Has anyone been to any Iowa practices?
- Thread starter hawkquiz
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Fran addressed this pre game. Basically admitted when it’s your own guys vs your own guys it’s hard to actually get better.
Wait... what? Practicing against guys on your top 25 team every day doesn't make you better? That is a terrible, terrible excuse.
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I said that wrong. He said it’s tough to give accurate looks of other teams but was addressing a question about why behaviors are tough to change.
Actually on the radio pre game, Fran addressed his practice philosophy: he said this time of year he wants to keep his guys fresh so they primarily watch film and do walk through occasionally will do a full speed run through. Says 2.5 hour practices can drag on a player physically and mentally or something like that.
Fran’s staff is garbage. A bunch of yes men. 10+ years and has no one on his staff who preaches defense. Spreraw brings nothing a washed up ex HC. Dillard a “recruiting” coach who brings in little who does nothing. Fran is a piss poor in game coach a recipe for crap.
Dillard dresses very dapper, very sharp, can’t hate on a man like that
Probably the worst coaching staff in the Big 10. National player of the year, with great shooters around him and you are a bubble team. Time to move on.
some would say over reaction but you’re right. Would love to hear the defense of frans garbage yes man assistants. Garza and toppin legit 1-2 last year and we are a 6-7 seed before covid hit. And with the consensus player of the year same results. Hate to say it if Iowa doesn’t make 2nd weekend this year will never happen under fran. Year 11 as many years dr Tom got. no more excuses.
I don't totally disagree on the thoughts of the assistants. It might be time for Speraw and even Dillard to retire and ride into the sunset. They have Baer on staff, he is someone who could be elevated to an assistant position...or someone in their 20's or 30's, who is a defensive guru and can recruit like none other. Also need someone over 5'10 who can come in and work with our bigs on things like rebounding and boxing out (Baer).
I junior high I was told "find the nearest guy, put your butt into them, and then go get the damned ball". It made sense to me.
Defense and rebounding aren't rocket science, in fact they're WAY easier than offensive skills. But for some reason, it seems like these two concepts escape the Iowa coaching staff. I hate watching 3-4 guys turn and run to the other end of the floor as soon as the ball leaves a guys hand on a 3.
Also watching the lackluster closeout when the other team takes a 3, with the obligatory hand going up at the last second to LOOK like you tried, is very maddening.
I really want to send this to Fran... https://www.coachesclipboard.net/BasicDefense.html
Also watching the lackluster closeout when the other team takes a 3, with the obligatory hand going up at the last second to LOOK like you tried, is very maddening.
I really want to send this to Fran... https://www.coachesclipboard.net/BasicDefense.html
Can't disagree with much in this thread, although according to critics, Iowa somehow doesn't recruit that well, but regularly has one or two guys on the all-B1G teams.
I know I would have been chewing some ass during the IU game, even early when Weesy was getting shots and hitting, not much else was good. It seemed like at least 75% of loose balls and long rebounds were going to IU, and especially around the basket their bigs were almost always the aggressors. I agree with the assessment that basic rebounding isn't hard. You carve out position with your behind, and you try to head toward the weak side of the basket if you weren't guarding the shooter. Then, it becomes who wants it more for most boards. Of course, guys with strong hands and great jumping ability have an advantage, but that isn't how most rebounds are gotten.
I know I would have been chewing some ass during the IU game, even early when Weesy was getting shots and hitting, not much else was good. It seemed like at least 75% of loose balls and long rebounds were going to IU, and especially around the basket their bigs were almost always the aggressors. I agree with the assessment that basic rebounding isn't hard. You carve out position with your behind, and you try to head toward the weak side of the basket if you weren't guarding the shooter. Then, it becomes who wants it more for most boards. Of course, guys with strong hands and great jumping ability have an advantage, but that isn't how most rebounds are gotten.
How many of Fran's assistants have moved on to HC jobs? Even to a mid major type school?
Defense and rebounding aren't rocket science, in fact they're WAY easier than offensive skills. But for some reason, it seems like these two concepts escape the Iowa coaching staff. I hate watching 3-4 guys turn and run to the other end of the floor as soon as the ball leaves a guys hand on a 3.
Also watching the lackluster closeout when the other team takes a 3, with the obligatory hand going up at the last second to LOOK like you tried, is very maddening.
I really want to send this to Fran... https://www.coachesclipboard.net/BasicDefense.html
I really try to not take Hawkeye basketball too seriously and don’t like to criticize college kids, but on a couple of instances yesterday, the same player had a couple of lazy ass close outs and chased it with giving zero effort on the box out. If I would have done that in high school, my ass would be on the bench. For some reason, said player was rewarded with continued playing time. That is really frustrating.
I don’t doubt the players have heard all this but repeating and replicating and emphasizing this , well that’s another matter. Especially when Fran has them playing multiple zone defenses instead but thanks for the article. I used to watch Lute Olsen’s team practice and he would constantly walk them through their assignments one step at a time and if somebody didn’t have their hands in proper position, ball side slightly lower opposite hand higher , they’d start all over again.Defense and rebounding aren't rocket science, in fact they're WAY easier than offensive skills. But for some reason, it seems like these two concepts escape the Iowa coaching staff. I hate watching 3-4 guys turn and run to the other end of the floor as soon as the ball leaves a guys hand on a 3.
