InGoodCo
Well-Known Member
Iowa is 11-4, if they miss the tournament and go to the NIT again, Fran’s coached his last game at Iowa.
Iowa's next 6 games
- Thread starter InGoodCo
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eyekwah
Well-Known Member
I looked at the NET ranking and Iowa is 54, they are still in the range to make it in . They have no Quad 1 wins so that is a negative. There a Jekyll and Hide team. from game to game and half to half. They need to find 9 more wins to make the NCAA tourney. I Fran will retire after the season. Beth can give him an exit bonus to make it easier for him to retire.
InGoodCo
Well-Known Member
Yeah, they definitely have shown no consistency and it always feels like they are playing in a hole. That said.... so far, their 4 losses are to
15-1 Utah State (Net 27)
12-3 WI (Net 25th)
12-3 MI (Net 11)
and 13-1 ISU (Net 6)
All on the road sans ISU who is a legit NT contender. Last night they beat Nebraska who has wins against UCLA, Creighton and Indiana.
Lots of season left, but sometimes we are prisoners of the moment. It's kind of crazy that we're 11-4 but somehow it feels like we're barely above .500
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trj
Well-Known Member
I agree with @STILLBUSTER, in terms of how sustainable this is. Iowa basically having to outscore people… I don’t know, if they can do it enough, to get into the NCAA tournament. What is frustrating, is that what we saw defensively, in the 2nd half against Nebraska, they are capable of doing that more often. Not confident that we are going to see enough it moving forward.
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thedukeofearl
Well-Known Member
Not so fast. I was pretty harsh with my futility and criticism, too.
And just to top it off ...
Kudos to Hawks - especially Peyton and Josh - to lead a gritty comeback W. I'd like to believe they'll use this to get back on reliable, smart scoring track and maybe even realize improved defense can win games (but I'll leave that optimism to InGoodCo.)
Will believe when I see but even then, see a NIT team at best, due to terrible rebounding, no size, 1 post player who has foul issues and poor D. They gotta score 80+ to win and only have 7 guys who can score against conference competition. That means can't have ANY slumps by Sandforts, Josh or Freeman, not likely against a tough 16 games.
This, it is a long season
Fryowa
Administrator
My only thing is if that happens I don't know if Iowa would pay the $10.8 million he'd have left on his contract to get rid of him. Any other time I'd probably say they might, but the current state of where things are with basketball it would take a signal of commitment that the administration/donors haven't shown yet. It's going to cost at the very least a couple million bucks a year to get someone in the door for the job, and like Rob has mentioned Iowa's not an attractive place...so there's a good chance it'd take more than that. Would Iowa be ok with paying $20-ish million dollars (or more) over the next 3 years in HC salaries? KF is making $7M a year, I'd be hard pressed to think the athletic department is going to spend the same amount on a buyout and salary for a new basketball coach. Not while they're only getting a couple thousand butts in the seats every game and knowing they're behind the 8-ball with NIL.
Myself I think Fran isn't getting booted after this year no matter what happens. He might leave, but I don't think it's going to be him getting pushed out.
The only other option is paying him to leave and hoping for a luck of the draw lower-level guy like they did with Lick which isn't attractive. How do you sell that to recruits?
InGoodCo
Well-Known Member
Yeah, they might pay that to just move on and get a new start. I'm not advocating or wanting Fran fired, but back to back dance misses is going to crater this whole thing even more. Men's basketball, whether we want to believe it or not, is still Iowa's flagship sport in the winter and it's # 2 at Iowa as far as impact, potential money generating and obviously, television. It's hemorrhaging money and potential profits. If the problem is indeed Fran and Iowa wants to breath new life into its # 2 money generating sport, they'll pay move on imo. I don't really think they look at it as Fran being the issue, the players being the issue, or being competitive being an issue. Like, IMO, those are all back seat issues at Iowa Basketball.
Fryowa
Administrator
If it were me I'd spend the money on a new facility or renovation. Either way CHA obviously stays because it's connected to the new wrestling building. The selfish part of me wants CHA to stay the same and just build a new BB field house because CHA is the center of the wrestling universe, but I don't think in a million years they'll ever do that.
I'd love to see a smaller version of what nebraska or Creighton have for basketball with an easy in/out, easy parking, and nightlife. Even sober people can have fun right out the door of a Creighton game
trj
Well-Known Member
Agreed. 10.8 million dollar buyout is doable if they want him out. I also agree with Fry that they won’t push him out.
Fryowa
Administrator
My money says Fran stays until he doesn't want to anymore which I'd think will be sooner than later. At 65 he has enough money and he's never struck me as a guy who likes the current NIL and transfer model. As a major college coach the last thing I'd want to mess with alongside an already brutal recruiting schedule would be worrying about portal shopping every year on top of it. 65 year old multi millionaire with 3 kids already at the same school, and one with 5 years left to play and the most potential of the three, coached by his brother? I know what I'd be doing next April.
