Watch video; at least 2 (or 3?) Illini asst coaches were yelling at Fran in handshake line

[Franisdaman]

The first one says "that's bullsh*t," correct?

Still not sure what they were pissed about. Besides having their asses handed to them, that is.

Watch:

 

[BirdistheWord]

Unbelievable. What could it have been?... the dunk by Weezy? What are we supposed to do, lay down and ask for a foul? They were Facking pressing us!

Were the assistants also yelling at Connor as time expired?

 

[Hawksfor3]

having their asses handed to them, that is.

This.

 

[Franisdaman]

Unbelievable. What could it have been?... the dunk by Weezy? What are we supposed to do, lay down and ask for a foul? They were Facking pressing us!

Were the assistants also yelling at Connor as time expired?

did i read his lips correctly? did he say "that was bullsh&t?"

if so, what was bull sh&t? crazy.

 

[MepoDawg#]

To me it looks like the first assistant is yelling at someone behind Fran then turns to Fran and says it two more times. When the second assistant gets involved, Fran says see you later.

 

[Zildjian6868]

Could’ve been exchanging words with Connor, as he would’ve been walking around at that time.

 

[Capital1Hawk]

Could’ve been exchanging words with Connor, as he would’ve been walking around at that time.

the ref was exchanging words with Connor. Connor was right, refs need to call something if they are playing hack a Shaq at end of game like that.

 

[DodgerHawki]

To me it looks like the first assistant is yelling at someone behind Fran then turns to Fran and says it two more times. When the second assistant gets involved, Fran says see you later.

It was weird. Fran has handled end of game situations poorly in the past, so the national narrative is "here goes Fran again." This time, I'm not sure what he was supposed to do exactly. I suppose he could have got the assistants to calm down, but all of them are just cursing at his entire team.

 

[Herky T Hawk]

Most people are pointing to the dunk as starting this.

But I think the coaches are pissed at Connor because they think he threw an elbow.

Watch the very end replay again, the defender swipes a few times, including what should have been a foul. Connor covers the ball and does a quick, short swing of his arms. The tv angle shows he didn’t make contact. But the coaches had their view blocked and could easily interpret it as having been an elbow to the ribs of their guy. That would explain why they were yelling at him before the handshake line.

He didn’t make the dunk, he just threw the pass up court to get away from a full court defense collapsing on him. So why would they have been mad at him about that? An elbow that they assumed occurred would explain the anger.


If refs aren’t going to control the full 40 minutes of the game, then they better be accountable for what happens in the aftermath. There should be a reprimand for lack of control of game for the refs and a reprimand to the assistant that instigated this blowup.

 

[markfromj]

The dunk should not have pissed anyone off.

 

[slipHawk]

The assistant was way off base, Fran was right to call it, things could have gotten ugly.

 

[Zildjian6868]

Most people are pointing to the dunk as starting this.

But I think the coaches are pissed at Connor because they think he threw an elbow.

Watch the very end replay again, the defender swipes a few times, including what should have been a foul. Connor covers the ball and does a quick, short swing of his arms. The tv angle shows he didn’t make contact. But the coaches had their view blocked and could easily interpret it as having been an elbow to the ribs of their guy. That would explain why they were yelling at him before the handshake line.

He didn’t make the dunk, he just threw the pass up court to get away from a full court defense collapsing on him. So why would they have been mad at him about that? An elbow that they assumed occurred would explain the anger.


If refs aren’t going to control the full 40 minutes of the game, then they better be accountable for what happens in the aftermath. There should be a reprimand for lack of control of game for the refs and a reprimand to the assistant that instigated this blowup.

The guy was trying to hard foul Connor it wasn’t getting called so Connor gave him a hard foul back. It’s not a passive game, if you want to win, you can’t allow yourself to be pushed around. Connor was absolutely right. If the ref didn’t like it he should’ve called the foul. This official is a goon that is not crazy about Iowa. See how he handled the isu game last year.

 

[MeetTheFerentz]

Their coaches were mad about a dunk by Iowa near the end of the game, yet they're instructing their players to foul, so obviously they hadn't conceded the game yet. Can't have it both ways.

Probably more about the end of the game, when their player was trying to foul Connor, but the ref was refusing to call it, and it resulted in a bit of a scuffle between the two of them. Again, not Iowa's fault.

 

[MeetTheFerentz]

....and when did Wesley Snipes become an assistant coach for Illinois?

 

[Rifler]

....and when did Wesley Snipes become an assistant coach for Illinois?

Apparently right after he got fat....

 

[kcgolfer]

Illinois coaches are douche bags,. All of them.

