Fran McCaffery appreciation thread.....
- Thread starter Chishawk1425
- Start date
I will admit this- I didnt think this team had this in them and they have proven me wrong. I thought our ceiling was a 15-18 win team. They are playing much better than I could have imagined so you have to give Fran some of the credit. Two HUGE aspects- CJF has been lights out and Garza really put in work in the off season and it is showing.
Now back to Fran- we could do worse for sure but my thought is always wanting to do better. As of right now he has proven that he is a pretty decent coach but I guess I want more than just pretty good. I think we know what Fran is and also know we arent getting a BIG title or a final four out of him- just too inconsistent. So...do we keep rolling with him or try some new blood?
Now back to Fran- we could do worse for sure but my thought is always wanting to do better. As of right now he has proven that he is a pretty decent coach but I guess I want more than just pretty good. I think we know what Fran is and also know we arent getting a BIG title or a final four out of him- just too inconsistent. So...do we keep rolling with him or try some new blood?
Please use words and at least try to explain why you disagree? Fran's temper and demeanor have harmed his reputation with fans, and I don't know how you can "lol" at that?
No, I understand why he was upset. Now, I'd ask you to please tell me why what I typed was laughable? You cannot in any way, shape, or form compare the behaviors of Dr. Tom to Fran. They're complete opposites in how they conduct themselves.
Since others in this thread have accused people of being upset with Kirk at times, I'd ask anybody to honestly say if Kirk acted like Bo Pelini (or even Fran) that he would have lasted this long... He wouldn't have. That's obvious to me at least. Character matters.
you said that Fran is out of control. He’s not.
Fran does not act any differently than Tom Izzo does on the sideline. The only difference is that Fran is a full size man where as Izzo is the size of a large 5th grade boy.
"Connor canning 4 FT's in a row last night was HUGE, past teams Guards would NOT do that and Iowa would have lost that type of game they won last night"
Gatens early in Fran's time at Iowa was a FT closer and JBO for past 3 years has been a FT closer and game winning shot money man, so I don't agree with that statement. It is good that Connor was able to close this last game and take on some of Jbo's role.
I’m going to assume that’s the Irish in him. Probably where he got much of his short fuse too. His facial expressions are priceless even when he’s calm and the camera pans to him.
I’ve said from the minute he stepped on campus. I’ll take his behavior everyday when it comes to the officiating. He fights for his guys and is the voice of his players. To me it’s a welcomed relief after the last three guys took their jobbings lying down.
Are you taking about lute Olson? At this point Fran can’t hold a candle to lute for accomplishments.
Please help me find anywhere that I compared Fran’s accomplishments to Lute’s.
I guess you’re suggesting accomplishments excuse behavior. We’re okay looking the other way as long as we’re winning? That’s good to know. Puts us Iowa fans in the same boat as MSU I guess.
No, I'm assuming those who kept the records got the scores and winner correct.
Interpret it as you wish, spin to your heart's content...but the W/L %s are fact regardless of how you or I "feel" about it.
You have no effing idea how bad it was sitting through most Alford years. His time here was marked by extreme hubris and bad coaching, not to mention MANY recruiting misses. Iowa was a good destination for recruits until he and Lickliter drove it into the ground. Both contributed mightily to the downturn in attendance, something that McC has been able to stem and start back up to decent levels. Many long time fans/donors turned their backs on the program because of Alford. Lickliter was not the personality to change that, butMcC has more than been up to the task.No, I'm assuming those who kept the records got the scores and winner correct.
Interpret it as you wish, spin to your heart's content...but the W/L %s are fact regardless of how you or I "feel" about it.
I only say this because I have seen Iowa starting with the Olson years through today. The worst period BY FAR was the period that Alford ushered in.
I get it. I too started with Lute and loved Dr Tom as well. I could describe Alford a handful of different ways...non of them complimentary. He's a putrid arrogant f*** who left a lot of bad blood behind. I'd certainly rather have Fran.
All of that is separate from the numbers. Wins and Losses are a matter of record.
Who’s the Iowa legend chasing a ref of the court? Sure sounds like lure Olsen and Jim Bain. And wtf are you talking about ?
Dr.To was a wonderful face of the program but boy was he thrown a life saver with the Iowa job. He was in the midst of a pretty poor 4-5 year run at Stanford and was offered a job at Big 10 school with a pretty much brand new arena loaded with NBA talent. He ran from Stanford before he got run out. Throw out Tom’s 1st 2-3 years and Fran’s 1st 2-3 years and Fran probably has a better resume.
