Is this the best Iowa can do?

dahlhawk said:
Bluder and the LadyHawks played terrible defense in the past but looks like they made a commitment to playing the best D they could, now they actually play passable defense. Not great but better. When the hell will Fran come to the same realization? Bad D=s Early Exits. Good shooting is inconsistent, good D is always in your bag. He’s so proud of his team playing multiple defenses, but they play them all poorly. Watching Keegan in the NBA a lot. Guess what? He’s defense was terrible when the year began, getting called out by his coach. Now he closes out on every shooter he guards even if he knows he’s too late. He is putting in the effort because his coach INSISTS on it. Fran could learn a lesson from a professional coach.
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Nope. Bluder has a generational talent on her squad, otherwise we are having the same conversation about her that we are having about Fran.
 
trj said:
Fair or unfair what you do in the tournament matters. Matt Painter is arguably the best coach in the B1G and people always mention his lack of success in the tournament. You may not put stock in wins and losses in the tournament, but many more people do.
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I'm not saying it doesn't matter to other people. I'm saying the proper way to evaluate a coach to decide if he should be fired is regular season. Matt painter proves my point. If a coach is arguably the best coach in the conference, he doesn't forget how to coach come tournament time. He's simply run into some bad luck. You don't fire a coach over a stretch of bad luck results in tournaments.

Fran raised the program from complete shit to bubble worthy. Then he raised it easily in but not a good enough team to have a decent path to the sweet 16 (Getting 7 or 10 seeds and facing a 2 seed in the 2nd round). Then he raised it to good seeds that have a legit shot at the sweet 16. That's where we were the 3 years prior to this year (which was a rebuilding year where we still easily got in).

That 3 year span is where the bad luck came in. One year he didn't even get to play in the tournament. The next he went from playing the latest game of the night Friday to the earliest game Sunday, against a team with a 1st round bye. The 3rd there was a 1st round upset (Frans firat round of 64 loss) when his All American got hurt. That sucked bad but was far from the first 5/12 upset.

In my mind, it's irrelevant how bad the program was in year 2 for him. It's irrelevant that he didn't "get lucky" as a Cinderella team when he turned us into a bubble team. It's irrelevant that he couldn't beat a 2 seed as a 10 seed. And it's only slightly relevant that he didn't get us there now that he has us in position with good seeds regularly.

I get the logic of saying he hasn't made it in 13 years. I just think that's extremely flawed and incomplete thinking. I can't imagine wanting to get rid of a coach who has the program in a position where he gets good seeds regularly, mostly because of what he didn't do back when we sucked as a program.
 
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trj said:
Nope. Bluder has a generational talent on her squad, otherwise we are having the same conversation about her that we are having about Fran.
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I agree that their ability to play great defense is limited, but the fact is they are much better as a team this year than last year. They have worked since the end of last year to improve. That's the reason they haven't wasted a generational talent like Fran has. Bluder knows they will only go as far as it takes them. Fran won't make this admission. He continues to say things like "I like the shot selection", or blames the refs. I have not heard him say our defense lost the game. Bluder is starting to recruit at a high level. I think as she brings in better and better talent your going to see better and better defense. Fran will continue to recruit "good shooters".
 
PCHawk said:
I'm not saying it doesn't matter to other people. I'm saying the proper way to evaluate a coach to decide if he should be fired is regular season. Matt painter proves my point. If a coach is arguably the best coach in the conference, he doesn't forget how to coach come tournament time. He's simply run into some bad luck. You don't fire a coach over a stretch of bad luck results in tournaments.

Fran raised the program from complete shit to bubble worthy. Then he raised it easily in but not a good enough team to have a decent path to the sweet 16 (Getting 7 or 10 seeds and facing a 2 seed in the 2nd round). Then he raised it to good seeds that have a legit shot at the sweet 16. That's where we were the 3 years prior to this year (which was a rebuilding year where we still easily got in).

That 3 year span is where the bad luck came in. One year he didn't even get to play in the tournament. The next he went from playing the latest game of the night Friday to the earliest game Sunday, against a team with a 1st round bye. The 3rd there was a 1st round upset (Frans firat round of 64 loss) when his All American got hurt. That sucked bad but was far from the first 5/12 upset.

In my mind, it's irrelevant how bad the program was in year 2 for him. It's irrelevant that he didn't "get lucky" as a Cinderella team when he turned us into a bubble team. It's irrelevant that he couldn't beat a 2 seed as a 10 seed. And it's only slightly relevant that he didn't get us there now that he has us in position with good seeds regularly.

I get the logic of saying he hasn't made it in 13 years. I just think that's extremely flawed and incomplete thinking. I can't imagine wanting to get rid of a coach who has the program in a position where he gets good seeds regularly, mostly because of what he didn't do back when we sucked as a program.
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Preach on brother! I couldn't have said it better.
 
