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"Trilly Donovan" throws cold water on the Fran retiring rumors

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HawkHoops80

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Mar 20, 2022
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Interesting note from one of the best college basketball "scoop" guys in his weekly mailbag article:

"I had a conversation with someone recently about Fran. He’s getting ready to sign with a new agent and has no plans to retire in the next few seasons."

So for those of you that are hopeful of him retiring this year, well, I wouldn't get your hopes up. This guy is usually very accurate when it comes to the coaching carousel as well as recruiting info.

burnerball.com

Mailbag 12.18.23

Time for another edition of the weekly mailbag! You have questions, I have answers. Let’s dive in. Iowa is in purgatory. Fran has done nothing to justify a firing, however there is major fan apathy and lack of fan engagement. This is impacting NIL support and overall financial support. Iowa is...
burnerball.com burnerball.com
 
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That's like, one dude's opinion.

If the attendance this year continues to crater, they may have to consider it.

What is Fran's buyout? I can't find solid data on that. It was only $7M when the contract was brand new, and going down.
 
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ichawk24 said:
That's like, one dude's opinion.

If the attendance this year continues to crater, they may have to consider it.

What is Fran's buyout? I can't find solid data on that. It was only $7M when the contract was brand new, and going down.
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To be fair, that guy also is very connected to a lot of very good sources in college basketball and he is typically very locked into coaching hot seat stuff. I'd trust his opinion over random fans.
Iowa likely isn't going to fire a coach that had 5 straight tournament teams (including the 2020 year since they were a lock before the shut down) after 1 bad year. Let's be a little realistic on that.
The attendance for the Michigan game was 10K which is only slightly below average for what is typical for these December home conference games in past years. We'll see if attendance continues to go down this year--the next 4 home games after Wednesday are all either Friday or Saturday games which is likely going to help.
 
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I'd like to see Fran move on, on his own, after this season. Is it likely? Probably not. He got a ridiculously lengthy deal courtesy of the previous incompetent AD that he can continue to ride out. I doubt there are multiple schools out there clamoring to bring in a 65 year old with relatively modest regular season results and poor NCAA tourney performance on his resume.
If he happens to find a spot elsewhere it would be a positive for the program. It's time.
But it's dependent on Fran for the departure to happen. Virtually no chance he gets the axe.
 
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SDHawkDoc said:
I'd like to see Fran move on, on his own, after this season. Is it likely? Probably not. He got a ridiculously lengthy deal courtesy of the previous incompetent AD that he can continue to ride out. I doubt there are multiple schools out there clamoring to bring in a 65 year old with relatively modest regular season results and poor NCAA tourney performance on his resume.
If he happens to find a spot elsewhere it would be a positive for the program. It's time.
But it's dependent on Fran for the departure to happen. Virtually no chance he gets the axe.
Click to expand...

Fran is on a path to get a buyout in 3 years---lack of NIL, lack of excitement in men's program and he has huge difficulty recruiting African-American athletes. Hopefully new AD doesn't extend his contract and make the buyout more costly which would impact ability to hire better coach.


Jack has 2 years of HS ball. Fran can take the buyout in 3 years and he can get a job at a mid major with no pressure and Jack can transfer in. I don't think Fran can live without having his boys playing for him. Jack probably can be a star at Mid-major level with his Dad featuring offense, defense optional.
 
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Steamboat529529 said:
Yea. But Izzo has earned the right to do that. Fran hasn’t. And Izzo is more of a complainer. He constantly is on the refs but doesn’t seem to have the huge blowups that Fran does. Fran is like pure rage when it happens.
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That's because when Izzo starts to complain, the refs drop to their knees and unzip his pants. Game over. Same with Coach K when he was still coaching. Iowa isn't going to get the benefit of the doubt, so eventually Fran goes meltdown mode.

The refs when Izzo starts to talk:
Wax Biff GIF by Back to the Future Trilogy
 
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HawkHoops80 said:
The attendance for the Michigan game was 10K which is only slightly below average for what is typical for these December home conference games in past years.
Click to expand...

