It’s actually crazy to look at how little Fran accomplished in the NCAA tourney at Iowa. Fran never won a game against a team seeded higher than seven. McCollum just did that yesterday. More astonishing is that Fran never beat a Power 5 basketball school in the NCAA tourney (Cincinnati was in the AAC at the time). McCollum just did that. People bemoaning the fact that Fran is gone need to face reality.
Ben McCollum Accomplished more in One Game than Fran did in 15 Years. And Just Recruited a Better Point Guard in One Day than Fran in 15 Years.
- Thread starter IChawkeye45
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Drake looked better, defensively, last night than any team Iowa put on the floor in the last 15 years.
That doesn't take much.
The Washington Generals play better D than Iowa….
You don’t accomplish shit without toughness and defense. That’s something I have missed a lot with Iowa basketball. I remember the days of Ed Horton, James Winters, Acie Earl, Chris Street, Jess Settles, Russ Millard, Jacob Jaacks, etc. All guys who epitomized Midwest toughness.
If Iowa is fortunate enough to land BM, I expect we will see a return to that. I like the comment I read about BM having the potential to be Iowa’s Bo Ryan. It’s certainly possible. Watching Drake play for a little bit last night, I liked what I saw. They play the game the right way.
Also noteworthy is what I didn’t see—6-7 tall, lanky white guys in the rotation who can’t defend.
Sadly, this is not even hyperbole.
They also look pretty pedestrian on offense. Shut down the Stirtz kid and I think you beat Drake. Mizzou coach is awful
The neighbor's lawn always looks great after you've sprayed yours with Round-Up...
Defense and guard play win in post season.
Can we also discuss how bad Fran has been at recruiting the point guard?? Was Devyn Roy Marble technically a Lickliter recruit? I can’t remember. It’s astonishing Fran’s track record. Thelwell actually was good but we only had him for a year.
They only look pedestrian because the move the ball around.
And yet they get guys slicing and dicing up that Mizzou defense and getting dunks at layups at the rim.
Just goes to show you how far actual coaching can take a roster.
Really hope BM is coaching Iowa in the tourney 12 months from now.
Really hope BM is coaching Iowa in the tourney 12 months from now.
What I thought was telling was they survived the 9-0 Mizzou run and then ran away with the game with moving the ball around and getting high percentage shots and also the great defense.
Fran would have melted and his teams usually melted down giving up a lead or a big run late in the game.
Toughness at Drake. Reminds me of Lute and Dr Tom. Dr Tom taking his team into the KU gym and breaking that long win streak by KU over non-conf opponents took toughness
Pedestrian on offense? They shot over 50% from the field and from 3. Beat Mizzou on the offensive boards, got more dunks in this game than Iowa did all year. Don’t mistake points scored for how good or bad an offense is. Drake’s efficiency last night was great.
He has a DII roster. He does what he can
Also no 6'7 lanky black guys who can't defend, of which Iowa has had plenty.
It's disheartening is what it is. Fran did f@#k all in the tourney. His teams were soft as butter and always looked unprepared for the big moment. 15 years with the apex of winning a few first round games.
I'll admit I'm a one note guy on this subject. But it's the right note. The NCAA tourney is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN MEN'S D1 BALL! Yes I'm yelling it. Intentionally.
I'll admit I'm a one note guy on this subject. But it's the right note. The NCAA tourney is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN MEN'S D1 BALL! Yes I'm yelling it. Intentionally.
Now if that skill can be accomplished through an entire Big Ten season, with Big Ten officiating and coaching competition, that’s a comparable basis for judgment. Winning in the Valley and then winning one game in the tourney is truly impressive, but it’s not a reasonable comparison to the level of skill and luck and whatever else the Izzos of the world have that win games in the BIG. I think we are about to see this when Fran ends up in a smaller conference at a school without a massive football emphasis. He’s going to win a lot of games and get into the tournament on a pretty regular schedule.
That is an absolutely crazy stat. Fran was moderately successful at Iowa, but his teams were a disaster in the post-season. The loss to Richmond in 2022 was unforgivable, and the beginning of the end of his tenure at Iowa.
He did that before he came to Iowa. Didn’t go to a Sweet 16 either.
