This thread has been an interesting read....in my opinion, there is some credibility to the two primary sides on this topic.....so here are some uninformed thoughts:
*One of Frans strengths is his loyalty(?) to his long time players. Loyalty might not be the right word...maybe he just knows from his experience as a player, assistant coach, and head coach that when you have a player like JBO who has proven himself over 4 years, that he could see that he was going to come around. Maybe he could see that JBO was doing fine (maybe better-100%) physically and that if he just stuck with him he would return to form and maybe even play the best basketball of his career.
As someone who supports that philosophy or approach, I have to admit that I was getting to the point where I thought..okay, enough, we are risking to much by letting JBO play AND we have some young guys on the bench who can play.
Then, just like that, JBO found his game.....big nads by Fran to stick with him and know/believe he would get it going.
Joe T.....love the kid. His physical attributes are obvious to pretty much everyone. His negatives are also pretty much obvious to everyone. This again comes back to Fran.....Fran is more aware than anybody that next year JBO is gone and we will need to fill a lot of minutes at THE position that is the quarterback of this team. SO...for now, the use of practice time, game management, and mentoring of Joe T and AU are of VITAL importance....vital for teaching game management, playing the game in a mentally mature way....reducing and eliminating dumb mistakes WHILE playing at a fast pace and taking advantage of a players strengths.
Hopefully we will see Joe T start to get things dialed in this year to make it a smooth transition to next year. Clearly a different player than JBO......so can he be as effective for the team by using his strengths? I think he can. Let's see what Fran can accomplish in his teaching between now and then.
Life's good for us Hawkeye basketball fans...we have an elite team and a program with a bright future. The program appears to be in as good a shape during Fran's tenure as it has ever been.
*One of Frans strengths is his loyalty(?) to his long time players. Loyalty might not be the right word...maybe he just knows from his experience as a player, assistant coach, and head coach that when you have a player like JBO who has proven himself over 4 years, that he could see that he was going to come around. Maybe he could see that JBO was doing fine (maybe better-100%) physically and that if he just stuck with him he would return to form and maybe even play the best basketball of his career.
As someone who supports that philosophy or approach, I have to admit that I was getting to the point where I thought..okay, enough, we are risking to much by letting JBO play AND we have some young guys on the bench who can play.
Then, just like that, JBO found his game.....big nads by Fran to stick with him and know/believe he would get it going.
Joe T.....love the kid. His physical attributes are obvious to pretty much everyone. His negatives are also pretty much obvious to everyone. This again comes back to Fran.....Fran is more aware than anybody that next year JBO is gone and we will need to fill a lot of minutes at THE position that is the quarterback of this team. SO...for now, the use of practice time, game management, and mentoring of Joe T and AU are of VITAL importance....vital for teaching game management, playing the game in a mentally mature way....reducing and eliminating dumb mistakes WHILE playing at a fast pace and taking advantage of a players strengths.
Hopefully we will see Joe T start to get things dialed in this year to make it a smooth transition to next year. Clearly a different player than JBO......so can he be as effective for the team by using his strengths? I think he can. Let's see what Fran can accomplish in his teaching between now and then.
Life's good for us Hawkeye basketball fans...we have an elite team and a program with a bright future. The program appears to be in as good a shape during Fran's tenure as it has ever been.
