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Sick of being a bridesmaid!

Chicagoherky71

Team MVP
Nov 20, 2007
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Things were looking great to land Estrella and now signs are starting to point to him picking TN. Just wish we didn't finish as the runner up all the damn time. SMH
 
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I know I sleep a lot but without looking at my phone I don't think it's September the 2nd yet. Before some of you threaten to jump off a cliff remember there's still over 12 days left before he officially names his forever school.
Some of these recruits love to prank the schools fan bases and it wasn't too long ago everyone thought Luka was going to turn pro before returning for his senior season and if by chance the rumor is correct that the college in Tennessee is his destination, Iowa still is in the running for JT Rock and has already commitments for 2023 from Owen Freemen, Brock Harding, and Pryce Sandford. RELAX.....
 
You can't dwell on what might happen or what does happen. Sit back and enjoy the ride. Life is too short to worry about the small stuff. In the grand scheme of things, where an 18 year old decides to go to school is of little importance.

Your family, God, your community, and living every day like it's your last is far more important. Enjoy the ride!
 
I don’t get how people believe Iowa is always “the bridesmaid” I’m going to say that probably 95% of teams don’t get the player or players at the top of there list! But then again this is social media…..so facts aren’t really that important!
 
Fran has done his part, Put Iowa in the best possible light and showed the young man how he would fit in, As a fan pretty much all I can hope for, If he chooses to go elsewhere not much you can do. Sure sounds like one thing is clear, Fran and his staff don’t fail because of lack of effort.
 
My wife has stage 4 cancer this is away to get away for a short time . This is lowa time lets go Iowa . My God is first my family is second and Iowa Hawkeyes are third

Wishing the best for your wife and you, My ex wife had stage 4 breast cancer, After treatment she has been cancer free for 6+ years. Again wishing the best for you!
 
Things were looking great to land Estrella and now signs are starting to point to him picking TN. Just wish we didn't finish as the runner up all the damn time. SMH

We have one scholarship left for the 2023 class. We are still in the running for both JP Estrella and TJ Power to fill that scholarship.

Owen Freeman visited Iowa on Oct 8, 2021 and committed 3 days later. And Fran beat out these schools (who served as bride's maids) for Owen:

Illinois (home state school)
Purdue
Michigan State
Ohio State
Indiana
Wisconsin
Notre Dame
Northwestern (home state school)
Marquette
Butler
Wake Forest

Fran also beat out both bride's maids Wisconsin & Purdue for 2024 FOUR STAR, Top 100 Cooper Koch.

So much for the "Iowa is always the bride's maid" and "just wish we didn't finish as the runner up all the damn time" narratives.
 
I can remember back in the day, (before the Internet) when all the basketball publications of the time thought Lute had Terry Cumings and Mark Aquirre coming to Iowa. He didn't land either one but we still went on to have a very successful program. In the same way, we are going to be fine.
I believe the challenge isn’t that fans think the Hawks will be “fine”, just that they want more and know better recruiting is one of the stepping stones to “better”
 
Things were looking great to land Estrella and now signs are starting to point to him picking TN. Just wish we didn't finish as the runner up all the damn time. SMH
Just think how the coaches must feel? Follow these kids all over the country, kiss their butts, make all kinds of arrangements for visits to go perfectly, spend time catering to parents, make video presentations, work with academic folks to help, constantly calling, texting, talking to HS and AAU coaches, now being versed in NIL, and more….and then a kid that seems to have loved everything you’ve done…..chooses another program…
 
Meh we will pry sign some late bloomer who ends up better
I'll be interested to see how Fran pivots--obviously the big names are Power and Booth. Out of the guys we've already extended offers to, Heide would make the most sense if Fran feels he really wants a big man.

Wouldn't call him a late bloomer, but a name I thought Iowa was going to offer after Peach Jam was Comeh Emuobor who's a CG that will be playing at Brewster this next year. Eldridge follows him on Twitter and I know Fran watched a game of his at Peach Jam and watched him plenty in June when he was running with Brewster for the first time. He has gotten some high major offers but hasn't really visited anywhere yet. If Iowa's okay with a guard, this is who I hope they go after.

The other name is the Ellsworth community college big man Seye. He seems to be getting some high major looks, though Fran hasn't jumped into the mix yet from what I've seen.

 
After JP left Iowa I thought for sure he had discovered his home for the next few years. Had nothing but great things to report, got along great with the coaches and the players and his parents even enjoyed the trip. Sandfort was already making room in his dorm room to bunk with Estrella. Then he went to Syracuse, had a decent time but I still thought Iowa was his choice. Then, all of a sudden, we get that he is being drawn to Tenneessee? Something dramatic happened and I have to assume in was money from the NIL. I just hope young Mr. Estrella doesn't let the pocketbook make the decision for him. There will be plenty of money to be had at Iowa and he will get to play for a great coach and in a system that will feature his skills and with the greatest teammates he could hope for. I hope he is giving this some serious thought and picks with his heart.
 
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Just think how the coaches must feel? Follow these kids all over the country, kiss their butts, make all kinds of arrangements for visits to go perfectly, spend time catering to parents, make video presentations, work with academic folks to help, constantly calling, texting, talking to HS and AAU coaches, now being versed in NIL, and more….and then a kid that seems to have loved everything you’ve done…..chooses another program…

Honestly they know it's part of the business. They are bummed but they move on.
 
