Story: Bakari Evelyn Not Concerned w/ Competing Against Connor McCaffery

[WinOneThisCentury]

People...seriously. This is a good get. I hope he proves all the naysayers wrong. Playing high level basketball while nursing an injury is difficult. I'm hopeful he's healthy...Fran's offense will get him open looks in transition...I hope he's successful.

 

[WindsorHawk]

He’s an injury concern. Multiple ankle injuries and surgery. There’s a reason he didn’t have many suitors.

Good get for Iowa’s depth though. Come off the bench and give them 15 minutes or so. He obviously didn’t care about making the NCAA Tournament or starting. Good fit for Fran this year. Probably only grad that would be okay with his role and team outlook.

If he doesn’t care about NCAA why pick a school that will likely be playing in it.

 

[WindsorHawk]

This is a good get for Fran. About as good as he was going to get. Not sure where your hostility is. Several pods have stated that landing this kid is good for depth and would likely be the backup to Connor and Joe. Wouldn’t be starter. At least he brings experience with him. That is better than a freshmen.

Deace and Miller both have Hawkeyes around 9th or worse in Big Ten regardless of this kid. He’s not an impact guy. Iowa wasn’t going to ever get one. Glad they got him to help take off some of the unreasonable expectations off of Joe T. Reality is this kid has had 3 ankle surgeries so we have no idea how healthy he is or if he will even stay healthy. At least Fran realized he needed some help. Be real nice to bring in another guy now.

Where did all of the experts predict Iowa would finish this year? Hint. The experts were wrong.

 

[NikeHawk21]

I think Fran had to know that Moss was potentially gone for a while. Last seasons test of the NBA had to give him some knowledge that he wanted out or a new situation. I mean, he wasn't even on the NBA's radar. Yet, Fran supported him and his desire. That's part of the learning process. I'm sure Fran knew that as well (that he wasn't ready and that he needed to hear from some one else) What more could have Fran done for this kid? Played him in the second halves of big games even though he didn't feel like IM was up for the moment? I don't blame Fran for that. I feel for Fran a bit (only a bit because this his bed, he gets to lay in it, and to be honest, the story hasn't been written yet on how things will turn out) in that he's the one who fostered and matured Isiah - believed him, put all his resources to make him a better basketball player and he's repaid with this. If he didn't want to be a part of the Iowa team, it doesn't matter how hard Fran pushed, see ya. He needs players who are invested in his program. Too many of these guys the last few seasons have not been and it shows.

IMO, there's nothing to be gleaned out of this pick up until we see how it plays out on the court. Getting this kid doesn't really move the needle either way with me because I have no idea how he's going to contribute. I know Iowa needs guards, this kid is one and will have a ton of playing time available to him if he proves he's able to contribute.

If Fran knew Moss was gone I would definitely say we should have added a third player in the 2019 class.

I never question whether Moss was fully bought in. I think he was and he would have been. I think he was worried about the two McCaffery boys cutting into his play time so he left, can’t say I totally blame him there.

On your last point about this current pickup. I agree we won’t know until the season on this one, if he contributes I would say it’s a good move and a necessary move.

 

[WindsorHawk]

I’m glad we are bringing this kid in. Hopefully he is healthy and can bring something to the team. We certainly need help in the backcourt.

With an open scholarship there really isn’t a ton of risk here. Hopefully it works out and Fran will be more likely to go the grad transfer route in the future.

Agree. There’s zero downside IMO.

 

[WindsorHawk]

I’m making a bold prediction right here and now. This will be Connor’s last year playing Iowa basketball. Let me explain. I don’t have any inside informatIon or anything, just a hunch. JBo is most likely gonna to take this year as a redshirt and return next year. Joe Toussaint will have a year under his belt. Where will that leave Connor in 2020-21 season? I think Connor steps away from the basketball team to concentrate on baseball. Plus when you’re trying to recruit other guards for the future, you don’t need to be already loaded in that spot. He wanted to play with his brother, and he will achieve that next year. They will be looking to bring in another point guard or combo guy and he’s gonna want minutes too. Minutes will be hard to come by. Connor will see the writing on the wall and he knows his real future is in baseball. Trying to juggle two sports for four years and take care of all his studies is a hard thing to do. Remember, you heard it here first!

