Josh Ogundele in the transfer portal

[HaydenHawk56]

As I said in a later post when someone made a similar point, it's not guaranteed that whoever got Ash's scholarship would be the 12th man. Maybe they would have cracked the top 8 or better. Just taking a chance on someone with that possibility would have made it worthwhile to try someone with legit D1 ability.

I don't get what they don't understand about your point. Maybe we need to appeal to visual learners somehow on this.

 

[Fryowa]

I really don't why you keep asking about "#3" I have already posted my thoughts about that. See the Tyler Ulis example.

Nope, I just said UNI knows what a Sweet 16 feels like since 1999.

You and I both know there’s no way a top recruit ends up here unless he’s a home grown Hawkeye or someone under the radar like Garza or Keegan. Zero chance.

 

[HaydenHawk56]

You and I both know there’s no way a top recruit ends up here unless he’s a home grown Hawkeye or someone under the radar like Garza or Keegan. Zero chance.

Which I have been saying all along and just did again now. Again, I think Fran made tactical errors chasing the wrong recruits at the guard positions (the ones were you need a Happy to give them a suit case full of cash) when he probably should have been trying to lock down a solid guard over all.

The names are escaping me around the time he was going after Ulis and we passed on some guys holding out for him. Maybe someone that remembers can chime in here.


I also think he needs to have post player with the body type of the Big O and really develop them. You need a guy with some beef there for the Big Ten Conference and March. That is why I'm sad to see the Big O go.

 

[Fryowa]

Which I have been saying all along and just did again now. Again, I think Fran made tactical errors chasing the wrong recruits at the guard positions (the ones were you need a Happy to give them a suit case full of cash) when he probably should have been trying to lock down a solid guard over all.

The names are escaping me around the time he was going after Ulis and we passed on some guys holding out for him. Maybe someone that remembers can chime in here.


I also think he needs to have post player with the body type of the Big O and really develop them. You need a guy with some beef there for the Big Ten Conference and March. That is why I'm sad to see the Big O go.

The reason we don’t get big recruits isn’t Fran. It’s because we’re Iowa.

 

[HaydenHawk56]

The reason we don’t get big recruits isn’t Fran. It’s because we’re Iowa.

We don't need corvette at every position. But, we also don't need the Griswald family truckster in the starting 5 in a couple of positions either. Don't need them on the bench as well.

 

[Fryowa]

We don't need corvette at every position. But, we also don't need the Griswald family truckster in the starting 5 in a couple of positions either. Don't need them on the bench as well.

Then you better accept being disappointed every year. And either spare us with the incessant Hawkeye hate or find another team.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

Ben Brust appears to be a total D-Bag....I posted one of his hot takes on Iowa and him trashing the program that once recruited him. Now, I'm not sure what his ambitions are for the future in terms of coaching. Maybe he is happy being a shock-sports-radio jock. But, I would think he destroyed any chances of ever being considered for a job at Iowa.....you never know where an assistant coaching job could land you. So, I think it was stupid how he went about what he said about Iowa.

But, the more I think about it, his central theme might not be that far off. He said all that Iowa does it makes excuses why they can't do this or that. He said go out and win something for crying out loud.

Don't we at some point have to do just that. Find a way to get the job done? Don't we want to see our moment of greatness and believe we can do it and actually do it?

Maybe that is asking to much, but I don't think so.

I don't think Brust is trying to get into coaching. He seems to be doing the media/podcast thing. Isn't he doing color for Milwaukee Bucks games? So him bashing Iowa is pandering to his base kinda thing. I thought he was doing well when he was on the BTN but he didn't want to stay there or BTN didn't want to keep him I'm not sure. Either way he's showing what a douche he is and that's only going to pigeon hole him for future gigs.

 

[beavdawg8216]

The reason we don’t get big recruits isn’t Fran. It’s because we’re Iowa.

I would Love to hear the reason why Nebraska and Iowa State can get big recruits then.

 

[HaydenHawk56]

I would Love to hear the reason why Nebraska and Iowa State can get big recruits then.

He would say, at least with Iowa St, they got lucky. Those bozo clowns have been 3 times more lucky than us since 1999. Some guys have all the luck. Same with UNI. Our luck ran out in the 80s like Nebraska Football.

