Still want to fire Fran?

[InGoodCo]

Tim Miles and Greg McDermott get T'd and tossed out of games - 2 of the biggest softies you'll ever see in College Basketball. I get the the feeling very few peeps watch any other teams in college hoops.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

When I see posts like this I have to wonder if you even watch college ball other than the Hawkeyes. Fran is far from the worst at this, even in the B1G.

I am not disagreeing with you but Justin curious why you think your statement is true? He sure has B1G problems in the conference tournament.

I give him three more years to prove he can play and develope this program into a true conference competitor and battle for a outright title.
I will give him a pass next season because Joc will be gone and that will leave a big hole. We could be great next year but we will still be young. The year after that our current freshmen will be juniors and the class coming in will be sophomores. At that point no one can play the youth card. That's year two and he will be on the hot seat by the end of that year IF things aren't going well.

The season after that one will be his last season at Iowa if he falls flat with a senior and junior laden team. Do I expect that to happen? No. I think he has some momentum going now with the type of players he is getting and I expect him to finally make a break through and land that point guard everyone has been waiting for.

Sorry for the typos. I have the worst time with the auto correct on this forum. It's like my IPhone 6 and this site are at war with each other. Just now I have to re-type the last three sentences three times.

Jok is a great player, but I don't think it isn't anything this young team can't overcome. Ellingson and Bohannon are coming into their own and hitting 3's within the flow of the offense. Fran has a lot of guys he can play that can produce enough points for a win. It's the D that has to get more consistent against good teams.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

He needs to be fired. He has no self control. You can coach kids hard in practice, but he is down right ugly in games. Would never let my kid play for him. He doesn't know how to work the officials. You can get after then without being an a$$. Also, refusing to shake hands? What is that? No, I don't want Lick or Alford back.

I like his personality and temperament. Shows passion. People are right, this fan base is schizophrenic. When Lickliter was here, people complained he was too quiet and never showed emotion, never worked the refs. Now we have a coach that is very passionate and people complain it's too much. I'll take the latter, thank you.

 

[HawkGold]

This is rediculous. There isn't a coach in college basketball that can't coach 1/2 court. No scdowl would even hire that. The past two games proves he can. You don't get 80% of your made shots from assists without playing a solid 1/2 court game. Seriously think how stupid your statement is.

Watch games. Iowa is terrible at it. Its when they get out and run that they look like world beaters. You cant hsve a point guard that cant break down a d and be a threat to score at the rim. Its been iowas weakness on o for years.

As dean said a motion o can make thatl less important but you need multiple studs who can shoot and breakdiwn a D. Moss Jok and Cook are the only ones possibly capable and only 1 can right now.

Think about the way last year ended with Jok and J U onthe the court together. They had a very serviceable 7 footer to boot. He cant coach a good half court. I encourage you to listen to opponents radio broadcasts..

 

[eledmonster]

Are we going dancing this year?

No?

Then the answer must be yes!

Why the haterade? There is a lot to like about this team. We aren't Puke (uh Duke). We don't get all blue chip recruiting classes. This falls into expected performance considering the youth of the team. If there is no improvement next year, then there should be a little concern. If they are still looking at the NIT in two years, then it's time to panic. But now? Sit back, relax and enjoy, things are going to get better and soon.

 

[GotTimDodge]

Who said we're back? I haven't seen any of that. What I have seen is people watching a very young team learn to play together. Do you really think the games with bad D is what Fran expects? Of course not, again, YOUNG team trying to learn how to play at this level and with each other. The D has looked excellent at times. The game doesn't slow down for everyone at the same time.

Defense is clearly not a priority for Fran. That's not an opinion. It's an observation.
And unfortunately for Fran, Defense Wins Championships.
If the D has looked excellent at times I still say it's because of a poor offense who can't move the ball around well and/or shoot from the perimeter.

Yes, they are young kids learning to play together. 4 freshman is remarkable. But defense isn't a youth thing.
Who knows, maybe the older they get they'll get a stronger desire to play tough D. Or maybe Fran will change his philosophy based on his talent in the future. Who knows?

But I'm just not terribly confident.

 

[InGoodCo]

Defense is clearly not a priority for Fran. That's not an opinion. It's an observation.
And unfortunately for Fran, Defense Wins Championships.
If the D has looked excellent at times I still say it's because of a poor offense who can't move the ball around well and/or shoot from the perimeter.

