Is Iowa scrambling in the 2020 class?

[NikeHawk21]

This seems like a huge class for the state of this program going forward. Obviously the main thing here is Xavier Foster, if we land him I would think this class will be considered a success but if not where do we go from there?

Iowa has doled out a flurry offers in the last few weeks at positions all across the board. Ulis at PG, Kerwin Walton from Minnesota at SG, Jordan Geronimo from New Hampshire at SF. Powell at C, Murrell at SF, Gibson at PF.

I understand these were the AAU evaluations periods and certainly there are kids that blow up and become high major players, it just seems to me it’s going to be tough for Iowa to jump in on these kids fairly late in the game and land them. Getting these kids on campus for a visit would be a good first step.

We haven’t heard much on kids we supposedly had some inroads with in the past in Tyler Beard, Desmond Polk, Jamari Sibley, Ty Berry, amongst others.

I’ve never been a huge hater on Fran’s recruiting, but it seems to me this 2020 class is kind of running out of steam and lacking any real direction. Again that might all become a moot point if we can land Foster, I guess time will tell.

 

[SteveGarvey1]

I would think Fran would have a recruit or two verballed by September.

 

[NikeHawk21]

To put the OP another way. For us to be putting out this many offers at this point in time tells me we either don’t feel very good about landing the kids we had previously offered, or we stopped recruiting them for whatever reason. Those are both bad things considering the amount of time and resources we spent on those guys.

 

[N8theGr8]

To put the OP another way. For us to be putting out this many offers at this point in time tells me we either don’t feel very good about landing the kids we had previously offered, or we stopped recruiting them for whatever reason. Those are both bad things considering the amount of time and resources we spent on those guys.

Fran is shooting for the moon a bit here. But we're coming off an OT loss in the round of 32 and have perhaps the strongest group of underclassmen he's had during his tenure at Iowa, so it's not without reason. There are always a number of 3 star guys that have weak commitments to lower tier schools that will pounce on an Iowa offer. Fran has done a lot of diamond in the rough hunting over the years and from the sounds of it, is prepping to sign a number of those guys as fall backs. This is just the start of that. If that's what happens, status quo will continue here, but at least he's positioned us well and given us the opportunity to move up the food chain.

So I guess my response would be that it's not necessarily bad that we've spent those time and resources. I think Fran has plenty of guys we'd be happy to have come next season and who could contribute right away. I mean, look at this offer list: https://247sports.com/college/iowa/Season/2020-Basketball/Targets/ There are 42 guys on it, most high 3 stars that we'd have at least a decent chance with.

 

[PCHawk]

To put the OP another way. For us to be putting out this many offers at this point in time tells me we either don’t feel very good about landing the kids we had previously offered, or we stopped recruiting them for whatever reason. Those are both bad things considering the amount of time and resources we spent on those guys.

It is possible that the new offers are for kids that blew up recently and Fran actually likes MORE than he ever liked the other guys. I'm not saying I think that's the case, just that it's possible.

 

[NikeHawk21]

Fran is shooting for the moon a bit here. But we're coming off an OT loss in the round of 32 and have perhaps the strongest group of underclassmen he's had during his tenure at Iowa, so it's not without reason. There are always a number of 3 star guys that have weak commitments to lower tier schools that will pounce on an Iowa offer. Fran has done a lot of diamond in the rough hunting over the years and from the sounds of it, is prepping to sign a number of those guys as fall backs. This is just the start of that. If that's what happens, status quo will continue here, but at least he's positioned us well and given us the opportunity to move up the food chain.

So I guess my response would be that it's not necessarily bad that we've spent those time and resources. I think Fran has plenty of guys we'd be happy to have come next season and who could contribute right away. I mean, look at this offer list: https://247sports.com/college/iowa/...igns-autographs-before-team-meeting-133810746 There are 42 guys on it, most high 3 stars that we'd have at least a decent chance with.

I think you make some good points here. One being we are in much better position than we were when the Bohannon class came in. We won’t be asking as much from the 2020 freshman as far as early impact.

I’ve never been against Fran shooting for higher level kids early in the process and building the relationship. It just appears to me that in this class we are pretty much on to the next group of guys, with all the recent offers that went out. Losing Francis probably hasn’t helped in places where he was the lead recruiter.

 

[NikeHawk21]

It is possible that the new offers are for kids that blew up recently and Fran actually likes MORE than he ever liked the other guys. I'm not saying I think that's the case, just that it's possible.

I really like this Powell kid. They say he’s very athletic with long arms and a defensive presence who’s offensive game is coming around. I think he would be a great pair with Foster in the frontcourt, but I think the guard recruiting is really where we need to take a step up.

 

[NikeHawk21]

That's how it is for all programs. ISU has handed out a lot of scholarship offers the last few weeks as well but they only have 2 open scholarships. Scholarships fly out this time of year.

As Steve said, if it's September and there are no commits I think it's fair to be worried. Now, no.

I understand the scholarships go out during these evaluations periods, I just haven’t heard much traction with Iowa on some of the kids we had spent a lot of time on in the past. I don’t follow ISU recruiting enough to know where they are at.

In addition, and maybe I’m a pessimist, but I don’t think Iowa’s chances are typically going to be that high when they jump into some of these battles later in the game.

 

[N8theGr8]

I think you make some good points here. One being we are in much better position than we were when the Bohannon class came in. We won’t be asking as much from the 2020 freshman as far as early impact.

I’ve never been against Fran shooting for higher level kids early in the process and building the relationship. It just appears to me that in this class we are pretty much on to the next group of guys, with all the recent offers that went out. Losing Francis probably hasn’t helped in places where he was the lead recruiter.

I'd agree with that. We are definitely moving on to the next group of guys. But I wonder how many of those offers are committable? It would not shock me to hear a few of these guys commit in early September or if Foster/some others commit elsewhere before then and the next tier of offers become committable.

