Frans recruiting

[BrunoMars420]

How bad were the 2014 and 2015 recruiting classes? This is the reason we are not that good this year. We are getting a lot of minutes from Uhl, Ellingson, Williams, Wagner and Moss. Only guy that is playing well is Moss. Great senior and freshman but our sophs and juniors are badddddd.
2014: Trey Dickerson, Dom Uhl, Brady Ellingson
2015: Dale Jones, CHristian Williams, Andrew Flemming, Isiah Moss(who will be a good one), Brandon Hutton, and Ahmad Wagner

 

[Ihawkhoops]

This team will be lucky to win 4 games in the Big Ten. Athletically inferior to a middle of the pack Summit League team and 0 defense. Not only will Iowa lose, it will be double digits.

 

[amahawk]

With late season collapses and this season looking like the voyage of the Titanic. it might be time to be concerned about the direction of the Iowa hoops program.

I know this will ruffle some feathers but so be it.

 

[DavidHawk324]

I would add 2013 as well where we have Jok and no one else.

It does make you wonder how far we could have gone last year if we had any big fresh/soph producers.

 

[EpenesaEpenesa]

Recruiting's been bad the last few years, but theyre so fundamentally unsound every year and that's concerning and has been concerning.

 

[QChawks]

I'm starting to believe it's more about his style. Tall, thin swing players than just can't play a lick of tough physical D.

 

[StormHawk42]

Unbalanced classes haven't helped for sure. At a developmental program like Iowa, you need balance. Wisconsin doesn't get 5 stars but they generally have 3 guys in each recruiting class and gives their young guys time to develop. Rinse and repeat.

 

[lovedwatchingLester]

I'm starting to believe it's more about his style. Tall, thin swing players than just can't play a lick of tough physical D.

Wouldn't say Cook, Kriener or Pemsl are thin

 

[EpenesaEpenesa]

Unbalanced classes haven't helped for sure. At a developmental program like Iowa, you need balance. Wisconsin doesn't get 5 stars but they generally have 3 guys in each recruiting class and gives their young guys time to develop. Rinse and repeat.

They value fundamentals and teach/coach the hell out of them. Blocking out, being in position defensively, taking care of the ball, good shot selection, etc..........That's how you have to play/compete if you don't recruit like duke. Iowa does none of those things and haven't under Fran.

 

[JerNHawk]

With late season collapses and this season looking like the voyage of the Titanic. it might be time to be concerned about the direction of the Iowa hoops program.

I know this will ruffle some feathers but so be it.

Nothing wrong with that comment. I was just saying the same thing.

 

[TRHawkeye145]

Nothing wrong with that comment. I was just saying the same thing.

Nope nothing wrong at all with that comment. Not sure how people think this team can win 20 games. No way. Before today I thought maybe they could squeak 15 wins but I'm wondering if they can even get to 10. Not an overreaction either. This team is fundamentally bad and I've been a huge Fran fan.

 

[HerkysDad]

Play the youngsters...they must learn defense. Sure candidate for the NOT Tournement.

 

[HoochHawk]

6 years in and this what we have. I have become apathetic and it saddens me.

 

[Run&Blade]

Not too difficult to YouTube his epic sideline rants. If you are going to act like that you better win in a big way or kids will stay away. You can bet it is used against him on the recruiting trail.

He is what he is, this there is no more upside. Question is, is it good enough for the check writers?

 

[ryno99]

Rutgers, Minnesota, PSU, Northwestern, Nebraska are all better than Iowa this year. Iowa has been better than those teams for a few years and they were all bound to improve sometime. When someone improves, someone regresses unless you're a blueblood. It's Iowa's turn in this cycle. Iowa is the worst team in the Big Ten and only team with a losing record. It's not even close actually.

 

[bagdropper]

I think the players are good enough to win games, but in reality this is a completely new roster top to bottom. Kinda like an expansion team in pro sports.

EVERYBODY is brand spanking new as far as their roles are concerned, from player #1 to #13. Jok was never required to be The Man. The rest of the returnees were needed to be nothing more than bit pieces in prior years.

Iowa is literally starting from scratch. It's going to take time.

 

[spbc7]

Iowa is the worst team in the Big Ten and only team with a losing record. It's not even close actually.

Lol, Rutgers is still bad. They just won by a grand total of 2 points at home against a sub-300 team on kenpom.