Also watching the lackluster closeout when the other team takes a 3, with the obligatory hand going up at the last second to LOOK like you tried, is very maddening.
I really want to send this to Fran... https://www.coachesclipboard.net/BasicDefense.html
I very distinctly remember a loose ball literally right in front of Jordan and he just looked at it on the ground for a moment. Never moved to get it.
I get it that at times your brain "locks up", but that should be instinct. Not enough of our guys have it.
No one has ever made a team better by upping the intensity of practice and it certain could never work on something like an 80 game schedule.
(I really hope these things are not accurate from Fran, he is taking on a very shitty mindset while proving incapable of adjustments if true)
(I really hope these things are not accurate from Fran, he is taking on a very shitty mindset while proving incapable of adjustments if true)
I have. They work on all the things you claim to know that they (obviously) don't.
So it's isn't a willingness to teach it appears to be an ability to teach.
I dont have the answer certainly. What do you think is all going into it? It doesn't appear to be a short lived trend.
Some of it maybe on the players too , I don’t know. Other teams work on stuff too and still lose. Do you think the Hawks are so much more talented than other teams in the B1G. Sure the Hawks have lost 4 of 5 but by how many points or possessions. Trust me I’m as disappointed in the results as anybody. Minimal changes in each game by coaches, players or Refs and Iowa has won 4 of 5. Just sucks
I cannot name 1 defensively above average team in Frans tenure. Hell Ferentz gets shredded for our boring vanilla offense and he puts together an above average offense more than once a decade.
Well I have been very critical of the way Fran does things. I used to go on and on about how much I admire Villanova's program, how I've watched them practice a few times. Fran and staff teach this stuff well, but defense is so much harder than people realize. The way the floor is spaced, the stuff guys can do off the dribble, ball-screens, the game is harder to defend now than it was 20 or 30 years ago. Pretty much everybody is a floor-spacer. Rotations are much more extended and stretched and stressed.
I wish Iowa would have a staff that built its program from a defense/rebounding mindset. Every program I played in was built on D and rebounding. I believe it de-stresses offense, meaning that if your program is supremely confident on D, it frees itself to relax on O. Being relaxed is better for skill execution. Think of shooting pool or darts or whatever. Relaxed is how you want to be to execute. I always feel like Iowa is stressed on offense not just because of who is on the floor, but because they seem to know that if they don't score, they're ğcked. Whereas a team like Michigan State or Purdue that puts 90% of their eggs into the D/rebounding basket knows that as long as they keep getting stops and limiting second chance, they'll be in the game.
That said, it's not like Iowa doesn't work on this stuff. We want Fran to be perfect. A lot of fans act like Fran can suddenly summon some inner Izzo or inner Jay Wright. I don't know. I can get negative like any other fan, but then I remember what I get to root for. I'll defend Fran and his staff and players all day everyday. Good people. Good kids.
Just remember… part of what makes you think "boring vanilla offense" is that you (presumably) have watched nearly every game since Fran was hired. If you watched every Villanova game since Jay Wright was hired—guess what—it would start to look boring and vanilla. You might appreciate how precisely they execute, the shot-making, but it's extremely vanilla—more vanilla than Iowa.
I see that now. Sentiment still applies (to a certain extent).
The key is execution, on both ends of the floor. We get very lazy mid game, that goes to substitution patterns and whether players are tired, or they are just waiting to get on offense. The mindset seems to be outscore your opponent, that does not always work especially against good teams as everyone can score. When I played we had a number of great coaches that would preach certain things, and the key to all was the attention to detail. How crisp are your picks, how well do you rub off a screen, etc. On defense, we are not as athletic as other teams, which means you have to play good help defense. We are not good, whether it is taught of not. We have a good big man, that doesn't jump well. We have a slow point guard, both things together do not help when you play man. The zone is another issue, that is more communication. I have played for great coaches and the best ones taught us we have to do it right every time. Play defense, rebound (that is a TEAM skill, not for Iowa but for the good teams, everyone does it) and everything else will fall in line. Offense is the fun part.
I don't think that's true. Fran and Kirk are pretty similar when it comes to being great on one side of the ball and inept on the other....to the detriment if the program. Maybe Kirk is a little less bad at O than fran is on D but they are in the bottom half of offenses pretty much every year and well into bottom half quite often if memory serves (I try to ignore the offensive rankings). I think 02 was only season they broke top 50 but I could be wrong. I'd welcome a correction if someone knows....don't care to look it up
Just remember what we had before Fran! I dont like the losses either but then i remember to the Lick years!
well when the great shooters are on we win- when a quick pg shuts down JBo and either CJ or weizzy are having a bad game—- we lose
Finally a voice of logic and reason. Thank you. I would add that teaching team defense, while not rocket science, is damn tough with all the things the team will see each game.
I very distinctly remember a loose ball literally right in front of Jordan and he just looked at it on the ground for a moment. Never moved to get it.
I get it that at times your brain "locks up", but that should be instinct. Not enough of our guys have it.
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Good point and how many times have you seen an Iowa dive on the floor to get loose ball.
I get it that at times your brain "locks up", but that should be instinct. Not enough of our guys have it.
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Good point and how many times have you seen an Iowa dive on the floor to get loose ball.
I did see Nunge dive on the court for a loose ball against Indy, for a tie up and I believe we had the possession arrow. Shocked me, as I agree, its been way too long seeing anyone go after a loose ball.
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