"I like the shot selection" famous last words. Guy Lewis was asked once what he thought of his phi slamma jama teams and all the dunking...said " I have never seen a higher percentage shot in the game of basketball"
 
dahlhawk said:
I agree that their ability to play great defense is limited, but the fact is they are much better as a team this year than last year. They have worked since the end of last year to improve. That's the reason they haven't wasted a generational talent like Fran has. Bluder knows they will only go as far as it takes them. Fran won't make this admission. He continues to say things like "I like the shot selection", or blames the refs. I have not heard him say our defense lost the game. Bluder is starting to recruit at a high level. I think as she brings in better and better talent your going to see better and better defense. Fran will continue to recruit "good shooters".
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There are some pretty big differences that made the difference more than coaching. One is Clark was probably the best player in the country her freshman year. Garza didn't dominate until his junior year and they didn't even get to play a tournament that year.

Clark also has had the luxury of playing with 4 upperclassmen the last 3 years. The roster was set up perfect for a freshman to come in and dominate. Garza came in at a bad time as far as good upperclassmen goes. That, coupled with him not being all American caliber his first two years made it so you can't really call those years "wasted".

Clark made a name for herself her freshman year. That really helps with recruiting because kids still have time to come in and play with the best player. By the time Garza was a stud, no one had a chance to be recruited there to come play with him.

And imagine if he could have taken a covid year and run it back with Wieskamp and Keegan last year. We would have easily matched what the women are doing this year with their "run it back" year. We got a 5 seed without him. Probably would have won the conference and pushed for a 1 seed with him.
 
Bigtenchamp said:
doesn't mean it makes sense...

I don't like our tournament success... but the NCAA tournament is the biggest joke of a system for crowning a "champion"...

It's good drama though.
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Wuuut??? In my eyes, it is the absolute best postseason tournament in the world with the way it is set up and ran. I think it's the hallmark of crowning a pure champion.

It absolutely has the perfect number of teams for the tournament. Not too much it's watered down but good enough where 1/2-1/3rd of conference teams may get in. A team usually has to have around 20 wins.

Having a single elimination b-ball tournament is terrific. What, you gunna have 3 game series???

The anticipation and excitement of the tourney is all there. It is absolutely a sports spectacle, and nobody plays the what if's after a champion is crowned.
 
I can't say this is the best Iowa can do since IMO, the previous 4 seasons were all better. It was widely thought Iowa would be in rebuild mode this season because of what it lost. It's widely thought that next season will be a rebuild after what we're losing. If Iowa dances again next year and let's say, sneaks in as a 9 or 10 and then we get the "is this the best we can do", I will point to the previous 5 seasons being better and still say no.
 
Hawkboys said:
Yea, length doesn't help if you don't move your feet on dribble drives or close out on shooters
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I think that team that beat Purdont is the smallest in the NCAA tourney. That shows that quickness and speed kills.

I also heard that Edey only got off one shot attempt in the last 8 minutes of play or so, which is crazy.
 
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dahlhawk said:
Bluder and the LadyHawks played terrible defense in the past but looks like they made a commitment to playing the best D they could, now they actually play passable defense. Not great but better. When the hell will Fran come to the same realization? Bad D=s Early Exits. Good shooting is inconsistent, good D is always in your bag. He’s so proud of his team playing multiple defenses, but they play them all poorly. Watching Keegan in the NBA a lot. Guess what? He’s defense was terrible when the year began, getting called out by his coach. Now he closes out on every shooter he guards even if he knows he’s too late. He is putting in the effort because his coach INSISTS on it. Fran could learn a lesson from a professional coach.
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Bad D's = inconsistent games. Good D and a team is usually in a game 90% of the time. It brings consistency.

A team is not always going to shoot lights out, as proved by Iowa a few games this year. Playing decent D always give a team a fighting chance, even though may be uphill certain nights.

Why the Iowa coaches can't figure this out is beyond me.
 
dahlhawk said:
Bluder and the LadyHawks played terrible defense in the past but looks like they made a commitment to playing the best D they could, now they actually play passable defense. Not great but better. When the hell will Fran come to the same realization? Bad D=s Early Exits. Good shooting is inconsistent, good D is always in your bag. He’s so proud of his team playing multiple defenses, but they play them all poorly. Watching Keegan in the NBA a lot. Guess what? He’s defense was terrible when the year began, getting called out by his coach. Now he closes out on every shooter he guards even if he knows he’s too late. He is putting in the effort because his coach INSISTS on it. Fran could learn a lesson from a professional coach.
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Defense is all about effort, watch MSU. Iowa has it once in a while but not consistently.
 