 

[Hillcrest1981]

Not too difficult to YouTube his epic sideline rants. If you are going to act like that you better win in a big way or kids will stay away. You can bet it is used against him on the recruiting trail.

He is what he is, this there is no more upside. Question is, is it good enough for the check writers?

Have you watched any other teams coaches? What about Izzo and Crean? They seem to recruit well.... Just saying

 

[Bearhawk0505]

Lol, Rutgers is still bad. They just won by a grand total of 2 points at home against a sub-300 team on kenpom.

Things are not going well if this is what is being debated.

 

[ryno99]

Lol, Rutgers is still bad. They just won by a grand total of 2 points at home against a sub-300 team on kenpom.

Iowa is 3-5. Rutgers is 6-1. Iowa is the only team with a losing record in the Big Ten. Add on 2 more losses to UNI and ISU for sure. That's 7 at least before Big Ten play. Iowa has the 326th ranked adj def in the country. There are 335 teams in D1 basketball. Iowa allows 86 ppg. That is 14 more ppg than the next worst team in the Big Ten, Penn State. Rutgers allows only 64 ppg, that's 22 points better than Iowa.

 

[spbc7]

Iowa is 3-5. Rutgers is 6-1. Iowa is the only team with a losing record in the Big Ten. Add on 2 more losses to UNI and ISU for sure. That's 7 at least before Big Ten play. Iowa has the 326th ranked adj def in the country. There are 335 teams in D1 basketball. Iowa allows 86 ppg. That is 14 more ppg than the next worst team in the Big Ten, Penn State. Rutgers allows only 64 ppg, that's 22 points better than Iowa.

Lol what an incredibly flawed method of comparing teams.

Absolute best case scenario, Rutgers is 4-4 with our schedule. Their toughest game was against Miami. Second toughest game? DePaul, which is 190th on Kenpom. They have played cupcake after cupcake. We have played a much tougher schedule than Rutgers (4 teams in Kenpom's top 100). Iowa is 46th in AdjO and 180th in AdjD. Rutgers is 159 and 152 respectively. The may be better defensively, but we are much better offensively. Neither team is very good right now, but there is absolutely no way that they are significantly better than Iowa.

 

[moondog24]

6 years in and Iowa should expect more than what we are seeing. Recruiting has been hit and miss, with one Big Ten caliber player in the senior class and maybe 3 in the freshman class. The others are at best average role players. Defensively this is a very poor team right now. I was hoping we might be above .500 in the non league schedule but I wonder now if that will happen. Fortunately I don't think the Big Ten is as strong as it has been so maybe we can go 8-10 or 7-11. Unless we are above .500 there will be no post season play.

 

[ScoutRefugee]

I would have to give his recruiting an F. A big fat juicy F!

 

[relishingwinning18]

Iowa is 3-5. Rutgers is 6-1. Iowa is the only team with a losing record in the Big Ten. Add on 2 more losses to UNI and ISU for sure. That's 7 at least before Big Ten play. Iowa has the 326th ranked adj def in the country. There are 335 teams in D1 basketball. Iowa allows 86 ppg. That is 14 more ppg than the next worst team in the Big Ten, Penn State. Rutgers allows only 64 ppg, that's 22 points better than Iowa.

What a terrible comparison.

 

[MepoDawg#]

Everyone knew this was going to be a bad year. Let it go and enjoy watching the freshmen develop.

 

[LuteHawk]

When a skinny kid from Bettendorf, Iowa is a walk on,
and then gets a scholarship, you know Nick Baer is the
poster boy for poor recruiting. He has hustle but no muscle.
He gets pushed around like a scarecrow. The kid might
make one 3 pointer a game, but he launches up too many.

 

[unoHawkeye]

I totally understand the frustration, as I am too frustrated. However, some of you are overreacting. It's rare that freshmen come in and are immediately able to compete consistently at a high level. The ones that do are typically on blue blood teams and are gone after a year. None of us like to be patient, preferring immediate results, but that's what's going to be required.

My guess is that the players competed with Notre Dame, Memphis, etc. and assumed that UNO would pose no problem. This game should serve as a wake-up call.
....
Related: If Fran McCaffery gets run out of Iowa by idiot fans that don't realize that his departure would likely lose us high D1 caliber players in Pat McCaffery, Joe Wieskamp, and Xavier Foster, in addition to several high upside guys we have now, this fanbase will get everything it deserves.

