Coaching or Talent?

[MWS604]

He is also a terrible in game coach!

Other than his use of timeouts, player substitution, and picking effective defensive schemes, he's not a bad in-game coach.

 

[Tierney]

Fran has made his millions. Ten years is long enough. A coaching staff that can't recruit is never going to be anything more than mediocre.

 

[HawkPrdatr40]

Coaching and it’s NOT even CLOSE!!!!

 

[Tierney]

zzzzzzZzzz.............ZzzZ.........I think we need to sign Fran to an Ten year extension and give him a bonus just for showing up........... whoa, whooo what???

Wow, what a night mare. I was just dreaming that I was Gary Barta. I hope I didn’t say anything embarrassing in my sleep............ did I?

Fran was recruiting a couple of five star kids last year, and I wonder if that's how Fran got the athletic director to give him an extension. Its strange the only five star players he has ever recruited were at a time he was trying to get an contract extension. Of course, none of the three players came to Iowa.

 

[Caddy]

Can't recruit talent, just like the football team. No playmakers, or anyone that can be relied on when a big play is needed. Can't keep Carton in state when a point guard is desperately needed.

 

[Caddy]

Coaching and it’s NOT even CLOSE!!!!

I agree with the coaching, but this team is not athletic, and its the coaches job to recruit talent. Cannot win with no point guard, and he cannot recruit one.

 

[HawkPrdatr40]

Can't recruit talent, just like the football team. No playmakers, or anyone that can be relied on when a big play is needed. Can't keep Carton in state when a point guard is desperately needed.

LMAO!! Stupid comparison!!!!

The football team is fine and to make the comparison is downright LAUGHABLE!! Iowa football gets talent they want and know that they can mold.. Fran needs to recruit Talent because he can’t teach and mold. Fran is a weak ass leader the complete opposite of KF..

 

[BigD]

LMAO!! Stupid comparison!!!!

The football team is fine and to make the comparison is downright LAUGHABLE!! Iowa football gets talent they want and know that they can mold.. Fran needs to recruit Talent because he can’t teach and mold. Fran is a weak ass leader the complete opposite of KF..

It’s mind boggling that just by half ass luck out of ten years that Fran couldn’t stumble upon a good point guard. Surely their are guards who would like play in a power five conference.

We all know that Dolph was speaking the truth from his heart. We all see it, we all know it. The players coming in likely won’t even put a ding or dent into the problem.

On Kirk; well he does well with coaching up some of his players. Some have gone to the NFL that weren’t even recruited by by power five football programs. It’s a stretch to say he gets the players he wants. A more correct statement would be he generally recruits the kids he knows he has a realistic shot at. Sometimes he doesn’t even get those guys.

You can’t have it both ways. Either he is recruiting Big Ten caliber players that are capable of playing nose to nose with all of the other conference teams but he is lacking in coaching ability OR he is recruiting sub-par players and doing a good job of coaching them up. Either way in terms of coaching or recruiting he is failing to win the conference championship. 7-5 is just barely above placid or being mediocre.

Given all of that I WILL AGREE that Fran has a long way to go to even be close to Kirk’s achievements. Personally I would like to see a new football coach not already affiliated with the current coaching staff. A new basketball coach, and a new AD who has male testosterone in his body or balls.

To those who think Iowa is incapable of being a final four program or a national champion in either sport we’ve have done both. The football side of things takes you back a long ways to late 50’s and the basketball side of things takes you back to the late 70’s. So it’s not impossible, It just takes the right coaches of which we don’t have right now.

 

[WindsorHawk]

The program has sunk back to Lickliter levels again.

Ridiculous comment.

 

[WindsorHawk]

He is also a terrible in game coach!

I agree he's not very good in game.

 

[1977Hawkeye]

Neither one are great. When we had Marble, White, Uthoff and Jok.. That was some pretty good talent. Reached Top 5-10 nationally in January.. Only to fall apart. My theory? The talent was there, but opponents adjusted to us second time through the conference slate and Fran had no answers. It happened to Alford more than once, too. To me, that smacks of coaching issues.

Now, it's starting to resemble the Lickliter days again. Just with a higher pace of play. Now that Fran isn't getting transfers from Wisconsin (Uthoff), blue chip recruits that fly under the radar due to injury (Jok), legacy recruits from former players (Marble), or overlooked recruits that surprise and become your 2nd all-time leading scorer (White)... The W/L is starting to suffer in a big way.