Attendance seems to be clearly sliding to me, here are attendances up to mid-December for the last 3 season:

This year:

Michigan 10000 for prime Saturday afternoon time slot
cupcakes: 7600, 8800, 9500, 8600

Last year:

Wisconsin 12400 for poor Sunday 5:30pm slot
cupcakes: 9500, 11300, 9400

2021-2022:

Illinois 12000 for Monday night game
cupcakes: 9200, 11100, 9100, 10000, 10000, 11700
 
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Steamboat529529 said:
Yea. But Izzo has earned the right to do that. Fran hasn’t. And Izzo is more of a complainer. He constantly is on the refs but doesn’t seem to have the huge blowups that Fran does. Fran is like pure rage when it happens.
Click to expand...

I love the “earned the right” stance. So there are two sets of rules and expectations based off of…… wins?

Complainer? How many times has Izzo gone complete psycho in one of his player’s faces? How many times has one player held Izzo back from going after another player. It’s becoming a yearly thing.
 
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iahawks10 said:
I love the “earned the right” stance. So there are two sets of rules and expectations based off of…… wins?

Complainer? How many times has Izzo gone complete psycho in one of his player’s faces? How many times has one player held Izzo back from going after another player. It’s becoming a yearly thing.
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I hate to break it to you but there is no Santa Clause and yes there are different sets of rules and expectations depending on the coach. Refs will treat you differently based on your coach. Let’s just say that Izzo and Fran aren’t on the same level. And Fran’s explosions aren’t helping to narrow the gap any.
 
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Steamboat529529 said:
I hate to break it to you but there is no Santa Clause and yes there are different sets of rules and expectations depending on the coach. Let’s just say that Izzo and Fran aren’t on the same level. And Fran’s explosions aren’t helping to narrow the gap any.
Click to expand...

Now do: Mick Cronin, Bobby Hurley, Bob Huggins, Bruce Pearl, Frank Martin, Jerry Stackhouse. Have they all won enough to earn the right to go “psycho mode” or was your take that it’s just Fran and Howard ignorant?


Is there a Santa Claus though?
 
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HawkHoops80 said:
The attendance for the Michigan game was 10K which is only slightly below average for what is typical for these December home conference games in past years. We'll see if attendance continues to go down this year--the next 4 home games after Wednesday are all either Friday or Saturday games which is likely going to help.
Click to expand...

You gotta remember that the attendance number is tickets distributed (including freebies). For Michigan, exactly 10,000 tickets were distributed.

How many of the 10,000 actually showed up? Ie, how many tickets got scanned at CHA? 8,000? CHA seats 15,056.

Maybe someone who attended the game can make a guess and attempt to answer that question.

www.espn.com

Michigan 90-80 Iowa (Dec 10, 2023) Final Score - ESPN

Game summary of the Michigan Wolverines vs. Iowa Hawkeyes NCAAM game, final score 90-80, from December 10, 2023 on ESPN.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 
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markfromj said:
“Retiring” and “leaving Iowa” not the same thing.
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This is what I was thinking.

My belief has been that there is no way Fran and Jack end up coaching/playing at different schools. Either Fran gets a different job and Jack goes to play for him, Fran retires, or Jack changes his mind about going to Iowa.

For kicks, can anyone provide an example of a son of a high-major college football or basketball coach who has gone to play for another high-major school?
 
EvolutionDenier said:
Oh, mine's with squandering All-American/first round draft talent and playing his kinfolk to the detriment of the team. AKA, a shit coach.
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Ok but one team was ranked in the top 10 for the ENTIRE season, and the other team WON the big ten tournament. The only thing that was "squandered" was a chance at a deep run in the NCAA tournament. Otherwise both those seasons were incredibly successful and incredibly fun to watch.
 
Steamboat529529 said:
Yea. But Izzo has earned the right to do that. Fran hasn’t. And Izzo is more of a complainer. He constantly is on the refs but doesn’t seem to have the huge blowups that Fran does. Fran is like pure rage when it happens.
Click to expand...
Izzo works the officials and does it very well. Fran just loses his shit looking to get tossed at some point.
 
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Steamboat529529 said:
Yea. But Izzo has earned the right to do that. Fran hasn’t. And Izzo is more of a complainer. He constantly is on the refs but doesn’t seem to have the huge blowups that Fran does. Fran is like pure rage when it happens.
Click to expand...
Bull...shit. He has been doing that from the start of his career. And you don't earn the right to berate officials. That thinking is part of the problem.

He has one title. 23 years ago. His reputation is inflated by Big10 fans. There have been 6 other coaches since 2000 to win multiple titles.

He's a great coach, but his antics are not excusable. Neither are Frans.
 
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