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Tadjo

We're replacing half the roster, and are relying on 4 freshmen, a sophomore for heavy minutes. Starting experience aside, that's not easy - especially when they lost 2 guys to NBA in last two years.

I thought we'd be further ahead of where we are this season as well, but I didn't think we'd be replacing Kris, Rebraca, Connor and Ulis without missing a beat.
Okay, I didn't look last year's roster close enough (lazy on my part) but I totally forgot about Connor and Ulis. Kris and Rebraca were the two biggest losses IMO, so they came to mind right away.
 
You are missing some very enjoyable basketball. I'd like some more defense but his offense, when humming, is a thing of beauty.

Proving, once again, winning is beautiful not the offense or defense. And also proving, after you win 20 games, you then need to win 25 and after that, you need to win 30 and so on and so on or you are no longer a good coach….

Don’t you wish people would apply the same metric to their own careers. 😂
 
Yep….thats why there are so many dominant teams….wait, what…

You would honestly think there are about 50 superpowers out there winning championship after championship, the way some of these guys talk on this board….

There is probably never been more parity in college basketball, and that may indeed be because of the portal but the same teams keep winning in the national championship…and it’s a small pool.

If which Iowa is like about 50 other teams in and out of the Big 10…. I just don’t get what teams other people are watching.?
small portion is protal, bigger is extra covid year. lot's of older teams right now.
 
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No way Harding should start. He plays phantom defense & gambles too much. He's good in pick & roll with Freeman, but that's about it. He try's to make a flashy play when a good fundamental play is all that's needed. And he can't shoot worth a damn. So overrated.

I expect Bowen to hit the portal as he's in Fran's doghouse. If Perkins doesn't come back, need a transfer stud to fill the backcourt.
He does gamble on defense, but he’s also very disruptive. Gets his hands on a lot of balls (no jokes, please). He’s not a terrible defender. He has the quickness to stay in front of most guards.
 
Id hope they did more than me 😂 they’re playing in the NBA now. He had 4 NBA players on 1 team and didn’t sniff the 2nd weekend, even more of an indictment on Fran.
I love Iowa basketball, that’s why im hoping Fran leaves because his games are not enjoyable to watch anymore and i want more out of the program. Its stale and has lost any excitement there was around the team. Hence the lack of attendance.

I don’t hate Fran and im glad he got us back to relevance. He does stuff the right way and seems like a great guy off the floor. He obviously has a great offensive mind and has a great eye for talent, but misses out on most of the guys he’s in on early. His recruiting does seem to have picked up the last few years tho. That being said, it sure seems like we’ve seen the ceiling under him.

My biggest knocks on Fran are his inability to ever consider coaching defense. His teams regardless of size always lack the effort to effectively rebound. His in game coaching is bad, he doesn’t use timeouts effectively and his rotations are usually pretty head scratching. He is obsessed with these big lineups, continually playing guys out of position. He doesn’t value guard play, which is what dominates the college game these days. Ill refrain from talking much about nepotism, which I didn’t really give much credence until this yr with Pat logging wayyy more minutes than he deserves.

I don’t believe Im on an island with these thoughts.
So you're ok for a new coach replacing Fran and having a team scoring under 50 points or less, and giving up 50 points or less. slowing the game down to a crawl, keeping the other team from getting more touches. Got it....
That's how Wisconsin played the game in the past and had one of the top defensive team, but now that they have started to play faster, guess what, there defensive metrics are not as good as they used to be. Imagine that!
 
So you're ok for a new coach replacing Fran and having a team scoring under 50 points or less, and giving up 50 points or less. slowing the game down to a crawl, keeping the other team from getting more touches. Got it....
That's how Wisconsin played the game in the past and had one of the top defensive team, but now that they have started to play faster, guess what, there defensive metrics are not as good as they used to be. Imagine that!
For most fans, offense and shooting are exciting, and that is how they often judge players. I have always looked at the entire game. As a current example, it is why I started to hype Dix before many got on board. I think physical limitations determine a lot, and that is the main reason Krikke is a lousy defender. He is a step slow and can't jump. Patrick has the length and athleticism to be a much better all-round player, but he seems to be unable or unwilling to let go of his past health issues. If I were a coach, giving less than 100% would get you a place on the bench, until you proved you could make that commitment.

I personally would be very happy with a team that competed for a B1G championship and had success in the dance, whether they average 60 points or 90 points. I enjoy watching good defense.
 
