2025 MBB Recruiting Thread
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I was thinking more of a walk-on player, but no, not a scholarship player, at least not before his senior year.
Both parents take time off from work to attend the games of both Braden and Owen and now after this coming year, if Owen does stay for his junior year the travel for the parents will be more expensive.
Why does Fran keep recruiting Minnesota? I can't think of a player that he has ever gotten a commitment from.
A lot of talent nearby with a weak State program. And Wisconsin also isn’t what they used to be. Smart, but you’re also right about the lack of historical success. Last Minnesota players were from Lickliter and they were quite underwhelming.
Lot of folks on here view Dr. Tom as a better coach than Fran. It all depends on how you look at it. Fran clearly wins the off-court part of coaching. On-court is pretty close IMO.
how many elite 8s or sweet 16s has Fran led Iowa to? Dr Tom always it seemed to get Iowa to at least the 2nd round , Fran has done nothing in the NCAAs it is not even in the same Hemisphere to compare the 2, Fran has been abysmal when it counts and is the epitome of average .to some Years bad, Better than Lick but Fran should have been terminated Years ago if Iowa was really serious about winning . You cannot win 3 total NCAA games in a Decade and a half and stay employed at a power conference school unless Your AD is an idiot and the Fans/Booster accept it. Iowa will NEVER make a deep run in March under Fran because to do that You either have to have a stacked NBA ready Team or play defense. No Fran Teams ever play defense .
Iowa is a much more difficult job now than it was back then. Currently, Iowa is the 2nd or 3rd worst job in the Big Ten and somewhere in the 65-75 range nationally. Fran has overachieved here even if the fans don't want to admit it.
And it’s official…. Not the worst recruiting loss we’ve suffered, not a position of need certainly…
Another way Houston could have stated it was that Dr Tom treated his players as adults.
Fran has been awful in the post season, but take away big George's recruits from Dr Tom, and his record also was a little better than average. Again, I believe that his dismissal was more than game performance. He lost maybe his most promising recruit, because he could not convince him to go to classes. There were also drug issues. Maybe Fran is just great at hiding problems, but you have had none of that crap during his coaching tenure.
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The drug problems preceded and included the Dr. Tom era. The administration during some of his tenure was not always athletic friendly. And if his record post reveling recruits is above average how do you characterize Frans results?
Of the eight visitors in late August and early September, Fran is 0-4. I think Ahneman will head to Nebraska or ND. Bynum is almost a certainty for the Huskers. That leaves Mosely and Grady. Not sure about Mazi but Grady is a strong Oregon lean. Could we go 0-8? Very likely, which is sad.
Overlooking drug problems and not expecting players to take care of academics (back when it sort of mattered) goes beyond treating players like adults IMO. Some tough love might have helped some of his players in later life.
I’d have to agree - very probable we whiff on every significant recruit.
Owen freeman and Dasonte Bowen were the only decent (non-legacy, non-Iowa) high school recruits he’s swung since Garza. Frans done a better job in the portal recently, but his high school recruiting has fallen off a cliff
If Dr Tom didn't establish some rules of conduct and academic expectations, with some oversight, then I believe he shirked one of his responsibilities as the head coach.
Relative to competition Iowa had more money and more fan support back then. They also had a much better home court atmosphere, better brand exposure, their "tradition" was higher thought of as it was more recent. Back then Iowa probably was a top 30ish job. Now it's not even a top 60 job due to fan neglect.
Sure not the start to 2025 recruiting that I had hoped to see. Iowa is pretty stacked at 3/4, if we don't have portal losses, but there is a need at guard and center. Just one highly regarded guard would make me feel much better about where we are in the future.
Certainly can’t blame it all on fan neglect. The 3 coaches since Dr Tom have had a lot to do with it.
Fran had four total NCAA wins in a decade, but don’t let facts get in the way of your narrative. (*one post season being canceled). Dr Tom also had stretch where he had six NCAA tournament wins in a decade. Is that really that big of a difference for you?
That decade for Dr Tom included a last place B1G finish in 1994 and a tied for second to last place finish in 1990.
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Of course he had academic expectation and rules of conduct. That doesn't mean he knows everything that went on with his players.
Some think I am arguing that Fran is a better coach overall than Dr. Tom. I am just suggesting that glowing memories of Dr. Tom are probably based mostly on his first couple of teams, which were not players he recruited. He was basically a .500 coach in the B1G after his first two years with Raveling's players. Some posters didn't think Dr Tom should have been let go, but they have been calling for Fran to go for a while. I would not be greatly disappointed if Fran left after this coming year, but I am not sure Iowa will suddenly become a better program if that happens.
I was disappointed when they hired Davis. Then he had a run with Raveling's recruits and thought maybe he was okay. Then finally with all the off-court BS and .500 +/- play I wanted him gone. IMO Fran needs to go as well, and it appears he is prepping an Indiana location.
I get what you’re saying and have been echoing it for years. Remove what each walked into and their resumes aren’t that different. Fran has a slightly better conference record, Dr Tom had a slightly better tournament record. Neither had really any significant tournament success until a contract wasn’t renewed.
Tommy officially visited Iowa on Sep 14. He officially visited Notre Dame this past weekend. He canceled his scheduled Oct 5 official visit to Minnesota.
Cretin Derham Hall is a Catholic HS, for what it's worth.
Not sure they were overlooked. He inherited some and the players went to treatment. Not how well received a 'I know I am a new coach but these star players are done at Iowa due to drug use'.......during the 80's......
There were some other issues that may have needed additional attention and some of the academic issues were as much of an administration challenge as those types of situations went on well before that time, during that time and continue to this day. Kids don't always follow the expectations that are set up for them.
Sounds like you know more than I do. It seems like a harder line might have helped the players with drug problems in their later life, maybe even their future in basketball. In fairness to Dr. Tom, the players I think about were players he inherited from Raveling, probably along with their bad habits. Maybe Fran has just been luckier with the recruits he brought in, or maybe character was a more important concern.
So any realistic shot at any other top target recruits for 2025?
Just seems very hard to our ed guys that are outside 100 mile radius of Iowa city....thankful for the African contingent.
Just seems very hard to our ed guys that are outside 100 mile radius of Iowa city....thankful for the African contingent.
Over the last week, ND has gotten commitments from 3 guys that we at least thought we had a shot at. Better school, yes, better coach, no, NIL, probably
Supposedly, Iowa is looking at getting a couple visitors in for the Washington game.
Dr Tom also played cupcakes in the non-conference to make sure he got to 20 wins each season. I think Fran has done a great job all things considered. The eighties Iowa team will never come back. Raveling paid a bunch of players back then and now everyone can pay players, but Iowa lags behind the war chests of big time programs.
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How about we lock this thread and start a new recruiting thread that STICKS TO WHAT'S HAPPEN WITH RECRUITS AND NOT REHASHING THE SAME CRAP OVER AND OVER AND COMPARING COACHES!
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