Basketball Recruiting

[GunnerHawk]

What a fluid situation in recruiting with early NBA departures, the transfer portal, grad transfers and 2020 recruits on the board. It really is crazy, makes your head spin.

It has always been hard to get a read on Fran's recruiting, he keeps things close to the vest. We certainly have a feel for who he is after but the interest level of recruits is hard to decipher. This 2020 class is so critical to the future of Iowa basketball.

Foster and a 4* point guard would be a great start.

 

[Ballhawk1221]

A 5* PF/C and a 4* PG would be the best Iowa recruiting class in 30 years.

 

[amahawk]

With the new openings a major shift is possible. I hope he does not take just " warm body" recruits but real B1G level contributors.

 

[HawkRugged17]

 

[Roy L Fuchs]

With the new openings a major shift is possible. I hope he does not take just " warm body" recruits but real B1G level contributors.

We already look like an accountant Dept intramural team. Freakin’ embarrassing.

 

[The Deplorable Sleeping Dog]

We already look like an accountant Dept intramural team. Freakin’ embarrassing.

Except for the 23 wins and NCAA second round. Don't think many intramural teams reach that level of success.

 

[HoustonREDHawk]

Maybe the hiring of the right assistant is the first step in Iowa landing some top recruits. Fran can spot em, but some kids are going to be looking for at least one coach they can relate to, and doesn't remind them of their grandpa or great grandpa

 

[BirdistheWord]

A 5* PF/C and a 4* PG would be the best Iowa recruiting class in 30 years.

who was the last 5* or equivalent that we have landed? Roy Marble Sr.?

 

[BlackNGoldBleeder]

Except for the 23 wins and NCAA second round. Don't think many intramural teams reach that level of success.

I think he is referring to the racial makeup of the team next year.

 

[Roy L Fuchs]

Except for the 23 wins and NCAA second round. Don't think many intramural teams reach that level of success.

Two NCAA wins in about 100 years...yes, real success. Iowa basketball has ZERO relevance outside of Iowa City. I’m a big fan, we’ve just been crap for so long.

 

[jasonrann]

Except for the 23 wins and NCAA second round. Don't think many intramural teams reach that level of success.

Yup, except for this, his post was spot on.

 

[iahawks10]

Two NCAA wins in about 100 years...yes, real success. Iowa basketball has ZERO relevance outside of Iowa City. I’m a big fan, we’ve just been crap for so long.

Fran has three wins himself at Iowa in the last five seasons. It’s pretty hard to take your posts seriously.

You seem like a “big fan” not knowing basic Hawkeye facts, like NCAA wins in the last five years.

 

[The Deplorable Sleeping Dog]

I'm not particularly interested in the racial composition of the roster. I am interested in the quality of the players on the roster.

I'm not entirely certain that we want the kind of player that would find playing with white kids or being coached by white men repellent. That's the very definition of bigotry.

 

[The Deplorable Sleeping Dog]

Two NCAA wins in about 100 years...yes, real success. Iowa basketball has ZERO relevance outside of Iowa City. I’m a big fan, we’ve just been crap for so long.

The last twenty years haven't been great but the previous fifty weren't bad. That's what happens when you run off your experienced career leader in wins for the hot young gun coming off his first Sweet 16. The 78-99 years were quite good for a small school from a small state with no media cache, an uphill battle with the officials and lousy weather.

Daily was not a serious loss. Two ESPN 4*s left and the freshman class replaces them with two other ESPN 4* players. Indeed the two incoming freshmen are ranked about where ESPN placed TC and Isaiah after their senior seasons.

Last 5* was either Tyler Smith, another Alford psychopath felon, or Chris Kingsbury. Collison would have been but that's another thing you lose when you fire your career coaching winner.

 

[CanadaHawk]

One guy that I’m interested in for Iowa, whether or not we get the bigger fish, is Desmond Polk. Think he would check a lot of boxes for Iowa, their style and personnel needs. He’s a combo guard so could play PG, he’s a great shooter, can make plays off the dribble, has some length and quickness to defend guards. Would be at Iowa after the big fish left. Just him in the 2020 class would keep the team moving forward because of the holes he could fill.

