Fran's first 4 Years

tweeterhawk said:
Good summary, OP. I fear Fran has plateaued a bit, maybe even regressed. White Magic needs to get his mojo working again.
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I'm not sure about plateau or regression. MY (personally) big question with Fran is whether or not he WANTS to be a long-term guy, at ANY school. His history says, "No", but, none of his previous jobs were at major conference schools. And with the onset of Patrick's situation, maybe UI Hospitals, alone, are enough to change that dynamic.

It just seems to me Fran is a turnaround guy, then goes on to the next great challenge. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that if that is his gig. And it would be hard to argue that he would leave the program anywhere close to the horrific nightmare it was when he arrived at U of I.
 
Didn't Fran get a bonus because part of his contract has a clause that states if he makes the NCAA tournament, he get's $X amount of money? If Iowa wouldn't have given Fran his bonus, couldn't he have gone to court and sued the university for a bonus that was rightfully his?

Since I believe this was the case (that Fran got a bonus for making the NCAA tournament) by law, Iowa was not in a play-in game, they made the NCAA tourney.

Am I wrong?
 
hawkeyebob62 said:
Minor problem with that: Per the NCAA, those are NOT "play-in" games.
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Biggest issue is that we shouldn't have even had to defend our position (1st round/play-in/WTF). We put ourselves in that spot. End of story.

Back to OP's topic - I think Fran did fine in year one with what he had. Year 2 was a huge WIN on the recruiting trail, progress was being made. Year 3...yeah, NIT runner-ups is improvement but still feels like we should have been a bit better than that. Year 4 was a HUGE letdown, based on the expectations whether warranted or not.

Year 5 is the make or break season - we still have some very good and experienced players but the recruiting is kind of stalled. If we don't advance past the second round of both the B1G and NCAA tourney I think recruits are going to continue to pass us by.

I DO think that Iowa goes as far as Gesell and Dickerson take us next year - hopefully it's an improvement overall, but I guess it remains to be seen. That, for me, is the biggest let-down. We should be able to have reasonable certainty about the future this far into a coach's tenure...and not NIT-level certainty.
 
Like others have said, it's the first round. There are no play-in games. Yes, it sucked that the season came to that, but it was an improvement nonetheless. The worst part for me was seeing us blow that final game, and then seeing the sweet 16 be not only a possibility but a great one at that, with match ups against UMass and Mercer to get there.
 
WindsorHawk said:
We already have 1 verbal commit in the 2015 class and 1 verbal commit in the 2016 class. This doesn't feel like a stall to me...actually has me feeling pretty optimistic.
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I'll be optimistic when those recruits sign on the dotted line. Verbals are just one step closer to being on the team. Then we have to examine the talent of said recruits...this is definitely a Quality vs Quantity argument.

I don't disagree - we are doing better than not having ANYONE on the horizon...and if one of those guys turns out to be a 5* by the time they are done, that's great.
 
JHHawk said:
Not sure how we could possibly be ''better'' when we lose three 4 yr starters (at times) and replace them with a skinny shooter from Wis who will need at least a year to be strong enough to play.
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- So, Uthoff will FINALLY be strong enough to play when he's 23... he needs ANOTHER year to get that bulk everyone thinks he's going to get.
 
TheCoolNewGuy said:
Like others have said, it's the first round. There are no play-in games. Yes, it sucked that the season came to that, but it was an improvement nonetheless. The worst part for me was seeing us blow that final game, and then seeing the sweet 16 be not only a possibility but a great one at that, with match ups against UMass and Mercer to get there.
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Bah, I'm tired of the debate, but suffice to say that the second round is better than a first round game and most people don't watch the play-in games... Oops, the "first round" games.

It really was a fitting end to the season based on the how the last two seasons have played out in tight games: Up 5 with about 4 minutes left, and Marble ended up having to hit a shot just to force OT, which ended up being a total disaster. I could've predicted as much, that Iowa still wouldn't be able to hold a late lead.

It was even worse seeing Duke lose to Mercer, opening up a path to the Sweet 16 for UT, against a team (Michigan) that Iowa had totally manhandled the last time they played them. The last month of this season really was a swift kick in the crotch.
 
deanvogs said:
Initial Reaction:
Who the ****is this guy?

