3 things Fran does that drive me nuts

[gohawks7470]

-Rarely if ever uses a timeout at the end of a game.

-Down the stretch tries to run the clock out instead of attacking the basket. Lets the clock run down to like 8 before starting a play. Rarely if ever does this work, usually we end up with some wild shot or a turnover.

-If a player gets 2 fouls in the first half, they never re-enter in the first half. We lost so many minutes with Cook tonight sitting on the bench.

 

[Eternal Return]

-Down the stretch tries to run the clock out instead of attacking the basket. Lets the clock run down to like 8 before starting a play. Rarely if ever does this work, usually we end up with some wild shot or a turnover.

That one bothered me. At the end of regulation and halfway through the first OT Bohannon was crawling up the court with the ball. They were up 4 and if they had attacked, like you said, good possibility they get up 6 or 7 and the game is probably over. Yeah, that coaching tactic I am not in favor of and it's really weird because for the most part Fran is all about attacking then suddenly his inner Kirk Ferentz comes out and he tries to run out the clock with way too much time left. Everyone blasting Fran on that point, yeah, I agree. But I try to keep it in perspective related to his overall coaching and recruiting. If he could somehow change his approach there, I mean, there wouldn't be nearly as much to complain about.

 

[MepoDawg#]

I actually think the went too fast and didn't run the clock down plus they didn't really set up a play.

 

[gohawks7470]

That one bothered me. At the end of regulation and halfway through the first OT Bohannon was crawling up the court with the ball. They were up 4 and if they had attacked, like you said, good possibility they get up 6 or 7 and the game is probably over. Yeah, that coaching tactic I am not in favor of and it's really weird because for the most part Fran is all about attacking then suddenly his inner Kirk Ferentz comes out and he tries to run out the clock with way too much time left. Everyone blasting Fran on that point, yeah, I agree. But I try to keep it in perspective related to his overall coaching and recruiting. If he could somehow change his approach there, I mean, there wouldn't be nearly as much to complain about.

Yes completely agree the guy is a good coach, just weird how he chooses to play not to win at the end of games. lol Kirk Ferentz is a great comparison here, I can't understand why he just continuously closes games like this.

 

[pocha444444]

I actually think the went too fast and didn't run the clock down plus they didn't really set up a play.

Yep, they went too fast the one possession and gave Nebraska a fast break going the other way. Luckily Baer hustled back and the guy missed free throws.

 

[SLarew]

Yes completely agree the guy is a good coach, just weird how he chooses to play not to win at the end of games. lol Kirk Ferentz is a great comparison here, I can't understand why he just continuously closes games like this.

If we played fast and didnt make baskets, fans would be saying we should have slowed down and worked for good shot. No win situation. You are assuming Iowa would have made baskets but that aint necessarily so.

 

[spiderland]

You are assuming Iowa would have made baskets but that aint necessarily so.

I never assume that Iowa will make a basket in the final 30 seconds. Quite the opposite, actually.

 

[24 so far]

If we played fast and didnt make baskets, fans would be saying we should have slowed down and worked for good shot. No win situation. You are assuming Iowa would have made baskets but that aint necessarily so.

Taking the air out of the ball isn't working for a good shot. When you "work for a good shot", instead of bringing it to an absolute halt and then throw up a prayer to beat the shot clock, that would probably be acceptable to most. There is such a thing as smart basketball, and Iowa doesn't play it near often enough at ends of games, and hasn't for quite some time. There is one common denominator to that equation, Fran Mac.

I really like Fran, but I can't stand his end of game philosophy, it appears to suck far more often than not, IMO. I'd be absolutely stunned if the facts don't clearly back that up.

I get it, you want the ball in the hands of your best player at the end of games, but when that guy faces constant double teams and the shot clock is winding down that is no longer a winning recipe. Run your offense and put Big Ten caliber players on the court that aren't afraid to take a potential game winner.

 

[Lyoncounty]

Lots of hind-site here. If you are up 4 late, you slow things down and take the air out of the ball. Its simple basketball. Especially when teams allow you to stand out there. What needs to be reviewed by the coaching staff is the end of game sets we run. IMO, there needs to be some modifications to how we try to score after running the clock down.

 

[Lyoncounty]

As far as calling end of game time outs. I dont like that strategy. You work on that in practice and should be able to call the set from the bench. What people forget, is the defensive coach gets to also talk to his team and strategize. Its a big advantage for the D as well.

With that said, we should have called a TO during this scenario when Jok had fouled out. too much youth on the floor at that time probably in a roll they werent comfortable with.

 

[Bulldogs1974]

the problem is that fran never changes his approach at the end of games. Which would be fine if we had the best/quickest pg on the floor. Our poor pg's have the dribble 1 on 1 with the opposing teams best defender while waiting for 1 person to weave through baseline screens to get open.
Often times it looks like an elementary/jr. high game where the offensive man has to turn his back to the defender so they don't get it stolen. And if all goes according to frans plan, we take a contested, low percentage shot while on the move or off a screen. There is a reason we fail way more often than not at the end of games.

 

[bhelm22]

-If a player gets 2 fouls in the first half, they never re-enter in the first half. We lost so many minutes with Cook tonight sitting on the bench.

This is what drives me the most crazy and too many coaches do it...sure I'd take him out when he has 2 fouls and make sure he is fresh but when he is rested and ready to go again, I'd stick him back in there. The only penalty given out by the rules is after 5 fouls, Fran essentially turns it into 2 per half so in Cook's case he fouled out with ~10 min to go in the first half.

 

[bravehawks1]

As far as calling end of game time outs. I dont like that strategy. You work on that in practice and should be able to call the set from the bench. What people forget, is the defensive coach gets to also talk to his team and strategize. Its a big advantage for the D as well.

With that said, we should have called a TO during this scenario when Jok had fouled out. too much youth on the floor at that time probably in a roll they werent comfortable with.

I get the argument that this is worked on in practice and the other team also gets to set up a play too. However, in practice you do not have the same level of noise to communicate over, same level of fatigue and often times the group of players is different (I bet there are very few end games sets in practice that no not involve Jok like it did in double OT when he fouled out. Good coaches also have two or three options they can run depending on what the defense does, so just a quick reminder of these options would never seem to be a bad option. And for the last couple of years, Fran has had only one play and that is use one player (Marble to White to Uthoff to Jok) and even the dumbest of basketball fans know what is coming (ie Daniels in to the line on 4th and 1 scenario).
This is further proof of how bad of an end game coach that Fran is and he can't make the necessary adjustments. He can just say we worked on this in practice and everyone knows the call so then when it doesn't happen it is the players fault for not executing. Well the actions on the floor and results do not support. Fran is the guy with 40 years of high level basketball experience plus all the experience of the assistant coaches versus a couple years for any of the players. Fran and Kirk must have coffee together every morning to discuss who is the most stubborn to change!

 

[Clifford C. Clavin]

[QUOTE="
-Down the stretch tries to run the clock out instead of attacking the basket. Lets the clock run down to like 8 before starting a play. Rarely if ever does this work, usually we end up with some wild shot or a turnover.[/QUOTE]

This has driven me nuts for years with Fran. They don't run any offense until the clock runs way down, and then throw up garbage that has about a 15% chance to go in or turn it over. I'd rather continue to attack, maybe a little more selectively, even if it means missing a shot earlier in the clock sometimes.