Dexter
Well-Known Member
Like I said, it's too early to judge him. But you've got to think a lot higher if you want to get toward the top of the Big Ten.
The long road ahead
- Thread starter SteveGarvey
- Start date
Like I said, it's too early to judge him. But you've got to think a lot higher if you want to get toward the top of the Big Ten.
SirJamaLot
Well-Known Member
It has been a frustrating year to be a Hawkeye fan, during the summer we were all talking possible national championships and we ended up with a 500 big ten team, thank goodness for the bowl win.
this winter has been 2 steps forward and 1 step back. Initially I was hoping for a bigger hire than Fran but have really liked what I have seen so far. to criticize Dillard or any other coach is not fair. Lets wait until this time next year before we criticize their recruiting. I dont know if Fran is a better coach or program director than Alford but I prefer his personality and humbleness much more. Fran really appreciates being here and I love reading his thoughts on coaching basketball and developing young people.
Iowa has a long ways to go before we will be a consistent top 5 program in the Big Ten but im willing to support Fran and give him some time to bring us back.
this winter has been 2 steps forward and 1 step back. Initially I was hoping for a bigger hire than Fran but have really liked what I have seen so far. to criticize Dillard or any other coach is not fair. Lets wait until this time next year before we criticize their recruiting. I dont know if Fran is a better coach or program director than Alford but I prefer his personality and humbleness much more. Fran really appreciates being here and I love reading his thoughts on coaching basketball and developing young people.
Iowa has a long ways to go before we will be a consistent top 5 program in the Big Ten but im willing to support Fran and give him some time to bring us back.
SteveGarvey
Well-Known Member
I wasn't saying there was no hope but just that natural doubts are creeping in.
Just seems that for us to win now we need:
To have incredible energy and effort, something that can't be reproduced every game. You just can't get up for every game.
Execution at an A level. We saw that in the home wins vs. MSU and Indiana.
The other team to not play as well as they can. We almost beat Wisconsin because they couldn't hit anything in the first half.
Also see Fred building a team up in Ames with athletes. Yeah, they're going to be the "Island of Misfit Tools" up there with all of the cast-offs from other teams but they're going to be athletic and better than us, most likely.
I sure hope Fran finds the magic formula to bring some good athletes here or it's gonna be a decade before we're dancing again.
Just seems that for us to win now we need:
To have incredible energy and effort, something that can't be reproduced every game. You just can't get up for every game.
Execution at an A level. We saw that in the home wins vs. MSU and Indiana.
The other team to not play as well as they can. We almost beat Wisconsin because they couldn't hit anything in the first half.
Also see Fred building a team up in Ames with athletes. Yeah, they're going to be the "Island of Misfit Tools" up there with all of the cast-offs from other teams but they're going to be athletic and better than us, most likely.
I sure hope Fran finds the magic formula to bring some good athletes here or it's gonna be a decade before we're dancing again.
I will concede that I hoped that Dillard would have some great ''connections'' with his background,and still hope that. Now that said, he might be a father figure on the staff for the players,and that is important. I admit my buddy who was watching the Minny game asked about his role also,so it is a question that is asked.
Fran and Barta had to know that recruiting talent was the #1 challenge to success at Iowa,so I have to trust that Fran knows what he is doing in putting this staff together. One thing about Speraw, his former assistant was Bryce's coach in the Texas Juco,and he turned Kirk on to Bryce,so these older coaches do have a lot of contacts that could bear fruit.
So far, Frans has gotten Basabe,Bryce,Oglesby and White...I like them all from what I have seen or heard. Oglesby is a top 115 ranked player who is a shooter,why the questioning? White seems to be underrated as his stock is rising in Ohio. Mel and Bryce are out-performing expectations also....keep it up,Fran.
Fran and Barta had to know that recruiting talent was the #1 challenge to success at Iowa,so I have to trust that Fran knows what he is doing in putting this staff together. One thing about Speraw, his former assistant was Bryce's coach in the Texas Juco,and he turned Kirk on to Bryce,so these older coaches do have a lot of contacts that could bear fruit.
So far, Frans has gotten Basabe,Bryce,Oglesby and White...I like them all from what I have seen or heard. Oglesby is a top 115 ranked player who is a shooter,why the questioning? White seems to be underrated as his stock is rising in Ohio. Mel and Bryce are out-performing expectations also....keep it up,Fran.
DodgerHawki
Well-Known Member
Two separate items you have going on...
one dealing with the Iowa program, the other is in comparison to ISU.
Any person looking at the situation realistically had to know that this year was going to be a lot like the last couple (as in, not much winning). Our leading returning player (Fuller) was leaving, new coach, etc. Yes it stinks that we have to play as well as we can and hope that a good opponent doesn't in order to win, but that's reality right now. The only way to fix it is for the guys on the roster to improve and to bring in better players. That takes time.
As to the comparison with Iowa State, Hoiberg may very well be quite successful. So what?
one dealing with the Iowa program, the other is in comparison to ISU.
