WE are in a pretty good posisition!!

B

BuiltLikeWilt

Well-Known Member
Havn't been in this position for along time, that we have a nice class already signed, a ride to spend(on a good late player steal situation,any position). If we dont use it we have more to offer down the road. Won't kill us not to use it, but have it just in case a SOLID tranfer is avaiable. finally we are not scrambling to fiil a benc,.one year into coach Caffs regime!!:rolleyes: not bad wait till year 5!!
 








I don't want to be Johnny Raincloud here, but a lot of people on these boards also thought that all of Lickliter's recruiting classes were really good... But when Fran took over, most of the discussion has been centered around how badly we needed a talent upgrade.

I like optimism, but sometimes I think it's blind optimism.

By all accounts, Fran seems to know how to spot decent talent based on what we've gotten out of Basabe and Cartwright, so I'll trust his judgement until he proves that we should think otherwise.

So no, I am NOT saying that this recruiting class won't be a good one or that we aren't on the right track. I just prefer not to count our chickens before they've hatched.

I still expect a decent improvement next year.. Like .500 overall, to maybe 16-18 wins.
 


The difference is with Lick we lost our best player every year, so we were down our leading scorer trying to replace him with recruits or some one stepping up. My point in this thread is(Depth yes) but we've brought in guys that should blend in well with what we already have,on an improving team. Plus we are sitting on a ride with alot of movement going on in the recruiting world, to use or not to. Guys are getting out of letters of intent, and a good one could just fall in our lap.
If not, we can survive(be better record wise)with what we have also.
 
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I still think the biggest problem with Lick (as you alluded to) was the fact that we were losing players every year. 4 players after his second year. So we were basically starting over with freshmen, and a short roster, every year. Guess we'll never know how some of Lick's players would have looked as juniors or seniors.

I agree that more depth and stability (no transfers except Cully, who we already were without last year) should in itself pay dividends. More depth, and more experience. Even if our talent level doesn't significantly improve, just depth/experience will help.

For the record, I do think Fran is adding some good pieces - Hubbard sounds like he can contribute right away, and if what we're hearing about White is accurate, he is blooming and is a versatile player. I also like the athleticism Fran seems to be bringing in. Most of his recruits, we're hearing about how long and athletic they are. That can't be a bad thing.

So I like what Fran is doing so far - I was just playing devil's advocate. :D
 




I do think we can see how Lick's players ended up developing...look at what players he recruited left and who stayed. Cole/Gatens/May/Brommer/Archie were left last season, Cole came into his own with no injuries and some better coaching. Gatens is who he is, a good shooter that is not the number one option for anyone. Brommer should have been redshirted, but he did look like a player that can contribute, no matter how minor his role is. Archie still can't stay healthy, so his development is done.
Peterson/Kelly/Fuller/Cougill/Payne/Davis/Tucker/Palmer...etc, have had zero impact on their programs to date. Peterson probably the most, but he still had the same problems at Arkansas as at Iowa, turnover waiting to happen. Fuller is probably the only one that will have a significant impact, but he will be surrounded by a lot better talent than while at Iowa.
We don't know how they would have developed at Iowa, but none of these players really has done much, but there are a couple that still have two years left to prove it.
The days of having people leave should be over, this Senior class is the last large group left, I don't see May going anywhere as he is a Junior. It isn't to say that it will never happen again, but not to the magnitude as in the past.
The one thing that Fran has done from day one is provide stability to Iowa, something that hasn't been there for over a decade. It is good to bring in transfers and have some success, but roster turnover at a high rate is not good long term. Fran has brought in six freshman and two transfers in his two classes to date, having three or more Seniors per year is a good thing, development and leadership come from having four year players.
 


How many months to go? When do the summer leagues start? Isn't that referred to as the PTL or something like that? I can appreciate trying to keep the board alive until some new news develops but man this dead horse doesn't even have maggots anymore.
 


On a lighter note I did get a little chuckle last night when Geraldo Rivera slipped up and stated that Obama had be killed in a fire fight. Geeeesh you think the President would keep his distance from the halls of congress....lol.
 


I hope White/Olaseni/Hubbard look like a late-seventies Lute class. Lute got lucky with Lester, and didn't really sign a big-time recruit until he landed Stokes and Payne. But, Lute had a knack for finding what you might call "3 star sleepers," solid coachable kids who would grow into contributors, and who often had one great asset (Boyle's D, Hansen's and Berkenpas's shooting). He wouldn't waste a scholarship on a project unless the kid was a center, and he didn't sign a borderline Big 10 kid just to fill a hole (Alford and Lickliter's main sin).

Fran seems to have the same approach. If -- and it's a huge if until we see them in action -- White and Hubbard prove to be the kind of mobile, instinctive, and aggressive players Bryce and Mel turned out to be, then we'll have our best coach in a long time....

Is it just me, or does Roy Jr. remind anyone else a little of Bill Jones?
 


Player development is where Fran will make the difference (No comparing him to Lick). Fran is a players coach and knows how to utilize a player's strengths and improve a player's weaknesses. The future is bright for Iowa Hawkeye Basketball!
 


Lickliter recruited D2 talent / projects. McCaffrey is recruiting kids with other legit D1 offers with athleticism. I agree we aren't going to compete for big ten title next year, but in 12 short months the talent has improved exponentially and players actually want to be here.
 


PalmettoHawkFan said:
I hope White/Olaseni/Hubbard look like a late-seventies Lute class. Lute got lucky with Lester, and didn't really sign a big-time recruit until he landed Stokes and Payne. But, Lute had a knack for finding what you might call "3 star sleepers," solid coachable kids who would grow into contributors, and who often had one great asset (Boyle's D, Hansen's and Berkenpas's shooting). He wouldn't waste a scholarship on a project unless the kid was a center, and he didn't sign a borderline Big 10 kid just to fill a hole (Alford and Lickliter's main sin).

Fran seems to have the same approach. If -- and it's a huge if until we see them in action -- White and Hubbard prove to be the kind of mobile, instinctive, and aggressive players Bryce and Mel turned out to be, then we'll have our best coach in a long time....

Is it just me, or does Roy Jr. remind anyone else a little of Bill Jones?
Click to expand...

I'm not doubting you but I wonder why you say Lute got lucky with Ronnie. I didn't follow recruiting like I do know but I remember that Lute beat Bobbie Knight for his services. I think we were a finalist for Isiah Thomas, too.
 


icwesthawkeye said:
I'm not doubting you but I wonder why you say Lute got lucky with Ronnie. I didn't follow recruiting like I do know but I remember that Lute beat Bobbie Knight for his services. I think we were a finalist for Isiah Thomas, too.
Click to expand...

Ronnie Lester got the eyes of Denny Crum, Don Haskins, Bobby Knight, but he didn't have the hype of Isiah Thomas, or of Bruce Douglass out of Quincy a few years later. Coaches clearly saw he could be a player, but he wasn't considered a national top-10 prospect like, say, Dee Brown a few years ago.

I call Lute lucky in that he recruited a guy who was regarded about like Gesell is now, -- good, but not considered one of the 3 best PGs in the nation -- who developed into an AP All-American at Iowa. That kind of player development can happen, but it's rare.
 
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