So let's get this out of the way early....

If they would have beat nebraska after winning big at Indiana, they very well could have been in the top 25 in the last poll of the regular season.
I am not sure this is an argument for or against Fran and his coaching staff. Yes IF Iowa beats Neb, then Iowa is in better shape than they are in after what Iowa actually did. Iowa did not actually beat Neb, which is a big reason this thread exists.
 
If they would have beat nebraska after winning big at Indiana, they very well could have been in the top 25 in the last poll of the regular season.
Yeah maybe... It'd have been borderline. Having lost to them OSU and Wisky bottom 3rd teams of the league it's hard to know what Iowa is frankly. They can beat Indiana on the road and lose to Nebraska 5 days later at home. And Eastern IL at home. There's just a whole lot of inbetween there obviously.
 
Obvious troll could have been detected a few times during the OP -

1. he states off the bat that he thinks it's "not going to be pretty" getting beat by a former assistant who has a way more athletic team.

2. he states ""we're" nowhere near getting back to legit contention for tournament runs, B1G championships"

Getting back? To when? Even in Iowa's best years, they were not in legit contention for tournament runs and B1G championships. I wouldn't call a program that won it's last 2 conference championships in 1970 (53 years) and 1979 (44 years ago) to ever be in these waters. Can't really get back to something we've never had and the chances of this tool being old enough to remember any of this is subject.

3. He then lists this years finish as 6th, when we literally were the 5 seed last week. He then lists the highest every team could have placed dependent on ties.

For example 2 years ago we finished 3rd - he lists 4th
3 years ago we finished 5th - he lists 5th - got that one right
4 years ago we finished 6th - he lists 8th
5 years ago we finished 11th - he lists 13th - lol
6 years ago we finished 5th - he lists 6th
7 years ago we finished 3rd - he lists 7th - lol
8 years ago we finish 3rd - he sprinkled in another actual fact for good measure
 
I think Fran could really up Iowa’s chances if he focused on 2 areas. For the love of God please find us a really good point guard. After you accomplish that, find an assistant you can help this team play defense. I won’t be surprised if some player on Auburn has a career night on us and sends us home.
 
A. If Iowa beats Auburn, as we would prefer, will the call for a new coaching staff subside until next year? It's a road win in the NCAA tournament where Auburn will likely have a 2-1 fan advantage.

B. If Iowa loses to Auburn, which Sagarin and most gaming websites predict, could this finally be the last nail in the coffin? Losing to a former Iowa Asst that Iowa could have hired if we had the balls, and likely going to get outcoached by a more athletic albeit raw basketball team that is full of high level transfers and recruits. It's not going to be pretty boys.


I'm in the B camp and get tired of people using the, "we're just Iowa, we can't hire a great coach." or the "Why would D1 players want to come to Iowa to play."

Fran has done a nice job of getting the program back into contention after the alford and Lackluster years but we're no where near getting back to legit contention for tournament runs, B1G championships, etc. Defense has been an issue his entire tenure, recruiting overall has been above average, losing players to transfers has been above average with only a small group of players leaving for greener pastures, X&O execution on the court has been bad, his relationship with the refs seems to be improving and the Ts have pretty much gone away, the results just aren't there to stay the same course and expect different results.

B1G Regular Season Finish last 10 years
7th
4th
3rd
7th
6th
13th
8th
5th
4th
6th
Iowa could advance to the Championship game and lose, and people will still be calling for his head.
 
Don't forget that the times you do find a better coach, more times than not he leaves before you get any value out of him.
Mostly agree. The type of coach some are asking for, recruiting the players they ask for, will stay here four years, tops.
 
Yeah maybe... It'd have been borderline. Having lost to them OSU and Wisky bottom 3rd teams of the league it's hard to know what Iowa is frankly. They can beat Indiana on the road and lose to Nebraska 5 days later at home. And Eastern IL at home. There's just a whole lot of inbetween there obviously.
They are incredibly inconsistent but the only thing we have going for us is that 95% of college basketball, we have a 1 seed with 7 losses this season. Our opponent lost 9 of it's last 13. Indiana is 21-11 and a 4 seed. TX is an 8 loss 2 seed. There isn't even a dominate #1. College basketball in general this season has been incredibly hard to predict as I assume this tournament will be as well.
 
I didn't read the OP other than seeing this doosher wanted Fran gone, but now checking into it, @InGoodCo is correct. @hawkeye12345 , either fix your work or you get a ban. You weren't just a little off, or off when considering ties, or maybe off by one year the whole way down because you looked at it wrong and got a whole year off.

If you made an honest mistake you'd have just as many showing better finishes than actual as worse finishes.

Fix your shit or be gone. I'm not locking this thread or deleting it because I want people to be able to make fun of you for it.
 