Any person looking at the situation realistically had to know that this year was going to be a lot like the last couple (as in, not much winning). Our leading returning player (Fuller) was leaving, new coach, etc. Yes it stinks that we have to play as well as we can and hope that a good opponent doesn't in order to win, but that's reality right now. The only way to fix it is for the guys on the roster to improve and to bring in better players. That takes time.
As to the comparison with Iowa State, Hoiberg may very well be quite successful. So what?
Thawki
Well-Known Member
Fran needs to START bringing in B10 caliber players?
Some act like he hasn't done that yet. He brought in two B10 caliber players in less than three months of recruiting.
I find it interesting that his first full recruiting class isn't done yet and people act like he hasn't done anything meaningful on the recruiting front. Does anyone remember the two recruits Alford brought in after he was hired? Fermino and Griffin. Fran brought in the second best freshman in the conference and a point guard that leads the conference in assists.
Some of you need to realize what he has done already on the recruiting front and then you need to wait until this class is done before you worry too much. I don't hear a lot of ********, but i hear an awful lot of worrying, considering what he did in a few months of recruiting last year.
Some act like he hasn't done that yet. He brought in two B10 caliber players in less than three months of recruiting.
I find it interesting that his first full recruiting class isn't done yet and people act like he hasn't done anything meaningful on the recruiting front. Does anyone remember the two recruits Alford brought in after he was hired? Fermino and Griffin. Fran brought in the second best freshman in the conference and a point guard that leads the conference in assists.
Some of you need to realize what he has done already on the recruiting front and then you need to wait until this class is done before you worry too much. I don't hear a lot of ********, but i hear an awful lot of worrying, considering what he did in a few months of recruiting last year.
I think a team full of kids with Basabe's talent- obviously not all PFs, but equal in skill, could compete in the top half of the Big Ten.
Fran has recruited and signed two players on this team, and they are arguably the best two players on the team, I see no reason to be discouraged over the lack of 4 or 5 star kids he has committed, when we can actually see his two recruits can compete in the Big Ten.
Also, I'm not sure why some are insinuating that Ogelsby is a fallback recruit, the kid is a great shooter and good passer, he has adequate size and quickness, a top 125 rated kid, while Iowa's SG is going to be a senior when Ogelsby arrives- seems like a no brainer to me.
I'd also hold off on this "Fred's building a great team in Ames," stuff. Royce White might be the real deal, or he might get busted for theft for the third time during the summer, Fred is gambling big time, let us not pretend that a man is rich because he has acquired a great number of Lotto tickets.
sportstalent
Well-Known Member
I don't know about how "optimistic" people were heading into this season, more than one thought Iowa would be lucky to reach last year's win total.
From what I have read here, people get carried away when Iowa wins, but even more when there is a bad loss.
Honestly, how many people thought losses like the Minnesota loss would be the rule this year and not the exception. Fran has brought a different style of play and I see no drawbacks so far and the program has progressed. The Big Ten top to bottom is very difficult, think about this if Iowa were playing at this level that they have been in the Big Ten at the start of the season how many more wins would Iowa have?
We can ponder that all day, but we have to live in reality. Fran is a very smart guy and he has constantly said that this won't happen overnight, but him saying that I feel he thinks it can happen sooner than expected, he has constantly said he likes the talent on the roster. The big problem is Iowa doesn't have a full roster, bench scoring and overall depth has been the big issue. Look at games when more than one guy from the bench has produced and shockingly, Iowa has won.
Reality is, Iowa needs to continue to add depth and develop players, this staff has already proven it can develop players...look at how Cartwright, Basabe, Marble, Brommer have all gotten better. I don't think Gatens/May have regressed in any way, Cartwright/Basabe have developed into better players, is that a knock on Gatens/May...not by any means.
People that say Fran hasn't proven himself on the recruiting trail need to take a serious look, he recruited Basabe to Seina and then to Iowa. Also, look at the NCAA tournament success at Seina, it isn't like they were a 2 or 3 seed ever, they had to play the big boys and beat them.
To say things about Dillard, I don't get, just look at the areas of the Country Iowa has offers to kids in the 2012 class, two from Texas...wonder if he had anything to do with those and two from Georgia...not sure who on staff was involved with offering them, but recruiting is the least of my worries today. Retention of players and player development are what is going to make better kids come back to Iowa again. A program cannot survive recruiting transfers and JUCO's and have players leave, graduate less than 10 freshman in a 10 year period, it has been proven and not just at Iowa. Look how long it has taken Cincy to become a quality program after Huggins left it in shambles by putting his eggs in JUCO players and having his freshman transfer out.
Throw Gatens/May/Payne/Cole/Brommer/McCabe/Marble and whoever else you want under the bus, but I believe they will graduate from Iowa and be four year players that started and finished when they could have walked away. Character of players means a lot and each that are listed have character, that matters to this staff and it should matter to the fans. Basketball is only part of it for me, seeing kids graduate is even bigger, it shows stability within a program and that is huge to the people we don't consider a lot of times...the parents.
