Can we agree, Fran will have more to work with than Alford or Lickliter?

[JonDMiller]

17,

I will agree with you on the point guard play...Iowa needs to get another one, and Payne has a lot of improving to do. You can't bank on uncertainties at point guard.

 

[Cyclones17]

I count Kelly...but I count the recollection of Kelly THE FRESHMAN and what he played like. He didn't play like Kelly THE SOPHOMORE

7 points and 2 boards is solid for a freshmen guard. And the talent was obvious there

I think his point was the FOUR incomming fremshan (Brush, Marble, Larsen, Mccabe) will have a much bigger impact thier freshman seasons than Kelly who put up 7.3 pts, 1.9 rebs, and more TO's than A's his freshman season.

Now go back to your own board and discuss that juggernaut ISU program.

Cyclones17, why don't you go worry about your ISU team and their recruiting needs! Being that your team had two NBA players on their roster this year and failed expectations miserablly suggests to me your team has a bigger problems than arguing with Jon over Iowa's recruiting. Especially given that Jon has more credentials and a bigger brain than you!

What is your guys issue here? I have not said a negative thing about Iowa, the hire, or the players. The question was who had more to work with. I don't think he has the talent to work with but he has the facilities to work with. What is so wrong with my opinion? Others in the thread have said the same exact thing

 

[DuffMan]

Duez was a good big body up front. Iowa doesn't currently have that type of body.

Duez was 6-7 200, Fuller is 6-6 210....

 

[Cyclones17]

Dear God man stop. Duez averaged 7 points and 5 boards in Alfords first year. Fuller averaged 10 and 6 playing on a bad ankle half the year.

Hey I never said Duez was better. Go back and look. Never said it. I just said Duez was solid and he was. He was a strong body.

I love Fuller. Wish ISU would have gotten him

 

[Cyclones17]

17,

I will agree with you on the point guard play...Iowa needs to get another one, and Payne has a lot of improving to do. You can't bank on uncertainties at point guard.

Agreed. In college bball it is the PG that stirs the drink. Especially if you are going to pick up the pace you need a floor general more so than ever. I don't think running the court is Payne's strong suit when compared to other PG's in the league.

 

[Bucketochicken]

Definitely more than Lick, and arguably on-par with what Alford had (player-wise, anyway). Getting the new facility upgrades will help a lot too. I think Jon's right though, that McCaffery will be under a lot more pressure than the previous two, regardless of what he has to work with.

 

[Hawk94]

My question is will he be able to keep all 4 recruits. If Brust, McCabe and Marble all came on in their senior years like everyone felt they may be getting alot of new coaching friends hanging around their house and schools. Some of these coaches will already have long standing relationships with these athletes. ALL coaches are looking to make their teams better and they smell blood when a coach is fired or takes another job.

 

[storminspank]

See I disagree. Only Van has them as a top 30 class. Most other places rank the class 7th or 8th in the conference.

Not 100% true.

When ESPN did the Iowa-NW game, they mentioned Iowa having the #26 recruiting class in America. I have read elsewhere that Iowa has a Top 30 class, and the BTN routinely mentioned Iowa having a Top 30 class.

That's all semantics, though, as it's a solid class (doesn't matter what number you assign to it). I've talked personally with college scouts and they relay the same information.

I've seen 4th best in the BT, I've seen 8th in the BT. The thing is, all those class are very good and very close (the top 3 not-withstanding).

 

[olivecourt]

I think Jon's right though, that McCaffery will be under a lot more pressure than the previous two, regardless of what he has to work with.

i'm going to respectfully disagree on this point, for a few reasons:

1. if iowa goes .500 next year, it will be considered a huge success-- and it's not that hard for a major conference program with a weak non-conference schedule to finish at .500 overall.

2. we are now on our 4th coach in 11 years. there are good reasons that lickliter had to go, but there is NO WAY mccaffery will be here less than 5 years. if you think we had a short list of interested guys this time around, see what will happen if we boot another guy without giving him the traditional 5-year period to turn things around. barring scandal, mccaffery will here at least 5 years... if things don't work out, it's barta that's out the door, not mccaffery.

3. mccaffery can engender a ton of good will very easily, starting with today's press conference. showing some interest in the players, keeping everyone on the roster, showing some personality, engaging the fans, playing up tempo, etc. these are all very easy to do.

4. look at where we are right now.... do you really care if we win 13 games or 18 games next year, as long as it's fun to watch? if he plays it right, mccaffery gets at least a year of "thank god he's not the last guy" treatment from the fans. if he really comes out and charms the fans, hires great assistants, and hits the recruiting scene hard, i hope that most fans would be willing to give him at least a two-year honeymoon before we start expecting big things. this assumes rational fan behavior, which i realize is asking a lot, but still...

 

[ssckelley]

Yes, I agree that Fran has much more talent to work with than Lick but it is debatible he has more than Alford.

Alford inherited a NCAA tournament team that had finished in the sweet 16. The players returning were solid and they were back in the NCAA tournament in Alfords 2nd year. I am not sure if the team Fran inherited will be good enough to be in the NCAA Tournament in 2 years. As Jon said if the field expands to 96 teams then they have a shot. But I still am not convinced the talent Iowa has now is better than the one Alford got handed him. Alford finished his first year 14-16 (6-10 BT) and I think TD would have gotten better results had he coached that team.

There is no question in my mind that Lick left the program in much better shape than when he took it over. First of all Alford took the top recruit from that class, which is typical, and the best remaining players were Johnson and Freeman. The team that Fran is getting has a top 30 recruiting class coming in with a relatively young roster.

 

[FreddyBrown]

He has better talent now and he has better facilities just around the corner.

This team will win more games next season than they did this season. I really don't think that's saying much, but I think we have a better coach whose system isn't so obtuse that it will take forever (allegedly) to pick up. he's also known to adapty the system to the talent, as any really good coach does.

 

[ColumbusHawk]

Following is a link to Rivals Big Ten recruiting breakdown.

Rivals.com Basketball Recruiting - Ohio State reloads with top talent

 

[azhawkphan]

Stormin - I have been pretty critical of Iowa Admin - especially Bowlsby for lack of institutional investment in the basketball program over the last 25 years. Fran will have more overall to work with since Mr. Davis circa 1990.

The practice facilities, weight room, and ability to hire a strength coach alone give Fran a leg up. I think the lost oppty for continued success was a failure to invest in key program success criteria (practice facilities, etc.) after the 1988ish season even though CHA was just opened 5 years prior. Still have to have vision to keep pace/make the pace.

Now vs. Alford: players = on par, facilities/investment = way more now
Now vs. Lick: Lick got stuck on all sides with a big s**tburger

I am excited to see where Fran can take us. I am hoping it all comes together now!

 

[parquet]

Not 100% true.

When ESPN did the Iowa-NW game, they mentioned Iowa having the #26 recruiting class in America. I have read elsewhere that Iowa has a Top 30 class, and the BTN routinely mentioned Iowa having a Top 30 class.

That's all semantics, though, as it's a solid class (doesn't matter what number you assign to it). I've talked personally with college scouts and they relay the same information.

I've seen 4th best in the BT, I've seen 8th in the BT. The thing is, all those class are very good and very close (the top 3 not-withstanding).

ESPN's class recruiting list doesn't have them in the top 30; the announcers probably were reading your posts. But, whatever, still a nice class.

Also all you guys seem to be forgetting Joe Fermino. Now that would put Alford's first group over the top!