Is this the beginning of the end?

#1DieHardHawk

#1DieHardHawk

Well-Known Member
I'm not one to overreact and go apeshit crazy over one early season loss, or a recruiting miss, but I can't help but wonder if Fran has reached his plateau, and that the timing is right for an agonizing downward program spiral. It just has that "feel" to it.

1. A team that supposedly was going to refocus on defensive principals ironically looks like it might even be worse. Poor ball reaction, poor close-outs, failure to rotate or prevent dribble penetration, etc.

2. A roster that is almost devoid of athleticism. Interspersed with a couple of games where the stars align and we look terrific, we will get punished big time in numerous games this season. You can book that, and

3. No matter how much we try to spin it, quite possibly Fran's worst recruiting class to date. Yes, we all know there exists "potential" for players to develop beyond their ratings, but no matter how you slice it this class is going to create a lot of angst amongst the fan base.

Going into this season reminds me of the feelings I had at the ends of Alford's and Lickliter's years. Hope Fran turns it around and proves me wrong but I can't help but think we are witnessing a slow death here.
 
This is not going to compare to Lickliters last year. Think Fran would retire before it got that bad.

Maybe you should wonder if Fran hit his plateua after hawks play more than two games.
 
Meh I'm willing to let it play out. Take XF for instance it was the end of the world when he doesn't go to IA. Bottom line it will take 3 years for any productivity out of him. Sr High School, minimal effectivness as a freshman, sophmore could start or be 6th man some productivity but not a program changer, Junior year let him eat. 3 years is a long time to develop IA still has is current stable of horses and there will be reinforcemnets via transfers and next years recruits. One "perceived" bad recruiting class is not a major problem.

Can't have two in a row though!!
 
So, I'm watching Villanova and OSU. Even though 'Nova is down, they are moving constantly. OSU is rebounding, they are helping out on offense and on defense. This is completely not Iowa. I see 10 athletes running, moving, doing what they need to. Our kids stand around waiting for something to happen it seems. Drives me nuts
 
If attendance is as putrid as it was Monday that looks likes days of Lickliter era then that will be a major issue. If they lose these games badly and to lower tier teams it could be small crowds this year. With team going nowhere and losses adding up, could get ugly.
 
The defense is a lost cause, not even worth talking about with Fran. Same bullshit, different year. We weren’t connected, we didn’t follow the gameplan, blah, blah, blah.......Iowa’s players don’t even understand or execute the correct fundamentals to play effective D, but yet Fran thinks he has the luxury of changing defenses. LOL. They aren’t good at any of them because Fran is absolutely clueless on that end
 
I hope so. Fran talked up a good game when he came here. He has done a better job embracing the culture compared to the last 2 failed hires. He did help get the program out of the ditch, but has only put it back in the ditch 10 years later. Eyeball test....he is not a good teacher of basketball fundamentals or schemes. Sure, he does a lot of things we would like to see that does not bore us (fast break, press...well the 3 quarter court look, willingness to play zone and man defense, etc). But, it also feels like he throws a lot of shit at the wall and sees if it sticks. They don't look real good at anything they run, whether they have a veteran team or the YMCA version we have this year. Basketball fundamentals are poorly taught (screening, rebounding, communicating, rotating, helping, etc).

Recruiting has been poor. Numerous players play out of position because he can't recruit a point guard and has had trouble getting Bigs in here that are not twigs (the new guy they just got is out of the norm and hopefully helps the team down the road).

Psychologically, his team's have never really looked mentally tough. They did have a span where they looked like a Final Four team (especially when they dispatched MSU at their place with Jared U going off) only to fall apart in the 2nd half of that season. Geez, where have we seen that before?

At least one coach in his post game went on record in the past saying Iowa is not mentally tough enough.

He throws tantrums, looks like he is on the verge of a heart attack, his face is redder than Bob Knight's sweaters, and he now sports a dumb, befuddled look on his face when his team is getting punked. His assistance dress sharp, but I'm not sure what else they are adding to the team getting better.

I only hope some team back East would show an interest in him and he would go there and take his boys with him.

He has done all he can here. I will gladly eat crow, but I don't see it getting any better.

Basically, Fran is a wannabe Mr. Davis, with Alford like results.

