The Day After

[MelroseHawkins]

I'm willing to bet this team doesn't take a huge step back next season. Maybe a slight step back but I wouldn't bet on a bottom half conference finish since Fran's only done that 3 times in 13 seasons and 2 of those were his first. I don't know much, but I know that predicting anything other than a top half finish for this program is a bad beat. Iowa continues to compete regardless of what they lose, NPOY, early NBA exits, doesn't seem to matter when you have a coach that develops at the rate of Fran.

What is different is now Fran has a better team roster with the ingredients he has always needed for his style. And like in football, this team now has an identity and culture to it. It is a better blended "team" opposed to what was going on 3-5 yrs ago. There was just a part or component missing during that time frame, but, he seems to have the needed pieces for the puzzle.

And to add, I sometimes check opposing team's message boards to witness their meltdowns after a loss, for pure entertainment. I usually don't register with their sites. In the past few big wins, I many times read opposing fans say they hate to admit, but that Fran is a very good coach and state reasons why. Even on the Illinois board, there are some that have stated this.

 

[InGoodCo]

What is different is now Fran has a better team roster with the ingredients he has always needed for his style. And like in football, this team now has an identity and culture to it. It is a better blended "team" opposed to what was going on 3-5 yrs ago. There was just a part or component missing during that time frame, but, he seems to have the needed pieces for the puzzle.

And to add, I sometimes check opposing team's message boards to witness their meltdowns after a loss, for pure entertainment. I usually don't register with their sites. In the past few big wins, I many times read opposing fans say they hate to admit, but that Fran is a very good coach and state reasons why. Even on the Illinois board, there are some that have stated this.

Oh I love to feast on message board tears too! I'm just saying, we say "they're going to take a step back" every f'ing year and have been saying that since his very first B1G all conference type player in Marble.

Man we're going to "take a step back" when Marble's gone.
Oh we're going to "take a step back" when Aaron White is gone
Oh we're going to "take a step back" when Uthoff is gone
Oh we're going to "take a step back" when Jok is gone (That actually happened, but had little to do with Peter IMO)
Oh we're going to "take a step back" when Tyler Cook is gone
Oh we're going to "take a step back" when Luka is gone
Oh we're going to "take a step back" when Wieskamp is gone
Oh we're going to "take a step back" when Keegan is gone
Oh we're going to "take a step back" when Kris is gone

IMO - Iowa has gained and got better over this time, not the opposite. Feel free to project doom for next season, but I am not buying it till I see it.

 

[Grady]

There are some really great takes here. There are also some bad ones.

Connor being compared to Petras? Worst take in a long time. Connor is not in there for offense, he is in there for everything else. But he has been efficient scoring. His back to the hoop turn around is effective a couple times most games, and he is shooting 36% from 3. He makes good shot selections and they go in statistically as much as you reasonably hope for. He is the best passer. Period. Petras? Really? Bad take.

Iowa does not have good defenders? Iowa can't compete with bigger teams? Nope. How are we winning all these games then? Our starting 5 are all plus defenders. They are not THE quickest out there, but they are all smart and move their feet and play good team defense. Flip is undersized, but holds his own. The defense gives up a lot of points because Iowa scores a lot of points. Its the opposite of Iowa football. But, when Iowa imposes its style of game on a team like it did against Illinois, it wins. Iowa wins track meets.

"Iowa wins track meets."
Eastern Illinois, Penn St., and Ohio State would disagree....all of them scored from 83 to 93 points in wins over the Hawks this year. Iowa wins a lot of track meets, but they don't win them all. In addition to those track meet losses, two other 'track meets' were 2-pt games that could have gone either way (Indiana & Illinois).

 

[HawkGold]

There are some really great takes here. There are also some bad ones.

Connor being compared to Petras? Worst take in a long time. Connor is not in there for offense, he is in there for everything else. But he has been efficient scoring. His back to the hoop turn around is effective a couple times most games, and he is shooting 36% from 3. He makes good shot selections and they go in statistically as much as you reasonably hope for. He is the best passer. Period. Petras? Really? Bad take.

