Some perspective on CJ

[TritonHawkeye]

Sliding all the way to UCLA ........ Plenty of light in LA

In my opinion the best landing spot would be Nevada. Their appears to be some Alford DNA in CJ. He may as well hone his skill of deceit and dishonesty from one of the best

 

[SDHawkDoc]

Where did I call for Iowa to make the Final 4? My expectation going into this year was to compete in a 2nd round game. Is that crazy unrealistic? Why do Fran's team fail in postseason? Guard play. How long has Fran had to address this? 10 years. Regarding JW, if you think I am full of crap, then listen to TK's podcast from the other day. He said 99% sure JW is not coming back.

I agree in principle with the challenges you mentioned re: Iowa. So how has Fran demonstrated a creative approach to overcome this? Transfers seem like common sense. Fran has positioned transfers as 'risky' and potentially damaging to team chemistry and the locker room. I think this is bs. There are plenty of good kids out there and I am not advocating Fran go rogue with an ISU, KSU, Nebraska approach. How much risk do you have with a kid who has already graduated looking to spend their final year playing at a higher level? Run it by the team like other coaches (Mark Few comes to mind with Nemhard and Cook Jr.). Fran positions this like it's some nuclear option and I think that is ridiculous.

That's a great question.

So he doesn't want to take chances on players who are on there 2nd or 3rd stop, has past behavior questions, etc. Fine.

But does that mean the only option is high schoolers that have to be developed? It shouldn't.

How about a JC kid that has matured? What about overseas connections(not including players that are foreign born but went to prep school here)? And, yes, even the kids in the portal that are there for the first time who maybe just didn't land in the right spot when making their decision as a 17 year old.

 

[fezzador]

In my opinion the best landing spot would be Nevada. Their appears to be some Alford DNA in CJ. He may as well hone his skill of deceit and dishonesty from one of the best

I don't wish CJ ill will, but I think his contributions at Iowa were definitely overrated. He showed flashes of brilliance at Iowa, but injuries or no injuries, any starting P5 2-guard should be averaging double-figures. I don't think it can be realistically argued that CJF at 85% was better than Anthony Perkins at 100%.

I think JT and Perkins have the potential to give Fran his best backcourt since he arrived at Iowa. Defense is going to be leaps-and-bounds better, and neither has to rely on the 3 to get their points, but if one (or both) make the 3 a real weapon, look out.

 

[Ihawkhoops]

I don't wish CJ ill will, but I think his contributions at Iowa were definitely overrated. He showed flashes of brilliance at Iowa, but injuries or no injuries, any starting P5 2-guard should be averaging double-figures. I don't think it can be realistically argued that CJF at 85% was better than Anthony Perkins at 100%.

I think JT and Perkins have the potential to give Fran his best backcourt since he arrived at Iowa. Defense is going to be leaps-and-bounds better, and neither has to rely on the 3 to get their points, but if one (or both) make the 3 a real weapon, look out.

Good points. Likely the offense sputters a bit given the departures of key scorers, but I anticipate better D (as you pointed out) and more turnovers + fast break opportunities given how disruptive guys like Joe T., Murray, Pmac and Perkins will be with their length and quickness.

If Fran can add a piece or two and if Mulvey / Josh can contribute offensively / defensively, I think there is the potential to see vastly different brand of Iowa basketball next year.

 

[SDHawkDoc]

Good points. Likely the offense sputters a bit given the departures of key scorers, but I anticipate better D (as you pointed out) and more turnovers + fast break opportunities given how disruptive guys like Joe T., Murray, Pmac and Perkins will be with their length and quickness.

If Fran can add a piece or two and if Mulvey / Josh can contribute offensively / defensively, I think there is the potential to see vastly different brand of Iowa basketball next year.

As long as there's not an over correction I'm looking forward to more emphasis on D.

 

[BurnGreen]

All of you whiners are babbling at this point. Let's see what the roster looks like in November and have confidence that these guys will come together as a team. Individuals with accolades that haven't proven it are not saviors. Next year will be a different team and we have athletes that have played some basketball in their career and let's have some faith they will click together. No need to be miserable.

 

[Jizzer]

The

Because Fran is pretty much the second coming of Doc Tom, who ultimately did NOT get extended.

Davis took advantage of the (relatively) insane amount of talent that his predecessors left behind and rode them into some pretty impressive tourney runs early on, but just like Fran, Davis had a reputation for being a lazy recruiter and stubborn to a fault, which generally isn't a recipe for anything except moderate success. I'm guessing Fran could have probably ridden BJ Armstrong and Roy Marble to a Sweet 16 too, as not one of his teams had the talent Iowa had in the 80s.

Long story short, Iowa can be better because Iowa has been better.

It isn't hard, if you aren't going to fire him, you HAVE to extend a coach if you're going to keep him for recruiting purposes. That's it. Being we couldn't fire our coach for putting us in the top ten the majority of the year, we had to extend him. It's not about Barta or Fran, it's about the coaching contract situation in college bball. Coaches don't run out their contracts, they get bought out if they aren't performing well. When they get under 2-3 years left, a decision is made to extend or fire. Barta made the right decision based on the last couple years, whether some of you guys like it or not.
Listen, I get the disdain for Fran. We are unfortunately stuck in a unique situation compared to most. We have been good enough to make Fran look good by making the tourney the last half decade, while at the same time, we haven't made enough noise to make all the fans happy. It is Iowa basketball.

 

[Jizzer]

Huh? We didn't make the tourney in 17 and 18 so he would have made it 3x in 5 years but if Garza doesn't choose Iowa would he have made any? Probably, but even in 19 Garza was a point from being our leading scorer. Dude has carried the program last couple years and that's because of his dad and an unreal off-season work ethic. Fran has only made the field of 64 twice in 8 years without Garza being a big contributor. He's not great and he's not awful, the next few seasons will show what Fran is as a coach. My theory is nepotism and joke defense is already contributing to his future mediocrity

Ah, yes, my bad. Still 5 of the last 7 years, as Iowa would have made the tournament had last year been played. That's not a bad thing. Four of those, winning a game. Also, let's not use the argument that if so and so wasn't here, he was, and Fran should get credit for that.

 

[Ronman]

Yeah that is odd. Who knows? Seems like there had to be some rift that developed along the way given Fran's relationship to his dad or uncle whoever it is.

Oddly enough, McCaffery didn't seem aware of it.

 

[HawkRugged17]

Players are going to leave ...

 

[amahawk]

If CJ is gone , good bye and good luck. Then move on.