MBB Portal Targets (confirmed contacts)
- Thread starter HawkHoops80
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Fran was interviewed on the Hawkeye Fanatic Radio Show (on KCJJ) this morning.
I hope he lands a guard as well.
I hope he lands a guard as well.
Reminder of the current roster:
* 11 on scholarship (2 PG, 1 SG, 5 forwards and 3 centers).
* 2 open scholarships.
I am guessing this is our 9 man rotation as of now (some may think I should switch Cooper with Ladji, which is fine):
The 5 Starters?
Senior, 6'3 PG Drew Thelwell
Junior, 6'5" SG Josh Dix
Freshman, 6'7" F Cooper Koch
Senior, 6'7" F Payton Sandfort
Soph, 6'10" C Owen Freeman
..................
4 Off the bench?
Soph, 6'0" PG Brock Harding
Soph, 6'7" F Pryce Sandfort
Soph, 6'8" PF Ladji Dembele
Fresh, 6'8" PF Chris Tadjo
..................
2 Others:
Senior, 6'9" F/C Even Brauns
Junior, 6'11" C Riley Mulvey
* 11 on scholarship (2 PG, 1 SG, 5 forwards and 3 centers).
* 2 open scholarships.
I am guessing this is our 9 man rotation as of now (some may think I should switch Cooper with Ladji, which is fine):
The 5 Starters?
Senior, 6'3 PG Drew Thelwell
Junior, 6'5" SG Josh Dix
Freshman, 6'7" F Cooper Koch
Senior, 6'7" F Payton Sandfort
Soph, 6'10" C Owen Freeman
..................
4 Off the bench?
Soph, 6'0" PG Brock Harding
Soph, 6'7" F Pryce Sandfort
Soph, 6'8" PF Ladji Dembele
Fresh, 6'8" PF Chris Tadjo
..................
2 Others:
Senior, 6'9" F/C Even Brauns
Junior, 6'11" C Riley Mulvey
If Thelwell beats out Harding for the starting point guard spot, he well have improved a lot from what I saw of games Morehead St. played last season, but Fran has the last say so we shall see. Either way Iowa has options if one or the other doesn't work out. Hopefully Iowa won't start the season in the hole like last season started. Fran waited way too long to get Freeman in the starting lineup for rebounding and not having Krikke and Patrick on the roster should improve the team by subtraction on the defensive side.
Good chance that Freeman, Dembele, and Cross will split most of the minutes at 4/5. I could see averages something like Freeman 25-30 min at 5, Cross 22-27 min at 4, Dembele 10-12 min at 5 and 12-15 min at 4, with freshmen and back up centers getting a few min at 4/5. I see Koch getting more min at 3 than 4 his first year.
Don’t forget about Tadjo. With the athleticism and motor he seems to have, I think he’ll be a great guy to provide energy off the bench.
Fran was raving about Tadjo on the radio this morning. I was already excited about him, but Fran's comments got me even more excited. Fran said that he expects Tadjo to come in and contribute immediately because the NBA Academy is basically a college-like atmosphere. Paraphrasing here a bit, but he said there's a reason ON3 has him as highly ranked as they do.
Tadjo, please be able to play the 3, please be able to play the 3, please be able to play the 3
I see nothing to indicate he could play on the perimeter. Looks more like a small 5 to me.
I agree. Based on the roster I think they need another guard.
Does Fran think the Sandforts could play the 2 in a pinch?
Because I like to mess with dicks like you. See how it got you all tied in knots sparky. I’ll post some additional non factors later so be looking for it! MMWHA!
I just don’t understand this at all.
I look at this team, both on paper and considering Fran’s teams historical performances, and this roster screams out the need for another fast, athletic guard. Someone who can really defend the perimeter.
I’m envisioning countless opposing guards blowing by slow, lanky forwards to the hoop time after time after time.
Oh well. What do I know. That’s why Fran gets the big money.
I look at this team, both on paper and considering Fran’s teams historical performances, and this roster screams out the need for another fast, athletic guard. Someone who can really defend the perimeter.
I’m envisioning countless opposing guards blowing by slow, lanky forwards to the hoop time after time after time.
Oh well. What do I know. That’s why Fran gets the big money.
Fran raves about all his players
We have open starting spots at the 3 and 4 and tons of minutes in the front court.
He's comfortable leaving scholarships unused? If that is true that is very disturbing to me.
Yeah, you'd think at some point he'd want to try something different.
The problem is when you are interested in a player like Tony Perkins but that player wants $400,000, which Iowa does not have. And Fran is not going to hand out a scholarship unless the player is a B1G player and fits his style of play.
Pay for play makes landing a quality transfer difficult and limits your options
And owen tadjo and dembele will be there to swat it away
Did you listen to the actual interview? That was the most "coach speak" line in the entire interview. What's he supposed to say? "Yeah my current roster sucks and we need a ton of help in the portal."
He made that quote directly after he said that they are working hard to bringing in a frontcourt player (AKA Matt Cross).
Reading between the lines of who they have contacted recently, they are looking at using the last scholarship on either a late 2024 guard or a cheap bench portal option.
Dix is a good defender and Thelwell graded out as a good defender as well. Cross will be a really good add if they pull this off--he's a very good rebounder for his size & position, gets to the foul line a lot and makes them at an 80+% clip and is able to switch onto smaller players and defend them if needed. He's a much better fit in every way at the 4 alongside Owen than Krikke ever was.
They’re a Wisconsin fan talking about the Badgers.
Entirely expected that Fran would be pursuing another slow twitch front court player given his roster building history.
Desperate need for athletic guards, goes after the other end of the spectrum. If there was an award for most unbalanced roster in the worst way Fran would be a regular contender.
Desperate need for athletic guards, goes after the other end of the spectrum. If there was an award for most unbalanced roster in the worst way Fran would be a regular contender.
Will Cooper visit on Friday? Maybe he gets to Wisky today and decides that is where he wants to go, just saying. Everybody here, thinks its a done deal. Not so sure.
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Did you mean Cross? If so, I agree I do not think it is a done deal and Wisconsin will be hard to beat for Cross. In fact, I really expect him to commit to Wisconsin, but JMO.
It would seem that they have an immediate starting position ready for him, and he does fit their system.
Unless Fran is telling him he starts day-1 and sells him on the fact that 100% of practice time is available to perfect his offense, then perhaps he'll swing him our way.
I prefer another guard over Cross. So it wouldn’t break my heart too much if he goes to Wisky.
Except Fran says he’s looking for another forward, so I don’t see another guard in the equation. I wonder if the lack of NIL money is why he’s not filling the roster. Would make sense to pay fewer guys more money. You don’t really need 13 players.
I don’t get all the angst about guard, you only have so many minutes. We will have one true point and two combo guards who can both defend, plus Pryce Sandfort, who I think is a better fit at the 2 than the 3. Not that it matters much.
I’m pretty excited about Tadjo coming in and beefing up our interior defense and rebounding. Same with Cross. Freeman needs help inside and those guys fit the need.
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