Step back from the ledge

[CP84]

I think our great run in January was the anomaly. This is a good team but by no means a great team. There is a reason why they were predicted to finish ninth. You don't lose two good post players in White and Olaseni without any meaningful impact additions and expect massive improvement. Quite frankly I'm surprised this team even won 20 games.

The positive news is I believe this program has a bright future. Tyler cook likely wouldn't have given this program a glancing look 6 - 7 years ago. We also have a handful of other 4-star recruits in the works for the next three seasons.

Fran needs to get on track and figure out the end-of-season meltdowns but it's premature to be calling for his head.

 

[grosie#2]

Hopefully he's recruited at least one 4 star guard. If he hasn't then u might be looking through rose colored glasses.

 

[DarkThunder#61]

He needs to recruit a 6"9-10 240 lb big guy to bang inside and score putbacks. We don't have that right now with our 7'1" guy.

That and a Michael Jordan type to appease all the fans clamoring for a guard. Might as f***ing well, right?

(Insert other posters' witty retorts about how it would be better than Gesell and Clemmons.....p.s. nobody cares)

 

[Razorhawk2]

I think our great run in January was the anomaly. This is a good team but by no means a great team. There is a reason why they were predicted to finish ninth. You don't lose two good post players in White and Olaseni without any meaningful impact additions and expect massive improvement. Quite frankly I'm surprised this team even won 20 games.

The positive news is I believe this program has a bright future. Tyler cook likely wouldn't have given this program a glancing look 6 - 7 years ago. We also have a handful of other 4-star recruits in the works for the next three seasons.

Fran needs to get on track and figure out the end-of-season meltdowns but it's premature to be calling for his head.

Agree with everything you said. Disappointing end of season but how many teams are NOT playing in the "Big Dance" and are all those schools looking for a new coach? This basketball board is starting to look like the Nebraska football board when Pelini was just giving them 9 wins a year.

 

[PhantomFlyer]

This was a massive choke job. I'm sorry, this team is starting 4 seniors and 1 jr, no excuse for this meltdown. You have one of the best players in the conference, 2 very good players, and it's choke city. Fran should be under a microscope next year. He's making Crean look like a good coach in comparison.

 

[EZ2BJZ]

It boils down to guard play. When you look at the teams who advance the furthest tournament time, they almost across the board have an excellent back court. Iowa was one Tyler Ullis away from a Big Ten championship this year and a legitimate Final Four run.

Although frustrating, I agree with the OP and think Iowa's best days with Fran are ahead of them.

 

[Scott559]

Without flaming anyone, Just an observation, When you watch Iowa play game in and game out in the Big, How many times have you felt the Hawks were the more athletic team? So many teams have guys that with the game on the line or the shot clock winding down they can just go get their own shot, Iowa not so much. I do think the Hawks are getting more and more athletic, It's just taking time. I know this year is frustrating as hell, But we are just not a real athletic team at this point in time. I do believe help is on the way though.

 

[GPRHAWK]

I'm sorry but a team is remembered for how they finish. If they win a couple NCAA tournament games, I'll say this was a good team but right now this is not even an okay team. They are a bad team.

 

[Razorhawk2]

This was a massive choke job. I'm sorry, this team is starting 4 seniors and 1 jr, no excuse for this meltdown. You have one of the best players in the conference, 2 very good players, and it's choke city. Fran should be under a microscope next year. He's making Crean look like a good coach in comparison.

Massive shooting slump yes, massive choke job no.

 

[CP84]

This was a massive choke job. I'm sorry, this team is starting 4 seniors and 1 jr, no excuse for this meltdown. You have one of the best players in the conference, 2 very good players, and it's choke city. Fran should be under a microscope next year. He's making Crean look like a good coach in comparison.

What am I missing? Wasn't Crean the top coach in the Big Ten this year?

 

[CP84]

I'm sorry but a team is remembered for how they finish. If they win a couple NCAA tournament games, I'll say this was a good team but right now this is not even an okay team. They are a bad team.

They are playing bad basketball of late. Bad teams don't win 20 games and beat MSU and Purdue each twice. Most of their losses down the stretch were decided in the final two minutes. To me that's more of a reflection of poor decision-making then it is the team's ability.

 

[Razorhawk2]

I'm sorry but a team is remembered for how they finish. If they win a couple NCAA tournament games, I'll say this was a good team but right now this is not even an okay team. They are a bad team.

This team is still good but the problem was at one time we all thought they were great. Bad teams...see Rutgers or Minnesota. Terrible teams...check the bottom 3 or 4 teams in ever conference outside the power 5 conferences.

 

[GPRHAWK]

Rutgers and Minnesota are beyond bad. We are bad like PSU, Illinois and Nebraska.

 

[HerkysDad]

I still have my freebee T-shirt with Fran's line that says "Let's get MAD again! Is it time to put it back on?

 

[Razorhawk2]

They are playing bad basketball of late. Bad teams don't win 20 games and beat MSU and Purdue each twice. Most of their losses down the stretch were decided in the final two minutes. To me that's more of a reflection of poor decision-making then it is the team's ability.

