I'm looking forward to next year's team

[WindsorHawk]

Next year will be painful...

I disagree. I enjoy seeing the next group of players improve, develop, mature, etc. Jok will be a preseason all conference pick. Uhl will get more latitude and freedom. He's only scratching the surface at this point IMO. I will enjoy watching the team play.

I think Iowa next year will look something like Ohio State this year. The difference is Jok. Ohio State doesn't have an all conference caliber senior on their team this year. By no means do I think Iowa is a lock to make the NCAA next year. But I think they have a chance and I won't be disappointed if they play in the NIT and lay the foundation for solid NCAA teams the next several seasons.

 

[phdsvp]

Nice try. But you ignored my post and made a random comment which has nothing to to with what I posted. If there is something inaccurate in my post please feel free to address it. If you are going to make an unrelated comment there is no reason to quote my comment. Because my comment is 100% accurate and based 100% on fact. Your post is nothing more than opinion. Last year's Davidson team was as good as any Davidson team I've ever seen...that didn't include NBA MVP Steph Curry.

Oooh, a liberal arts major. This could be fun. In that case, I'll rewrite your "accomplishments", also based in fact.

This senior class couldn't win the also-ran tournament, lost in the round that actually gets you in the tournament, then beat the worst Davidson team in years only to get destroyed by Gonzaga, and is currently in the midst of one of the biggest collapses in college basketball in the past ten years. Oh yeah: it's their second such collapse in three years.

 

[Stanzi]

I think next year's team won't have as high of a ceiling, but I don't see them collapsing either. I would predict anywhere from a 7 to an 11 seed for them. Losing Woodbury and Gesell will be addition by subtraction.

 

[HawkeyeWalker]

Fran is a clueless coach, all he does is yell and scream and get Mad, he has no idea how to actually coach a game, not sure why you would be looking to a below .500 team next year...going to get ugly here fast.

Get your resume to Barta. Turn this awful thing around!

 

[HawkeyeWalker]

Even the people who think Fran sucks because we lose after we reach the top 10 shouldn't worry about next year. We won't sniff the top 10 so there shouldn't be a collapse to worry about.

That will be unacceptable as well. Lol.
We deserve better! When you have the storied basketball tradition Iowa basketball has...

Oh wait, that's "loser/mediocrity" talk....

Winning is easy to do.

As a side note, the playcall to get Jok wide open on that last shot was brilliant.

 

[HawkeyeWalker]

This class has yielded 1 NIT Championship game followed by 3 straight NCAA appearances...and an NCAA win last year. And there's been an obvious upgrade in recruiting and young talent on the roster. This class has yielded a lot IMO.

But...but...the collapses (yes, they suck).

 

[DJL]

This is spot on. Here is what the "seniors" have done in the final minutes of the last 4 games:

vs. Penn St 2 field goals in the final 10 minutes and both in the final 26 seconds
vs. Wisconsin 0 field goals in the final 6 minutes
vs. Ohio St 1 field goals in the final 4 minutes and that 1 was with 40 seconds left
vs. Indiana 1 field goal in the final 4 minutes and that 1 was in the final 10 seconds


That lack of production isn't on Fran. That is on the team. Fran can't make shots for them, they had open looks. There is no leader to put them on their back and refuse to lose.

Really? I mean seriously, really? How many times have we all yelled "call a timeout!" "Set something up"! Good coaches can set up plays, calm his team down, and help them get to the finish line. Now at the very end of the game, AFTER A TIMEOUT WAS FINALLY CALLED in the final seconds we got the shot we wanted and it didn't go down. But over and over we see timeouts left on the board and just awful offensive sets and shot selection at the end of these loses. Some of the blame absolutely has to go on Fran. Yes he dug us out of the dark ages, and I'm thankful for that, but he needs to learn how to coach a game late with so much on the line.

 

[deanvogs]

Oooh, a liberal arts major. This could be fun. In that case, I'll rewrite your "accomplishments", also based in fact.

This senior class couldn't win the also-ran tournament, lost in the round that actually gets you in the tournament, then beat the worst Davidson team in years only to get destroyed by Gonzaga, and is currently in the midst of one of the biggest collapses in college basketball in the past ten years. Oh yeah: it's their second such collapse in three years.

Dude, we get it, you are a 14 year old having a temper tantrum. Listen nobody like losing, but this Sr. group did more than any 4 year players since Tom Davis teams. AlFraud didn't touch this, even the group of Horner, Haluska, and Brunner. (2003 NIT, 2004, NIT, 2005 NCAA no wins, 2006 NCAA no wins). Which is absolutely criminal really what AlFraud DIDN'T get done here, and with that group.

At least Fran has done better each year with this group (NIT, NCAA no wins, NCAA 1 wins, NCAA ???) Already better than anything since Tom Davis.

 

[WindsorHawk]

But...but...the collapses (yes, they suck).

I hated losing to Iowa State and I hated losing last night. But both games...other than the ultimate result...were more fun to watch than any game under Lick IMO. When we beat MSU under Lick the score was in the thirties I believe. That's not the kind of basketball I want to watch. The Lafester Rhodes 54 point game that we lost in OT was one of the best games I've ever seen.

