Where Hawkeyes Head After Missing Out on D.J. Carton

[BigD]

FM has never utilized a good solid traditional pt guard. He had several decent one's who had good parts of their game, but never a point guard with a broad arsenal. He doesn't really want one. He would have taken DJ no doubt, but FM would have to change who he is.

It's like KF with a dual threat QB.

Not much fun in hawkeyeland.

 

[BryceC]

Not a huge loss as it never was a fit. For most coaches it would be. Conner is the pt guard of the future, good or bad.

If a 5 star point guard isn't a good fit, your coach sucks. Good coaches find ways to make great players fit.

 

[HawkGold]

If a 5 star point guard isn't a good fit, your coach sucks. Good coaches find ways to make great players fit.

That is one of the most profound statements I've seen on here in a while. Could me a multitude of things.

 

[BigD]

I mentioned this in another thread. Whatever recruiting momentum Fran was building after reaching the NCAA'S in 2014, '15, and '16 is now gone. He has lost all but one from his 2015 class that came in on the heels of an NCAA bid, the point in his tenure where he had to really cash in. His chance to keep us solidly in the top tier of the conference may have slipped away. Now the Nebraska's and Penn States of the world are passing us by. Because they, say it now everyone, recruited better athletes and better defenders! And kept their coaches on shorter contract leashes.

We will have an experienced team the next two years that has been around the league a couple times. That alone should improve our 4-14. NCAA'S? The jury is still out. And how badly will will we be exposed once we get there? Most teams sort of treat March a little more seriously than a December or January match up.

With Cook in the mix this upcoming season and the one after had to be the year most fans were anticipating great things from. It’s do or die for Franny or even the most ardent fans will be find no good reason to support him (minus the wifey poo).

 

[NikeHawk21]

Big miss - first big time recruit from the state that Fran wanted that he's missed on. It's not a good sign. It doesn't mean all is lost, but it certainly is gonna suck hard seeing that kid play against Iowa for 4 years. There's no real way to spin this other then a huge loss for Iowa. Hawks need to dance this season or Iowa needs a new a coach.

Apparently you didn’t hear of Marcus Paige and Fran attending every one of his AAU games for a summer. Granted different times but that’s a hard narrative to push when it’s not accurate.

 

[InGoodCo]

Apparently you didn’t hear of Marcus Paige and Fran attending every one of his AAU games for a summer. Granted different times but that’s a hard narrative to push when it’s not accurate.

haha - Fran was hired at Iowa in April of 2010 and Paige committed to NC in what? Dec 2010 or Jan of 2011? I just want to be at least FAIR about it. You can't land a player like Marcus Paige with under 8 months of recruitment after Iowa went through it's worst 3 year history ever. Hanging him for Paige isn't exactly accurate either.

 

[NikeHawk21]

haha - Fran was hired at Iowa in April of 2010 and Paige committed to NC in what? Dec 2010 or Jan of 2011? I just want to be at least FAIR about it. You can't land a player like Marcus Paige with under 8 months of recruitment after Iowa went through it's worst 3 year history ever. Hanging him for Paige isn't exactly accurate either.

Agreed. Which is why I said clearly a different time and situation.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

In a lot of ways Fran can't win. I mean he HAD to go all out trying to get Carton. No if ands or butts. But some on here made it sound like he shouldn't have because it was 'obvious' he was never coming to Iowa. Well till last night that didn't seem to be the case and Fran had to keep trying. You can't land him if you aren't trying. So I for one am not going to kill Fran over that. I'm surprised OSU is on his list still. Indiana sorta makes sense and so does Michigan. I would suspect Michigan is where he'll end up as it's seemed that way for a few weeks now

 

[#1DieHardHawk]

Well, of COURSE Fran won't just "bring one in". Why in the world would we want an actual player at FIVE positions on the floor when we can have FOUR positions covered and one which the currently highly-paid coach has zero ability to cover?

This charade has to stop. Iowa basketball shouldn't be the Fran School For Talented Sons And Sometimes We Win Games Too. Either make the NCAA tournament or bust.

Fran "stood pat" last season and ended up 4-14 in conference play. Getting his brakes beaten off by double digits more than half of those 14 losses.
On second thought....maybe Gutless Gary and Fran will "stand pat" until someone fires their arses. We could be so lucky.

I'm not advocating that "standing pat" is the right move or proposing that his methods make any sense, just pointing out that when asked about PG recruiting he made that statement, so it is possible that we don't see any other offers after losing out on Carton.