 

[pamarcole]

So really ...people didn't see this coming?? First off Fran is doing fine ....he has his work cut out for him but his good in my book! I also want to point out that last year a lot of people couldn't wait for the seniors to move on so we could get this Iowa team deep into an NCAA run. I hope now some of these not so bright people appreciate those seniors! When you graduate 3 guys that contributed as much as they did it will take time to replace them. Just hang in there ...they will be fine ....yes this year will be painful! It will get better.......I still laugh at the people that thought 20 wins would be achievable this season ...you all make me laugh....I read this stuff for entertainment. 20 wins will come ...we will make a deep run in the tournament ....just not this year!! Still laughing.......

 

[relishingwinning18]

I dont get it either. We lose four starters, then cook and Jones to start the year, what do people expect right now?

 

[Stormn Norman]

When the recruiting has been what it's been you have these types of years.. if you bring in kids that need time to develop and can't just go do what freshman for Kentucky and Kansas and UNC and MSU do then while these kids grow up and get better games go up on the L coloum.. it's just how it works.. and on the other hand and this makes me shake my head because the staff had 3 years to get a point gaurd/s in there..

 

[EpenesaEpenesa]

Everyone knew this was going to be a bad year. Let it go and enjoy watching the freshmen develop.

Bad? No. There has been zero improvement from a single returning player and no, I didn't see that coming. You could argue they've regressed.

 

[coralville67]

How bad were the 2014 and 2015 recruiting classes? This is the reason we are not that good this year. We are getting a lot of minutes from Uhl, Ellingson, Williams, Wagner and Moss. Only guy that is playing well is Moss. Great senior and freshman but our sophs and juniors are badddddd.
2014: Trey Dickerson, Dom Uhl, Brady Ellingson
2015: Dale Jones, CHristian Williams, Andrew Flemming, Isiah Moss(who will be a good one), Brandon Hutton, and Ahmad Wagner

when you have 3/4 year starters locked in - it is hard to recruit anyone

 

[pamarcole]

If you didn't see it coming .........sorry......you should have!

 

[unoHawkeye]

Bad? No. There has been zero improvement from a single returning player and no, I didn't see that coming. You could argue they've regressed.

No you couldn't. You could argue that players have a heavier weight to carry and haven't been able to carry it. Peter Jok has not regressed (hasn't gotten much better defensively, but is playing much better offensively), Brady Ellingson has not regressed (look at his 3pt%. That's what he's here for). Nicholas Baer is our second or third best player and teams are keying in on him now. He has not regressed. Dom Uhl has always had a maddening inconsistency, so to say he's "regressed" would be a real stretch. I just don't believe he's improved much since being at Iowa. That's between the ears. Experience alone should allow for more success. It's fair to assume that Isaiah Moss is as good or better now than last year.

The only player that you could argue has regressed is Ahmad Wagner, although the sophomore slump is something we've seen a lot of at Iowa. It looks like Wagner's about to have a "Melsahn Basabe second year."

It seems silly to say that all returning players have regressed, while our best player is putting up video game-like numbers, our sharpshooter is shooting the ball at a <50% clip, and Baer is nearly doubling almost all his statistics from last year. Defense, particularly in a zone, is a group effort, and the returners don't have Adam Woodbury to be an anchor in the post, Clemmons to be a stopper, or Uthoff to block shots on the perimeter. This is a huge adjusting period.

 

[DenverTurtle]

I think the players are good enough to win games, but in reality this is a completely new roster top to bottom. Kinda like an expansion team in pro sports.

EVERYBODY is brand spanking new as far as their roles are concerned, from player #1 to #13. Jok was never required to be The Man. The rest of the returnees were needed to be nothing more than bit pieces in prior years.

Iowa is literally starting from scratch. It's going to take time.

I agree with this except for the part about Jok. If a guy is seriously looking at going pro before his senior year then the expectation should be that he is supposed to be The Man. Plus dude was 2nd team all B1G last year with expectations of being 1st team this year.

