Thought Provoking Hawkeye Sports Question....

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SmalltownHawk

Well-Known Member
I've talked to many of Hawkeye fans in my day. Some I talk to on a regular basis, and some I just strike up a conversation at a sporting event. A few question I have been contemplating,

*Is all the negative talk, second guessing of coaches because we are relevant again in some of the major sports and we have had our share of close losses over the recent years in football/basketball, and those close losses have hurt our chances in the league?

*Is it the coaches or the players, or a combination of both?

*Is it the fans being overly critical, because they want us to be GREAT, and it hasn't happened for awhile?

I will end by using the ol Denny Green quote, "We are who are record says we are!"

We've been competive in A LOT of games in recent years and haven't been able to turn the hump, but that is by far a way more exciting than the Lick years, and 4-8 football records. I want to be great as much as the next guy, but if I could sing up for 22 win basketball seasons, and 8 or 9 win football seasons before the seasons started, I would take that! I'm not a complacent fan, and want IOWA to do great things, but you also have to know how many things have to fall in place for that to happen.
 
I think there's quite a bit of truth to that. Speaking for myself, the Alford and Lickliter eras have left me bitter and sick of losing. It's been 15 years since Tom Davis was let go, and it's ranged from disappointing to just plain pitiful basketball at times, for the majority of those years.

My patience is gone and has been gone for a while now - although I understand that a new coach does need some time to get things rolling. I get that. But after being mediocre to just flat out bad for so long, it makes it all the more painful to see an opportunity for a great regular season frittered away with so many close losses and blown leads, for the second year in a row.

I think it is also partly true that the criticism of the coaching staff comes from the fact that Iowa is so bad in tight games.. If it's a game where it's tied or a 1-2 point game with a minute or two left, Iowa nearly always loses. I think it's valid to start asking "why" at some point, when it keeps happening over and over. Yeah, some people will complain no matter what, but if it was more like 50/50 in these types of games, I know I wouldn't be so frustrated.

So there's a look at what's going on inside the not-so-great mind of this particular Hawkeye fan.
 
I think the long run of wins at the end of last season caused the fanbase to be really positive all off-season and probably be a bit more optimistic than was realistic coming into this season. And that was fanned by success in the non-conference part of the season.
 
1977Hawkeye said:
I think there's quite a bit of truth to that. Speaking for myself, the Alford and Lickliter eras have left me bitter and sick of losing. It's been 15 years since Tom Davis was let go, and it's ranged from disappointing to just plain pitiful basketball at times, for the majority of those years.

My patience is gone and has been gone for a while now - although I understand that a new coach does need some time to get things rolling. I get that. But after being mediocre to just flat out bad for so long, it makes it all the more painful to see an opportunity for a great regular season frittered away with so many close losses and blown leads, for the second year in a row.

I think it is also partly true that the criticism of the coaching staff comes from the fact that Iowa is so bad in tight games.. If it's a game where it's tied or a 1-2 point game with a minute or two left, Iowa nearly always loses. I think it's valid to start asking "why" at some point, when it keeps happening over and over. Yeah, some people will complain no matter what, but if it was more like 50/50 in these types of games, I know I wouldn't be so frustrated.

So there's a look at what's going on inside the not-so-great mind of this particular Hawkeye fan.
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The bolded part above I think hits it on the head. I dont know or have researched the stats on close games or late, blown leads but again if the hawks hold on to win just two of the close games this year they lost it would make a big difference. Or lets say 4 of the losses were turned around. Wow what a deal that would be.

It would be nice to be 50-50 or a little better in those types of games
 
It's easier to be "great" in basketball than football. Basketball takes 1-2 game changer recruits and you are "great". Football, I would take 8-9 wins every year...sure it would be frustrating...but it means you're pretty competitive.
 
I believe about 98% of Iowa fans don't get intimately involved, but they strongly support the Hawkeyes. The other 2% are on this message board, analyzing every coaching move, every player's strong and weak points, all the nuances of outside influences on the players, coaches, and the overall program. And they provide very strong opinions.

The 98% just don't take it that seriously after each game is played. They just love their Hawkeyes, they enjoy watching the games, and then move on with their lives, far far away from message boards and social media to analyze (and over-analyze) everything. They may complain a little at times with bad calls, bad play, but they also cheer a lot. It's just a game to them.
 
Hawknigh said:
I think the long run of wins at the end of last season caused the fanbase to be really positive all off-season and probably be a bit more optimistic than was realistic coming into this season. And that was fanned by success in the non-conference part of the season.
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We are probably a better team than I thought we would be and we have a worse record than I thought we would. The high hopes were warranted we just can't do a single thing right in the last minute of a one possession game. If we could we would still be in contention for a conference title.
 