Personally, I've been more than critical of his ass-backwards recruiting. I understand his emphasis on "best player available," but, at some point, you also have to look at the make up of your roster and anticipate needs. We can't just bring in lanky wing players year after year and neglect other positions. Even if Williams had stayed, it was pretty obvious two years ago that this team was devoid of a perimeter player that was a natural at ball handling, defending and distributing. Williams leaving simply made a bad situation worse.

 

[#1DieHardHawk]

In a lot of ways Fran can't win. I mean he HAD to go all out trying to get Carton. No if ands or butts. But some on here made it sound like he shouldn't have because it was 'obvious' he was never coming to Iowa. Well till last night that didn't seem to be the case and Fran had to keep trying. You can't land him if you aren't trying. So I for one am not going to kill Fran over that. I'm surprised OSU is on his list still. Indiana sorta makes sense and so does Michigan. I would suspect Michigan is where he'll end up as it's seemed that way for a few weeks now

My guess is he still ends up at a blue-blood, quite possibly Kansas.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

My guess is he still ends up at a blue-blood, quite possibly Kansas.

Yeah we'll see I'm sure it'll be a page turning news deal whenever he decides. When Bieline didn't get the Pistons gig (that was a long shot yet he interviewed for it) I figured that was that for Carton. But as you mentioned if a KY, KS, UNC, Duke etc decide to jump in the fray for him who knows how that might effect him

 

[InGoodCo]

I hope he still ends up at a blue blood, if he does, then telling Iowa now might have been a pretty big gift.

 

[homes]

The power these kids have is amazing and bizarre at the same time. None of it is rational.

 

[HuckFinn]

Not sure what exactly you’re trying to say here but, yeah, I’d like to see Fran find and play a more talented PG ahead of his son. Really. Really.

Fran’s failure to recruit a point guard smacks of:
1) Nepotism
2) Shades of Li’l Lick 2.0

We certainly are in agreement that Fran should continue to recruit high quality point guards. I was simply saying that I think he will, and if someone new beats out his son, I am confident that Fran will start the better point guard. Really. As to nepotism, you probably don't want to bank on being able to read Fran's mind. As to Lick, you obviously did not see him play, because if you did, you would surely know that a comparison between Lick and C. Mac is likely the dumbest thing I have seen posted in a while.

 

[hawkeyebob62]

I feel like Rob wrote this piece last week.

^^So much This^^

 

[hawkeyebob62]

You have to get the ones in your back yard. Losing recruiting battles for the best kids in the state every year is what got Mr. Davis ran out. It will be Fran's undoing as well unless he lands Foster and compensates with other top 50 recruits.

The difference is Mr. Davis lost them to blue-bloods who weren't B1G opponents. In the case of Carton, his final three are ALL B1G opponents. All state schools. ALL schools that should have no business pulling out in-state guys. And with how it's happened in football, I'm getting a little tired of Michigan beating out our staffs in the recruiting wars.

Time for me to start "wishing" some of these guys flop and/or have nagging injuries at their destinations...

 

[CP87]

I haven't read through all of this thread so maybe it was brought up earlier, but isn't it true that Carton did not move to Iowa until high school, and he did not grow up a Hawk fan (though his grandfather was an alum)? If so, then him being "in-state" really means very little, so this is no different from McCafferey missing out on a 5-star recruit from Minneapolis, Chicago, or St. Louis. It stings to not finish first in these very difficult races, but it is not an indication of some fatal flaw in McCafferey's coaching.

As several others have pointed out, the stink-fest that the '14 and '15 classes turned into is much more worrisome to me than McCafferey swinging for the fences on a regional 5-star and coming up short.

 

[WindsorHawk]

This is bad for Fran, he put all his eggs in this basket.

How do you know this? If Fran has his eyes on other PGs why publicize it and draw attention to them? If Fran is comfortable with Connor and Jordan why offer anyone other than an elite talent when he can afford to wait until next year and go after another one.

 

[WindsorHawk]

I hope things get turned around but I'm not holding my breath.

Fran already turned things around. There is far more evidence that last year was a fluke than the norm if being totally objective and making comments based on Iowa's record and the season by season progression...prior to last year.

 

[WindsorHawk]

DJC is good...quite possibly elite. He would have had a special year at Iowa...and likely been gone. It's not as if he was going to stay 4 years and win a couple National Championships.