Cully leaving this late is a huge blow...

I think Cully saw the writing on the wall. No hard feelings toward Cully. Can't blame the kid for choosing another option. Just like work, sometimes new reporting relationships work and sometimes they don't. As a selfish fan, I would prefer Fran bring in his players to run his system. In the long run, I think this works out best for Cully and best for Iowa.
 
It's only a huge blow...

Gohawks123 said:
I mean...WTF? Sit out all year and then announce you are leaving right before spring signing period? I don't get it. The revolving door continues at Iowa...and it sucks. Cully isn't great, but he is going to be better than pretty much anyone we can bring in this late besides Carter (and the competition for him is brutal). He would have played significant minutes for us next year....we needed him.
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if Iowa is unable to sign any of the PG prospects they are currently in on. And that seems very unlikely. Give Fran and his staff a little benefit of the doubt. They brought in Cartwright much later than this in the recruiting game last year.

Payne leaving is nothing like Freeman, Kelly and Peterson leaving in the Lickliter era. Freeman had averaged 13.8 points a game while injured and made third-team all-conference. Kelly was a difference-maker Even if healthy, Payne was not going to be a major contributor next year with the emergence of Cartwright. He just was not. Kelly averaged 11.6 points a game and 3 assists his sophomore year at Iowa, and when he took over for Peterson after Peterson got hurt at the end of that year Kelly was the best player at Iowa in a decade. 19 of Iowa's 45 points in a 4-point loss to Purdue. 23 points and 9 assists in a 70-60 win over Michigan. 20 points and 4 assists in a 62-54 loss at Michigan State. 23 points and 5 assists in a 55-49 loss to Northwestern. 19 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals in a 60-58 loss to Ohio State; 22 points, 11 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks in a 75-67 win over Penn State. In those games Kelly was the best player on the floor against the likes of E'Tuan Moore, Kalin Lucas, Manny Harris, Evan Turner, Talor Battle. That is a difference-making transfer, not a guy who for his career shot 30% from 3-point land and never had the ability to take over a game like Kelly could.

I wish Payne was staying, by all accounts he works hard and he could have contributed next year. But if he wasn't happy playing a reduced role, then you wish him well and move on and you may be able to improve the roster. When Kelly, Freeman, Peterson left, there was NO viable alternatives. That's how we ended up with Devin Bawinkel playing 30 minutes a game and Anthony Tucker as our backup PG. Fran still has time to adequately address the roster issue, and I'm 99.9% sure that he will.
 
DesMoinesHawki said:
I think Cully saw the writing on the wall. No hard feelings toward Cully. Can't blame the kid for choosing another option. Just like work, sometimes new reporting relationships work and sometimes they don't. As a selfish fan, I would prefer Fran bring in his players to run his system. In the long run, I think this works out best for Cully and best for Iowa.
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Agree.

AFAIK, we weren't on his radar and he wasn't on ours until Jeff P left, and we were desperate. I'm glad he came, but OTOH it was quite clear that guaranteed playing time was the thing that got him to Iowa City. Once that went away, there was no reason to stay, in his mind.

It would have been cool had he taken the view that he'd have two seasons left after Cartwright graduated, but he didn't, and life goes on.
 
Re: It's only a huge blow...

DodgerHawki said:
if Iowa is unable to sign any of the PG prospects they are currently in on. And that seems very unlikely. Give Fran and his staff a little benefit of the doubt. They brought in Cartwright much later than this in the recruiting game last year.

Payne leaving is nothing like Freeman, Kelly and Peterson leaving in the Lickliter era. Freeman had averaged 13.8 points a game while injured and made third-team all-conference. Kelly was a difference-maker Even if healthy, Payne was not going to be a major contributor next year with the emergence of Cartwright. He just was not. Kelly averaged 11.6 points a game and 3 assists his sophomore year at Iowa, and when he took over for Peterson after Peterson got hurt at the end of that year Kelly was the best player at Iowa in a decade. 19 of Iowa's 45 points in a 4-point loss to Purdue. 23 points and 9 assists in a 70-60 win over Michigan. 20 points and 4 assists in a 62-54 loss at Michigan State. 23 points and 5 assists in a 55-49 loss to Northwestern. 19 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals in a 60-58 loss to Ohio State; 22 points, 11 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks in a 75-67 win over Penn State. In those games Kelly was the best player on the floor against the likes of E'Tuan Moore, Kalin Lucas, Manny Harris, Evan Turner, Talor Battle. That is a difference-making transfer, not a guy who for his career shot 30% from 3-point land and never had the ability to take over a game like Kelly could.

I wish Payne was staying, by all accounts he works hard and he could have contributed next year. But if he wasn't happy playing a reduced role, then you wish him well and move on and you may be able to improve the roster. When Kelly, Freeman, Peterson left, there was NO viable alternatives. That's how we ended up with Devin Bawinkel playing 30 minutes a game and Anthony Tucker as our backup PG. Fran still has time to adequately address the roster issue, and I'm 99.9% sure that he will.
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Incredibly well said, dodger. Could not agree more on all points.
 
A huge blow??? please!! Give me a break.. Cully a good kid and I wish him well, but in all honesty I was never very impressed with him.
 
HawkAttack said:
I don't see how this is a huge blow. Last year Fran brought Cartwright in with a small window in which to recruit and he is obviously better than Cully.

I like the idea of getting Fran's guys in ASAP.
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To be specific, it was late April before they went after him and he signed in May.
 
I was always in the minority as a fan of Cully. However, this is not a huge blow. In fact, I think it will benefit the Hawks and they will get one of these pg's recruits they are targeting because of Cully's departure. Immediate and significant playing time will be a huge draw, as well as the chance to run the show when Cartwright is done after next year!
 
