Looking back on Fran's year end quote

1111Hawk

1111Hawk

Active Member
“So ultimately we need to have a team consisting of really good players, all of whom contribute and put winning above all else,â€￾ McCaffery said. “If someone doesn’t figure that into the equation, I don’t want them around anyway.â€￾

I remember reading this at the time and thinking he was referring to someone specifically.
I thinks its fair to assume that the staff has known about this for quite awhile and they were not interested in keeping Cully around or anyone who does not buy into their system for that matter.
 
Additionally, there was a reason Iowa was pursuing so many PGs here in the spring. While I didn't expect a transfer from Cully this year, it does make sense looking in retrospect. We knew Iowa needed another PG in the event that Cully had any nagging injuries, but now it's clear why Iowa was going so hard at PGs in the spring period. Again, it's nice there are so many quality PGs this late in the game, that's usually unheard of.
 
There was more than this one quote. He also said, when asked if Bryce and Cully could play together, something along the lines of, "Bryce has secured the PG spot." What wasn't added was that Cully has shown the ability to be a scorer.
 
I wish Payne the best, but IMO, he would rather get lots of PT on a bad team, than share time on a good team. First DePaul, then Alabama, now Iowa. Granted, all three were different situaitons, but there is a pattern. If Payne thinks he is going to find a school that will guarantee him PT without any competition, he better go to Coe.

Maybe there is more to this than just playing time, but it doesn't look that way right now. Payne is truly a guy you can find every year without much effort, so I am not crying in my beer over his departure.
 
Funny, I said the same thing in a different post earlier this morning w/o having read this. I agree completely. When Fran said that publicly I immediately thought, "Wow, that was thrown out there for a reason." Fran actually shares some "insider" thoughts with us, he obviously doesn't name names, but he definitely lets people know where they stand. Go Hawks!
 
storminspank said:
Additionally, there was a reason Iowa was pursuing so many PGs here in the spring. While I didn't expect a transfer from Cully this year, it does make sense looking in retrospect. We knew Iowa needed another PG in the event that Cully had any nagging injuries, but now it's clear why Iowa was going so hard at PGs in the spring period. Again, it's nice there are so many quality PGs this late in the game, that's usually unheard of.
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But was it that Iowa was going after so many PGs because they thought Payne was going to transfer?

Or was it Payne decided to transfer because Iowa was going after so many point guards? (Meaning Payne realized he would be third in the pecking order if Iowa landed Cezar or Carter.)

I'd argue the latter.
 
SwirlinLingerie said:
But was it that Iowa was going after so many PGs because they thought Payne was going to transfer?

Or was it Payne decided to transfer because Iowa was going after so many point guards? (Meaning Payne realized he would be third in the pecking order if Iowa landed Cezar or Carter.)

I'd argue the latter.
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IF this really was the case, then I'm happy he left. We're the second-to-worst team in the Big Ten. We need to at least try to recruit better players. If Cully is afraid to compete and try to earn his playing time, especially when he helped lead us to the worst record in school history, then we are much, much better off without him.

I felt he did some good things, and I know he was just a freshman. But let's keep some perspective-- we were bad because we had bad players, and Cully was one of those guys. Either commit to improving and try to earn back your minutes, or accept a reduced role on what will hopefully be a much better team.
 
SwirlinLingerie said:
But was it that Iowa was going after so many PGs because they thought Payne was going to transfer?

Or was it Payne decided to transfer because Iowa was going after so many point guards? (Meaning Payne realized he would be third in the pecking order if Iowa landed Cezar or Carter.)

I'd argue the latter.
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I have no idea. I have zero inside information on what went down with Cully's departure. I tend to think the former. Iowa knew Cully was going to leave, so they ramped up recruitment of PGs.
 
hawkIhoops said:
I wish Payne the best, but IMO, he would rather get lots of PT on a bad team, than share time on a good team. First DePaul, then Alabama, now Iowa. Granted, all three were different situaitons, but there is a pattern. If Payne thinks he is going to find a school that will guarantee him PT without any competition, he better go to Coe.

