Trust Coach McCollum to guide the Hawks in the new norm chaos of pay-for-play fee agency roster turnover

[wwhawk]

When Coach DeVries left Drake for W VA, only 2 Bulldog players from DeVries' last team opted to stay in Des Moines.
Coach McCollum filled out the roster with new-to-Drake players, including bringing 4 Division II players with him from NW MO State who became starters on this year's team that won both the regular season MO Valley title and its Arch Madness conference tournament, as well as knocking off SEC team MO in round I of the Dance.

An article from ESPN provided this info about men's teams that lost a lot of players from last year:
TEAM Returning scholarship players Transfer players brought in This year's outcome
Kentucky 0 9 3 seed NCAA tourney
Louisville 0 12 8 seed NCAA tourney
Michigan 3 6 6 seed NCAA tourney
Arkansas 1 6 10 seed NCAA tourney (beat #7 seed Kansas)

There are many, many more teams that had massive player turnover, but the above confirms that high turnover does not preclude a very good "next season."

As many other Hawk fans have noted in other threads, while it is disappointing to see all the recruits decommit, and so many current players hit the portal, playing tough D at all times like Coach McCollum will insist upon was not what those abandoning the program signed up for. Allegiance to Coach McCaffery is understandable, and we wish the ones who don't reconsider and stay, the best at their new schools.

It was a pleasure to watch the entire press conference where Coach McCollum was brought on board. It certainly appears he fully recognizes that not only does he need to fill the roster, but he also must dedicate himself and the team to re-energizing the students and fan base toward the goal of refilling CHA. Four national titles at any level confirms he has incredible skill in roster building. Much work to be done most certainly, and time will tell-but his enthusiasm is contagious!

GO HAWKS!

 

[BigD]

Although I was aware of most of the info shared here it is always good to hear the info once again. From my own experience in basketball and the players I have associated with, it is no big surprise to most that scoring is where it is at with most basketball players. It is how a player gets most of their recognition. For that reason the focus is usually on offense.

When Fran came in he was made very well aware of the situation. Fan's had gone through a long drawn out few years with low scoring and losses to go along with it. Fran was made aware of this and he knew that if energy was going to be brought back into the program that scoring would definitely have to be apart of the program.

So that was the main focus and justifiably so. While Fran was here he reached his goals of high scoring offenses that were among the best in the Big Ten. It was different and entertaining to say the least especially after the few years of Lickliter that focused on reducing game totals in terms of number of possessions per game. This manifested itself in some incredibly low scoring games. These were games that made it a challenge at times to try to keep awake at home if you were sitting in a comfortable lazy boy recliner.

Is there a happy medium somewhere where the defense is quite good and yet the scores are in the mid to upper 70's and higher while maintaining a staunch defense. I've been following Iowa basketball since the mid 1970's and I only remember seeing this type of approach done with great success by two Iowa Head Coach's in Coach Olsen and Coach Davis. Incidently, I would say they just happen to be in my opinion among the two most successful coaches in my time following Iowa basketball. They both had games when the shots weren't falling yet because of their staunch defense there were games where they hung in the game because they held their opponents close going late into games.

So defense is very important especially during tournament times in March. During March you are playing against some of the best teams in the country, so you better have your game face on. If you don't play defense and you get one or two of those games where the shots aren't fallen at a percentage that you are used to, then you still have a chance if you are playing good defense.

Why? That's a simple answer. If you are playing really good defense then you are altering your opponents offense just as they are making your teams offense struggle. So, as long as that is what is going on in a game, then you will still be there toward the end of the game. At that point your chances are just as good as your opponents.

Fran did a great job of getting wins during his time at Iowa. In fact setting a school record for wins. The trouble that hurt him was defense that were often broken down by opponents which led to wide open three's and easy baskets at the hoop for opponents. This lack of defensing success really hurt the team during March Madness as early exits were all we came to know.