Iowa does not have good defenders? Iowa can't compete with bigger teams? Nope. How are we winning all these games then? Our starting 5 are all plus defenders. They are not THE quickest out there, but they are all smart and move their feet and play good team defense. Flip is undersized, but holds his own. The defense gives up a lot of points because Iowa scores a lot of points. Its the opposite of Iowa football. But, when Iowa imposes its style of game on a team like it did against Illinois, it wins. Iowa wins track meets.

Specifically.....his shot. That was all.

The shooting guard or off guard usually can.....shoot. yes his percentages are not bad but if there were stats on conversion....what dIid the shots lead to....is likely weak. Somewhat tainted by weak rebounding but would guess points of misses is low. I disagree on shot selection.

Small or quick forwards also should shoot well.
They should pass into the blocks well....he's really good there They should rebound well. He is all or nothing and the nothings are much bigger than his big rebound games. Not close. He plays so many minutes with little production on scoring and rebounding. The Hawks get few weak side rebounds from him. This is the biggest issue on rebounding. Maybe it is a team weakness but it's hard to block out when there is consistently no rebounding from a position and there is most always a free opponent to rebound on back side.

Per being a coach on the floor he has strengths but like his coach he losses he head too much at the wrong time.

Iowa does well when He play plus or minus 32 minutes. Above that or below the record isn't as good. He is also the one player beyond Murray that can do what he wants without being punished.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Specifically.....his shot. That was all.

The shooting guard or off guard usually can.....shoot. yes his percentages are not bad but if there were stats on conversion....what dIid the shots lead to....is likely weak. Somewhat tainted by weak rebounding but would guess points of misses is low. I disagree on shot selection.

Small or quick forwards also should shoot well.
They should pass into the blocks well....he's really good there They should rebound well. He is all or nothing and the nothings are much bigger than his big rebound games. Not close. He plays so many minutes with little production on scoring and rebounding. The Hawks get few weak side rebounds from him. This is the biggest issue on rebounding. Maybe it is a team weakness but it's hard to block out when there is consistently no rebounding from a position and there is most always a free opponent to rebound on back side.

Per being a coach on the floor he has strengths but like his coach he losses he head too much at the wrong time.

Iowa does well when He play plus or minus 32 minutes. Above that or below the record isn't as good. He is also the one player beyond Murray that can do what he wants without being punished.

There was an Illinois poster who commented that he'd luv to have a Connor McCaffery on their team. I thought, wow, having an outside opposing fan team recognize his play says something.

 

[NorthKCHawk]

Specifically.....his shot. That was all.

The shooting guard or off guard usually can.....shoot. yes his percentages are not bad but if there were stats on conversion....what dIid the shots lead to....is likely weak. Somewhat tainted by weak rebounding but would guess points of misses is low. I disagree on shot selection.

Small or quick forwards also should shoot well.
They should pass into the blocks well....he's really good there They should rebound well. He is all or nothing and the nothings are much bigger than his big rebound games. Not close. He plays so many minutes with little production on scoring and rebounding. The Hawks get few weak side rebounds from him. This is the biggest issue on rebounding. Maybe it is a team weakness but it's hard to block out when there is consistently no rebounding from a position and there is most always a free opponent to rebound on back side.

Per being a coach on the floor he has strengths but like his coach he losses he head too much at the wrong time.

Iowa does well when He play plus or minus 32 minutes. Above that or below the record isn't as good. He is also the one player beyond Murray that can do what he wants without being punished.

You and I are watching different games. I don't know where Iowa would be if Connor had not come back this year, but it would be with less wins. Connor has never played the shooting guard position at Iowa. This year or any year. He either has played forward or point/forward. Iowa starts four guys who can all score double digits. Connor is in the game to stir the drink. He does it as well as anyone. Like everyone, he has good games and bad, but this team would be less than it is without him.

 

[Fryowa]

There was an Illinois poster who commented that he'd luv to have a Connor McCaffery on their team. I thought, wow, having an outside opposing fan team recognize his play says something.

CM's game management and court presence are very underrated. He's the leader of the team regardless of who's starting and the rest of the team would and has said the same thing.

 

[NorthKCHawk]

"Iowa wins track meets."
Eastern Illinois, Penn St., and Ohio State would disagree....all of them scored from 83 to 93 points in wins over the Hawks this year. Iowa wins a lot of track meets, but they don't win them all. In addition to those track meet losses, two other 'track meets' were 2-pt games that could have gone either way (Indiana & Illinois).