Agree with pretty much everything you said, every one of the losses have come in the final two minutes but I don't think it's so much the decision making as the ability to make a stop and/or hit a shot when needed.

 

[Razorhawk2]

I still have my freebee T-shirt with Fran's line that says "Let's get MAD again! Is it time to put it back on?

I like it!

 

[Razorhawk2]

Rutgers and Minnesota are beyond bad. We are bad like PSU, Illinois and Nebraska.

The three teams you listed really aren't bad they seem to be trending up. PSU beat Indiana and Iowa, Illinois beat Purdue and Iowa and Nebraska beat Michigan State.

 

[GPRHAWK]

The three teams you listed really aren't bad they seem to be trending up. PSU beat Indiana and Iowa, Illinois beat Purdue and Iowa and Nebraska beat Michigan State.

 

[bravehawks1]

Are we the first team this year to be top 6 seed in power 5 conference and lose to double digit seed? If not, we are only team to do it for last two years! And if that is not to concern you, it is the third straight year! That should tell you this team or this coach is not as good as we think. It may be both

 

[GPRHAWK]

Well okay. PSU, Nebraska, and Illinois were 4,6 and 8 games below .500 in conference and let's see how they finish the tournament. I guess we agree Iowa is on the same level as those teams. If u think those aren't "bad teams" then I guess we can just agree to disagree on that.

 

[grosie#2]

Good teams find a way to win. Bad teams find a way to lose. Iowa is a bad team.

 

[Razorhawk2]

Well okay. PSU, Nebraska, and Illinois were 4,6 and 8 games below .500 in conference and let's see how they finish the tournament. I guess we agree Iowa is on the same level as those teams. If u think those aren't "bad teams" then I guess we can just agree to disagree on that.

Bad teams don't make the field of 64...

 

[Razorhawk2]

Good teams find a way to win. Bad teams find a way to lose. Iowa is a bad team.

As I just stated bad teams don't make the field of 64...bad teams don't spend much of the season in the top 25...All good teams have shooting slumps some longer than others.

 

[GPRHAWK]

Nebraska has lost 5 of their last 6. Their only win is against Rutgers. Hate to see their downward trend. PSU has won 3 of their last 6 but the 3 wins are against Illinois, Rutgers and Nebraska. Illinois has won 3 of their last 6. 2 wins were Minnesota and one was Iowa.

 

[GPRHAWK]

Bad teams don't make the field of 64...

We are bad now. That was my point. During the season we went from okay to really good to bad.

 

[Razorhawk2]

We are bad now. That was my point. During the season we went from okay to really good to bad.

So when they win they're good and when they lose they're bad doesn't matter how the other team plays in those games.

 

[GPRHAWK]

So when they win they're good and when they lose they're bad doesn't matter how the other team plays in those games.

Not going to argue any more. You think we're good. I think we're bad right now. You think Illinois, PSU and Nebraska are playing good. I still think they are all bad teams. Neither of us will change our minds. I'm sure we both hope we play like the January Iowa team in the NCAA tournament.

 

[DavenportHawk8]

We are still #27 in the RPI. That is just so strange to see after our collapse. I mean if all our numbers stay the same (probably will fluctuate a little) but we are still one of the top 30 teams in college basketball according to the #'s. Plus when you put our resume up vs other teams they have to have some of the best wins, but also have 2 bonehead losses.

 

[IUT]

This was a massive choke job. I'm sorry, this team is starting 4 seniors and 1 jr, no excuse for this meltdown. You have one of the best players in the conference, 2 very good players, and it's choke city. Fran should be under a microscope next year. He's making Crean look like a good coach in comparison.

Still bashing the Big Ten coach of the year? Under the circumstances, don't you think that's kind of lame?

 

[Lonetreehawk]

It's really a matter of what most predicted before the season. We don't have enough physical strength inside to overcome a backcourt of sub-standard shooters. Everyone has figured out that they can sag off of Gessell & Clemmons, to clog the lane and help out as best they can on denying Uthoff & Jok touches. How many times of late in the crunch have we seen Mike or Sapp dribbling at the top of the key for most of the shot clock with no outlet to Jared or Pete?

Hopefully Pete can add 10-15 lbs. of muscle this off-season, cause their gonna beat the hell out of him next year. With any luck, Uhl, Wagner, Jones, Cook, Pemsl & Kreiner will be able to play strong enough to hold their ground inside to allow the offense to flow. Length and agility is all well and good, but B1G & post-season play is physical, ...and we're not!

 

[grosie#2]

So when they win they're good and when they lose they're bad doesn't matter how the other team plays in those games.

After watching this team lose to PSU, Illinois, OSU, barely beat the Gophers, lose at home to an average Wisconsin team and a little above average Indiana team, I would say they forgot how to win and r bad.