 

[Cydkar]

I'm not particularly interested in the racial composition of the roster. I am interested in the quality of the players on the roster.

I'm not entirely certain that we want the kind of player that would find playing with white kids or being coached by white men repellent. That's the very definition of bigotry.

If you think a black kid not wanting to play with a bunch of white kids is the definition of bigotry, you are sorely mistaken. It could be bigotry, but not by definition.

 

[4th & 9 inches]

I've wondered if black players are turned off by Fran's tantrums and rants at times. If he behaves that way during a game, it's hard to imagine he is not that way in practice.

Call it racial if you want, but a black player is going to be less receptive to that kind of coaching from a white coach than a black one.

 

[Lumas Etima]

I'm not entirely certain that we want the kind of player that would find playing with white kids or being coached by white men repellent. That's the very definition of bigotry.

This thinking ignores a lot of context.

If you are a young black man, who attends a predominantly black school, and has always played basketball on predominantly black teams, and you have a choice between one school which is predominantly black, and another school, where you would be one of only 2 or 3 players of color, it might factor into your decision.

It's really less about race and more about where a young person thinks he or she will fit in. Race, religion, political background, party lifestyle, etc. can all be a factor.

 

[Cydkar]

This thinking ignores a lot of context.

If you are a young black man, who attends a predominantly black school, and has always played basketball on predominantly black teams, and you have a choice between one school which is predominantly black, and another school, where you would be one of only 2 or 3 players of color, it might factor into your decision.

It's really less about race and more about where a young person thinks he or she will fit in. Race, religion, political background, party lifestyle, etc. can all be a factor.

Well said.

 

[Winkman]

Well said.

 

[Winkman]

How about we go after the Murray Twins from C.R.

 

[hawkeyeguy69]

I'm not particularly interested in the racial composition of the roster. I am interested in the quality of the players on the roster.

I'm not entirely certain that we want the kind of player that would find playing with white kids or being coached by white men repellent. That's the very definition of bigotry.

What about Unconscious bias....? Sucks. But it definitely exists within all of us. Apparently.... Ask Gary Dolphin on that. He knows more about it, now, than I do.

I am not saying I agree. But it's out there. And just the fact that people are talking about it, one view or the other, it is most definitely a noted issue.

 

[cleotishaywood]

I've wondered if black players are turned off by Fran's tantrums and rants at times. If he behaves that way during a game, it's hard to imagine he is not that way in practice.

Call it racial if you want, but a black player is going to be less receptive to that kind of coaching from a white coach than a black one.

Maybe the question is does a black recruit feel they can win without having other black players on the roster? Are they questioning why 2 black players that have been in the program for over 3 years have decided to transfer out? Maybe they have gotten the in-correct perspective that IC is Opie-ville? Not saying they do but possibly?

 

[Roy L Fuchs]

I've wondered if black players are turned off by Fran's tantrums and rants at times. If he behaves that way during a game, it's hard to imagine he is not that way in practice.

Call it racial if you want, but a black player is going to be less receptive to that kind of coaching from a white coach than a black one.

Maybe Fran requires team meetings at Starbucks and our uniforms are made by Vineyard Vines.

 

[2432Hawk]

How about we go after the Murray Twins from C.R.

Bring them in and redshirt. not a bad option

 

[The Deplorable Sleeping Dog]

What about Unconscious bias....? Sucks. But it definitely exists within all of us. Apparently.... Ask Gary Dolphin on that. He knows more about it, now, than I do.

I am not saying I agree. But it's out there. And just the fact that people are talking about it, one view or the other, it is most definitely a noted issue.