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After JP left Iowa I thought for sure he had discovered his home for the next few years. Had nothing but great things to report, got along great with the coaches and the players and his parents even enjoyed the trip. Sandfort was already making room in his dorm room to bunk with Estrella. Then he went to Syracuse, had a decent time but I still thought Iowa was his choice. Then, all of a sudden, we get that he is being drawn to Tenneessee? Something dramatic happened and I have to assume in was money from the NIL. I just hope young Mr. Estrella doesn't let the pocketbook make the decision for him. There will be plenty of money to be had at Iowa and he will get to play for a great coach and in a system that will feature his skills and with the greatest teammates he could hope for. I hope he is giving this some serious thought and picks with his heart.
Again, he visited Tennessee 2 separate times before he ever visited Iowa, an official and an unofficial. Tennessee's media for basketball is basically non-existent but who's to say he also didn't have glowing remarks to say about them after the visit? I'm sure Tennessee does have a nice bag to drop to him, but I highly doubt that's the only factor here. He probably just really likes the campus and coaching staff--hence why he took a second visit.
 
Rick Barnes is a good coach (not an elite coach) but he is a VERY good recruiter.

He signed top 10 classes the last two years at Tennessee. He had some monster classes at Texas with numerous 5 stars and, lets not forget, he's the guy who locked down Kevin Durant.

I think objectively, Iowa has more to offer Estrella than Tennessee. But good recruiters can convince kids to not necessarily take the best fit. That's the way of college sports, and its really the way of the world.

Disappointing, yes. Surprising, no.
 
Rick Barnes is a good coach (not an elite coach) but he is a VERY good recruiter.

He signed top 10 classes the last two years at Tennessee. He had some monster classes at Texas with numerous 5 stars and, lets not forget, he's the guy who locked down Kevin Durant.

I think objectively, Iowa has more to offer Estrella than Tennessee. But good recruiters can convince kids to not necessarily take the best fit. That's the way of college sports, and its really the way of the world.

Disappointing, yes. Surprising, n

Rick Barnes is a good coach (not an elite coach) but he is a VERY good recruiter.

He signed top 10 classes the last two years at Tennessee. He had some monster classes at Texas with numerous 5 stars and, lets not forget, he's the guy who locked down Kevin Durant.

I think objectively, Iowa has more to offer Estrella than Tennessee. But good recruiters can convince kids to not necessarily take the best fit. That's the way of college sports, and its really the way of the world.

Disappointing, yes. Surprising, no.
While I don't really think of Tennessee as a basketball school they averaged over 18K fans a game last year, which is top 5 in the country. It's a damn good atmosphere there. Then go watch a game at Carver. Ugh.
 
While I don't really think of Tennessee as a basketball school they averaged over 18K fans a game last year, which is top 5 in the country. It's a damn good atmosphere there. Then go watch a game at Carver. Ugh.
Precisely..... we all want Fran to take the program to the next level.... well we all need to do our part the best we can.

Contribute to the NIL funds
Get to CHA and make it a sold out nightmare for opponents!

If we fill it..... they will come!
 
Did something come out where Estrella indicated a preference for Tennessee, or did some talking head just predict the Vols?
 
After JP left Iowa I thought for sure he had discovered his home for the next few years. Had nothing but great things to report, got along great with the coaches and the players and his parents even enjoyed the trip. Sandfort was already making room in his dorm room to bunk with Estrella. Then he went to Syracuse, had a decent time but I still thought Iowa was his choice. Then, all of a sudden, we get that he is being drawn to Tenneessee? Something dramatic happened and I have to assume in was money from the NIL. I just hope young Mr. Estrella doesn't let the pocketbook make the decision for him. There will be plenty of money to be had at Iowa and he will get to play for a great coach and in a system that will feature his skills and with the greatest teammates he could hope for. I hope he is giving this some serious thought and picks with his heart.
Not to be that guy, but there's nothing wrong with Estrella if greater NIL money is a factor in his decision. If my son was Division I basketball material and he was making a choice between 2 comparable schools that no one had any emotional attachment to (growing up a fan, parent an alumni, etc.) significant NIL money would make a difference. I would tell my son it shouldn't be the only factor or even the biggest factor, but one nonetheless. Unless you are already very wealthy, how can you tell your son to turn down money in the hundreds of thousands of dollars by choosing one school over another? Starting post-college life with no debt and a more money already than most Americans will end up saving ever is a great place to be.
 
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Precisely..... we all want Fran to take the program to the next level.... well we all need to do our part the best we can.

Contribute to the NIL funds
Get to CHA and make it a sold out nightmare for opponents!

If we fill it..... they will come!
Yep. Spot on. NIL will end up mattering in football and basketball a lot, but it's especially crucial on the basketball side now. The top tier players are just going to expect it. Period.
 
Who cares that these talking heads have to say they're just trying to sell subscriptions. Sound like he was pretty sold on Iowa but again I wonder about NIL. I don't like the thought of sports coming down to pay for play cuz that's really what it is and an awful lot of the colleges. And if that's what it's going to be they need to get rid of it as soon as possible.
 
While I don't really think of Tennessee as a basketball school they averaged over 18K fans a game last year, which is top 5 in the country. It's a damn good atmosphere there. Then go watch a game at Carver. Ugh.

Precisely..... we all want Fran to take the program to the next level.... well we all need to do our part the best we can.

Contribute to the NIL funds
Get to CHA and make it a sold out nightmare for opponents!

If we fill it..... they will come!

This is why I was worried about Iowa landing Cooper Koch. Cooper commented many times on how awesome the game environments were at Mackey Arena and the Kohl Center.

Cooper rushed the court
when Wisconsin beat Purdue, clinching the regular season B1G Championship.

Iowa winning the B1G Tournament Championship and beating Purdue probably paid more dividends than we will ever know.

These are from Cooper's visits to Purdue & Wisky in March:



 
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