SmokeTownHawk
Well-Known Member
I think Rutgers would be better served by a good assistant coach from a successful program like Chris Jans of Wichita State.
Fran to Rutgers
- Thread starter DuffMan
- Start date
BlindDogScooter
Well-Known Member
The most cogent opinion I can offer after reading this entire
thread is that what we have here is clear and convincing evidence
that sports fans have entirely too much time on their hands.
The whole premise of the thread is little more than a bad joke with no punch line.
thread is that what we have here is clear and convincing evidence
that sports fans have entirely too much time on their hands.
The whole premise of the thread is little more than a bad joke with no punch line.
DuffMan
Well-Known Member
Derp's on you.
hawkdrummer1
Well-Known Member
...which has clearly made them a destination job in the past.
tweeterhawk
Well-Known Member
Anyone discounting the possibility of Fran going to Rutgers overlooks the many things that would make the job attractive to him.
Anyone with a heartbeat and an average talent for coaching basketball will look like a savior following the Rice debacle. Fran is many steps above average and has proven he can turn programs around and put them on solid footing; he would be a dream come true for the Scarlet Knights. It would be much easier for him to draw top talent from cities like New York, Philadelphia, Newark, Jersey City, Newark, Del., Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and from the East Coast generally to come to Rutgers than it is to Iowa City. The players would get to play in a top sports market and close enough that Moms and Pops can easily come watch them play. If Rutgers would suddenly vault into the top 10, it could easily rival UCONN and St. John's for attention of New York and Philadelphia media. And he still would get to coach in the B1G, with its TV exposure and revenue.
The connections for recruiting and team travel are 10 times better than in Cedar Rapids, the weather is better (Spring arrives earlier and Fall lasts longer, and winters are far milder than the Midwest) and there are more things for the family to see and do. The native of Philadelphia and former player and assistant coach at Penn would get to return to an area he has a strong affinity for. It is rich with diversity and arts and cultural opportunity. New York City and Philadelphia are little more than an hour away.
Don't be at all surprised if once the new AD is hired at Rutgers, the attention is quickly focused on Fran McCaffery.
Anyone with a heartbeat and an average talent for coaching basketball will look like a savior following the Rice debacle. Fran is many steps above average and has proven he can turn programs around and put them on solid footing; he would be a dream come true for the Scarlet Knights. It would be much easier for him to draw top talent from cities like New York, Philadelphia, Newark, Jersey City, Newark, Del., Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and from the East Coast generally to come to Rutgers than it is to Iowa City. The players would get to play in a top sports market and close enough that Moms and Pops can easily come watch them play. If Rutgers would suddenly vault into the top 10, it could easily rival UCONN and St. John's for attention of New York and Philadelphia media. And he still would get to coach in the B1G, with its TV exposure and revenue.
The connections for recruiting and team travel are 10 times better than in Cedar Rapids, the weather is better (Spring arrives earlier and Fall lasts longer, and winters are far milder than the Midwest) and there are more things for the family to see and do. The native of Philadelphia and former player and assistant coach at Penn would get to return to an area he has a strong affinity for. It is rich with diversity and arts and cultural opportunity. New York City and Philadelphia are little more than an hour away.
Don't be at all surprised if once the new AD is hired at Rutgers, the attention is quickly focused on Fran McCaffery.
BrueCrew3
Well-Known Member
The biggest argument against this happening is Margaret. You know the saying: If momma ain't happy .. NOBODY'S happy.
They are less than 5 hours from her mom and dad. All indications are they LIKE Iowa City. I really don't see FM going to Rutgers.
That's a huge argument for them staying.
Just my $.02 .. ..
GO HAWKS!!!
BSpringsteen
Well-Known Member
And yet, Rutgers basketball has been irrelevant for as long as I can remember. Just a string of bad coaches or maybe something else?
Like the fact that it's a commuter school in a pro sports market place and that no one in Jersey grows up as die hard Rutgers fans. Or that that hotbed of recruiting talent is also just a mere three and a half hours from Georgetown and Maryland, and even closer to Villanova and Temple and UConn.
Child please.
tweeterhawk
Well-Known Member
All predicated on the bad ol' Big East days. Rutgers athletics is about to enter an exciting new era. The first years will be difficult and their teams likely will lose a lot of games. But bringing the likes of Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, even Penn State to the mix is going to elevate the Rutgers profile in New Jersey and the Northeast. I'm sure Fran understands this, and as a leader who likes challenges, would have to think he would embrace it.
The guy sells hope, as we have seen with the recruits he has managed to get to Iowa City. His selling pitch would be that much stronger to talented East Coast players to come to this exciting new program he is building at Rutgers.
Stick to playing the guitar and blowing out your voice every night, Boss. You're much better at it than thinking about collegiate basketball.
tweeterhawk
Well-Known Member
I notice you did not use the term "great." I think Fran realizes that even with all his hard work, he likely never will be able to attract the talent to Iowa City to regularly be anywhere better than top 4 or 5 in the conference behind Michigan, Ohio State, Michigan State and Indiana, with Purdue/Illinois/Wisconsin pushing to nudge any of those four of their spots on any given year.
On the other hand, a Philly guy with at least a couple African-American recruiters on the staff could pretty quickly lock down New Jersey and the New York-Philly-Baltimore corridor and compete each year for the very best players in the region. That talent, harnessed and playing under Fran's up-and-down the court style, could in a matter of years be a regular contender for B1G titles.
BSpringsteen
Well-Known Member
Just like Illinois is going to dominate every year because of Chicago right?
tweeterhawk
Well-Known Member
No. Illinois is going to be marginally good year in and year out. The don't have the coaches, fan base or commitment to regularly be a contender.
BSpringsteen
Well-Known Member
HAHAHA - that's pretty good. They don't have the coaches because they have unreal expectations of raiding Chicago. They most certainly have the fanbase as they think they should be Indiana and that it is a top 10 job.
OH YEAH - I also forgot another little school in the Northeast. SYRACUSE. Saying that Rutgers is an attractive job for the reasons above is like saying USC or San Diego State is an attractive job.
tweeterhawk
Well-Known Member
UCONN, Syracuse, St. Johns, Villanova, Temple, Maryland, even Georgetown, are all competition for recruits in the Northeast. So what? Coaches compete for talent all over the country. But in New Jersey, Rutgers should be the No. 1 choice for top basketball talent, and can be with the right coach and recruiters. Fran McCaffery is that coach. If Rutgers comes a-callin', and I think they will, I would think Fran would listen.
theobserver
Well-Known Member
I like Fran and would hate to see him leave. But of any college vacancy out there now or in the foreseeable future, based on his body of work so far I would say Rutgers would be one of the few opportunities for which he would leave Iowa.
tweeterhawk
Well-Known Member
Very observant of you.
TritonHawkeye
Well-Known Member
Not saying that this is completely out of the realm of possibility but I just don't see it.
I think if Fran were to leave it would not be to a school where rebuilding is required. If he leaves I believe it will be with one that already has talent and great recruiting lines.
Syracuse...maybe. Rutgers...nah don't see it
I think if Fran were to leave it would not be to a school where rebuilding is required. If he leaves I believe it will be with one that already has talent and great recruiting lines.
Syracuse...maybe. Rutgers...nah don't see it
Billso
Well-Known Member
Why?