First Impression after press conference:
Seems like he gets it. Very personable and confident. Knows how to build a program

Year one:
Did what he could with the talent he had. Finished the season on a high note with the upset of #6 Purdue, and played Michigan St. tough in the B1G tourney
Recruiting- Kept the top 125 Iowa player home in Ogelsby. Signed a very under the radar Aaron White, and a project in Gabe. Not too bad overall recruiting wise

Year two:
Really moved the team forward a big step after stubbing their toes at the beginning of the season. Beat top 20 teams in Wisconsin twice, Michigan, and Indiana. Made the NIT, and won a first round game.
Recruiting - Killed it recruiting wise. Beat Roy for a top 50 kid, kept another top 100 kid home, and filled in with Meyer, Ingram, and Clemmons. Top 25 recruiting class, and the program has some momentum. Then gets another break and has a top 125 kid transfer into the program in Uthoff.

Year Three:
Missed opportunity really. Team was improved on the year before, but still only made the NIT. Blowing a big lead to Nebraska at home later in the year really hurt. Created some momentum though by getting to the NIT finals.
Recruiting - Only 1 scholarship to give out in Jok. Seemed to have a little momentum on the recruiting trail, as they missed on their top targets.

Year Four:
Made the NCAA tourney, so goal accomplished. At the same time the season just seemed to be one big missed opportunity. Iowa slide from a potential 4 seed to a low seed. They still had a chance in the B1G to turn it around, but instead continued the slide with a head scratching loss to jNW. They then had another opportunity to salvage things in the NCAA, but lost to Tenn. The whole season seemed like an opportunity lost.
Recruiting - Mixed bag. Missed on all of its top targets with the bad break of Kentucky offering Ulis. Seems like all recruiting momentum is gone when he missed on transfers as well at the end of the year. Still brought in Ellingson and Uhl and Dickerson and I'm not writing any of these guys off, but like I said, none of them were top targets.

Overall:
While Fran has obviously move the program out of the dark Lick ages, and has improved each year, it seems like some opportunities were lost. I think this looks entirely different if Iowa makes the NCAA in year 3, I just don't see the collapse happening if this occurred. While the team did make the NCAA this year, it seemed like overall they under performed with the talent they had. Nobody could have guessed that late season collapse was gonna happen.

Year five, and the future:
This team need to make the NCAA. It will be a tough task losing it best scorer, and toughest inside players. Yet in order to show that Fran can coach up what he has, it needs to happen. He has an All B1G performer in White, a top 50 kid in Woody, a top 100 kid in Gesell, and two top 125 kids in Ogs and Uthoff. That is a good enough roster to win with, Fran just has to get it done.
Recruiting - Very excited that Fran got Hutton to sign, and Pemsl as well. Those are both good gets. Fran absolutely needs to follow it up by getting a top 150 kid or two as well for '15
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They have NOT signed. One is 8 months from signing the other 18 months. A lot can can change from now. Until they sign their LOI, they are not committed. Seen kids change mind far to often.
 
JHHawk said:
Good summary. Hit it on the head. Momentum is everything for a new coach and Fran built on it from day one....but 2014 was a huge recruiting class for us, and we basically whiffed, which has stalled our momentum. Now, if we recover with a huge 2015 class and make the tourney again, we are back on track, but I have concerns about our chances of making the tourney next season. Not sure how we could possibly be ''better'' when we lose three 4 yr starters (at times) and replace them with a skinny shooter from Wis who will need at least a year to be strong enough to play and Uhl, who is a nice looking prospect but no Melsahn next year...Dickerson is a wildcard...if he exceeds Cartwright, then fine, he will help, but Dev is a shooting guard and we did not replace him. I expect improvement from the returners, but I think they are close to their ceilings already....gonna be tough to improve without a proven scorer like Dev. As for 2015 class, we better hope we impressed the recruits with last season, because they will be signing in November before we really can change our image before then.
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In particular, I don't really think you've seen the ceiling (or all that close to it) for Uthoff, Woody, or Pete. Maybe glimpses with Uthoff, but I think his play will become much more consistent.
 
InGoodCo said:
oh... might be my reading fail there, but than I have to ask if he's serious that we're replacing one of the 3 starters minutes we lost with Brady Ellingson.
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Agreed. I think it's safer to assume that JO and Jok would be expected to replace RDM's minutes/production (and maybe Gesell at times).
 
