A Couple Thoughts

[C/Seahawk]

A group of seniors are about 8 minutes from the end of their careers. While the end of this season was a disappointment, the fact is this group helped Iowa rise from the ashes and their contributions should never be forgotten.

While it would be easy and understandable to lament the miss opportunities and shortcomings of some of the players, I hope the focus can shift from disappointment and disgust to appreciation and thankfulness as quick as possible.

The graduating seniors left Iowa in a better place than when they found it and I think overall represented the school and state wonderfully. Thank you Mike, Adam, Anthony and Jarrod. The program has a long way to go but these four have a lot to be proud of.

Go Hawks

 

[StormHawk42]

Gonna leave a sour taste in a lot of people's mouths. But I agree that overall they brought the program back. Now we need to see if Fran can maintain success. And yes two years in a row making it to the R32 is success at Iowa.

 

[jamesvanderwulf]

What's hard to believe is Iowa had this Villanova team down 20 points in that Bahama tourney when our Seniors were Sophomores two years ago before folding in OT. Now look at the difference....

 

[hawksauce]

Solid post. Couldn't agree more. They've given us the opportunity to get looks from some recruits that probably have never even heard of Iowa. I think we'll be ok in the years to come because of these seniors.

 

[Hawked]

A group of seniors are about 8 minutes from the end of their careers. While the end of this season was a disappointment, the fact is this group helped Iowa rise from the ashes and their contributions should never be forgotten.

While it would be easy and understandable to lament the miss opportunities and shortcomings of some of the players, I hope the focus can shift from disappointment and disgust to appreciation and thankfulness as quick as possible.

The graduating seniors left Iowa in a better place than when they found it and I think overall represented the school and state wonderfully. Thank you Mike, Adam, Anthony and Jarrod. The program has a long way but these four have a lot to be proud of.

Go Hawks

They have been great representatives for Iowa but Gatens, May, Cole, Marble, and White took the program from out of the ashes. This group couldn't take that to the next level.

 

[RoundRock620]

Villanova is a better team! I believe Fran will have even more success in Iowa. I believe Iowa will be improved next year. We will have players that will not be afraid to play and not afraid of physical contact. I think the future is bright for Iowa. I also want to thank graduating seniors for giving their best.

 

[doughawk]

Seahawks, nice rosey view. Hope you proudly display your participation ribbons. These seniors have no heart. That's what I'll remember.

 

[amahawk]

A group of seniors are about 8 minutes from the end of their careers. While the end of this season was a disappointment, the fact is this group helped Iowa rise from the ashes and their contributions should never be forgotten.

While it would be easy and understandable to lament the miss opportunities and shortcomings of some of the players, I hope the focus can shift from disappointment and disgust to appreciation and thankfulness as quick as possible.

The graduating seniors left Iowa in a better place than when they found it and I think overall represented the school and state wonderfully. Thank you Mike, Adam, Anthony and Jarrod. The program has a long way to go but these four have a lot to be proud of.

Go Hawks

Well said!

 

[moral_victory]

What's hard to believe is Iowa had this Villanova team down 20 points in that Bahama tourney when our Seniors were Sophomores two years ago before folding in OT. Now look at the difference....

Yeah but we had McCabe back then.

 

[Herkmeister]

Much love, much love.

 

[StormHawk42]

Seahawks, nice rosey view. Hope you proudly display your participation ribbons. These seniors have no heart. That's what I'll remember.

It's just a game dude

 

[C/Seahawk]

What's hard to believe is Iowa had this Villanova team down 20 points in that Bahama tourney when our Seniors were Sophomores two years ago before folding in OT. Now look at the difference....

I'm not sure what good it will do to focus on the negatives at this point, what's done is done. The sooner the fan base moves on the better, let the coaches and returning/incoming players figure out how to take the next step. It might require a step back to take two forward but I think the staff deserves that type of understanding and mindset.

Just my .02

 

[NorthCentralHawk]

Despite how I'm currently feeling about the end to their careers, I agree. As a fan, I can step back and appreciate what they've done for the program I support.