Another thing about the transfers and people say Iowa has lost their best player every year for however many years. Outside of Tyler Smith, who among those "best" players has done anything? Obviously, the book is out on Aaron Fuller, but who among: Tucker, Palmer, Freeman, Kelly, Davis, Cougill, Peterson and whoever esle, if I am missing anyone has had a real impact on the school they transferred too? Peterson started at one point, but unless he got hurt I haven't saw him on the floor when I have watched Arkansas games lately, but they are a poor program and if he can't start there on a regular basis then he would not be having a whole lot of impact for Iowa either.
I guess my point is, rail on the players that are in the program today because they aren't good, but I wouldn't be wishing we had anyone back, except Kelly, from Cole's recruiting class on, no real losses to me, including Freeman. What Iowa has lost is that chance to develop a consistent program.
With Fran at the helm, Iowa will be better, they already are because the staff has true direction and does a good job on game day. When Iowa has lost big, they simply cannot hit shots and when your bench is as thin as Iowa's when it comes to scoring, who do you turn to?
From what I have read here, people get carried away when Iowa wins, but even more when there is a bad loss.
Honestly, how many people thought losses like the Minnesota loss would be the rule this year and not the exception. Fran has brought a different style of play and I see no drawbacks so far and the program has progressed. The Big Ten top to bottom is very difficult, think about this if Iowa were playing at this level that they have been in the Big Ten at the start of the season how many more wins would Iowa have?
We can ponder that all day, but we have to live in reality. Fran is a very smart guy and he has constantly said that this won't happen overnight, but him saying that I feel he thinks it can happen sooner than expected, he has constantly said he likes the talent on the roster. The big problem is Iowa doesn't have a full roster, bench scoring and overall depth has been the big issue. Look at games when more than one guy from the bench has produced and shockingly, Iowa has won.
Reality is, Iowa needs to continue to add depth and develop players, this staff has already proven it can develop players...look at how Cartwright, Basabe, Marble, Brommer have all gotten better. I don't think Gatens/May have regressed in any way, Cartwright/Basabe have developed into better players, is that a knock on Gatens/May...not by any means.
People that say Fran hasn't proven himself on the recruiting trail need to take a serious look, he recruited Basabe to Seina and then to Iowa. Also, look at the NCAA tournament success at Seina, it isn't like they were a 2 or 3 seed ever, they had to play the big boys and beat them.
To say things about Dillard, I don't get, just look at the areas of the Country Iowa has offers to kids in the 2012 class, two from Texas...wonder if he had anything to do with those and two from Georgia...not sure who on staff was involved with offering them, but recruiting is the least of my worries today. Retention of players and player development are what is going to make better kids come back to Iowa again. A program cannot survive recruiting transfers and JUCO's and have players leave, graduate less than 10 freshman in a 10 year period, it has been proven and not just at Iowa. Look how long it has taken Cincy to become a quality program after Huggins left it in shambles by putting his eggs in JUCO players and having his freshman transfer out.
Throw Gatens/May/Payne/Cole/Brommer/McCabe/Marble and whoever else you want under the bus, but I believe they will graduate from Iowa and be four year players that started and finished when they could have walked away. Character of players means a lot and each that are listed have character, that matters to this staff and it should matter to the fans. Basketball is only part of it for me, seeing kids graduate is even bigger, it shows stability within a program and that is huge to the people we don't consider a lot of times...the parents.
Another thing about the transfers and people say Iowa has lost their best player every year for however many years. Outside of Tyler Smith, who among those "best" players has done anything? Obviously, the book is out on Aaron Fuller, but who among: Tucker, Palmer, Freeman, Kelly, Davis, Cougill, Peterson and whoever esle, if I am missing anyone has had a real impact on the school they transferred too? Peterson started at one point, but unless he got hurt I haven't saw him on the floor when I have watched Arkansas games lately, but they are a poor program and if he can't start there on a regular basis then he would not be having a whole lot of impact for Iowa either.
I guess my point is, rail on the players that are in the program today because they aren't good, but I wouldn't be wishing we had anyone back, except Kelly, from Cole's recruiting class on, no real losses to me, including Freeman. What Iowa has lost is that chance to develop a consistent program.
With Fran at the helm, Iowa will be better, they already are because the staff has true direction and does a good job on game day. When Iowa has lost big, they simply cannot hit shots and when your bench is as thin as Iowa's when it comes to scoring, who do you turn to?
gohawkz
Well-Known Member
DeputyHawk
Well-Known Member
Good God everyone, give Fran a freaking chance.
SayHawkKid
Well-Known Member
One more time. Only two coaches who failed to sign a significant recruiting class in their first two years have been able to sign such a class. Fran knows this and is going to do whatever he needs to get a strong group of recruits signed by the early signing period in November. I also expect he will hold his assistants to the same standard. If someone isn't pulling their weight in recruiting he will make a move to bring in someone who will.
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