H8IAST8 said:
To be specific, it was late April before they went after him and he signed in May.
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Exactly. And you know Fran had him on his 'list' before then, just like he has guys on his list for this year that we know nothing about. Just because we don't know their names yet doesn't mean they don't exist. The Chicken Littles crying about running out of time or 'putting too many eggs' in the Cezar G basket only to strike out are ridiculous.

I think what we are seeing is a coach who is willing to go after some 'elite' national recruits, but if he doesn't get them he is good enough and smart enough at evaluating talent that even the #2 or #3 guy down on the list is going to be an upgrade compared to what Iowa has put on the court the past 4-5 years.

It mystifies me that people question Fran's ability to spot talent when the ONLY 2 guys he personally brought in his first year just happened to also be the ONLY 2 guys to make any all-conference teams. For crying out loud, he had Basabe going to Sienna when no big programs were offering. So far, I'd say the man has a talent for finding diamonds in the rough and deserves the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise.
 
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I understand there's little commitment left in the world but what does Cully really think he's going to get out of a transfer? So he gets more playing time at a smaller school. The guy was going to contribute and would have been a valuable member of the team going forward.

According to the most recent article posted, he wants to transfer to a school around Chicago. If he's planning to live there and feels his chances at preparing for a career after basketball is better there, then I get it.

If he's transferring because he thinks starting will get him greater exposure for a future in basketball, he's nuts. The guy's marginal. The Gazette article states he's been in touch with Lickliter and made his decision to transfer after spring break and talking with friends, including Lickliter.

Lickliter is responsible for the mess that has been Iowa basketball and is now giving advice to players about transferring. Meanwhile, I think he might have been paid $700,000 this year by the U of I. The U needs a good lawyer to terminate the remaining buyout for good cause related to this.

Good riddance Cully. Maybe you and Lil' Lick can start a team in a Y league. For those of you that respond with "ah, give the kid a break, he's just a kid." BS. He made a commitment and now because he's not going to start, he wants to leave. In my mind, he's a pu$$y who couldn't handle a little competition and accept reality.
 
MJSCK said:
If he's transferring because he thinks starting will get him greater exposure for a future in basketball, he's nuts. The guy's marginal. The Gazette article states he's been in touch with Lickliter and made his decision to transfer after spring break and talking with friends, including Lickliter.

Lickliter is responsible for the mess that has been Iowa basketball and is now giving advice to players about transferring. Meanwhile, I think he might have been paid $700,000 this year by the U of I. The U needs a good lawyer to terminate the remaining buyout for good cause related to this.

.
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Not a big fan of the rest of your post, but I also don't like the idea that Lick is talking to current Iowa players. If he was contracted to another team, thus would be tampering.
 
CP was never going to add a lot next year and I doubt this is much of a surprise to FM. We have been going after PGs and in the long run this helps is be better able to upgrade.

As far as TL advising CP I wouldn't sweat it. TL helped us out if he did indeed advise CP to depart. L
 
CP was never going to add a lot next year and I doubt this is much of a surprise to FM. We have been going after PGs and in the long run this helps is be better able to upgrade.

As far as TL advising CP I wouldn't sweat it. TL helped us out if he did indeed advise CP to depart.
 
CAARHawk said:
Not a big fan of the rest of your post, but I also don't like the idea that Lick is talking to current Iowa players. If he was contracted to another team, thus would be tampering.
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I'm not really a big fan of the rest of my post either. I was a bit fired up. I just don't get the lack of commitment from these players anymore. Transfers rarely seem to really benefit the player. I understand Jake Kelly and, for that matter, the rest of the guys who left Lickliter but Cully simply chickened out in the face of competition.

Sure, it may benefit Iowa long term but Cully was needed as a backup next year. And I'm not enamored by the thought of Washpun being offered. I'm frustrated by the whole thing and it appears we are getting somewhat desperate very, very late in the recruiting season.
 
We will see when the spring signing period actually opens. If Fran and company strike out with their top choices, the writing will be on the wall. I said when he was hired, we would know the results of the experiment by this November. Still pretty much stand by that. Can't go into next spring still scrambling and the players that come in will be with the program for a good chunk of time. If those are not BIG caliber players, in actuality not rankings, it will be hard to turn things around before the wolves come scratching at the door.
 
While Cully may or may not be as talented as people would like, we need to realize that we are losing experience. Cully has played a season of Big Ten ball and whoever we get on the recruiting trail to replace him won't have that. That being said, I guess my biggest fear is that the constant stream of players leaving isn't over yet. Hopefully Cully is the exception and not the rule, and hopefully one of these recruits comes in and tears up the floor!
 
When I heard he was leaving, I was like Uh, why? why? why? baby. I love you, I still love you Ohhhhh. (I just wanted to work in that song from Cee Lo Green).
 
ConradHawkeye said:
While Cully may or may not be as talented as people would like, we need to realize that we are losing experience. Cully has played a season of Big Ten ball and whoever we get on the recruiting trail to replace him won't have that. That being said, I guess my biggest fear is that the constant stream of players leaving isn't over yet. Hopefully Cully is the exception and not the rule, and hopefully one of these recruits comes in and tears up the floor!
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I really think he's the exception. He is a Lickliter recruit, who was a big supporter of Lick. I don't think that can be said for the remaining players. The only other guy I could see leaving at some point is May, and I don't think that would be because of not buying in or shying from competition. If he just doesn't progress, try as he might, then I could possibly see it. But I don't think that's likely.
 
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