Frans Recruiting

[longtimer]

Quite a few accolades on this site about the class Fran put together for 2015. I don't follow recruiting real close which is to say I don't subscribe to any recruiting services. I did just read on Voice of the Hawkeyes where 247sports rated Iowa's class as 11th in the big ten and 60 overall. Is that the consensus? If so One has to wonder how we are making strides towards the top of the Big Ten?

 

[1977Hawkeye]

Fran seems to have an eye for undervalued talent, so I guess the hope here is that these players will outperform their current rankings. In other words, 3* recruits could end up performing like 4*'s (or better). Just take Aaron White - he was a 2/3* recruit from what I recall, but he's certainly been a contributor to say the least.

Fran has been trying to land 4-5* recruits without a lot of success so far, but has gotten some of them to visit, unlike his predecessor who couldn't even get any interest from these types of players. I still try to bear in mind that Iowa still hasn't won an NCAA game since 2001, and that from outside the state, Iowa hoops probably still isn't perceived as a strong program. I'd like to think it will get easier to seal the deal on these types of recruits if/when Iowa starts to become more of a factor in the NCAA Tournament, and if so, his recruiting classes should be more highly rated if they have more 4* recruits in them (or a 5*).

Just my 2 cents.

 

[TritonHawkeye]

Rankings are subjective. One thing this class has more than any other was the quality offers from other div. 1 schools.

I think this is a very good class and depending on how the last scholly is used could be Fran's best to date.

 

[PCHawk]

Some recruits get more offers late in the game and some lose offers. It seems like all 4 of our guys have been getting recruited harder and harder as time goes on which means they are late bloomers. That's why I'm pumped. If you want to get pumped I suggest watching a Hutton video.

 

[JG10Hawk]

I like the class Fran has brought in so far. He really needs to get after a center though. As of right now, Woodbury will be the only capable center going into next season. I really don't want to see a first year center thrown into the starting lineup for the 2016-2017 season. We all know how long it takes for most big men to develop. Just look at Woody and Olaseni, neither were truly ready to be a B1G starter their first year on campus.

 

[acharipar35]

I like the class Fran has brought in so far. He really needs to get after a center though. As of right now, Woodbury will be the only capable center going into next season. I really don't want to see a first year center thrown into the starting lineup for the 2016-2017 season. We all know how long it takes for most big men to develop. Just look at Woody and Olaseni, neither were truly ready to be a B1G starter their first year on campus.

Agree. It would be nice to pick up a center to polish off this class. I'm actually a huge fan of this class for many reasons. First, gain two commits for Chicago will help for future recruiting. Second, the recruits are all very athletic players who can get out, and they can all play multiple positions. Last, we addressed the defensive end by picking up players like Hutton who have the athleticism and mind set to go out and defend.

 

[thejumper5]

247Sports does a really good job with objective, math based team recruiting rankings for football. Unfortunately, I don't think the model that they use to grade football recruiting classes, which usually have 20-25 players or more, translates well to basketball recruiting classes, which tend to be just 2-4 players.

This is not to say that Iowa has an elite class or doesn't have an elite class. It's only to say that 247Sports' class ranking model is great for football but is maybe not that great for basketball. See the graphic below for an explanation of how 247Sports calculates their team recruiting rankings.

 

[JHHawk]

I think 247 is roughly correct. Every Big Ten team ahead of Iowa has at least one top150 recruit....Iowa has none. BB recruiting is about quality not so much quantity.

Watching these frosh that were in the top 150, that Iowa pursued, like Nairns, Clark, Cohen, Ulis, LaChance etc...they look good, right away. Uhl and Ellingson are projects that take a year or more....that is why they did not make the top 150.

 

[iowalaw]

We cannot put lipstick on this. The class has some decent players, but every Big 10 team (just by being a Big 10 team) can do that. The class is worse than virtually all other classes in our conference, and worse than ISU's. Sure, the players might develop...and some are "from Chicago," but none of the Chicago kids are among the top 10 in the state of Illinois, let alone the country. Until we get some studs, we are going to have to rely on development.

 

[wundergrape]

Much of the excitement stems from the type of players who chose to commit. The fact that all four are athletic - and three of them freakishly so - is very much a sea change.

Also, the entree into Chicago cannot be overstated, especially since the arguable jewel of the class, Brandon Hutton, committed early in the process.

From a ranking standpoint, this is a fairly pedestrian Iowa class. But what it symbolizes - athletic, out-of-state kids with multiple D1 offers - has been quite rare for Iowa. It shows we're making inroads of some kind.

 

[thejumper5]

FWIW, when using only 247Sports' rankings, rather than 247Sports' Composite rankings (the Composite is 247Sports' attempt to provide an average ranking for each player based on his ranking on Scout, Rivals, ESPN, and 247), Iowa's class is ranked 10th in the Big Ten and 51st in the nation.