 

[WindsorHawk]

Oooh, a liberal arts major. This could be fun. In that case, I'll rewrite your "accomplishments", also based in fact.

This senior class couldn't win the also-ran tournament, lost in the round that actually gets you in the tournament, then beat the worst Davidson team in years only to get destroyed by Gonzaga, and is currently in the midst of one of the biggest collapses in college basketball in the past ten years. Oh yeah: it's their second such collapse in three years.

That's what I thought. You have zero. I'm sure you're yelling as you type...one of those people that thinks if they're the loudest they're right is my guess. Okay, you had your chance. You are dismissed.

 

[Sooby]

Next year will be painful , no matter how talented the freshmen are. It takes time and experience to get BIG ready unless you have players like Maryland who started 5 NBA players. Must be patient with this group.

I liked what I saw with Baer, Williams and Wagner, last night.
Next year, I'm looking for a PG that doesn't dribble at the top of the key, until the shot clock hits 10, virtually, every possession.
This is the basketball version, of the Mark Weisman, stretch right play.

 

[Sooby]

I think next year's team won't have as high of a ceiling, but I don't see them collapsing either. I would predict anywhere from a 7 to an 11 seed for them. Losing Woodbury and Gesell will be addition by subtraction.

If I want to see missed lay-ups, routinely, I'll watch the WNBA.

 

[ColumbusHawk]

I'm interested in seeing the new players/team. His Sienna teams didn't collapse like this team of players has (2 of 3 seasons). I'm not gonna get worked up about Fran's teams any longer. I have the same amount of expectations going forward as I did during the Alfraud/Lick years.

My expectations under Fran are higher than they were under Davis.

 

[tweeterhawk]

450+ combined starts with the current players hasn't yielded very much. I think we have some talent on the bench. I hope we have toughness too.
I'm willing to give Fran a couple more years.

There's raw talent and I actually think there has been more athleticism on the bench than has been on the floor most nights this year. If that translates to toughness, I'll take that.

 

[PCHawk]

This is spot on. Here is what the "seniors" have done in the final minutes of the last 4 games:

vs. Penn St 2 field goals in the final 10 minutes and both in the final 26 seconds
vs. Wisconsin 0 field goals in the final 6 minutes
vs. Ohio St 1 field goals in the final 4 minutes and that 1 was with 40 seconds left
vs. Indiana 1 field goal in the final 4 minutes and that 1 was in the final 10 seconds


That lack of production isn't on Fran. That is on the team. Fran can't make shots for them, they had open looks. There is no leader to put them on their back and refuse to lose.

Those stats are crazy. I understand that Fran could do a few things that help the team. But if you're the kind of players that muster those kind of stats in close games, does it really matter that Fran does? They can't control a simple rebound or stay on a shooter when the clock is so low you know he has to shoot it. Doesn't all evidence point to them failing at anything Fran tells them to do?

 

[PCHawk]

Beating the worst Davidson team in the tourney in years is "yielding a lot"? Because that's really all this class has accomplished.

Anyone who thinks Davidson sucked thinks that because they watched them play one game all year and they got stomped. All I heard national people talk about leading up to that game was how good they were and Iowa was in trouble. We were a matchup nightmare for them and played lights out.

 

[docholihawk]

Anyone wishing for a coaching change is going to be disappointed. If you think Barta is going to fire Fran when he makes the NCAA tournament let me refer you to Iowa football 2010-2015.

 

[PCHawk]

I disagree. I enjoy seeing the next group of players improve, develop, mature, etc. Jok will be a preseason all conference pick. Uhl will get more latitude and freedom. He's only scratching the surface at this point IMO. I will enjoy watching the team play.

I think Iowa next year will look something like Ohio State this year. The difference is Jok. Ohio State doesn't have an all conference caliber senior on their team this year. By no means do I think Iowa is a lock to make the NCAA next year. But I think they have a chance and I won't be disappointed if they play in the NIT and lay the foundation for solid NCAA teams the next several seasons.

I thought about the Ohio State comparison too. You can argue that their young talent might be better than ours since they are Ohio State recruits. But they don't have Jok. If we can avoid really bad loses early, we will probably be a tournament team late.

 

[PCHawk]

I think next year's team won't have as high of a ceiling, but I don't see them collapsing either. I would predict anywhere from a 7 to an 11 seed for them. Losing Woodbury and Gesell will be addition by subtraction.

It might not be addition by subtraction. But it probably won't be subtraction either. They have some qualities we will miss. But there is a lot of room for improvement with what bad qualities they have. Especially when we lose almost every game where we're within 4 points with under 4 left. There is so much room for improvement there, the newbies can be quite a bit worse and still win almost as many games. Like you said tho, the ceiling is lower.

 

[Tierney]

I thought about the Ohio State comparison too. You can argue that their young talent might be better than ours since they are Ohio State recruits. But they don't have Jok. If we can avoid really bad loses early, we will probably be a tournament team late.

Even though they have been shooting poorly, Iowa has been in all the games they have lost. If they come out and have a good game they are going to be tough to beat. I don't particularly think Iowa is the best team in the country, but I think they could beat any team in the country.