1998 -99

[GunnerHawk]

That was the last time the Hawks made it to the sweet 16. Tom Davis was in his last year as the head coach. I think back to Davis' first year when the Hawks won 18 straight (30 total), we were ranked #1 at one point. He was a great coach but not so great as a recruiter. If the good Doctor would have been head coach and Raveling an asst., Iowa would have stayed really good. George wasn't much of a bench coach but man could he recruit.

Not Alfraud, nor Lickliter, nor Fran have taken us through the first weekend of tourney play. A 25 year draught. It's no wonder CHA is seldom full anymore, Wonder when declining attendance and revenues will force Beth to make a change. Barta did us no favors by extending Fran's contract, although he is on the low end of the pay scale.

 

[tippet1]

If he doesn't leave this year, I think next year could be it, depending on how the season goes.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

If he doesn't leave this year, I think next year could be it, depending on how the season goes.

Well, there would have to be clear signs of progress with both the current roster and transfers/HS recruits and we would need to be clear about what the goals are for next year.

Yes, making the NCAA Tournament is typically the goal, but if the roster is about as shoddy as it looked entering this year, expectations will need to be retooled.

And that's all to say that yeah it's pretty much a make or break year for Fran, if he hasn't already made up his mind on what he's gonna do after this year...........

 

[Jimmy McGill]

98-99 was my freshman year at Iowa. Saw both Dr. Tom and Hayden leave. It was somewhat unbelievable for an Iowa kid that grew up with them

 

[hawksense]

I’ll concede, with zero experience or knowledge, that Davis wasn’t a tremendous recruiter. He was, however, handicapped by the administration and their desire to be Ivy League-ish or Stanford academically. They cock blocked him from capable players , frequently and ran Ray Thompson out of town.

 

[SA_Hawk]

Nebraska has never won a single NCAA Tournament game but pack their area every game.

 

[DirtyJohns97]

Nebraska has never won a single NCAA Tournament game but pack their area every game.

Only since the football team went to absolute shit

 

[uihawk82]

That was the last time the Hawks made it to the sweet 16. Tom Davis was in his last year as the head coach. I think back to Davis' first year when the Hawks won 18 straight (30 total), we were ranked #1 at one point. He was a great coach but not so great as a recruiter. If the good Doctor would have been head coach and Raveling an asst., Iowa would have stayed really good. George wasn't much of a bench coach but man could he recruit.

Not Alfraud, nor Lickliter, nor Fran have taken us through the first weekend of tourney play. A 25 year draught. It's no wonder CHA is seldom full anymore, Wonder when declining attendance and revenues will force Beth to make a change. Barta did us no favors by extending Fran's contract, although he is on the low end of the pay scale.

Davis missed on the 3 Iowa area players who went to KU. The Chris Street death was a terrible thing and jolt to the program. As someone said, academics at the times hurt Iowa in recruiting and Ray Thompson was a very gifted player who was out as a soph.

But it was well known that Davis didnt spend much time at the Iowa Boys BBall tourney. I am not sure when coaches could go watch high school players back then but Davis was a very good golfer who competed in amateur events and he might have been playing a lot of golf rather than watching high school AAU and summer leagues. Some of these coaches are all BBall.

 

[83Hawk]

Davis missed on the 3 Iowa area players who went to KU. The Chris Street death was a terrible thing and jolt to the program. As someone said, academics at the times hurt Iowa in recruiting and Ray Thompson was a very gifted player who was out as a soph.

But it was well known that Davis didnt spend much time at the Iowa Boys BBall tourney. I am not sure when coaches could go watch high school players back then but Davis was a very good golfer who competed in amateur events and he might have been playing a lot of golf rather than watching high school AAU and summer leagues. Some of these coaches are all BBall.

Don't know if it's true, but the story goes that he once wouldn't leave the golf course to meet with a recruit.

 

[Menace Sockeyes]

98-99 was my freshman year at Iowa. Saw both Dr. Tom and Hayden leave. It was somewhat unbelievable for an Iowa kid that grew up with them

I was a Senior in HS and that was jarring. Fry and Davis WERE Iowa athletic institutions at that point. I remember watching the Monday Night English Football match on espn2 in our basement when the ticker revealed that Ravens line coach Kirk Ferentz was hired. I said “Who?!”

 

[hawksense]

It’s not like the head coach HAS to be lead recruiter. He prob wasn’t a slick, used car salesman kind of talker. He may have relegated those duties to others. Lafrentz was always going to Kansas. Always. Word of mouth. Idk who else you are referring to.

 

[jimbob22]

It’s not like the head coach HAS to be lead recruiter. He prob wasn’t a slick, used car salesman kind of talker. He may have relegated those duties to others. Lafrentz was always going to Kansas. Always. Word of mouth. Idk who else you are referring to.

The others were Hinrich and Collison, both Jayhawks and both longtime NBA players. Sure LaFrentz was 'always' a Jayhawk. But the question is why. Read Roy Williams' memoir about the effort he put into recruiting LaFrentz. Williams was on a first-name basis with the rental car guy at the airport near LaFrentz's home town. A good recruiting trip for Davis was said to be one in which he got in two rounds of golf. Maybe Davis' style of play turned off LaFrentz. The constant rotation of players in and out every four or five minutes was maddening. His full-court press was shredded by good teams. Unwatchable, imo. Though I will give Davis credit for his emphasis on rebounding. That was good to watch.

 

[jimbob22]

Re/ Fran, how many years on his contract and what is the buyout? Next year is critical for Fran, but I don't see a dramatic turnaround. The success of the Clowns, Nebby, Drake, Wisconsin, Creighton, Illinois makes Iowa's mediocrity more noticeable. The Clown, Oklahoma and Illinois games in particular highlighted the talent, athleticism disparity. I'd say it's that time for Fran.

 

[joelbc1]

The others were Hinrich and Collison, both Jayhawks and both longtime NBA players. Sure LaFrentz was 'always' a Jayhawk. But the question is why. Read Roy Williams' memoir about the effort he put into recruiting LaFrentz. Williams was on a first-name basis with the rental car guy at the airport near LaFrentz's home town. A good recruiting trip for Davis was said to be one in which he got in two rounds of golf. Maybe Davis' style of play turned off LaFrentz. The constant rotation of players in and out every four or five minutes was maddening. His full-court press was shredded by good teams. Unwatchable, imo. Though I will give Davis credit for his emphasis on rebounding. That was good to watch.

The loss of a class of recruits rests solidly with the AD....sorry. He phuqued up Davis’ “firing” 100%....You do it the way your boss tells you to do it...not how you think it might be done.
Hinrich was never a serious Hawk consideration...however Collison and another long-term NBAer from small town Iowa were certainly in play as Hawkeyes but they had to know who they were going to play for..and Bowlsby couldn’t tell them. Kansas and Creighton won that lottery.

 

[hawksense]

Solid response, Joel. I’d heard Collison was a Hawk lean, before the lame duck season.