Jon's new article

[InGoodCo]

Right now, I am not sure what to expect from them. That said, if they are not in the NCAA next year, Fran's seat has warmth to it...since I am not the AD, I do not control the thermostat, but that would definitely shake my confidence in the direction.

Jon, I think it's warm after THIS season... Not, like hot hot, but definitely a put up or shut up situation and if he misses next year you gotta be thinking he's in trouble. That's what you meant right?

 

[Hawk5656]

Right now, I am not sure what to expect from them. That said, if they are not in the NCAA next year, Fran's seat has warmth to it...since I am not the AD, I do not control the thermostat, but that would definitely shake my confidence in the direction.

If he doesn't make the Tournament next year there is no way you can justify keeping him.

 

[InGoodCo]

If he doesn't make the Tournament next year there is no way you can justify keeping him.

right? I question that immediately, I think he misspoke ...it happens

 

[JonDMiller]

I interpreted the article as a suggestion to lower our expectations so we aren't as disappointed.

I can't tell anyone what or how to feel. I also write to entertain myself, and that means not everyone will like it.

These are my opinions. They aren't worth any more than yours, and I welcome respectful debate. IN MY OPINION, the Iowa job is middle of the road at best in the Big Ten, as far as a guy coming in and having his pick and ranking them on order of preference.

I am also of the opinion that OVER A TIME SPAN, of like a decade, Iowa has a glass ceiling of around 6th. That doesn't mean there can't be decades where they do better than that, but there will be decades when they are worse than that.

They had an average finish of 3.5th in a 10 team league 1979-1988. We won't likely live to see that again

1979 1
1980 4
1981 2
1982 2
1983 2
1984 7
1985 5
1986 6
1987 3
1988 3

They had a really rough stretch from Alford's last year through Fran's first two years. I hope we don't see that again. But given the realities of the Big Ten, that other programs are also involved, none of this takes place in a vacuum. Iowa is far more likely to have another doldrum period than the aforementioned 10 years of excellence.

So I look at it like that...it doesn't mean that makes it any less miserable to watch Iowa get worked over by Rutgers, or endure a season like this, and in what I wrote last night, I pointed out several very concerning things.

But I just have a hard time sitting back and saying nothing while some folks act like Iowa needs to return to their normal ways of cutting down nets and the like, when their last Big Ten regular season title was 1979 and their last outright Big Ten regular season title was in 1970, the year before I was born.

 

[JonDMiller]

#DefeatistAttitude

The problem I have with things like this, is there are a bunch of people that wanna be this or wanna be that...and then they get pissy when what they wanna doesn't happen...they throw fits, tantrums, etc. And frankly, that's all on you for living in a world that isn't based in reality.

 

[JonDMiller]

This brings up an interesting point.

For the sake of argument let's say FM got fired tomorrow.
Would Jon:
A) Say he thinks Barta made the right decision???
B) Say he thinks Barta made the wrong decision??

I like that question. I would say that Barta, if he did it without cause, acted too hastily and I would not agree with the firing.

 

[Joshbrown]

I like that question. I would say that Barta, if he did it without cause, acted too hastily and I would not agree with the firing.

You win the thread. Seriously, that type of honesty always wins the thread.
EDIT: for the record, I think ANYONE paid millions doesn't get "years off". I've never heard of that in any other profession. When I was getting minimum wage I saw co-workers get fired for coming back from lunch 2 minutes late. Anyway, that's my thoughts and I am willing to be called worse than Hitler for having them.

 

[JonDMiller]

This is how Iowa fans felt until some guy named Lute showed up on campus . It can be done at this program . A competent AD can find the next young coach K who is hungry and looking to prove himself . The school just has to take a chance and give him a shot

It can be done, because it has been done.

The problem is when this thinking is extended to IT SHOULD BE DONE. That ignores reality, and the fact there are 13 other programs in the Big Ten, and 6 that you are likely to never beat over the long haul, or be better than

 

[kicker22]

Maybe I look at college sports too much like professional sports but after losing to Rutgers by double digits and the way this seasons played out I would think that would be enough cause.

 

[tksirius]

The problem I have with things like this, is there are a bunch of people that wanna be this or wanna be that...and then they get pissy when what they wanna doesn't happen...they throw fits, tantrums, etc. And frankly, that's all on you for living in a world that isn't based in reality.

Saying this or that won't ever happen isn't based in reality. It's a defeatist attitude.

