First off, for those of you who think Fran should move on, or (cough), be fired…that is laughable. I mean with all of those Big 10 championship and NCAA final 4 banners hanging in Carver, we have to keep our reputation going, right? (insert sarcasm).
Some of you obviously have short memories and don’t recall Todd Lickliter walking the sidelines and ‘Little Lick’ stroking three-pointers with 4,000 people watching. Or Steve Alfraud, who divided a University and its fan base like no other coach could, by just being himself.
Historically speaking, Fran has had a good 4-5 year run @ Iowa. Where was the program at when Fran arrived? Maybe at its lowest point in 50-years?
For reference, Dr. Tom’s best run at Iowa was stringing along 5 consecutive 20 win seasons during his last 5 seasons, but two of those seasons ended in NIT berths due to the powder-puff scheduling. The good Doctor had some peaks and valleys along the way, going 12-16 in 89/90 and 11-16 in 93/94.
Fran has 4 consecutive 20 win seasons, 3 NCAA berths and 1 NIT. Fran is here, will be here and he has earned the right to a contract extension in my opinion. A handful of tough losses does not define a season, nor does it define the man leading your program. Sure, Fran has earned the right to be criticized as that is the role he has accepted. But he recruits solid citizens and student athletes. Players stay because they want to play for Fran. Considering how many schools have become ‘transfer-out U’, Iowa has remained resilient from the transfer bug, primarily because of the guy you have as your leader.
Season Recap: In my mind, we exceeded expectations based upon what we all thought back on November 1st. While we can always say ‘what could have been’, at the end of day we didn’t have the personnel to keep things going like they were in mid-January. Teams get hot, teams get cold. Nearly every team goes through it and we got cold (mostly shooting), at the end of the season versus the beginning of the season. Our guards were exposed for what they were, average Power conference guards who were not able to execute and deliver at crunch time.
Worst Loss of the season: @ Iowa State. 8 point lead with 1 minute 40 seconds left and the ball was a tough one to swallow (Maybe not as bad as UNI’s meltdown against A&M), but it’s a game Iowa should have put away.
Best win of the season: @ Michigan State. The Breslin Center had been a house of horrors for about 2 decades and coming away with a decisive double-digit win was a great feeling.
When I look back on the careers of our 4 seniors: Adam Woodbury. Over-recruited & over-hyped. This is not a personal attack on Adam, but having an AAU coaching background myself I felt that he had limitations coming out of high-school, especially on the offensive end. I think you can say he improved a little each year, but he never became the all-conference or even all-American player some Hawk Fans though they were getting when he signed. I will remember Adam for being a physical presence on the defensive end and became a good rebounder his senior season.
Mike Gesell-I think Mike hit his ceiling during his Soph/Junior seasons. He probably could have been a better scorer his senior season but was asked to do different things. I felt coming out of High School, Mike had a higher ceiling than Woodbury, but he didn’t improve during his last 2 years.
Anthony Clemmons-Obviously our best defender. Had a good freshman year followed by a sophomore slump. Had some solid moments, then some bi-polar moments during his career. I will remember Anthony as being a tough defender, more of a role player with average guard skills but a guy who stuck with the program when he could have transferred after a sub-par year.
Jarrod Uthoff-A guy who transferred in as a role player with high-potential, paid his own way to be a Hawk and showed improvement each year. Earned first team All-Big 10 and single handedly won several games for us during his senior season. Probably the most well-rounded player at Iowa in 20-years? When I think back on this year, he really struggled the last 10 games to find his rhythm. Forcing shots, versus driving to the hoop were a complaint of mine. He will be missed next year.
Speaking of Next Year: Losing the nucleus of 4 senior starters will obviously be challenging. The team will look much different next Fall with Peter Jok leading the way. There are way too many unknowns at this juncture to throw out a prediction, but I think an NIT berth should be a reasonable goal.
Point Guards-Guessing it’s going to be a 2-headed monster next year with Fleming and Williams. While Fleming didn’t get enough playing time to base much analysis, Williams looks like he has some potential. 6-5 and fairly slender, he needs to hit the weight room. He did have some moments later in the year, so I think there is a solid future for him after some growing pains.
Red Shirts- Moss and Hutton. Not sure what to think as these two seemed to be the more highly touted recruits coming out of high school last year, but in hindsight a redshirt probably will do them both some good. I think they will add some athleticism to the program, which will be much needed.
Peter Jok-Not much analysis needed. He will need some guys to produce around him to continue his success.
