So which is it?

[AuroraHawk]

Seems like posts after Oregon’s win over the Hawkeyes can be broken down into two categories:

1. Fran McCaffrey is an idiot who can’t coach and blew an amazing opportunity with a team loaded with elite talent due to his poor coaching.

OR

2. Iowa’s roster - with exception of Garza and Wieskamp - was filled with players that would never see the court against Oregon.

Trying to figure out if Fran is a coaching idiot who wasted talent or a coaching genius who coached a bunch of scrubs into a 2 seed.

Hard to tell when reading the plethora of basketball experts on this Board.

 

[CalmHawk]

Seems like posts after Oregon’s win over the Hawkeyes can be broken down into two categories:

1. Fran McCaffrey is an idiot who can’t coach and blew an amazing opportunity with a team loaded with elite talent due to his poor coaching.

OR

2. Iowa’s roster - with exception of Garza and Wieskamp - was filled with players that would never see the court against Oregon.

Trying to figure out if Fran is a coaching idiot who wasted talent or a coaching genius who coached a bunch of scrubs into a 2 seed.

Hard to tell when reading the plethora of basketball experts on this Board.

3. Bad matchup against an Oregon team that shot almost 60% from the field, which was way above where they were. USC beat them after playing them 3 times and therefor had a scouting report that exploited them because they knew what their weaknesses were because of that.

 

[TampaHawkfan]

Oregon used up all its mojo against Iowa and came back down to earth against USC, it seems.

When does Iowa ever get an opponent in the 2nd round that is NOT playing it's A++++++++ game?

Pffffft.

 

[AuroraHawk]

3. Bad matchup against an Oregon team that shot almost 60% from the field, which was way above where they were. USC beat them after playing them 3 times and therefor had a scouting report that exploited them because they knew what their weaknesses were because of that.

Stop bringing reality into the analysis . . .

 

[TampaHawkfan]

3. Bad matchup against an Oregon team that shot almost 60% from the field, which was way above where they were. USC beat them after playing them 3 times and therefor had a scouting report that exploited them because they knew what their weaknesses were because of that.

I was being told that Iowa would do better in the tournament against teams that weren't familiar with us? So much for that theory..

 

[Slim45]

Our roster could get away with the lack of athleticism in the rough n tumble slower paced big10. In a free flowing up and down game against a very athletic Oregon, who also happened to shoot the lights out that day, our lack of athleticism really shined through. And lack of experience once the athletes did see the floor. That type of game was the exact reason lots of posters, including myself, were calling for more PT for perkins joeT and ulis.

 

[HawkIDrummer]

I love false, forced binary choices

 

[hexumhawk]

It can be more than one answer. We caught a hot team that day for sure but Iowa needs to address its overall athleticism on its roster, and needs to do it soon. Great to have some skill guys who can shoot but that doesn't help you when you cant get a shot off.

 

[Ihawkhoops]

I think some of both. On one hand you can say got Fran got the most out of the talent he had. On the other you can say Fran continues to underwhelm in roster management and upgrading talent at key spots. Ulis, Perkins and Murray should have gotten more PT throughout the season. Would we have seen Murray had Nunge not gotten injured in more than spot duty? Would Jbo have been more successful playing off the ball with Joe T. / Ulis / Perkins setting him up off the drive? Can you really afford to play Connor 30+ minutes when he is at best an average defender and brings nothing offensively?

My biggest gripe with Fran is that he doesn't give young guys a shot to add value to the team. It's "his guys" who get all the PT and as we saw this year, even when players are dinged up, Fran won't give others a shot. Murray was phenomenal. Perkins, despite sitting for 80% of the season, showed he is very capable of contributing. Patrick got better with every game. We didn't see enough of Ulis. It's like Fran doesn't want his veteran guys being pushed for PT, so he buries the bench guys.

 

[hawkguy77]

Oregon scored 56 points in the first half and shot 59% against us. Last night they scored 54 points in the first 33 minutes and were shooting 37% at that point in the game. I think the difference was they were not getting wide open looks from 3 and they were dunking the ball regularly.

 

[CalmHawk]

4 of the top 8 seeds have lost and are not in the elite 8. Does that mean those teams had bad coaching or were less athletic than their opponent? Or could it be they got bounced because a team got hot or they got cold..... Some of you need perspective on things.

 

[goodbyebobby]

Oregon scored 56 points in the first half and shot 59% against us. Last night they scored 54 points in the first 33 minutes and were shooting 37% at that point in the game. I think the difference was they were not getting wide open looks from 3 and they were dunking the ball regularly.

