2025 MBB Recruiting Thread

[hawkjt]

I wonder if there is any spillover to the men's BB program from all the pub for CC and women's program and their fan base?

Hope Fran can use their success to paint a picture of similar fanfare if said recruit can lead Iowa program to tourney victories?

 

[Franisdaman]

name all 9 without looking

 

[Fran-Con-2]

I wonder if there is any spillover to the men's BB program from all the pub for CC and women's program and their fan base?

Hope Fran can use their success to paint a picture of similar fanfare if said recruit can lead Iowa program to tourney victories?

Fran had the national player of the year and three straight first-team all Americans.

Since then he has only signed one 4 star player (who had major ties to the program).

Not saying it’s all Fran’s fault - but he has really struggled translating program success into better recruiting. If he couldn’t sell Luka Garza’s success to top tier centers, not sure how he is going to flip Caitlin Clark’s success into better men’s recruits

 

[GunnerHawk]

name all 9 without looking

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If he can get 30% of those to commit he would be close to completing the class.

 

[LaQuintaHawkeye]

If he can get 30% of those to commit he would be close to completing the class.

 

[LukaDuka]

Fran had the national player of the year and three straight first-team all Americans.

Since then he has only signed one 4 star player (who had major ties to the program).

Not saying it’s all Fran’s fault - but he has really struggled translating program success into better recruiting. If he couldn’t sell Luka Garza’s success to top tier centers, not sure how he is going to flip Caitlin Clark’s success into better men’s recruits

Well was Garza or the Murray's 4 star recruits?

 

[Ladell-hawk]

I think Fran may recruit better now that he doesn’t have kids on the roster.

 

[chaneccooms]

Fran had the national player of the year and three straight first-team all Americans.

Since then he has only signed one 4 star player (who had major ties to the program).

Not saying it’s all Fran’s fault - but he has really struggled translating program success into better recruiting. If he couldn’t sell Luka Garza’s success to top tier centers, not sure how he is going to flip Caitlin Clark’s success into better men’s recruits

Pryce Sandfort was a 4-star on 247. Tadjo was the #53 player in the country for On3 and would have been a unanimous 4-star with more exposure. Owen Freeman would have been a shoe-in to be a 4-star if he hadn’t committed early. Yes, Koch had an Iowa connection, but the staff still had to out-recruit Purdue, Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana to secure his commitment.

Recruiting has been on the upswing. Of course this class will be very important, but let’s wait until we know who they get commits from in the 2025 class before we start panicking.

 

[AmericaNeedsMe]

Pryce Sandfort was a 4-star on 247. Tadjo was the #53 player in the country for On3 and would have been a unanimous 4-star with more exposure. Owen Freeman would have been a shoe-in to be a 4-star if he hadn’t committed early. Yes, Koch had an Iowa connection, but the staff still had to out-recruit Purdue, Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana to secure his commitment.

Recruiting has been on the upswing. Of course this class will be very important, but let’s wait until we know who they get commits from in the 2025 class before we start panicking.

In your world, "the #53 player in the country" was a consensus three star prospect whose best offers were from Xavier, Akron, TCU, and Iowa.

Ok....lol.

Lucky for us he didn't get exposure, I guess.

"Recruiting has been on the upswing."

It has?

Since 2020 we've averaged 11th in the B1G. I don't really see a significant upswing anywhere in that data but I could be missing something. (?)

**cue posters lauding Fran's coaching acumen for being able to average 8th place finishes with 11th place talent**

 

[HoustonREDHawk]

Does NIL make recruiting even more of a challenge, or does that only impact the portal. Fran has a great eye for talent. The coaches seem to establish good ties to recruits, but they have a hard time closing the deal on highly ranked recruits.

 

[Mohawkeye]

Well was Garza or the Murray's 4 star recruits?

Garza was.

 

[Fran-Con-2]

Pryce Sandfort was a 4-star on 247. Tadjo was the #53 player in the country for On3 and would have been a unanimous 4-star with more exposure. Owen Freeman would have been a shoe-in to be a 4-star if he hadn’t committed early. Yes, Koch had an Iowa connection, but the staff still had to out-recruit Purdue, Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana to secure his commitment.

Recruiting has been on the upswing. Of course this class will be very important, but let’s wait until we know who they get commits from in the 2025 class before we start panicking.

Fine, between Sandfort and Koch there have been 2 consensus four star recruits since Garza left, both of whom have STRONG ties to the Iowa program.