Glad to see you are back on track. I thought we'd lost you when you wanted to re-hire Fran. BM would be a great hire, but there is good
chance he ends up elsewhere. Whomever we hire, it will be a better path than the path we were on.
As to the OP post--- does Drake Beating a P4 teams and going 1-0 really beat Fran's wins over Davidson, Grand Canyon (before they were good), Temple, Cincinnatti? It certainly is a much more promising start.
What is amazing is that they play great defense without hand-checking/grabbing/pushing like other teams in say, Central Iowa, that play great defense.
I'll take the Under on "Fran is going to get into the tournament on a pretty regular schedule" at his next stop.
Fran's teams would have been the Mizzou team in that Drake vs. Mizzou matchup.
You mean, if they actually made the tournament?
Fran had national POY guys, and he couldn't beat the likes of Richmond. Ben McCollom has four D-II starters and a transfer from Wyoming who started nine games last year and, because he knows how to coach defense and rebounding, Drake won 67-57, holding Missouri to about 30% shooting and about 30 points under the season average. Iowa routinely gives up 57 points in ONE HALF and gets outrebounded constantly.
Drake's defense is suffocating, and despite being undersized, their rebounding is relentless. And on offense, McCollom knows how to make the best of the limited offensive talent he has. Hell, not one of the Drake players, not even Stirtz, would make the Missouri roster.
What you saw yesterday was a team with limited talent beat a far more athletic team because the limited talent is brilliantly coached.
Wherever McCollom is next year, he'll just keep on winning because he knows what coaching is all about. I love watching this Drake team play, and I think they'll move on to the Sweet Sixteen. But even if they don't, it won't be because they were outcoached.
I was impressed with even though Missouri was bigger and more athletic Drake rebounded well. Is rebounds what those things are called? As an Iowa fan I didn't see us do those things a lot.
Mizzou had average 90 points per game in the 8 games leading up to last night.
They beat Alabama 110-98 a few weeks ago.
85 vs Calipari
101 vs South Car
93, 84, 83 in an 8 point loss to Kentucky.
Yeah, BM deflates the ball, but it was still an incredible defensive performance. With inferior athletes.
They beat Alabama 110-98 a few weeks ago.
85 vs Calipari
101 vs South Car
93, 84, 83 in an 8 point loss to Kentucky.
Yeah, BM deflates the ball, but it was still an incredible defensive performance. With inferior athletes.
And if Drake wins and gets into the Sweet 16…well all of us know what Fran never did.
Fran was considered a point guard while in college, but only recruited 2 true point guards in my opinion to Iowa, Bryce Cartwright in year 1 & 2 and Brock Harding the last 2 years.
Mike Gesell although considered really good by the Iowa fan base, played inconsistent and Jordan Bohannan was not a true point guard. neither one of those 2 players provide Iowa with the leadership that was needed to make Iowa a NCAA contender and it showed.
Devyn Marble although handled the ball and ran offense was not a true point guard, he was Iowa's shooting guard for most of his time at Iowa. Fran in all of his recruiting failed Iowa in not recruiting what Iowa needed in a point guard and in an off topic never recruited a true center that the offense could work their offense around, the closes player that played that position turned out to be player of the year and had his number retired, but he was and is considered a forward and not a center per say.
Too many messages to scroll down to see if anyone answered, so I'm gonna pause right here.
Yes, actually, Marble was a Lickliter recruit and upheld his commitment when Fran was hired in 2010.
No wonder Fran quit playing Drake and UNI. They’d beat his a$$.
It'll be interesting to see how they try to spread out Texas Tech's defense vs what Missouri tried to do.
Missouri pressed a ton in that game and guarded Drake well beyond the 3 pt line.
That worked perfectly for Drake's offensive pace, and to their credit, they executed, especially once Stirtz was able to knock down some shots.
We'll see if Texas Tech isn't a little more campy inside the 3 pt line defensively.
One thing I did notice about Drake's offense is their unwillingness at times to dribble-penetrate against Mizzou's aggressiveness and overplays. Some of that is decision-making/style of play, but I also think this particular team lacks the personnel to truly attack the way they could and should, and that's not to say that they don't have some good guards. It's more a depth issue, which is to be expected considering their roster makeup.
And with that said, they still have managed to max this roster's potential and it's paying off for them.