So in the end, I feel it's both.

 

[trj]

coaching

These B1G road games are starting to feel scripted. Obviously, I know it is not, but you can predict how they will play out. Trade baskets until about the 15:00 minute mark, 8:00 minute mark opponent is up by 10, go into the half down by 15 or so. By the 15:00 minute mark of the 2nd half the lead is 20+.

8 minutes left in the first half, most Iowa fans know the game is over.

 

[BILLYBOBSTEXAS]

Ridiculous comment.

I don't believe so. 1977 Hawkeye had it right! Nothing more than a faster pace.

 

[1977Hawkeye]

I don't believe so. 1977 Hawkeye had it right! Nothing more than a faster pace.

That stat about the last 11 road conference games... That's pretty Lickliteresque.. Really no way to spin it.

Obviously Fran has won here at a better clip than Lickliter did (for what THAT is worth) but where we are as of now.. Things have trended down pretty sharply the past few seasons.

 

[Adam]

I was watching Northwestern/MState and Nebraska/Maryland the other night and it just hit me how many talented players all 4 teams had on the court. The fact that Iowa can't recruit anything like these players is crazy. Nebby is not a hotbed of basketball, at least it wasn't. Northwestern has impossibly high standards for academics but still manages to bring in talent. What is wrong with Iowa that these players are avoiding us like the plague? Our team is filled with role players that couldn't start at most schools and have one bonified athlete in Cook, and a couple of good players in Garza and JBo that are players that would come off the bench at blueblood programs. Is it time to pay for play like the top 25 programs in the nation do, or does everyone like being beaten down by 30 pts every other game? I think Fran is an honest coach but if Iowa had pulled the trigger on Bruce Pearl and brought in the players and won, would anyone care if we got a slap on the wrist from the NCAA. I'm serious, I'm not advocating for breaking the law but what is the answer for the future of Iowa basketball. We keep showing up at a gunfight with a knife. If everyone is cheating is it cheating? And by the way, I haven't heard on one program facing penalties from the FBI investigation yet, has anyone else?

I also believe it's time to cheat in Basketball. Football we can apparently maintain fringe relevance, but Basketball is just 5 guys out there at a time. We need a coach who can pull off a couple transfers of funds and keep a clean hand. Get a couple 1 and done's and pray you make a final 4. Then maybe just maybe you can roll off the momentum and go legit again.

 

[Hawkeye/swish]

Team tries hard, just not very talented. Fran is a poor recruiter, with less than adequate assistants. Carver is outdated and seating for students is not important to Barta. The program has sunk back to Lickliter levels again.

Quote. Let's get mad. LOL

 

[Ben Rumson]

LMAO!! Stupid comparison!!!!

The football team is fine and to make the comparison is downright LAUGHABLE!! Iowa football gets talent they want and know that they can mold.. Fran needs to recruit Talent because he can’t teach and mold. Fran is a weak ass leader the complete opposite of KF..

Yes! At least KF develops who he recruits!
The only comparison one can make is Barta and his long term contracts! Barta is the problem! He needs to set goals and responsibility! Seems backwards is a rewarding situation for him!

 

[WindsorHawk]

I don't believe so. 1977 Hawkeye had it right! Nothing more than a faster pace.

Iowa"s Big 10 finish (number of teams) under LIckliter

1 - 8th (11)
2 - 10th (11)
3 - T 9th (11)

Under Fran

1 - 10th (11)
2 - T 7th (12)
3 - 6th (12)
4 - 6th (12)
5 - T 3rd (14)
6 - T 3rd (14)
7 - T 5th (14)
8 - T 11th (14)

 

[WindsorHawk]

Things have trended down pretty sharply the past few seasons.

The past few seasons? Iowa has finished in the top half of the conference standings 5 of the last 6 years...5 in a row prior to last year.

 

[1977Hawkeye]

The past few seasons? Iowa has finished in the top half of the conference standings 5 of the last 6 years...5 in a row prior to last year.

2013-14: First Four
2014-15: NCAA 2nd Round
2015-16: NCAA 2nd Round
2016-17: NIT
2017-18: 19 losses
2018-19: 1-3 start in conference (Jury still out with 16 games left, obviously, but it doesn't look promising)

If the last few seasons are not a downward trend, then I don't know what is.

It was an upward trend for a while, but it's swung back the other direction in more recent times. Not sure how that's even remotely debatable.