Holy shit how wrong has this board been?

[BigD]

You just said if we lose the bowl game you will want change. It's one game played 2 timezones away a month after our last game. That's what you want to base your opinion on whether you want him to stay or whether you want him to go? Seems kinda fickle.

That’s because I expect us to win. Lose and who did we beat this season worth talking about? Minnesota? Seriously??

 

[HuckFinn]

Ahh, try not to cut this board short (yourself included lol). Fran has really not earned that much respect. He beat the softest ISU and Syracuse teams have seen in quite sometime. The Texas Tech win was very nice though. History says Fran will screw the pooch. The Big Ten is very tough.

But, no question, it has been fun of late and there has been some unexpected wins. Garza has looked real good and Iowa has been hitting their outside shots. They are really hustling. Hopefully it continues.

I am just thrilled when we take on a much tougher schedule, win two road games, beat a highly ranked team on a neutral site, lose to three teams that are 29-1, then have someone decide that a couple teams we played, on the road, were not any good and maybe should not even count as wins. Good grief. Then, add the classic distraction...history. Nice try.

 

[Stanzi]

That’s because I expect us to win. Lose and who did we beat this season worth talking about? Minnesota? Seriously??

I get so fucking sick of that stupid fucking argument. Most teams are only going to beat 1 or 2 legitimately good teams in a season. We beat Minnesota and Iowa State, the latter on the road. We beat the MAC champion. We also beat Illinois who is playing in a bowl game.

 

[HuckFinn]

This was a great win but let’s not over react. Our threes were falling and theirs weren’t. If it were reversed it would just be another loss in Ames. Also take into consideration that ISU is 6-4. When was the last time they started of 6-4 in the non-conference schedule.

Now having said that I have to say I was impressed with Toussaint for the first time. He was playing under control and did a great job of moving the ball around. If he can gain the ability to pull up and shoot the 16-18 foot shot he is going to be something special. He was open all night from 16-18 feet out.

It’s just too damn bad that Nunge got hurt. He was just starting to show that he could be a 10-15 point player every night. That would be huge for this team as Pemsl does t seem to be that guy.

If we can come out and play with this type of intensity every night we could be a force to be dealt with.

I will also say this; there has been many years where we went into Ames and lost to ISU when we clearly had the better talent. So yes this was HUGE win but it has to continue from here on through the entire season.

“our three’s were falling and their’s weren’t.” Ok. We have good shooters and closed out on their shooters successfully. Feel better? Messin’ with ya. I thought your post was really good!

 

[HuckFinn]

Listen I want the best for this team and selling impending doom isn’t at all what I’m saying. What I’m saying is exactly what you said above it will give the team a different dynamic and sometimes that little different dynamic can be good or bad. Time will tell and it doesn’t change what I said above the juror will be out on that if JBO decides to sit. I don’t think he will and hope he doesn’t.

I think we would be crazy to believe that one of, if not the best shooting guards in the country, does not play this year, that it won’t be a big negative.

 

[WindsorHawk]

IMO...

18 wins - Probable NCAA
19 wins - Dancing
20 or more - Each win improves the seed

 

[koralakers]

i think .500 would be a hell of an achievement. wouldn't get them into ncaa, but i think we need to have realistic/relative expectations for this team. injuries have sort of derailed what their potential could have been.

Agreed. .500 from here on out would be terrific. Especially w all the injuries and departures. Anything above that would be amazing. Unfortunately the BIG makes it so dam hard to get victories w 20 BIG games, plus BIG tourney plus ACC challenge, Gavitt, and other commitments w P5 schools, and playing TWO ooc tournaments w marquee teams, there’s only like 2-3 sure victories. Everything else is a dam dogfight

 

[tksirius]

I get so fucking sick of that stupid fucking argument. Most teams are only going to beat 1 or 2 legitimately good teams in a season. We beat Minnesota and Iowa State, the latter on the road. We beat the MAC champion. We also beat Illinois who is playing in a bowl game.