Tadjo has a high ranking from one recruiting service but not from either of the other more established services. And even if you don't put much stock in recruiting websites, you can look at offer sheets. Tadjo's offer sheet is NOT strong. He was also like our 5th option.

You can say recruiting is on the upswing - beauty of the internet is you can say whatever you want - but I dont think the objective facts support that argument: Per 247, we have had the 64th, 72nd, 85th, 44th, and 92nd recruiting classes since 2020. We haven't sniffed a top 25 recruiting class since Garza's first all-american season.

Meanwhile, Iowa State signed the 8th best recruiting class in the country after Otz' initial sweet 16 run. That is an objective sign of a coach/program capitalizing on success.

 

[Eliot Clough]

Iowa offered on June 28.

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Hawkeye Beacon - 2025 Four-Star Forward, Top-50 Recruit Planning Iowa OV

One of the top players in the 2025 recruiting class, Winters Grady is an elite shooter with positional versatility.

iowa.rivals.com

 

[iabcuda]

Fran-con-2 lost me with the last bold paragraph.
Is it that-
We should have success because Iowa State can have success?
Or
We cannot have success because Iowa State can have success?
Or
We could have success if only we had their coach & program?

 

[Franisdaman]

I think Fran may recruit better now that he doesn’t have kids on the roster.

My wife Margaret thinks that this kid named Jack McCaffery would be a good addition.

 

[Franisdaman]

In your world, "the #53 player in the country" was a consensus three star prospect whose best offers were from Xavier, Akron, TCU, and Iowa.

Ok....lol.

Lucky for us he didn't get exposure, I guess.

"Recruiting has been on the upswing."

It has?

Since 2020 we've averaged 11th in the B1G. I don't really see a significant upswing anywhere in that data but I could be missing something. (?)

**cue posters lauding Fran's coaching acumen for being able to average 8th place finishes with 11th place talent**

Sorry, but the country needs you for what again?

 

[Franisdaman]

Does NIL make recruiting even more of a challenge, or does that only impact the portal. Fran has a great eye for talent. The coaches seem to establish good ties to recruits, but they have a hard time closing the deal on highly ranked recruits.

IMO, you need NIL to both acquire and retain talent.

When I say acquire that means both high school kids and transfer portal prospects.

When it comes to retaining talent, I tip my hat to Fran. Payton, Owen & Josh could have entered the transfer portal and gotten paid hundreds of thousands. Fran must run a pretty good program for these key players to stick around.

 

[HoustonREDHawk]

IMO, you need NIL to both acquire and retain talent.

When I say acquire that means both high school kids and transfer portal prospects.

When it comes to retaining talent, I tip my hat to Fran. Payton, Owen & Josh could have entered the transfer portal and gotten paid hundreds of thousands. Fran must run a pretty good program for these key players to stick around.

Agree, but all three had some special connections that helped Iowa retain them. Payton and Pryce, Freeman and Harding, and Josh probably feels an added respect because Fran stuck with him as a recruit, despite his horrible injury.

 

[icwesthawk]

My wife Margaret thinks that this kid named Jack McCaffery would be a good addition.

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Margaret is wrong on this one. Jack may be the best of the family and he still should not be a Hawkeye.

 

[Fran-Con-2]

Fran-con-2 lost me with the last bold paragraph.
Is it that-
We should have success because Iowa State can have success?
Or
We cannot have success because Iowa State can have success?
Or
We could have success if only we had their coach & program?

None of the above. Not even sure how you came to the last two questions.

My point is Fran doesn’t translate on-court success into good recruiting. He had the national player of the year, won a B10 tournament, but recruiting hasnt improved.

By comparison, I showed a coach who DID capitalize on success. Otz went to a sweet 16 and the next year he signed a top 10 recruiting class.

It was merely illustrative. Some coaches can and do capitalize on momentum in recruiting. Fran is not one of them

 

[iabcuda]

So, your point is they have a better coach than us & it translates into better recruiting & an even more successful program. Darn, now I won’t be able to sleep tonight.

 

[Franisdaman]

Iowa offered on May 12.

 

[DanHawkPella]

Iowa offered on May 12.

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Reminds me a lot of Aaron White's game, but with a better 3 point shot. A lefty. Pretty athletic, moves very well, not skinny but not super strong yet either so would have to bulk up to play PF (210 lbs or so). Wonder if he could ever play SF eventually if his handles and shooting allow, but probably wishful thinking.

 

[icwesthawk]

Iowa offered on May 12.

