This sucks

[theboat]

Ahhhh. Excuses. He had graduations coming and didn't recruit properly, knowing he'd lose them to graduations? (Using the same reason some of the negatives here use against Fran)

I think h recruited just fine, hence the championship 4 years later. Non blue bloods have rebuilding years. Iowa has rebuilding decades.

 

[sioux34]

I would agree that we COULD see a lot of improvement on defense. It boils down to two things:

1. How much effort are the players willing to put into defense? Not all but one, but EVERY player from the best one right down to the end of the bench walk-ons. Defense is a team effort, not an effort put forth by one or two guys.
2. How much emphasis will the coaching staff put on defense? It would be nice if, early in the season, the coaches benched players because of lack of effort on defense. It would be nice if the coaching staff spent more time on defensive schemes, although I have no idea how much time they spend on that now it appears to be lacking.

I know it took longer for some guys than others to absorb our defensive schemes when I was in college. It's a lot more than steals and blocked shots (There are weak side defensive rotations that the Hawks haven't come close to making that drive me nuts). Even though we had some guys that could fill it up, they didn't play much because they just didn't get defense.

It boggles my mind that Fran didn't make defense a point of emphasis as soon as he saw how shitty it was.

 

[atomicblue224]

No need to start now

I think

I agree with this except for the taking charges part. I want no part of a team flopping for charges like a bunch of pussies. God, I hate that part of the modern game.

I do too, I recently had a deep talk with a college basketball coach. Our conversations cover the part about the flopping acts in the game, He hates that.and I'm in agreement with him and also we also talk about playing basketball when there were just two points. He also mentioned that he hates three points. It was really good seeing him. He knows basketball. I told him that my dad takes me to college basketball games all over the country while he was in the Navy.

 

[lightning1]

It's hard to bench guys for not giving effort when no one is giving effort. I think you're minimizing the fact that kids want to win. It shouldn't take much after a year like this to push the right buttons. And I don't expect you believe shit. I never even said I believed it will happen.

You believe that if you want.

 

[lightning1]

I don't know. When I was on the team in college, we spent probably 75%-80% of practice time on defense. Individual defensive drills, team breakdown defensive drills and controlled scrimmage for defensive play. We rarely did an open scrimmage. Coach Levick ran his practices like clockwork, and we followed his practice schedules exactly.

Ok. I was talking about the individual.

 

[NoBeer]

It would be nice if the coaching staff spent more time on defensive schemes, although I have no idea how much time they spend on that now it appears to be lacking.

I tell you what. I good start would be spending enough time that a player doesn't go on record saying, "We don't really practice defense that much", again next year. That would be a start.

 

[Northside Hawk]

We need speed and quickness on defense. JW is SG not a PG. He lacks the foot speed and quickness. JW reminds me a an Adam Haluska type; though, AH seems to have been quicker. I am not thrilled with CJ coming onboard because we need quickness and speed and he doesn't have it to the level we need.

lighting, do you always have to be an ass and make everything into a name calling bitch-fest? can't you just have a civil discussion?

I will double down with you in agreement that we need more perimeter quickness but I can see Lightning's point on how Fran's not likely to recruit over his son. As for the end of your post I had a civil, actually enjoyable, exchange with Lightning that took half a page of this thread. We respected each other and our comments could be documented by quantified fact. Not too difficult.

I get it, everyone is frustrated. Extending the coach, arming him with a buyout, and trying to hide it under the rug in a down year is not a healthy progression. Now it appears Fran will be allowed to keep his staff intact. I was SURE one of them had to go.

Look, no one likes to feel like they were fleeced. Consumers are smarter and better informed than ever. Only the very best can con the consumer without them realizing that they're being conned. I'll close with something I hope we all can agree on ever if it's off subject. I'm waiting for the day that the con artist in Minneapolis has his boat spring a leak, gets dumped in the Mississippi like a twelve inch small mouth, and floats by the Dubuque water front with Captain Fleck and that witch-chinned plastic wife of his frantically bailing out the bilge to stay afloat. I'll be on the Dubuque shoreline with a cold one in my hand laughing my ass off.

 

[PCHawk]

You believe that if you want.

Well like I said, I didn't say I believe he "will" do it. I said he "can" do it. If he does, it will be obvious in the results. If he doesn't, it will be obvious in the results.

 

[ChosenChildren]

I remember watching Iowa football lose for 20 consecutive seasons. We always blathered about the talent gap during that horrible twenty year stretch, and that our players were so much "worse" than the other teams in the Big Ten. Then Hayden came along, and won a Big Ten title with leftover players recruited by Bob Cummings. It isn't always about talent, guys. Our basketball team this year looked poorly coached, lethargic and confused most of the time (at least until the last 3 games, when they looked like a completely different team; explain that one!). The attention to detail just was not there.

I'm starting to think Fran may be the problem. This season convinced me. Do the players want to learn from him and follow him?