Amazing what defense can do when played by athletes with pro bodies, whether they play professionally or not, versus midwest kids without the same frames.....

 

[CalmHawk]

Amazing what defense can do when played by athletes with pro bodies, whether they play professionally or not, versus midwest kids without the same frames.....

Illinois, Ohio State..... what was their issues then? same thing?

 

[AuroraHawk]

Illinois, Ohio State..... what was their issues then? same thing?

Bingo ... give the man a prize.

 

[BBHawk]

Seems like posts after Oregon’s win over the Hawkeyes can be broken down into two categories:

1. Fran McCaffrey is an idiot who can’t coach and blew an amazing opportunity with a team loaded with elite talent due to his poor coaching.

OR

2. Iowa’s roster - with exception of Garza and Wieskamp - was filled with players that would never see the court against Oregon.

Trying to figure out if Fran is a coaching idiot who wasted talent or a coaching genius who coached a bunch of scrubs into a 2 seed.

Hard to tell when reading the plethora of basketball experts on this Board.

Neither. Tired team beat by a well-rested team. Pretty simple to see.

 

[Moral]

Injuries, lineup, coaching, shutdown on the perimeter, 3 starters totalling 0 points, at times having a lot of difficulty getting it to Garza depending on the lineup, playing into Oregon's fast up and down play, and catching a team that was on fire.

Oregon game planned perfectly for Iowa.

 

[fezzador]

Illinois, Ohio State..... what was their issues then? same thing?

The least complicated answer is that the B1G simply lags behind the other power conferences when it comes to producing NBA talent. I'm honestly stunned because there's some quality players in the conference footprint.

I think Juwan is about to step up the game talent-wise, and now it's on the rest of the B1G to catch up. Don't count on that happening at Iowa under Frankie's watch.

 

[AuroraHawk]

Injuries, lineup, coaching, shutdown on the perimeter, 3 starters totalling 0 points, at times having a lot of difficulty getting it to Garza depending on the lineup, playing into Oregon's fast up and down play, and catching a team that was on fire.

Oregon game planned perfectly for Iowa.

Altman took a page out of Juwan Howard playbook. Let Garza get his points; defend him as best as possible. Put best athlete on Wieskamp to make Wieskamp have to work hard to get points. Put a taller, long armed, quick defender on Bohannon. Put a good defender on a guy (CJ) who was clearly “not himself” since coming back and don’t spend any time worrying about whether CMac can score.

Altman essentially neutralized Bohannon, realized that CJ wasn’t much of a scoring threat, realized that Conner can’t score, forced Wieskamp to work really hard to get the ball in the hoop and accepted that Garza will do what Garza does.

Calculated strategy to stymie Iowa’s offense. Essentially force 2 players to outscore 5. Really good game plan.

 

[fezzador]

Injuries, lineup, coaching, shutdown on the perimeter, 3 starters totalling 0 points, at times having a lot of difficulty getting it to Garza depending on the lineup, playing into Oregon's fast up and down play, and catching a team that was on fire.

Oregon game planned perfectly for Iowa.

If JT can work on his free throws and become more of a threat from beyond the arc (say 35%+, and take more threes too), Iowa may finally have a backcourt strong enough to break through to the second weekend.

There's no replacing Luka, but Nunge seems to be sort of a Woodbury-type (low-to-mid scorer, but strong defense), plus the Murray brothers and PMac can rack up some serious minutes at the 4 and 5 and maybe even 3). Perkins has some promise at the 2.

 

[2432Hawk]

Oregon used up all its mojo against Iowa and came back down to earth against USC, it seems.

When does Iowa ever get an opponent in the 2nd round that is NOT playing it's A++++++++ game?

Pffffft.

Arkansas 1999

 

[Moral]

If JT can work on his free throws and become more of a threat from beyond the arc (say 35%+, and take more threes too), Iowa may finally have a backcourt strong enough to break through to the second weekend.

There's no replacing Luka, but Nunge seems to be sort of a Woodbury-type (low-to-mid scorer, but strong defense), plus the Murray brothers and PMac can rack up some serious minutes at the 4 and 5 and maybe even 3). Perkins has some promise at the 2.

He wasnt too shabby from FT the previous year when he was playing more and more settled in. Somewhere just over 80%.