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Don't like that Tenn, Alabama or LSU are getting visits. We do not have a good record with recruits against them

 

[GunnerHawk]

Don't like that Tenn, Alabama or LSU are getting visits. We do not have a good record with recruits against them

They all have deep pockets.

Edit: Tennessee has a track record of winning these types of recruits against us.

 

[LukaDuka]

Iowa offered on May 12.

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May 12th? It's freakin July 30th, this is old news..... stale....

 

[Franisdaman]

May 12th? It's freakin July 30th, this is old news..... stale....

Him NOW discussing visiting Iowa City would not be old news, now, would it?

 

[LaQuintaHawkeye]

I bet he is at the higher end of the cost for being included in the final five with a visit.

 

[Franisdaman]

Iowa offered Simon on May 28.

He will be officially visiting on the weekend of Sep 7, 2024 (Iowa State football game, 2:30 pm CT kick off; TV: CBS).

 

[Ronman]

Is the discussion of NIL money with a recruit done before he commits to an official visit or while he is on it?

 

[chaneccooms]

Is the discussion of NIL money with a recruit done before he commits to an official visit or while he is on it?

I can't imagine kids are setting up visits with schools without at least having an idea that the school will be in the ballpark with their NIL demands.

 

[HoustonREDHawk]

I can't imagine kids are setting up visits with schools without at least having an idea that the school will be in the ballpark with their NIL demands.

So, Iowa has very little chance to get a top-rated recruit, and will have to hope that their ability to recognize undervalued second-tier recruits will give them what they need to compete at a high level.

 

[icwesthawk]

So, Iowa has very little chance to get a top-rated recruit, and will have to hope that their ability to recognize undervalued second-tier recruits will give them what they need to compete at a high level.

Today it's the NIL. Yesterday it was the bagmen from Illinois, Michigan and OSU. It will always be something and Iowa does not play that game or hasn't been caught at it. We take the 2nd tier guys and try to make a team from them that can compete, sometimes we have that, sometimes we don't

 

[chaneccooms]

So, Iowa has very little chance to get a top-rated recruit, and will have to hope that their ability to recognize undervalued second-tier recruits will give them what they need to compete at a high level.

Look at the kids Iowa is getting visits from. It’s an impressive list. Those kids wouldn’t be visiting Iowa City unless the Hawkeye staff had some competitive compensation to offer.

How many they’ll get commits from is anyone’s guess, but they’re getting the attention of some impressive players.

 

[Franisdaman]

Iowa offered on June 28.

From TODAY:

 

[hawkfan1963]

Today it's the NIL. Yesterday it was the bagmen from Illinois, Michigan and OSU. It will always be something and Iowa does not play that game or hasn't been caught at it. We take the 2nd tier guys and try to make a team from them that can compete, sometimes we have that, sometimes we don't

Aren't universities themselves allowed to pay players starting in 2025? If so that would be when these players come in to begin their college career. So I would guess Fran has some dollar amounts to tell their recruits.

 

[Rocket_Fran]

Today it's the NIL. Yesterday it was the bagmen from Illinois, Michigan and OSU. It will always be something and Iowa does not play that game or hasn't been caught at it. We take the 2nd tier guys and try to make a team from them that can compete, sometimes we have that, sometimes we don't

There will always be something you're definitely right about that. However, the recruiting gap or impact created for the programs that move on to the next something will be significantly diminished compared to yesteryear. If the bagmen offer a recruit X incentive now Iowa can offer .70X. Which is a lot sexier than 0X.

 

[Franisdaman]

Aren't universities themselves allowed to pay players starting in 2025? If so that would be when these players come in to begin their college career. So I would guess Fran has some dollar amounts to tell there recruits.

There will always be something you're definitely right about that. However, the recruiting gap or impact created for the programs that move on to the next something will be significantly diminished compared to yesteryear. If the bagmen offer a recruit X incentive now Iowa can offer .70X. Which is a lot sexier than 0X.

Iowa will be able to share up to $21-$22M in revenue with "student"-athletes. The athletic dept will have to determine how much each athlete gets. The problem? The players getting big NIL deals will still happen; these players are just going to add to their NIL income with their revenue share.

 

[Franisdaman]

Iowa offered Matt on May 12.

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[GunnerHawk]

Solid list of quality visitors in August and September. Most have very good lists of suitors. Several may commit elsewhere before their Iowa visits dates. If Fran can close on a couple, the 25 class could be very good.