dahlhawk said:
I agree that their ability to play great defense is limited, but the fact is they are much better as a team this year than last year. They have worked since the end of last year to improve. That's the reason they haven't wasted a generational talent like Fran has. Bluder knows they will only go as far as it takes them. Fran won't make this admission. He continues to say things like "I like the shot selection", or blames the refs. I have not heard him say our defense lost the game. Bluder is starting to recruit at a high level. I think as she brings in better and better talent your going to see better and better defense. Fran will continue to recruit "good shooters".
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Wrong. Multiple occasions when Fran has pointed to defensive breakdowns. I am glad he mentions shot selection, since that is key in any game. No, he doesn’t blame the refs. You really should consider a shift away from just making shit up.
 
trj said:
Nope. Bluder has a generational talent on her squad, otherwise we are having the same conversation about her that we are having about Fran.
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I don't think we are having the same conversation about Bluder as we are with Fran, because Bluder's seen the sweet 16 and has made the most out of her "generational talent". I'm not going to make this a bash on Fran post, but Bluder's used her "generational talent" to advance to the second week of the tournament while Fran's best talent and teams have yet to do so. So whether it's a fair conversation or not, Fran is getting unloaded on because of something he's never been able to do and the fact that many believe there are glaring omissions or deficiencies in his approach that he's never emphasized or made a priority that are preventing him to get to that next level despite the talent he's had.

The conversations with Fran are the "why he can't ever make it out of the opening weekend" or "why we always seem to come up short". I think those "conversations" are totally different and will continue to be simply because Bluder's been there and Fran hasn't. I don't think it's fair at all to credit Bluder's success being solely based on having Clark's "generational talent". That term was used with Garza and Keegan as well, yet Bluder has found her way back to the sweet 16 and Fran's yet to get there once.
 
kicker22 said:
I don't think we are having the same conversation about Bluder as we are with Fran, because Bluder's seen the sweet 16 and has made the most out of her "generational talent". I'm not going to make this a bash on Fran post, but Bluder's used her "generational talent" to advance to the second week of the tournament while Fran's best talent and teams have yet to do so. So whether it's a fair conversation or not, Fran is getting unloaded on because of something he's never been able to do and the fact that many believe there are glaring omissions or deficiencies in his approach that he's never emphasized or made a priority that are preventing him to get to that next level despite the talent he's had.

The conversations with Fran are the "why he can't ever make it out of the opening weekend" or "why we always seem to come up short". I think those "conversations" are totally different and will continue to be simply because Bluder's been there and Fran hasn't. I don't think it's fair at all to credit Bluder's success being solely based on having Clark's "generational talent". That term was used with Garza and Keegan as well, yet Bluder has found her way back to the sweet 16 and Fran's yet to get there once.
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.............. at Iowa.
 
Here is a thought.

2020-21
2 NBA first rounders on the squad.
Kris Murray 3.2 minutes per game
Keegan Murray 18 min per game
Patrick M 14.6 mpg

2021-22
Kris Murray 17.9 minutes per game
Patrick M 24.2 mpg

Team not gelling?

You go with your best players. Murray became a 1st rounder in one year?
 
PCHawk said:
There are some pretty big differences that made the difference more than coaching. One is Clark was probably the best player in the country her freshman year. Garza didn't dominate until his junior year and they didn't even get to play a tournament that year.

Clark also has had the luxury of playing with 4 upperclassmen the last 3 years. The roster was set up perfect for a freshman to come in and dominate. Garza came in at a bad time as far as good upperclassmen goes. That, coupled with him not being all American caliber his first two years made it so you can't really call those years "wasted".

Clark made a name for herself her freshman year. That really helps with recruiting because kids still have time to come in and play with the best player. By the time Garza was a stud, no one had a chance to be recruited there to come play with him.

And imagine if he could have taken a covid year and run it back with Wieskamp and Keegan last year. We would have easily matched what the women are doing this year with their "run it back" year. We got a 5 seed without him. Probably would have won the conference and pushed for a 1 seed with him.
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Your missing my point, Bluder has come out and admitted that they need to play better Defense, Fran has not even addressed that point and quite frankly, I don't think he believes they play bad defense. And by generational player I meant Keegan. I love Garza, but he isn't starting in the NBA.
 
HuckFinn said:
Wrong. Multiple occasions when Fran has pointed to defensive breakdowns. I am glad he mentions shot selection, since that is key in any game. No, he doesn’t blame the refs. You really should consider a shift away from just making shit up.
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Man I listen to the same postgame and halftime comments you do, I almost never hear how bad the defense is. It's always "We are just missing good shots", I will try to listen better I guess, but Fran only talks about Defense in wins, almost never in losses. I look up the Nebraska post game and see what he says, I admit I can't really stand watching Fran glare at reporters after a loss.
 
Ok listened to the Nebby postgame, "Got to give credit to Nebraska, they shot the ball well." He gave some concessions to not rotating as well as they should have which was a throw away comment almost under his breath. OK folks, defense is fine. Sometimes other teams just shoot really, really, well. Like almost every game. Nothing to see here folks.
 
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