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Fran And The Portal

Your actively seeing first hand why Iowa will never challenge for a Big Ten Championship or a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Fran's denial in anything other then recruiting high school players and trying to coach them up, is going to keep Iowa struggling to maintain contact with the top tier teams in our conference for years to come.
Yes, Garza is the exception, but even with his greatness, Iowa fell far short of their expectations in everyone of their season goals.
I'm not giving up on next years team, there's a lot of athleticism, yet there's also a lot of unknowns that need to be answered.
This last year was supposed to be Fran's best team in 11 years, I hope that this was not the pinnacle of his coaching career at Iowa. It will be a big disappointment if it is....but if it is, he has no one to blame except himself.
 
I'll never understand how people think because a player didn't choose Iowa that it is somehow the coaches fault.

Despite Fran's feelings on the portal, he is actively pursuing to fill needs.

And they gave it 100% on Robbins

Maybe Robbins didn't want to play in front of iowa fans that continue to eat their young.

Maybe it's you not Fran?
 
I'll never understand how people think because a player didn't choose Iowa that it is somehow the coaches fault.

Despite Fran's feelings on the portal, he is actively pursuing to fill needs.

And they gave it 100% on Robbins

Maybe Robbins didn't want to play in front of iowa fans that continue to eat their young.

Maybe it's you not Fran?

Your analogy is flawed. it is all about the coach, otherwise why do all these players jump ship at the first chance they get when the coach that recruited them is fired or leaves for a higher paycheck.
So if you don't think that there's no difference between Fran and Vandy's coach you're not paying attention. But carry on with your ignorance.
 
Your actively seeing first hand why Iowa will never challenge for a Big Ten Championship or a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Fran's denial in anything other then recruiting high school players and trying to coach them up, is going to keep Iowa struggling to maintain contact with the top tier teams in our conference for years to come.
Yes, Garza is the exception, but even with his greatness, Iowa fell far short of their expectations in everyone of their season goals.
I'm not giving up on next years team, there's a lot of athleticism, yet there's also a lot of unknowns that need to be answered.
This last year was supposed to be Fran's best team in 11 years, I hope that this was not the pinnacle of his coaching career at Iowa. It will be a big disappointment if it is....but if it is, he has no one to blame except himself.
Not to hijack the thread, but I think there is a very good argument the 2018-2019 team has been Fran’s best team.
 
Robbins says nothing about McC or his use of the portal. Robbins had three chances to come to Iowa. Instead, he followed his uncle to three programs that are all beneath Iowa's current standing. My instincts are to suspect something untoward and probably mercenary behind this connection but the connection is obvious.

Let's see how this shakes out before the permanent critic class starts demanding we rehire Todd or Alford, or their contemporary iterations.
 
I'll never understand how people think because a player didn't choose Iowa that it is somehow the coaches fault.
Let me see if I can help you out. It’s the coaches fault because it’s the coach’s responsibility to secure the players that will make the program successful. When he fails to do this, he has failed to fulfill one of the primary responsibilities of his job — a job for which he receives several million dollars a year in direct compensation.

Do coaches land every player they pursue? Nope. Not even cheating pukes like Self or Cal do that. That’s why they go after a lot of them. Bill Self (proven buyer of players) has said: “If you’re not hearing ‘no’ a lot, you’re recruiting the wrong caliber of players.”

Do young men have an array of specific reasons — both reasonable and unreasonable — for picking one program over another? You bet they do. The process can be downright capricious.

But ultimately... if a team does not have the players it needs to win, it is the fault of the coach. No one else agreed to take on the responsibility of achieving that objective and no one else gets paid millions annually for it.

jeezus...smh... Fran is not your uncle (or maybe he is).
 
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But ultimately... if a team does not have the players it needs to win, it is the fault of the coach. No one else agreed to take on the responsibility of achieving that objective and no one else gets paid millions annually for it.
You're right - everything good and bad ultimately lands at the feet of the HC.

Fran is delivering "wins". Averaging over 20 wins per season in the last 10 years - 65 in the last 3.

But, I think you are saying "if a team does not have the players it needs to win CHAMPIONSHIPS, it is the fault of the coach". Fran has indeed failed to deliver B1G championships or decent runs in the NCAA. tourney.

