Upper Half B1G Finishes, 2013-Present (Iowa tied for the Most w/ 11 in the last 12 yrs)
- Thread starter Franisdaman
- Start date
I’m not being catty when I say this….youd never guess he’d had this kind of success reading this board.
In fact I’m surprised by that myself.
Pretty much a description of his coaching. Scores a lot of points so win against lower tier teams and a few upper team wins. But seldom reaches that top tier level (1st or second).
Fran REALLY just needs some postseason success. Then I would have no complaints.
Fans are desperate for a Sweet 16 appearance. I'd like to see one as well, but it's not really gnawing at me like some.
I'm ready for a change at HC, but in no way should he be fired.
I'm ready for a change at HC, but in no way should he be fired.
THIS.
If he somehow goes on a run this year, makes the tournament and makes the sweet 16...
99% of fans (myself included) would be happy to have Fran continue.
Like it or not... tournament success is the #1 measure of team/program success and Iowa fans are starved for that success. It feels statistically impossible to make as many tournaments as Fran has and NEVER make a sweet 16.
Pretty sure since the initial rebuild the only time we’ve missed the tourney we’re Jok’s senior year and Tyler Cook’s freshman year. I don’t count ‘20 as we were a lock to make it that year until the pandemic.
That’s pretty damn impressive
That’s pretty damn impressive
I would trade a few of those top half league finishes for a one sweet sixteen game
march madness results matter
march madness results matter
How many different contortions of Fran's record do people have to come up with? Fran can simply be described as High Basement, Low Ceiling. My Personal preference is I'd take more rebuilding years for higher end upside but if some people groove on consistently 11-9'ish, that's fine. Carver attendance is the ultimate judge....Carver not looking too full for men's games, sold out for Women's...big difference is success level and having a star.
Who has B1G titles in that same timeframe? Probably MSU, Michigan, Illini, Purdue, Wisconsin...Noteably absent from the list...Iowa...I'd take one of those conference titles over upper half finishes. I'd also take a sweet16 over the Top half finishes. I just want to go into NCAA and pretend they have a chance of making a run in NCAA and not get Richmond'ed or Oregon'ed or Gonzaga'ed or Auburned or Villanova'd or UT'ed.
Who has B1G titles in that same timeframe? Probably MSU, Michigan, Illini, Purdue, Wisconsin...Noteably absent from the list...Iowa...I'd take one of those conference titles over upper half finishes. I'd also take a sweet16 over the Top half finishes. I just want to go into NCAA and pretend they have a chance of making a run in NCAA and not get Richmond'ed or Oregon'ed or Gonzaga'ed or Auburned or Villanova'd or UT'ed.
how many sweet 16's has that resulted in?What a pathetic coach!
Your daily reminder that Fran has as many Sweet 16 appearances as Lisa Bluder had in her first 14 years as Iowa coach.
Exactly…simple and well put. Thats where I’m at, even in football. But I will routinely remind the angry types if shit goes south….😆they got what they wished for.
I didn’t zero in on it earlier, but the most telling thing you’ve said on this board recently, was 44….
Tell them what 44 is Bob….?
The number of years Iowa has gone without a B1G championship…. With 2 hall of fame coaches here in that time frame…
That damn Fran, what’s he thinking….this team has a glorious history of sweet sixteens and conference swag and he screwed it all up..,.
And before some super simpleton jumps in with the, what’s wrong with wishing for more….
There’s nothing wrong with it, but if you were a rival who booted a coach like this, with a history like ours?
Wed laugh and make fun endlessly at least until that coach started winning. But if not, man sucks to be you…
Would you really?
A Sweet 16 appearance is nothing more than a consolation trophy. The NCAA tournament is a one and done scenerio and hardly an accurate gauge of how a given season went. Rebuilding years generally mean a new coach is on the horizon. The lack of a Sweet 16 is really nothing more than a statistic (let's say a contortion of a record) used by those who don't like Fran and need something for their argument.
The attendance argument is also flawed. Look across the country and unless you are a Blue Blood, which Iowa is not, or having a special season, you will see plenty of open seats for the mens games. The CC phenomenon has more to do with the growing familiarity of CC and her greatness in the womens game. The men do not have that because if they get any way near that level, they are gone to the NBA far before they become familiar to the average fan.
Guard play is better this year than it's been in a long time.
