Ferentz to his credit, reinvented himself (to a degree). He moved on from some of the coaches who had been with him from the start because something needed to change. And it helped. Fran needs some fresh (young) blood in the worst way. He had the opportunity this summer, and went with one of his buddies who was just here. Some of Iowa's defensive issues would solve themselves through recruiting just by elevating the quality of athlete. Quicker guards who can stay in front of people, and a big guy who protects the rim and can rebound. Far too often one DePaul guy beat four Iowa games for an offensive rebound last night.
My thoughts:
PG: Joe is a bad shooter and bit out of control, of course he's two games into his career. But damn he is fast and can drive the court, which opens up opportunities for other guys. I don't think he should be the guy just yet, but with some seasoning it should be this season at some point. Connor should still start, but he is a dumbass at times and dribbles into trouble far too often. The fact he isn't a scoring threat remains a huge issue in his ability to contribute opportunities to others. In an ideal world he wouldn't play more than 10 minutes or so but at this point he's the best option. Evelyn is out of control, he's so much like Moss and doesn't appear he can be trusted. bohannon won't be playing for long, and likely will be predominantly off the ball next season. He doesn't look healthy.
Wings: Frederick and Wieskamp are the only hopes. CJ has some burst and looks the part. He'll develop nicely. Joe will need to adjust to being the man. Still tentative at times, which just won't work this year. The sooner he realizes it, the better.
Posts: Garza will continue having his hot and cold moments. Last night I think was also a product of no one else creating anything on offense. Garza can be a black hole, but when other players are humming on offense he is a skilled offensive threat. Defense remains rough. Nunge looks bad, but he should be able to do so much more. He looks worse than two years ago, I refuse to believe this is all he can do. Kriener is Kriener. Pemsl was more worried about being a tough guy than using his offensive skills. He would benefit by playing low post with a Nunge who can be a threat from 3, which makes Jack's improvement all the more important. Patrick is too weak, every bump and swipe he's losing the ball. His shot is shit. He needs time.
The Foster decision is certainly a big contributor to the doom and gloom from last night. I think the decision took a lot out of Fran. Let's see how they rebound. They've got a couple weeks before they play another tough team so there's a lot of time to sort things out.