 

[final_flashx]

I think that's why Underwood went out of his way to compliment Fran the hawks in the post-game.... Underwood probably had no major issues with what happened but with his assistants running their mouths to Fran and Connor like that, Underwood probably didn't like it and tried to compliment the Hawks as much as possible to smooth things over

 

[DodgerHawki]

The guy was trying to hard foul Connor it wasn’t getting called so Connor gave him a hard foul back. It’s not a passive game, if you want to win, you can’t allow yourself to be pushed around. Connor was absolutely right. If the ref didn’t like it he should’ve called the foul. This official is a goon that is not crazy about Iowa. See how he handled the isu game last year.

This x 1000. Yes, down 7 with 4 seconds left Illinois probably shouldn't be fouling. But the refs just eating their whistles when the defense is just hacking away hitting a guy trying to foul has to be called. Just call the foul, we go to the other end and shoot FT's and Illinois takes the rest of the clock down trying to score. Iowa is staying in games and winning because they aren't going to take crap from other teams. And I can see why opponents don't like Garza, Frederick and Conor. They will let the opponent bench know about it when they make a play or do something. Big flipping deal. The other teams do it all the time too. Iowa isn't your doormat anymore. Deal with it.

 

[L. Wade Childress]

I saw a video from another angle on the floor and a couple of the Illinois coaches were yelling at their own assistant to STFU. A couple were yelling at iowa but a couple were doing the right thing.

 

[BaldHawk4Life]

Their coaches were mad about a dunk by Iowa near the end of the game, yet they're instructing their players to foul, so obviously they hadn't conceded the game yet. Can't have it both ways.

Probably more about the end of the game, when their player was trying to foul Connor, but the ref was refusing to call it, and it resulted in a bit of a scuffle between the two of them. Again, not Iowa's fault.

I actually thought it was more about the end than the dunk until a few minutes ago when I watched the highlights on YouTube. After Connor gets the ball you see three Illinois players backoff and concede with 12 seconds left. The problem is if you want to concede, you need five guys to do it. The other two knuckleheads than come up with a half-assed trap on Connor which prompted him to throw it down the court. The three back there than sprint after Joe because they realize Iowa is going to score again. Total crap show but nothing that really matters.

Funny thing is that if Illinois thinks there is an officiating conspiracy in the B1G and they think they will get calls against Garza at home, they may be wrong. Last game of the year with the only National Player of the Year candidate in the conference, I have to think the B1G will want him to go for 50.

 

[HungryHawk]

You are all really misunderstanding this situation. Fran is classless and caused all of this. I guess Connor is classless too, but that’s also Fran’s fault. I read it in multiple places on the Illini forums so it has to be true, guess we just have to accept it.

 

[BaldHawk4Life]

You are all really misunderstanding this situation. Fran is classless and caused all of this. I guess Connor is classless too, but that’s also Fran’s fault. I read it in multiple places on the Illini forums so it has to be true, guess we just have to accept it.

Funny! The thing is that their fanbase is disappointed in the outcome of one hell of a basketball game and if the roles were reversed our fanbase would have some of the same idiots.

 

[Zildjian6868]

This x 1000. Yes, down 7 with 4 seconds left Illinois probably shouldn't be fouling. But the refs just eating their whistles when the defense is just hacking away hitting a guy trying to foul has to be called. Just call the foul, we go to the other end and shoot FT's and Illinois takes the rest of the clock down trying to score. Iowa is staying in games and winning because they aren't going to take crap from other teams. And I can see why opponents don't like Garza, Frederick and Conor. They will let the opponent bench know about it when they make a play or do something. Big flipping deal. The other teams do it all the time too. Iowa isn't your doormat anymore. Deal with it.

Part that bothered me was the ref escorted Connor back to the Iowa bench as if he was the trouble maker and continued to scold him the whole way. Shows how this specific ref views Iowa’s integrity. My guess is he is not a big fan of Fran.

 

[hawkeyeguy69]

The dunk should not have pissed anyone off.

Illannoy should only be pissed at themselves, for letting Connor and Weezy destroy their press.

 

[Rifler]

Part that bothered me was the ref escorted Connor back to the Iowa bench as if he was the trouble maker and continued to scold him the whole way. Shows how this specific ref views Iowa’s integrity. My guess is he is not a big fan of Fran.

Apparently Connor complained to Eades about his not calling a foul on Illinois during their overly physical attempt to strip the ball,... Eades followed Connor to the bench to continue the conversation...

 

[unIowa]

It was weird. Fran has handled end of game situations poorly in the past, so the national narrative is "here goes Fran again." This time, I'm not sure what he was supposed to do exactly. I suppose he could have got the assistants to calm down, but all of them are just cursing at his entire team.