 

[PhantomFlyer]

It's really a matter of what most predicted before the season. We don't have enough physical strength inside to overcome a backcourt of sub-standard shooters. Everyone has figured out that they can sag off of Gessell & Clemmons, to clog the lane and help out as best they can on denying Uthoff & Jok touches. How many times of late in the crunch have we seen Mike or Sapp dribbling at the top of the key for most of the shot clock with no outlet to Jared or Pete?

Hopefully Pete can add 10-15 lbs. of muscle this off-season, cause their gonna beat the hell out of him next year. With any luck, Uhl, Wagner, Jones, Cook, Pemsl & Kreiner will be able to play strong enough to hold their ground inside to allow the offense to flow. Length and agility is all well and good, but B1G & post-season play is physical, ...and we're not!

Great post. You can't win in the B1G if you can't play physical. As long as officials swallow their whistles, and you know they will as the season goes along and you get into postseason, you have to be able to mix it up with physical teams.

Iowa has 2 guards who are offensively challenged and no big body outside of Woody. They live and die with jumpshots. Need guards who can shoot and drive to the bucket. Can't rely on all your offense coming from wings who mostly score shooting jump shots.

 

[IUT]

" a little above average Indiana team"

You serious, Clark?

 

[PhantomFlyer]

Massive shooting slump yes, massive choke job no.

I'm not talking about today, I'm talking about post Feb. You start out 10-1 and then collapse. Choke. Oh, and today was a choke job executed brilliantly by Mike "Ice" Gesell and Fran "The Architect" McCaffery.

 

[PhantomFlyer]

" a little above average Indiana team"

You serious, Clark?

Please, give Crean an extension. He sucks. Great recruiter, horrible coach. I'd much rather have him coaching Indiana then a lot of guys who would love to have that job.

 

[PhantomFlyer]

Great post. You can't win in the B1G if you can't play physical. As long as officials swallow their whistles, and you know they will as the season goes along and you get into postseason, you have to be able to mix it up with physical teams.

Iowa has 2 guards who are offensively challenged and no big body outside of Woody. They live and die with jumpshots. Need guards who can shoot and drive to the bucket. Can't rely on all your offense coming from wings who mostly score shooting jump shots.

Fran either changes his recruiting strategy or he'll be looking for a new job in a couple years.

 

[icantfindausernamethatisntused]

Without flaming anyone, Just an observation, When you watch Iowa play game in and game out in the Big, How many times have you felt the Hawks were the more athletic team? So many teams have guys that with the game on the line or the shot clock winding down they can just go get their own shot, Iowa not so much. I do think the Hawks are getting more and more athletic, It's just taking time. I know this year is frustrating as hell, But we are just not a real athletic team at this point in time. I do believe help is on the way though.

The only starter with limited athleticism is Woodbury. Gesell is a great athlete, but unfortunately cannot shoot the ball like he did in his freshman year and high school. Clemmons, Jok, and Uthoff are all at least average to above average athletes. When you think about players that have left the program recently, Olaseni was a freak athlete, White was very athletic, Basabe, Marble, etc.

Team athleticism has not been an issue since Fran has been here.

 

[PhantomFlyer]

The only starter with limited athleticism is Woodbury. Gesell is a great athlete, but unfortunately cannot shoot the ball like he did in his freshman year and high school. Clemmons, Jok, and Uthoff are all at least average to above average athletes. When you think about players that have left the program recently, Olaseni was a freak athlete, White was very athletic, Basabe, Marble, etc.

Team athleticism has not been an issue since Fran has been here.

I would agree with this in general, but not in regards to Iowa's guards. MG is ok athletically but nothing that separates him from other B1G PG's. He lacks quickness to beat anybody off the dribble. AC is avg, at best, athletically to other B1G combo guards. Ellingson is below avg athletically. Josh O. was below avg athletically. I can't say for the younger players because we haven't seen enough of them to make a fair evaluation. The lack of athleticism among Iowa's guards gets magnified because college basketball is a guard oriented game.

I would agree with you that outside of Woody, the 3-5's under Fran have been very athletic. This is what Fran recruits. He recruits long players who can get up and down the court, very athletic. The downside in Fran's recruiting is he's solely recruited those types and hasn't recruited a "banger" to balance the lineup. You can't win the B1G unless you are physical. Too many teams will just push you around inside. Iowa's bigs get pushed around because they aren't big enough. Need more weight, more strength inside.

 

[Razorhawk2]

Not going to argue any more. You think we're good. I think we're bad right now. You think Illinois, PSU and Nebraska are playing good. I still think they are all bad teams. Neither of us will change our minds. I'm sure we both hope we play like the January Iowa team in the NCAA tournament.

That we can agree on!

 

[Razorhawk2]

After watching this team lose to PSU, Illinois, OSU, barely beat the Gophers, lose at home to an average Wisconsin team and a little above average Indiana team, I would say they forgot how to win and r bad.

All those teams that beat Iowa shot the ball above their season average, Iowa shot below their season average and yet Iowa still lost by an average of only 4 points in those losses. The other team misses one 3 pointer and Iowa makes one more 3 pointer that's a 6 point swing. Missing just a couple shots a game has cost Iowa these victories, that doesn't make them a bad team.