My issues with McCaffery are well documented on here. My opinion was he should have been let go after the 2017-2018 season. I don’t believe you can fire him now, but we’ll see how the season pans out before we talk about how hot his seat is.
As to your OP, I think it’s a gross oversimplification. While it’s true that Garza and the Murrays have involved fathers, Fran deserves a lot of credit for recognizing their talents and offering scholarships, namely the Murrays. While IIRC Garza was a four-star, I don’t believe he had any real big offers outside of Louisville and Georgetown. So, yes, Fran gets credit for getting those three guys on the roster.
To your point about an underwhelming lack of talent overall, I agree with you 100%. It’s quite unfortunate too, because Fran does an excellent job of identifying serious talent right away before eventually getting the bridesmaid treatment in the end.
So, yes, to an extent, I understand what you’re getting at, I just think the premise is faulty (for the aforementioned reasons). As most know, I’m ready for the Fran era to be over. In my opinion, Fran has terribly mismanaged the talent he has brought in. Starting his 6’5 son at the 4 over a top five lottery pick was inexcusable, especially since Murray’s defensive versatility and athleticism were sorely lacking on that team. That pretty much ended all the goodwill I had toward Fran.
I’m also tired of Fran’s teams consistently playing trash defense and just trying to outscore people. Yes, it’s fun and entertaining when 3s are falling and everything is clicking, but Fran doesn’t have the talent to make his system work like he wants. Fans can get butthurt all they want about this, but the truth is Fran recruits too many tall, lanky white kids with limited athletic ability. I mean, Fran’s teams are about a mirror image of Wisconsin’s. The difference is Wisconsin doesn’t try to get in a track meet with superior athletic teams. That’s why Iowa gets run out of the gym when they get in the tournament and play teams like Villanova, Gonzaga, Oregon, etc.
In short, yes, Fran’s last few teams would have been pretty mediocre without Garza and the Murrays. It’s just not saying as much as you think it is because a lot of coaches would be screwed if you removed three outstanding players from their roster. Give Fran credit for landing Garza and taking a chance on the Murray twins, especially considering several in the fan base became unglued by the Murray offers.
