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2022-2023 Roster (Connor is Back): 11 on Scholarship, 2 Scholarships Remain, 4 Walk Ons

I'm honestly guessing you will pick up Aimaq. So sounds like you're banking 2. Will be an outstanding pickup for Fran.
That would be incredible, but from stalking Aimaq on twitter this past week everything in my gut tells me he ends up at Texas Tech. I'm usually a stubborn optimist when it comes to these things, but I know a couple Tech beat writers are fairly confident they land him as well.
 
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I hope Fran can get a big man transfer- the fewer the minutes that Kris has to play at the 5-spot, the better off he'll be, and consequently the better off the Hawkeyes will be. I think trying to play D against the 5s from other B10 teams wore Kris down- although he did fine for the most part, he was out of place in that role. Maybe Riley can be that missing piece? A transfer 5 (or Mulvey) allows everyone to play at a more comfortable position.
 
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I don't disagree, I do hope they greenlight Rebraca to shot 3s next year. I also think Iowa needs defensive help and rebounding help in the post. Kris is going to be the alpha scorer you have to protect him from fouls and get him help on the glass and protecting the rim. A guy like Gabe Olaseni would fit this team like a glove.
 
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I don't disagree, I do hope they greenlight Rebraca to shot 3s next year. I also think Iowa needs defensive help and rebounding help in the post. Kris is going to be the alpha scorer you have to protect him from fouls and get him help on the glass and protecting the rim. A guy like Gabe Olaseni would fit this team like a glove.
👍 on all but Rebraca and 3s. His shot was horrible this year. If he gets in the gym and shoots his way into a better percentage then fine, otherwise no way.
 
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I'm not sure of the abilities of Laketa and Kingsbury, as far as if they should receive scholarships. Hopefully Fran knows from a couple of years ago that he should fill all scholarships with players who are Big Ten ready. Injuries happen and can deplete a team fast.
 
Here is my Fran portal playbook.

Page 1: Tell fans you are going to work really hard in the portal and throw a name out (Adams).
Page 2: Have Fran trolls take to message boards to promote said player and Fran's hard work (Franisdaman).
Page 3: Named guy goes elsewhere. Shift to talking up returning guys to reduce expectations.
Page 4: Portal whiff. Fran trolls work OT to tell everyone disappointed in portal results they are bad fans and that Fran looked at a lot of players, but couldn't find the right fit.
Page 5: Talk up walk on player and offer a scholarship and imply they may get PT next year.

To be successful in the portal you need to demonstrate to kids you embrace it, which Fran clearly doesn't. It also helps if you were in on some of these kids during the initial recruitment process, which is seldom the case for Fran. Last but not least, you have to be honest about assessing current players and recognize where you can upgrade--Fran is terrible at this. 3 years wasted on Joe T., 2 years on Josh, Ulis looking like another multi-year bust and TBD on Mulvey. Fran's big portal gets = Bakari Evelyn and Rebraca.

I spent way too much time reviewing portal bios the other night and there are some intriguing players out there that should be on Fran's radar. To be clear, I was not looking at the hottest portal prospects because Fran won't even look at those guys. I reviewed players from mid-major programs and even drilled down to see which ones had Midwest roots and a lot did--even some playing at east/west coast schools grew up in WI, MN, IN or IL.
 
As you can see, Iowa is showing interest in Rob Phinisee. He's been with IU for 4 seasons.

His averages:

....................MIN...PTS....FG%...3PT%...FT%...Reb....Asst....Blk....Stl
Last Year.
.......18.......4.5......31%....26%.....41%......2.1........1.7.......0.2.....0.8
Career............24.......6.5......35%...29%.....65%.....2.6.......2.8......0.2.....0.9



On March 31 Iowa was showing interest.

13 days later?

 
My uneducated opinion, OSU and Iowa too high, UW too low.
It's tough because Wiscy always seems to reload, but right now they have Hepburn, Wahl, and Crowl coming back and then a bunch of guys who didn't really play meaningful minutes. They'll likely pick up a few pieces in the portal, but I don't see how anyone could realistically rank them higher than Iowa as of this moment.
 
My uneducated opinion, OSU and Iowa too high, UW too low.
This is probably true to start the season but I have a feeling that Iowa will finish strong again. Not sure about Wiscy, they lost their all-world guard who saved their butts several times this past season. Not sure who will step in for him.
 
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Wisc. also loses Davison who won several games for them this year.
 
Wisc. also loses Davison who won several games for them this year.

But, the rest of the league should feel safe! :)

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I like this team. Bowen will be ready to contribute right away and I think Ulis will show growth. JT was out of control and for every good play, there was also a head scratching turnover. There’s a reason we started playing better after JB went back to PG. Kris, Patrick, Payton and Tony will be the key to next year (Obviously). That’s a strong core. They will need to shoot more and take that next step. I think Filip can also improve. It would be great if Connor can shoot like he was towards the end of the season.
 
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I like this team. Bowen will be ready to contribute right away and I think Ulis will show growth. JT was out of control and for every good play, there was also a head scratching turnover. There’s a reason we started playing better after JB went back to PG. Kris, Patrick, Payton and Tony will be the key to next year (Obviously). That’s a strong core. They will need to shoot more and take that next step. I think Filip can also improve. It would be great if Connor can shoot like he was towards the end of the season.
What? Toussaint's assist to turnover ratio says otherwise.
 
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I disagree. He was undoubtedly fast, but it was good and bad. I personally don’t think we’ll miss much from him transferring. I feel like Ulis can be very good. I’m excited to see him get more minutes.
Disagree all you want but the numbers don't lie. Joe T had the best assist to turnover ratio on the team.

Much of the improvement occurred due to better rebounding this season. Could have partially been due to Perkins being a better rebounder than Joe T but really just looked like the whole team made more of a concerted effort. Both rebounding and defense became more of a team focus which seemed to lead to the turnaround.

Anyhoo, Joe is gone. Hopefully Ulis can improved greatly in the off season and Bowen can be a surprising freshman.
 
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This interview was prior to yesterday's team banquet.

Filip was going to the Rec Center but isn't anymore because he wants to up the competition. ;)

He hopes to get back to Serbia next month.

Lots of interesting comments from the man who started every game last season.

Watch here:

 
This interview was prior to yesterday's team banquet.

Fran said it's the first time he's put on a jacket and tie in two years.

Fran talks about Filip & how he was a huge part of last season's success. Fran says we will see a better version of him next year. Fran thinks he will play more confidently offensively. "He's just a winner."

It's pretty obvious why Fran's players have his back always.

Regarding the foreign trip: they are every 4 years. The last one was in 2017. But there is still a lot up in the air with (1) covid and (2) "the war going on over there." Fran would still like to go to Spain, but that might not be an option.

Jay Wright and Fran go way back. Fran's daughter attends Villanova.

Watch here:

 
Lose a lot of offense and shooting from the team, good to get Connor back to help with that. Nice to be able to get a top PG like Connor back, better than anyone in the transfer portal.

Nice for Fran to get to start both of his sons, not many coaches get that opportunity at this level
 
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