Is it possible for Iowa to do what Baylor has done

longtimer

Well-Known Member
Not likely but possible. Had Lute stayed he might have done it. Had Miller stayed he could have done it. Even Raveling might have done it
the first 2 were great coaches and decent recruiters. With the success Lute had one would think his recruiting would have improved He was so close on Thomas who went to Indiana and won it all. Raveling was a tremendous recruiter. None of these were known as "cheaters"

Wont ever happen with McCaffrey First he is not a good recruiter. Probably his top recruit was Cook and I really don't think we beat a bunch of top teams as his offensive skills were just not great. Sure he has recruited some players that turned out to be good like White and Garza but both were not highly recruited

Second McCaffrey is just not a great coach. One just needs to watch how we play defense. He has put together a staff that isn't very good either as recruiters or on the court. Has any of his assistants been sought after as openings occur?

Bottom line is we are stuck as a middle of the road Big Ten team with little chance of being anything else. If we ever want more then will have to find someone when McCaffrey is done that has the drive to win it all. Lute II
 
Yes, but it would take a considerably different approach to what is going on now. Namely upgrade in recruiting and breaking the glass ceiling multiple times to start (several Sweet 16s or better in the next decade or two.
 
Baylor is just a better program than Iowa with more deep pocketed boosters. Iowa can't compete. They were 20 points better than us when they beat us for the title in NYC back in 2013 and they're still at least 20 points better than us.
 
Not with the current mindset/approach, IMO. Need to find a way to upgrade the overall talent and level of athleticism in the program. The status quo will keep us where we've been for the past 30 or so years, which means getting a stiff neck from looking up at the realistic contenders.
 
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After the blue bloods there are normally a handful of programs at an given time that spend a small amount of time as elite. Wisconsin was there recently. Baylor is there now. I'd say based on sheer statistics there is a decent chance Iowa will be there sometime in the next 100 years and very likely sometime in the next 200. Eventually we would have to be unlucky for good luck to not fall on us again. Hopefully it happens sooner rather than later.
 
After the blue bloods there are normally a handful of programs at an given time that spend a small amount of time as elite. Wisconsin was there recently. Baylor is there now. I'd say based on sheer statistics there is a decent chance Iowa will be there sometime in the next 100 years and very likely sometime in the next 200. Eventually we would have to be unlucky for good luck to not fall on us again. Hopefully it happens sooner rather than later.
Other predictions? I’ll be talking to Chris Street well before those 2 options.
 
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Well, I guess if the fucking Cubs finally won the World Series recently, Iowa may be able to win it all in the next 500 years as well......ok 100 years.

Who knows? Over a long enough time span, perhaps the absolute worst case environmental catastrophe and earthquake models will come true. West Coast breaks off. Bye bye UCLA, Cal, USC and Standford. Maybe the South will get so hot that it will become uninhabitable. And maybe sea level will put Florida and big chunks of east coast states under water. Iowa's population could balloon to 20 million and Iowa will be a powerhouse.
 
It'd take the perfect storm but I suppose it is yeah. This transfer portal is just such a game changer. Between the 1 and done kids and that teams rosters are getting flipped over almost year to year. So yeah why couldn't Iowa get lucky with the right mix of transfers and developed kids to make it happen? It's leveled the playing field. Look around at the Dukes, UNCs, Kentuckys, even Kansas was down for them. Things aren't like they were 10 yrs ago hell just 3 yrs ago or so even. Can Fran adjust with the times and push all the right buttons? I'm not so sure but I won't say it's impossible.
 
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