 

[DavenportHawk228]

A group of seniors are about 8 minutes from the end of their careers. While the end of this season was a disappointment, the fact is this group helped Iowa rise from the ashes and their contributions should never be forgotten.

While it would be easy and understandable to lament the miss opportunities and shortcomings of some of the players, I hope the focus can shift from disappointment and disgust to appreciation and thankfulness as quick as possible.

The graduating seniors left Iowa in a better place than when they found it and I think overall represented the school and state wonderfully. Thank you Mike, Adam, Anthony and Jarrod. The program has a long way to go but these four have a lot to be proud of.

Go Hawks

I agree, but their effort today was lacking. They did win 89 games over 4yrs.

 

[luvmyhawks]

It's just a game dude

This.

 

[TDGOHAWKS]

Villanova is a better team! I believe Fran will have even more success in Iowa. I believe Iowa will be improved next year. We will have players that will not be afraid to play and not afraid of physical contact. I think the future is bright for Iowa. I also want to thank graduating seniors for giving their best.

I agree with this. Underclassmen have logged good minutes this year. Our walk on freshman is the only one hustling out there today. If only we could get all 5 guys on the floor playing with his heart. I think the future is brighter than people think.

 

[jamesvanderwulf]

Not trying to be negative, just trying to figure out why we aren't tougher after two more years of play. 6'0" guards who can't shoot = problems, and we were exposed today something fierce.

 

[OC_Hawk]

Seems a lot of seniors have been bestowed this savior title the last few years.

While I will miss this group - especially Uthoff - to say they are responsible for resurrecting the team from the ashes is a bit misleading. They were in the NIT Championship game their freshmen year. A second round loss in the tournament isn't exactly miles ahead of an NIT runner-up finish.

Gesell, Clemmons, and Woodbury committed to a team that went 8-10 in the Big Ten the year before they got here. They improved on that (9-9, 9-9, 12-6, 12-6) but this wasn't a revolutionary period in Hawkeye basketball history.

 

[EpenesaEpenesa]

It's over now. No need to keep bashing these guys. Like another said, they left the program in a better spot than when they signed. Because of their careers, Iowa now has a much better product to sell to future kids.

 

[ih8iast8]

Seahawks, nice rosey view. Hope you proudly display your participation ribbons. These seniors have no heart. That's what I'll remember.

I sure hope you don't have children that have to live up to your standards.

 

[TailgateTom]

It's over now. No need to keep bashing these guys. Like another said, they left the program in a better spot than when they signed. Because of their careers, Iowa now has a much better product to sell to future kids.

Agreed completely. I do think we need to get the young guys in the last 2:00 though

 

[Ihawkhoops]

I can't find any positives here. Only guy to play up in this game was Baer. Game was over about 7 minutes in. Team had multiple opportunities to make it somewhat respectable in the second half and it was brick, brick, brick. Last two second round games over by the 10 minute mark of the first half. Not getting close to narrowing the talent gap we face against good teams. Not faulting the players, they did their best, they are just over-matched.

 

[doughawk]

I sure hope you don't have children that have to live up to your standards.

I do . And they are . High standards and expectations yield high results.

 

[sadiehawkins]

Nobody will remember this team in 5 yrs. Feel good stories really are for the weak of mind. This team is what it is a mid to lower range team.

 

[ih8iast8]

I do . And they are . High standards and expectations yield high results.

Spoken by the a$$hole parent sitting in the stands during softball games.

 

[The Sleeping Dog]

These guys signed off a ten win season and three consecutive 20 loss seasons. They never had a losing record in the conference. Made the NCAAs three years in a row for first time in 23 years. Got to the second round for the first time in 19 years. This class accomplished a great deal.

A lot of boys contributed to our rebuilding but we are looking at two career starters and two guys that have been on all three NCAA teams.

We'll see what kind of talent fills the roster going forward. We have more question marks going into next season than the Hawks have had in years.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

Seahawks, nice rosey view. Hope you proudly display your participation ribbons. These seniors have no heart. That's what I'll remember.