I’m making a different prediction. Connor wants to play basketball with Patrick the next 3 years. This won’t be his last season of basketball.

 

[WindsorHawk]

Had we NOT gotten Evelyn that narrative would be "Well look at that Fran whiffed on another transfer" - Now that we got him "he's likely not good enough to help us".

Ya see where Fran can't win right? And that's ok, I am just glad that he's trying. It was a good pick up this late in the game. I dunno how much he'll help this season, only time will tell, but at least we found someone with some experience to come in and give Iowa some depth.

You nailed it. Before I started reading I knew what the posts would say. And I generally knew the posters attached to each posts.

 

[WindsorHawk]

I agree this was a no win situation for Fran, such is life at times as a major D1 coach. This was a move that absolutely had to be made given the circumstances.

Here some questions I still feel are legitimate.

-Did Fran and Co not do enough to convince Moss he should stay and be a major part of this team?

-Knowing about Moss’s potential departure and Jbo’s potential injury for some time should Fran and Co been more actively involved in the grad transfer market earlier in the game? Maybe they were I don’t know, but seems they could have and should have pursued some higher level grad transfers than Evelyn.

-This one is getting to be probably a little bit too much hindsight, but should we have tried to sign a third player in the 2019 class? We had scholarship flexibility with Pat, and most knew that Cook was likely gone anyway.

On Moss...Did Arkansas do enough to convince Moss he should stay?

 

[InGoodCo]

If Fran knew Moss was gone I would definitely say we should have added a third player in the 2019 class.

I never question whether Moss was fully bought in. I think he was and he would have been. I think he was worried about the two McCaffery boys cutting into his play time so he left, can’t say I totally blame him there.

On your last point about this current pickup. I agree we won’t know until the season on this one, if he contributes I would say it’s a good move and a necessary move.

If you're shy on having to compete with the coaches kid after spending 4 years in a program, 3 of them as a starter and you were already 4th in minutes on the team with one of the ones in front of you leaving for the NBA, then what else could Fran have done? What more could or should have he been selling IM at this point? I am not saying Moss wasn't invested, he just wasn't invested enough and it's hard to argue that if he's leaving the program with everything I just laid out.

 

[RobHowe]

If you're shy on having to compete with the coaches kid after spending 4 years in a program, 3 of them as a starter and you were already 4th in minutes on the team with one of the ones in front of you leaving for the NBA, then what else could Fran have done? What more could or should have he been selling IM at this point? I am not saying Moss wasn't invested, he just wasn't invested enough and it's hard to argue that if he's leaving the program with everything I just laid out.

I do not remember Moss saying he was too shy to compete with the coach's kid. That seems like an assumption. If I was assuming, I would say Moss would tell you he didn't feel like he deserved losing minutes at the end of games and didn't feel like it was a level playing field.

IMO, I agreed with FM benching IM at times during his first two seasons. There were times when he just wasn't playing well. This season, there were more times when he was playing well and still was on the bench late in games where I felt he should be in. I think he saw the same thing. I think he was well invested and worked his ass off to get better.

 

[NikeHawk21]

On Moss...Did Arkansas do enough to convince Moss he should stay?

Not sure, didn’t follow their recruitment of him. I heard that Kansas maybe stayed on him even after he committed to Arkansas.

Not sure the relevance. You’re trying to say it’s all a Moss problem? Moss played his part no question and likely had an inflated view of what he is, but if Fran knew about the potential for him to move on than he should have planned accordingly.

 

[InGoodCo]

I do not remember Moss saying he was too shy to compete with the coach's kid. That seems like an assumption. If I was assuming, I would say Moss would tell you he didn't feel like he deserved losing minutes at the end of games and didn't feel like it was a level playing field.

IMO, I agreed with FM benching IM at times during his first two seasons. There were times when he just wasn't playing well. This season, there were more times when he was playing well and still was on the bench late in games where I felt he should be in. I think he saw the same thing. I think he was well invested and worked his ass off to get better.

Honestly, I didn't say he was too shy to compete with the coaches kid. I was replying to someone else who said he was. I don't think that was the only reason. He wasn't happy here for whatever reason. I just think Fran did an awful lot for him, including rewarding him with minutes that he worked for and deserved. I think IM was very invested and worked his ass off, but again, if he's left the team, how invested was he? Not enough to come back for his senior season even with everything that Iowa afforded him to get to this point.

