I WAS getting excited about this season but...

R

rodthompson

Well-Known Member
I was beginning to get cautiously optimistic about the upcoming season, but then I talked to a high school coach I know who sat in on a couple Iowa practices a week or so ago.

He told me that the team looks extremely slow and unathletic compared to other teams he has seen.

Not that this guy is some end-all/know-all, but it is depressing that we don't target better athletes for this program. I thought that it might change some with Coach Fran, but it still seems like we aren't really targeting anybody who breaks the mold of the traditional Iowa player.
 
This exactly...People are getting way too pumped for this year...we are young and are not going to be very good at all....but next year we have some major athletic talent coming with Ingram Woody and Mike G. So we won't be very good, but that's ok! Fran has the program on a great track and I am excited about the overall direction...but if you think we are going to get 17-20 wins with this squad you're nuts.
 
OK, let make a list for future reference.
1.rodthompson
2.Hawkforce

Keep adding to the list so we have a reference for "crow soup".
 
rodthompson said:
I was beginning to get cautiously optimistic about the upcoming season, but then I talked to a high school coach I know who sat in on a couple Iowa practices a week or so ago.

He told me that the team looks extremely slow and unathletic compared to other teams he has seen.

Not that this guy is some end-all/know-all, but it is depressing that we don't target better athletes for this program. I thought that it might change some with Coach Fran, but it still seems like we aren't really targeting anybody who breaks the mold of the traditional Iowa player.
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Compared to which teams? A couple years ago, Iowa had one of the slowest, unathletic teams I can remember. This team isn't worse that that one in regards to those attirbutes.

Maybe compared to the teams of Tom Davis, but compared to Lickliter's teams, this year's squad is an upgrade.
 
hey man, like spank said, you can only go up in terms of athleticism.

i agree that some folks are putting a little too much in the way of expectations this year. i'm just excited that they will be fun to watch. a .500 record or better would just be icing on the cake.
 
rodthompson said:
I was beginning to get cautiously optimistic about the upcoming season, but then I talked to a high school coach I know who sat in on a couple Iowa practices a week or so ago.

He told me that the team looks extremely slow and unathletic compared to other teams he has seen.

Not that this guy is some end-all/know-all, but it is depressing that we don't target better athletes for this program. I thought that it might change some with Coach Fran, but it still seems like we aren't really targeting anybody who breaks the mold of the traditional Iowa player.
Click to expand...
I try to make things logical and simple so:
1.The players were much better at the end of the season. They were very competitive kept alot of games very close and even pulled off a big win.
2.They are older and more experinced so unlikely to stay the same or be worse.
3.They added depth and athleticism with incoming players.
4.Fran has added strength,confidence and belief in the players and fans.
The way I see it the same players win 2-3 games alone with experience then add in the new talent to power the returners on 2-3 more wins. So 17ish. Not bad considering the reent past. Now IF the team gels like good teams do that could add 2-3 more wins. So yeah 20 is not out of the question IMO.
 
How many d1 teams allows this high school coach to sit in on their practices? I would be curious to find out which teams he has watched.

I don't believe that speed or athletisism will be an issue at all. Youth and depth at key positions will be.
 
rodthompson said:
I was beginning to get cautiously optimistic about the upcoming season, but then I talked to a high school coach I know who sat in on a couple Iowa practices a week or so ago.

He told me that the team looks extremely slow and unathletic compared to other teams he has seen.

Not that this guy is some end-all/know-all, but it is depressing that we don't target better athletes for this program. I thought that it might change some with Coach Fran, but it still seems like we aren't really targeting anybody who breaks the mold of the traditional Iowa player.
Click to expand...

I would greatly disagree with this statement. You are basically telling me that Olesani, White, and Ogelsby in this class are not atheletic upgrades to what we had on last year's team or years prior. If you are saying that Olesani is not more athletic than Cole, you are wrong. While Cole may have been a better player, Olesani is much more athletic and runs the floor better than Cole. And you can't seriously tell me that White is not more athletic than McCabe. This is nonsense and I put less than 0 stock in what you are saying.
 
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Nuts to think this team can win 17 games? Ok. The non-conference schedule is pretty manageable this year and nearly the entire team is back. That sounds like a recipe for improvemet to me.

Sure, I get the fact that the level of talent isn't that great yet, but those assuming we are going to suck that badly again this year seem to be under the impression that none of the returning players are going to show any improvement, and that all of the newcomers for this year's team will be utterly worthless. I'm not buying that..

Whether this team wins exactly 15, 17 or 18 games (or whatever number) remains to be seen, but I'll be shocked if this season isn't a nice step forward from last year. In other words, if we're an 11-12 win team again this year, I'll eat my dirty laundry. Metaphorically speaking.
 
rodthompson said:
I was beginning to get cautiously optimistic about the upcoming season, but then I talked to a high school coach I know who sat in on a couple Iowa practices a week or so ago.

He told me that the team looks extremely slow and unathletic compared to other teams he has seen.

Not that this guy is some end-all/know-all, but it is depressing that we don't target better athletes for this program. I thought that it might change some with Coach Fran, but it still seems like we aren't really targeting anybody who breaks the mold of the traditional Iowa player.
Click to expand...

No one is saying Iowa is going to win the B1G, but compared to where Iowa has been in recent years, people are seeing improvement. As far as recruits, the 2012 class is looking pretty good if you ask me.
 
Even next year the guys we are bringing in arent "GREAT ATHLETES"per say good basketball players YES great athletes IDK.I havnt seen to many 7 footers that are called great athletes. Not saying anything bad about our recruits just wondering where this coach is comming from?? I would say MAY, MARBLE ,BASABE,BC are pretty good athletes( better than we've had in a while).
 
HawkForce said:
This exactly...People are getting way too pumped for this year...we are young and are not going to be very good at all....but next year we have some major athletic talent coming with Ingram Woody and Mike G. So we won't be very good, but that's ok! Fran has the program on a great track and I am excited about the overall direction...but if you think we are going to get 17-20 wins with this squad you're nuts.
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Good, but not athletic.
 
Was I expecting the '89 flying illini, no. I do however think we will be athletic enough to run Fran's Offense and Defense.

The key to this year isn't about being more athletic than our opponent, it is knocking down open shots and extending the defense so Basabe can roam.
 
rodthompson said:
I was beginning to get cautiously optimistic about the upcoming season, but then I talked to a high school coach I know who sat in on a couple Iowa practices a week or so ago.

He told me that the team looks extremely slow and unathletic compared to other teams he has seen.

Not that this guy is some end-all/know-all, but it is depressing that we don't target better athletes for this program. I thought that it might change some with Coach Fran, but it still seems like we aren't really targeting anybody who breaks the mold of the traditional Iowa player.[/QUOTE]


Do you know anything about our recruits or those we are recruiting? No need to comment; the answer is clearly 'no'.
Click to expand...
 
BuiltLikeWilt said:
Even next year the guys we are bringing in arent "GREAT ATHLETES"per say good basketball players YES great athletes IDK.I havnt seen to many 7 footers that are called great athletes. Not saying anything bad about our recruits just wondering where this coach is comming from?? I would say MAY, MARBLE ,BASABE,BC are pretty good athletes( better than we've had in a while).
Click to expand...

Let me get this straight. You think recruiting 7 footers is a bad thing? How do you know that the kids coming in aren't "GREAT ATHLETES" but are good basketball players? Did you gather that from their highlight tapes? It's also been pretty clear where Fran is coming from. He wants to run an up tempo offense with a good transition defense. He's recruiting players that can run the floor and play faster.
 
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