Rod Stewart - Some Guys Have All the Luck (Official Video)

Official music video for Rod Stewart – “Some Guys Have All the Luck” from 'Camouflage' (1984) Listen to more Rod Stewart here: https://rhino.lnk.to/RodStew...

www.youtube.com

 

[HaydenHawk56]

Then you better accept being disappointed every year. And either spare us with the incessant Hawkeye hate or find another team.

Your right right Fry, might as well throw those Field of Sweet 16 dreams away because it is not Heaven (or Ann Arbor, or Columbus, or Madison, or Chapel Ridge, etc), it is Iowa. Who are we kidding ourselves right?

Kind of like Peter La Fleur said in the Dodgeball Movie : "I found that if you have a goal, that you might not reach it. But if you don't have one, then you are never disappointed. And I gotta tell ya, it feels phenomenal!"

Maybe I will feel better that way. You might just be right. As long as we have a winning record and are in "March situations" who gives a rats ass about anything else. It sure beats being Northwestern and that is a fact.

I think Hayden Fry just rolled over in his grave and Dan Gable and Tom Brands just puked. But it is what it is.

 

[PCHawk]

We don't need corvette at every position. But, we also don't need the Griswald family truckster in the starting 5 in a couple of positions either. Don't need them on the bench as well.

I'd say Fran has fielded damn good rosters in at least 8 of the last 10 years. Also our seeds are getting higher and higher. We were supposed to be a 5 seed the covid year I think. That means our last three years we've had 5 seed 2 seed 5 seed.

It's not our roster that's the problem. It's not our regular season that's the problem. Our problem is we missed a chance with covid, we missed another chance with a bad draw and not showing up, and we missed another chance because we couldn't buy an outside shot and our best player was noticeably hurt.

You keep saying Fran needs to elevate the program when he has the chance. I use our last three seeds (one is a projected seed) as proof that he already has elevated it.

I'd also argue that Fran has already had five teams that had a legit chance of making an elite 8. Two teams got behind the 8 ball with some late season losses, one team never got a chance, and 2 teams got upset, which happens all the time in the tournament.

 

[PCHawk]

As I said in a later post when someone made a similar point, it's not guaranteed that whoever got Ash's scholarship would be the 12th man. Maybe they would have cracked the top 8 or better. Just taking a chance on someone with that possibility would have made it worthwhile to try someone with legit D1 ability.

Fran talked about this in a podcast he was on yesterday. He doesn't like the message it sends to the team when you try to recruit over people with the portal. He uses it to fill holes in the roster and will probably use it to recruit over guys like Big O who just aren't good enough for minutes. But he doesn't like trying to recruit over kids that are already getting minutes. Guys like Ulis. He doesn't like the message it sends to those players and what it does to the team environment.

In my opinion it's obviously worth the negatives if you can get a 1st team conference type point guard to replace Ulis (I'm just using him as an example) but I don't think it's worth it to try to bring in a guy who's going to be 8th-12th in the rotation and at best be a slight upgrade over who you have.

 

[HaydenHawk56]

I'd say Fran has fielded damn good rosters in at least 8 of the last 10 years. Also our seeds are getting higher and higher. We were supposed to be a 5 seed the covid year I think. That means our last three years we've had 5 seed 2 seed 5 seed.

It's not our roster that's the problem. It's not our regular season that's the problem. Our problem is we missed a chance with covid, we missed another chance with a bad draw and not showing up, and we missed another chance because we couldn't buy an outside shot and our best player was noticeably hurt.

You keep saying Fran needs to elevate the program when he has the chance. I use our last three seeds (one is a projected seed) as proof that he already has elevated it.

I'd also argue that Fran has already had five teams that had a legit chance of making an elite 8. Two teams got behind the 8 ball with some late season losses, one team never got a chance, and 2 teams got upset, which happens all the time in the tournament.

All true and yet.....an undeniable fact.....he has not made it out of the first weekend....at Iowa or anywhere. There was some stat where is he like 1 of 4 coaches that has never had a Sweet 16 for the amount of years he has coached in D1.

I do agree, the covid year where we could not play was a shame and it would have been nice to see what they could have done with that. Odds are though, they probably would have stubbed their toes though. Darn bad luck.

But, yes Fran took this program from Nuclear Winter and has made it a good program. Very commendable there in my honest opinion. And he has more than earned the right to stay here and keep at it.

But Fry is right, if you are looking for top end success, look elsewhere.