Dale Jones- I wonder what Iowa could have done this year with Dale as the 3rd scoring option? Maybe he is the 2nd go-to-guy next year. Hoping he comes back from his injury.
Nicholas Baer- Hustle, hustle hustle. Would be nice to find a scholarship for him as I feel he has earned it. Eat and eat often this Summer.
Ahmad Wagner-Has the body to be a strong presence in the paint. Needs to work on his post moves and short range jumper.
Dom Uhl-He has shown improvement in many areas, but one focus should be finishing near the basket. Probably hit 30% or less in the paint.
Brady Ellingson-Had his opportunities, but if you are a 3 point shooter and can’t hit open shots, you’re playing time will go away which it did. Probably has some decisions to make.
Newbies: Pemsyl, Kreiner Bohannon and Cook. While 3 of the 4 are adding size to the program It’s unrealistic to think that anyone of them will be a difference maker next year. Cook is probably the best candidate to play right away and 2 of the other 3 could be redshirt candidates.
If I had to pencil in next year’s starters: I would say; Christian Williams, Peter Jok, Dale Jones, Dom Uhl and Ahmad Wagner. (Maybe insert Fleming for Jones, for more ball handling)
Nicholas Baer as your 6th man, then Andrew Fleming, Tyler Cook, Moss and Hutton complete your 10 man rotation.
Redshirts-Pemsyl or Kreiner, Bohannon if Ellingson stays.
State of the Program: Despite getting embarrassed by Villanova, my glass is still half-full on the program. Would Tyler Ulis running the show have made a difference? Maybe? Maybe not? Either way, that's how muc 1 guy can make a difference. I think the coaching staff will remain unchanged as I think we have a solid nucleus of diverse coaches.
Next year will be challenging with a lot of younger, un-proven players giving a lot of minutes. I think we will be more athletic, but inexperienced. As you know, anything is possible in basketball as 1-2 guys can make a huge difference, but another 20 win season is highly unlikely.
Looking beyond 2016-17, we obviously have Connor and Weiskamp coming in, with other scholarships open. I like Fran’s recruiting methodology. We went up against the big boys with Ulis, but lost out in the end. Same with Tyler Cook and we won that battle. I don’t expect Fran to shy away of going after the big fish, but then again finding the guy who is maybe under-recruited that can be developed into a solid player.
Some of you obviously have short memories and don’t recall Todd Lickliter walking the sidelines and ‘Little Lick’ stroking three-pointers with 4,000 people watching. Or Steve Alfraud, who divided a University and its fan base like no other coach could, by just being himself.
Historically speaking, Fran has had a good 4-5 year run @ Iowa. Where was the program at when Fran arrived? Maybe at its lowest point in 50-years?
For reference, Dr. Tom’s best run at Iowa was stringing along 5 consecutive 20 win seasons during his last 5 seasons, but two of those seasons ended in NIT berths due to the powder-puff scheduling. The good Doctor had some peaks and valleys along the way, going 12-16 in 89/90 and 11-16 in 93/94.
Fran has 4 consecutive 20 win seasons, 3 NCAA berths and 1 NIT. Fran is here, will be here and he has earned the right to a contract extension in my opinion. A handful of tough losses does not define a season, nor does it define the man leading your program. Sure, Fran has earned the right to be criticized as that is the role he has accepted. But he recruits solid citizens and student athletes. Players stay because they want to play for Fran. Considering how many schools have become ‘transfer-out U’, Iowa has remained resilient from the transfer bug, primarily because of the guy you have as your leader.
Season Recap: In my mind, we exceeded expectations based upon what we all thought back on November 1st. While we can always say ‘what could have been’, at the end of day we didn’t have the personnel to keep things going like they were in mid-January. Teams get hot, teams get cold. Nearly every team goes through it and we got cold (mostly shooting), at the end of the season versus the beginning of the season. Our guards were exposed for what they were, average Power conference guards who were not able to execute and deliver at crunch time.
Worst Loss of the season: @ Iowa State. 8 point lead with 1 minute 40 seconds left and the ball was a tough one to swallow (Maybe not as bad as UNI’s meltdown against A&M), but it’s a game Iowa should have put away.
Best win of the season: @ Michigan State. The Breslin Center had been a house of horrors for about 2 decades and coming away with a decisive double-digit win was a great feeling.
