High praise from Keegan to Fran and staff
- Thread starter Chishawk1425
- Start date
This would be good pinned to the top to give the Fran Haters something to watch over and over.
The Fran haters are laughable stooges.
If only Keegan wasn't hurt in game vs Richmond and we weren't 3 for whatever from 3
All true, BUT, the "if onlys" happen every damn year. Now I'm no Fran hater, and overall I'd say he's done a pretty solid job in his time with the Hawks, BUT, at some point he's got to get that monkey off his back, or its time to look elsewhere. He got the BIG tourney done last season, so maybe this will be the year to take the next step....
Repeat these words and you will change your mind about an acceptable level of success.
Steven Alford. Todd Lickliter.
Just this season broke a 16 year doubt on BTT titles. Had there been a tournament in 2020 we'd have qualified four years in a row, and that hasn't happened in nearly forty years. Levels of personal success among the players, like 3 consecutive AAs in the last three years. Quite a few All Big Ten players. Iowa has something nice and recent to sell recruits.
Steven Alford. Todd Lickliter.
Just this season broke a 16 year doubt on BTT titles. Had there been a tournament in 2020 we'd have qualified four years in a row, and that hasn't happened in nearly forty years. Levels of personal success among the players, like 3 consecutive AAs in the last three years. Quite a few All Big Ten players. Iowa has something nice and recent to sell recruits.
Or that we had had that lost Tournament Garza’s Junior year as that team was peaking and very dangerous. Much comes down to matchups and hot shooting not how good your team generically is.
True, but over a 4 week period we’re playing very well.
They were 10-6 in the last 16 with 4 losses to ranked teams, finished 5th in the B10 and 25th in the country. If a 6 seed in the NCAA they would get an 11 and maybe 3 or 14 seed to the Sweet 16 which is doable given their play in that last month was more like a 4 seed.
The problem is that the team WAS PEAKING last year, and yet we had the "if onlys" again. They way they played in the BIG tourney, I just didn't see it happening again, but.........
Thats all good, and as I said, for the most part I'm good with Fran, absolutely. BUT, it's past time to a) give up the "Lickliter was here" crap. That was 13 YEARS ago. b), The "if only's" every year. Last years team was playing their asses off, and then once again our annual tourney fizzle. Its time for fran to figure it out......
Sorry, but thats just not true. like so many issues MOST people here are probably right down the middle as I am. I'm certainly NOT a "Fran hater". I'm good with him, and overall think he's done a solid job. I don't see how that makes someone "a hater". Still after 13 years and at least a half dozen chances we REALLY should be able to get to the sweet sixteen, even by luck. For me this last two years was the straw. As well as we were playing, you can't convince me we lost to a better team. We didn't. Yes, I was thrilled with the overall season, and obviously the BIG tourney, BUT at some point, hopefully soon, he needs to get this team beyond game one.
Last edited:
The thing is that it’s really pretty simple. Fran is not going anywhere, anytime soon, or until he wants to. And nor should he, until he wants to. Fran has been at Iowa for 12 years.
Fran brings an exciting brand of basketball. He wins games and does it the right way. I could never see Fran being linked to any sort of scandal and the kids he brings to Iowa are all great kids. I’m guessing Fran has passed on more questionable kids with better talent that may have chosen to come to Iowa. I may be wrong on that, but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we’ve seen very little behavior issues out of Iowa Basketball players under Fran. (Worst I can think of is an OWI or two and some DUS’). Compared that with Alford, Davis, and even Lickliter’s brief years of service and it’s pretty good.
I don’t believe Fran will ever have to make the Sweet 16 to retire from Iowa. I also think if/when he does, the goal posts with the “haters” will be moved to something else. We’ve already seen that with the B1G Tournament Championship. And that’s fine, because it will never be a basis for his retention as Iowa’s coach. If anything brings Fran down or causes his termination it will be his conduct with the officiating. Even that has seem to be curtailed for the most part after the OSU/“f’ing cheater” incident. But the man does have himself a bit of a temper and it could get away from him. He does not like to feel cheated and that’s probably what makes me love him the most. He’s not going to sit there and take it up the A.. while his team is fighting.
I agree the Lickliter years are well past us at this point. It was a dark and awful time to be a Hawkeye fan. I don’t see much for bringing him up, but I have absolutely no problems including it when looking at Fran’s complete body of work at Iowa. IMO, his first 6 seasons at Iowa are night/day different from the last 6 years results wise. People have no problems saying after 12 years his record is this or only been to the NCAAs this many times. Its clearly to slant Fran in poor light when no coach would have won in his first few years at Iowa. I don’t think those years should be held against him and I honestly feel that Fran far exceeded expectations those first three seasons at Iowa.
Sorry if TL/DR
I wouldn't put Alford and Lick in the same sentence. Alford turned out to be a major tool, but he wasn't the train wreck Lick was. Of course we'll take Fran over both of 'em any day. That said, the glaring weakness in his resume is the lack of any NCAA wins past the opening round.