According to - https://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/salaries/mens-basketball/coach/

Fran is 40th in compensation in the country - 9th in the B1G. I think his success lines up favorably with that.

The ultimate question is ... how does his success stack up against the NEXT coach? Pretty difficult to predict.
 
I realize he is not a fan of it, but this is the new name of the game. It’s time to take advantage yearly with a guy or two or else Iowa risks not being competitive year in and out. This year I think they need to get a post, and a SF,SG type.
What has Fran said negatively about the portal?
I sure hope he embraces this change?
 
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Fran is 40th in compensation in the country - 9th in the B1G. I think his success lines up favorably with that.
I think it’s funny that Hoiberg is the second highest paid coach in the league behind only famed rape enabler, Tom Izzo.

Fran is paid more than Juwan Howard. Seems legit.
 
Fran is “delivering” .500 in conference after 11 years. I would bet a whole lot of money that he finishes below .500.

Time will tell...
Since the dreaded first 2 years, McC has only finished below .500 in the conference once. He finished at .500 3 times, and over .500 the other 5 times. So he has finished over .500 more than he has under .500 even if you count the years immediately after Lickliter.
 
I'll never understand how people think because a player didn't choose Iowa that it is somehow the coaches fault.

Despite Fran's feelings on the portal, he is actively pursuing to fill needs.

And they gave it 100% on Robbins

Maybe Robbins didn't want to play in front of iowa fans that continue to eat their young.

Maybe it's you not Fran?

In today's college game, hire some one's relative as assistant and you get a new player. Fran refuses to play that game...and we get around 0.500 B1G ball over 11 years which is average, but we can hold our head's up high doing it the right way.
 
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I always laugh when I read someone post about Iowa's recruiting rankings. I am sure that Keegan Murray is devastated that he wasn't ranked higher. He's doomed!
🤣

I know the NBA is a small pool of players.. but Iowa has almost zero presence in the NBA so maybe he is doomed?
 
Robbins says nothing about McC or his use of the portal. Robbins had three chances to come to Iowa. Instead, he followed his uncle to three programs that are all beneath Iowa's current standing. My instincts are to suspect something untoward and probably mercenary behind this connection but the connection is obvious.

Let's see how this shakes out before the permanent critic class starts demanding we rehire Todd or Alford, or their contemporary iterations.
So he could have picked Iowa three times?

like when he was a nobody recruit
 
In today's college game, hire some one's relative as assistant and you get a new player. Fran refuses to play that game...and we get around 0.500 B1G ball over 11 years which is average, but we can hold our head's up high doing it the right way.
It's not an either-or proposition. Schools that do it fail just as often (look at MN for example).

And at the risk of being redundant, IF you take away the first 4 years of McC as he was trying to reestablish Iowa as more than a joke, he has done pretty well except for one year, and a winning record for all but 2 of those 7 years. It's been a long haul but the team looks solid and the brand of basketball is exciting.
 
It's not an either-or proposition. Schools that do it fail just as often (look at MN for example).

And at the risk of being redundant, IF you take away the first 4 years of McC as he was trying to reestablish Iowa as more than a joke, he has done pretty well except for one year, and a winning record for all but 2 of those 7 years. It's been a long haul but the team looks solid and the brand of basketball is exciting.
I'll admit, finishing 5th, 4th, or 3rd in the Big Ten is better then finishing at the bottom....but it would be nice to challenge for a Big Ten title once in a while and even catch lightning in a bottle and finish first more then once in 42 years.
Then again, wasn't that what got Iowa started in the wrong direction in 1999!
Recruiting is the life blood of college basketball or for that matter any college sport, if you can't keep up with the programs that consistently strive to finish at the top, you have to try to find other ways to close the talent gap.
Fran and his staff consistently can't or won't recruit one and done talent, so he tries to recruit players his feels that he can coach to be better as they age.
It's not the most efficient way of doing things but Fran feels it provides the most consistent results that Fran is most comfortable with.
I certainly wish it was not this way but it is what it is. As I've said, it's better then finishing at the bottom of the BIG.
 
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In today's college game, hire some one's relative as assistant and you get a new player. Fran refuses to play that game...and we get around 0.500 B1G ball over 11 years which is average, but we can hold our head's up high doing it the right way.

