Fran's Recruiting - A Story

MeatMan

MeatMan

Well-Known Member
For those that think Fran can't recruit, I have a story for you.

I don't know Mike Gesell on a personal level, but I did have the chance to speak to him more than a few times when he was already a hotly recruited Sophomore. This one time was right after Fran was hired, and he was joking with me on how terrible Iowa was at the time (he knew I was an Iowa fan). I told him that he should go to Iowa because supposedly Fran was going to run an uptempo style. He laughed out loud and said something to the effect of "good luck with that."

Mike grew up a Husker fan, I know that for sure. He also had (up till that time) absolutely no interest in Iowa at all. That Fran not only got Mike, but Mike was also instrumental in selling the program to Woodbury, is an example of how good of a recruiter Fran can be.

Will the 2014 class be a step down? Most definitely.

Will that seriously hurt the program? Not at all.

Will it put a ton of pressure on the staff to hit a home-run next year? Absolutely.

Is Fran capable of pulling that off? Definitely.

I agree that it is a huge bummer to miss out of some dudes, but there are more fish in the sea. First, Iowa needs to make the NCAA's. Success will really help recruiting. I believe strongly that Fran is able to identify talent, and until otherwise, I'm strongly in his corner.
 
I don't know if anyone is saying Fran can't recruit. There are people, myself included, that believe the 2014 class is off to a terrible start, and will likely stay that way.

I'm glad you spoke with Gesell, that must be a special memory for you.
 
Nice post, Meat. I am getting very tired of the, "OMG, how come McCaffery isn't pulling in the cadre of 5 star recruits that I, as a fan, so richly deserve? I want heads to roll!" These fans have a very short memory and instead of vilifying Coach McCaffery for what is likely a tough recruiting year, they should be remembering the frustrating Alford and the downright gruesome Lickliter eras and thank their lucky stars that Barta hit a bona fide home run with the McCaffery's hire. Three years ago, if we were told that Fran would hand us a twenty five win season this soon, we would be snakedancin' around IC as Z would say. The man has earned some respect and deserves some slack. So, for my part, all the naysayers can step back from the ledge, or jump off it. It matters not to me. I am happy with Coach McCaffery and content with the knowledge that he is busting his butt to return Iowa to some high level of respectability, keeping in mind the pit he had to crawl out of to get us this far and realizing that the job won't be easy.
 
I'm not even sure on how to respond to people that say Fran can't recruit, absolutely amazing.
 
I have yet to read a single Iowa fan say they do not love Fran as their bb coach. Iowa is still a tough sell,evidently. And yes, we are very happy that Fran managed to lure in Mikey and Woody. Who are the next top 100 preps from Iowa? If we have to wait for Iowa preps to come along, then we could be waiting awhile. Somehow, Freddy has lured in two top 100s this year, again. I think some fans like myself are just wondering if we have the proper configuration of assistants that can target Midwest hotbeds,like Freddy had TJ Oltzhammer who got Milwaukee/Wisconsin, and Prep School kids. Then Fred hired the Dayton coach who is good in Ohio and Detroit. One constant for Iowa coaches, in both sports, will be the challenge in recruiting out of state talent, especially black talent....it is the ultimate difference in sustained success...if we cannot do it, we will eventually fall back. Collins has landed a 12th rated class within 5 months of being hired at a school with the worst facilities in college ball and a school that has never made the tourney...ever. Iowa has a huge edge in all categories..and beat NW 3 times on their way to 25 wins and the NIT title game...and Collins is kicking our arses in recruiting? Crazy.
 
Hawkstrat said:
I don't know if anyone is saying Fran can't recruit. There are people, myself included, that believe the 2014 class is off to a terrible start, and will likely stay that way.

I'm glad you spoke with Gesell, that must be a special memory for you.
Click to expand...

^^^this dude is jelly, for cereal!

also, it is obvious that you didn't read the post. i don't think we'll have a good recruiting class this year unless Fran pulls something out his sleeve. will that hurt the program as bad as you're moaning about? i don't think so. if we're having this exact same discussion next year, then we can talk about a trend.
 
JHHawk said:
I have yet to read a single Iowa fan say they do not love Fran as their bb coach. Iowa is still a tough sell,evidently. And yes, we are very happy that Fran managed to lure in Mikey and Woody. Who are the next top 100 preps from Iowa? If we have to wait for Iowa preps to come along, then we could be waiting awhile. Somehow, Freddy has lured in two top 100s this year, again. I think some fans like myself are just wondering if we have the proper configuration of assistants that can target Midwest hotbeds,like Freddy had TJ Oltzhammer who got Milwaukee/Wisconsin, and Prep School kids. Then Fred hired the Dayton coach who is good in Ohio and Detroit. One constant for Iowa coaches, in both sports, will be the challenge in recruiting out of state talent, especially black talent....it is the ultimate difference experience in sustained success...if we cannot do it, we will eventually fall back. Collins has landed a 12th rated class within 5 months of being hired at a school with the worst facilities in college ball and a school that has never made the tourney...ever. Iowa has a huge edge in all categories..and beat NW 3 times on their way to 25 wins and the NIT title game...and Collins is kicking our arses in recruiting? Crazy.
Click to expand...
So you're dismissing all of Collins' past experience and where he was before? Lets see what he does with this class and if he can continue recruiting. Can't judge off one year. And do you really want to be like Transfer U? Iowa needs to win some games in the tournament to see another uptick in recruiting.
 
Collins is a guy that grew up in the Chicago area and is now at NW, he is a name and is going to be able to get some guys, but how many and lets see if he can actually coach before freaking out about Chris motherf'ing Collins...if you can't tell, not a fan.
 
It is great that Mr Gesell took the time to volunteer with the special Olympics and visit with their athletes when he was in high school. I am sure you will always cherish that memory.
 
HawkeyeShane said:
Football season must be going well so far...the negativity is popping up in weird places...
Click to expand...

You really think it's weird to question a recruiting class where the coaches have whiffed on everyone they have offered, minus Ellingson, thus far?

I know someone people think Ellingson will play an important role (bench shooter), but the urge for fans to act surprised by a little angst over this class is strange.
 
Hawkstrat said:
You really think it's weird to question a recruiting class where the coaches have whiffed on everyone they have offered, minus Ellingson, thus far?

I know someone people think Ellingson will play an important role (bench shooter), but the urge for fans to act surprised by a little angst over this class is strange.
Click to expand...

"weird" is a subjective word...so I'll say it's not weird, but a little bit overblown considering this year holds so much promise and is more of a key to future recruiting that an NIT run from a team that still has to prove it on a national level.
 
Hawkstrat said:
You really think it's weird to question a recruiting class where the coaches have whiffed on everyone they have offered, minus Ellingson, thus far?

I know someone people think Ellingson will play an important role (bench shooter), but the urge for fans to act surprised by a little angst over this class is strange.
Click to expand...

So what are your thoughts on Fran's 2014 recruiting class?
 
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