First off, I'm not even remotely advocating for him to leave or be fired. I think that would be completely foolish given what he's accomplished in this being his first stop at a major conference school. I think what we're seeing is growing pains in him as a coach and I honestly think we need to just hang in here and give him a chance to figure it out.
That said, if I'm Gary Barta, I'm having a very pointed meeting with Fran and I'm having it this weekend before we get to the NCAA tournament and I'm revisiting it as season's end. I wanna know his philosophy and I wanna know what he's learned coaching in this conference and what changes he's gonna make in recruiting and in game coaching to fix this. This is a collapse 2 out of 3 years in what looked like incredibly promising seasons and with some talented players. Like it or not, when we're repeatedly losing tight ball games and in the midst of a collapse, that falls on coaching.
My personal opinion is that Fran has tried to build this program and lanky, versatile most of whom are finesse style players. Marble was a finesse player. Until his senior year, Aaron White was a finesse player. Uthoff and Jok are finesse players. He likes stretch 4s who spread the court and can step out and shoot. The problem as I see it lies in 2 pivotal positions on the floor for his style of play. The hardest one in my opinion to fill is a post player who can BOTH handle the rigors of running the floor the way Fran wants, and yet can be a force in the post and not only score but command double teams to open the floor. Someone like AJ Hammonds, Diamond Stone, Ethan Happ, or even Bryant from Indiana. You have to have a post presence in this league to compete, and that post presence has to be physical, hit the boards and be productive offensively. Unfortunately in Woodbury, we're missing there offensive part of the equation and quite honestly, his effort is there but he's just not physically capable of being that physical presence. I think it's a lot to ask of Tyler Cook to be that guy. In my opinion, it ready comes down to landing a player like Malik Williams or Jeremiah Tilmon and I don't know how you land a kid like that after the collapse this season.
The other position we're severely lacking is at the point. I love Mike Gesell. He plays his ass off and I persist believe he's squeezed every ounce out of his ability at Iowa even though he's been much maligned by our fans. He's just limited offensively and it severely hurts us. You look at this league and the kind of players running the point, it's very obvious we have to upgrade this position. And I don't wanna be a downer on kids who aren'teven on campus yet but I just don't believe Bohannon or Connor Mccaffery are the answer. Connor struggled mightily against the athleticism of Des Moines Hoover in the state tournament last night and I think that was a very ominous and disturbing sign for his ability too run the point in college. As a shooting guard, he might be just fine. But I think he would struggle at the point.
So basically I don't see an answer coming for the 2 biggest holes in this program holding us back.
I think tough pointed questions need to be asked and I think Fran has to shoulder the accountability for this even if it's just behind closed doors. I'm wondering if a change inn the coaching staff in some way, a shake up, wouldn't be a good thing.
That said, if I'm Gary Barta, I'm having a very pointed meeting with Fran and I'm having it this weekend before we get to the NCAA tournament and I'm revisiting it as season's end. I wanna know his philosophy and I wanna know what he's learned coaching in this conference and what changes he's gonna make in recruiting and in game coaching to fix this. This is a collapse 2 out of 3 years in what looked like incredibly promising seasons and with some talented players. Like it or not, when we're repeatedly losing tight ball games and in the midst of a collapse, that falls on coaching.
My personal opinion is that Fran has tried to build this program and lanky, versatile most of whom are finesse style players. Marble was a finesse player. Until his senior year, Aaron White was a finesse player. Uthoff and Jok are finesse players. He likes stretch 4s who spread the court and can step out and shoot. The problem as I see it lies in 2 pivotal positions on the floor for his style of play. The hardest one in my opinion to fill is a post player who can BOTH handle the rigors of running the floor the way Fran wants, and yet can be a force in the post and not only score but command double teams to open the floor. Someone like AJ Hammonds, Diamond Stone, Ethan Happ, or even Bryant from Indiana. You have to have a post presence in this league to compete, and that post presence has to be physical, hit the boards and be productive offensively. Unfortunately in Woodbury, we're missing there offensive part of the equation and quite honestly, his effort is there but he's just not physically capable of being that physical presence. I think it's a lot to ask of Tyler Cook to be that guy. In my opinion, it ready comes down to landing a player like Malik Williams or Jeremiah Tilmon and I don't know how you land a kid like that after the collapse this season.
The other position we're severely lacking is at the point. I love Mike Gesell. He plays his ass off and I persist believe he's squeezed every ounce out of his ability at Iowa even though he's been much maligned by our fans. He's just limited offensively and it severely hurts us. You look at this league and the kind of players running the point, it's very obvious we have to upgrade this position. And I don't wanna be a downer on kids who aren'teven on campus yet but I just don't believe Bohannon or Connor Mccaffery are the answer. Connor struggled mightily against the athleticism of Des Moines Hoover in the state tournament last night and I think that was a very ominous and disturbing sign for his ability too run the point in college. As a shooting guard, he might be just fine. But I think he would struggle at the point.
So basically I don't see an answer coming for the 2 biggest holes in this program holding us back.
I think tough pointed questions need to be asked and I think Fran has to shoulder the accountability for this even if it's just behind closed doors. I'm wondering if a change inn the coaching staff in some way, a shake up, wouldn't be a good thing.