Maybe there is more to this than just playing time, but it doesn't look that way right now. Payne is truly a guy you can find every year without much effort, so I am not crying in my beer over his departure.
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I agree 100%. It seems Cully feels entitled to something when he really should be working his *** of to earn minutes and help his team that stood by him when he was injured.

Mr. Cole didn't have things come easy to him in his time at Iowa but he stayed, battled, worked and earned everything he got. Cully was going to get minutes next year at PG or SG no matter what but if he doesn't want to be a Hawkeye, good bye!
 
Huh? What are you referring to?

CAARHawk said:
There was more than this one quote. He also said, when asked if Bryce and Cully could play together, something along the lines of, "Bryce has secured the PG spot." What wasn't added was that Cully has shown the ability to be a scorer.
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When did Payne ever prove his ability as a scorer at this level? I wish he was staying around, but let's not make him out to be something he never was.
Cartwright is a better player, period. Scorer, distributor, defender.

Won't use Payne's stats this year as he was hurt, but as a freshman, Payne:
33.4 minutes per game
8.7 ppg
36% field goals
32% 3-point percentage
64% free throws
3.8 assists, 3.2 turnovers per game
0.5 steals per game

Cartwright in 2010-11
31 minutes per game
10.9 points per game
39% field goals
27.5% 3-point percentage
70% free throws
6.0 assists, 3.3 turnovers per game
1.0 steals per game

Again, many thanks to Cully for his service in a dismal 2009-10 and wish he was staying, but there's a reason Fran said Cartwright is his PG. Because Bryce proved it on the floor that he was a superior player, and it really isn't close.
 
RE: scorer.... Cully only had one game where he went over 20 pts and that was in Lickliter's last game as coach when Cully was try to will the team to win. He was and still is a steadfast supporter of Todd - that game is the only game I can remember Cully being a "scorer".
 
IIRC Cully was Tweeting before, during & after the B1G Championships about going on Spring Break (Ft. Myers) and spending time in Vegas. I know the kid was injured but i thought, at the time, that it was peculiar that his mind (tweets) was on his vaca and NOT on Iowa hoops & the B1G Tourney. I would have at least expected a "good luck to JCole and the rest of my TEAMMATES"...or even been traveling with the team. Right? (Maybe he did travel w/ them...IDK.)

Safe to say that he knew he was departing the U of I more than a month ago....and this was evidence of his future departure?
 
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Spank and Olive, I have no idea either, but I tend to think Fran evaluated Cully as likely not being good enough to be his starter at PG for the two seasons after Cartwright is done. When you look at the players Fran is going after, and considering it is the most important position in college basketball (especially if you want to run), I can't see Fran envisioning Cully as his starter.

I'm not suggesting Fran ran him off. I think he was open to keeping him and allowing him to compete for minutes. At the same time, many of the players have commented on Fran's communication style - very much a brutally honest, upfront guy.

I tend to think Fran and the staff let Cully know (before the public comments), that Cartwright was better and that Cully would have a rather large gap to overcome to take over the starting spot.

It wouldn't have surprised me, either, if Cully had concerns about Fran recruiting PGs, and Fran being honest about their need for better players at all positions, including PG, and that Cully would need to compete for minutes.

I'm guessing that didn't sit well. Like you said, Olive, if that hurts Cully's ego than Iowa is better off without him.
 
For some reason, now that you made that point, I can't really envision Payne playing that particular style. Then when one adds in the productivity compared to Cartwright, well, I think Cully saw the light & decided to move on.

He likes Licklighter & he obviously prefers that half-court Butler style of play over running, I think. I wouldn't be surprised to see him try to get on at Bulter as a matter of fact.
 
I would not be surprised if Archie is in the same boat. Cully was a stretch at this level, IMO, and so is Archie.
 
gohwks13 said:
I would not be surprised if Archie is in the same boat. Cully was a stretch at this level, IMO, and so is Archie.
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All along I haven't imagined Archie back. However, this might be his saving grace. It will be hard enough for Fran to fill 3 slots with quality players in Spring. A forth is an even greater stretch. Could see Fran hanging onto Archie for practice fodder.

However, if the ball started really rolling down hill with recruiting...
 
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