Unconscious bias is a sham construction of the post modern left. Its employed to suppress speech and thought by creating offense where offense cannot be reasonably otherwise found. The goal is division and grievance peddling. Like calling any basketball player King Kong. How often have we heard sports casters describing players, black and white, in football and basketball "King Kong". "King Kong in shoulder pads". Patrick Ewing did a photo ad presenting himself as King Kong....because King Kong is one of the icons of power and strength in American culture; indeed, one the greatest movie heroes of all time. And, and....he actually swatted things down (biplane bombers not basketballs). Most kids in this generation have only seen the Jack Black version. The greatest display of masculine power and personal courage in movie history appears when Kong crashes through the canopy to rescue Naomi Watts and fight three T-Rex monsters! The person offended by such a comparison is simply too sensitive and probably lives the unhappy and discontented life of the easily offended.

Again, I think Iowa is a better program and the state a better place without the social division that arises from the propagation of infinite grievance and the people who thrive on that grievance and division.

In case you're thinking of going down the racist road, most of the people that buy into and propagate such post modern nonsense are white Marxists in academia and politics. A culture in which honest communication cannot occur is a dying culture.

 

[The Deplorable Sleeping Dog]

If you think a black kid not wanting to play with a bunch of white kids is the definition of bigotry, you are sorely mistaken. It could be bigotry, but not by definition.

Its not bigotry per se, that word pertains to opinions and I misapplied it. It is racism per se if a black player does not want to play with or be coached by white people merely because they are white.

That kind of ethnic animosity has existed among all peoples through all of time. Be a Tutsi cruising through Hutu territory and you'll get a real old school lesson in racism. Or a Cheyenne hunting in Lakota territory in 1819. Or a Jew in Europe, well...ever. Its not very attractive in a society that is based on pluralism and legal equality, however. Indeed, application of MLKs theorem of judging by the content of character and not the color of the skin seems more like the ethic the U of Iowa should encourage.

 

[TheTruthTheWholeTruth]

I've wondered if black players are turned off by Fran's tantrums and rants at times. If he behaves that way during a game, it's hard to imagine he is not that way in practice.

Call it racial if you want, but a black player is going to be less receptive to that kind of coaching from a white coach than a black one.

Definitely. Michigan St can’t recruit black players at all because of Izzo’s tantrums and rants. It’s amazing he’s been able to win so much with such pasty lineups.

 

[The Deplorable Sleeping Dog]

I've wondered if black players are turned off by Fran's tantrums and rants at times. If he behaves that way during a game, it's hard to imagine he is not that way in practice.

Call it racial if you want, but a black player is going to be less receptive to that kind of coaching from a white coach than a black one.

Seriously? Are you old enough to remember John Chaney or John Thompson, to name a couple of black coaches notorious for wild and foul mouthed outbursts? In the opposite direction, Bob Knight, who cannot utter a complete sentence without "****" being used in some form, actually destroyed the sideline tables and threw chairs. Black kids didn't seem to find a problem in lily white Indiana playing for Knight. (Fair admission, he is the funniest person in sports history).

Do you actually harbor the thought that yelling and screaming at players and refs is an ethnic specific, or even ethnically disproportionate, character and behavior trait? If so I would simply ask that you rethink that belief in light of a broader perspective.

A black kid being more sensitive to raving from a white coach than the same behavior in a black coach is demonstrating the kind of racial bias that should be corrected not rewarded. I don't know that a kid with that attitude is a kid we want on campus.

 

[L. Wade Childress]

I've wondered if black players are turned off by Fran's tantrums and rants at times. If he behaves that way during a game, it's hard to imagine he is not that way in practice.

Call it racial if you want, but a black player is going to be less receptive to that kind of coaching from a white coach than a black one.

My god people are just clueless.

 

[BBHawk]

Maybe the question is does a black recruit feel they can win without having other black players on the roster? Are they questioning why 2 black players that have been in the program for over 3 years have decided to transfer out? Maybe they have gotten the in-correct perspective that IC is Opie-ville? Not saying they do but possibly?

Oh yeah, that's what a young man's mind is focused on...

 

[BlackNGoldBleeder]

You are digh

Oh yeah, that's what a young man's mind is focused on...

Sure, but you can find hot p#$$y on about any college campus.