I'm sure if he had national player of the year he would have made the sweet 16...........oh wait
Not sure if top half of a conference is much of a benchmark. Better than bottom half, but not by much. Overall wins v. losses comparisons would be a better barometer. How many championships, regular season and BTT is also a better stat. How many other teams have not won these either? How many other BT teams have not made the Sweet Sixteen. IDK, but if you're throwing shit into the fan it shouldn't just be Fran's shit.... just sayin...
The same as Tom Davis, George, Raveling, Steve, Alford, and Todd, Lichliter, i.e. none in 44 years..
Hmmm… must be hard to win a conference championship in these big conferences, especially for Iowa
I'm sure if he had national player of the year he would have made the sweet 16...........oh wait
Wait what…National player of the year, hmmm how many of them go on to the final 4 I wonder. Want to wager
Not sure if top half of a conference is much of a benchmark. Better than bottom half, but not by much. Overall wins v. losses comparisons would be a better barometer. How many championships, regular season and BTT is also a better stat. How many other teams have not won these either? How many other BT teams have not made the Sweet Sixteen. IDK, but if you're throwing shit into the fan it shouldn't just be Fran's shit.... just sayin...
Here’s the thing, as you very succinctly pointed out. Any normal rational debater would have a bench mark and comparisons. But not these pitchfork wielders.
...because that's the only measure of a good coach, right? I don't think so. I'd like to see Iowa go deeper in the NCAA tourney and more often, but it's a one-and-done format. One weekend during a long season. I agree with many other posters that a greater emphasis on D would probably help, but there's luck involved, too - match-ups, refs assigned, travel, etc. Fran has proven over several 20 game conference seasons that he can coach. IMO judging his ability based on one limited measure isn't fair.
You make it sound like it's easy to win at Iowa.
45 years ago: The last time Iowa won a B1G reg season title was in 1979 (we shared it).
54 years ago: The last time Iowa won an outright B1G reg season title was in 1970.
1980: Last time Purdue went to a Final 4.
1980: Last time Iowa went to a Final 4.
That's 44 years, of course.
Tom Davis has commented in the past on the difficulty of making Sweet 16's. He said that it's a lot tougher than you think because when you get to the Round of 32 all of the teams are really good. He said sometimes there's luck involved, too. And all your team has to have is an off day and boom, your season is over.
If Iowa isn't going to have any post season success at least Fran should blow up for the fans. He can be quite entertaining.
I don't disagree with any of this. My only bitch is that many teams "get lucky" more often than Iowa. Just like FB, MBB is never in the basement, but also never makes a deep run. I for one the last few years was rooting for a regular season championship more than a sweet 16, but it would be nice for either.
Missed this earlier….great take!!!!
Look, there have been many of us on this basketball forum, and eerily similar to the football forum, that understand the frustrations, and could live with another coach.
It has been a long time in both instances…..but I’m not throwing away a pretty darn good program just on the hope we get a better coach after we dump him, WTF! when he retires, he retires….
And knowing this, I’m not a big fan of Fran McCaffrey, never have been and the football is more tolerable to me because I’m a defensive guy lol…
But even I can acknowledge his offensive basketball is a thing of beauty, but I don’t like poor rebounding and poor defensive teams I just don’t…
Quite frankly, Tom Davis had his legendary press, but they were not good, half-court defensive teams they never were.
About the last time. I remember us playing any amount of defense was when Alfred (semi-on purpose) was here….
But honestly, the guy is a solid coach. He just refuses to teach sound defensive fundamentals. My Lord, that would change everything…knowing where to look, where to rotate, hot reads, I mean honestly, come on man!!
…and I’m one of those guys who would ordinarily say “come on dude” surely these coaches are teaching them… Yes, I’m sure they are teaching them but apparently it’s not a priority or they’d be better at it?!
Right….🤷♂️
Excellent and only tougher now. And I can agree with that and still be frustrated we havent gone further.
Both things can mutually exist!
so let me get this straight…you’d take a 1st place finish over a top half finish….WTH?! That’s a tough bargain, but me too 🙋♂️
If you’re saying, you’d take a first place finish, three or four more first division finishes, and then all second division….Man I’d have to think about that actually…
It’s honestly such a meaningless metric at this point in time… And that may seem odd coming from me. But in this instance a sweet-16 (although I took no umbrage by someone earlier Pooh-poohing IT) like Gonzaga you almost have to be known for it even Wisconsin to a degree… With that said you get to play more games and that’s a plus plus so I don’t know it is what it is…🤷♂️
Either way, he hasn’t underperformed our history…🤷♂️
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