A. If Iowa beats Auburn, as we would prefer, will the call for a new coaching staff subside until next year? It's a road win in the NCAA tournament where Auburn will likely have a 2-1 fan advantage.

B. If Iowa loses to Auburn, which Sagarin and most gaming websites predict, could this finally be the last nail in the coffin? Losing to a former Iowa Asst that Iowa could have hired if we had the balls, and likely going to get outcoached by a more athletic albeit raw basketball team that is full of high level transfers and recruits. It's not going to be pretty boys.


I'm in the B camp and get tired of people using the, "we're just Iowa, we can't hire a great coach." or the "Why would D1 players want to come to Iowa to play."

Fran has done a nice job of getting the program back into contention after the alford and Lackluster years but we're no where near getting back to legit contention for tournament runs, B1G championships, etc. Defense has been an issue his entire tenure, recruiting overall has been above average, losing players to transfers has been above average with only a small group of players leaving for greener pastures, X&O execution on the court has been bad, his relationship with the refs seems to be improving and the Ts have pretty much gone away, the results just aren't there to stay the same course and expect different results.

B1G Regular Season Finish last 10 years
7th
4th
3rd
7th
6th
13th
8th
5th
4th
6th
My stance has not changed on Fran.

I would not fire a guy who more or less has had Iowa in the middle of the Big Ten....and has Iowa going to the NCAA tournament (what 5 years and counting).

That said, I think we have seen the best Fran has to offer. I think the best case in all likelihood is that he would leave for another job. This is on the reasonable assumption that his team gets humbled yet again this week. I don't think he is leaving however. So, I will root hard for him to succeed and progress the program.

Although IF he gets a Sweet 16 this tournament...no question it will subside the fire talk or wishing (secretly) for him to go....whatever way that can be made happen.

I do think we would have people interested in the job. I don't think it would be doomsday. The Iowa program would be in better shape than when Fran inherited it.

Personally, I think getting another pressing and uptempo coach would be just fine. But, we also need a guy is committed to teaching half court defense.....and I also think a guy who can recruit a balanced roster.
 
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Anyone suggesting a coaching change without a definitively better replacement in mind is an idiot.

We've got a coach with 200 wins, better than Tom Davis, with no scandals, whose players love him, who's recruited a POY followed by POY runner up who is now lighting the NBA on fire, for less money than his peers. Yeah let's throw that in the toilet and flush it for Lickliter 2.0 because Fran hasn't made a S16. That's a marvelous idea.

Do you guys advocating this shit sit and play scratch tickets thinking your odds get better the more you play?

Jesus.
Better than Mr. Davis.....lol. At best a push and I would not even go there. When Fran makes an Elite 8 or better, then we will talk.

Again, before we say well Mr. Davis did it with George's players......someone had to coach them and those players said they could not have done it without Tom.

And, and.....Mr. Davis had Boston College in an Elite 8....so he showed he could do it at a place other than Iowa.

Fran.....best finish anywhere a 2nd round loss.

Bonus.....Mr. Davis and Keno took a dead Drake program and made it into a winner. Arguably, they started the trend to making Drake more than just a punching bag....and Devries is doing quite well there at the moment.

Both Mr. Davis and Fran have shown they can rebuild programs.
 
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They are incredibly inconsistent but the only thing we have going for us is that 95% of college basketball, we have a 1 seed with 7 losses this season. Our opponent lost 9 of it's last 13. Indiana is 21-11 and a 4 seed. TX is an 8 loss 2 seed. There isn't even a dominate #1. College basketball in general this season has been incredibly hard to predict as I assume this tournament will be as well.
These are very good points.....I only hope they bend in our favor.

If the Tournament Gods would like to throw us bone.....hey we would take it. I'm quite sure Fran would.
 
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On a side note, because I do get crap for my takes on Fran.

I don't hate Fran. I think what Fran did was admirable for taking over a program of Nuclear Winter from Alfraud and Lackluster. Arguably, Fran had the biggest rebuilding job in the modern era of IA basketball coaches. To me, that is his biggest accomplishment....those first few years building the program back into NCAA contender.

I don't think Fran is horrible at his job. We do have Big Ten rosters (however incomplete they may be at the guard/post spots), we are usually middle of the pack, we have been making it into the NCAAs, offensively we do put points up on the board.

I do think though that his glaring limitations will only take us so far.....as has happened over the 13 years. I do fear that him being stubborn and stuck in his ways keeps a ceiling on the program. The half court defense is a joke and former players even saying they hardly practice half-court defense. Duct-Tape and 3 pointers will only take you so far. You have to have balance.....be good on half-court offense, be good on half-court defense, and be good on transition offense and defense.

