Leistikow: What was Barta thinking?

[tksirius]

You want McCaffery gone? Then give some names that have the ability to turn this BB program into a BIG contender which would put Iowa in the NCAA Tourney on a yearly basis. Don't lay a bunch of mid major coaches that have had some success in the Horizon league or some other middle of the road conference on me. We have been down that road for the last 15 years. You want a big time coach? Then you gotta pay big time. IMO, there are about 10 to 12 coaches in the country that could come into Iowa and have an immediate affect on the recruiting and get the players needed to put Iowa in the top 20 year in and year out. None of which would consider Iowa as a future building program. Besides the fact that Iowa does not even come close to having the financial ability to compete with the schools they need to beat to obtain a coach of that stature.

I am not saying Fran is the answer, I just want to know how come people think another mid major coach would make any difference. Want an example of how it can fail. Indiana a school in the middle of the BB hotbed of recruiting with BB tradition like few others. How have their mid major coaching stars worked out in the last 20 years? How much money have they spent on their venture into hiring a shooting star coach?

You say I'm accepting mediocracy, I say I'm accepting reality. Playing in the BIG, Iowa has a tough road to get enough wins to qualify for the NCAA year in and year out. So a coach that has won a conference championship in the Mid America a few years and taken a team to the NCAA can repeat that feat year in and year out in a power five conference is a roll of the dice. You might roll a seven but the odds say you won't. With Lick Iowa rolled snake eyes. With Alford it looked good at first but ended up we sevened out. At least with Fran we still have a chance to roll the point.

I'm not ready to give up on Fran yet. The reason being, I think Fran is where he wants to be. I don't think he is looking to gain a higher altitude in coaching. He's happy coaching at Iowa and I also think he wants to see Iowa become a viable program. If he can do that he will be a happy coach. Fran is a good man and will put his heart and soul into it. Just speaking for myself I wouldn't ask for more from any coach.

And you know I think Barta sees the those same attributes.

And to really PO some posters on here. That goes for KF too.

JMO

 

[Northside Hawk]

You don't know what you're talking about if you think Iowa can't afford to pay for a top coach. Zero clue.

Yes, I don't know exactly what kind of shape our athletic budget is in but rest assured they are not standing in lines at soup kitchens.

I didn't respond to that part of his post because I don't know the exact numbers but I'm sure cash is coming out of their ears.

 

[dwghawk]

Yes, I don't know exactly what kind of shape our athletic budget is in but rest assured they are not standing in lines at soup kitchens.

I didn't respond to that part of his post because I don't know the exact numbers but I'm sure cash is coming out of their ears.

Fran is in the 1.8 mil a year range. You would have to double that at the very minimum to get a top 25 coach. Triple it to get a top 15 coach and quadruple it to get a top 10 coach and to get a top 5 coach you would be in the 7 to 9 million a year range. Not counting bonuses.

 

[Northside Hawk]

Fran is in the 1.8 mil a year range. You would have to double that at the very minimum to get a top 25 coach. Triple it to get a top 15 coach and quadruple it to get a top 10 coach and to get a top 5 coach you would be in the 7 to 9 million a year range. Not counting bonuses.

Uh, there are only four coaches in the country who double Fran's salary in base school pay: K, Calapari, Holtman(!) and Self. Izzo is fifth at roughly 3.6 mil. Many more name coaches, including Jay Wright, Rick Barnes and Roy Williams, fall right in line with Fran's base, which by the way is 2.225 million according to the USA Today study where I got this info. Coming up with an extra 400-600K to get one of about two dozen national name coaches would be no problem whatsoever for Iowa. Wichita State sweetened Gregg Marshall's deal to a base of 3 million for crying out loud.

My dog wasn't even in this fight to begin with. But since you didn't have the guts to confront him I set the record straight for him. Go Hawks!

Note: There is actually a division one coach named Tim Cluess. He coaches at Iona. He would have to be Cluess to do what he does for less than some assistant coaches are making.

 

[lightning1]

Yes, I don't know exactly what kind of shape our athletic budget is in but rest assured they are not standing in lines at soup kitchens.

I didn't respond to that part of his post because I don't know the exact numbers but I'm sure cash is coming out of their ears.

It doesn't matter what the budget looks like. Commitment for large salaries for the football and basketball coaches come from boosters. If you think Barta can solicit 100s of millions for facilities but can't get 5 mil a year for a name basketball coach...you'd be wrong.

 

[Northside Hawk]

It doesn't matter what the budget looks like. Commitment for large salaries for the football and basketball coaches come from boosters. If you think Barta can solicit 100s of millions for facilities but can't get 5 mil a year for a name basketball coach...you'd be wrong.

As it turns out we would not even need five million. 3-3.5 million will get you Tom Izzo-Gregg Marshall level coaches. Only four coaches have base salaries higher than Izzo's 3.6 million. Yeah, I think we could pony up if necessary.