If you ain't first, you're last.

 

[83Hawk]

I am grateful to the seniors for the 3 straight NCAA tournament appearances and 2 tournament wins.

I don't think there is a true leader on the team, and feel they are mentally weak overall...they are fine when everything is going their way, but fold easily in the face of adversity. We also don't have a true point guard or even one coming in. All this can be laid at Fran's feet. It isn't the players fault...it is his.

I said this before....he is a great mid-major level coach. He can do well against average competition and in the occasional game against one of the "big boys"...but his players and his coaching cannot stand up to the rigors of having to play top flight competition week in and week out.

I appreciate what he did to resurrect the program. But one and done in the NCAA tournament is about as good as we are ever going to get under Fran. I am not calling for him to be fired, but have resigned myself to our fate.

 

[WadeLookingbill]

I am grateful to the seniors for the 3 straight NCAA tournament appearances and 2 tournament wins.

I don't think there is a true leader on the team, and feel they are mentally weak overall...they are fine when everything is going their way, but fold easily in the face of adversity. We also don't have a true point guard or even one coming in. All this can be laid at Fran's feet. It isn't the players fault...it is his.

I said this before....he is a great mid-major level coach. He can do well against average competition and in the occasional game against one of the "big boys"...but his players and his coaching cannot stand up to the rigors of having to play top flight competition week in and week out.

I appreciate what he did to resurrect the program. But one and done in the NCAA tournament is about as good as we are ever going to get under Fran. I am not calling for him to be fired, but have resigned myself to our fate.

I'd like to assume you understand the last two years Fran and the Hawkeyes have eclipsed "one and done" but I'm just not sure that is the case given your post.

 

[83Hawk]

I'd like to assume you understand the last two years Fran and the Hawkeyes have eclipsed "one and done" but I'm just not sure that is the case given your post.

I meant to type "one win and done", but you probably knew that. Point out one thing I mentioned that is incorrect at this stage of Fran's Iowa career.

Again...I am not calling for him to be fired. But so far I have not seen anything that makes me think things will be better in the future.

 

[WadeLookingbill]

I meant to type "one win and done", but you probably knew that. Point out one thing I mentioned that is incorrect at this stage of Fran's Iowa career.

Again...I am not calling for him to be fired. But so far I have not seen anything that makes me think things will be better in the future.

On the contrary I see plenty of reasons to think things can continue to improve (at least incrementally, there isn't a lot of room to go up from third place in Big 10 and Round of 32 out of 350 teams). With some minor tweaks after off-season introspection a la Coach Ferentz (read: re-think end of game timeout usage, 2 fouls and sit for half without question), I see no reason this team won't make the Sweet 16 or better in the coming years.

As to your original post, it's hard to rebut some subjective statements, like "I feel they are mentally weak overall...they are fine when everything is going their way, but fold easily in the face of adversity," but Iowa coming back from double digit deficits and taking the lead or winning against Dayton, Notre Dame, Indiana, Purdue (off the top of my head) shows they actually don't "fold easily in the face of adversity." I do think end-of-game situations needs improvement but I would say Iowa not finishing at end of games doesn't mean they can't handle adversity.

As to the mid-major coach assertion, I would say 20-5 after 25 games with quite a few big wins shows the coach/players can handle it week-to-week (for 3 months actually).

The change in your original post from "one and done" is significant, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt there. Still, Iowa made it to the last 32 for the second year in a row. All you can do is put your team in the position to advance every year, and hope it happens occasionally.

Fran needs more talent to take the next step. He now has two consecutive years with wins in the Tournament to help improve the recruiting. He is trying to take Iowa to a place it has very rarely ever been in the history of the program. I think he can do it (often despite Iowa fans).

 

[Herkuleez]

I concur with the overall sentiment of the OP, the seniors were at the core of getting the program back to being a respectable upper half conference program, but for me (and I assume the majority of fans on here) is it really too much to ask that we not get absolutely punked on national tv?