HuckFinn
Well-Known Member
I just can’t figure this out. I have managed to irritate HN posters with my defense of CHA for a long time. But, something pretty drastic must be done. Free ticks for students would seem a wise choice. But with so many games, like the Nebraska outing, when the students are not on campus, the schedule sucks.
Speaking of the schedule. It is all over the map. The cupcakes are pro forma in the BT. we need to live with that. However. That ain’t all. Change our BT schedule to Thursday/Saturday home stands at 7:00 PM, and watch the results. Des Moines, Quad Cities, CR, IC define our fan base, along with students. A schedule that is all over the place, Iowa winters, cost of travel, TV as an attractive competitor, all provide barriers that are tough to combat. Columbus, Minneapolis, Madison area, and others have proximity as a tool. We don’t.
I would guess most BT teams are not enjoying crowd sizes at a satisfactory level. I have no factual basis for that, but given the barriers I mentioned, it is a decent guess.
I have a season ticket. The only reason I can do that is retirement. Otherwise, no. Duh.
I don’t think our product is the cause of poor attendance. People like teams that score baskets a lot. Ask Todd Lackluster. But, yes, crowds are terribly embarrassing. I sit in row 25 opposite the bench at dead center court, and HN members en mass could join me for every game. The age group around me, when they do attend, is a mixed bag. Young couples, kids, middle age and old guys like me. But lots of absentees.
Of course, logistics at CHA are an issue. But. Not for wrestling, apparently. Or womens’ basketball, at least for now. Personally, I don’t care about concessions, restroom crowds, since I don’t drink at games, and my seat is great.
Frankly, the Parking around CHA is a lot better than most. Kohl Center, for example is a nightmare. Yeah. You have to wait to get out. Duh. The additional convenience that is under used is Cambus (free to all) from remote sights. I use the Hancher option. Endless parking, multiple buses, drop off literally at the front steps after a 10 minute ride. Bus pickup post game at the front door, 15 minutes back to Hancher, and 10 minutes to the Drury. The bus is nice and warm.
They won’t fire Fran unless he has an affair with a cheerleader, male or female. He is not the real problem. But, he does need to teach his players how to play average defense. We are capable physically, as we have seen in spots, but not mentally.
Speaking of the schedule. It is all over the map. The cupcakes are pro forma in the BT. we need to live with that. However. That ain’t all. Change our BT schedule to Thursday/Saturday home stands at 7:00 PM, and watch the results. Des Moines, Quad Cities, CR, IC define our fan base, along with students. A schedule that is all over the place, Iowa winters, cost of travel, TV as an attractive competitor, all provide barriers that are tough to combat. Columbus, Minneapolis, Madison area, and others have proximity as a tool. We don’t.
I would guess most BT teams are not enjoying crowd sizes at a satisfactory level. I have no factual basis for that, but given the barriers I mentioned, it is a decent guess.
I have a season ticket. The only reason I can do that is retirement. Otherwise, no. Duh.
I don’t think our product is the cause of poor attendance. People like teams that score baskets a lot. Ask Todd Lackluster. But, yes, crowds are terribly embarrassing. I sit in row 25 opposite the bench at dead center court, and HN members en mass could join me for every game. The age group around me, when they do attend, is a mixed bag. Young couples, kids, middle age and old guys like me. But lots of absentees.
Of course, logistics at CHA are an issue. But. Not for wrestling, apparently. Or womens’ basketball, at least for now. Personally, I don’t care about concessions, restroom crowds, since I don’t drink at games, and my seat is great.
Frankly, the Parking around CHA is a lot better than most. Kohl Center, for example is a nightmare. Yeah. You have to wait to get out. Duh. The additional convenience that is under used is Cambus (free to all) from remote sights. I use the Hancher option. Endless parking, multiple buses, drop off literally at the front steps after a 10 minute ride. Bus pickup post game at the front door, 15 minutes back to Hancher, and 10 minutes to the Drury. The bus is nice and warm.
They won’t fire Fran unless he has an affair with a cheerleader, male or female. He is not the real problem. But, he does need to teach his players how to play average defense. We are capable physically, as we have seen in spots, but not mentally.
Fryowa
Administrator
I just looked and you can get 2 tickets for PSU on StubHub, Section N row 24 for $18 a piece. B1G game on a Friday night. Yeah, it's PSU, but the Tuesday night Minnesota game is even cheaper.
HuckFinn
Well-Known Member
Right next door to my seat.
Fryowa
Administrator
If I wasn't 5 hours away I'd come join you.