Yeah Lute Olson, but I wasn’t comparing accomplishments, just behavior. One is an icon and the other is an out of control maniac. Does that sound about right?
Not true. If McC left the program today, it would be infinitely better than he found it. And it would be infinitely better than Alford left it. His meager record aside, he was a disaster for Iowa.
Yes lute has that one incident. I’m sure you remember that call cost Iowa the big ten title? That phantom call by Jim Bain led to the NCAA adding rules that refs could only do one game a day. Mr Bain had to catch a plane to get to his next game that day. He made sure the Iowa Purdue game did not go into overtime and he could get to his flight.
It almost feels like we have some "fans" rooting for this team to fail so they can say they told us so and Fran needs to go.
Hmm. Dr. Tom Davis conf. record at Stanford 25-47 before taking Iowa job. Conf.record last 10 years at Iowa 90-96. Conf. record at Drake 25-47 after Iowa. He became a coaching “legend” that many here still yearn for from his 3 year run with Raveling recruits. I know I’m leaving out his stop before Stanford, Boston College where he had a couple deep NCAA runs. It’s not that I disliked the good Dr. but just confused when I hear all the “long for the Dr. Tom days”.
One incident? You’re out of your damn mind and really not worth having a solid discussion with.
Lute once cut off an IU player with a breakaway layup because he thought there should have been a foul on the steal. The IU player was knocked to the ground and was injured slightly with cuts. Lute was subsequently ejected with two Ts following. Yes, Lute obstructed an opposing player during the game. That is as bad as it gets.
Neither coach is a saint and I like them both. My point is that we loved one and crucify the other who’s behavior is not as bad IMO.
Scandals weren’t too far from the Dr Tom programs either. Character issues with players as well. Something I can’t imagine Fran having an issue with either of them.
The one thing I'll say about this is that there were no ones-and-dones during the Lute and Raveling years. Also, no three-point line back then. There's no going back to that era because of those things. The one thing Fran has brought back is a team that plays up-tempo and it's much, much more fun to watch than the Alford/Lickliter years. Well, now that they're playing better defense again. The two years after Woodbury graduated were atrocious when it came to defense. Definitely helps having an inside presence as a deterrent.
What makes you think Iowa can be so much better? Iowa’s basketball ranking in the B1G is as follows..........History/tradition=9 media exposure=10 budget/resources=13 recruiting base=14 facilities=12 selling pros=10 admission requirements=1 Hey we’re #1 in easiest to get into! This gives Iowa an overall rank of #11 in the conference. This was an independent study a few years ago done ranking attempting to rank the most attractive B1G coaching jobs. According to this Fran has overachieved big time during his tenure. Maybe some of us Iowa fans think the Iowa job is a little more attractive than it really is? Northwestern, Rutgers, and Penn State were the only ones ranked lower than Iowa. Even Nebraska comes in above the Hawks at #9.
We have had previous discussions about this and I understand (and respect) your opinion on Fran. I don’t agree with it and with Fran being out if control and embarrassing but everyone views things differently,
I see many coaches in college basketball act the same way as Fran dies on occasion but they often seem to get a pass - just in the Big Ten alone I’ve seen similar things from Izzo, Pitino, Underwood, Chambers and those are just current coaches.
Fran seems to be judged rather harshly for the times he gets worked up to defend his team yet plenty of coaches do the same thing and I’ve seen coaches grab opposing players (Prohm) and berate and grab their players on the sideline (numerous). Also, while Dr. Tom was more mild-mannered on the sideline, he sure had a lot more character issues than Fran has ever had with his players. Fran seems to really catch the ire of Hawkeye fan’s for blowing up at the refs and defending his players once in a while yet he seems universally beloved by his players and seems to recruit very high character guys who don’t have issues off the court.
What is "not true" in my post? You must be reading something else or hearing things in your head.
My 1st post that our conversation is about was about Iowa steadily declining starting with Alford through Lickliter. Yes, Alford had some good years wher he used Iowa's bball rep to get some decent players. But he also brought in some disreputable players, and later players who were never going to make a contribution at Iowa. Attrition was at an all-time high. That became the norm until McC came in. Now Iowa is similar to the national average.
Iowa's loss of respect during the Alford years had less to do about wins/losses and more to do with what happened to the team and fan base.
So don’t try to improve our position? What if Iowa has done the same in football before hiring Hayden ?
You guys want to know what a big problem with this board is? Read this and see if you can figure it out:
Can any of you spot the issue?
Can any of you spot the issue?