So you're ok for a new coach replacing Fran and having a team scoring under 50 points or less, and giving up 50 points or less. slowing the game down to a crawl, keeping the other team from getting more touches. Got it....
That's how Wisconsin played the game in the past and had one of the top defensive team, but now that they have started to play faster, guess what, there defensive metrics are not as good as they used to be. Imagine that!
Well that’s quite the leap! I mean, there is absolutely no middle ground between having an Iowa offense or a former Wisconsin defense. Definitely an either or situation! 🙄
Some serious scar tissue around here from those Lickliter years!
 
Nebraska fired tim miles after getting them back to the tournament for the first time in forever. ISU fired prohm and 1 season later makes S16 with new coach. Not a great comparison because Prohm was shit his last yr but he still had better tournament success than Fran ever has. Indiana fired Tom Crean 1 season after winning the outright BIG regular season title and being BCOTY.
Go back a little further Illinois fired Bruce Weber 1 year after making the tournament. Rick Barnes was fired at Texas with a FF appearance, 2 elite 8 appearances and making the tournament 15 of 16 years while there. But guess what, he missed the S16 his last 7 seasons there.
Some programs actually don’t settle and want better than mediocre. You’re obviously OK with it because Iowa scores lots of points. I’m not, and sure seems like a lot of fans are with me.

Speaking of Nebraska, a school that fired Pelini after winning 9 games in 2014. They’ve had one winning season in football since then too.

Miles took Nebraska to the tournament in 2014. He was fired five years later in 2019 with no other NCAA appearances. Since then (four seasons), Nebraska hasn’t finished above .500. This year should break that streak. I really hope there’s not a lot of fans wanting to change places with Nebraska. I also don’t think there’s a lot of people saying that Nebraska AD has it figured out either.
 
Carver is rocking with bluder and Caitlin. It is the succes of the product, not past damage from Alford and Lickliter that hurts attndance.

I think Tadjo is pretty good addition. If Tony Perkins returns, maybe a sweet16 caliber team. If not, we're probably too weak at guard to make a run.

I get it--some fans love scoring a lot and so-so W-L performance. Fran isn't going anywhere, so I'm not going to say he should be fired, but that doesn't mean I have to be impressed by his performance.

Iowa something like 63rd out of 65 P5 teams in Time Period since last Sweet16 appearance and Fran is responsible for most of the dry spell. ISU which was at Lickliter level turned around in 1 year and made the Sweet16 and is ranked around 12th this year. Oh, they also had a sweet16 appearnce under Hoiiberg. UNI has a mid 2000's sweet16 appearance. I think the answer on what P5 team Iowa should emulate is nearly all of them have approaches that have led to higher end NCAA tourney success once they got to NCAA tourney.

I think it comes down to style of play/lack of emphasis on defense and mediocre PG play---we have a systematic problem with winning in NCAA tourney with Fran's disregard for defense/lack of identifyig top PG talent. That said, he is a high basement/low ceiling guy....so if you value consistency and don't have a problem with winning 51% of B1G conference games which is a shade above average, a single BTT title every 14 years, a conference title never, and chances of 2nd win or possibity of longer NCAA tourney run as zero so far, then yeah Fran is your guy.

As far as Bluder not getting a sweet16 until her 14th year, she had a tremendous B1G conference record compared to Fran. In her first 14 years, Bluder had two 3rd place finishes in conference, four 2nd place finishes, and a conference title. Fran has two seasons with multi-team 3 or 4 team ties for 3rd place and a single non-shared 3rd place finish. Fran has been coaching longer than Bluder. It's not just 14 years for Fran with no sweet16's, he's 0-28 on his career. If he manages it to make a sweet 16 in next couple years I don't think his system allows for a deeper run. All those Elite8 and Final-4 teams are have better defenses and better PG play than Fran's teams.

You’ve got to love that HawkLogic…. Fran has coached 27 full seasons and is somehow 0-28 in sweet 16s.
 
Speaking of Nebraska, a school that fired Pelini after winning 9 games in 2014. They’ve had one winning season in football since then too.

Miles took Nebraska to the tournament in 2014. He was fired five years later in 2019 with no other NCAA appearances. Since then (four seasons), Nebraska hasn’t finished above .500. This year should break that streak. I really hope there’s not a lot of fans wanting to change places with Nebraska. I also don’t think there’s a lot of people saying that Nebraska AD has it figured out either.
Settle for mediocre because the fear of the alternative is failure? Sounds about right
 
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He does gamble on defense, but he’s also very disruptive. Gets his hands on a lot of balls (no jokes, please). He’s not a terrible defender. He has the quickness to stay in front of most guards.
His gambling on the defensive end gets him out of position and other players need to make up for it. He has the quickness to stay in front of other guards, but why does he continuously let them get by him & try to slap the ball after the player gets past him....
 