I agree with ingoodco above.....the tourney field is up and down. Perhaps, maybe, this year, Fran's boys can slip through with some upsets in our draw path....and we have a hot weekend shooting the ball to make up for our glaring weaknesses. I just wish we did not have to have so many things go right to make up for our horrid defense and at times very poor guard play.....and then seeing Fran fly off the handle only to only get us down more on the scoreboard with his Ts.
 
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Better than Mr. Davis.....lol. At best a push and I would not even go there. When Fran makes an Elite 8 or better, then we will talk.

Again, before we say well Mr. Davis did it with George's players......someone had to coach them and those players said they could not have done it without Tom.

And, and.....Mr. Davis had Boston College in an Elite 8....so he showed he could do it at a place other than Iowa.

Fran.....best finish anywhere a 2nd round loss.

Bonus.....Mr. Davis and Keno took a dead Drake program and made it into a winner. Arguably, they started the trend to making Drake more than just a punching bag....and Devries is doing quite well there at the moment.

Both Mr. Davis and Fran have shown they can rebuild programs.
Your cultishness for Mr Tom is hilarious. You look at one single aspect of a tournament game to measure a coach. Davis rode off Lute and Raveling’s recruits and had one better tournament year at the end of his tenure lol. Fran is a better recruiter, better by a LONG ways in the Big Ten, and a better coach. Do you dress up as Mr Tom for Halloween?
 
Your cultishness for Mr Tom is hilarious. You look at one single aspect of a tournament game to measure a coach. Davis rode off Lute and Raveling’s recruits and had one better tournament year at the end of his tenure lol. Fran is a better recruiter, better by a LONG ways in the Big Ten, and a better coach. Do you dress up as Mr Tom for Halloween?
I forgot to add.....Mr. Davis had some bad luck as well:

-Minnesota Cheating Scandal.....Iowa should have been the regular season Big Ten Champions that Year.

-Chris Street's death. That team could have been an Elite 8/Final Four team....they gave Duke everything and more at their place early that year.

-Ray Thompson being declared academically ineligible by the stupid College President at the time. Right before the NCAAs.


I would also argue the Big Ten was more loaded in Tom's day compared to now. Tough Indiana, Purdue, Michigan St, Michigan, and Illinois teams.


I just don't think you can start putting Fran above Mr. Davis until he has a significant run (Elite 8 or better) in the NCAAs. Heck, he does not even have a Sweet 16 to his name anywhere. These are the metrics in college basketball you build your program for and what separates you from great, good, fair, and poor.

Hopefully this is the year it changes.
 
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Okay guys. I like Fran and respect people for defending him. I am glad he came to Iowa and also respect some of the things he had accomplished.

But he has been at Iowa for 13 years. It has a been 23 years since Iowa has reached a sweet 16. One of the longest streaks among Power 5 conference teams. If you take a look at rankings from polls and average out who are the best schools all-time, you have Iowa at 27. You would think the 27th All-time college basketball team could make it to the sweet 16 once in 25 years.

I would give him one more season before finding any exit plan. Not because Fran isn't performing well, but because sometimes its time for a change. If you are not coming close to reaching a milestone that has been missed for two decades, then all the other accomplishments matter much less.

Being an outstanding regular season team makes most the season exciting but often ends with disappointment. You shouldn't have a forever job coaching college basketball at a P5 college without coming up with noteworthy wins in the NCAA tournament. Hopefully Fran figures out what it takes to make this happen at Iowa, but he should make the decision himself to move on if he can't get that done in a couple years.



 
A. If Iowa beats Auburn, as we would prefer, will the call for a new coaching staff subside until next year? It's a road win in the NCAA tournament where Auburn will likely have a 2-1 fan advantage.

B. If Iowa loses to Auburn, which Sagarin and most gaming websites predict, could this finally be the last nail in the coffin? Losing to a former Iowa Asst that Iowa could have hired if we had the balls, and likely going to get outcoached by a more athletic albeit raw basketball team that is full of high level transfers and recruits. It's not going to be pretty boys.


I'm in the B camp and get tired of people using the, "we're just Iowa, we can't hire a great coach." or the "Why would D1 players want to come to Iowa to play."

Fran has done a nice job of getting the program back into contention after the alford and Lackluster years but we're no where near getting back to legit contention for tournament runs, B1G championships, etc. Defense has been an issue his entire tenure, recruiting overall has been above average, losing players to transfers has been above average with only a small group of players leaving for greener pastures, X&O execution on the court has been bad, his relationship with the refs seems to be improving and the Ts have pretty much gone away, the results just aren't there to stay the same course and expect different results.

B1G Regular Season Finish last 10 years
7th
4th
3rd
7th
6th
13th
8th
5th
4th
6th
Fran Out? Really? Ha Ha Ha!
 
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