Fran is gone

[HawkLogic]

The funny thing is that people on here bitching about the 'mid-major' players we have on the team hope Iowa fires Fran, hires McCollum from Drake and he brings his former D-II players with him to save the program.

Do you mean ironic? Because having a coach that can find underappreciated talent, build them into a winning unit, have them feel loyalty and follow him to the next stop seems like an admirable quality.

From my POV, the urgency in getting rid of Fran is that he has to be fired/let go at some point because he's a lame duck and you don't want to ride a lame duck to the 2027-208 end of contract. McCollum seems like an idea fit and won't be availalbe next year.

I do think it makes no point to get into the coaching Bidding wars in era of NIL. The smart play is put some of the revenue into NIL via NIL ticket surcharge, get a cheaper coach but structure it so he does well with increased attendance/and Sweet16 runs--both those things
bring in more money and pay for themselves. Fran got a pay raise every year---did he do better every year because he got more motivated by more money? NO. Did attendance increase during his career? There is very little correlation between coaching pay and performance in B1G. A guy like Painter should be #1 in pay.


We're back to LIckliter apathy, probably worse in attendance.

 

[iowalawhawk]

And he is better than everyone on the current team

The guy who scored 8 total points and had 6 total rebounds in 8 games at Miami this season? Him?

 

[Packer54]

Yeah that was a weak team beating another weak team. It was enjoyable and hope they continue but make the change.

I know they had some pretty good quality wins, but as i watched them I thought "this is a team on the bubble of the NCAA?". They have a couple of good players but that is about it. Nice wi for our guys....happy for them....but I am thinking the Chief will put an end to this season. And then make the change.

 

[nyhawk52]

I am not one to pile on Fran but with the state of the program, Iowa has to move on. I dont see any way of turning this around with Fran at the helm and I am tired of his style of play. Defense and rebounding travels and I would love to see some at Iowa. I have enjoyed watching Drake put the screws to their opponent with their defense and I am ready for this at Iowa

 

[jonesy5960]

You got me. 2 games at the end of a 15 year career certainly is a trend!

Every trend begins with a single win!!

 

[Max_Rebo]

Exactly...ideally you come to Iowa to fight for Iowa, not fight for Fran. And thats why, in part, Fran has alienated a lot of students and fans. It seems he made it all about him and his loyalty to his players and vice versa..an insular existence.

I would add that multiple Fran-coached teams have trended toward an "us-against-the-world" mentality. That can be a good motivator, I suppose, but it sometimes comes across as a "players vs. fans" look. And then you have players arguing with fans on Twitter or making "shush" gestures at their own fans during games.

Is it really any wonder that fan engagement has declined during the McCaffery era?
Is it really surprising that fans have been hesitant to empty their wallets to support players?

It's time for a change of culture in the men's basketball program.

 

[DewHawk]

IMO McCaffery lost a great many fans and support because of his nepotism and average results. I was tired of his act long before, but I think the aforementioned put a lot of fans over the top. JMO

 

[HawksRule73]

Put aside style of play, body of work, March situations, etc.......

Fran has made zero effort to try to rally, engage, or make in-roads with fans. He doesn't do call-in shows that I'm aware of. He doesn't do much, if any, of the barnstorming tours of the state in the offseason with the I Club like other sports do. He doesn't do in-person media availability events/press conferences. He doesn't go on podcasts, radio shows, or tv shows to market the program. I can't recall a coach that's been with a program this long have essentially zero connection with the fans. On top of that, he's made sure to keep media at arm's length for multiple perceived slights. So he's really got no one in his corner from the fanbase or the media that's speaking up on his behalf. It's just former players at this point.

I don't see anyway he survives this, outside of winning the BTT which this team has a less than 0% chance of doing.

I'm looking forward to the change.

 

[MeetTheFerentzes]

I would add that multiple Fran-coached teams have trended toward an "us-against-the-world" mentality. That can be a good motivator, I suppose, but it sometimes comes across as a "players vs. fans" look. And then you have players arguing with fans on Twitter or making "shush" gestures at their own fans during games.

Is it really any wonder that fan engagement has declined during the McCaffery era?
Is it really surprising that fans have been hesitant to empty their wallets to support players?

It's time for a change of culture in the men's basketball program.

Bohannon's rage-tweeting towards the fans after winning the 2022 BTT, followed by the Richmond fiasco, is this personified. I knew the McCaffrey era was toast at that point, and it's been all downhill ever since....

 

[Rambler Hawk]

Lmao - love this!!!👍

 

[ozzie8]

Put aside style of play, body of work, March situations, etc.......

