Basketball Recruiting

[BlackNGoldBleeder]

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”.

Lol. This type of constipated thinking has become the trademark of Iowa basketball's mediocrity.

Uhmmm...no, no one (at least to my knowledge) is saying a "two-star black player" is preferable. What people might be observing is that when it comes to the Top 25 teams in the country, or, in terms of recruiting, those prospects who make the list of Top 150, those teams and players aren't usually pigmentally challenged. Just saying.

Sure, there are some really good ball players who are white. And I would prefer all of them to Maishe Dailey. The problem is for every Maishe Dailey Fran has recruited, there is a longer list of guys like Brady Ellingson, Kyle Meyer, Josh Oglesthree, Andrew Flemming, etc. who suck too. Sure, there have been plenty of other black players Fran has recruited who also suck (Dom Uhl comes to mind), but I think that's kind of the problem: guys who suck.

To me, all of this is funny because I grew up in the Tom Davis era. One of Dr. Tom's main criticisms in his latter years, besides not landing Raef, is that he relied too heavily on Iowa kids (which was code for white players). That's funny now because the racial makeup of Dr. Tom's teams were generally more diverse than many of Fran's teams have been. Dr. Tom also landed a couple McDonald's AAs.

Regardless, it is what it is. Mediocre recruiting. And while Iowa fans constantly talk about point guard needs and Fran's inability to sign a top one, how easily it's forgotten that Fran had an opportunity to land Monte Morris and passed in favor of Gessel. We all know how that turned out.

But, hey, Iowa turned a corner this year, ran up an impressive non-conference record against mostly bad or mediocre teams before going 10-10 in conference, so yay for winning! And of course next year will be even better, as Iowa can easily replace bums like Tyler Cook and Isaiah Moss with two "three-star" kids with minimal to no experience.

 

[24 so far]

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.

I don't agree with much of this, but I'm not picking on you personally, this is more of a generalization after reading all this drivel.

The world was a much better place before everyone could voice their idiotic opinions for all to see (yours truly included). Used to be those clowns could just share those opinions with their imaginary friend "Timmy" and no one was the wiser. No harm, no foul. Now we're all dumber for being subjected to it.

I'm just glad I'm old enough to have had plenty of life experiences prior to The Internet, safe spaces, Therapy Cats, etc., the rest of you who are not so lucky, well, you're f****ed. And I mean for life. Good luck, you're going to need it.

 

[unoHawkeye]

The only opinion I’ll offer on the race discussion that’s been a popular topic recently: there is no doubt in my mind that next year’s Hawks are going to be good. Likely even tourney-bound, Fran has done a great job building a team which can compete with most others in the country on a given night. That said, he needs to be careful. You don’t want to risk future success recruiting a particular group of players by developing a reputation (which I don’t believe has happened, but could).

As far as recruiting goes, you don’t take a player based off of skin color; you take the best one available. That said, in a sport most popular among African-Americans within the United States, I have a tough time believing that the best 80% of players Fran is capable of landing are white.

 

[DewHawk]

Lol. Hopefully, you feel better after that inane diatribe, old man.

That is one of the most ridiculous, irrelevant, self-aggrandized, incoherent rants I have read in a long time. Nothing you just wrote comes close to rationale or coherent. Must suck to be old, grumpy, and a limp dick. No, it's you who are f***d, sir, as no one gives a shit what you think. Do the world a favor and kick the bucket.

Oh, and yep, you are definitely dumber.

You truly should seek help! No disrespect intended, honestly.

 

[HoustonREDHawk]

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.

Unconscious bias is a real phenomenon that has been demonstrated in behavioral studies. (That was a lifetime ago for me, and I'm not going to research the topic for an argument.) Whether it is used as a construct to further political agendas is another thing. Better to leave politics out of discussions, because it only leads to side arguments off topic.

I don't care what color a recruit is, as long as he can contribute and fits with the team. It is undeniable that there are a lot more great black basketball players than white ones, and it certainly wouldn't hurt future recruiting if Fran added some great black recruits. It also wouldn't hurt if the next assistant were a younger black coach, but again, qualifications and what they add to the team are what is most important.

 

[BlackNGoldBleeder]

You truly should seek help! No disrespect intended, honestly.

 

[The Deplorable Sleeping Dog]

Unconscious bias is a real phenomenon that has been demonstrated in behavioral studies. (That was a lifetime ago for me, and I'm not going to research the topic for an argument.) Whether it is used as a construct to further political agendas is another thing. Better to leave politics out of discussions, because it only leads to side arguments off topic.

I don't care what color a recruit is, as long as he can contribute and fits with the team. It is undeniable that there are a lot more great black basketball players than white ones, and it certainly wouldn't hurt future recruiting if Fran added some great black recruits. It also wouldn't hurt if the next assistant were a younger black coach, but again, qualifications and what they add to the team are what is most important.

Disagree on studies...there are also engineering studies (an actual hard science) that produce the result that water will flow against gravity absent propulsion of any kind.

Agree on most everything else. I just want to repress the idea, which you were not suggesting, that Iowa is some racist place or that black racism is somehow better than white racism (neither of which were you implying).

Iowa needs good players regardless of skin tone, or nationality and any other category....we just need good players.

 

[BBHawk]

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.

Blah, blah, same old same old.

 

[kceasthawk]

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.

This. I would consider it a problem if Joe, Garza, Kreiner, JBO, weren't BIG caliber players, which they obviously are. I still think Nunge will be a solid player, and early report are promising for CJ. I guess the jury is still out on the Mac boys, but time will tell.

 

[GunnerHawk]

Thanks for hijacking this thread, wanted some insight in recruiting.