 

[N8theGr8]

I really like this Powell kid. They say he’s very athletic with long arms and a defensive presence who’s offensive game is coming around. I think he would be a great pair with Foster in the frontcourt, but I think the guard recruiting is really where we need to take a step up.

I'd agree we definitely need some guards. However, I like the route we're going down with Ahron Ulis, Desmond Polk, and Tyler Beard. All 3 guys look athletic, capable of contributing early, and look to have solid upside. They seem to fall right in line with guys we should be able to get, but are definitely desirable. And I know it's not likely (19:1 if I had to wager), but we're technically still in the running for Suggs. So it seems like we're well positioned to at least stay the course, but we still have an outside chance (I'd put it around 99:1) that we have a monster year and snag both Suggs and Foster.

 

[revkev73]

Bluebloods don't scramble, all others do.

 

[deanvogs]

As @BryceC said, it ain't no big thing right now. I do fully expect Fran to strike out on all the offers he has now, and only will pull in kids that he has to offer in September/Oct. Hope I'm wrong, but this is the Fran track record.

 

[NikeHawk21]

I just used ISU as an example because that's the team I care about. If you look at Minnesota, Wisconsin, etc. they are all throwing out a lot of offers right now.

Wisconsin has three commits so that’s not a great example of a team scrambling.

Again I understand offers are going out right now. My concern with Iowa is that we just really aren’t hearing anything from the guys we supposedly had some traction with and had built a good relationship. From the outside looking in it almost seems like we are hitting the “reset” button. Maybe I’m wrong or maybe that’s pretty typical at this stage of the game. I just don’t feel Iowa is well positioned to win many of the regional level recruiting battles when they jump into the process at this point.

 

[tmess1989]

I understand the scholarships go out during these evaluations periods, I just haven’t heard much traction with Iowa on some of the kids we had spent a lot of time on in the past. I don’t follow ISU recruiting enough to know where they are at.

In addition, and maybe I’m a pessimist, but I don’t think Iowa’s chances are typically going to be that high when they jump into some of these battles later in the game.

It seems like some of the kids with recent offers don't have as many high major offers prior to Iowa offering. So that means that either Iowa has been eliminated by some kids or these kids are late bloomers. My guess is we are moving to plan B after realizing that plan A isn't realistic based on the feedback they have gotten from the kids.

 

[Ian Pike Hammer]

Wisconsin has three commits so that’s not a great example of a team scrambling.

Again I understand offers are going out right now. My concern with Iowa is that we just really aren’t hearing anything from the guys we supposedly had some traction with and had built a good relationship. From the outside looking in it almost seems like we are hitting the “reset” button. Maybe I’m wrong or maybe that’s pretty typical at this stage of the game. I just don’t feel Iowa is well positioned to win many of the regional level recruiting battles when they jump into the process at this point.

Let it be known that, sometimes a good recruiting class skips a year after a good NCAA showing.

 

[NikeHawk21]

Bump. Update on recruiting.

Iowa just offered Center Josh Ogundele. His other offers are Bryant and Cleveland State. He appears to be a project big originally from UK so relatively new to basketball in the US.
https://247sports.com/Player/Josh-Ogundele-46055495/

4*s Andre Jackson and Jamari Sibley are on their official visits in Iowa City this weekend, so it’s a big recruiting weekend. Both are considered longshots at this point but getting them on campus is always a good thing. Have heard Iowa’s name involved in a few other guys, but sadly not much for traction anywhere else.


I don’t think we get Jackson or Sibley, but this class has always been about Foster. Land him and it’s a success, but if we don’t I’d have to say this 2020 class will be considered a massive failure for Fran & Co. We will see how it plays out, sounds like he might be announcing November 11th.

 

[chucktownhawk]

Please, no more projects. Reminds me of Seth Gorney......good god!

 

[spliff45]

Bump. Update on recruiting.

Iowa just offered Center Josh Ogundele. His other offers are Bryant and Cleveland State. He appears to be a project big originally from UK so relatively new to basketball in the US.
https://247sports.com/Player/Josh-Ogundele-46055495/

4*s Andre Jackson and Jamari Sibley are on their official visits in Iowa City this weekend, so it’s a big recruiting weekend. Both are considered longshots at this point but getting them on campus is always a good thing. Have heard Iowa’s name involved in a few other guys, but sadly not much for traction anywhere else.


I don’t think we get Jackson or Sibley, but this class has always been about Foster. Land him and it’s a success, but if we don’t I’d have to say this 2020 class will be considered a massive failure for Fran & Co. We will see how it plays out, sounds like he might be announcing November 11th.

Jackson is no longer visiting this weekend. DJ Gordon is.

 

[SteveGarvey1]

Bump. Update on recruiting.

Iowa just offered Center Josh Ogundele. His other offers are Bryant and Cleveland State. He appears to be a project big originally from UK so relatively new to basketball in the US.
https://247sports.com/Player/Josh-Ogundele-46055495/

4*s Andre Jackson and Jamari Sibley are on their official visits in Iowa City this weekend, so it’s a big recruiting weekend. Both are considered longshots at this point but getting them on campus is always a good thing. Have heard Iowa’s name involved in a few other guys, but sadly not much for traction anywhere else.


I don’t think we get Jackson or Sibley, but this class has always been about Foster. Land him and it’s a success, but if we don’t I’d have to say this 2020 class will be considered a massive failure for Fran & Co. We will see how it plays out, sounds like he might be announcing November 11th.

Ogundele looks like he'd be a rebounding force underneath-a lot of girth there and immovable. But his shot outside of 3 feet isn't pretty.

Rhode Island did offer him, his best other offer to this point.

 

[RobHowe]