New Coach

[Addisonwrigley]

Iowa positively has to get a coach that can recruit Chicago and perhaps Milwaukee. Chicago and is the hotbead of talent for the Midwest anyone who can't get a foothold there won't make it. Chicago is only 3 hours from IC and is a natural fit for kids who want to get out of the city for a few years. I have a friend in Schaumburg which is a western suburb who told me alot of regular kids want to go to the Iowa even at out of state tuitiion fees including his daughter. Kids will come here if the believe in the coach. I think a mid major coach is a stretch, I love both UNI and Iowa and want to see them succeed but they are different worlds. Any mid major can get up for a game and sneak up and beat you, but in the big ten you to have the talent to win with the MSU,s, Purdue ,Wisconsin plus the Dukes, Kentucky's and Kansas of the world. The key is talent, big quick athletic talent. Basketball players can be developed to a point but lets face it guys that have it seem to have it young. Guys like Carmelo Anthony who took Syracuse to a title as a freshman, Derek Rose one year in college and plays like an allstar for Chicago, look at John Wall, one year and Kentucky is a top seed, the guy is gone after this year and Kentucky will still be good. North Carolina is down this year, any bets they aren't next year, NC can reload in one year talent wins games, coaching wins championships.

Barta has to go big this time, if you want to be a player go for the gold, go get a proven guy and pay. Carver used to fill up and it will again. I remember when the Iowa Hawkeye Television was the fourth largest sports network in the country years ago and Iowa had a tremendous following. It can be done, good luck Mr. Barta, better hit it out of the park.

 

[Cyclones17]

Yep. Recruiting in Chicago will improve a lot with Lick gone. When he pretty much gave Tony Freeman the boot there weren't a lot of guys in Chicago that were going to send their players to Iowa

 

[HeneryHawk]

There are many places to go to get talent(and with Chicago, you have to hope they have the grades to make it), and many say that the Thomas incident is still fresh, so it may be more of a long term process to get in. Now, the suburbs, thats a whole different story and a good place to get talent too.

 

[JHHawk]

Player of the Year- National- Evan Turner- Chicago
Player of the year- Big Ten- Evan Tuner- Chicago
All conference -Big Ten- McCamey- Chicago
Player of the Year- Pac Ten- Jerome Randle- Chicago
Player of the Year- ACC- Jon Scheyer- Chicago
Player of the Year- Big 12- Sherron Collins- Chicago

The new coach has got to recruit the Chicagoland region well...there is two great classes on the horizon 2011 and 2012.

 

[SpecialKHawk]

Agree with the premise but I also think we have had some retention issues and/or off the court problems with several of our Chicago-Land recruits in the past. I think we developed a black eye with many of the coaches, deserved or undeserved, in that area some time ago and that pipleline basically was shut down.

 

[HeneryHawk]

There is a difference between Chicago and the suburbs, so if you wish to reclassify it as CHICAGOLAND, then do so, it makes it much larger of an area to fish.