Lol you basically just confirmed what BigD said.

 

[HaydenHawk56]

I am just thrilled when we take on a much tougher schedule, win two road games, beat a highly ranked team on a neutral site, lose to three teams that are 29-1, then have someone decide that a couple teams we played, on the road, were not any good and maybe should not even count as wins. Good grief. Then, add the classic distraction...history. Nice try.

We will see where we are at in 22 games. Maybe rain will shine on a dog's ass this year. It is only like what....year 10 for Fran? Not betting on it, Lucy or Fran not pulling the football out from under me.

 

[dahlhawk]

I really do take a lot of your guys word for things....cause I feel like ya'll got your pulse on Iowa hoops as good as anyone. I am not trying to spit in any faces as I was guilty of being peeved at our coach just a month ago. But my opinion was shaped from this board. I don't get how SO MANY of us could have been this off base? I mean, from what I gleaned on this site for the last year was that I should be prepared to be a cellar dweller. One of the worst P5 teams in the country.... and instead, we might be one of the better teams in the country thus far. How is it that we all couldn't see this coming? Do we all just not know a god damn thing? I just enjoy trying to understand that aspect of things. Is it because we are too close to the situation and team that we can't objectively look at it? Do we just like to eat our own? I mean, this is straight up just a question and not trolling? How could some of us be that wrong?

What did we see prior to the Vegas tournament that caused us optimism. The DePaul blowout, JBo struggling, Joe W struggling. Garza has always been my guy, my fear was nobody being able to get him the ball. Much of my pessemism dealt with past experience watching this team, the bad defense under Fran and players playing out of position. Fran accepted players playing where they wanted not where he wanted. The problem was of his creation. This year players have bought in, there's chemistry I haven't felt in this team for a long time. I said earlier this season I'm willing to watch this team develop. No expectations. One thing is for certain, they are more fun to watch than all of last year.

 

[Northside Hawk]

In addition to everything else Garza has improved significantly in a month's time at giving up the ball when he gets double or triple teamed.

You know else this team is good at? Hockey assists, which should be an official stat. This is often the most critical pass as it is often the one that get the defense scrambling or shifting.

As for the opposing team not having their threes fall that night, ive heard this more than once in recent games to describe Iowa's defense. Eventually Iowa's defense may have something to do with opposing three point fg %.

Anyone know if percentages are down on a national basis? They did move the line back in the offseason and people were commenting that it wouldn't make much of a difference. We may have to see how it plays out over a full season.

 

[Northside Hawk]

We will see where we are at in 22 games. Maybe rain will shine on a dog's ass this year. It is only like what....year 10 for Fran? Not betting on it, Lucy or Fran not pulling the football out from under me.

That was lightning's old argument. That the energy we expend in our half court offense with all the screening, cutting and moving without the ball tires us out on the defensive end, and wears us out late in the season. The year we also won't be a deep as we've been, unless Patrick comes back, so we will really have to guard against the February swoon.

We had nothing left after Feb 1 last year. We were never the same after we beat Michigan. JBo saved our bacon against Northwestern and twice against Indiana. Joe W saved it at Rutgers. Those wins count, just like the Nebraska and Maryland losses did, but we were tired. I agree with something lightning always used to say. If you need to take a possession off, do it on the offensive end. Hide in the corner for a few seconds and catch your breath and get your legs back.

 

[HuckFinn]

We will see where we are at in 22 games. Maybe rain will shine on a dog's ass this year. It is only like what....year 10 for Fran? Not betting on it, Lucy or Fran not pulling the football out from under me.

I would think that before you spend time passing judgement, maybe you are the one who should wait to see where we are after 22 games.

 

[Northside Hawk]

I would think that before you spend time passing judgement, maybe you are the one who should wait to see where we are after 22 games.

He's not passing judgement. He has a solid body of history to support his point. See my above post as well.

 

[BigD]

I get so fucking sick of that stupid fucking argument. Most teams are only going to beat 1 or 2 legitimately good teams in a season. We beat Minnesota and Iowa State, the latter on the road. We beat the MAC champion. We also beat Illinois who is playing in a bowl game.

