Me and every other BCS level coach who didn't offer Bryce out of HS or JUCO. He was good b/c he was our only option and had to be the guy with the ball in his hands at all times. But he also led us to how many wins?
If I am not mistaken, Basabe played on the same team with the same teammates and nobody that could do anything off of the bench. Depth at one position being is better than having a bench that could not contribute at really any position.
Look, say what you want, but Cartwright does make Iowa go and if he didn't get the ball to your boy Basabe by drawing defenders on the drive, he wouldn't have had the year he did.
I love Basabe as much as the next Iowa fan, but he has a tremendous amount of work to do before he is as good as some are making him out to be. He is supremely athletic and appears to have a good work ethic, so long as that work ethic is there he will be that good when all is said and done.
Would you trade Melsahn for any other PF's in the Big Ten? Same question you asked about Cartwright...my answer would be yes, just like with Cartwright. It is pretty simple, Iowa's best players are not the best players in the league at this point, but they aren't as bad as their record indicated last season.
Iowa will be a different team this year, period. With one year and one offseason under their belt, those close games they lost last year can turn into wins. Until Iowa has a complete team and I am not talking about getting 5-star players, but good starters and players that do nothing but contribute from the bench as freshman, but can grow into starters as their careers go on. There is a good foundations set in place, it is a process and Fran will get it done.