Is Fran McCaffery Building A PowerHouse at Iowa?

[MelroseHawkins]

Fran and company are really seeming to make hay on the recruiting trail. He's getting some some really good talent and in serious contention for J.P Estrella and T.J Power. He just recently locked in Brock Harding and Owen Freeman from Moline and Pryce Sandfort in the 2023 class. Add into that adding Cooper Koch who is a 4* in the 2024 class.

I think it's pretty evident the recruiting success that Fran and Co are having stems from the success Luka Garza and Keegan Murray had while playing at Iowa. They are in contention with both Estrella and Power who are both from the east coast. Would Iowa be in contention in years past? Who knows, but with the success Garza had, one would presume is a large part of that.

If they were able to get both Estrella and Power, which prob is wishful thinking, they'd have four 4* recruits in the 2023 and 2024 classes. It could be more if Sandort and Owen played their way into a 4* after this HS b-ball season.

I think the future looks bright for this program.

 

[Fryowa]

Fran and company are really seeming to make hay on the recruiting trail. He's getting some some really good talent and in serious contention for J.P Estrella and T.J Power. He just recently locked in Brock Harding and Owen Freeman from Moline and Pryce Sandfort in the 2023 class. Add into that adding Cooper Koch who is a 4* in the 2024 class.

I think it's pretty evident the recruiting success that Fran and Co are having stems from the success Luka Garza and Keegan Murray had while playing at Iowa. They are in contention with both Estrella and Power who are both from the east coast. Would Iowa be in contention in years past? Who knows, but with the success Garza had, one would presume is a large part of that.

If they were able to get both Estrella and Power, which prob is wishful thinking, they'd have four 4* recruits in the 2023 and 2024 classes. It could be more if Sandort and Owen played their way into a 4* after this HS b-ball season.

I think the future looks bright for this program.

Pretty tough to base it on recruiting. History tells us that with any team other than an elite blueblood, way more than half of the recruits aren't going to pan out and will either ride pine or transfer.

It's not an indictment of Iowa's recruits or recruiters, it's just the way it is.

 

[thedukeofearl]

Fran and company are really seeming to make hay on the recruiting trail. He's getting some some really good talent and in serious contention for J.P Estrella and T.J Power. He just recently locked in Brock Harding and Owen Freeman from Moline and Pryce Sandfort in the 2023 class. Add into that adding Cooper Koch who is a 4* in the 2024 class.

I think it's pretty evident the recruiting success that Fran and Co are having stems from the success Luka Garza and Keegan Murray had while playing at Iowa. They are in contention with both Estrella and Power who are both from the east coast. Would Iowa be in contention in years past? Who knows, but with the success Garza had, one would presume is a large part of that.

If they were able to get both Estrella and Power, which prob is wishful thinking, they'd have four 4* recruits in the 2023 and 2024 classes. It could be more if Sandort and Owen played their way into a 4* after this HS b-ball season.

I think the future looks bright for this program.

Things are certainly trending upward

 

[Hawkfnntn]

Program is in a great place right now. No doubt about it. It's probably fair to say that we need to add some Ws in March before we go quite that far with things. But having Iowas name in the hat for landing top 25 kids and winning 22-25 plus games a yr while playing the uptempo fun style we do is sure doesn't hurt.

To me the turning point was Garza with Keegan piggy backing off of him is just ridiculous. Two under recruited dudes becoming all time program players is just easy for Fran to point to and say hey if I can help those dudes imagine what I can do with you. That's a legit sales pitch and it's working.

 

[InGoodCo]

Too early to tell but Iowa is going to be good at basketball for the foreseeable future and frankly, has been solid since Fran got here. They need to take another step this year and personally I think this years team is better than last. I've seen some people picking Iowa 9th and 10th in early pre-season stuff - it's like they don't even look or research at this point. Fran's only finished above 7th once in the last decade - I'll eat my shoe live on Youtube this March if Iowa isn't in the top half of the conference.