Iowa is like 11-1 when scoring over 80.

2 of the 3 games you reference above were when Murray and Connor were out or just back. A young team down 2 healthy starters, 1 of whom will be first team all conference and the other who is the unquestioned captain of the team, will have a big influence of winning and losing. We lost on the road to an average OSU team in the middle of an otherwise strong streak. Every team has an off game in a long season.

 

[NorthKCHawk]

Oh I love to feast on message board tears too! I'm just saying, we say "they're going to take a step back" every f'ing year and have been saying that since his very first B1G all conference type player in Marble.

Man we're going to "take a step back" when Marble's gone.
Oh we're going to "take a step back" when Aaron White is gone
Oh we're going to "take a step back" when Uthoff is gone
Oh we're going to "take a step back" when Jok is gone (That actually happened, but not little to do with Peter IMO)
Oh we're going to "take a step back" when Tyler Cook is gone
Oh we're going to "take a step back" when Luka is gone
Oh we're going to "take a step back" when Wieskamp is gone
Oh we're going to "take a step back" when Keegan is gone
Oh we're going to "take a step back" when Kris is gone

IMO - Iowa has gained and got better over this time, not the opposite. Feel free to project doom for next season, but I am not buying it till I see it.

This is a good take and I appreciate the optimism. I guess my worry is that in just about every year above you could kind of see who would be stepping up as the next team Batman. With Garza leaving, we thought Keegan could be special. With Keegan leaving, we thought Kris could be pretty special. Etc. I see a lot of good pieces coming back and I like the incoming class, but I personally don't see someone special on the level of the players you mentioned above. I hope I am wrong, and Fran has earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to developing talent passed over by just about every other D1 program. With the exception of Tyler Cook and Uthoff, those guys were not heavily recruited by power schools.

 

[Will C]

This was fun to watch. Especially since I live in Illinois. They only thing I dread is the night when no one is making their shots. Hopefully the bench has someone who is hot. If so, that can see us through the rest of the season.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

CM's game management and court presence are very underrated. He's the leader of the team regardless of who's starting and the rest of the team would and has said the same thing.

I think this is what that poster may have been referring to.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

This is a good take and I appreciate the optimism. I guess my worry is that in just about every year above you could kind of see who would be stepping up as the next team Batman. With Garza leaving, we thought Keegan could be special. With Keegan leaving, we thought Kris could be pretty special. Etc. I see a lot of good pieces coming back and I like the incoming class, but I personally don't see someone special on the level of the players you mentioned above. I hope I am wrong, and Fran has earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to developing talent passed over by just about every other D1 program. With the exception of Tyler Cook and Uthoff, those guys were not heavily recruited by power schools.

These were all unknowns, though, heading into the season. We hoped but the question was what was going to happen when the opposing D keyed in on Keegan, then Kris. This at the time where Iowa didn't really have the pieces in place at the PG position. We say in hindsight we knew they were going to be special, but in truth, we were not sure until we got some games into the season. At the same time with Keegan and now Kris, Fran was able to get in some of the other roster spot ingredients that he needed. It all came together.

We know Garza was great and came on strong, but that may have been a situation where Fran's style and vision wasn't with that kind of player's body and game. Fran may have adjusted what he wanted to do more than we thought. I mean Garza was a great college player but it was proven NBA teams shied away from him because the prototypical NBA player frame and athleticism is different. So, Fran adjusted to get the most out Garza's skills, which he did in great fashion. That's what coaches do. But, I wonder if it wasn't the perfect game style that Fran wanted to play in the end.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

This was fun to watch. Especially since I live in Illinois. They only thing I dread is the night when no one is making their shots. Hopefully the bench has someone who is hot. If so, that can see us through the rest of the season.

Every fan of every team has the same worry in basketball. It happens, to most every team. The key is a team having quality depth to help bridge that situation. Not just depth for bodies to use minutes, but quality depth to still contribute without having to change what a teams does successfully because of certain players in the game. That is also a key for Iowa. They have versatile and interchangeable players where they don't have to miss a beat or change what they are doing. Actually, some of Iowa's "bench" players come in and they can implement a press which is sometimes more effective as the opposing team's players may be a bit tired, then BOOM, they now have a Uhlis or Bowen hassling them up the court.