Sooooo, he should hire someone's relative to get one guy? Should he do that each year?
 
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Replying back to the original post, I don't agree with the premise. Fran has always said that he is not opposed to transfers, in fact he himself was a transfer in college. I think its more a matter of swinging and missing on players we want than not offering any players. Fran does a great job of evaluating talent and getting in early on them, that skill doesn't translate well to the portal. He is clearly not great at closing the deal against really good programs for top recruits, whether in high school or the portal.
 
I'll admit, finishing 5th, 4th, or 3rd in the Big Ten is better then finishing at the bottom....but it would be nice to challenge for a Big Ten title once in a while and even catch lightning in a bottle and finish first more then once in 42 years.
Then again, wasn't that what got Iowa started in the wrong direction in 1999!
Recruiting is the life blood of college basketball or for that matter any college sport, if you can't keep up with the programs that consistently strive to finish at the top, you have to try to find other ways to close the talent gap.
Fran and his staff consistently can't or won't recruit one and done talent, so he tries to recruit players his feels that he can coach to be better as they age.
It's not the most efficient way of doing things but Fran feels it provides the most consistent results that Fran is most comfortable with.
I certainly wish it was not this way but it is what it is. As I've said, it's better then finishing at the bottom of the BIG.
McC DOES try to bring in top talent. Unlike a former coach before Lickliter, he doesn't waste his time after he realizes that the feeling isn't reciprocal. And he doesn't bring in a kid that he knows is going to cause issues.

McC gets the best players he can get to Iowa, including the reigning consensus NPOY. He doesn't always get everyone he recruits but I haven't read anything that suggests he loses a recruiting battle for lack of effort. I may not like it when Iowa losesbut I love every one of the kids on his teams.
 
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Confirmation Fran is not a fan of the portal. I agree with him, this is awful for all but the blue bloods. I just hope he leverages the portal to the best advantage he can even if he isn’t a fan.

 
Sooooo, he should hire someone's relative to get one guy? Should he do that each year?

Well you could be like USC and get the two Mobley Brothers for one Job with the hiring of their dad as the assistant. Oregon State made a nice run with their stud PG as son of assistant coach. The tradition of hiring a relative of key recruit goes way back...Larry Brown won a national title with Manning as the key piece and his Dad was hired as assistant with no experience. Fran has 3 slots and they appear to be yes men collecting the
salary, so yes, kick one to the curb and bring in an assistant with some good DNA.
 
Hire a Dad works every once in a while, but I don’t see how you could make that a consistent part of your recruiting plan.
 
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Fran needs to go to portal therapy to work out his issues. It's not going anywhere and this season's portal scenario will likely set a precedent. Does anyone who is paying attention to society think players are going to have to fewer options moving forward? They want to get paid, don't want to be considered 'property', and want the ability to pursue 'better opportunities'.

While I don't agree with all the prima donna sjw nonsense that is running rampant, why shouldn't players be allowed to pursue other opportunities? You don't like your job, you get a new one. You don't like your neighborhood, you can move. So many kids get overlooked, are under-recruited, don't make the elite AAU teams etc., out of high school and end up going to mid-majors where they blow up. So the kid can stay at Davidson in a one bid league with so-so talent around them and get limited TV exposure or look to take their talents elsewhere to play on a better team with more exposure and greater potential for a deep run in the tournament thus increasing their chances at playing at the next level.

Fran can continue to live in the past and go 0 for the second round or he can be strategic about leveraging the portal to address recruiting misses, injuries, departures or upgrade a spot or two if necessary. The player still has the opportunity to compete in practice and demonstrate they deserve more PT than the new guy--that's what competition is all about.
 
I'll never understand how people think because a player didn't choose Iowa that it is somehow the coaches fault.

Despite Fran's feelings on the portal, he is actively pursuing to fill needs.

And they gave it 100% on Robbins

Maybe Robbins didn't want to play in front of iowa fans that continue to eat their young.

Maybe it's you not Fran?
JFC, it's his job to lead recruiting. Recruiting is about strategy, relationships and persuasion. No one expects him to land a big haul, just one game changing type player in each class would be magnificent. And the portal provides a mulligan, so speak, where we can easily upgrade for next season.

Who should be accountable? IC weather?
 
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