 

[PCHawk]

I think I saw a stat that Iowa finished with the highest scoring average in the conference for 4 straight years now. That's gotta be a pretty big selling point too.

Right or wrong, scoring points is how you get noticed. If Garza goes to Wisconsin he probably scores 18 or 19 per game instead of 23. Is he even a first team All American at that point? Let alone player of the year.

Keegan was so crazy good all around that you could probably shave a few points per game off his scoring average and he would still get noticed. But it still had to have helped some.

 

[trj]

Heading in the right direction? 1000%. Building a powerhouse where you are a legit threat for a national title for the next 5 years...I ain't going there.

 

[racerhawk]

Heading in the right direction? 1000%. Building a powerhouse where you are a legit threat for a national title for the next 5 years...I ain't going there.

I agree, and I'm okay with that. I like where Iowa is heading, and the last two years were truly fun to watch.

When I look at recruiting on 247 sports and other sites, it's dumbfounding what the Dukes of the world can do. They get three or four five star recruits in one class. We can't compete with that.

 

[Northside Hawk]

Iron definitely sharpens iron. When and if these guys go at it in practice every day it will be a daily war, like the late 80's teams did.

Remember the Lickliter and early Fran days when assistant coaches and even student managers had to actively participate in practice?

No wonder those teams sucked-the practices were clown shows.

 

[Fryowa]

Too early to tell but Iowa is going to be good at basketball for the foreseeable future and frankly, has been solid since Fran got here. They need to take another step this year and personally I think this years team is better than last. I've seen some people picking Iowa 9th and 10th in early pre-season stuff - it's like they don't even look or research at this point. Fran's only finished above 7th once in the last decade - I'll eat my shoe live on Youtube this March if Iowa isn't in the top half of the conference.

People (idiots) get so focused on wanting unreasonable nattys and final fours and winning the B1G that they don’t even think about how awesome we have it compared to 99% of the universities out there. Our football, MBB, WBB, wrestling, and baseball programs are all in the top 4 in the big ten, and all but baseball are perennially in the top 25 nationally. Half a million football tickets sold before the start of the season. 106,000 wrestling tickets sold before the start of last years wrestling season (highest in college wrestling g history and every seat sold to season ticket holders). That’s 14 sold out events in two P5 sports before the first whistle.

The number of schools that can claim similar success is very, very small. Being a fan of almost any other school would suck shit in comparison.

Alabama, Duke, Georgia, etc can’t claim any of that.

 

[hawkdrummer1]

Powerhouse? Let's get to a Sweet 16 first.

 

[InGoodCo]

Powerhouse? Let's get to a Sweet 16 first.

1000 percent, but the only way to get there is to have a program that's doing well in the regular season regularly and getting there. That's all I've ever asked as a fan. Dance, regularly, that other caveat will will take care of itself. IMO - Fran's best teams are in front of him and it's based on the steady progress of the program he's built. It's fun to watch.

 

[hawkdrummer1]

1000 percent, but the only way to get there is to have a program that's doing well in the regular season regularly and getting there. That's all I've ever asked as a fan. Dance, regularly, that other caveat will will take care of itself. IMO - Fran's best teams are in front of him and it's based on the steady progress of the program he's built. It's fun to watch.

I respectfully disagree. No better example than Fran's program. He's done very well in the regular season and "gotten there" but things in the post season have yet to "take care of themselves". It doesn't take 12 years to do that.

That said, recruiting is definitely looking great. Let's see what he can do with 'em.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Too early to tell but Iowa is going to be good at basketball for the foreseeable future and frankly, has been solid since Fran got here. They need to take another step this year and personally I think this years team is better than last. I've seen some people picking Iowa 9th and 10th in early pre-season stuff - it's like they don't even look or research at this point. Fran's only finished above 7th once in the last decade - I'll eat my shoe live on Youtube this March if Iowa isn't in the top half of the conference.

It's funny because many of us, including me, was saying the same thing at this very time last year, a year after Garza (the nations leading scorer) was gone. Many of us thought we had a more athletic and better team coming back and Keegan came through.

