Iowa's realistic next coach

Fryowa said:
Part of me thinks it isn't going to matter who the coach is. Right now until athletes get under contract and there are caps (not going to happen anytime soon), you need to have big NIL money or you're screwed. Mike Krzewyrsizrewcszki couldn't do much with this team.

Until that happens, someone behind the scenes navigating the portal transfer market and making deals is more important than the coach all things equal. Recruiting and development take a back seat to that if you want to be in the top third of a P6 conference. Every team is going to be reshuffled each year and it's more about putting together a new squad as best you can every April.

You're going to have 2 kinds of coaches moving forward...the ones who are approaching medicare age, don't want to put up with the new bullshit and are either checked out or just retiring because of it (Fran likely fits both of these imo)...and the ones who know they have to hit free agency with a full head of steam every summer to put a new team together. Where before the best recruiting coaches who could spot high schoolers put the best teams together, now you have to be a businessman first. To do that they have to have a bunch of money and something to sell to those free agents such as facilities, perqs, and national exposure. Iowa doesn't really have any of that, so if there is a coaching change I don't think it's going to matter much who it is. I don't think all of a sudden Iowa is going to commit to a new or updated arena and allocate a bunch of money for players out of nowhere. We're just not a basketball school.

I do think that Fran has pretty much checked out. I know some people here have said it's not true, but let's be honest...there isn't much of the old Fran "fire" anymore. You can see it on the sideline and you can see it in the pressers. I don't blame him a bit; I mean, what is he supposed to do? Development or no development, every player has a talent ceiling and these guys Iowa has now are probably right at it. I'm confident enough in Fran's evaluation of talent to know that he can see the next iteration of Garza/Murray/Jok/Wieskamp/Marble/White/Uthoff but there's no way he's going to get them to come here, and even if he did they wouldn't stay. He knows that, and at that point where do you get your motivation from? If any of those guys were playing in 2025 they'd have fat bags of money from a blue blood waiting for them come summer. To be honest I'd be checked out too. It definitely takes a different breed of cat to coach in 2025
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Spot on!
 
Grady said:
There's a lot of talk on this thread about how Iowa isn't willing to put up $$ to keep bball players like they have done for football players. Does anybody have proof of that or is it just conjecture? I mean, it's logical to assume that both Freeman and Dix had some well-funded bluebloods come calling in the off-season, and there were rumors of Dix to Creighton. Do we know if Iowa paid them to stay on this year? If so, how much? Players he's recruited do seem to have a strong sense of loyalty to Fran, but maybe some players on Iowa's bball team are getting more NIL $$ than people think.
And other than Perkins, I can't think of another starting bball player who's left Iowa over the past two years for greener pastures -- and he was easily replaced.
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The players love Fran, he runs and has run a great program. His retention even before NIL was pretty fricking good. I bet Isaiah Moss in hindsight got a bag, but yeah, most of them stayed loyal to Fran. That landscape is changing it’s time for a change regardless.

I think all of the guys are getting some NIL and if I had to guess, Payton, Dix and Freeman are getting the majority of Iowa’s. When you don’t have a large sum, hard to do much else but give you’re best payers the most $ and do what ever you can to supplement the others.
 
trj said:
Ding, ding, ding. It is really hard to come up with a list of viable candidates. People are suggesting guys like Porter Moser, and you shrug your shoulders, and realize that Goetz has to sell some shit, to get a potential rock star as the next head coach.
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Fear shouldn’t drive decisions. Goals, long and short. Caution yes , fear no. Beth time
 
Well this has been a very interesting read.

One thing is for sure. If Fran is let go and the whole program crashes and burns then Fran will become talking points equal if not more than the Mr. Davis situation.

Last year was telling when I went to the Utah NIT playoff game. Something just didn’t feel right. Fran just seemed disengaged. There were some terrible officiating calls where I expected at least a mild Fran eruption. What did I see??? What appeared to Passiveness and indifference.

I was disappointed as I wanted to see a little of that competitive ere that we all know Fran to have. I thought to myself that it was just an NIT playoff game. Then I thought to myself again, no Fran is not a passive type of coach. Something’s up. Something seems wrong here.
 
Grady said:
There's a lot of talk on this thread about how Iowa isn't willing to put up $$ to keep bball players like they have done for football players. Does anybody have proof of that or is it just conjecture? I mean, it's logical to assume that both Freeman and Dix had some well-funded bluebloods come calling in the off-season, and there were rumors of Dix to Creighton. Do we know if Iowa paid them to stay on this year? If so, how much? Players he's recruited do seem to have a strong sense of loyalty to Fran, but maybe some players on Iowa's bball team are getting more NIL $$ than people think.
And other than Perkins, I can't think of another starting bball player who's left Iowa over the past two years for greener pastures -- and he was easily replaced.
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You’re giving Freeman and Dix too much credit. They’re good, but they aren’t blue bloods paying big money good.

That's why guys like Freeman and Dix are the ceiling here with NIL being a thing.