Fran has been pretty clear that he doesn't want the handshake line escalate to something bigger and I am guessing based on how the IL assistant coaches were acting that there was a possibility for a confrontation so he decided to deescalate by not allowing that situation to arise in the first place.

It sounds like Connor and the IL player that raked down on him were cool with it and had no beefs. The IL coaches, in this situation, were just out of line.

 

[Franisdaman]

Most people are pointing to the dunk as starting this.

But I think the coaches are pissed at Connor because they think he threw an elbow.

Watch the very end replay again, the defender swipes a few times, including what should have been a foul. Connor covers the ball and does a quick, short swing of his arms. The tv angle shows he didn’t make contact. But the coaches had their view blocked and could easily interpret it as having been an elbow to the ribs of their guy. That would explain why they were yelling at him before the handshake line.

He didn’t make the dunk, he just threw the pass up court to get away from a full court defense collapsing on him. So why would they have been mad at him about that? An elbow that they assumed occurred would explain the anger.


If refs aren’t going to control the full 40 minutes of the game, then they better be accountable for what happens in the aftermath. There should be a reprimand for lack of control of game for the refs and a reprimand to the assistant that instigated this blowup.

That's the thing; we are all guessing at why 2 or 3 Illini assistants were yelling at Fran.

I agree with you all; the refs should have controlled the ending a lot better than they did. Blow the whistle and get between the players and calm things down.

 

[Franisdaman]

From the Champaign IL newspaper (The News-Gazette):

That competitive edge ultimately spilled over following the final buzzer.

Harsh words were exchanged between players — and coaches — from both teams. Neither side was thrilled with how the final seconds played out in Iowa City, with a Joe Wieskamp dunk with 12 seconds on the clock extending the Hawkeyes’ lead to 10 and Ayo Dosunmu getting a little physical with Connor McCaffery on the inbounds play that followed the former knocking down a three-pointer to cut the final margin to seven.

“I don’t know what happened at the end of the game,” Underwood said. “I think that’s probably more words than anything else. I haven’t looked at the video yet. Two teams that compete. It’s what makes this league special.”

The Illinois players also chalked up the tense postgame handshake line to two teams competing. The Illini staff eventually held their players near the scorer’s table to let the Iowa players get to to the tunnel to the locker room and off the court.

“Being competitive, you just want to win,” Illinois senior guard Andres Feliz said. “Sometimes that’s going to happen. That happens everywhere. A lot of competitions out there. We were trying to win the game. We didn’t accomplish that (Sunday).”

Iowa coach Fran McCaffery called the extracurriculars after the game unfortunate but “kind of a non-story” since nothing major occurred. That doesn’t mean he was thrilled with what happened.

“Every one of those situations come down to there’s two seconds to go,” Fran McCaffery said. “The game’s over. They played to the end. Can’t fault them for that. They played to the end, and then there’s pushing and shoving because a guy gets chopped. There’s no reason to get chopped there. You just go to the locker room.”

Underwood ultimately called Sunday’s game and top 25 matchup — the first with both the Illini and Hawkeyes ranked at the same time since the 2005-06 season — Big Ten basketball at its finest. A careless turnover with 5:15 to play changed Illinois’ fortunes. Iowa tied the game six seconds later, and the Illini would only lead once more after a three-pointer from Feliz with 4:03 remaining in the game.

“We have the one casual play we had all night,” Underwood said. “Against the press, and we throw it to them and a four-point game switches. You can’t be casual in a war, in a battle, on the road in the Big Ten.”

Still, Illinois is more suited for those types of Big Ten battles this season. The same couldn’t have been said the previous two seasons when the Illini went 26-39 overall and were 16 games below .500 in conference play.

“What we had been doing wasn’t working — especially on the road — so we made a change,” Underwood said. “The kids have bought in, and they believe in our coaching staff and they believe in each other. That was an upset locker room after the game, but we left it knowing that there is a lot of basketball yet to be played. That’s what makes me appreciate having this team.”

So don’t count on Sunday’s loss being a roadblock to more success. Feliz, who led the Illini with 17 points against Iowa, had unwavering confidence in his team moving forward.

“We’re going to be fine,” he said. “I know my team. We’ve been through it all. I know we’re going to be fine and we’re going to get back on that winning streak.

“We lost (Sunday), but we’re still in first place. We’re just going to learn from it, and we’re going to be fine. We’re in first place for a reason. We’ve got to come back, watch film, stick together and work together and do whatever it takes to come back on that winning streak.”
.........................................................

Scott Richey covers college basketball for The News-Gazette. His email is srichey@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@srrichey).