 

[MiniMoeHawk]

We cannot put lipstick on this. The class has some decent players, but every Big 10 team (just by being a Big 10 team) can do that. The class is worse than virtually all other classes in our conference, and worse than ISU's. Sure, the players might develop...and some are "from Chicago," but none of the Chicago kids are among the top 10 in the state of Illinois, let alone the country. Until we get some studs, we are going to have to rely on development.

Who cares how many stars they have when they come out of high school. It isn't like every 5 star guy coming out is guaranteed to be a stud. Look at the record breaking North American baseball contract who signed for the record $300+ million. He was a 3 star kid who everyone passed on. I trust Fran on bringing in people that fit in his system.

 

[HawkMD2007]

I wouldn't mind having Kentucky's second five as our starting five. It is hard to beat talent. If you want to consistently run with the big dogs you got to get some big-time recruits on board each year.

 

[Tierney]

All of the Iowa recruits are talented players. There all athletically gifted. It will be interesting to see where they may be rated after they finish their senior years of high school, but it doesn't really matter where they are rated. I haven't compared the other schools recruits in the conference, but the Iowa recruits look pretty good.

 

[docholihawk]

We're in the development stage still. I wouldn't be surprised to see Aaron White get drafted and possibly Gabe. Players with more stars will see the continued improvement and get interested.

 

[MiniMoeHawk]

We're in the development stage still. I wouldn't be surprised to see Aaron White get drafted and possibly Gabe. Players with more stars will see the continued improvement and get interested.

Gabe hasn't played basketball for very long. He could definitely develop into something special...With the right coaching he could make the NBA in the future.

 

[1977Hawkeye]

Who cares how many stars they have when they come out of high school. It isn't like every 5 star guy coming out is guaranteed to be a stud. Look at the record breaking North American baseball contract who signed for the record $300+ million. He was a 3 star kid who everyone passed on. I trust Fran on bringing in people that fit in his system.

I do.

Sure, not all highly rated players are guaranteed to turn out, and there are enough 3* recruits that become good players. That's overstating the obvious. That said, I'll take my chances with a class full of 4-5* recruits. I'm betting 9 times out of 10 (or more) the class with 4-5* recruits is going to kick the snot out of the class made up of 2-3* recruits. I remember going back once and looking at all of our 4* recruits in the past 10-15 years or so, and those were arguably the best players we've had in that stretch. Brunner, Horner, Haluska, Tyler Smith, Pierre Pierce.. I'm talking "on court" here with Pierce.

 

[JHHawk]

I agree that getting some American black players from urban areas is good to see...only Clemmons had that background until this year, when Trey joined in.....simply because I think this will help create more of a comfort zone for recruits in the future.

Lets face it, Iowa is a school in a 97% white state, with almost exclusively white fan base, etc.
I suspect it might be a little daunting for some recruits, who come from urban areas, to see virtually no familiar faces in town.

Now, we are changing the ''culture'' a little bit in terms of diversity. Clemmons was the host for our black recruits this time around, with Pete hosting his friend Trey. In the future, we have more hosts to choose from as we continue to pursue needed athletes from out of state. Iowa does not have a lot of high profile preps on the horizon, so we have to go out of state. I think this class really gets that shift moving.

 

[Tierney]

Gabe hasn't played basketball for very long. He could definitely develop into something special...With the right coaching he could make the NBA in the future.

LIfe isn't fair. No matter how hard most guys work they will never be able to play in the NBA. I think Gabe could play in the NBA, and the four incoming recruits look like they have the athletic ability to maybe play there one day. Iowa might have a couple of other guys on their roster that might play in the NBA one day. It shows the eye Fran and his staff has for talent, but what will put most of the guys from Iowa in the NBA is coaching and their hard work because they are already gifted enough athletically.

 

[PCHawk]

I agree that getting some American black players from urban areas is good to see...only Clemmons had that background until this year, when Trey joined in.....simply because I think this will help create more of a comfort zone for recruits in the future.

Lets face it, Iowa is a school in a 97% white state, with almost exclusively white fan base, etc.
I suspect it might be a little daunting for some recruits, who come from urban areas, to see virtually no familiar faces in town.

Now, we are changing the ''culture'' a little bit in terms of diversity. Clemmons was the host for our black recruits this time around, with Pete hosting his friend Trey. In the future, we have more hosts to choose from as we continue to pursue needed athletes from out of state. Iowa does not have a lot of high profile preps on the horizon, so we have to go out of state. I think this class really gets that shift moving.

You said the same thing I was thinking. But you said it WAY different than I would have.