rodg12
Well-Known Member
The coaches themselves tell you who they've actually offered and who they haven't? Impressive contacts you have...
Nice Job Fran and Co.
- Thread starter SirJamaLot
- Start date
The coaches themselves tell you who they've actually offered and who they haven't? Impressive contacts you have...
newtonavenue
Well-Known Member
You aren't very intelligent are you?
storminspank
Justin VanLaere
It's about going after the recruits that fit and that you have a chance to get. One of Alford's biggest issues on the recruiting trails was going after 4 and 5 star kids and finishing 2nd or 3rd then having to snag a 2 star or project recruit. If the players Fran targets, he gets, that's great. This is his first true recruiting job - so far a 4 star, an underrated 3 star, and then a guy that's a big sleeper by several scouts' accounts. I'm ok with those. I'd rather get 3 and 4 stars guys than striking out on 4 and 5s continually. Still would be nice to grab a 5 star every once and awhile.
sportstalent
Well-Known Member
This I agree with wholeheartedly. It is nice to be in the mix and give a good effort for those top kids, but Fran is targeting players that he feels will fit and blend as he sees it. Now that there are three targets signed, Fran and staff can focus on a couple of big fish, if they strikeout there are still three quality players coming in. The other thing, the 2013 class can now be getting a ton of attention too, instead of scrambling, Iowa has a class committed.
All of us would like to see a bunch of 4/5* kids be signed, but reality is, it is not going to happen on a regular basis, at least not now. So the staff is targeting kids that all have something in common. Every kid Fran has brought in seems to feel like they have something to prove. Look at every quote from Aaron White, Gabe Olaseni and who hasn't doubted Oglesby, who is a top 150 recruit?
On to the 2012 class, to date, Gesell has not been the primary ball handler and did not want to be recruited as a SG, Meyer who has done nothing but shock people during the AAU season...some of the quotes by people about him just make me smile and now Ingram who has a lot of good attributes, but has been overshadowed by teammates and is looking forward to showing people what he can do.
One thing I do not agree with is to say Iowa's class is not a Top 25 class even if they get Woodbury...there have been similar classes with three kids two 4* and one 3* and have been ranked, so it isn't out of the question. In the end though, the accolades that come with the rankings of the classes is nice, but the results on the floor are more important. The staff can develop kids, they proved it last year with the improvement from game one to the end of the season, completely different team. If the class is not ranked with Woodbury, then so be it and it will still be the best class they have had in years, but the difference will be this class will be priority kids from the staff instead of handing out scholarships because of defections.
Again, I completely agree with everything you said there. I was just referring to the start of the thread where guys were acting like the recruiting rankings don't matter. History has shown us that they are pretty important.
Dude, every player in America will say in an interview that they have something to prove. This is not a phenomena that started with under recruited Iowa players. Every single mid major program is filled with quotes like these. Hell, even the top 15 guy will say he has something to prove to be in the top 10.
If Woodbury commits to IA it will be tough to keep the class out of the top 25.
sportstalent
Well-Known Member
Um, no...there are not a lot of kids that will say they have things to prove and actually mean it. If you said that 15 years ago, I would agree, kids are different and there is a sense of entitlement for a lot of them today. I coach and have a decent relationship with a few college coaches and they are seeing the same things. The advantage the college coaches have is they just don't deal with kids like that, don't want them on their roster. Kids today don't appreciate what they used to, it stinks, but times change. I don't think you will ever see a kid like Shabazz Muhammad say he has something to prove without a smirk or smile on his face, humilty is lost in many of the top recruits and ones that feel they should be.
How do you know Frans recruits "mean it"?
sportstalent
Well-Known Member
You will see when they are all in Iowa uniforms. It is about effort, attitude and demeanor, it will be apparent from game one.
lol. Translation:" I suffer from acute homerism"
BuiltLikeWilt
Well-Known Member
WHO CARES, if we're not ranked top 25? So say top 50? Fran is bringing guys in (selling them on) playing time, style of play, and being in the B1G, And doing a great job!! He's selling his style/history/coaches and grabbing nice players that want to be a part of the a totally new Iowa program(with not alot to sell) Got a great start on a first real good class , filling needs & adding depth. Feels like a plan doesnt it? We get Woody or another big , a juco point and/ or SF we'll have a great class.
PalmettoHawkFan
Well-Known Member
I agree with sportstalent about the ethos that Fran seems to be bringing in. Hard-nosed kids who will work diligently and get after it.
I drove down to see Gesell in Augusta, and I've seen Meyer all of twice. Both of them work on the court. They strike me as the kind of kids who will get everything out of their talent during their college career. Half of the picture is the ability of the staff to teach, and the other half is the kid's willingness to work. He looks like he's bringing in kids who have the second part figured out.
As for Meyer, there's a lot to like. He is low in rankings because he's still filling out and was a doofy-looking skinny kid for three years. He looks like he might be able to put on enough to be a lean 235 by his senior year at Iowa. He showed good instincts around the basket, boxed out, and he has a couple of reliable post moves. It's not flashy but it's effective. Basically, solid old-school power forward game in a skinny kid body. I think he's not top 150 yet because kids are ahead of him physically. The ESPN writeup says he's effective facing up, but the two times I saw him he posted up a lot. Maybe that's a sign he's been working on that....
