I am trying to measure my optimism here, but..

[tiggerhawk]

I don't see it with the current roster.

Too many 3/4 tweener types. If you could move a couple of these guys and get a couple of real 5s to take their place I would feel more confident.

Also, it would be good to maybe have one less two and one more 1 or at least a true combo/guard.

But, I don't know, I haven't seen Brust play live. Is he perhaps a combo guard at the next level?

Don't understand the concern about size per se. With Archie 6-9, Cougill 6-9, Larson 6-9, Brommer 6-9, McCabe 6-8, Cole 6-7, Fuller 6-6 Iowa has as much size inside as anyone in the BT...the real question is how well Archie, Larsen, MCabe make the transition too BT hoops, whether Brommer ever can develop into a guy who can be adequate off the bench, how rapidly Cougill progresses. There is a lot of reason to anticipate that Larson & McCabe will prove themselves quickly, in the manner May did this season.

Wouldn't label Brust a comgo guard; he is such a scoring threat and deadly outside shooter that McCaffery is not likely to misuse him at the point when he is a star wing-guard in waiting.

But you have put the proverbial finger on the proverbial problem: a change in coaches doesn't wipe out the continuing problem of inadequate depth, speed, endurance, running the break etc due to the lack of a second, experienced point guard.

Gatens, May, maybe other team mates almost certainly are going to do what they can to convince the new coach to bring Tucker back with a more-or-less clean slate. That suggests a potential dilemma for McCaffery: he needs to find that needed PG ASAP, but if he restores Tucker to his schollie, the only way to have a schollie open for a new PG is to have someone else leave. Convincing a player that his best interest is to join another program is hard to pull off without it reeking of "running off" players, an appearance any new coach wants very much to avoid.

(Personally, I put no stock in the rumors about Fuller, and never did. I find the irony humorous that internet boards filled with uninformed conjecture about how Fuller would leave if Lickliter stayed now are overwrought with the-sky-is-falling panic that he will leave now that Lickliter has been replaced.

 

[hawkdoctor]

I think Iowa can challenge for 7-9 wins in Big 10 play.

I see Iowa winning 10 non conference games. Assuming 13 NC games, I see the record being anywhere from 17-14 to 19-12.

While I think this is a great hire, let's not set ourselves up for failure. I can go with a winning season. I still think it will be hard to climb above the top five in the big ten next year. The following year I'm with you. 17-14 is possible but 19-12 would be damn hard to do.

Haven't seen the schedule yet but I do believe we can win all of the instate rivals. Don't we have UNI & ISU at home?

 

[HeneryHawk]

No way Tucker should come back, shouldnt even be considered. Why are you so sure that they will go to bat for him to return, especially with the way he has failed them over the last two seasons. Plus, Tucker doesnt seem to have the character that Fran will demand in his recruits.

Freddy, didnt you leave out Ricky Davis? He played in the all star games and did quite well.

Dean Oliver was higly considered in HS, and how high was Woolridge rated too?

 

[FreddyBrown]

Freddy, didnt you leave out Ricky Davis? He played in the all star games and did quite well.

Dean Oliver was higly considered in HS, and how high was Woolridge rated too?

Ricky did play in the Magic game in Detroit and had big numbers, along with Tracy McGrady. However, he was not a McDonald's A-A. Dean was maybe top 50, top 65 IIRC, but not at all close to making the bigger national all star games. (He might have played in the Derby festival, not sure about that, but by then they had limited each kid to two all star games and that resulted in more fringe top 50 types getting a shot.)

Andre was in some top 25's and I remember being surprised he wasn't a McD A-A, even when he had already committed to Nebraska and I had no particular interest in him. As I mentioned above, he did play in the Dapper Dan in PA which at one time was one of the top two or three national all star games. I think Andre and Ricky probably both had a good case to be McDonald's A-A's, but weren't.

 

[urohawk]

Don't understand the concern about size per se. With Archie 6-9, Cougill 6-9, Larson 6-9, Brommer 6-9, McCabe 6-8, Cole 6-7, Fuller 6-6 Iowa has as much size inside as anyone in the BT...the real question is how well Archie, Larsen, MCabe make the transition too BT hoops, whether Brommer ever can develop into a guy who can be adequate off the bench, how rapidly Cougill progresses. There is a lot of reason to anticipate that Larson & McCabe will prove themselves quickly, in the manner May did this season.

Wouldn't label Brust a comgo guard; he is such a scoring threat and deadly outside shooter that McCaffery is not likely to misuse him at the point when he is a star wing-guard in waiting.

But you have put the proverbial finger on the proverbial problem: a change in coaches doesn't wipe out the continuing problem of inadequate depth, speed, endurance, running the break etc due to the lack of a second, experienced point guard.

Gatens, May, maybe other team mates almost certainly are going to do what they can to convince the new coach to bring Tucker back with a more-or-less clean slate. That suggests a potential dilemma for McCaffery: he needs to find that needed PG ASAP, but if he restores Tucker to his schollie, the only way to have a schollie open for a new PG is to have someone else leave. Convincing a player that his best interest is to join another program is hard to pull off without it reeking of "running off" players, an appearance any new coach wants very much to avoid.

(Personally, I put no stock in the rumors about Fuller, and never did. I find the irony humorous that internet boards filled with uninformed conjecture about how Fuller would leave if Lickliter stayed now are overwrought with the-sky-is-falling panic that he will leave now that Lickliter has been replaced.

Tigger, I hope you are right about Fuller. I hope he stays, just the lack of quotes make me worry. Another poster pointed out that he was practicing with several teammates yesterday so maybe that is a good sign.

I posted before the hire that whoever the new coach is will have a big challenge getting this roster to gel. As Marble pointed out there appears to be cliques. The Tucker situation does seem to be a big problem. To run McCaffery's system he needs another ball-handler and Tucker showed he was not it last year.

 

[UP6936]

I actually liked the questions that Deace asked. He didn't lob anything up there and asked questions that he had been talking about prior to the interview. I'm not saying Jon would have. Just commenting on Deace.

I was referring more to Steve and Chris' initial reactions on Monday morning. They seemed a bit cold on the hire. They certainly did not blatantly state it, but their tone made one think they may have believed at the time that the hire could be a potential mistake. At no time dd I believe Steve and Chris were being biased or negative. They were being fair and neutral. As a die-hard hawk fan who was already very excited about the hire, though, I wasn't looking for fair and neutral. I was looking for a little pro-Hawkeye, rah-rah bias. I wanted to hear a little excitement about the hire. Not having Jon there to give me a little bit of that was a a bit of a buzz kill. (Again,not blaming Jon. He had no way of planning for this.)

I had a fever and the only cure was more Jon Miller, baby!


As I stated before, I believe both Steve and Chris have warmed up a little to the hire. As with nearly everybody, the more they learned about him, the more they liked him.

 

[OO44]

Fran has an MBA from Wharton and it shows.