Fran has made zero effort to try to rally, engage, or make in-roads with fans. He doesn't do call-in shows that I'm aware of. He doesn't do much, if any, of the barnstorming tours of the state in the offseason with the I Club like other sports do. He doesn't do in-person media availability events/press conferences. He doesn't go on podcasts, radio shows, or tv shows to market the program. I can't recall a coach that's been with a program this long have essentially zero connection with the fans. On top of that, he's made sure to keep media at arm's length for multiple perceived slights. So he's really got no one in his corner from the fanbase or the media that's speaking up on his behalf. It's just former players at this point.

I don't see anyway he survives this, outside of winning the BTT which this team has a less than 0% chance of doing.

I'm looking forward to the change.

It's weird because initially he did those things. When he was hired, he was on multiple radio shows, podcasts across the country. I remember listening to him on the Score in Chicago and he had me pumped for Iowa hoops Over time, he's basically stopped doing all of that. It seems a lot of the off putting stuff started when his kids got involved in the program.

 

[HawksRule73]

Bohannon's rage-tweeting towards the fans after winning the 2022 BTT, followed by the Richmond fiasco, is this personified. I knew the McCaffrey era was toast at that point, and it's been all downhill ever since....

Agree with this 100% and I have always felt it was a reflection/extension of Fran's attitude towards the fans. They were simply embodying what I'm sure Fran has said about the fans multiple times behind closed doors to the players....which is then reflected in his complete lack of interest in engaging with fans on any level in order to improve attendance, how they perceive him, etc.

 

[HawksRule73]

It's weird because initially he did those things. When he was hired, he was on multiple radio shows, podcasts across the country. I remember listening to him on the Score in Chicago and he had me pumped for Iowa hoops Over time, he's basically stopped doing all of that. It seems a lot of the off putting stuff started when his kids got involved in the program.

Agreed. I think he did what he needed to in the beginning to get back fan engagement post Alford and Lickliter, but you could always tell it was never something he was comfortable with. He just wants to coach basketball and that's it. Unfortunately, with college sports being a business, an athletic dept needs all of it's coaches pulling their weight to keep/increase interest in their respective programs.

 

[Max_Rebo]

Agreed. I think he did what he needed to in the beginning to get back fan engagement post Alford and Lickliter, but you could always tell it was never something he was comfortable with. He just wants to coach basketball and that's it. Unfortunately, with college sports being a business, an athletic dept needs all of it's coaches pulling their weight to keep/increase interest in their respective programs.

Good points here.

One thing I will give McCaffery credit for, however, is the way he has always shown appreciation for the history of the Iowa basketball program; most notably perhaps in the ways he has helped preserve the legacy of Chris Street. This has been in contrast to Fran's two immediate predecessors who both seemed to think that Iowa basketball didn't exist before their arrival in Iowa City.

 

[HawksRule73]

Good points here.

One thing I will give McCaffery credit for, however, is the way he has always shown appreciation for the history of the Iowa basketball program; most notably perhaps in the ways he has helped preserve the legacy of Chris Street. This has been in contrast to Fran's two immediate predecessors who both seemed to think that Iowa basketball didn't exist before their arrival in Iowa City.

Agreed. He has definitely shown a respect for the history of the program. If I recall, he was pretty instrumental in getting Dr. Tom to come back to be honored during a game (I think that was around 2012). And he's always shown a real fondness towards the Streets which is super important.

Then he had to go and give the Christ Street award to his son Patrick and wreck it! 😀

 

[83Hawk]

I would add that multiple Fran-coached teams have trended toward an "us-against-the-world" mentality. That can be a good motivator, I suppose, but it sometimes comes across as a "players vs. fans" look. And then you have players arguing with fans on Twitter or making "shush" gestures at their own fans during games.

Is it really any wonder that fan engagement has declined during the McCaffery era?
Is it really surprising that fans have been hesitant to empty their wallets to support players?

It's time for a change of culture in the men's basketball program.

There is a lot to be said for the “us against the world” attitude. But that only works for a short period of time. You can’t get emotionally high for every game.

 

[SDHawkDoc]

Good points here.

One thing I will give McCaffery credit for, however, is the way he has always shown appreciation for the history of the Iowa basketball program; most notably perhaps in the ways he has helped preserve the legacy of Chris Street. This has been in contrast to Fran's two immediate predecessors who both seemed to think that Iowa basketball didn't exist before their arrival in Iowa City.

Fran also doesn't publicly throw players under the bus. I think that's a good quality in a coach. Really anyone in a leadership role.

I'm still ready to see him move on. Have been for several years. But at the same time I think he brings things to the job that I appreciate.

 

[KcTo]

So? Is he going to be the National POY or the #4 NBA pick? Because we know what the results are with that caliber of player.