And as far as all of this being conjecture, go look around the internet at collectives and lists of player NIL values. Those numbers aren't just pulled out of thin air and Iowa basketball is included in none of them. Listen to Brad Heinrichs talk about the Swarm. Even the people running it say it's not competitive, and on top of that most of it goes to football anyway.

My personal opinion is our athletic department and donors/collective know that there is barely enough money to keep football relevant in the NIL era, and when it comes down to choosing between football and basketball...basketball loses. Sucks to say, but that's probably the right decision. I think this is the beginning of the decline of Hawks basketball until they restructure how NIL works.
 
thedukeofearl said:
Yeah they were fortunate to get Lucy to come in and she was ok early on. But now she's kinda hit a wall of some sort. As much as people woulda liked her to take the bull by the horns and be a major leader maybe that pressure has gotten to her some? Hard to say but it's fair to say she's struggled pretty bad during this losing streak they are on. I don't know what's fair to expect from her. But it's more then this.

Wonder if Lucy's problem is a result from the forearm slam in the Tennessee game

That was a brutal hit, and her game has changed after that incident

www.youtube.com

Lucy Olsen WHACKED In The Head, Foul Reviewed | #17 Iowa Hawkeyes vs Tennessee, Women's Basketball

Support me through Patreon to keep this channel going, monthly memberships starting at $3!https://www.patreon.com/womenhoopingTikTok https://www.tiktok.co...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com

Tennessee player didn't get a flagrant, merely a common foul
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Whatever the wall was she'd hit the previous 5 games or so she ran right through it last night. That's what she needed. So it's great to see she's not only not hurt but got her mojo back. 20 pts 4 threes and didn't miss a shot. Unreal game. Her McCabe and O'Grady played damn near as well as they could. That was just awesome to see
 
Hawkfnntn said:
Whatever the wall was she'd hit the previous 5 games or so she ran right through it last night. That's what she needed. So it's great to see she's not only not hurt but got her mojo back. 20 pts 4 threes and didn't miss a shot. Unreal game. Her McCabe and O'Grady played damn near as well as they could. That was just awesome to see
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Last night was the first men or woman's basketball game in at least a few years that was played without me knowing it was on. Can't believe I forgot to look.
 
InGoodCo said:
ISU has a fan base, that is in love and cares about their program. They sell out games against NJ Tech - Iowa is drawing 2500 to B1G games. That facility is loud, comfortable and easily accessible to their fan base. They have tons of effort from their administration to make their environment fun, welcoming and a great product for their fans. Iowa doesn't have any of that. We have that for women's basketball. I realize we had a once in a lifetime player generate that, but did Fran destroy that? I looked at our schedule and picked 2 random home games from a random year. In 2021-2022, we played Portland State and got 12,000. Against Penn State, it was a sellout. Didn't look farther than that.

Iowa State has way more recent success. What is different? We have won 3 BTT's, with only 1 being in the time frame you mentioned. They have shitty years but bounce right back from them. In the last 10 years, we have 14 more wins than them. So is it just tournament success? They have b1G12 tournament championships in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2024. Iowa doesn't have any of that.

Iowa State has 5 sweet 16's since 1999

Iowa State has more money to pay their coaches, or at least, they are willing to spend their money on coaches that Iowa doesn't seem to be. Fran is one of the most tenured coaches in the sport - he makes 3.3 million a year. TJ is on his 4th year and he's making 3.5 million. That's mostly performance based, but hey he's earned it and Iowa State again, wants to be good so they pay their guy so they can be good. Iowa doesn't, at least on paper, have any of that and if they do, they aren't prioritizing it to men's hoops. This is what I was wondering about, the money. Where are they getting it and why do they have more? With more success, would Iowa get more? Are we just a FB school (money wise). Could a new coach come in and have a couple of good seasons and start generating excitement?

Obviously, there are no true NIL totals, but I am willing to bet that ISU has 1 player on their team that's getting about as much as anyone on Iowa's roster. They've pulled the #1 rated kid out of HS and one of the best players out of the portal in back to back seasons under TJ, you don't do that unless you are one of the top players in the NIL game. I would say Iowa is no where near a top player even though with effort, commitment and leadership, they absolutely could be, and you have to have ALL of that AND a good coach. Iowa doesn't have any of those things, so a good coach is not likely and much more of a crap shoot. I totally agree with everything here. My question all along is, why and is it possible? Also, has Fran doused the excitement? Did Fran and the perception of mediocrity along with big years followed by tournament failure do it? Again, just discussing, not arguing.
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To continue the discussion, not argue.
 
99topdawg said:
To continue the discussion, not argue.
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All good 99TD - not looking to argue either. I appreciate your insight on all of this as well. I wouldn't trust those attendance #'s at all. Like, I think they announced attendance for Wednesday game was 8k and I was told it was closer to 2500. I think Iowa has the money ISU has, I just don't think they make M CBB a priority to allocate those funds, so in turn, Iowa basketball isn't competitive. I have no faith that Iowa has motivation or vision to change it, or I feel like they likely would have at least made an effort. I think a new coach could definitely breath new life into the program and maybe sell hope. They also could try and rally the fans, try to change Carver and the environment and really use a "start" over with everything. That's what Iowa needs. But, I am guessing whoever we get that comes in to do that, is going to have similar or worse results then we've been accustomed to the last decade. I think it will be worse unfortunately and that's just my gut feeling and based off of a few things like NIL, access to talent and commitment from Iowa brass to make things change for the better.
 