 

[PCHawk]

All true and yet.....an undeniable fact.....he has not made it out of the first weekend....at Iowa or anywhere. There was some stat where is he like 1 of 4 coaches that has never had a Sweet 16 for the amount of years he has coached in D1.

I do agree, the covid year where we could not play was a shame and it would have been nice to see what they could have done with that. Odds are though, they probably would have stubbed their toes though. Darn bad luck.

But, yes Fran took this program from Nuclear Winner and has made it a good program. Very commendable their my honest opinion. And he has more than earned the right to stay here and keep at it.

But Fry is right, if you are looking for top end success, look elsewhere.

I just think if we want to make the sweet 16, our best odds are with a coach who is constantly putting us in a good position to make it than rolling the dice with someone else. But I'm also someone who believes there is a lot of luck in tournaments. I thought it was stupid to think Fran somehow didn't know how to coach in the Big 10 tournament, just like I think it would be stupid to think he learned how now that he's won it.

To relate Fran's career at Iowa to poker, it would be like a guy who constantly cashes, sometimes has a huge stack, mostly gets his money in good, but has never won. It would be foolish to say that player is incapable of winning just because he hasn't yet.

 

[HaydenHawk56]

Fran talked about this in a podcast he was on yesterday. He doesn't like the message it sends to the team when you try to recruit over people with the portal. He uses it to fill holes in the roster and will probably use it to recruit over guys like Big O who just aren't good enough for minutes. But he doesn't like trying to recruit over kids that are already getting minutes. Guys like Ulis. He doesn't like the message it sends to those players and what it does to the team environment.

In my opinion it's obviously worth the negatives if you can get a 1st team conference type point guard to replace Ulis (I'm just using him as an example) but I don't think it's worth it to try to bring in a guy who's going to be 8th-12th in the rotation and at best be a slight upgrade over who you have.

He really said that?! Man Fry is even more right than ever. Ultimately locker room feelings are more important. If we did not already have two hands tied behind our backs.....might as well add our feet as well.

Maybe I'm old fashion, but I thought the goal was to put the best team you can out on the floor. With the portal option out there that is another great way you could possibly do that. Not 100% but gives you options.

Something is also to be said about locker room comradery, but college sports is a business and it is nothing personal. If you are not excelling on the court, in the classroom, and being a productive member of society, you should expect to be beat out. Unless you are running a Grinnell System and even then their goal is to have their best shooters taking the shots.

I mean are we running a soup kitchen or are we trying to put our best foot forward?

 

[HaydenHawk56]

I just think if we want to make the sweet 16, our best odds are with a coach who is constantly putting us in a good position to make it than rolling the dice with someone else. But I'm also someone who believes there is a lot of luck in tournaments. I thought it was stupid to think Fran somehow didn't know how to coach in the Big 10 tournament, just like I think it would be stupid to think he learned how now that he's won it.

To relate Fran's career at Iowa to poker, it would be like a guy who constantly cashes, sometimes has a huge stack, mostly gets his money in good, but has never won. It would be foolish to say that player is incapable of winning just because he hasn't yet.

Ya, I mean you got to think a blind squirrel eventually finds a nut. But he has had a lot of empty seasons (actually everyone) without nuts.

And the thing of it is, you can't get rid of the guy. I mean, you can, but considering Iowa's recent history and considering the lessons learned from Mr. Davis, it would be a big blunder to do it. He has Iowa competitive and he is putting his team into position. That is a safe seat to be in currently where we are at.

But my only fear is that in 5 to 10 years time (say no big runs happen in the NCAAs), will we find ourselves back in a Mr. Davis like situation where the fanbase is pretty apathetic and you have a new AD that decides to make a Bowlsby like move. Now we are pushing 30 years or more without a Sweet 16 and finding ourselves right back to where we were after Mr. Davis was let go.

Like Fry alludes to, we would be even less relevant then.

That is why I wish Fran would really strike when the iron is hot.

Hopefully we just keep getting put into position and break through. But, until then, expect Lucy to pull the football away and be pleasantly surprised when she does not.

 

[haydensly]

He really said that?! Man Fry is even more right than ever. Ultimately locker room feelings are more important. If we did not already have two hands tied behind our backs.....might as well add our feet as well.

Maybe I'm old fashion, but I thought the goal was to put the best team you can out on the floor. With the portal option out there that is another great way you could possibly do that. Not 100% but gives you options.

And maybe if he goes all in with the transfer portal and alienates his current roster, he gets a bunch of defections and we end up with a worse roster after the transfers are long gone.