So far we are short a team right now with most of our former players in the portal. I think some fans had hoped that Iowa's new coach would be able to instill enough hope to draw a few back into the fold. As I mentioned early on in my comments that most of Fran's players were focused in on a scoring mindset. It appears that's how they were coached. Fran is not to be blamed for this as it is what was really needed at the time. Players aren't to be totally blamed either as it appears that they were just doing what the coach and the University were asking them to do, score, score, and make it entertaining.

Now here we are with a new coach who is very focused on having a strong defense. The question is what will our offense eventually end up being like? Will it be Lickliter 2 or a mix of Lute and/or Tom ball? Ben has publicly stated that yes he had to focus on a more defensively centered team this past year because he had to rebuild Drake immediately with with just two or three players carrying over from the previous year. Ben stated that his normal offense once established with the players he wants will be much more quicker paced than his team that he had this year in Drake. Better offense with a strong defense. Well, I am all for that.

Rebuilding a team Drake from practically nothing. Why does this sound familiar?

Well if nothing else Iowa's new coach has shown it can be done and in style with thirty plus wins, a March Madness appearance and a first round win over a power five conference team. I mean really think about all of that. That's incredible.

Maybe the few Iowa players who are still in the portal and haven't committed to a new yet will return. If not I am sure that Coach McCollum will make the best of the hand dealt him. Let the games begin. I can't wait to see basketball season this next fall.

 

[HuckFinn]

When Coach DeVries left Drake for W VA, only 2 Bulldog players from DeVries' last team opted to stay in Des Moines.
Coach McCollum filled out the roster with new-to-Drake players, including bringing 4 Division II players with him from NW MO State who became starters on this year's team that won both the regular season MO Valley title and its Arch Madness conference tournament, as well as knocking off SEC team MO in round I of the Dance.

An article from ESPN provided this info about men's teams that lost a lot of players from last year:
TEAM Returning scholarship players Transfer players brought in This year's outcome
Kentucky 0 9 3 seed NCAA tourney
Louisville 0 12 8 seed NCAA tourney
Michigan 3 6 6 seed NCAA tourney
Arkansas 1 6 10 seed NCAA tourney (beat #7 seed Kansas)

There are many, many more teams that had massive player turnover, but the above confirms that high turnover does not preclude a very good "next season."

As many other Hawk fans have noted in other threads, while it is disappointing to see all the recruits decommit, and so many current players hit the portal, playing tough D at all times like Coach McCollum will insist upon was not what those abandoning the program signed up for. Allegiance to Coach McCaffery is understandable, and we wish the ones who don't reconsider and stay, the best at their new schools.

It was a pleasure to watch the entire press conference where Coach McCollum was brought on board. It certainly appears he fully recognizes that not only does he need to fill the roster, but he also must dedicate himself and the team to re-energizing the students and fan base toward the goal of refilling CHA. Four national titles at any level confirms he has incredible skill in roster building. Much work to be done most certainly, and time will tell-but his enthusiasm is contagious!

GO HAWKS!

You need to post more often.

 

[HuckFinn]

When Coach DeVries left Drake for W VA, only 2 Bulldog players from DeVries' last team opted to stay in Des Moines.
Coach McCollum filled out the roster with new-to-Drake players, including bringing 4 Division II players with him from NW MO State who became starters on this year's team that won both the regular season MO Valley title and its Arch Madness conference tournament, as well as knocking off SEC team MO in round I of the Dance.

An article from ESPN provided this info about men's teams that lost a lot of players from last year:
TEAM Returning scholarship players Transfer players brought in This year's outcome
Kentucky 0 9 3 seed NCAA tourney
Louisville 0 12 8 seed NCAA tourney
Michigan 3 6 6 seed NCAA tourney
Arkansas 1 6 10 seed NCAA tourney (beat #7 seed Kansas)

There are many, many more teams that had massive player turnover, but the above confirms that high turnover does not preclude a very good "next season."

As many other Hawk fans have noted in other threads, while it is disappointing to see all the recruits decommit, and so many current players hit the portal, playing tough D at all times like Coach McCollum will insist upon was not what those abandoning the program signed up for. Allegiance to Coach McCaffery is understandable, and we wish the ones who don't reconsider and stay, the best at their new schools.