 

[Northside Hawk]

I remember watching Iowa football lose for 20 consecutive seasons. We always blathered about the talent gap during that horrible twenty year stretch, and that our players were so much "worse" than the other teams in the Big Ten. Then Hayden came along, and won a Big Ten title with leftover players recruited by Bob Cummings. It isn't always about talent, guys. Our basketball team this year looked poorly coached, lethargic and confused most of the time (at least until the last 3 games, when they looked like a completely different team; explain that one!). The attention to detail just was not there.

I'm starting to think Fran may be the problem. This season convinced me. Do the players want to learn from him and follow him?

Living in the heart of badger country and many of my Wisconsin friends have made similar comments about Fran leaving something to desired as a coach. He's definitely showed them first hand that he leaves something to be desired about his temper. It was at the Kohl four or five years ago that he had the mother of all meltdowns. Many didn't see the full Franimal because it occurred over a TV timeout so the viewers only got a truncated version. I was there. Coaches have been fired for less. He went on for at least a minute after receiving the second technical (which means immediate adios). He stormed to the far corner of the court where the third official was standing. One famous still photo appeared to catch him with his fist closed. I was wearing Iowa gear in the Kohl Center. While I was under no threat of innocuous harrassment that was one game where I wish I had turned it inside out.

 

[trj]

You didn't answer it the first time so I'll ask it again. How were Villanova fans patient?

Because he is still coaching at Villanova. I don’t know maybe he was allowed to hit the reset button on multiple occasions.

 

[trj]

That was a rebuilding year after losing Stokes and Fisher from the year before. Wright went to the Final 4 three seasons before that and already had 2 Sweet 16's and an Elite Eight prior to that so I still can't figure out why anyone would ever bring up Jay Wright or Villanova in an Iowa Basketball thread.

Well, we all can’t get Steve Prohm.

 

[Hawk5656]

Because he is still coaching at Villanova. I don’t know maybe he was allowed to hit the reset button on multiple occasions.

What multiple occasions was he allowed to hit the reset button or are you referring to his one bad year which was 3 years after a Final 4 appearance. If Fran had a couple Sweet 16's, an Elite 8 and a Final 4 under his belt here it would be a completely different discussion.

 

[seepig]

I can understand this year being so bad that you want to move on. But it's already so bad that you want to do terrible, just to get Fran out? That's just pathetic in my opinion. If a new coach guaranteed success, it would be one thing. But what do you think the odds are that a new coach will have better results than Fran has the last 5 or 6 years? Good enough odds to wish for another season like this? Let me ask you this. Would you rather finish 3rd in the conference next year, or last?

First off Fran's not going anywhere so continued questions about what a new coach would do are pointless. Actually any number of coaches MIGHT have won more than 4 conference games we'll never know. Second, I would much rather finish 3rd than last any time and twice on Sunday...what's your point with that statement. You are what your record and stats say you are and Fran's never had an Iowa team anywhere near a champion level DEFENSE..he's an offensive coach and his defensive coaching is truly offensive.

 

[PCHawk]

First off Fran's not going anywhere so continued questions about what a new coach would do are pointless. Actually any number of coaches MIGHT have won more than 4 conference games we'll never know. Second, I would much rather finish 3rd than last any time and twice on Sunday...what's your point with that statement. You are what your record and stats say you are and Fran's never had an Iowa team anywhere near a champion level DEFENSE..he's an offensive coach and his defensive coaching is truly offensive.

I was talking to a guy who said he wants to lose to get Fran out, so I asked him if he would rather finish 3rd (something Fran has done twice) or last (something that would get rid of Fran sooner). It was just a question specifically for him to gauge how extreme he was with hoping to lose. If he would trade a middle of the pack finish in hopes to get Fran out sooner, that wouldn't be that extreme. If he would trade a 3rd place finish to get Fran out sooner, that would be more extreme. I was just curious.

 

[PCHawk]

First off Fran's not going anywhere so continued questions about what a new coach would do are pointless. Actually any number of coaches MIGHT have won more than 4 conference games we'll never know. Second, I would much rather finish 3rd than last any time and twice on Sunday...what's your point with that statement. You are what your record and stats say you are and Fran's never had an Iowa team anywhere near a champion level DEFENSE..he's an offensive coach and his defensive coaching is truly offensive.

He had some pretty good defensive efficiency stats for a few years.

 

[trj]

What multiple occasions was he allowed to hit the reset button or are you referring to his one bad year which was 3 years after a Final 4 appearance. If Fran had a couple Sweet 16's, an Elite 8 and a Final 4 under his belt here it would be a completely different discussion.

ISU national champs next year.

 

[seepig]

He had some pretty good defensive efficiency stats for a few years.

What's pretty good?

 

[PCHawk]

What's pretty good?

I think 20s and 30s. Pretty much where the offense was this year.

 

[lightning1]

What multiple occasions was he allowed to hit the reset button or are you referring to his one bad year which was 3 years after a Final 4 appearance. If Fran had a couple Sweet 16's, an Elite 8 and a Final 4 under his belt here it would be a completely different discussion.

No doubt. He's actually got a "body of work" that's impressive enough to buy some good will. Fran? Not even close!