I would not be that shocked to hear a coach offer this opinion.
We are transitioning from a coach who recruited to his system,which was slo-ball,to a coach whose system is fast ball. Fran inherited a team with only one senior,Cole,and so it is not like he is going to re-shape the athleticisim of the roster in one year.
To me, any player rated top 100 is a good addition,no matter how high he jumps,so that makes Gesell and Woody good additons.
Clemmons and Ingram seem pretty athletic from what vidieo is out there.
So that is an improvement.
This year? Well, Uthoff is probably more athletic than White,but we missed on him,and Oglesby is a top 125 guy,so he is a good additon. Shooters are also needed.
Gabe is clearly athletic,but lacking bb polish.
As for Chicagoland recruiting,I agree we need to get in there,as there seems to be a multitude of those quick,.6'5'' wing types that Fran flourished with at Siena.
As for the Public League...Simeon and Whitney Young are dominant,and some of the others have players,but academics can be shaky. Cliff Alexander out of Curie has visited Iowa,but will be a tough get.
I hope we are all over Chicagoland,as there are players in the South Suburbs,catholic league,ect.,as well as public league,and who are better academic risks.
Iowa this year will need to be injury-free and shoot the ball a lot better to win over 15 games.