lightning1
Well-Known Member
If Fran commits to coaching defense and holds players accountable, they can make drastic improvements next season. That means he will have to sit certain players, that can't or won't play D. Certain players that contribute a lot on the offensive end. I'm not convinced he'll do that.I'm in my late 30s and as far as my lifetime goes last yr was pretty disappointing. I mean going off of expectations going into last yr it should have been a step forward not 10 steps back like it was. Nobody got hurt or lost for an extended period and they just looked so inept on D. In my years of following Iowa ball I've never seen anything quite like it. Some could say losing Jok ended up hurting more than expected but I don't buy that. They played well for stretches without him his senior year. It's kinda hard to put a finger on just why that was. But it's 99% on the defensive end. (Which Jok didn't help a lot with)
Prior to that the Licklighter years were just strait up bad. The apathy and fans staying home during the majority of his tenure had to be historic for the program. He should have been let go a year sooner if not 2 earlier than he was. But well Barta...
All that being said I feel there's hope Iowa can drastically improve this year. Would I put the farm on it? Naw I'm not doing that but I do have hope. He's got talented kids that can score. If they can just get them on the same page defensively and all improve at it.. During the Licklighter years there was no such thing as hope past the first yr or so of his time... Between the lack of offensive talent and style of play there was just no chance..