Yes, they are young kids learning to play together. 4 freshman is remarkable. But defense isn't a youth thing.
Who knows, maybe the older they get they'll get a stronger desire to play tough D. Or maybe Fran will change his philosophy based on his talent in the future. Who knows?

But I'm just not terribly confident.

Not sure if you know what opinion means? Defense can certainly be contributed to youth. If defense isn't a priority for Fran, then how come Iowa has been in the top 30 in the nation in defensive efficiency in 3 out of the last 4 seasons prior to this year? What changed this season? Philosophy? Or roster turnover?

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Watch games. Iowa is terrible at it. Its when they get out and run that they look like world beaters. I bet you Iowa has less transition points than the past few years. They are getting more points out of the 1/2 than any other year. You cant hsve a point guard that cant break down a d and be a threat to score at the rim. Its been iowas weakness on o for years. Yes you can. John Stockton was a great manager of the offense. There have been many that just manage the offense. If the offense passes the ball around to create a mismatch or get a cut. The point guard's main job is to, first take care of the ball with no turnovers then get assists. If they do those two things consistently, it will translate to points from someone. If get 10 pts out of a PG scoring, well that's a bonus, IMO. If you have a PG that can get to the rim when needed that's a bonus but not a MUST.

As dean said a motion o can make thatl less important but you need multiple studs who can shoot and breakdiwn a D. Yes. At least 3 on the floor at the same time for the offense to be effective. The more the better. Moss Jok and Cook are the only ones possibly capable and only 1 can right now. In most effective offenses, passing is the key to break down a defense and create mismatches. I think you are putting too much emphasis on breaking down the D with a dribble drive. The offense shouldn't be designed around breaking the D down with a dribble.

Think about the way last year ended with Jok and J U onthe the court together. They had a very serviceable 7 footer to boot. He cant coach a good half court. Bullshit. Insane. How does Iowa get so many baskets off assists then? I encourage you to listen to opponents radio broadcasts..

Not gunna happen. Why, what do they say, and who specifically.

Everybody else can "Like" me now!!

 

[HawkeyeHypnosis]

Defense is clearly not a priority for Fran. That's not an opinion. It's an observation.
And unfortunately for Fran, Defense Wins Championships.
If the D has looked excellent at times I still say it's because of a poor offense who can't move the ball around well and/or shoot from the perimeter.

Yes, they are young kids learning to play together. 4 freshman is remarkable. But defense isn't a youth thing.
Who knows, maybe the older they get they'll get a stronger desire to play tough D. Or maybe Fran will change his philosophy based on his talent in the future. Who knows?

But I'm just not terribly confident.

Was Purdue a poor offense that couldn't move the ball or shoot? Sometimes the reason opposing teams can't move the ball around or get good looks is because of the defense we played.

 

[GotTimDodge]

If defense isn't a priority for Fran, then how come Iowa has been in the top 30 in the nation in defensive efficiency in 3 out of the last 4 seasons prior to this year?

What are you smoking?
The highest they've been is #33 during '12-'13.

 

[GotTimDodge]

They cracked the top 30 once for adjusted def. efficiency, that was '12-13 and they were #25.

This season?
#185 in def. efficiency and #137 in adjusted.

In Iowa's defense, they have averaged about #41 in adjusted over the last 4 seasons, which isn't terrible I guess.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Watch games. Iowa is terrible at it. Its when they get out and run that they look like world beaters. You cant hsve a point guard that cant break down a d and be a threat to score at the rim. Its been iowas weakness on o for years.

As dean said a motion o can make thatl less important but you need multiple studs who can shoot and breakdiwn a D. Moss Jok and Cook are the only ones possibly capable and only 1 can right now.

Think about the way last year ended with Jok and J U onthe the court together. They had a very serviceable 7 footer to boot. He cant coach a good half court. I encourage you to listen to opponents radio broadcasts..

Man, you're argument is such BS. Iowa is ranked #11 in the country for team assists. No way, no way you get that NOT running a half-court offense. You have no idea what you are talking about or do not understand what a half court offense is. They aren't getting 17 assists a game driving to the basket, I'll tell you that.

http://www.ncaa.com/stats/basketball-men/d1/current/team/216

 

[InGoodCo]

What are you smoking?
The highest they've been is #33 during '12-'13.