When I look back on the careers of our 4 seniors: Adam Woodbury. Over-recruited & over-hyped. This is not a personal attack on Adam, but having an AAU coaching background myself I felt that he had limitations coming out of high-school, especially on the offensive end. I think you can say he improved a little each year, but he never became the all-conference or even all-American player some Hawk Fans though they were getting when he signed. I will remember Adam for being a physical presence on the defensive end and became a good rebounder his senior season.
Mike Gesell-I think Mike hit his ceiling during his Soph/Junior seasons. He probably could have been a better scorer his senior season but was asked to do different things. I felt coming out of High School, Mike had a higher ceiling than Woodbury, but he didn’t improve during his last 2 years.
Anthony Clemmons-Obviously our best defender. Had a good freshman year followed by a sophomore slump. Had some solid moments, then some bi-polar moments during his career. I will remember Anthony as being a tough defender, more of a role player with average guard skills but a guy who stuck with the program when he could have transferred after a sub-par year.
Jarrod Uthoff-A guy who transferred in as a role player with high-potential, paid his own way to be a Hawk and showed improvement each year. Earned first team All-Big 10 and single handedly won several games for us during his senior season. Probably the most well-rounded player at Iowa in 20-years? When I think back on this year, he really struggled the last 10 games to find his rhythm. Forcing shots, versus driving to the hoop were a complaint of mine. He will be missed next year.
Speaking of Next Year: Losing the nucleus of 4 senior starters will obviously be challenging. The team will look much different next Fall with Peter Jok leading the way. There are way too many unknowns at this juncture to throw out a prediction, but I think an NIT berth should be a reasonable goal.
Point Guards-Guessing it’s going to be a 2-headed monster next year with Fleming and Williams. While Fleming didn’t get enough playing time to base much analysis, Williams looks like he has some potential. 6-5 and fairly slender, he needs to hit the weight room. He did have some moments later in the year, so I think there is a solid future for him after some growing pains.
Red Shirts- Moss and Hutton. Not sure what to think as these two seemed to be the more highly touted recruits coming out of high school last year, but in hindsight a redshirt probably will do them both some good. I think they will add some athleticism to the program, which will be much needed.
Peter Jok-Not much analysis needed. He will need some guys to produce around him to continue his success.
Dale Jones- I wonder what Iowa could have done this year with Dale as the 3rd scoring option? Maybe he is the 2nd go-to-guy next year. Hoping he comes back from his injury.
Nicholas Baer- Hustle, hustle hustle. Would be nice to find a scholarship for him as I feel he has earned it. Eat and eat often this Summer.
Ahmad Wagner-Has the body to be a strong presence in the paint. Needs to work on his post moves and short range jumper.
Dom Uhl-He has shown improvement in many areas, but one focus should be finishing near the basket. Probably hit 30% or less in the paint.
Brady Ellingson-Had his opportunities, but if you are a 3 point shooter and can’t hit open shots, you’re playing time will go away which it did. Probably has some decisions to make.
Newbies: Pemsyl, Kreiner Bohannon and Cook. While 3 of the 4 are adding size to the program It’s unrealistic to think that anyone of them will be a difference maker next year. Cook is probably the best candidate to play right away and 2 of the other 3 could be redshirt candidates.
If I had to pencil in next year’s starters: I would say; Christian Williams, Peter Jok, Dale Jones, Dom Uhl and Ahmad Wagner. (Maybe insert Fleming for Jones, for more ball handling)
Nicholas Baer as your 6th man, then Andrew Fleming, Tyler Cook, Moss and Hutton complete your 10 man rotation.
Redshirts-Pemsyl or Kreiner, Bohannon if Ellingson stays.
State of the Program: Despite getting embarrassed by Villanova, my glass is still half-full on the program. Would Tyler Ulis running the show have made a difference? Maybe? Maybe not? Either way, that's how muc 1 guy can make a difference. I think the coaching staff will remain unchanged as I think we have a solid nucleus of diverse coaches.
Next year will be challenging with a lot of younger, un-proven players giving a lot of minutes. I think we will be more athletic, but inexperienced. As you know, anything is possible in basketball as 1-2 guys can make a huge difference, but another 20 win season is highly unlikely.
Looking beyond 2016-17, we obviously have Connor and Weiskamp coming in, with other scholarships open. I like Fran’s recruiting methodology. We went up against the big boys with Ulis, but lost out in the end. Same with Tyler Cook and we won that battle. I don’t expect Fran to shy away of going after the big fish, but then again finding the guy who is maybe under-recruited that can be developed into a solid player.
