Limited Expectations = Less Pain

L

longtimer

Well-Known Member
I think most of us expected 9+ wins in Football with so many returning and a favorable schedule. That is what really makes it painful to watch such a debacle. Hey Iowa State is 1-8 and still having fun. Basketball on the other hand looks to be NITish at best. I really think with this youth and limited talent we are going to find it tough to score enough to beat good teams. I do think it at least will be an interesting year. Can McCaffrey develop this team? Will there be surprise breakout players? But really less pressure this year for McCaffrey to make the tournament. Next year it will be back.
Does make it kind of a long year when the football team takes a dive and Basketball is mediocre. Wonder how the golf team will be in Spring?
 
It's acceptable to have pretty decent expectations for any sport. Listen, I'm an ISU fan, and have been a season ticket holder for basketball and football for ~15 years. I'm used to no expectations. The only thing that is unacceptable is people's responses to their expectations being unmet. There is nothing wrong with looking at this Iowa basketball team, seeing the youth, but being excited about the potential and talent, and thinking they could win 20 games. It's only problem if they lose a game due to that youth, and go absolutely ballistic.
 
BryceC said:
It's acceptable to have pretty decent expectations for any sport. Listen, I'm an ISU fan, and have been a season ticket holder for basketball and football for ~15 years. I'm used to no expectations. The only thing that is unacceptable is people's responses to their expectations being unmet. There is nothing wrong with looking at this Iowa basketball team, seeing the youth, but being excited about the potential and talent, and thinking they could win 20 games. It's only problem if they lose a game due to that youth, and go absolutely ballistic.
Click to expand...
The Iowa basketball program has exceeded expectations so far under McCaffery. I use to have expectations for the football team, but I have no expectations for them anymore and there is njo
Joshbrown said:
Cyclone advice

The joke writes itself
Click to expand...
Having limited expectations is what Iowa football is for. Fran has exceeded expectations for the basketball program so its alright.
 
longtimer said:
I think most of us expected 9+ wins in Football with so many returning and a favorable schedule. That is what really makes it painful to watch such a debacle. Hey Iowa State is 1-8 and still having fun. Basketball on the other hand looks to be NITish at best. I really think with this youth and limited talent we are going to find it tough to score enough to beat good teams. I do think it at least will be an interesting year. Can McCaffrey develop this team? Will there be surprise breakout players? But really less pressure this year for McCaffrey to make the tournament. Next year it will be back.
Does make it kind of a long year when the football team takes a dive and Basketball is mediocre. Wonder how the golf team will be in Spring?
Click to expand...


Limited talent? Mediocre?? Fran has not had that for a team in over 4 years. A gigantic dropoff, as you state with an untalented mediocre team, we will not have. Not sure where that is coming from.

This team has talent. A great deal of it. More than any Iowa team in over a decade. Experience will be an issue. But we won't be mediocre by any means.

I will agree with the thread title tho.
 
I love that Fran got us to 3 straight NCAA tournaments, but am I the only one who feels like we have a couple opportunities missed over these last 3 years? They showed flashes, but I really feel like the last 3 years could/should have had a couple #3-5 seeds and had a much better/easier shot at getting to the 2nd weekend. Putrid finishes down the stretch in 2 of the last 3 years: 2-6 to finish the B1G season last year, and 1-6 to finish the B1G season 2 years before that. Such big missed opportunities really.

Hopefully with a new crop of players this pattern changes. They should be fun to watch, getting up and down the floor, and they are so young that I totally expect a lot of sloppy ball/mistakes. If Fran can avoid the late season collapses, I fully expect more of a NIT season with a possibility of making the NCAA (I'm not one who totally writes that possibility off).
 
hawkjunkie said:
Limited talent? Mediocre?? Fran has not had that for a team in over 4 years. A gigantic dropoff, as you state with an untalented mediocre team, we will not have. Not sure where that is coming from.

This team has talent. A great deal of it. More than any Iowa team in over a decade. Experience will be an issue. But we won't be mediocre by any means.

I will agree with the thread title tho.
Click to expand...

How can you say this team has more talent than any Iowa team in over a decade?
 
deanvogs said:
I love that Fran got us to 3 straight NCAA tournaments, but am I the only one who feels like we have a couple opportunities missed over these last 3 years? They showed flashes, but I really feel like the last 3 years could/should have had a couple #3-5 seeds and had a much better/easier shot at getting to the 2nd weekend. Putrid finishes down the stretch in 2 of the last 3 years: 2-6 to finish the B1G season last year, and 1-6 to finish the B1G season 2 years before that. Such big missed opportunities really.

Hopefully with a new crop of players this pattern changes. They should be fun to watch, getting up and down the floor, and they are so young that I totally expect a lot of sloppy ball/mistakes. If Fran can avoid the late season collapses, I fully expect more of a NIT season with a possibility of making the NCAA (I'm not one who totally writes that possibility off).
Click to expand...

I think with the talent we've had in the last couple of years we should have at least made the Sweet 16.
 
SteveGarvey1 said:
It has more athleticism than any other team in recent memory. Talent and athleticism aren't necessarily the same thing. But when they mesh you can have a pretty special team.
Click to expand...

I don't know. I would definitely say last years team was more talented. Plus I'm excited about the 2017 class and none of them are athletic guys
 
This is easily Fran's most athletic team, I see a lot of raw talent right now. Hopefully the bench is ready to chip in meaningful minutes when B1G season kicks off.
 
deanvogs said:
I love that Fran got us to 3 straight NCAA tournaments, but am I the only one who feels like we have a couple opportunities missed over these last 3 years? They showed flashes, but I really feel like the last 3 years could/should have had a couple #3-5 seeds and had a much better/easier shot at getting to the 2nd weekend. Putrid finishes down the stretch in 2 of the last 3 years: 2-6 to finish the B1G season last year, and 1-6 to finish the B1G season 2 years before that. Such big missed opportunities really.

Hopefully with a new crop of players this pattern changes. They should be fun to watch, getting up and down the floor, and they are so young that I totally expect a lot of sloppy ball/mistakes. If Fran can avoid the late season collapses, I fully expect more of a NIT season with a possibility of making the NCAA (I'm not one who totally writes that possibility off).
Click to expand...
We absolutely could have achieved more. 6-7 game losing streaks after playing well for a long time are hard to explain. Let's hope the players continue to push themselves through the entire season.
 
hawkjunkie said:
Limited talent? Mediocre?? Fran has not had that for a team in over 4 years. A gigantic dropoff, as you state with an untalented mediocre team, we will not have. Not sure where that is coming from.

This team has talent. A great deal of it. More than any Iowa team in over a decade. Experience will be an issue. But we won't be mediocre by any means.

I will agree with the thread title tho.
Click to expand...
I agree this team has talent, but more than 2006?
 
MiniMoeHawk said:
there is no way they were beating Nova...At least Baer went after them and gained some confidence for this year.
Click to expand...

That's probably true but Iowa shouldn't have been in that position to play Villanova in the 2nd round in the first place. But that's what happens when you lose 6 of 8 down the stretch. IIRC Iowa was looking at a 2 seed before they crapped all over the place.
 
MiniMoeHawk said:
there is no way they were beating Nova...At least Baer went after them and gained some confidence for this year.
Click to expand...

There was no way they were beating Nova on that particular night. Basketball is funny that way. You can get destroyed by a team one day and destroy that same team on a different day.
 
Kind of curious and excited at the same time watching these kids tonight.... should be a great game, a great challenge.....the thread title is appropriate . ....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Share this page

Top