Perhaps you should. The actual rot started with Alford and his low character. The favoritism, followed by team discord and drama (e.g. Courtney Scott), followed by more transfers (e.g. Sommerville), a retirement just as a player became a desperately needed center (Sondy), then the criminals (Pierce, Henderson and the Getaway Driver). All those losses to bottom feeders that Iowa should have shit pounded, pretty much every season. I mean upsets happen but not with the frequency that struck the Alford years, in part because Alford's arrogance and sense of superiority infected the players and most of his teams played lazy. Attendance and TV audiences shrunk, in part because Alford's teams, other than the Horner/Bru/Haluska teams, really were not all that likable. Alford hurt the Hawks even in leaving, left the worst roster than any coach I remember inheriting at Iowa.
My traditional pith is Alford drug us into the gutter and Lick couldn't see over the curb.
I think you have underestimated the damage Alford and Lick did to Iowa's recruiting reputation. In some places we were a laughing stalk and a pariah in others.
You did hit what I perceive to be McC's biggest weakness. Iowa comes out flat too many times in big games. We had a better player than Richmond at every position. How does Iowa not come out like the werewolves in Van Helsing against Richmond, especially a year after that Oregon upset?
As I said, I'm not asking for fran to leave, just evolve. I'll give you my take. it would be easy to put the same rap on KF, (as I know some do), but I'm not quite there on him. We've been to the BIG Conf Champ twice in the last 6 years, and I consider that to be basically a play in game to the CFP. While we lost I think the football thing is a different animal. In 2015 both Iowa and MSU were in the top 5, (I think Iowa was 3rd and MSU 5th) going into what was one of the best hardest fought games I've ever seen. We had our chances and some strange plays kept us from opening up a pretty good lead. At the end we couldn't get the stop. (On the defense in that one). Last year Michigan was ranked number 2 or 3 last year and they played like it most of the year. Almost EVERY year the east champ is a top 5 team, (usually OSU). In a way were probably fighting up a weight class in those games to a degree. Earlier on Frans tourney teams usually ended up in the dreaded 8-10 seed, might win one and then draw Gonzaga or Duke. A one or two seed. I get that again we might have been punching over our weight, certainly an uphill battle to get out of the round of 32. My issue is with the last two years. BOTH times we go in with basically the NPOTY on OUR side. Now Oregon may have been a bad matchup athletically, but they were not a top 10-15 team, and theres no way we should have been embarressed like that. Then this year. BIG champs, and playing REALLY well. We get a good seed, and draw Richmond. Yes, they're a good team with a few good players. To me basically their Northwestern, maybe a little better, but we beat MUCH better teams by pretty good scores the last month. For any conversation about the ball or having to play 4 games in 4 days, SO did Richmond, and they used the same ball. Even worse, I don't think they even played all that well, BUT they made the few plays down the stretch which got them the win. Sorry, but I while I get losing to the Zags or Dukies in round two, I just don't think in year twelve we should be losing to the Spiders.
I would at least like to see Fran take a page from Kirks book and take a hard look internally at his program. What needs to change. More focus in at least decent defense? A different approach to workouts and schedules before tournament play? Whatever...
Yeah, Tyler Smith. After honing his skills as a mere shoplifter (Mike Henderson, the senior team captain) was the lookout on that caper. After his bullshit attempt to use is father's illness as a reason to transfer, and he was forced to go to Tennessee he was the getaway driver in an armed robbery. It's not like Pierre Pierce's rape and kidnapping but a get-away driver in an armed robbery is a pretty serious crime nonetheless.
I would just point out that in both years that we made it to the B1G Finals in football, we lost the game and then went on to be embarrassed in our bowl game, being blasted by Stanford (the only Iowa game I turned off before halftime) and beaten by an average Kentucky team.
I do agree that McCaffery needs to get this figured out. Before winning the BTT this season, we always seem to lay an egg in every tournament we enter. I believe it's their mental (psychological) preparation. In the Richmond game, you just got the feeling from the very beginning that they were, at least, going to let an inferior team hang around to the end and at worst, get beaten. Coming out flat in a game like this when you were playing your best basketball of the year a few days earlier is pathetic and inexplicable.
Oregon upset? I don't know, or care, about either teams seeding but that game was only an upset if we won.
And that team beats our squad 99/100 times.
I'm not sure pathetic but there is no reasonable explanation for the number of times the BBall team comes out flat in the post season.
I think Garza senior year- it was a huge blow when Jack went down with a knee injury and we went into the NCAA tourney absolutely gassed
And then same thing this year- gassed winning the big ten tourney
The common denominator in both years- let’s face it, we were outplayed in the backcourt
Guards win in March
And then same thing this year- gassed winning the big ten tourney
The common denominator in both years- let’s face it, we were outplayed in the backcourt
Guards win in March
Nope,.. We have certainly been many things, but never a laughing "stalk",... WOB.
Fran has done a nice job and he does it right. He's gotten his temper under control too, which was a good step. All he's missing is significant NCAA tourney wins. Get to the Sweet 16.