 

[dwghawk]

Well, if it's so easy to come up with the cash to hire a top coach then why doesn't he do it? Why didn't he do it 8 years ago. Hell all these guys were lined up at Barta's door begging to grab the Iowa job. The talent was stacked inside Carver like cord wood. Who wouldn't want to follow the Alford / Lick act?

 

[dwghawk]

I can't get the list of highest paid coaches to come up. Izzo is around 5 million by the way.

 

[Northside Hawk]

I can't get the list of highest paid coaches to come up. Izzo is around 5 million by the way.

If you throw in shoe contracts, weekly radio/TV shows, summer camp stipends, bonus clauses, the whole package, that may get more coaches into the 9-12 million range, which would then triple or quadruple what Fran is making. But none of those have anything to do with what the school can afford or is willing to pay. The most eye opening example was Greg Marshall. Perennial mid major Wichita State is giving him a 3 million base, well above and beyond what multiple championship winning blue bloods legend Roy Williams is making.

I went to NCAA coaches salaries and a USA Today report came up. If those numbers are false either they're off base or I am. Fran was something like 24th on the list with perhaps to perhaps two dozen name coaches within a few hundred K one way or the other. And the bottom line is that we have no trouble affording one or eating Fran's buyout.

 

[Northside Hawk]

Well, if it's so easy to come up with the cash to hire a top coach then why doesn't he do it? Why didn't he do it 8 years ago. Hell all these guys were lined up at Barta's door begging to grab the Iowa job. The talent was stacked inside Carver like cord wood. Who wouldn't want to follow the Alford / Lick act?

In the 1980's we were able to hire two coaches, back to back, with previous power six experience. One was a strong recruiter, the other was a decent recruiter who's assistant (Pearl) was an outstanding recruiter. (Davis/Pearl's first two classes included Acie Earl, Ray Thompson, Rodell Davis pre knee injuries, and transfers Matt Bullard and Micheal Ingram pre injury). Another point to bring up is that Iowa coaches in those days were competing against Bobby Knight, Gene Keady, Jud Heathcoate, Bill Frieder, and Lou Henson.

You would have to ask the coaches why they weren't lined up at Barta's door. Perhaps it was Barta. Bump Elliot was long gone. It is widely known that Tom Davis was close to taking the Houston job in 1986 when his then conference rival Lute Olson stepped in and suggested he talk to Bump.

Barta has the resources to hire a home run. Whether he is the sharpest tool in the shed is another question.

 

[hawkdrummer1]

Uh, there are only four coaches in the country who double Fran's salary in base school pay: K, Calapari, Holtman(!) and Self. Izzo is fifth at roughly 3.6 mil. Many more name coaches, including Jay Wright, Rick Barnes and Roy Williams, fall right in line with Fran's base, which by the way is 2.225 million according to the USA Today study where I got this info. Coming up with an extra 400-600K to get one of about two dozen national name coaches would be no problem whatsoever for Iowa. Wichita State sweetened Gregg Marshall's deal to a base of 3 million for crying out loud.

My dog wasn't even in this fight to begin with. But since you didn't have the guts to confront him I set the record straight for him. Go Hawks!
.

Yes, but haven't you seen the "Hockey Stick" projection on coaches salaries? 97% of college basketball experts agree those are the "real" numbers

 

[Northside Hawk]

Yes, but haven't you seen the "Hockey Stick" projection on coaches salaries? 97% of college basketball experts agree those are the "real" numbers

There should be a "Barta Stick" projection chart for all the questionable extensions he has handed out in his fits of (over) excitement.. Only that stick isn't the type that you hit pucks with.

 

[BryceC]

Last time I checked, there are no asterisks next to NCAA tournament appearances where you were the last 4 in. Syracuse was a last 4 in this year and made it all the way to the elite eight. You make it or you don't. Granted I do understand that could be turned on it's head to say either you don't make it or you do and Iowa didn't two years ago, but with that being said I think the worst blown call I can recall @ Minnesota that year with the Ellingson TO call would've probably put them in that last 4 in category. Minnesota finished 4th in the B10 that year and it would've been tallied in the good win column.

I didn't say it didn't. But if you play the "It could have been 4" game, it's just as easy to play the "It could have been 2" game. Iowa easily could have lost to Xavier or ND early in the year which likely would have pushed them out.

 

[IHawk94]

I didn't say it didn't. But if you play the "It could have been 4" game, it's just as easy to play the "It could have been 2" game. Iowa easily could have lost to Xavier or ND early in the year which likely would have pushed them out.

I didn't disagree with that. I think we could both agree that they were closer to getting in 4 years in a row than only making it two years. Beating Minnesota was one blown call away and would've increased the RPI pretty well that year. It didn't get called though so life goes on.