 

[InGoodCo]

This is a good take and I appreciate the optimism. I guess my worry is that in just about every year above you could kind of see who would be stepping up as the next team Batman. With Garza leaving, we thought Keegan could be special. With Keegan leaving, we thought Kris could be pretty special. Etc. I see a lot of good pieces coming back and I like the incoming class, but I personally don't see someone special on the level of the players you mentioned above. I hope I am wrong, and Fran has earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to developing talent passed over by just about every other D1 program. With the exception of Tyler Cook and Uthoff, those guys were not heavily recruited by power schools.

More reason to believe you don't see the next guy coming am I right? Assuming Iowa has it's similarly small turnover as a program like usual. Iowa could very well be better in the post next season with Mulvey still developing and bringing in Freeman. Tony Perkins might become more consistent. Peyton Sandfort looks to be a star in the making. Another year for Ullis and Bowen. Josh Dix looks like he can play at this level. We're going to get 2 more solid years out of Patrick. They are in a much better place NIL wise to bring in portal candidates that can help immediately.

I wouldn't be shocked if Iowa took a step forward next season and frankly just based off history, it's as likely.

 

[ChosenChildren]

Jerry Palm agrees with your analysis, NorthSide. Today he put Iowa as a SIX SEED for the tournament.

We also have the fourth most Quad 1 wins of anyone in the country. Remember that stat....it is huge.

I think 3 more Big Ten wins and we are safely in the field. 4 or 5 more and we might keep that Six Seed. It would be great to steal one or two more Quad 1 wins.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

More reason to believe you don't see the next guy coming am I right? Assuming Iowa has it's similarly small turnover as a program like usual. Iowa could very well be better in the post next season with Mulvey still developing and bringing in Freeman. Tony Perkins might become more consistent. Peyton Sandfort looks to be a star in the making. Another year for Ullis and Bowen. Josh Dix looks like he can play at this level. We're going to get 2 more solid years out of Patrick. They are in a much better place NIL wise to bring in portal candidates that can help immediately.

I wouldn't be shocked if Iowa took a step forward next season and frankly just based off history, it's as likely.

I definitely see what you are saying. When you can hide your "best player" because you elevated the talent among the team, that is a great thing. If you have a team where all the focus is on one single player, then, that team may be lacking a bit at other spots.

Then the opposing team will often either focus hard on that one player or let that said player get his points and focus on the other 1-2 scorers on the team. Sometimes you let that stud player get his points and really focus on that 2nd and/or 3rd guy to shut down. You have to pick your poison. That is prob the way I would try to defend the Iowa women and Caitlyn Clark.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

More reason to believe you don't see the next guy coming am I right? Assuming Iowa has it's similarly small turnover as a program like usual. Iowa could very well be better in the post next season with Mulvey still developing and bringing in Freeman. Tony Perkins might become more consistent. Peyton Sandfort looks to be a star in the making. Another year for Ullis and Bowen. Josh Dix looks like he can play at this level. We're going to get 2 more solid years out of Patrick. They are in a much better place NIL wise to bring in portal candidates that can help immediately.

I wouldn't be shocked if Iowa took a step forward next season and frankly just based off history, it's as likely.

.... and how many years now has Iowa been top 3 in the BIG in scoring. This shows the system works, pertaining to the offense of course.

 

[NorthKCHawk]

These were all unknowns, though, heading into the season. We hoped but the question was what was going to happen when the opposing D keyed in on Keegan, then Kris. This at the time where Iowa didn't really have the pieces in place at the PG position. We say in hindsight we knew they were going to be special, but in truth, we were not sure until we got some games into the season. At the same time with Keegan and now Kris, Fran was able to get in some of the other roster spot ingredients that he needed. It all came together.

We know Garza was great and came on strong, but that may have been a situation where Fran's style and vision wasn't with that kind of player's body and game. Fran may have adjusted what he wanted to do more than we thought. I mean Garza was a great college player but it was proven NBA teams shied away from him because the prototypical NBA player frame and athleticism is different. So, Fran adjusted to get the most out Garza's skills, which he did in great fashion. That's what coaches do. But, I wonder if it wasn't the perfect game style that Fran wanted to play in the end.

