Why are we playing Western Illinois?

[Ihawkhoops]

It's amazing how back to back poor recruiting seasons can hurt a program like Iowa's is and always will be.

Whitey, Gabe and Ogles in 2011, good class. Woody, Mike G and AC were a good 2012 class. The small class of Peter Jok was a good one, for being a one player class. The disasters were 2014 and 2015. Nine players and only Isaiah Moss was capable of Big Ten play, lucky to have signed the Baer as a walk on.

Very good recruiting since 2016 but those huge open classes basically gutted the team of talent and then leadership resulting in 2018. Three good seasons with this season to be determined.

Ryan Hawkins (from Iowa) who went to NW MO State and is now at Creighton is averaging 19 ppg in Big East play. We saw Trenton Massner from Wapello on display the other night and it's not like the kid hasn't demonstrated his abilities the last two years (see below).

Massner spent the last two years at Northwestern State, an NCAA Division I school in Louisiana. There, Massner earned second team All-Southland Conference honors while leading the Demons in scoring, averaging 13.1 points per game.

So a kid from Iowa leads a D-1 school in scoring as a PG in a pretty freaking athletic conference and he gets 0 interest from Fran? This is not taking a flyer on a high school kid. Always a good look when a kid from Iowa that you don't recruit initially, or try to get through the portal, schools all the guards you did recruit. Glad we are so loaded that we can tie 3 scholarships up with guys who won't play (Ash, Mulvey and Josh).

 

[Hawkmi]

Ryan Hawkins (from Iowa) who went to NW MO State and is now at Creighton is averaging 19 ppg in Big East play. We saw Trenton Massner from Wapello on display the other night and it's not like the kid hasn't demonstrated his abilities the last two years (see below).

Massner spent the last two years at Northwestern State, an NCAA Division I school in Louisiana. There, Massner earned second team All-Southland Conference honors while leading the Demons in scoring, averaging 13.1 points per game.

So a kid from Iowa leads a D-1 school in scoring as a PG in a pretty freaking athletic conference and he gets 0 interest from Fran? This is not taking a flyer on a high school kid. Always a good look when a kid from Iowa that you don't recruit initially, or try to get through the portal, schools all the guards you did recruit. Glad we are so loaded that we can tie 3 scholarships up with guys who won't play (Ash, Mulvey and Josh).

 

[RocknRollface]

Ryan Hawkins (from Iowa) who went to NW MO State and is now at Creighton is averaging 19 ppg in Big East play. We saw Trenton Massner from Wapello on display the other night and it's not like the kid hasn't demonstrated his abilities the last two years (see below).

Massner spent the last two years at Northwestern State, an NCAA Division I school in Louisiana. There, Massner earned second team All-Southland Conference honors while leading the Demons in scoring, averaging 13.1 points per game.

So a kid from Iowa leads a D-1 school in scoring as a PG in a pretty freaking athletic conference and he gets 0 interest from Fran? This is not taking a flyer on a high school kid. Always a good look when a kid from Iowa that you don't recruit initially, or try to get through the portal, schools all the guards you did recruit. Glad we are so loaded that we can tie 3 scholarships up with guys who won't play (Ash, Mulvey and Josh).

Didn't really need another pg.

Not getting at least one actual big was the real mistake.

I would have tried to get two.

Rebraca isn't really a big in this conference.

 

[The Deplorable Sleeping Dog]

Ryan Hawkins (from Iowa) who went to NW MO State and is now at Creighton is averaging 19 ppg in Big East play. We saw Trenton Massner from Wapello on display the other night and it's not like the kid hasn't demonstrated his abilities the last two years (see below).

Massner spent the last two years at Northwestern State, an NCAA Division I school in Louisiana. There, Massner earned second team All-Southland Conference honors while leading the Demons in scoring, averaging 13.1 points per game.

So a kid from Iowa leads a D-1 school in scoring as a PG in a pretty freaking athletic conference and he gets 0 interest from Fran? This is not taking a flyer on a high school kid. Always a good look when a kid from Iowa that you don't recruit initially, or try to get through the portal, schools all the guards you did recruit. Glad we are so loaded that we can tie 3 scholarships up with guys who won't play (Ash, Mulvey and Josh).

Well since there are four point guards on the roster and we are bringing in an ESPN 4* point guard I'm not sure another PG would make much sense. Since Iowa plays in the Big Ten and, at the time they were recruited, Filip, Riley and Mulvey, filled a complete void inside.

Since Fran seems unwilling to commit to a system that would allow us to run big men to death, which is really the only way small teams are going to beat any of the Big Ten's inside centered teams, we are certainly going to need Josh and Riley a lot more than yet another point guard.

 

[Hans81]

Why not, this season's trashed anyway.
Losing both Murray's after this season and having no big man that's worth a crap guarantees Iowa will not compete for any Big Ten Championship for years to come.
🥱

Why would Iowa lose both Murray’s after this season?

 

[Hans81]

Altho, in this case, he’s right you know.

 

[General Tso]

I'm actually attending Western Illinois' next game... against St Thomas.

St Thomas, a team in its first year of D1 with a roster full of leftover D3 players crushed western ill by 25