He had a good deal of open looks from 3 this year and it looks like he really doesnt want to take them. I had to look but he was 3 for 11 from beyond the arc. Hopefully he becomes enough of a threat to at least get attention. 35% like you said would be good.

 

[goodbyebobby]

Illinois, Ohio State..... what was their issues then? same thing?

Piss poor defense by both, OSU was as bad as us all season and Illinois had no respect for Loyola.
And something is clearly incorrect with how teams are weighted, ranked, etc...

How is everyone so clearly wrong about the BT and Pac 12? I don't know and am genuinely curious.

 

[CalmHawk]

Piss poor defense by both, OSU was as bad as us all season and Illinois had no respect for Loyola.
And something is clearly incorrect with how teams are weighted, ranked, etc...

How is everyone so clearly wrong about the BT and Pac 12? I don't know and am genuinely curious.

Media bias. It was clear this year.

 

[StarHawk]

There is a reason for teams having their way with Iowa's defense...particularly 3 point shots, while you see Iowa's offense struggle to get wide open shots, because defenders on tightly guarding them...Iowa perimeter defenders are not tightly guarding people.

The reason is simple enough...QUICKNESS!... that guys like Conner (especially) and Bohannon do not want quicker guys blowing by them...so they hang back at a safer distance....and then try and throw up a hand when they see guy is going to shoot...too late.

Fran has pretty much made the decision that he will go with Conner as starter.....so we will see more of the same issues next year as far as he is concerned. I think there are some young athletic bench guys that can improve the defense next year if Fran makes the right calls there.

 

[MAXIMUSHAWKEYE]

I think some of both. On one hand you can say got Fran got the most out of the talent he had. On the other you can say Fran continues to underwhelm in roster management and upgrading talent at key spots. Ulis, Perkins and Murray should have gotten more PT throughout the season. Would we have seen Murray had Nunge not gotten injured in more than spot duty? Would Jbo have been more successful playing off the ball with Joe T. / Ulis / Perkins setting him up off the drive? Can you really afford to play Connor 30+ minutes when he is at best an average defender and brings nothing offensively?

My biggest gripe with Fran is that he doesn't give young guys a shot to add value to the team. It's "his guys" who get all the PT and as we saw this year, even when players are dinged up, Fran won't give others a shot. Murray was phenomenal. Perkins, despite sitting for 80% of the season, showed he is very capable of contributing. Patrick got better with every game. We didn't see enough of Ulis. It's like Fran doesn't want his veteran guys being pushed for PT, so he buries the bench guys.

This is the one year that Fran tightened up his rotation for whatever reason.He really relied on his starters for a majority of the minutes. We can all agree that Connor playing as many minutes that he did hurt this team. Murray should have been starting from the time the Big started. Years past we were complaining about his ten deep bench and off combos .

 

[Moral]

This is the one year that Fran tightened up his rotation for whatever reason.He really relied on his starters for a majority of the minutes. We can all agree that Connor playing as many minutes that he did hurt this team. Murray should have been starting from the time the Big started. Years past we were complaining about his ten deep bench and off combos .

I wish I didnt just look at Connors stats. Wonder how long they have known he needs double hip surgery. 32% from the floor and 58% from the line. 3pts per and 3 ast to 1 TO (dat ratio) Ouch.

 

[Bearhawk0505]

I wish I didnt just look at Connors stats. Wonder how long they have known he needs double hip surgery. 32% from the floor and 58% from the line. 3pts per and 3 ast to 1 TO (dat ratio) Ouch.

I appreciate some aspects of Connor’s game such as his passing ability, basketball IQ, and toughness. The issue is his game has two flaws at this level, 1- he can’t shoot, and 2-he can’t stay in front of any quick perimeter player. Having both of those issues creates an issue, especially when a player like KM is sitting.

 

[Moral]

I appreciate some aspects of Connor’s game such as his passing ability, basketball IQ, and toughness. The issue is his game has two flaws at this level, 1- he can’t shoot, and 2-he can’t stay in front of any quick perimeter player. Having both of those issues creates an issue, especially when a player like KM is sitting.

He seemed to have lost some of the toughness/edge he had in his two previous years which is one of my favorite this about him. Could also be injury related.

KM at 4 less minutes per game was 7pts, 5rbs, 1 block, 76% from the line and 50% from the floor.

 

[Ihawkhoops]

I wish I didnt just look at Connors stats. Wonder how long they have known he needs double hip surgery. 32% from the floor and 58% from the line. 3pts per and 3 ast to 1 TO (dat ratio) Ouch.