I quit smoking

www.kenpom.com

in 16 they were 30
in 15 they were 33
in 14 they were 77
in 13 they were 25

in 3 out of the last 4 years they were in or around the top 30 out of what 351 schools in adjD per Ken Pom...

and you have to admit - if they average around 41 - out of 351 college basketball teams, I would say that isn't exactly how you laid it all out in your original post meow is it?

 

[Hawkfnntn]

With this team you can almost throw out their worst game and best game as outliers. They are a young inconsistent team still learning about how to play with each other. Fran is still experimenting with different lineups out there and who plays well with who.
Defense takes two things. Without both you can't play good D. That's the ability to do it and the effort to do it. To say JBo is struggling defending is an understatement. His size and lack of athleticism hamper that. But what's Cooks excuse? Moss is physically able. He just needs more time to learn what it takes. Baer is their best overall defender I think and nobody would pick him 1st in a pickup game. I think they'll get better as a team on D. I'm not sure what their ceiling is be it this year even or down the road. But we've seen the worst of it I think. Thankfully.

 

[GotTimDodge]

I quit smoking

www.kenpom.com

in 16 they were 30
in 15 they were 33
in 14 they were 77
in 13 they were 25

in 3 out of the last 4 years they were in or around the top 30 out of what 351 schools in adjD per Ken Pom...

and you have to admit - if they average around 41 - out of 351 college basketball teams, I would say that isn't exactly how you laid it all out in your original post meow is it?

Like I said, #41 isn't horrible.
It's not good either.

They average #52 over last 4 seasons for unadjusted.

Either way, they were not top 30 in 3 of last 4 seasons as you said.

 

[InGoodCo]

Like I said, #41 isn't horrible.
It's not good either.

They average #52 over last 4 seasons for unadjusted.

Either way, they were not top 30 in 3 of last 4 seasons as you said.

I was using adj D off Ken Pom, so if I misspoke, I apologize

in 16 they were 30
in 15 they were 33
in 14 they were 77
in 13 they were 25

but the point of any of this was that Fran doesn't make defense a priority and said that wasn't opinion and that D couldn't be blamed on youth.... I really think that's opinion.... in my opinion.

 

[Bluesman]

Who would want to fire him? Took over an absolute train wreck of a program and has us making pretty regular NCAA tourney appearances now. This year is going about as expected; they're starting 4 freshmen most nights. Inconsistency is to be expected. However, I don't think there's any denying that this team has improved as the year has went on and they're holding their own in conference play. I'm satisfied with what I'm seeing at this point. They'll be better next year and I suspect an NCAA tournament team again. It looks even better when Wieskamp gets here, I think that kid is the real deal and is going to be a real weapon. As far as Fran's demeanor most college coaches act like spoiled children on the sideline.

 

[InGoodCo]

I still feel there's a better shot of Fran leaving Iowa then Iowa firing the guy over the next 5 years, but the fact that his kids are coming here temper that as well. He's done a tremendous job...and I mean, tremendous job at Iowa and has won ...and he won and turned it all around pretty quickly and our stadium is still 3/4 empty most nights... there are better gigs out there for a guy like Fran ... but some peeps want to push a guy like him out i guess

 

[mopkins]

They win two games in a row vs poor teams and some of you all think Here we go, Hawkeye hoops is back!
Uh, no.
Should he be fired? No.
Will I think he should be fired? Yes.
When? 3 years.
Why? Terrible defense philosophy
What else? Poor NCAA tourney play.

Hope I'm wrong tho!

Poor NCAA tourney play? Iowa is 2-3 in the NCAA tournament under Fran. I dont find it bad that Iowa lost to Villanova last year or Gonzaga the year before. Both of those teams were on fire when they ran into Iowa.

Now, Big Ten Tournament play? Fran has been completely abysmal. Can't argue with that.

 

[BigD]

Jok is a great player, but I don't think it isn't anything this young team can't overcome. Ellingson and Bohannon are coming into their own and hitting 3's within the flow of the offense. Fran has a lot of guys he can play that can produce enough points for a win. It's the D that has to get more consistent against good teams.

Definitely agree with the defense needs to improve and be consistent. Reminds me of my high school buddies who could put the ball in the hoop but were flat footed on defense.