 

[bravehawks1]

While this group of seniors was part of a large number of victories, I think you honestly have to say they leveled the rebuilding that occurred after Liclliter. We are back to an NCAA qualifying team and depending on matchup, we can win one or maybe two games. However, you have to look at today's game and see that there are still pretty big gaps between this program and an elite program. These gaps include talent level, recruiting and developing players, strength, and a big gap in coaching. I am a big fan but the realistic view is that we are not there yet and there is work to be done. I think Fran can help this process but he needs to look at his approach too and not throw everything back at the players like he tends to do.

 

[TJHawkeye]

Until we solve the lack of quickness and driving ability at the point, we will continue to get beaten by teams that have that. With no scoring threat at center, we relied on outside shooting and last second throw ups by our guards, who are always closely gaurded because they cannot create space. Only recruiting will change Iowa's win ceiling, and there are no guards on our radar in the next couple of years that give hope.

 

[RocknRollface]

They were roll players without real scoring options

Being honest , glad to see them move on.

Can't wait to see a team without Gesell at point for better or worse.

 

[83Hawk]

On the contrary I see plenty of reasons to think things can continue to improve (at least incrementally, there isn't a lot of room to go up from third place in Big 10 and Round of 32 out of 350 teams). With some minor tweaks after off-season introspection a la Coach Ferentz (read: re-think end of game timeout usage, 2 fouls and sit for half without question), I see no reason this team won't make the Sweet 16 or better in the coming years.

As to your original post, it's hard to rebut some subjective statements, like "I feel they are mentally weak overall...they are fine when everything is going their way, but fold easily in the face of adversity," but Iowa coming back from double digit deficits and taking the lead or winning against Dayton, Notre Dame, Indiana, Purdue (off the top of my head) shows they actually don't "fold easily in the face of adversity." I do think end-of-game situations needs improvement but I would say Iowa not finishing at end of games doesn't mean they can't handle adversity.

As to the mid-major coach assertion, I would say 20-5 after 25 games with quite a few big wins shows the coach/players can handle it week-to-week (for 3 months actually).

The change in your original post from "one and done" is significant, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt there. Still, Iowa made it to the last 32 for the second year in a row. All you can do is put your team in the position to advance every year, and hope it happens occasionally.

Fran needs more talent to take the next step. He now has two consecutive years with wins in the Tournament to help improve the recruiting. He is trying to take Iowa to a place it has very rarely ever been in the history of the program. I think he can do it (often despite Iowa fans).

I agree there are some tweaks that can be made to improve things. But will Fran make them? I hope he does.

The lack of a team leader and a true point guard have been common themes during Fran's tenure. Point guard.....don't see anyone on the horizon at this time that is coming. I think Baer can be a leader.

I see the same core problems every year. Even so, Iowa is one "special" player away from taking the next step.

I'm not calling for Fran to be fired. I am just not holding my breath that he can take Iowa to the famous "next level".

 

[bravehawks1]

I don't Fran is willing to change. He comes across as strictly a my way or the highway style. He does have to look very far away to see two programs where the coach mid season made changes and they started playing better basketball, al Wiscy and ISU.

 

[The Sleeping Dog]

My God, this sounds like the same verbal composet that got Dr. Davis fired.

Next season will tell us a lot about the progress of the program. The 2017 recruiting class will also be indicative of where we're headed under McC.

But, before its claimed the Hawks have no talent don't forget next season we will again feature 1 high 4* and 2 ESPN low 4* plus Pemsyl, who was pretty much in everyone's top 150 before the injury, and 1 sleeper in the playing freshman class. Its not Duke but its not like bottom feeding.

Point guard is a concern but we'll see how tht plays out as well. We're certainly watching a lot of teams win NCAA games with mostly unknown players. Williams dribbles with his head down and that needs solved. This is supposedly the best Bohannan so he could well be a sleeper, to the extent an ESPN 4* can be a sleeper.

Let's not fear the wolf at the door before we actually see him.

 

[storyhawkeye]

They were roll players without real scoring options

Being honest , glad to see them move on.

Can't wait to see a team without Gesell at point for better or worse.

Rock and 'roll' dude.