The exact same sequence is happening now after losing Keegan. This proves Fran is building.

Yea, those people who are moving Iowa down are only looking and Keegan leaving and making a lazy forcast. They presume Iowa has to go down with Keegan leaving. But, that can be proved wrong and I presume Kris will ascend and takes steps forward.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Powerhouse? Let's get to a Sweet 16 first.

I asked if he is "building a powerhouse". I did not state that he "built a powerhouse". Two very different things.

 

[InGoodCo]

It's funny because many of us, including me, was saying the same thing at this very time last year, a year after Garza (the nations leading scorer) was gone. Many of us thought we had a more athletic and better team coming back and Keegan came through.

The exact same sequence is happening now after losing Keegan. This proves Fran is building.

Yea, those people who are moving Iowa down are only looking and Keegan leaving and making a lazy forcast. They presume Iowa has to go down with Keegan leaving. But, that can be proved wrong and I presume Kris will ascend and takes steps forward.

Yes, I feel like the roles are much more established coming into this season meaning you should see progression from players like Tony, Pat, Ullis, Fillip and Sandfort. Yes we lost our best player, but we return his twin brother and all of the pieces around him should be a notch better this vs last year. I also think we are better in the post this year in general with Mulvey being able to at least give some minutes there. We return a coach on the floor in Connor - I am very very high on this team being a notch above where it was last year.

 

[InGoodCo]

I respectfully disagree. No better example than Fran's program. He's done very well in the regular season and "gotten there" but things in the post season have yet to "take care of themselves". It doesn't take 12 years to do that.

That said, recruiting is definitely looking great. Let's see what he can do with 'em.

And I respectfully disagree with you considering it's been 24 years since we made it past the 1st weekend, we've only made it past the first weekend 5 times in 53 seasons. Think about that. It's been 44 years since a conference championship. Maybe it does take 12 years at Iowa? Probably longer based on those numbers.

 

[NorthKCHawk]

Right now the recruiting is looking good, but its too soon to declare success. The three that are in the bucket look really good, but they are not the type of class that changes programs. They all appear to be good pieces and have a chance to develop into great players in the conference. The two that we are chasing have the potential to be special/NBA types given their size and shooting skills.

If we don't land either guy, and competition is stiff for both, I think all we can say is that the program is stable and we can expect Fran to continue to be in the top half of the conference by developing good talent. If we land one of these guys, this would probably be one of Fran's top classes at Iowa. If we land both? I would be ready to say that Fran is building something very special at Iowa, and I would expect to compete for conference titles the next few years.

And hey, don't forget Fran has another son coming in a few years.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Yes, I feel like the roles are much more established coming into this season meaning you should see progression from players like Tony, Pat, Ullis, Fillip and Sandfort. Yes we lost our best player, but we return his twin brother and all of the pieces around him should be a notch better this vs last year. I also think we are better in the post this year in general with Mulvey being able to at least give some minutes there. We return a coach on the floor in Connor - I am very very high on this team being a notch above where it was last year.

The past couple years Iowa has been heavy on or relied on one standout player, which is fine. Maybe this team will be a better team as a whole. Ya got a good mixture of experience on the team and it's great a couple those you pointed out have a year under them now. Also, as you point out, Connor is a heady veteran, coach on the court as you stated. They should be a solid "team".

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Right now the recruiting is looking good, but its too soon to declare success. The three that are in the bucket look really good, but they are not the type of class that changes programs. They all appear to be good pieces and have a chance to develop into great players in the conference. The two that we are chasing have the potential to be special/NBA types given their size and shooting skills.

If we don't land either guy, and competition is stiff for both, I think all we can say is that the program is stable and we can expect Fran to continue to be in the top half of the conference by developing good talent. If we land one of these guys, this would probably be one of Fran's top classes at Iowa. If we land both? I would be ready to say that Fran is building something very special at Iowa, and I would expect to compete for conference titles the next few years.

And hey, don't forget Fran has another son coming in a few years.

Solid ^^