The Annual "Fran Fade" Has Started - AGAIN - This Needs to be the Last One

InGoodCo said:
Fran isn't getting fired for performance. He might get it for an outburst or something, but what he's doing at Iowa as far as progress on the basketball court, is more likely to get him a raise and extended than fired. That's obviously a slap to some of your faces, but what Fran has done here hasn't been done with any regularity in 22 years... Iowa isn't firing that.
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Sorry dude SEE Mr. Davis Davis. You're last point is false.
 
WindsorHawk said:
I’m not looking to argue. If you prefer the AP poll that’s fine. They may not be in the AP Top 10. But if they beat Indiana I’m sure they will be...2-1 this week losing by 4 to a higher (AP) rated team.

My 1st choice is Kenpom...even in years where it rates us lower than I would like. My 2nd choice is NET...only because that’s the NCAA’s primary tool. We are 4th and 9th respectively in those polls. So Iowa is a Top 10 team according to the polls I reference.
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Ya, I mean the scientific measurements also have their say as well. But, they also lack the human element....emotions and eyeballs. But, they can also do an object take on our performance as well.

Iowa is a good team......but I think trajectory is going to even out at some point reflecting where Iowa truly is. I hope that is Top 10, but I don't think we are now and I'm not sure we will get back there.
 
All I have to say is HuckFinn hurt my feelings when he said if piling it on makes my dick bigger by telling the truth on what I see. Well HuckFinn I lost my dick in the war. So yeah I'm a little bitter when Iowa loses
 
Boy it's fun reading the melt downs after a loss. I suspect one can go to any other team's board and read the exact same shit after their top 10 team let them down by losing to another extremely talented top 10 team in one hell of a great game.

If the Hawks win by 1 point everyone talks how great they are, they lose by single digits and they all suck, except Luka of course. Lets get rid of the coach for good measure. Close loses are always full of shoulda, coulda, wouldas, but ya also just man up and tip your hat to a great opponent that came through at crunch time.

I'm still enjoying the ever-loving piss out of this season and plan to do so till the last horn blows for this Hawk Team. We have a roster full of talent that is fun to watch and thank you Fran for getting Hawkeye Basketball back to relevancy. I've been waiting something like THIRTY-FOUR YEARS to witness another Hawkeye Team with this kind of talent.

On to the next game - GO HAWKS!
 
A lot of negative comments recently have focused on this inability to execute in close games. And its a valid complaint. We have too many experienced, mentally strong players to be spitting the bit this often in crunch time. At some point it has to come back to coaching.

All four of our conference losses were there for the taking. We haven't been embarrassed yet, yet the .osses are there. At some point it has to come back to coaching.

Our KenPom luck category is deep in the negative again, in the bottom 25% of all NCAA teams. From 2011-2018 we were in the bottom TEN PERCENT four out of eight years. At some point it has to come back to coaching.

We don't look like the team we were in December and January. We don't have that pit pull assistant coach that insists on top defensive effort. Advance scouting gets out there and teams take stuff away. Ohio State players were talking about how their stuck bus allowed them to brush up on scouting report. Teams play us differently the second time around. Only one season (2015) has bucked this trend. We are trending in that direction again.

At some point it has to come back to coaching.
 
GVGiant44 said:
Look - even dating back to who was going to replace Lute Olsen, I have never had any preconceived notions to who would or should be the next Iowa head man. I can't say I had ever heard of, or followed George Raveling, Tom Davis, Todd Lickliter or Fran McCaffery. And the one I had heard of, Steve Alford, well look how that turned out.

There is always a coach out there ready to move up who has proved his worth at other levels (look at Ohio State's current head coach - who had to replace a really good coach in Thad Matta).

But you reach a point where you have to press the reset button. The one thing I am REALLY sensing from the Iowa fan base right now is apathy - and that is the worst death knell for any program - or any coach.

Again, he's had enough years to do ... something. And I guarantee you there is someone who is chomping at the bit to have the opportunity to coach guys like Toussaint, Perkins, Ulis, Murray x2, Nunge, a healthy C.J. and more, plus the guys coming in. We'll be fine - and very likely, we'll be better for an entire season.
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Ah, another fan who mentions the word apathy. In 2012-14 apathy was setting in on Ferentz and he altered some coaching habits. They redoubled I would say the recruiting, the defense has been lights out, special teams focus has been great, and offense has been better with more passing to better targets.

I have said for a few years that Fran just can't get a top flight point guard who can take over games on offense and defense. Fran has had some very good centers, big and small forwards and some really good shooters.
 
The majority of this fan base is okay with mediocrity.

Iowa is the Chicago Cubs of the college athletics world. Wait til next year.
 
Motigerhawk said:
The majority of this fan base is okay with mediocrity.

Iowa is the Chicago Cubs of the college athletics world. Wait til next year.
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Just because you accept the fact that there is nothing you can do to make your favorite team better doesn't mean you are more ok with mediocrity. Getting overly pissed about something you have no control over is a character flaw, not an indication of how much you hate mediocrity.
 
seepig said:
So basically you are saying you never want to potentially get better? 11 years at Iowa has produced, what the creator of this thread has communicated that many in the fanbase agree with, a team that consistently does certain things really good and certain things poorly. Fran's teams score points period, they are vastly superior to any offense Lickliter EVER put on the floor. So, fine every now and again we beat someone ranked higher than us in Big Ten play. Additionally, sometimes we finish in the top half of the conference.

