Can’t recruit guys like Mashe, Connor, JBo, Kriener, etc and expect to win games that matter.
Say it with me now, “Recruiting”
Say it with me now, “Recruiting”
It’s the Players
- Thread starter Phenomenally Frantastic
- Start date
I agree that recruiting is the issue. Coach K couldn't do any better with these guys. Not sure why Cook signed here unless we finally decided to pay a recruit.
Because Cook isn't that good? Sure he's an athlete which is rare for Iowa but good god he has less than 1 iota of skill. Add it up and he's no different than any other player on our roster just takes a different route to get to the level of suckage as our other guys.
I understand you can't go by star rankings but we have more 4* guys on the roster than we have in a long time. The problem is their game is too similar as far as what they are good at and struggle. Most dudes can shoot, play run and gun. However, no lock down defenders and elite paint protectors. Most cut from the same mental cloth too.
Long story short, IMO it's not for a lack of being untalented. It's a lack of putting the talented guys with the correct pieces around them.
Long story short, IMO it's not for a lack of being untalented. It's a lack of putting the talented guys with the correct pieces around them.
Apparently that's all it takes to make the all Big Ten team. Or maybe it's because Tyler was top fifteen in the conference in both scoring and rebounding. He's got more iota's than anyone else on this team.
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Smart coaches put rosters together so the pieces compliment each other. MSU has a lot of talent but who won defensive player of the year in the conference? McQuaid. I can't remember his name but they had some reserve guard knock down a bunch of shots for them yesterday. Why? Because other guys got him open looks and all he had to do was catch and shoot. Give me Bohannon and Wieskamp all day in that scenario BUT we have nobody to set them up.
It wasn't cold shooting last night that sunk Iowa. It was the inability to get any of the 1-3 players clean looks. The shots they took were rushed and contested so clearly your % is going down. Meanwhile Michigan got whatever they wanted and guys could have stopped to text a friend before shooting without an Iowa defender in the vicinity.
It wasn't cold shooting last night that sunk Iowa. It was the inability to get any of the 1-3 players clean looks. The shots they took were rushed and contested so clearly your % is going down. Meanwhile Michigan got whatever they wanted and guys could have stopped to text a friend before shooting without an Iowa defender in the vicinity.
Did Lute Olson have to pay Ronnie Lester to come to Iowa? Did Raveling pay BJ Armstrong?
Recruiting has to change. Yes we have 4 stars but as you all know, stars don’t mean crap. Matt painter said it perfectly “1-20 are legit players, you know what your getting. Outside of the top 20-300 you don’t know what you’ll end up with.”
His point was you can have good recruits not work and be average and you can have average recruits work their tails off and be successful.
Fran has the BIGS/POST players right now. He has to go find that 1-2 athletic guards. Guys who can facilitate the offense and attack.
His point was you can have good recruits not work and be average and you can have average recruits work their tails off and be successful.
Fran has the BIGS/POST players right now. He has to go find that 1-2 athletic guards. Guys who can facilitate the offense and attack.
This is where JT makes the biggest impact on the team next year. He can break his man down, find the open shooter or take to the basket.
I’m not a huge BB fan but watched the game against Maryland and was surprised how much success we’d had while looking so unathletic. Cook can dunk and has some explosiveness but struggles at creating for himself. Honesty, not sure how he thought he could go pro.
Only a Big 10 title (shared with MSU) and Final Four with Lester. Nothing of significance.
Totally agree, but would also like to mention WHY does our coach wait until we are 10 points behind to call a correction or stop the bleeding timeout???
Recruiting related: Footspeed is a problem. Aside from Cook, I don't think we have anybody with above average footspeed for their position.
Funny how fans can see this and not Fran.
On a similar note.....at one of the Hawk games I attended last season (don’t remember which one) I was sitting in front of my 5th-6th grade gym teacher who used to coach jr high BB (he is married to my cousin and is well-known in the Cedar Rapids sports scene). It was a close game. I don’t remember which player Fran put in, but he yelled out “No, Fran! Now we are going to give up 10 straight points!” Sure enough....the Hawks proceeded to give up 10 straight points.