Fryowa said:
Part of me thinks it isn't going to matter who the coach is. Right now until athletes get under contract and there are caps (not going to happen anytime soon), you need to have big NIL money or you're screwed. Mike Krzewyrsizrewcszki couldn't do much with this team.

Until that happens, someone behind the scenes navigating the portal transfer market and making deals is more important than the coach all things equal. Recruiting and development take a back seat to that if you want to be in the top third of a P6 conference. Every team is going to be reshuffled each year and it's more about putting together a new squad as best you can every April.

You're going to have 2 kinds of coaches moving forward...the ones who are approaching medicare age, don't want to put up with the new bullshit and are either checked out or just retiring because of it (Fran likely fits both of these imo)...and the ones who know they have to hit free agency with a full head of steam every summer to put a new team together. Where before the best recruiting coaches who could spot high schoolers put the best teams together, now you have to be a businessman first. To do that they have to have a bunch of money and something to sell to those free agents such as facilities, perqs, and national exposure. Iowa doesn't really have any of that, so if there is a coaching change I don't think it's going to matter much who it is. I don't think all of a sudden Iowa is going to commit to a new or updated arena and allocate a bunch of money for players out of nowhere. We're just not a basketball school.

I do think that Fran has pretty much checked out. I know some people here have said it's not true, but let's be honest...there isn't much of the old Fran "fire" anymore. You can see it on the sideline and you can see it in the pressers. I don't blame him a bit; I mean, what is he supposed to do? Development or no development, every player has a talent ceiling and these guys Iowa has now are probably right at it. I'm confident enough in Fran's evaluation of talent to know that he can see the next iteration of Garza/Murray/Jok/Wieskamp/Marble/White/Uthoff but there's no way he's going to get them to come here, and even if he did they wouldn't stay. He knows that, and at that point where do you get your motivation from? If any of those guys were playing in 2025 they'd have fat bags of money from a blue blood waiting for them come summer. To be honest I'd be checked out too. It definitely takes a different breed of cat to coach in 2025
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Fry, I'm in agreement with your analysis.

I don't believe we currently have the athleticism to be a top half B1G team this season. If we go into freefall, which seems possible if we aren't already there, we may not even make the NIT. And, even if we do, I don't know that we'd go very far.

The last several years, whichever tournament we've made, we've been beaten by teams that are well coached and have better talent. I believe that is catching up to us in conference play this year as well.

I had the fortune to sit next to Payton Sandfort on a Phoenix to Des Moines flight last year. He'd just finished an NBA camp in Vagas and was going home. I had my Hawkeye cap on, so he knew I was a hawk fan and he soon realized just how much of a hawk fan I am. He was pretty forthcoming about the BB team. One thing he told me of interest in this thread is that he had been offered a cool $1M by three different blue blood programs to come play BB for them. He told me the names but I forget them but the names don't really matter. He told me he turned them down because he wanted to remain a Hawkeye. He further told me he is compensated to play at Iowa but didn't give me a dollar figure. The point here is that this is what we are competing against in our quest to get top talent.

Over the last months, in many different threads here in HN, we've all discussed ad nauseum the challenges facing Iowa in this new world dawning of collegiate athletics. Will we be able to develop the $ resources to compete at a top level and many have their doubts, including me. I worry about football as well.

I will never give up being a Hawk fan, it's just too ingrained into my DNA. What I feel I will do is lower my expectations.
 
Hawkfnntn said:
It was on Fn Peacock and that's always had me about forget/miss games too.
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I usually just check ESPN a couple days after their last game to see when their next game is. I remember at least once Wednesday thinking I need to look at the woman's schedule but never got around to it. Then I get a notification they won. Sounds like I picked a bad game to miss. Good to hear Olsen got going.
 
InGoodCo said:
Yep, need someone who understands Iowa and this area of the country and is as much of a cheerleader for the program as a coach. Energy, young and someone who can sell hope but also understands the climate, what the size of this job will be and the work it will take to get it even back to even.
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How did that work out with the guy from southwest Missouri State or whatever the hell that college was called?
 
Fryowa said:
This is the way...

I'd still be a Hawkeye fan if we never won a game.
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Ummmm…………….. no!!! Won’t cheer for anyone else but find something with more personal value other than watching a team lose every game. Now, I know what you’re saying about loyalty, I get it, but lose every game………… no.
 
BigD said:
Ummmm…………….. no!!! Won’t cheer for anyone else but find something with more personal value other than watching a team lose every game. Now, I know what you’re saying about loyalty, I get it, but lose every game………… no.
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That's a you problem.
 
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