Two thoughts. I understand your take. I agree that we never knew for sure whether the star in the making would pan out, but at least for me, and I think most people on this board, we guessed who it would be and it turned out to be the case. Again, in recent times, Garza to Keagan to Kris were all predicted and hit. I am not saying the next Iowa First Team All Big 10 Player is not there next year, but where my concern is that I don't know who I would guess. Its not obvious. Sanford? PM? Uhlis? Perkins? Dix? Any of them could have a big jump, but none of them are as obvious as Keagan and Kris were the last two years.

As for style, Fran adjusts well, but I think he is playing the style he wants to play right now. Long, lean, flexible guys who can run and gun and switch and press. When you have a Garza or a Woodbury, you play them and adjust your style, but I think we are seeing Fran ball the way he wants it the last two years.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

Having had 24 hours to digest all that went down yesterday, I hope people realize just how massive a win that was on all levels. And how gut wrenching it would have been to lose.

Emotion: There was plenty of it. You could feel it listening on the radio which I was forced to do. The emotion level was up there with the 2014 Wisconsin SAFO game, the 2016 game where Yogi Ferrell ruined senior night, and the OT game vs Sparty a few years back.

If you sense a common theme there, those were all close games we lost. We usually did in Fran's first seven or eight years. In fact he had a .309 win percentage in games decided by six points or less between 2011 and 2018 (Bo Ryan's was .604 by comparison and it goes a long way towards explaining why we were always looking up at them in the standings)

Crowd Support: Massive. And it undoubtedly affected the players, especially Perkins. It could also have affected Illinois late. Gotta pack Carver for games like and players will respond.

Coaching: Fran outcoached Brad. Calling time out to get Murray and Sandfort back on the floor and cut it to one at the half was a gem of a move. Nursing Kris' foul situation with the delicacy of a cake decorater was another. Mixing defenses, a little 1-2-2, he was a maestro on the bench.

Do NOT underestimate what was at stake yesterday. Those players went at it like Ali-Frazier III. They knew what was stake.. In terms of emotion and the urgency of the situation, that was as big a regular season win as we've had possibly in the Fran era.

Why? Because we need this team to make waves. I sense a huge drop off next year until those incoming freshmen can come up to speed unless we get help in the portal.

Looking to rest of this year, I hope Fran gives the team a day or two off just to detox. They need to come back down to earth and get ready to put the nose to the grindstone again. They just had three games in seven days, all against teams who were in second place when they played them.

This team is going to be a tough out. Let's enjoy it while we can.

There were two main points in the game I thought. The last min or so of the first half when we were down 7 but with that last second 3 cut it to 1. Momentum wise that was huge. If IL would have went up say 10 instead that coulda been back breaking. Agree Fran totally out coached him.

The other point was when game was tied with 1:30 to go or so and that play that ended with CM bounce passing over to Sandfort for that 3. That put us in the drivers seat to have game play out how it did. You could just see that play developing after Murray got control of that ball and kicked it out and around the horn it went. The guys were perfectly spaced out and they played hot potato with it. Fun basketball to watch and it helped win a huge game

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Two thoughts. I understand your take. I agree that we never knew for sure whether the star in the making would pan out, but at least for me, and I think most people on this board, we guessed who it would be and it turned out to be the case. Again, in recent times, Garza to Keagan to Kris were all predicted and hit. I am not saying the next Iowa First Team All Big 10 Player is not there next year, but where my concern is that I don't know who I would guess. Its not obvious. Sanford? PM? Uhlis? Perkins? Dix? Any of them could have a big jump, but none of them are as obvious as Keagan and Kris were the last two years.

As for style, Fran adjusts well, but I think he is playing the style he wants to play right now. Long, lean, flexible guys who can run and gun and switch and press. When you have a Garza or a Woodbury, you play them and adjust your style, but I think we are seeing Fran ball the way he wants it the last two years.

Oh I definitely agree. But as the team as a whole, they might be pretty good because of the sum of the pieces. But you are correct, that very special player might not stand out.