Maybe not, but I'd sure as hell take a couple of elite 8's and a final 4 appearance about now. It's been a long drought....
It is probably as simple as he thought he was coming in to be the man. He played second fiddle on his HS team to Tatum. It’s obvious he wants to be that guy. This gave him the opportunity. And what everyone has found out is that Cook is better suited to be the 2nd or 3rd option. He’s a very good complimentary player but he’s not a go-to guy and I’m sure Fran and staff were hopeful he could be that go-to guy.
Both played in an elite 8, and Ronnie in the final four as you mentioned, so I'd take that about now....
What is, “yes?”
“At Iowa, Lester made an immediate impact, averaging 13.4 points as a freshman. Lester earned All-American honors in 1979, and First Team All-Big Tenhonors in 1978 and 1979. He led the Iowa Hawkeyes to a share of the 1979 Big Ten title and to the Final Four of the 1980 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.[3]”
Cook is a “go to” guy. He’s one of the few players who can consistently beat his man and that other teams actually gameplan for. But he can’t be the sole “go to” guy. He needs a midrange jumper to become a first team all big ten player.
Do you really expect him to have an instant impact? He has potential and could develop into a good player, but he is not going to be a panacea right away for what ails this team.
I respectfully disagree. He can’t carry a team. At least not at the level everyone here wants Iowa to be at. Isn’t that what everyone is complaining about? They want Iowa to be a Top 15 team with Final Four aspirations, not a middle of the pack Big Ten team that just makes the NCAA Tournament.
I’m sure Cook saw this as a chance to get away from Tatum’s shadow and establish himself as the main guy and Fran saw that athleticism and believed it. He’s a good College player. But he can’t shoot and can’t make free throws and he does not give full effort at all times. Every team in Big Ten above Iowa has a better go-to player then Cook. For Iowa to be better then they are, they need someone better then him to be the go-to guy.
Agree, wish we had JT this year and another with his quickness... Plus a few inches.
Cook IMO is not the "go to" guy because he may beat his man but cannot shoot worth a ****. And the problem is the only guy that can shoot consistently never can get shots in Iowa's screwed up half-court offense. Iowa, again IMO, does not have a "go to" guy and that is a MAJOR problem.
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He is really good at dunking and then screaming after the dunk.
Jordan Bohannon (barring injuries) will finish as the #1 3 point shooter in Hawkeye history and the #1 leader in assists in Hawkeye history. He may also end up in the Top 2 or 3 in B1G history in 3 pointers. What a terrible recruit.
If all these players suck Fran must be a DAMN good coach.. just a poor recruiter! Which I blame more on facilities
I am not discounting his three point shooting- he certainly has a knack in that regard. However, where exactly was this historic Hawkeye yesterday? He seems to have trouble with athletic guards. He was 4-12 and 2-7 in the first MSU game, 3-12 and 3-8 against Wiscy, 2-5 and 1-3 against Purdue, 1-7 and 1-7 against MSU in second game, 2-6 and 2-4 against Michigan, and against Wiscy 2nd game he was 3-11 and 2 for 8. I think this proves my point he struggles against the best guards in the league.
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Close to 40 years since Ronnie Lester won the last Big10 shared crown and later got Iowa to Final-4. 32 Years since BJ/Raveling recruits got us to Elite8 and beat the Indiana team that won the national title. Clearly those milestones are much further than anything since...but Iowa did have some other good PGs that elevated past Iowa teams.
Fans have told Fran to go out and get a stud PG. He needed to be Throwing more schollies at it hoping some one would stick vs taking so many slow footed shooting guards and big men. Fran's guard recruiting has been huge woof, because he sucks at evaluation on secondary prospects and when he does find a stud, closing the deal.
Fair enough, but Jordan will leave here as an all time great Hawkeye. He is not a great defender for sure.
Hard to say. It’s been quite a while since Coach K had to try to figure out how to deal with major gaps on his roster. However, I think it is pretty safe to say that he is a better X’s & O’s guy and is it smoother with the refs.
I think you're onto something ...a smaller downtown arena would generate excitement and by extension elevate recruiting.
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