He is going to fit in the Street-Bowen-Brunner line of hustling, dirty-work 4s. We will like this kid.
I drove down to see Gesell in Augusta, and I've seen Meyer all of twice. Both of them work on the court. They strike me as the kind of kids who will get everything out of their talent during their college career. Half of the picture is the ability of the staff to teach, and the other half is the kid's willingness to work. He looks like he's bringing in kids who have the second part figured out.
As for Meyer, there's a lot to like. He is low in rankings because he's still filling out and was a doofy-looking skinny kid for three years. He looks like he might be able to put on enough to be a lean 235 by his senior year at Iowa. He showed good instincts around the basket, boxed out, and he has a couple of reliable post moves. It's not flashy but it's effective. Basically, solid old-school power forward game in a skinny kid body. I think he's not top 150 yet because kids are ahead of him physically. The ESPN writeup says he's effective facing up, but the two times I saw him he posted up a lot. Maybe that's a sign he's been working on that....
He is going to fit in the Street-Bowen-Brunner line of hustling, dirty-work 4s. We will like this kid.
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Again, how do you know the Iowa players aren't just saying it? Based on a lot of the recruiting articles from this summer they rave about the 13 class being the next great class. Why are the players so great? Because they bust their *** and play every game like it is their last. Please spare me the generational bs. Every generation thinks the same thing.
PalmettoHawkFan
Well-Known Member
True. Nostalgia ain't what it used to be, right?
It's not generational or regional. It's personal character -- how far are you willing to go before you quit?
It will be fun to see the current freshmen get tested this year. They might begin to give us a picture of what kind of character Fran brings in. Hopefully they'll earn their BMF wallets.
sportstalent
Well-Known Member
Again, you will see when these kids get to campus and on the floor. I guess the best way to describe it is this, every Iowa player is "flawed" according to some, otherwise they would be getting 4* kids.
The way I look at the rankings and the way kids talk the talk and there have been Iowa players in the same situation, but they fail. Why is that? Take a look at what they said coming in about working hard and wanting to prove something, but fail. Look at the top 100 lists every year and see how many top 25 recruits are supposed to be so humble, but end up being a coaches nightmare. You are right about why kids become great, they bust their butts, but not all kids do, but say they have something to prove. The kids Iowa is brining in don't have to world by the tail because of thier "flaws." That said, look at the sense of purpose these freshman will be playing with. The kids Iowa is brining in have a chip on their shoulder with something to prove, the newcomers last season played like that, so I would expect nothing different than that from every group. Are there going to be kids that won't push themselves, yeah it does come down to the individual. The sample size is small to date, but if the three incoming freshman play with the urgency and purpose that the four newcomers from last year did, then Iowa will improve yet again.
The other thing, is watch all the players on the court, watch their mannerisms, don't just watch the ball and you will be amazed at how player act and react in situations. Maybe you do, I don't know that, one thing I find myself doing is watching off the ball so much more than anything, it is just what I do from coaching and have to see everything from my team and the other team.
If you think the generational difference isn't real, then you aren't paying attention. Every generation does not think the same, kids are protected by thier parents from any negativity and it shows in work ethics in kids today. There are kids that work hard, but the average kids don't work as hard anymore. There are situations out there, too many, in fact that discourage the average kid that could develop. Coaches have to be perfect because the kids they coach are...yeah right, the culture is so different when every 5'2" kids' parent think they are a Division I player. It is different, it is amazing to think that coaches continue to put themselves through it. Find one coach that has been around for 15 years, or more that will say kids have stayed the same. There are situations and settings it hasn't, your private schools, otherwise the athletes wouldn't be there, they pay to go there, so it is a little different.
Great athletes and players would be great in any generation, that is a no-brainer, but a lot of others would never make it in past generations. Look at the overall depth in basketball pro and college today, there are not as many great players as there used to be.
BigD
Well-Known Member
All I want is an Iowa basketball team that has a good chance of winning on their home court against anyone and a good chance to win half of their away games. Can Fran do it? I am optimistic that he can but then again I had the same feelings when Steve was first hired. Never once felt good about the Butler way. So it maybe nothing more on my part then wishful thinking. I've watched college basketball for over forty years and I ain't no e pert by anyones stretch of imagination. I will say this though, Fran's style of basketball and the kids he is bringing in hasn't had this type of feel to in all the years I've been following Iowa basketball. We shall see how it all works out. We will know by the end of Basabe's senior year where this ride is taking us. I have a good feeling about it and wish I didn't live 1000 miles away or else I would have season tickets already. Me thinks that a time will come soon when you won't be able to get them very easily.
storminspank
Justin VanLaere
rodg12
Well-Known Member
I am extremely intelligent.
OK, well I think Darius Stokes will be the number one pick in the NBA draft next year. We are both just making claims now with nothing to back them up.
SirJamaLot
Well-Known Member
I think everyone can agree that Hawkeye Basketball hit rock bottom under Lick. My original post was to congratulate Fran and staff for getting the program headed in the right direction. Did he sign any 5 star players like Barnes or Paige? No, but I'm still excited about the direction this program is going, if he can sign Woodbury then this will be the best class since Brunner and Horner. I would love to see Fran sign some 5 star BB players but until he gets the Hawks back in the Dance and contending for Big Ten titles I'm thrilled to see him bring in Gessel, Meyer, Ingram and maybe Woodbury.