No way Harding should start. He plays phantom defense & gambles too much. He's good in pick & roll with Freeman, but that's about it. He try's to make a flashy play when a good fundamental play is all that's needed. And he can't shoot worth a damn. So overrated.

I expect Bowen to hit the portal as he's in Fran's doghouse. If Perkins doesn't come back, need a transfer stud to fill the backcourt.
I dont know maybe i am seeing things but he just energizes the team when he is in and is a pass first point guard
 
Yes, the definition of mediocre is five straight NCAA Tournaments and eight in 10 years. A program like Iowa, a blue blood, demands better.
It is what the team has done in the dance that is the problem. Otherwise, I am only mildly disappointed in Iowa BB under Fran.
 
It is what the team has done in the dance that is the problem. Otherwise, I am only mildly disappointed in Iowa BB under Fran.

I get that. We all get it and wished Iowa had done something in the tournament. But you’re telling me that mediocre programs make the tournament five straight years and 80% of the time in a 10 year span? I’d call anyone who suggests that crazy.
 
Do you wear a helmet? I listed off 4 programs that weren’t OK with mediocrity and made changes because of that. Just like ive said from the beginning. Call it emulating those programs if you’d like, i don’t really care. Im just tired of being mediocre.
Now go back and tell me what criticisms of Fran i made that were wrong. I notice you still havent done that. Likely because there wasn’t a damn word of it that was wrong.
So it’s about firing a coach is the type of program you want? wtf? You are all bitch with no solutions.
 
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I get that. We all get it and wished Iowa had done something in the tournament. But you’re telling me that mediocre programs make the tournament five straight years and 80% of the time in a 10 year span? I’d call anyone who suggests that crazy.
Finishing in the top half of the B1G is a little better than mediocre, but we really haven't competed for a regular season championship under Fran. I give that a B-. When we have gotten to the postseason, except the outlier win of the B1G tourney, Fran gets an F, or D at best. Put that together, and it sure isn't great.

I have been a Fran supporter, but the reality is that, besides the failures in the postseason, Iowa's defense has usually been below average. Offense is exciting, but you win more consistently with great defense. That is part of why I think next year could be different, if Perkins returns. Our backcourt will be the best defensively since Gesell and Sapp. Dembele could become a great interior defender, and Owen can also block shots and will learn to defend opposing centers much better than he does now. That only leaves the 3, where Payton is not good at staying in front of his man, but is a pretty good zone defender and rebounder. Tadjo has the potential to be really good, but he looks very rough to me right now. Koch could be really good and can play 3 or 4, like Tadjo.
 
Opposed to you who just bitches and moans about everything. You must be a delight to be around.
Pointing out the program has seemingly reached its ceiling under fran and being ready to make a change is bitching and moaning? Guess if that’s what you want to call it go ahead.
At this point, I honestly don’t care. I’ll just continue not watching the sub-par product Fran puts on the floor and be happier because of it. You continue to enjoy us putting up the super exciting and fun to watch 85 points while giving up 90 for the L.
Ive given the reasons why I think fran isn’t a great coach. You said those points were easily disputable, still waiting…
 
You’ve got to love that HawkLogic…. Fran has coached 27 full seasons and is somehow 0-28 in sweet 16s.
Yes, Fran not reaching past the 1st week seem like his kryptonite, he's had the teams to make it past the 1st week, just hasn't happened yet. How long did it take coach Bluder to get to where she is now. She's been at Iowa for what 25 years, doesn't seem that long but Iowa hung with her and it's paying off now.
I can only hope that Iowa allows Fran to see through this freshman and sophomore class. If they fail to break the jinx by the time they graduate then maybe it's time to part ways.
 
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When they start giving trophy's for the sweet sixteen, getting there will matter. When you get there, people will bitch that it's not the elite 8. And so forth. And so on.
Oh there will always be SOME fans that will complain no matter what, but I call BS on this. Obviously we would all like a national title, but I think the majority of us level headed fans would be pretty happy if we had a coach that was getting us out of the first weekend and at least making SOME noise in the tournament.

I'm not saying Iowa needs to go deep in the tournament every year, but losing in the first round, or getting absolutely demolished in second round games and literally NEVER doing anything beyond that has gotten old.
 
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Was just checking out Tadjo and came across this clip. Check out the nets. Estilo Mexicano. :) Love it.

 
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