I thought Joe Toussaint was a talented point guard. Yes, he had some turnovers, but he brought something we hadn’t seen in a long time….mental toughness especially on the defensive end. Fran kept him on very short lease and ran him off. Terrible way to handle a kid like Joe. Fortunately, he did well at West Virginia.
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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Why would he play Joe T when he had a sharpshooter like Connor McCaffrey to run the point?
40 years, not 15. Their defense technique is the best since the Olson/Raveling days. They rebound like those early Davis teams. It was refreshing to watch.
SIAP, but Fran tried really hard to land Tyler Ulis, the true PG we needed. Fran was leading early, then Kentucky came in late. Some also say MSU would've been his top choice, but I'm not sure he ever said that.
And not a point guard, but Fran was in really early on Filipkowski as well, before blue bloods were. Another close but not quite recruit as he had a cup of coffee at Duke.
And not a point guard, but Fran was in really early on Filipkowski as well, before blue bloods were. Another close but not quite recruit as he had a cup of coffee at Duke.
On the flip side Roy Marble tried to get Fran to recruit Morris who went to ISU, but would have went to Iowa if offered.
That was always the rumor...and Morris was available because MSU and MIchigan weren't offering + supposedly frends with
Marble family---so made alot of sense.
Fran thinking Gesell and Clemmons were better than Morris is another example of why Fran was not as smart as he thought he was.
The reason we went 1 year with Maishe Dailey and Ellingson as our backup PGs had everything to do with Fran not wanting to recruit talented PGs that would have taken PT away from CMAC who was supposed to be a PG. He brought in 2G Fredrick and even gave hims a scholly after backup PG Christiansen left---that scholly could have gone to a PG.
JBO was a placeholder and was supposed to move to 2G and CMAC PG. I remember reading CMACs tweet about how he looked forward to passing to open JBO for 3pt shots.
Yea. Fran screwed us with Connor. And I can’t blame a lot of guys for not wanting to come to iowa and compete with the coaches kid for minutes.
‘kids’…don’t forget Patty Mac. 😉 I was actually relieved when his 3rd son announced he was not coming to Iowa…. (moot point now)
College sports, like the hooker, we know what you are, we are just negotiating prices now.
Paying $$ may get you what you think you want…it just takes the fun out of it and in the end, feeling empty.
Yea. But PMac was actually decent his first couple years. And you can recruit around him too because he’s not playing point guard. And we had a ton of good players in his time that played his position. Towards the end though you are right, he wouldn’t have seen the court if his dad wasn’t Coach.
Agreed - he did have some good flashes early on. At one point he reminded me a little of a poor man’s Kevin McHale…although maybe more so for his looks and mannerisms…😎
Uh, sarcasm I assume?😉 Saucy T looked like he had on his Ol’ Iowa jersey last nite - tried to do too much, got his pocket picked, etc. Gates was smart enough to bench him most of the second half though. 😎
There is only so much NIL money and roster spots out there. There are a lot more D-1 athletes who think they are worth big money than there are schools who are willing to pay them big money.
Is it important to have NIL money available? Of course it is. But it is wrong to think you can’t field a competitive team unless you pay players millions of dollars. There are PLENTY of D-1 caliber players who can be had for a reasonable amount. And the right coach can take them to Sweet 16’s and beyond. NCAA championship? Probably not. But definitely better than Hawk fans have experienced in a long time.
Paying big bucks to players doesn’t always work out. Ask Texas A&M fans how that worked out for their football team a couple of years ago. Missouri had paid players. How did that work out against Drake?
I think you will find that the teams who got most of the top players before NIL will continue to get them.
Teams that play stifling defense, rebound, and are fundamentally sound are going to more than hold their own against teams with players who only care about their paycheck, and will leave for a better offer at the drop of a hat.
NIL is important, but it isn’t the be-all end-all some fans think it is.
Wonder why the 31 teams they’ve beat haven’t figured that out yet?
Ben McCollum just recruited a better point guard in one day, than Fran recruited in 15 years at Iowa. Let that one sink in for a bit.
It was beyond frustrating to see his kids get minutes over more deserving players.
But assist to turnover ratio derrrrr
Is there even an argument that Bennett Stirtz wouldn’t be the top point guard Fran ever recruited?!? This isn’t even an unproven five or four star recruit. This is a guy that was an MVC conference player of the year.
The handling of Joe T was one of my biggest frustrations of Fran's tenure. Probably the best on the ball defender we've ever had and he'd yank him after a turnover. Truly incredible coaching malpractice
same. it was amazing to watch joe bust his ass causing multiple turnovers/missed shots and then get pulled after 1 bad play all while pat would give up zero effort and allow easy shots & layups with no consequences
“Hey Connor. Get in there and show Joe T. one of those perfect entry passes of yours!”
Come on man, a little Melodramatic aren’t you ? Drake did a great job in that Missouri game. I liked every thing about it. But keep in mind Missouri had lost 4 out their last 5 games coming into the Tournament and didn’t look very good in that game. I agree that Stirtz is better than any point guard Fran has recruited .
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I think it’s more fascinating that Fran never beat a power 5 school in the NCAA tourney at Iowa.