“We beat Minnesota and Iowa State, the latter on the road. We beat the MAC champion.”

That’s your example of great achievement??? This is why I said what I said. This is why I wanted to play a formidable opponent in the bowl game. Only in your mind and a few other apologist on this website would even think about using those teams as a great example of winning at a Excellent level. If we lose to USC then that only adds to the argument against Kirk. Win and it adds to your argument. That’s all I am saying.

We beat the MAC champion??? I would hope to God we did and always do every time we play them. Does Des Moines Dowling brag about beating a 1A school champ???

 

[BigD]

Lol you basically just confirmed what BigD said.

I don’t know, maybe he has been drinking. Seriously I try to give everyone the benefit of a doubt.

Let me think about this again maybe he has a point. Minnesota, Iowa State, Illinois, and a MAC champion. Nope, that doesn’t cut it. Need to beat USC to even begin to claim they beat a quality program. 10-3 has a nice sound to it. 9-4 sounds so Kirkish.

 

[InGoodCo]

What did we see prior to the Vegas tournament that caused us optimism. The DePaul blowout, JBo struggling, Joe W struggling. Garza has always been my guy, my fear was nobody being able to get him the ball. Much of my pessemism dealt with past experience watching this team, the bad defense under Fran and players playing out of position. Fran accepted players playing where they wanted not where he wanted. The problem was of his creation. This year players have bought in, there's chemistry I haven't felt in this team for a long time. I said earlier this season I'm willing to watch this team develop. No expectations. One thing is for certain, they are more fun to watch than all of last year.

They spent 90 percent of last season in the top 25. There was buzzer beaters, top 25 wins, Cook, one of the most athletic players in Iowa history on the floor. Last season was pretty fun for me personally

 

[Northside Hawk]

I don’t know, maybe he has been drinking. Seriously I try to give everyone the benefit of a doubt.

Let me think about this again maybe he has a point. Minnesota, Iowa State, Illinois, and a MAC champion. Nope, that doesn’t cut it. Need to beat USC to even begin to claim they beat a quality program. 10-3 has a nice sound to it. 9-4 sounds so Kirkish.

Perhaps, but the goal post on what's considered "Kirkish" has also moved. Five to seven years ago a 7-5 season was often deemed as a typical Kirk season. But now that we've won a couple bowl games that criteria seems to have move to 8-4. Now with a Holiday Bowl loss the meter would creep into the nine win range.

It's like a baseball pitcher who's control is so pinpoint that they get a half inch added to their strike zone every inning so that by the sixth inning it's expanded nearly the width of the baseball.

For the record I don't expect us to win this game. West coast teams have a long, long history of discombobulating us in bowl games. They're sort of fast, as fast as SEC teams. I would rather have taken my chances with a SEC team who sees their landing spot as somewhat of a letdown.

 

[deanvogs]

Perhaps, but the goal post on what's considered "Kirkish" has also moved. Five to seven years ago a 7-5 season was often deemed as a typical Kirk season. But now that we've won a couple bowl games that criteria seems to have move to 8-4. Now with a Holiday Bowl loss the meter would creep into the nine win range.

It's like a baseball pitcher who's control is so pinpoint that they get a half inch added to their strike zone every inning so that by the sixth inning it's expanded nearly the width of the baseball.

For the record I don't expect us to win this game. West coast teams have a long, long history of discombobulating us in bowl games. They're sort of fast, as fast as SEC teams. I would rather have taken my chances with a SEC team who sees their landing spot as somewhat of a letdown.

Yep, the narrative before was always Kirk is a 7-5 guy. Now the narrative is yeah, sure we won 8-10 games, but, but, but, but, but we didn't beat the top 15 teams we played. Well no shit, the only teams that beat multiple top 15 type teams are the playoff teams.

 

[ArvadaHawk]

I'm not saying they will get to 20. I'm just saying they would get in if they did.

got it