 

[RobHowe]

Honestly, I didn't say he was too shy to compete with the coaches kid. I was replying to someone else who said he was. I don't think that was it all. He wasn't happy here for whatever reason. I just think Fran did an awful lot for him, including rewarding him with minutes that he worked for and deserved. I think IM was very invested and worked his ass off, but again, if he's left the team, how invested was he? Not enough to come back for his senior season.

He lost minutes to the coach's kid late in games. Another of the coach's kids is joining the program and could also take more minutes in a round-about way (with JW moving to the 2 and PM at the 3), perhaps those could be late in games. He told me he was not aware JB was having surgery before he decided to leave, so that's the picture he saw.

It's semantics, but I wouldn't say IM wasn't invested enough because he believed there were inequities at Iowa in how playing time was distributed. As a fan, sure he wasn't invested enough because he left. For the player, he didn't feel valued enough to stay.

We don't know who is right because it's not cut and dried. But the McCaffery dynamic is real and something to keep an eye on moving forward. It us being used against Iowa in recruiting and can cause separation in the locker room. I think Moss is an example of that.

 

[InGoodCo]

I work for a living with truck drivers with bad credit, poor work history and typically down on their luck. A lot of guys have checkered past and either little to no education when they come to me. We take in guys who would have NO chance of walking onto a lot and buying a semi truck for 50k to 100k to make a living. They couldn't even get a job at McDonalds in most cases. In our industry there is a HUGE shortage of drivers. We give them a home basically. The guy lives in their truck. They work for us for 3 or 4 years and we pay them and they also pay off their semi. I would say only about 2 in 10 guys actually make it through the program. Most of them get about a quarter of the way thru if that and can't make it. They can't make all the numbers work. A lot of fail to realize just how hard you have to work to make it a success. When one or 2 of those guys gets out of 10 that doesn't- he can then take that truck and lease it on anywhere. They now own it, they have better credit, they have work history. We provided them that opportunity. One would think that after working for us for 4 years and getting them on their feet to a road of success would mean they'd stay with us. I would say it's a rare case when they do. The minute they get an out, they are gone. Maybe it's human nature? I don't know, but it works that way in a lot of walks of life.

 

[InGoodCo]

Also - NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT THIS?

 

[NikeHawk21]

Honestly, I didn't say he was too shy to compete with the coaches kid. I was replying to someone else who said he was. I don't think that was the only reason. He wasn't happy here for whatever reason. I just think Fran did an awful lot for him, including rewarding him with minutes that he worked for and deserved. I think IM was very invested and worked his ass off, but again, if he's left the team, how invested was he? Not enough to come back for his senior season even with everything that Iowa afforded him to get to this point.

I said he was too shy to compete? That’s interesting. Never said that but par for the course for you putting words in my mouth.

 

[InGoodCo]

Also - NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT THIS?

or this?

https://247sports.com/Player/Isaiah-Moss-25818/

 

[InGoodCo]

I said he was too shy to compete? That’s interesting. Never said that but par for the course for you putting words in my mouth.

Jesus, get over yourself. Rob used the word "shy" - you said 1 post before that "I think he was worried about the two McCaffery boys cutting into his play time so he left, can’t say I totally blame him there"

so it was Rob that said "shy" - I said I was replying to you. Talk about someone trying to twist things, but ya know, that's par of the course with you too.

 

[NikeHawk21]

Jesus, get over yourself. Rob used the word "shy" - you said 1 post before that "I think he was worried about the two McCaffery boys cutting into his play time so he left, can’t say I totally blame him there"

so it was Rob that said "shy" - I said I was replying to you. Talk about someone trying to twist things, but ya know, that's par of the course with you too.

Read the posts. You are the first one to say Shy. Now you’re saying it’s Rob. Nice

 

[InGoodCo]

Read the posts. You are the first one to say Shy. Now you’re saying it’s Rob. Nice

I say "shy", you say "doesn't want to" - either way, he's "shying from" or "not wanting" to compete with the coaches kid is he not? We're mixing words here but saying the same shit, yet you're trying to make me somehow look to be putting words in your mouth. It's pointless, but you are always working the angle of trying to make other posters look bad to prop yourself up somehow, it's weird.