 

[EpenesaEpenesa]

No you couldn't. You could argue that players have a heavier weight to carry and haven't been able to carry it. Peter Jok has not regressed (hasn't gotten much better defensively, but is playing much better offensively), Brady Ellingson has not regressed (look at his 3pt%. That's what he's here for). Nicholas Baer is our second or third best player and teams are keying in on him now. He has not regressed. Dom Uhl has always had a maddening inconsistency, so to say he's "regressed" would be a real stretch. I just don't believe he's improved much since being at Iowa. That's between the ears. Experience alone should allow for more success. It's fair to assume that Isaiah Moss is as good or better now than last year.

The only player that you could argue has regressed is Ahmad Wagner, although the sophomore slump is something we've seen a lot of at Iowa. It looks like Wagner's about to have a "Melsahn Basabe second year."

It seems silly to say that all returning players have regressed, while our best player is putting up video game-like numbers, our sharpshooter is shooting the ball at a <50% clip, and Baer is nearly doubling almost all his statistics from last year. Defense, particularly in a zone, is a group effort, and the returners don't have Adam Woodbury to be an anchor in the post, Clemmons to be a stopper, or Uthoff to block shots on the perimeter. This is a huge adjusting period.

What?!?! You think Uhl, Wagner, Ellingson and Jok
are better than last year??? If you're not better from the previous year you're regressing, I'm sorry. I also don't give a shit how many points Jok scores when they're giving up frickin 90 on the other end to Nebraska fn Omaha at home.

 

[ryno99]

I totally understand the frustration, as I am too frustrated. However, some of you are overreacting. It's rare that freshmen come in and are immediately able to compete consistently at a high level. The ones that do are typically on blue blood teams and are gone after a year. None of us like to be patient, preferring immediate results, but that's what's going to be required.

My guess is that the players competed with Notre Dame, Memphis, etc. and assumed that UNO would pose no problem. This game should serve as a wake-up call.
....
Related: If Fran McCaffery gets run out of Iowa by idiot fans that don't realize that his departure would likely lose us high D1 caliber players in Pat McCaffery, Joe Wieskamp, and Xavier Foster, in addition to several high upside guys we have now, this fanbase will get everything it deserves.

He is 3 years away from deciding where he is going and will have offers from Kansas, MSU, Kentucky before he's done.

 

[DodgerHawki]

With late season collapses and this season looking like the voyage of the Titanic. it might be time to be concerned about the direction of the Iowa hoops program.

I know this will ruffle some feathers but so be it.

The team is not good this year, but Fran is no danger of losing his job. Nor should he be. He took Iowa to the tournament 3 straight years, first time that happened in over 20 years at Iowa. The last 3 recruiting classes before the current freshman class were just plain bad, that is evident (and that includes Jok). Team on the floor is paying the price now. In the next 3 classes Fran already has Garza, Nunge, Conor Mc, Wieskamp, Patrick Mc. All of them are more highly rated than anyone in the 13-14-15 classes. After the year, Fran will need a few more of the current sophomore-junior classes to move on to levels more suitable to their ability levels and further increase the roster.

Recruiting is important in basketball (duh), I would argue more so than football. The current Iowa roster has 1 Top 100 recruit (Cook) who is hurt, another one who could have been (Jok) before high high school injury. That is not enough to be competitive in the Big 10.

But the direction of the program is okay. If Fran wants to win long-term at Iowa, he has to recruit better. Period. Garza and Nunge are a step forward. As are the other players committed. More please.

 

[unoHawkeye]

He is 3 years away from deciding where he is going and will have offers from Kansas, MSU, Kentucky before he's done.

Not the point. The point is that Fran leaving would set Iowa back another 5+ years

 

[unoHawkeye]

What?!?! You think Uhl, Wagner, Ellingson and Jok
are better than last year??? If you're not better from the previous year you're regressing, I'm sorry. I also don't give a shit how many points Jok scores when they're giving up frickin 90 on the other end to Nebraska fn Omaha at home.

1. No, I said Wagner looks like he's slumping
2. How easy do you think it was for Jok last year, being the secondary scoring threat to our All-American in Jarrod Uthoff? All of a sudden he's the one being keyed in on and is still getting 25 PPG. And no, Jok isn't giving up 100 points by himself. I already acknowledged his subpar defensive play. However, Jok is the least of our problems. Baer is in the same boat. He was like our sixth scoring option last year, and now he's number two... As a sophomore. If you truly expected 12-15 PPG out of him and to be a defensive stalwart when he was already below average defensively last year then...
3. Your expectations are too high.