satan was the head coach.

Good points IPA.

 

[RocknRollface]

Some people think Fran should have been able to parlay the one-two punch of Gesell and Woody into recruiting at a much higher level. It's not apparent to many of us that he has.

To the other Kool-Aid drinkers on here, don't dismiss what Groce is doing one state over. Illinois is going to be solid in a year or two.

There has been nothing to parylay yet. They haven't won anything.

It really needed to happen last year and didn't.

Count me in the skeptical of this guy group. Maybe he is a great defender and rebounder and thats just not shown on a mix tape but what is shown is not very interesting nor are his offers. One thing is clear he is certainly not a 3.

 

[goldenhawk96]

'Sota isn't an interesting offer? They are trying to play the exact same system of uptempo, pressure basketball. I guess 'Sota should look to replace Patino. This guy is Iowa's JYD, Junkyard Dog!!

 

[RocknRollface]

Already attacks the rim better than any Iowa player, definitely better than Woody or Gabe. This is the kind of player Ia needed to beet teams like Wisconsin. Think James Winters only bigger--Reggie Evans maybe.

Not nearly as explosive as Winters and Reggie Evans? Seriously? May as well have said Charles Barkely.

He does attack the basket, so did Basabe. He looks very very much like Basabe, alittle thicker.

 

[RocknRollface]

Fans who compare him to Jarryd Cole need to remember that Cole was a much higher rated recruit than Wagner...so I think it is difficult to make that comparison.

Looking back, it seems that Alford, despite not having the new facilities we have now, did recruit very well compared to Lick and Fran. SA managed to pull in 12 top 150 recruits in his first 7 years,with a number of top 50 guys like PP, Somerville,Reiner,and Smith. Lick and Fran are pretty similar in recruits they have landed.

Absolutely not.

Im not pumped about Frans recruiting and even less about his coaching but comparing the two is insane.

Fran has been bringing in lower level big ten/mid major guys to go with a few top 150 guys from the state. And hes hit a few surprises like White and Olesani.

Lick was bringing in mostly guys who belonged in D2. His best players were all Alford recruits, Tate, Cole, Gattens, Kelly, Freeman ect. His recruits were a joke and Lick was to stupid to even recruit Uthoff in his own back yard.

Comparing him with what Fran is brining in is wrong and the results clearly bare that out.

 

[Benddontbreak]

Wagner is a putback/2nd chance guy, much like Basabe. IMO it was a little early in the process to offer him. No disrespect, but at some point we need skilled players that can create in the halfcourt. Otherwise were gonna be looking at the [insert creative JUCO guard] show, since we lack players comfortable with on-ball pressure.

 

[WindsorHawk]

Im curious as to how much the 2 above posters have actually seen Fleming, Hutton and Wagner play.

Also, Groce has recruited fairly well at Illinois but he never finished better than 3rd in the MAC and has been fairly underwhelming at Illinois so I am not sold on him as a high major coach.

This.

 

[okeefe4prez]

And Alford translated all his recruiting "prowess" into 1 NCAA win in 8 years. Anyone want to bet Fran is able to top that mark? I love all the talent evaluators.

I'm not so sure I would take that bet. Alford at least made the Tourney and had some chances, but that Northwestern State game was lost on pure luck. I highly doubt Fran gets us in as a 3 seed. We had a pretty good team last year, but once the coaches in the Big Ten adjusted, Fran simply had no answer. Sure, he's better than Lickliter was, but this team is still a LONG way from winning even a single NCAA round of 64 game, especially with Marble gone.

 

[WindsorHawk]

Fans who compare him to Jarryd Cole need to remember that Cole was a much higher rated recruit than Wagner...so I think it is difficult to make that comparison.

Looking back, it seems that Alford, despite not having the new facilities we have now, did recruit very well compared to Lick and Fran. SA managed to pull in 12 top 150 recruits in his first 7 years,with a number of top 50 guys like PP, Somerville,Reiner,and Smith. Lick and Fran are pretty similar in recruits they have landed.

I don't care where a player is rated. I care about how a player performs individually and as part of the system as a whole. My answer to PP, Sommerville, Reiner and Smith is Marble, White, Olaseni, Woodbury, Gesell and Uthoff...with many more to come.

 

[HawkIPA]

I'm not so sure I would take that bet. Alford at least made the Tourney and had some chances, but that Northwestern State game was lost on pure luck. I highly doubt Fran gets us in as a 3 seed. We had a pretty good team last year, but once the coaches in the Big Ten adjusted, Fran simply had no answer. Sure, he's better than Lickliter was, but this team is still a LONG way from winning even a single NCAA round of 64 game, especially with Marble gone.

You don't blow a 17 point lead with under 7 minutes left because of pure luck, counselor.