Hawknigh said:
I think the long run of wins at the end of last season caused the fanbase to be really positive all off-season and probably be a bit more optimistic than was realistic coming into this season. And that was fanned by success in the non-conference part of the season.
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Actually, this year's non-conference record was identical to last year (11-2). So I'm not sure I agree with that statement as relates to hype surrounding this year's team. I DO think, however, that the win @OSU may have been a bit of fool's gold, because that's when the hype machine really started to roll. Right now I view that game as a nice win on the road, over who was a very overrated team at the time we beat them. Still a good win, but OSU is not a Top 5-10 team like we may have been thinking at the time.

Iowa was a hair away from an NCAA invite last year. Win a couple of the close games that it lost, and Iowa is probably dancing, albeit at a low seed. Just my opinion, but I think it was perfectly realistic to expect a good jump forward this year given that basically the entire team was coming back, plus a few newcomers.

Yeah, I think maybe some of us got a little over-excited when Seth Greenberg started talking about us being a Final Four team, but I have to respectfully disagree that expectations were unrealistic this year. Given all of the close losses, this year, Iowa is (once again, just like last year) just a hair away from having won a few of these tight games that it lost.. Nova, ISU, MSU.. This team could very easily be 22-4 right now, or some similar record, and probably be on track for a 2 or 3 seed. The close losses are killing us the last two years.
 
1977Hawkeye said:
Actually, this year's non-conference record was identical to last year (11-2). So I'm not sure I agree with that statement as relates to hype surrounding this year's team. I DO think, however, that the win @OSU may have been a bit of fool's gold, because that's when the hype machine really started to roll. Right now I view that game as a nice win on the road, over who was a very overrated team at the time we beat them. Still a good win, but OSU is not a Top 5-10 team like we may have been thinking at the time.

Iowa was a hair away from an NCAA invite last year. Win a couple of the close games that it lost, and Iowa is probably dancing, albeit at a low seed. Just my opinion, but I think it was perfectly realistic to expect a good jump forward this year given that basically the entire team was coming back, plus a few newcomers.

Yeah, I think maybe some of us got a little over-excited when Seth Greenberg started talking about us being a Final Four team, but I have to respectfully disagree that expectations were unrealistic this year. Given all of the close losses, this year, Iowa is (once again, just like last year) just a hair away from having won a few of these tight games that it lost.. Nova, ISU, MSU.. This team could very easily be 22-4 right now, or some similar record, and probably be on track for a 2 or 3 seed. The close losses are killing us the last two years.
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I don't think the hype was overblown at all. If we were average at closing out games we would be tied for the conference lead right now. If we were good at closing out games we would be a top 5 team and running away with the conference. Since we are really bad at closing out close games we are "only" a top 20 team that blows out bad teams, beats average teams by double digits, and normally outplays good teams until the closing minutes.

It's really fun to be able to watch such a good team play again but its also really frustrating to watch how this season is playing out. At least we aren't losing to bad teams like every other good team is doing. If we continue that, we will only lose one more game in the regular season. All and all its a really good year but also a year that could have been.
 
PCHawk said:
I don't think the hype was overblown at all. If we were average at closing out games we would be tied for the conference lead right now. If we were good at closing out games we would be a top 5 team and running away with the conference. Since we are really bad at closing out close games we are "only" a top 20 team that blows out bad teams, beats average teams by double digits, and normally outplays good teams until the closing minutes.

It's really fun to be able to watch such a good team play again but its also really frustrating to watch how this season is playing out. At least we aren't losing to bad teams like every other good team is doing. If we continue that, we will only lose one more game in the regular season. All and all its a really good year but also a year that could have been.
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Well said. I feel exactly the same way.
 
the bright side of losing all these close games is the odds have to turn and we'll win them. I'm hoping we start winning the close ones in B1G tourney and keep it rolling in the NCAAs to Final 8 or 4! I recall MSU FB winning the close ones in 2011, losing them in 2012 and winning them again in 2013. Iowa FB does the same thing like 2009 vs 2010 good luck/bad luck
 
This is NOT relevant to my initial post, but who do you see as leaders for next year's team? I see guys who have leading potential, but lack the ability to take over a game. We need to get a few JUCOs to step right in and fill the void that is going to be gone from Dev. Next year, just like this year, we have very solid foundation of good players, we need a VERY good player to emerge, via recruiting/player advances. Gabe has the potential to be scary good next year, if same gains are made!
 
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