First off, we all saw what Baer brought to the game yesterday.....and although there are different perspectives on his abilities and what he will accomplish I think most would agree that he just plays harder, hustles more, than most players. Fans have compared him to Jess Settles, Ryan Bowen, and Kevin Boyle just to name a few.
So, the spark that he has provided I think is based at least in part on effort, length, and athleticism....which leads me to my first actual point of this post, and that is this:
1) I "think" Brandon Hutton is another player that fits that mold...length, athleticism, and hustle. That is a guess based on high school video, PTL observations, and things "written by those in the know."
I'm not predicting Baer as a starter next year (it could happen, I'm just not predicting one way or the other) but I will be surprised if he doesn't bring that same spark next year....maybe he will be even more productive than this year. Consequently, I am not predicting Hutton will start next year (in fact I think he will not start, but play the role that Baer has this year).....and that kind of leads to the second main point of this post.
2) I think that for this Iowa team under Fran to be more successful they have to play better defense than we did down the stretch and the type of long athletic players that he has recruited will take us there. I am not predicting that we will go to the next level next year.....I actually think that it is 2 to 3 years away.
To further that theory I would guess that Fran has recruited players to this point that he could get.....not necessarily the type he ultimately wants. I think that the great senior class that we have this year are high level players that might not be the perfect fit for Fran's system. I am guessing that the Moss, Baer, Cook, Williams, Wagner, Kreiner, Uhl, and others are getting pretty close to being that type of player. So I think the future is bright, and I am happy with the past including these great Hawkeye seniors and the level Fran has taken this program too so far.
I'm an optimist.......and try to qualify that I am not a bball expert and often my predictions are wrong...examples are these: *I thought Flemming was the most ready freshman and would play, *I thought Hutton would play this last year because of his defensive abilities and his athleticism. Obviously wrong on both.
So, the spark that he has provided I think is based at least in part on effort, length, and athleticism....which leads me to my first actual point of this post, and that is this:
1) I "think" Brandon Hutton is another player that fits that mold...length, athleticism, and hustle. That is a guess based on high school video, PTL observations, and things "written by those in the know."
I'm not predicting Baer as a starter next year (it could happen, I'm just not predicting one way or the other) but I will be surprised if he doesn't bring that same spark next year....maybe he will be even more productive than this year. Consequently, I am not predicting Hutton will start next year (in fact I think he will not start, but play the role that Baer has this year).....and that kind of leads to the second main point of this post.
2) I think that for this Iowa team under Fran to be more successful they have to play better defense than we did down the stretch and the type of long athletic players that he has recruited will take us there. I am not predicting that we will go to the next level next year.....I actually think that it is 2 to 3 years away.
To further that theory I would guess that Fran has recruited players to this point that he could get.....not necessarily the type he ultimately wants. I think that the great senior class that we have this year are high level players that might not be the perfect fit for Fran's system. I am guessing that the Moss, Baer, Cook, Williams, Wagner, Kreiner, Uhl, and others are getting pretty close to being that type of player. So I think the future is bright, and I am happy with the past including these great Hawkeye seniors and the level Fran has taken this program too so far.
I'm an optimist.......and try to qualify that I am not a bball expert and often my predictions are wrong...examples are these: *I thought Flemming was the most ready freshman and would play, *I thought Hutton would play this last year because of his defensive abilities and his athleticism. Obviously wrong on both.