 

[HawkIPA]

I have to wonder if Fran knew that Morrow was falling away from Iowa, or it was just first guy to commit gets the scholly? I doubt we take both Morrow and Wagner, so I guess when Fran offers, it is unconditional, and maybe he surprised Fran by accepting before his visit? We now have 3 unranked commits who all seem to have significant flaws in their games....Hutton and Wagner struggle to score outside of 3 ft, and Fleming struggles as a designated shooter...to shoot the three. When I look at who Groce is courting at Illinois, it is becoming clear that Iowa simply cannot recruit at the top half of the league level. We are down with the bottom 4-5 ...we compete with Minny for guys at best. I really thought that by the 2014 and 2015 classes (Fran's 5th and 6th classes) , we would be competing for top 150 recruits every year....yet we have not been able to do that except in the 2012 class of Woody and Mikey. Is Iowa that much worse a program than Illinois right now? Groce is recruiting heads and shoulders above Fran right now in only his 3rd class....Iowa still un-sexy? Forever?

This.

I still want to know how much you guys have seen Hutton, Fleming and Wagner play.

 

[clicheusername3]

I still want to know how much you guys have seen Hutton, Fleming and Wagner play.

What is your point? How much have you seen them play? And even if the answer is 100 times are you qualified to properly evaluate them? Stop moaning, it's an underwhelming get and people are a little frustrated right now, it will wear off.

 

[chuckles33]

It is comical how people on this board see a 2-minute highlight tape and immediately know more about a kid than the coaching staff who have been watching/comparing hours upon hours.

 

[HawkinGoferLand]

the interesting thing about putting together a team (or class) is putting the pieces together to win a championship. Many fans assume a good D1 player should average like 25ppg/11rbs/6 assists/3 stl/2 blks..... Some guys fill different roles for a team.

 

[LawVHawk]

It is comical how people on this board see a 2-minute highlight tape and immediately know more about a kid than the coaching staff who have been watching/comparing hours upon hours.

If the kid's going to put a mix tape of highlights out there, it ought to be damn good, something that makes you say "Wow." At least from that you can discount some for the kid's weaknesses and the less than stellar play that wasn't included and still come up with some sense of how good he'll be and where he'll contribute.

The vids of Wagner are underwhelming in their entirety. He appears to have one move. B1G power forwards and centers will shut that down in a heartbeat, even assuming he grows and gains some additional pounds and strength. Where's his blocking out? Where's his rebounding?

His caliber of player is a dime a dozen in any moderately urban state or city. Based on what I've seen and read, I'm just not seeing a D1 player, much less one who is going to see significant playing time in the B1G. Not sure this is a good get for Fran, which disappoints me. Sorry.

 

[sioux34]

I knew for a fact that the game was lost with three minutes to go. The final shot going in was only a formality.

 

[JHHawk]

I am not writing off Wagner as a possible good player at Iowa. I do think that Fran is trying to address defensive issues with Hutton, and now Wagner....just hoping that we could land Morrow, and am wondering if this commit might signal that Iowa is losing ground with Ed.

 

[PalmettoHawkFan]

jfc

hutton -- one of the top defensive+rebounding small forwards in the country, offered by bo rodent when he was a soph. stopper and transition scoring. underrated: had to play the 4 in aau last year, his ankle problem and not needing to raise his stock because he is firm on iowa meant limited exposure this summer.

fleming: steaky. looks terrible one game, like a top 50 scorer another. fans will have to live with it.

wagner (from an acc guy who has seen him play): plus defender with good anticipation and the lateral quickness to cover 2s, has defended the 2-5 in aau, plus rebounder who should excel at both roles. glue guy -- he is a high major player in every aspect of the game but scoring.

there are two schollies left in this class. all the remaining forwards -- anunoby, morrow, sehic (no way he's a B1G center), and boudreaux -- have strong offense. fran now has two guys who can fill the stopper role.

let's see how this class fills out. you add a scorer and it starts to look pretty good -- roles and needs filled with athletes for fran's system.

 

[JHHawk]

jfc

hutton -- one of the top defensive+rebounding small forwards in the country, offered by bo rodent when he was a soph. stopper and transition scoring. underrated: had to play the 4 in aau last year, his ankle problem and not needing to raise his stock because he is firm on iowa meant limited exposure this summer.

fleming: steaky. looks terrible one game, like a top 50 scorer another. fans will have to live with it.

wagner (from an acc guy who has seen him play): plus defender and rebounder who should excel at both roles. glue guy -- he is a high major player in every aspect of the game but scoring.

there are two schollies left in this class. all the remaining forwards -- anunoby, morrow, sehic (no way he's a B1G center), and boudreaux -- have strong offense.

let's see how this class fills out. you add a scorer and it starts to look pretty good -- roles and needs filled with athletes for fran's system.

Nobody seems to be outraged, just curious. Wonder why the ACC did not offer Wagner? Scoring is helpful in this game. We all got frustrated last year having a small forward (White) who could not shoot outside the paint....Hutton and Wagner might be the same....we will see. I love the transition game, but these Big Ten coaches know our plan now, and halfcourt offense became more important late last year. I agree we need to see how the class fills out before any concrete conclusions or substantive debate....just killing time until kickoff....Go Hawks!