1977Hawkeye
Well-Known Member
Was Iowa ever actually confirmed to have interest? I don't remember seeing anything that solidly said Iowa was after him.
As for Gesell/Woody compared to Hoiberg's recruits, the results after they arrive on campus don't matter for the purposes of this discussion. Fran beat North Carolina to land Woody. He was highly touted, and ISU's success had no sway with him.
When there's so little direct competition, I guess I don't see the big deal if ISU has success. They can go after Thomas, we can go get Hutton. Without direct competition, ISU's success doesn't really hurt Iowa. We can go get equally good players elsewhere...or not, but if we can't get players that ISU isn't going after, that's a "me" problem for Fran, not Hoiberg's/ISU's fault.
I like the Hutton commit, but let's face it, he won't be on Iowa's team until the 2015-16 season, right? Even then, he'll be a freshman. Probably is going to take another year or two before he's ready to contribute at a high level. So 3-4 years from now, this might pay dividends. If Hoiberg lands Lee, he will be getting a guy that can play NOW.
As for Iowa never having confirmed interest.. I don't see why we shouldn't, and I have to say it boggles my mind a bit as to why Fran wouldn't be interested. I thought he even said himself that he would consider a transfer, but maybe I'm just crazy.