To expand on my thoughts from the Charlie Moore thread. I can understand the feeling of urgency that some have to sign a kid like Moore. I think the main point seems to be that for Iowa to keep moving up in the Big Ten we've got to start signing top players out of state. And right now there are some recruits that look like they fit that need. Cook, Huerter, Simpson, Moore, maybe Rakocevic, a couple others. Just from what appears to be the most need, point guard, and the most likely to land, Moore, we're talking about him. But this is more about all of them.
Going into the sixth season that McCaffery has been Iowa's coach, that means we've had five classes actually appear on the court that Coach Fran had a hand in recruiting. Just to name one from each class. Basabe, White, Woodbury, Jok, Uhl. Two things to notice:
1) Every single player that Rivals ranked in their top 150 came from the state of Iowa.
2) Every year the program has advanced.
Now it's great to talk about moving up. But consider this. Not a single Iowa player from Jok's class was ranked in the top 150. Nor was there one in Uhl's class. And there wasn't one in our latest class, 2015. That's three years of a pretty tough drought. Yet again, every year the program has advanced. And while one could say that Gesell, Woody, Oglesby and Uthoff have all played a significant role, haven't we had some valuable contributions from some others as well? Others that arrived as unranked three stars.
My earlier point, "But too be honest, as much as I'd love to get Moore I think this is getting a little blown up. As in, more important than it really is."
Alright, what do I mean by more important than it really is?
After the 2011/12 season we were the team that couldn't defend. An 8-10 team that finished 197th on KenPom (defense). And we fans as a group noticed.
After the 2012/13 season we were the team that couldn't shoot straight. Somehow our defense got fixed. But our offense had dropped from 35th to 51st on KenPom. (Worse still, go back and look at our shooting percentages.)
After the 2013/14 season we were the team that collapsed at the end of the year. We could win close games. And how were we going to replace our only go to guy, Marble?
After the 2014/15 season, just this very last year, we were shrinking to pint sized peons. Now the upcoming season hasn't been played, but we don't look so terribly pint sized after all.
(More coming)
Going into the sixth season that McCaffery has been Iowa's coach, that means we've had five classes actually appear on the court that Coach Fran had a hand in recruiting. Just to name one from each class. Basabe, White, Woodbury, Jok, Uhl. Two things to notice:
1) Every single player that Rivals ranked in their top 150 came from the state of Iowa.
2) Every year the program has advanced.
Now it's great to talk about moving up. But consider this. Not a single Iowa player from Jok's class was ranked in the top 150. Nor was there one in Uhl's class. And there wasn't one in our latest class, 2015. That's three years of a pretty tough drought. Yet again, every year the program has advanced. And while one could say that Gesell, Woody, Oglesby and Uthoff have all played a significant role, haven't we had some valuable contributions from some others as well? Others that arrived as unranked three stars.
My earlier point, "But too be honest, as much as I'd love to get Moore I think this is getting a little blown up. As in, more important than it really is."
Alright, what do I mean by more important than it really is?
After the 2011/12 season we were the team that couldn't defend. An 8-10 team that finished 197th on KenPom (defense). And we fans as a group noticed.
After the 2012/13 season we were the team that couldn't shoot straight. Somehow our defense got fixed. But our offense had dropped from 35th to 51st on KenPom. (Worse still, go back and look at our shooting percentages.)
After the 2013/14 season we were the team that collapsed at the end of the year. We could win close games. And how were we going to replace our only go to guy, Marble?
After the 2014/15 season, just this very last year, we were shrinking to pint sized peons. Now the upcoming season hasn't been played, but we don't look so terribly pint sized after all.
(More coming)
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