It defies logic. If there were no other options than a walk on player it makes sense. When you not only have options, but better options like Joe T. , Ulis, or Perkins it smacks of something else. Not sure how many times I heard watching tournament games 'This player was a starter last year but with the emergence of Player B, he now comes off the bench.' It happens just not at Iowa.

 

[SDHawkDoc]

Seems like posts after Oregon’s win over the Hawkeyes can be broken down into two categories:

1. Fran McCaffrey is an idiot who can’t coach and blew an amazing opportunity with a team loaded with elite talent due to his poor coaching.

OR

2. Iowa’s roster - with exception of Garza and Wieskamp - was filled with players that would never see the court against Oregon.

Trying to figure out if Fran is a coaching idiot who wasted talent or a coaching genius who coached a bunch of scrubs into a 2 seed.

Hard to tell when reading the plethora of basketball experts on this Board.

Both options offered are straw men.

Compared to his power conference coaching peers, Fran is neither an idiot or a genius. Somewhere in the middle of the pack. Plenty of decisions which could be questioned.
Again, compared to their power 5 peers, Iowa starters were relatively unathletic with two negative standouts at their respective positions. They were also relatively sound and proficient offensively in particular facets. Complicating matters further, better athletes were available on the bench but who (other than Keagan) had holes in their games opposite to the comparable starter.

The options offered miss a lot of important detail.

I suspect the OP already knows this.

 

[33hawkfan]

I think some of both. On one hand you can say got Fran got the most out of the talent he had. On the other you can say Fran continues to underwhelm in roster management and upgrading talent at key spots. Ulis, Perkins and Murray should have gotten more PT throughout the season. Would we have seen Murray had Nunge not gotten injured in more than spot duty? Would Jbo have been more successful playing off the ball with Joe T. / Ulis / Perkins setting him up off the drive? Can you really afford to play Connor 30+ minutes when he is at best an average defender and brings nothing offensively?

My biggest gripe with Fran is that he doesn't give young guys a shot to add value to the team. It's "his guys" who get all the PT and as we saw this year, even when players are dinged up, Fran won't give others a shot. Murray was phenomenal. Perkins, despite sitting for 80% of the season, showed he is very capable of contributing. Patrick got better with every game. We didn't see enough of Ulis. It's like Fran doesn't want his veteran guys being pushed for PT, so he buries the bench guys.

This is funny. Frans been criticized almost every year for playing too many guys. Now everyone wanted him to go 12 deep this year.

 

[Slim45]

He seemed to have lost some of the toughness/edge he had in his two previous years which is one of my favorite this about him. Could also be injury related.

KM at 4 less minutes per game was 7pts, 5rbs, 1 block, 76% from the line and 50% from the floor.

i fully expect connor coming off the bench next year. If for no other reason besides his injuries. Id like to see him go back to his role off the bench coming in and adding that bit of edginess in 10ish mpg. I think he can add some value in limited minutes and even just as an experienced leader that doesn’t play a lot. It’s good for the younger players to be held accountable by another player and maybe they’re more responsive to that, than a coach barking at them.

 

[Fan In Black]

yes

 

[Hawk_4shur]

Fran is a good coach and a good recruiter. He's not great at either.

Lots of folks here are saying what Fran should have done, like play Perkins and Ulis more, with 20/20 hindsight. Maybe he should have, IDK - but I don't think the record would be any better, and they might have lost one of those close games.

This stuff about Fran burying talent on the bench - the same thing KF gets - it's all nonsense. Fran wants to win more than anyone on this board.

The Hawks just finished a year most of us couldn't even imagine 5 years ago. And, now the Hawks are a bunch of no-talent hacks let by an idiot?

Please.

 

[Ihawkhoops]

This is funny. Frans been criticized almost every year for playing too many guys. Now everyone wanted him to go 12 deep this year.

Where did I say go 12 deep? Does it make sense to play guys who are clearly not 100% or even 75% when you have guys at 100%? For the first time in Fran's tenure, he has talented depth on the bench in Ulis, Perkins, Kris / Keegan Murray. We aren't talking about Dom Uhl, Riley Till, and Brady Ellingson. Nunge going down sucked, but it gave Murray a chance to show what he can do. I wonder what Ulis / Perkins could have shown if they were given a shot.

