Will Fran be in the Green Room?
- Thread starter Zstatman
- Start date
InGoodCo
Well-Known Member
I would imagine so - he's been doing national radio spots all week discussing the draft. I know this won't be popular on here cause nothing positive ever is, but Iowa has a very healthy basketball program. I think they have an outside shot of being better this year than last - think about that - 3 straight seasons of a team upgrading after losing all time great players? Pretty healthy
I think the Garza year was a better year than last year. But its close, and debatable.
It's certainly a debatable thing I'd say. I'd have to think about it more. They both dominated just differently. And the teams were different they had even though personel was mostly similar. I'd love to hear others 2 cents on it.
BigD
Well-Known Member
Why do you think they will be better? Wishful thinking? I mean that would be wonderful if true.
Now it could be true that they may be better defensively. Offensively? Not unless Chris explodes onto the scene like his brother did.
Got to give Fran his due for producing two great players in consecutive seasons. It will be awesome to see it happen again. Maybe Chris.
They guard position as usual will be the big question. They last two season we were just a dynamic guard away from being an elite eight and maybe final four quality team.
trj
Well-Known Member
The athletic department as a whole is pretty healthy. The only looming question is who will become KF's successor.
As for basketball, specifically... the program is in really good shape. The only dark cloud hovering over the program is its inability to get out of the first weekend of the tournament. It will happen at some point, but the longer it drags on, the more it becomes the 5000 lbs. pink elephant in the room.
beavdawg8216
Well-Known Member
Kris not Chris
beavdawg8216
Well-Known Member
No Fran will not be sitting with Keegan.
HaydenHawk56
Well-Known Member
Garza's team got out of the first game, so got to give them the edge.....then they got the unfortunate NCAA/Covid ass raping and having to play a fully rested, Power Conference Champion in the 2nd game......then proceeded to get ran out of the gym by those said Ducks.
I just can't stomach to put KM's team above them, even with a BTT title....stubbing your toe to a 12 seed in R1 sticks out like a sore thumb.
I just can't stomach to put KM's team above them, even with a BTT title....stubbing your toe to a 12 seed in R1 sticks out like a sore thumb.
Garza's team finished with a better conference record in a conference that was tougher than last year. Also a 2 seed is better than a 5 seed. You could start arguing Big 10 tournament and NCAA tournament results, but the regular season is a bigger sample size.
I think we will be better on 4 of the 5 spots on the floor. That's a pretty good start for being a better team. The problem is the one spot we will be worse at will probably be a pretty big drop off. If Kris turns into a 1st team Big 10 player, that will help minimize that drop off. A small drop off at that spot with gains at the other 4 spots probably makes for a better team. I'm not saying that will happen, but that's my logic on seeing how it could happen.
Huge huge X factor. I think a lot of folks are penciling him in to be that but man that's a really huge thing to ask of him. It's probably not a fair thing to expect. Till one does it it's just a tough thing to project. Is he capable? Sure. But is he that guy? One way to find out.
trj
Well-Known Member
Yes, it is unreasonable to think he will make the type of leap Keegan did. However, it is not unreasonable to think that at minimum he will be a 15 and 7 guy. I will be surprised if he isn’t the team’s leading scorer. IMO, Kris has to be good in order for Iowa to be a tournament team.
NorthKCHawk
Well-Known Member
I think both of the last two years were great. I lean towards 2020 because Iowa was nationally relevant the entire year with high rankings and Garza being the prohibited favorite for Wooden the entire season. But, of the last two years the single coolest thing Iowa did was win the conference tourney last year.
As for next year, I think Iowa could be as good. Better is a stretch. But, everyone thought we would suck last year after losing Garza and Weezy and that other guy.
Compared to last year, we should be better at the 5, 3, and 2, because all of those positions are returning. While Kris won't be Keegan, he will be damn good. The 1 position was very uneven for Iowa last year. There is room for improvement there and I like the young talent we can play there. It is a nice mix of veterans and youth. I like this team. Looking forward to another season of Fran ball. At least its not boring!
As for next year, I think Iowa could be as good. Better is a stretch. But, everyone thought we would suck last year after losing Garza and Weezy and that other guy.
Compared to last year, we should be better at the 5, 3, and 2, because all of those positions are returning. While Kris won't be Keegan, he will be damn good. The 1 position was very uneven for Iowa last year. There is room for improvement there and I like the young talent we can play there. It is a nice mix of veterans and youth. I like this team. Looking forward to another season of Fran ball. At least its not boring!
InGoodCo
Well-Known Member
I think Kris, Pat and Peyton will all shoot well from outside. I think all 3 players take a step forward. They are all a year older and stronger than last year. I don't expect that Kris makes the same leap as Kegan, but he shouldn't have to because roles are much more established coming into this season than last. They all have another year of playing in the system. Fran's track record is having upperclassman that pay off their Jr. and Sr. seasons often times. I think Tony Perkins only brushed his potential. Another year in the system - we bring back a vocal and on the floor leader in Conner. We should be better in the post now that Mulvey has had another year and we return Filip who now has a year of Big Ten play under his belt. Fran is bringing in one of his best prospects at PG in his tenure. I wish he had landed a big in the portal as well but it doesn't tamper my expectations. This team will be fringe top 25 to start the season and will likely flirt with it all year.
IMO, if you don't see that potential you aren't watching the same program that I do.
yadda yadda no sweet 16 and all that aside, I expect Iowa to be better this year than last
Totally agree with all this. The q is will he be north of 14 pts/game or closer to 20 plus or not. If he's not over 14 along with some others really stepping up Iowa could be in trouble.
I don't mind a team without a star star being leaned on for points so long as scoring as a team isn't an issue. Iowa's gotta be over 80-85 pts a game. If iowa has 4 guys north of double figures and turnovers are low along with that that's Frans style in a nutshell.
We've been really good the last 2 yrs at not turning the ball over very much. I can see us taking a step back in that department a little I just hope it's not too much
Cook just missed on 1st team big 10. Other than that, Fran's leading scorer has been 1st team most years. Kris had foul trouble issues last year and he was lost minutes to Patrick (similar to Keegan losing minutes to Connor the year before). He doesn't have to worry about losing minutes this year. He just has to stay out of foul trouble. He was our 2nd best player last year. If he only improved a little bit the extra minutes will make his production look st team worthy.
trj
Well-Known Member
Your point about the turnovers is a good one. Offensive efficiency has been a big part of Iowa basketball under Fran.
IMO, the key to all this is limiting the minutes that Kris has to play at the 5. He will have to play some, but it can't be a ton. The major difference between Kris and Keegan is that Keegan is much better inside the paint on both ends.
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