FranklinHawk said:
In particular, I don't really think you've seen the ceiling (or all that close to it) for Uthoff, Woody, or Pete. Maybe glimpses with Uthoff, but I think his play will become much more consistent.
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I agree with this. Is there a reason why so many just immediately discredit what we have? MG and Woody have 2 years of play under their belts, there is plenty of room for growth. JU and Pete have 1 year of play, the sky is the limit for all of these guys and if time and maturity has proven anything in college sports, it's that these guys are all going to be leaps and bounds better by the time they are Seniors. But since none of them have reached full potential in 2 seasons or less, it's time to panic and yearn for something better. We weren't disappointed when they signed. But we need new guys, who, likely will have similar type "stars" next to their names and take just as long to develop and we'll be all pumped about them and their potential, but when they don't make all conference by year 2 this board will write them off as well. Iowa is still sitting great imo, with tons of talent and players in the program to make post season play every single year from here on out. That likely worked against them on the recruiting trail this season, but it's part of what Fran has built and is building.
 
deanvogs said:
Initial Reaction:
Who the ****is this guy?

First Impression after press conference:
Seems like he gets it. Very personable and confident. Knows how to build a program

Year one:
Did what he could with the talent he had. Finished the season on a high note with the upset of #6 Purdue, and played Michigan St. tough in the B1G tourney
Recruiting- Kept the top 125 Iowa player home in Ogelsby. Signed a very under the radar Aaron White, and a project in Gabe. Not too bad overall recruiting wise

Year two:
Really moved the team forward a big step after stubbing their toes at the beginning of the season. Beat top 20 teams in Wisconsin twice, Michigan, and Indiana. Made the NIT, and won a first round game.
Recruiting - Killed it recruiting wise. Beat Roy for a top 50 kid, kept another top 100 kid home, and filled in with Meyer, Ingram, and Clemmons. Top 25 recruiting class, and the program has some momentum. Then gets another break and has a top 125 kid transfer into the program in Uthoff.

Year Three:
Missed opportunity really. Team was improved on the year before, but still only made the NIT. Blowing a big lead to Nebraska at home later in the year really hurt. Created some momentum though by getting to the NIT finals.
Recruiting - Only 1 scholarship to give out in Jok. Seemed to have a little momentum on the recruiting trail, as they missed on their top targets.

Year Four:
Made the NCAA tourney, so goal accomplished. At the same time the season just seemed to be one big missed opportunity. Iowa slide from a potential 4 seed to a low seed. They still had a chance in the B1G to turn it around, but instead continued the slide with a head scratching loss to jNW. They then had another opportunity to salvage things in the NCAA, but lost to Tenn. The whole season seemed like an opportunity lost.
Recruiting - Mixed bag. Missed on all of its top targets with the bad break of Kentucky offering Ulis. Seems like all recruiting momentum is gone when he missed on transfers as well at the end of the year. Still brought in Ellingson and Uhl and Dickerson and I'm not writing any of these guys off, but like I said, none of them were top targets.

Overall:
While Fran has obviously move the program out of the dark Lick ages, and has improved each year, it seems like some opportunities were lost. I think this looks entirely different if Iowa makes the NCAA in year 3, I just don't see the collapse happening if this occurred. While the team did make the NCAA this year, it seemed like overall they under performed with the talent they had. Nobody could have guessed that late season collapse was gonna happen.

Year five, and the future:
This team need to make the NCAA. It will be a tough task losing it best scorer, and toughest inside players. Yet in order to show that Fran can coach up what he has, it needs to happen. He has an All B1G performer in White, a top 50 kid in Woody, a top 100 kid in Gesell, and two top 125 kids in Ogs and Uthoff. That is a good enough roster to win with, Fran just has to get it done.
Recruiting - Very excited that Fran got Hutton to sign, and Pemsl as well. Those are both good gets. Fran absolutely needs to follow it up by getting a top 150 kid or two as well for '15
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Ver few coaches have the passion or work ethic fm has. He is working hard to make this once proud program live up to its storied reputation. Our fans need to back Fran's efforts and support him and his team through good and bad. While momentum has somewhat slowed it is still forward. Fran is the man!
 
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