I ran into Gary Barta today . . .

HAWKEY3

HAWKEY3

Well-Known Member
First off, I'd like to say that he is a genuinely nice man. He was very open about talking about Iowa sports and showed an honest enthusiasm for the Hawkeyes.

The reason I started this thread is because he mentioned a couple of recruits were visiting this weekend including a 6'10" kid he seemed excited about. He didn't mention his name.

Forgive my ignorance on the recruiting trail but does anyone know who he might be talking about?
 
HAWKEY3 said:
First off, I'd like to say that he is a genuinely nice man. He was very open about talking about Iowa sports and showed an honest enthusiasm for the Hawkeyes.

The reason I started this thread is because he mentioned a couple of recruits were visiting this weekend including a 6'10" kid he seemed excited about. He didn't mention his name.

Forgive my ignorance on the recruiting trail but does anyone know who he might be talking about?
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Thinking maybe it's New Hampshire F/C George Niang. Iowa State is recruiting him too. (They seem confident he is theirs to lose.)
 
What's the story with Woodbury. i thought he was Iowa's to lose, but it seems like we are recruiting a lot of centers that are not named Woodbury.
 
Nice! Good find on the article. I like the fact that we're getting interest from some bigger guys. We need 'em.
 
Well what it appears that he is suggesting is that Barta told him that the coaching staff feels they have Olaseni in the bag. I am sure the coaches keep the AD up to date on the recruiting and how they feel about the kid. Not that it means much but even before I got on this thread I had a gut feeling for some reason that they are really going after this kid and that they really want him and that he will go with Iowa. What does that mean for Woodbury? Nothing as there is plenty of room for two Bigs at Iowa to share time playing. In fact it might light a fire under Woodbury's rear. You snooze you lose! I hope Olaseni commits soon........and then a point guard and we are good to go next season. It will be interesting to hear how they felt about their visits. If the recruit who is looking at ISU starts to show strong interest then this could get really interesting as I would be surprized that they would sign both of them and not pick up a point guard. Fran did say he would sign the best players available regardless of the position the play. What I really think is out of the two that visited this past weekend, the one who commits first will leave the other out in the cold........no pressure there huh? lol
 
The recruits this weekend were Olaseni who is the guy Barta was taking about. The other was Georges Niang, who is a 6'8 forward and a junior in high school. So both his visits were unnoficials I believe. Also they could both commit b/c of the class difference.
 
BigD said:
Well what it appears that he is suggesting is that Barta told him that the coaching staff feels they have Olaseni in the bag.
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To be fair and accurate with what Mr. Barta discussed, he specifically said that the recruit in question (no doubt now it is Olaseni) has NOT said yes yet. I also hope he commits soon (to Iowa of course)!
 
rwin03 said:
Have you seen him play? We need to be looking at other options.
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I think it's a bit premature (to put it nicely) to dis Woodbury...for several reasons.

A number of other programs seem to think he's worth pursuing. And as they say..."You can't coach 7-foot". The kid has 18 months before he steps foot on a college basketball court. That's a lot of development and maturation. And as we all know (or at least those of us who follow basketball) big men always develop slower.

Woodbury is a solid D-1 recruit. Make no mistake.
 
BigD said:
Well what it appears that he is suggesting is that Barta told him that the coaching staff feels they have Olaseni in the bag. I am sure the coaches keep the AD up to date on the recruiting and how they feel about the kid. Not that it means much but even before I got on this thread I had a gut feeling for some reason that they are really going after this kid and that they really want him and that he will go with Iowa. What does that mean for Woodbury? Nothing as there is plenty of room for two Bigs at Iowa to share time playing. In fact it might light a fire under Woodbury's rear. You snooze you lose! I hope Olaseni commits soon........and then a point guard and we are good to go next season. It will be interesting to hear how they felt about their visits. If the recruit who is looking at ISU starts to show strong interest then this could get really interesting as I would be surprized that they would sign both of them and not pick up a point guard. Fran did say he would sign the best players available regardless of the position the play. What I really think is out of the two that visited this past weekend, the one who commits first will leave the other out in the cold........no pressure there huh? lol
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Right here, right now . . . the Hawks need a physical presence down low, taller than Cole and with better offensive skills. After that, they need a pure shooter who can freakin' stroke it.

I agree that it makes the most long term sense to bring in a true frosh at pg but a true freshman at point guard isn't going to make Iowa better next year. Long term planning might call for a frosh pg next year but whoever that may be isn't going to make Iowa better (assuming Cully stays healthy) next year. Cartwright will be seeing the large majority of minutes there.
 
hawkfarmer said:
What's the story with Woodbury. i thought he was Iowa's to lose, but it seems like we are recruiting a lot of centers that are not named Woodbury.
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Considering the Hawks currently have zero centers that are B1G quality, if the do get Woodbury, that would give them one, in 2012-13. Do we really want them to play next year without any, or 2012-13 with one. They NEED 2-3 to be truly competitive in conference. If they get Olaseni, they'd have one for next, add Woodbury the following year, that gives you two for the next three years, that would be the minimum they need. That's aside from the fact that Woodbury hasn't commited yet.

I'm guessing that's why Fran keeps recruiting centers not named Woodbury. Having only one is a bad thing.
 
MSGT1 said:
Considering the Hawks currently have zero centers that are B1G quality, if the do get Woodbury, that would give them one, in 2012-13. Do we really want them to play next year without any, or 2012-13 with one. They NEED 2-3 to be truly competitive in conference. If they get Olaseni, they'd have one for next, add Woodbury the following year, that gives you two for the next three years, that would be the minimum they need. That's aside from the fact that Woodbury hasn't commited yet.

I'm guessing that's why Fran keeps recruiting centers not named Woodbury. Having only one is a bad thing.
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Won't argue any of your points, but I will say we have 6'10" Meyer for 2012, and I was going off the assumption they were talking about Niang being a 6'10 center visiting although they meant Olaseni (who I knew about). My thought was they were trying to get Olaseni (2011), Meyer and Niang (2012).

I now realize Niang is 6'7" forward so I understand it. I was just curious if they thought Woodbury was going elsewhere.
 
hawkfarmer said:
Won't argue any of your points, but I will say we have 6'10" Meyer for 2012, and I was going off the assumption they were talking about Niang being a 6'10 center visiting although they meant Olaseni (who I knew about). My thought was they were trying to get Olaseni (2011), Meyer and Niang (2012).

I now realize Niang is 6'7" forward so I understand it. I was just curious if they thought Woodbury was going elsewhere.
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The last anyone had said, it still sounded like Woodbury was leaning towards Iowa (FWIW). But landing Olaseni, Meyer, and Woodbury would really give us a solid crew up front, plus 6'8" White at the 3 (occasional 4). You really do need a minimum of two, and three is ideal.
 
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