It was a pleasure to watch the entire press conference where Coach McCollum was brought on board. It certainly appears he fully recognizes that not only does he need to fill the roster, but he also must dedicate himself and the team to re-energizing the students and fan base toward the goal of refilling CHA. Four national titles at any level confirms he has incredible skill in roster building. Much work to be done most certainly, and time will tell-but his enthusiasm is contagious!

GO HAWKS!

You need to post more ofte

Although I was aware of most of the info shared here it is always good to hear the info once again. From my own experience in basketball and the players I have associated with, it is no big surprise to most that scoring is where it is at with most basketball players. It is how a player gets most of their recognition. For that reason the focus is usually on offense.

When Fran came in he was made very well aware of the situation. Fan's had gone through a long drawn out few years with low scoring and losses to go along with it. Fran was made aware of this and he knew that if energy was going to be brought back into the program that scoring would definitely have to be apart of the program.

So that was the main focus and justifiably so. While Fran was here he reached his goals of high scoring offenses that were among the best in the Big Ten. It was different and entertaining to say the least especially after the few years of Lickliter that focused on reducing game totals in terms of number of possessions per game. This manifested itself in some incredibly low scoring games. These were games that made it a challenge at times to try to keep awake at home if you were sitting in a comfortable lazy boy recliner.

Is there a happy medium somewhere where the defense is quite good and yet the scores are in the mid to upper 70's and higher while maintaining a staunch defense. I've been following Iowa basketball since the mid 1970's and I only remember seeing this type of approach done with great success by two Iowa Head Coach's in Coach Olsen and Coach Davis. Incidently, I would say they just happen to be in my opinion among the two most successful coaches in my time following Iowa basketball. They both had games when the shots weren't falling yet because of their staunch defense there were games where they hung in the game because they held their opponents close going late into games.

So defense is very important especially during tournament times in March. During March you are playing against some of the best teams in the country, so you better have your game face on. If you don't play defense and you get one or two of those games where the shots aren't fallen at a percentage that you are used to, then you still have a chance if you are playing good defense.

Why? That's a simple answer. If you are playing really good defense then you are altering your opponents offense just as they are making your teams offense struggle. So, as long as that is what is going on in a game, then you will still be there toward the end of the game. At that point your chances are just as good as your opponents.

Fran did a great job of getting wins during his time at Iowa. In fact setting a school record for wins. The trouble that hurt him was defense that were often broken down by opponents which led to wide open three's and easy baskets at the hoop for opponents. This lack of defensing success really hurt the team during March Madness as early exits were all we came to know.

So far we are short a team right now with most of our former players in the portal. I think some fans had hoped that Iowa's new coach would be able to instill enough hope to draw a few back into the fold. As I mentioned early on in my comments that most of Fran's players were focused in on a scoring mindset. It appears that's how they were coached. Fran is not to be blamed for this as it is what was really needed at the time. Players aren't to be totally blamed either as it appears that they were just doing what the coach and the University were asking them to do, score, score, and make it entertaining.

Now here we are with a new coach who is very focused on having a strong defense. The question is what will our offense eventually end up being like? Will it be Lickliter 2 or a mix of Lute and/or Tom ball? Ben has publicly stated that yes he had to focus on a more defensively centered team this past year because he had to rebuild Drake immediately with with just two or three players carrying over from the previous year. Ben stated that his normal offense once established with the players he wants will be much more quicker paced than his team that he had this year in Drake. Better offense with a strong defense. Well, I am all for that.

Rebuilding a team Drake from practically nothing. Why does this sound familiar?

Well if nothing else Iowa's new coach has shown it can be done and in style with thirty plus wins, a March Madness appearance and a first round win over a power five conference team. I mean really think about all of that. That's incredible.

Maybe the few Iowa players who are still in the portal and haven't committed to a new yet will return. If not I am sure that Coach McCollum will make the best of the hand dealt him. Let the games begin. I can't wait to see basketball season this next fall.

Good stuff, D. I think Ben will play good defense with a strong attacking offense in the Bo Ryan mode. Greg Gard does it well, also. We will not see a Lick approach.

 

[thedukeofearl]

You need to post more often.