I'm sure there are some black kids who would be fine with having mostly white teammates, might even think it's cool. And there are probably some who wouldn't be cool with it. I'm guessing more fall into the latter category.

What we're really talking about is something that has more to do with an outlier than it does race per se. Meaning it's very unusual to have a P5 college basketball team comprised of nearly all white kids in 2019. So, naturally, people are going to take notice.

The problem is because it's unusual people are going to comment about it and offer opinions on it. Good, bad, indifferent, people are going to take notice. That's just human nature. And if anyone thinks that doesn't have an impact on recruiting, they're kidding themselves. Choosing a school is a tough decision for kids. Chatter that places even a shred of uncertainty into a kid's head puts Iowa at an even greater disadvantage in recruiting.

Like it or not, basketball is a game dominated by black players. It makes no sense to alienate them. And it's not a good look for a major university to lack diversity in a major sport like basketball.

Yeah, I'm saying Fran should have purposely recruited more black players.

 

[L. Wade Childress]

Sure, but you can find hot p#$$y on about any college campus.

I'm sure there are some black kids who would be fine with having mostly white teammates, might even think it's cool. And there are probably some who wouldn't be cool with it. I'm guessing more fall into the latter category.

What we're really talking about is something that has more to do with an outlier than it does race per se. Meaning it's very unusual to have a P5 college basketball team comprised of nearly all white kids in 2019. So, naturally, people are going to take notice.

The problem is because it's unusual people are going to comment about it and offer opinions on it. Good, bad, indifferent, people are going to take notice. That's just human nature. And if anyone thinks that doesn't have an impact on recruiting, they're kidding themselves. Choosing a school is a tough decision for kids. Chatter that places even a shred of uncertainty into a kid's head puts Iowa at an even greater disadvantage in recruiting.

Like it or not, basketball is a game dominated by black players. It makes no sense to alienate them. And it's not a good look for a major university to lack diversity in a major sport like basketball.

Yeah, I'm saying Fran should have purposely recruited more black players.

We tried that in 2015. The following years we took the best players available regardless of color. Which worked out better?

 

[BlackNGoldBleeder]

We tried that in 2015. The following years we took the best players available regardless of color. Which worked out better?

Lol. Part of your post sums up Fran's recruiting impeccably well, and some of it is absolutely laughable.

The part that sums it up well is where you state "we" went after the best available players. In other words, Fran isn't winning too many recruiting battles. You're right.

The part that is hilarious is your use of "we," as if you are privy to the recruiting philosophy Fran and staff employ.

Regardless, pointing out the 2015 class has nothing to do with anything. It's a ridiculous point.

 

[owenhawk]

I think he is referring to the racial makeup of the team next year.

He is but why the hell does it matter?

 

[BlackNGoldBleeder]

He is but why the hell does it matter?

If you want to know my answer, read back a few posts from this one.

 

[owenhawk]

Bring them in and redshirt. not a bad option

They are not Big Ten players, not even close. People talk about Dailey not being Big Ten ready ... these guys are not even Dailey.

 

[owenhawk]

I've wondered if black players are turned off by Fran's tantrums and rants at times. If he behaves that way during a game, it's hard to imagine he is not that way in practice.

Call it racial if you want, but a black player is going to be less receptive to that kind of coaching from a white coach than a black one.

Please tell me you are joking.

 

[L. Wade Childress]

Please tell me you are joking.

No, he just lives in the 1800s

 

[owenhawk]

So what I gather from this thread is that they want Fran to recruit more black players even if those players are not as good as white players they might be able to get. Seems like a solid strategy. He should have went after a a 2 Star black Center instead of a 4 star white Center like Garza so he could say he had more black players on the team.

Of the last 10 black players Fran recruited, only 1 of them was above mediocre (Cook) and the majority proved not even to be viable power conference players even off the bench.

Seems to me he might already be reaching on players (white or black), especially in the 2013 - 2015 recruiting classes. I’d much prefer to take the higher ranked players that have come in the last 4 recruiting classes regardless of color but that’s just me. I just prefer watching a team that will win to one that looks “cooler”.