 

[HaydenHawk56]

And maybe if he goes all in with the transfer portal and alienates his current roster, he gets a bunch of defections and we end up with a worse roster after the transfers are long gone.

Maybe. But these are grown men, they should know the score and if they don't produce they risk riding the pine.

Fran actually had to face the music here with JT. It was suppose to be his team, but he could not quite cut it at point guard and Fran had to go back to JBo. In this case, this outcome would lead to what you are saying....JT ultimately left....and probably saw the new recruits coming in he would also have to compete with.

No question, Fran has a balancing act here, but he should not be afraid to grab guys if it can make his team better.

And, since this is a new age (I don't think Fry would disagree here as well) roster turnover is going to be high anyway. If you are real good like KM, you stay 2 years and declare for the NBA at Iowa. With the portal, if you are a player and think you can improve your playing time, you might use it. You might also use Iowa to get to other places you really want to play at it (like CJF to Kentucky)

Loyalty, to a degree, it going out the window from the player's perspective. It has to be a 2 way street for the coaches as well. At least I would think.

 

[HuckFinn]

He really said that?! Man Fry is even more right than ever. Ultimately locker room feelings are more important. If we did not already have two hands tied behind our backs.....might as well add our feet as well.

Maybe I'm old fashion, but I thought the goal was to put the best team you can out on the floor. With the portal option out there that is another great way you could possibly do that. Not 100% but gives you options.

Something is also to be said about locker room comradery, but college sports is a business and it is nothing personal. If you are not excelling on the court, in the classroom, and being a productive member of society, you should expect to be beat out. Unless you are running a Grinnell System and even then there goal is to have their best shooters taking the shots.

I mean are we running a soup kitchen or are we trying to put our best foot forward?

“College sports is a business and it is nothing personal”. Wow. What universe do you live in? Other than the tiny number of players who may get at least a brief look at pro sports, college athletics are all about “personal”, relationships, Go Hawks, fans, the absolute high of playing at a high level in front of thousands of crazy spectators. They form life long ties to team mates and to the HN. Honestly, Hayden, I get pretty tired of the cynical attitudes on the part of many HN posters, including Fry. Maybe you guys who have created some alternative reality about the young men and women involved in big time college sports that may not really exist except in your heads. Actually, maybe some of you guys should just hang it up and go watch the “business and nothing personal” professional sports. Seems to be your element.

NB: Next comes the “you old guys don’t know anything.” “You live in the past.” “ You are victim’s of old timer’s disease”. Yada yada.

 

[HaydenHawk56]

“College sports is a business and it is nothing personal”. Wow. What universe do you live in? Other than the tiny number of players who may get at least a brief look at pro sports, college athletics are all about “personal”, relationships, Go Hawks, fans, the absolute high of playing at a high level in front of thousands of crazy spectators. They form life long ties to team mates and to the HN. Honestly, Hayden, I get pretty tired of the cynical attitudes on the part of many HN posters, including Fry. Maybe you guys who have created some alternative reality about the young men and women involved in big time college sports that may not really exist except in your heads. Actually, maybe some of you guys should just hang it up and go watch the “business and nothing personal” professional sports. Seems to be your element.

NB: Next comes the “you old guys don’t know anything.” “You live in the past.” “ You are victim’s of old timer’s disease”. Yada yada.

But, that is what it has become Huck....loyalty is going out the window. Don't get me wrong, I don't completely like this. I put this back on the NBA and the NFL for not doing things like the WNBA. But, without going down that rabbit hole (because Fry does not like that one and again I do get your points Fry there about an individual trying to make a living out of their talent). Colleges use players and players use colleges. It is only going to get worse with the portal and NIL.

I also agree personal relationships will not go completely away (nor do I completely advocate that....if we can put together a solid team at Iowa I would try to do what I could to keep that team together), but roster turnover is here to stay I'm afraid.

I did not hear that Fran podcast, but if what he said is being reported, I don't agree completely with Fran's stance there. I think if you have a big problem and you can get a better player to solve it, you should go after it. And if that player does not like it then he can either work harder in practice or portal himself.

Otherwise it is just a one-way street and Fran is going to get burned.....like CJF already did to him.

And College Sports is a BIG BUSINESS. It generates tons of money in television revenue, athletic apparel, coaching salaries, etc. Gambling as well. It most certainly is a business along with academics along for the ride.