LINK: https://www.news-gazette.com/sports...cle_5124f988-4608-11ea-bc4a-5714ab718585.html

 

[hooper56]

Fran has been pretty clear that he doesn't want the handshake line escalate to something bigger and I am guessing based on how the IL assistant coaches were acting that there was a possibility for a confrontation so he decided to deescalate by not allowing that situation to arise in the first place.

It sounds like Connor and the IL player that raked down on him were cool with it and had no beefs. The IL coaches, in this situation, were just out of line.

Fran always has his players' backs and no way is he going to let his team get berated by those Illinois out of control assistants. Turn and walk away. Takes a big man to do that.

 

[Ronman]

Funny thing is that if Illinois thinks there is an officiating conspiracy in the B1G and they think they will get calls against Garza at home, they may be wrong. Last game of the year with the only National Player of the Year candidate in the conference, I have to think the B1G will want him to go for 50.

Especially since Coach Underwood stated several times during his postgame comments that their plan was to "hit Garza every time he touches the ball."

 

[hooper56]

Especially since Coach Underwood stated several times during his postgame comments that their plan was to "hit Garza every time he touches the ball."

Meanwhile Greg Gard is flabbergasted that his player was suspended for punching Connor in the groin. There is a difference between hard physical play and trying to hurt someone. Illinois is hard nosed and physical. Wisconsin is flat out dirty. At least that is my view.

 

[BaldHawk4Life]

Meanwhile Greg Gard is flabbergasted that his player was suspended for punching Connor in the groin. There is a difference between hard physical play and trying to hurt someone. Illinois is hard nosed and physical. Wisconsin is flat out dirty. At least that is my view.

Exactly! We have been all wanting the Hawks to be more physical on defense the last three seasons and we are finally getting it. Can't fault Illinois for the game plan, really that is the only opportunity teams are going to have with Garza. I have said this several times... my favorite thing about Luka is that he expects it and he plays through it. Not often you see him complaining to the refs, he is too busy getting back on defense! Man I hope we figure out a way to clone that kid.

 

[BirdistheWord]

I would like to know all the facts pieced together, but all signs point to the two assistant coaches driving the unfounded anger.

The video of a reporter executing FB Live captured a lot of it up close and was pleased that Fran shook all the Illinois players hands. Also the Illini players looked pretty calm and chill, no issues to speak of. Same with Iowa players, from what i could tell.

 

[Franisdaman]

Another look.

Watch:

 

[Hawksfor3]

Another look.

Watch:

View embedded media

Was Brad telling his assistants to Go!? Maybe he wasn't pleased with those DB's.

 

[hawkeyeguy69]

Meanwhile Greg Gard is flabbergasted that his player was suspended for punching Connor in the groin. There is a difference between hard physical play and trying to hurt someone. Illinois is hard nosed and physical. Wisconsin is flat out dirty. At least that is my view.

Add Maryland to the list, please..

 

[Hawksfor3]

There’s no reason to get chopped there. You just go to the locker room.”

No reason to get chopped. Damned refs.

 

[iahawks10]

Apparently Connor complained to Eades about his not calling a foul on Illinois during their overly physical attempt to strip the ball,... Eades followed Connor to the bench to continue the conversation...

From the looks of the video, Connor is walking towards his bench and he said he wasn’t talking to Ayo. Mike Eads runs in as he wasn’t even the closest official to the the action or Connor. You clearly see Eads directing Connor toward his bench, but he was already walking that way before Eads stepped in. Connor told Eads that this was the refs doing for not having control of the game and letting Illinois hack at them while they were running out the clock. Connor told Eads he did the same thing last year vs ISU (not earlier against ILL). Connor is completely right.

I have no idea why Eads felt the need to run up to Connor other than to stir some shit. Clear and simple. That needs to be looked at. I’ve never had an issue with Eads as an official, but the way Eads handled the ending of the this game needs to be addressed.

 

[Hawksfor3]

@Franisdaman I just replayed the last 1:30 of the game. After Felize hit the 3 pointer, and Weezy dunked, Underwood called timeout with 4.1 remaining, I was watching the Iowa players on the sideline. I noticed Bakari talking to one of our assistants and he was looking toward the Illini bench like he was disgusted about something, and he pointed toward them and walked away. Hope you DVR'd it. If so, can you go back and look at it just after BU called the timeout at 4.1?

 

[Hawksfor3]

Connor told Eads that this was the refs doing for not having control of the game and letting Illinois hack at them while they were running out the clock.

So, Chin overheard Connor talking to Eads about the hacking and that set off Mr. Chin? Just a guess.