 

[33hawkfan]

Where did I say go 12 deep? Does it make sense to play guys who are clearly not 100% or even 75% when you have guys at 100%? For the first time in Fran's tenure, he has talented depth on the bench in Ulis, Perkins, Kris / Keegan Murray. We aren't talking about Dom Uhl, Riley Till, and Brady Ellingson. Nunge going down sucked, but it gave Murray a chance to show what he can do. I wonder what Ulis / Perkins could have shown if they were given a shot.

I’m not ready to say Kris, Ullis or Perkins would have been quality depth. If they played more and were badly exposed, you would be complaining about Fran playing so many guys.

 

[Slim45]

Fran is a good coach and a good recruiter. He's not great at either.

Lots of folks here are saying what Fran should have done, like play Perkins and Ulis more, with 20/20 hindsight. Maybe he should have, IDK - but I don't think the record would be any better, and they might have lost one of those close games.

This stuff about Fran burying talent on the bench - the same thing KF gets - it's all nonsense. Fran wants to win more than anyone on this board.

The Hawks just finished a year most of us couldn't even imagine 5 years ago. And, now the Hawks are a bunch of no-talent hacks let by an idiot?

Please.

Our record actually may have been worse by throwing young guys in the fire in the grueling big10...BUT, they would have been more experienced come tourney time and thats what matters! To me, Fran wasn’t willing to risk losing a few extra games by getting those guys more run. IMO, I believe it would have been beneficial by the end of the season. And it isn’t really hindsight’s 20/20...we ALL saw bohannon’s deficiencies this year, and we ALL knew cj was hobbled. That being said, that’s tough to do when you’re playing for a high seed in ncaa and you’re winning...im actually a pretty big supporter of fran overall.

 

[Hawk_4shur]

Our record actually may have been worse by throwing young guys in the fire in the grueling big10...BUT, they would have been more experienced come tourney time and thats what matters! To me, Fran wasn’t willing to risk losing a few extra games by getting those guys more run. IMO, I believe it would have been beneficial by the end of the season. And it isn’t really hindsight’s 20/20...we ALL saw bohannon’s deficiencies this year, and we ALL knew cj was hobbled. That being said, that’s tough to do when you’re playing for a high seed in ncaa and you’re winning...im actually a pretty big supporter of fran overall.

Ok. I respectfully disagree. You win the games that are in front of you.

Lose two more games and you're not a 2 - you're a 5 or a 6. Still likely to get beat trying to get to the S16.

 

[Ihawkhoops]

I’m not ready to say Kris, Ullis or Perkins would have been quality depth. If they played more and were badly exposed, you would be complaining about Fran playing so many guys.

When Fran gets past the second round you can point out where I am wrong. Until then, my POV

Our record actually may have been worse by throwing young guys in the fire in the grueling big10...BUT, they would have been more experienced come tourney time and thats what matters! To me, Fran wasn’t willing to risk losing a few extra games by getting those guys more run. IMO, I believe it would have been beneficial by the end of the season. And it isn’t really hindsight’s 20/20...we ALL saw bohannon’s deficiencies this year, and we ALL knew cj was hobbled. That being said, that’s tough to do when you’re playing for a high seed in ncaa and you’re winning...im actually a pretty big supporter of fran overall.

Fair points. Fran will never win a big ten title or BTT championship and I am fine with that. Fran has legit depth this season unlike years past when going to the bench = a major drop off in talent. It's not a stretch saying Pmac, Joe T, Perkins, Ulis and Murray are more athletic than the starters. How many coaches don't leverage that? It took Nunge going down for Murray to see the court and Murray was, IMO, Iowa's 3rd best player.

Last point. Look at the scores of the Sweet 16 games. They aren't the Globetrotters vs. Washington Generals games like Iowa gets into. These teams play defense. Players play D or they don't play. Crimminy, Houston held OSU to 17 points in the first half. Does Iowa bear any resemblance to these teams athletically?

 

[Slim45]

Ok. I respectfully disagree. You win the games that are in front of you.

Lose two more games and you're not a 2 - you're a 5 or a 6. Still likely to get beat trying to get to the S16.

There are upsets every year by teams that get hot at the end of the season that are lower seeds. I wasn’t saying you throw games just because you wanna get the younger guys in there, but he needed to pick and choose times to get those guys more minutes. See the rutgers game, perkins and ulis got extended time and we pulled out a close win...GREAT learning experience for those guys! But what does fran do the following however many games?! Makes them ride the pine! HOW does that make sense?! You should reward those players with more playing time, not less