Schwartz: Iowa Hoops Sees Slide Amid Success Story

Next year will be big for Fran. We all expected more this year but Fran has done enough in his tenure and recruiting seems ok enough that that I certainly can’t see a coaching change.

We know next year will be the same group of guys with the addition of Weiskamp. How much better can they get and how much of an impact can Joe make as a freshman.

If next year we aren’t dancing, I’ll be ready to question if Fran is the right guy.
 
I too consider Fran's tenure to be a success overall. The problem is, the program seems to be backsliding again. After losing a big senior class from two years ago, last year was supposed to be the rebuilding year, not this year. With nearly the whole team coming back from last year, minus Jok, and this year's team being decidedly worse than a year ago, is what concerns me.

Honest question: Did Fran just get kinda lucky with players like Marble (an inherited, legacy player), a fortuitous transfer from Uthoff (why did he leave a good Wisconsin program, anyway?) and did he catch lightning in a bottle with Aaron White? It's not often 2-3 star recruits become your number 2 all-time scorer in program history. Jok was a good player too, but unless there is a steady stream of hot recruits that end up flying under the radar due to injury, I don't count on us consistently landing that type of player.

Yes, those players and the results DO count. Not arguing that. Just seems Fran has had his share of luck with recruits.. But he's had his fair share of misses, too. Can he sustain the good fortune?
 
And whether the play-in game "counts" or not, 2 NCAA wins in 7, soon to be 8 years, isn't that good. That isn't exactly outperforming Alford by a whole lot.

I've always liked Fran but I'm a bottom line kind of guy. He dug the program out of the pits of hell, but things seem to have stalled out, at a point that's short of what I expect from this program.
 
ibahawkeye said:
Next year will be big for Fran. We all expected more this year but Fran has done enough in his tenure and recruiting seems ok enough that that I certainly can’t see a coaching change.

We know next year will be the same group of guys with the addition of Weiskamp. How much better can they get and how much of an impact can Joe make as a freshman.

If next year we aren’t dancing, I’ll be ready to question if Fran is the right guy.
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Not a sweet 16 or better, just an appearance. See how your expectations have been lowered?
 
NCAAs 2 years ago, NIT last year, probably no tourney this season. Believe it or not, but some people call that improvement lol.
 
I agree with column that he is a success if it means raising the casket out of the ground and bringing the program back to life. And, to be fair, that was a huge task and much praise should be given there. That is why he is being given this extended time.

But is the program now the Jeepers Creepers monster with a shelf life expiration date and it is going back to sleep for x-amount of years after having some success?

Iowa basketball sure seems to be like the Jeepers Creepers monster. A monster that uses pieces of things it feeds on to put itself together.....to try to make itself whole. The monster never looks complete. The result is the play on the court has certainly been Jeepers Creepers.

Like, Jeepers Creepers who exactly are you throwing that pass to? Jeepers Creepers, why don't you get out on the opposing team's three point shooters? Jeepers Creepers, why can't you make a free-throw at the D1 level? Jeepers Creepers, why don't you call a timeout Fran when the opposing team is going on a big run?

I think a new hole is being dug for this monster. I do think though he is going to have at least 2 years to see how big this hole is going to get, or stop the bleeding and return to success.

Jeepers Creepers Fran, find yourself a point guard or two in the off season. Your monster desperately needs to feed on that.
 
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ibahawkeye said:
Following year should definitely have sweet sixteen expectations.

JBo, Cook, Pemsl, Moss, Dailey, Wagner all Srs
Nunge, Garza, Connor juniors
Weiskamp as a soph
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So, we should only expect a decent season when we have upper classmen. Got it.
 
1977Hawkeye said:
I too consider Fran's tenure to be a success overall. The problem is, the program seems to be backsliding again. After losing a big senior class from two years ago, last year was supposed to be the rebuilding year, not this year. With nearly the whole team coming back from last year, minus Jok, and this year's team being decidedly worse than a year ago, is what concerns me.

Honest question: Did Fran just get kinda lucky with players like Marble (an inherited, legacy player), a fortuitous transfer from Uthoff (why did he leave a good Wisconsin program, anyway?) and did he catch lightning in a bottle with Aaron White? It's not often 2-3 star recruits become your number 2 all-time scorer in program history. Jok was a good player too, but unless there is a steady stream of hot recruits that end up flying under the radar due to injury, I don't count on us consistently landing that type of player.

Yes, those players and the results DO count. Not arguing that. Just seems Fran has had his share of luck with recruits.. But he's had his fair share of misses, too. Can he sustain the good fortune?
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I have also wondered if Fran got lucky with recruits early. But then I remember his recruiting is actually better now than it was then. And it looks like his future recruiting is even better than it is now. At least on paper anyway.
 
eveningnewsteam said:
Play in games don’t count? Sorry but they do and that’s 3 NCAA tournament appearances, not 2. What a stupid comment
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Another thing I noticed is he said there will only be 2 appearances in almost a decade. But the next 2 years there is a very good chance we make it. 4 times in a decade (5 if you count the play in game) is a big difference from 2 in "almost" a decade.

He also said Fran is in a different phase of his coaching tenure. Going from "rebuild", to "be good". I agree with that. That's why we should judge how he is doing in this phase based on his results since he's moved into this phase. It's unfair to use statistics from his "rebuild" phase to determine if he is doing good during his "be good" phase. That's why I hate when people say 2 times in 8 years doesn't cut it. If Fran quit tomorrow, the next coach should be fired well before he goes 2 out of 8 because he will inherit a borderline tournament team right away. Fran did not so the first 3 years or so shouldn't count against him.
 
There will be a lot of pressure on Fran going into the 18-19 season. He isn’t going to get fired after this year, imo he better figure out what he has moving forward. I keep hearing the term “ positionless basketball” tossed around quite a bit. It applies more to the NBA than it does college, but it is starting to creep into college basketball.

Fran should take that to heart and start experimenting with different lineups and playing guys at different positions. This is a lost season already you have practically a whole year to figure this out going into the 18-19 season.
 
HuckFinn said:
Where has Iowa placed in the BT for the last 5 seasons? No, I do not know the answer.
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We finished 5th in the B1G last year and didn't make the NCAAs, so I'm not sure that's a good barometer. That being said, if we don't finish 1st in the B1G, you can take it to the bank that we won't make the NCAAs this season.
 
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