To take it even further, Fran is basically the pro-typical coach that Mr. Davis would go up against in the pre-season to beat up on at Carver during his days here. Not Big Ten material.
 
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smhawk said:
This is not going to compare to Lickliters last year. Think Fran would retire before it got that bad.

Maybe you should wonder if Fran hit his plateua after hawks play more than two games.
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It's more of a big picture view, not just this season thus far.

We've had some nice runs, and sniffed the top 10 a couple of times. That's the plateau.

What I'm seeing is a roster that's (almost) devoid of impact players, and an incoming recruiting class that may be his worst class ever. I sincerely hope I'm wrong, but I'd be surprised if we are not a bottom four team in the league this season, and it won't look much better the following season. The writing may be on the wall.
 
smhawk said:
This is not going to compare to Lickliters last year. Think Fran would retire before it got that bad.

Maybe you should wonder if Fran hit his plateua after hawks play more than two games.
Click to expand...

Would retire before it got that bad? That made me chuckle.. You make it sound as if Fran has earned a right to stay at Iowa for as long as he would like.. I could see Fran bolting elsewhere because he is a long ways away from retirement.


Fact is he will eventually get fire if things don't change. I'm not a fan of the guy and can't wait until he is gone!! I keep watching games and it always ends up the same way with me saying WTF are we trying to do on the court and do they even have plays to run lmao.. Like I'm watching a a pickup basketball game it's crazy!!
 
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HawkPrdatr40 said:
Would retire before it got that bad? That made me chuckle.. You make it sound as if Fran has earned a right to stay at Iowa for as long as he would like.. I could see Fran bolting elsewhere because he is a long ways away from retirement.


Fact is he will eventually get fire if things don't change. I'm not a fan of the guy and can't wait until he is gone!! I keep watching games and it always ends up the same way with me saying WTF are we trying to do on the court and do they even have plays to run lmao.. Like I'm watching a a pickup basketball game it's crazy!!
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Fran's Playcalling.
 
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This will obviously be easier to answer in retrospect, but it could be. Not that one loss does it, but looking at continued defensive ineptitude despite alleged "improvement", and the bigger thing in my mind, is that this recruiting class doesn't have any impact players, at least on paper. Let's hope some of these guys seriously outperform their rankings. That's kind of a blind faith type of deal, though.

But I'm with others - I'm willing to let things play out before making snap judgments. I have little faith, though. I hope to be proven wrong.
 
smhawk said:
This is not going to compare to Lickliters last year. Think Fran would retire before it got that bad.

Maybe you should wonder if Fran hit his plateua after hawks play more than two games.
Click to expand...

Does it have to? If a 10-22 season is now the benchmark for a coach getting fired at Iowa, then expectations have fallen indeed. Where is the pride?
 
HawkPrdatr40 said:
Would retire before it got that bad? That made me chuckle.. You make it sound as if Fran has earned a right to stay at Iowa for as long as he would like.. I could see Fran bolting elsewhere because he is a long ways away from retirement.


Fact is he will eventually get fire if things don't change. I'm not a fan of the guy and can't wait until he is gone!! I keep watching games and it always ends up the same way with me saying WTF are we trying to do on the court and do they even have plays to run lmao.. Like I'm watching a a pickup basketball game it's crazy!!
Click to expand...

Offense is not why this team is not successful. :) And if you do need to know, it's a motion offense (most of the time).

 
Robowe said:
Offense is not why this team is not successful. :) And if you do need to know, it's a motion offense (most of the time).

Click to expand...


Thanks Fran for the 21 second snippet of how a motion offense SHOULD LOOK LIKE. To bad it doesn’t represent what we see most of the time. :cool:
 
It kinda feels like a cross roads. I mean if Frans kids don't end up difference makers (right or wrong just my 2 cents) and the team isn't higher then 7th or 8th in the league the pressure on Fran the next couple years will be through the roof. This group feels like unless Garza can borderline dominate for stretches we could be closer to the basement in the league rather then the middle of it. I know it's crazy early yet so we'll just have to see more on how this yr plays out
 
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Everyone worries about the future while living in the past. Our focus should be getting better today. Then getting better tomorrow. You never know how things will turn out for better or worse. Only time will tell. Enjoy the moment because things are always changing. If we could all see into the future, we’d all be rich, but I think we would all be terrified too.
 
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