 

[DDThompson]

Yes, but haven't you seen the "Hockey Stick" projection on coaches salaries? 97% of college basketball experts agree those are the "real" numbers

I see what you did there. Well done!

 

[BryceC]

I didn't disagree with that. I think we could both agree that they were closer to getting in 4 years in a row than only making it two years. Beating Minnesota was one blown call away and would've increased the RPI pretty well that year. It didn't get called though so life goes on.

ISU beat Xavier in OT. If Xavier hits one more shot Iowa loses and is out of the tourney. We can agree to disagree.

 

[Northside Hawk]

ISU beat Xavier in OT. If Xavier hits one more shot Iowa loses and is out of the tourney. We can agree to disagree.

The question is do the "if's" even out over the course of the season. If Josh Ogelsby's three at the overtime buzzer in Madison doesn't spin out in 2013 we may be in the NCAA that year. But if he doesn't hit the late three against Illinois we're even and back to square one. And you can probably name half a dozen similar examples in most other years. At the end of the day you probably are what you're record says you are, to borrow the common phrase.

 

[dwghawk]

Tell you what, I may not be totally accurate on some of my OPINIONS, but I'm still not ready to give up on Fran. I really don't care if Barta can come up with a billion dollars to hire a new BB coach. I don't care if the Wizard Of Westwood came back to life and gave Barta a call. Fran took this job knowing how difficult it was going to be to get Iowa back on track to some sort of respectability. Like I said I think he is an honorable man and he has only the best intentions for the Iowa basketball program. I don't want a coach that MAY fall to the pressure of fulfilling expectations by a crazed alumni or fan base and feel the need to bend the rules to satisfy them. It happens all the time in programs all over this country. IMO, many coaches are not immune to those temptations.

IMHO Fran is not one of those coaches. He has a proven record of integrity. If not being the Louisvilles, UNCs or the other long list of programs that have that cloud over their heads means we struggle to get in the NCAA tourney every year so be it. At least when we do we will deserve it.

JMO

 

[Northside Hawk]

Tell you what, I may not be totally accurate on some of my OPINIONS, but I'm still not ready to give up on Fran. I really don't care if Barta can come up with a billion dollars to hire a new BB coach. I don't care if the Wizard Of Westwood came back to life and gave Barta a call. Fran took this job knowing how difficult it was going to be to get Iowa back on track to some sort of respectability. Like I said I think he is an honorable man and he has only the best intentions for the Iowa basketball program. I don't want a coach that MAY fall to the pressure of fulfilling expectations by a crazed alumni or fan base and feel the need to bend the rules to satisfy them. It happens all the time in programs all over this country. IMO, many coaches are not immune to those temptations.

IMHO Fran is not one of those coaches. He has a proven record of integrity. If not being the Louisvilles, UNCs or the other long list of programs that have that cloud over their heads means we struggle to get in the NCAA tourney every year so be it. At least when we do we will deserve it.

JMO

If a coach can't handle the pressure of the fan base they had no business taking the gig in the first place. I, for one, wasn't questioning your opinions, I was pointing out factual errors.

I have long admired Fran's integrity and have pointed it out on these boards. I think he deserves one more year and I have pointed that out on these boards. I thought last year's overall effort was unacceptable and I have pointed that out on these boards. I thought the length, buyout and timing of the extension were preposterous and I have pointed that out on these boards. Especially on lieu of what other conference coaches received after having better years.

I said it would be financially within our means to replace him with a national name. I did not say I necessarily wanted him replaced-yet.

 

[dwghawk]

If a coach can't handle the pressure of the fan base they had no business taking the gig in the first place. I, for one, wasn't questioning your opinions, I was pointing out factual errors.

I have long admired Fran's integrity and have pointed it out on these boards. I think he deserves one more year and I have pointed that out on these boards. I thought last year's overall effort was unacceptable and I have pointed that out on these boards. I thought the length, buyout and timing of the extension were preposterous and I have pointed that out on these boards. Especially on lieu of what other conference coaches received after having better years.

I said it would be financially within our means to replace him with a national name. I did not say I necessarily wanted him replaced-yet.

I'm cool with that.

And my post was not directed at you entirely. It was meant to be a general statement on how I felt about Fran and how I feel he is a good coach and person. A coach I would not hesitate to send a son to play for. I would not make that statement about what are considered some of the top college BB coaches in this country.

And as far as a coach succumbing to the fan and alumni pressure. I will say there are a lot of coaches that shouldn't be and shouldn't have been in the coaching business over the years then. Especially when under the shadow of multimillion dollar contract. Look at what many fans on this board say about KF and his once big contract. Kirk of course is a high integrity guy as well. Bending the rules is not in his make up either.

More opinion!