What we MUST admit:
Truth in the thread creator's facts: Terrible Big Ten tournament performances
Fact: NEVER gets to the tournament and makes it beyond the second round
Fact: The sub par effort to chase perimeter shooters off the line has led to losses and does every year not occasionally but often.
Fact: Defense is an attitude several upperclassmen apparently don't possess the right attitude. Some players can't stay in front of their man....ever
Fact: Fran's absolute blinders on approach gave us CMac playing PG at the end of a game that needed a driving PG...yes maddening player personnel changes. Sometimes the changes or lack thereof leave you screaming.

Pulling the plug on Fran after 12 years is hardly being RASH in a desire to see the program progress. Kudos to Fran bringing it up off the absolute bottom (Lick hire another Barta hire).
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I'm pretty sure Fran has finished in the top half of the conference in all but one year after his first 2 years here.
 
Does anyone else notice Fran has a very awkward, head down, very short unemotional way of answering questions when Iowa looses.
Like he has no respect for the media or his role to discuss the game? I listened to Izzo after MSU loss and I was very impressed how respectful
and talkative Izzo was with the media. You could tell he was very upset yet he demonstrated so much respect for the media and was going really deep into
his discussions like he was talking-to friends asking about the game. I am really sick of hearing the "every team is so good in the big ten" excuse.
Personally I feel there are four common reasons a team looses in basketball, 1) the opponent is way more talented than you. 2) you can't hit your shots its just one of those nights.3) the opposing team can't miss is just one of those nights. 4) you are not playing with the mental toughness it takes to win. I don't pretend to know the actual reality, yet watching on TV it often seems Iowa does not have that killer instinct "win at all cost". As soon as the game turns against them they seem to hold their head down instead of upping their intensity. Similar to how Fran seems at the press conferences?
I am not trying to bash Fran as I think he is an absolute brilliant coach. Iowa runs some of the best offensive sets. I also feels he logs too many minutes on his starters. Now as the season progresses they get worn down and the bench is underdeveloped. I would rather Iowa looses a few more games early on at the cost of developing a strong bench and numerous personal combos that will be helpful come tournament time. Instead it seems teh same old story every year.
 
I'm as frustrated as the rest of you. Lunardi's new Bracketology comes out tomorrow or Mon., so we'll see how he seeds us, as he is quite accurate every year. Aside from that, I will neither add anything to what's been said nor take anything away. All I will say is all will be forgotten if we make a decent showing in the NCAA Tourney.
 
Ian Pike Hammer said:
I'm as frustrated as the rest of you. Lunardi's new Bracketology comes out tomorrow or Mon., so we'll see how he seeds us, as he is quite accurate every year. Aside from that, I will neither add anything to what's been said nor take anything away. All I will say is all will be forgotten if we make a decent showing in the NCAA Tourney.
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He is pretty accurate. But that’s in March. Bracketology right now is like the polls...a moving target almost daily.
 
MelroseHawkins said:
Defense, rebounding and free throws. We've seen it all before. When I mention defense, in particular, it's Iowa's ability to close out on the 3 pt shots. Teams regularly kill Iowa and seem to have their best 3 pt shooting games against Iowa with some obscure player having the game of his life against Iowa, EVERY GAME. This has been going on all the years Fran has coached at Iowa.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. If Iowa just played a lick of defense better and moved up in the top 60 in defense nationally, they'd be a great team. Hell, even top 80.

Then rebounding. I've never seen so many teams get so many offensive rebounds than when playing Iowa. Every single time down the court teams get 2-3 shot attempts. That's worth 15-20pts right there in a scoring differential. If a team shoots a shitty 30% but gets 20 more shots they are going to make up that percentage in the score. You can see at times some games where Iowa comes out and really giving a rebounding effort like they addressed it in practice, but, then they just slide back to old back habits similar to a youth 4th grade team. REBOUNDING IS A FUNDAMENTAL PART OF THE GAME!! It should be automatic to the players at this point. You know how many times if an Iowa player would have just backed out the opposing player they would have gotten the ball. Now they just hold their position and hope the ball comes to their area to rebound. NOBODY BACKS A PLAYER OUT ANYMORE! GET AN ASS ON A GUY, BACK HIM THE F UP AND GO ATTACK THE DAMN BALL AND GET IT! It's not that damn difficult. STOP GIVING UP POSSESSIONS AND GIVING THEM TO THE OTHER TEAM!

All you have to do in team basketball is play decent defense and rebound. You will be in every game, regardless if your team is not having the best shooting night. Give yourself a chance. It's just simple fundamental basketball and Iowa has lacked that over the years.

You do the above and it would make up for Iowa's recent crappy free throw shooting. That's all I'll say about that.

Rant over. Drop mic!

C'MON FRAN!!
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Smoke a weed or something medical.
 
WindsorHawk said:
He is pretty accurate. But that’s in March. Bracketology right now is like the polls...a moving target almost daily.
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Saw a different bracketology that had us drop to the #3 seed and move into Region 2. The #1 team in that region is Baylor. The 2 teams that jumped us into the #2 seed were none other than Illinois and Ohio St., our last 2 losses. It had us playing Grand Canyon St. and then the winner of #11 LSU and #6 Louisville.
According to them, Indiana and Maryland are out right now.
Still one other bracket has Drake a #8 seed slated to play #9 USC and if they win, face #1 Michigan.
 
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