Not saying he’s a great coach, he’s not even avg,
Am saying the highest ranked player ever to come to Iowa , a near 5 star guy, is coming,

 

[Randall Stanhope]

Not saying he’s a great coach, he’s not even avg,
Am saying the highest ranked player ever to come to Iowa , a near 5 star guy, is coming,

Well hopefully the new coach can keep him.

 

[ozzie8]

Fran also doesn't publicly throw players under the bus. I think that's a good quality in a coach. Really anyone in a leadership role.

I'm still ready to see him move on. Have been for several years. But at the same time I think he brings things to the job that I appreciate.

Agree with that. He sticks up for his guys

 

[ichawk24]

Lewis isn't a "near 5 star guy". He is a solid 4 star. The top 15 players in the country are 5 stars, and Lewis is in the 60s. That is not close.

 

[Ladell-hawk]

Agree attendance will continue to suffer if Fran stays—whether it gets substantially better with someone else remains to be seen. FWIW I am hoping for a change. As a season ticket holder, Carver’s been a real drag the past several years. Us regulars do what we can, but it still kinda sucks.

If the new recruits come in and help Fran get the team playing better like expected the attendance will most definitely improve. People will come Rufus-hawk.

 

[Ladell-hawk]

Lewis isn't a "near 5 star guy". He is a solid 4 star. The top 15 players in the country are 5 stars, and Lewis is in the 60s. That is not close.

# 39 on one of the major recruiting services.

 

[TailgateTom]

If the new recruits come in and help Fran get the team playing better like expected the attendance will most definitely improve. People will come Rufus-hawk.

As mentioned he had the NPOTY and a 2 first round picks and we got the same results as always.

 

[ottumwan in tx]

has anyone mentioned tyler sash's brother at indian hills in ottumwa? he is headed to the champ game. I know it would be a stretch to go from a community college to iowa and all...I dunno maybe if he wins the champ game.

 

[IowaMuse]

Beth has smartly remained quiet on Iowa men’s bball. Has she even tweeted anything?

An announcement will be made by the end of this weekend that Fran will not be returning.

 

[StormHawk42]

has anyone mentioned tyler sash's brother at indian hills in ottumwa? he is headed to the champ game. I know it would be a stretch to go from a community college to iowa and all...I dunno maybe if he wins the champ game.

He’s an assistant for McCollum at Drake now

 

[SCHawkFan]

Beth has smartly remained quiet on Iowa men’s bball. Has she even tweeted anything?

An announcement will be made by the end of this weekend that Fran will not be returning.

I think this is correct. Fran will be let go before the portal opens on March 24. The sooner, the better. It is time to move on, and Beth knows this. This is a big moment for her.

 

[83Hawk]

I think this is correct. Fran will be let go before the portal opens on March 24. The sooner, the better. It is time to move on, and Beth knows this. This is a big moment for her.

I’m not convinced. If the Hawks win tonight, I believe the entire season’s results will be forgotten because of the results of a couple of BTT games.

 

[LarryMullenJr.]

She can do it, and do it correctly: with tact and respect.
Hopefully he can take it the same way.

 

[rufus-hawk]

If the new recruits come in and help Fran get the team playing better like expected the attendance will most definitely improve. People will come Rufus-hawk.

Obviously we disagree, but I certainly hope they do. Carver can be pretty damn fun—ask the women’s team.

 

[Rambler Hawk]

Lots in here want him gone, but others disagree. I’m betting he stays and todays win shows where the program is headed.

or not....

 

[QChawks]

 

[AmericaNeedsMe]

 

[HawkLogic]

It's weird because initially he did those things. When he was hired, he was on multiple radio shows, podcasts across the country. I remember listening to him on the Score in Chicago and he had me pumped for Iowa hoops Over time, he's basically stopped doing all of that. It seems a lot of the off putting stuff started when his kids got involved in the program.

Not weird. Barta gave Fran all the freedom/leverage with long-term contracts with minimal goals. You get more revenue by filling up Carver and making runs in NCAA. You get better success with more NIL. Fran got a bonus for longevity ---nothing in his contract about raising NIL or attendance, and his base salary/guaranteed money let him run the program has his own private fiefdom.


I had a dream that one day all Iowa fans

will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, free at last, free at last, thank God almighty we are free at last

 

[KcTo]

Not saying he’s a great coach, he’s not even avg,
Am saying the highest ranked player ever to come to Iowa , a near 5 star guy, is coming,

Fran got fired

 

[hawkirugged17]

Fran got fired

 

[Rambler Hawk]

Lots in here want him gone, but others disagree. I’m betting he stays and todays win shows where the program is headed.

Ooopsie…😉

 

[Hawksfor3]

Ooopsie…😉

Easy money, eh?

 

[Rambler Hawk]

I think this is correct. Fran will be let go before the portal opens on March 24. The sooner, the better. It is time to move on, and Beth knows this. This is a big moment for her.

Agreed 👍