 

[PCHawk]

You realize what you just posted reveals that your Hawkeye satisfaction comes from irrational cheering, not from program accomplishments?
Applauding mediocrity just gets you more mediocrity.

And what does not applauding mediocrity get you? I assume you watch the games still, so what do you get out of it? Do you suggest fans clear out Carver and don't watch games until we finally become exellent? Do you think if fans choose that route, it will help our program become exellent? Do you get happy at all when they won against Illinois? I couldn't imagine spending time watching games and spending so much time on a message board for something that you don't get any enjoyment out of. By your definition, you haven't enjoyed basketball since Lute 30some years ago. Yet you still spend time on something you don't enjoy. You think it's weird to find enjoyment in something that is mediocre. I think it's weird you've spent your whole life choosing to follow something that gives you no enjoyment.

 

[SheagleHawk]

I stand corrected. I thought I heard he was like a finalist or something...I know they just announced the team

Pretty common knowledge about the high number of guys that are Mc D's AA, and how they get there. For someone who thinks they know a lot about basketball, and who does more than a fair share of telling other people they're wrong, one would think you'd know this info.

 

[kicker22]

Pretty common knowledge about the high number of guys that are Mc D's AA, and how they get there. For someone who thinks they know a lot about basketball, and who does more than a fair share of telling other people they're wrong, one would think you'd know this info.

It's a message board. We're all experts. That's the nature of the game.

 

[hawkeyebob62]

No crying. Just simply telling you that personal attacks are inappropriate, especially when it comes to family. Your views of his attitude, frankly, are not of any importance, since you don't know him (nor do I).

You are in fact making as ass of yourself.

He has, at times, shown a talent for doing that. At other times, he redeems himself in whirlwind fashion.

 

[Fryowa]

No crying. Just simply telling you that personal attacks are inappropriate, especially when it comes to family. Your views of his attitude, frankly, are not of any importance, since you don't know him (nor do I).

You are in fact making as ass of yourself.

If I were a victim type I'd tell you to go read the posts and see he called me a d-bag. But I find that stuff humorous and it rolls off. And again, quit crying. I never said anything about his family. Read the post and I said I hope he doesn't pass his quitter attitude down to his kids.

 

[JonDMiller]

You give a guy more chances if you see a reason to do so. I don’t get how you write that this team doesn’t play together and doesn’t try on defense but don’t see that as a reason to move on. It’s not like we have a great class coming in either. You’re basically looking at 3-4 years before this could potentially turn around.

Yeah, Iowa should can the guy that just finished back to back third place in the B1G reg season and then 5th last year after they lost Uthoff, Woody, Gesell and Sapp...makes a lot of sense.

 

[Fryowa]

You win the thread. Seriously, that type of honesty always wins the thread.
EDIT: for the record, I think ANYONE paid millions doesn't get "years off". I've never heard of that in any other profession. When I was getting minimum wage I saw co-workers get fired for coming back from lunch 2 minutes late. Anyway, that's my thoughts and I am willing to be called worse than Hitler for having them.

I see what you did there.

 

[JonDMiller]

I agree with this.
Fran sold us a box of uhtoff’s and when we opened it we got a box of Sonderleiters.

There is talent on this roster...it's just not a balance roster. And yes, Fran's flair for the hyperbole hurts him at times like this

 

[JonDMiller]

Jon, you compared FM to Painter. Matt had a 4 year run of winning 102 games and the next year was pretty darned good prior to his 8th year. They aren't comparable.

What is obvious...this team doesn't play D. He teams always struggle with this. To compare to Davis' teams, isn't a comparison.

The team is bad on fundamentals. His own son's do NOT have proper shooting form unless you are playing Iowa high school basketball when it was 6 player. It's a push shot. Who teaches them?

His roster has deep challenges. He wants to do motion and aside from JBo, he doesn't have motion players at all.

His bringing CM on board to be point guard might work if he had a roster to go with it other than JBo.

He is either building this team to show off his sons or he really doesn't know what he is doing. Either way this is very likely to end badly. The down side is that if he is gone, it will be a couple of years of dismal basketball regardless such as what IL is seeing. What we have now has a certain entertainment value to it.

Nope. I used Painter's 8th year as an example of a stupid reason to pull out an arbitrary number.

 

[Hawk5656]

Yeah, Iowa should can the guy that just finished back to back third place in the B1G reg season and then 5th last year after they lost Uthoff, Woody, Gesell and Sapp...makes a lot of sense.

That's some spin right there for a team that lost in the NIT at home haha.