Do you want Fran to stay or go?

[Stu Beagle]

Iowa is a decent enough job that it could easily attract candidates as good as Fran. We have fuck you douche money too. Hiring a new coach should not be scary

 

[CurdMan]

The lack of fan support for Fran is going to make it very difficult to compete in the NIL game. That’s probably the reason I would be totally fine if Iowa moved on.

 

[Hawkstrat]

Iowa is a decent enough job that it could easily attract candidates as good as Fran. We have fuck you douche money too. Hiring a new coach should not be scary

Name a coach that has been to four straight tournaments that Iowa could easily attract?

 

[HiawathaHawk]

And what would you rank Iowa State in terms of attractiveness? They have been a better bball program since the mid 90s and somehow have been successful with a carousel of coaches coupled with a smaller budget, fan base, and much shittier college town.

Their fan base has been consistently better across several coaches and through down periods. The programs have been pretty similar overall. They’ve had more down years than you think. KenPom ranks Iowa 40th in program rankings since 1997, ISU 46. 8 losing seasons in that time to 5 for Iowa.

They’ve had one more tournament. The crazy thing is 5 different coaches have been to 1 S16.
I don’t know if any program matches that. No one has been to more than one and they’ve had bad upset losses sprinkled throughout along with droughts. They went from 2002-2012 making it once then Hoiberg came.

 

[douglasbader]

It has officially been 40 years since Lute Olson was coach at Iowa. The only times in 40 years when Iowa was truly competitive at a top of the conference or national level is when his successor paid for players.

We've scraped close maybe 2 other times, and that was when Alford paid for players and when Luka Garza turned himself into a monster and got us a 2 seed.

This is who Iowa is. You hope you can finish in the top half of the Big Ten and make the NCAA Tournament 3 out of 5 years. Maybe you get lucky once every 20-30 years and go on a run.

Until we have a coach that flat out buys players en masse like Raveling did, Iowa will remain as nothing more than a nice program that plays an entertaining style of ball and has a lot of home grown kids.

We also have a mostly shitty fan base that shows up a couple times a year when we get a weekend Big Ten game.

 

[L. Wade Childress]

Barta deserves a lot of heat for his bungling of PR issues and being a vehement anti-lesbo, but his hires have been fine.

The big counterpoint is going to be Lick, but a lot of that is hindsight.

Lick's resume was fine. He had early success at Butler, faltered, but then corrected it. I don't blame Barta for not knowing it was an assistant coach that was likely responsible for that.

Barta isn't a cowboy, he isn't going to go rogue and hire someone he has a good feeling about. They'd hire a search firm, consult with many people, and make a solid hire. Of course there is no guarantee of success.

Barta is anti-cunt, not anti-lesbo.

 

[L. Wade Childress]

Name a coach that has been to four straight tournaments that Iowa could easily attract?

well, not many teams have made it to the last 5 tourneys so this is stupid

 

[L. Wade Childress]

The big issue now is that coaches want to know who their boss is, and that’s pretty uncertain at iowa.

that said, all off the following would absolutely jump at the iowa job:

1. Craig smith
2. Devries
3. Jans
4. McCollum

 

[HiawathaHawk]

The lack of fan support for Fran is going to make it very difficult to compete in the NIL game. That’s probably the reason I would be totally fine if Iowa moved on.

It’s not going to suddenly become great with a new coach. Same as attendance at Iowa. It will always be better when the next coach comes. Everyone was going to come back when Alford got fired. They didn’t come with Lick, then he was boring and terrible and they’d come when he was fired. Fran played exciting and people liked him but weren’t coming until he made the tournament. Now he has to make a S16 for fans to show up. The goal posts keep getting moved.

The fans who would only donate to NIL with a new coach are the same people. The fan base mostly sucks and will always hypothetically be better when perfect conditions are met.

 

[douglasbader]

I think the hardest part about Fran is 12 years of Gesell / bohannon / Connor / Clemmons / Toussaint / Ulis. College is 100000% a guards game, and Fran has had rotten luck with finding guards that elevate his team. It's super fucking weird given that at Sienna he was known for having tough athletic guards that helped him beat teams like Ohio State in the tournament.

Then he gets to Iowa and he can't recruit a complete guard. If they are athletic, then they can't shoot. If they can shoot, they aren't athletic and pretty much none of them could figure out how to play defense against a wet paper bag and stop penetration.

Every other position Fran has gotten and developed wonderful players. Wieskamp/Jok at SG. Marble at SF. White / Uthoff / Cook / Keegan / Kris at PF and of course Garza at C.

It's all about the PG position that has fucked him, and unless Bowen wakes up and the Moline kid turns into the Purdue freshman from this year, that isn't changing anytime soon.

 

[Uli Kunkel]

Only at Iowa do teams routinely flop at season's end and then it's the fans' fault. Maybe the constant letdowns by the basketball team are what make the fans fickle?

With Alford, you had huge hype and promises and out of that got one NCAA tournament win, a rape scandal, and lots of condescension and excuse-making. This was followed up by a coach who went 3 for 3 in having the worst 3 seasons in the history of the program. All together, 12 years of that shit. I just can't believe the fans wouldn't be so excited to support that! What shitty fans!

 

[CurdMan]

It’s not going to suddenly become great with a new coach. Same as attendance at Iowa. It will always be better when the next coach comes. Everyone was going to come back when Alford got fired. They didn’t come with Lick, then he was boring and terrible and they’d come when he was fired. Fran played exciting and people liked him but weren’t coming until he made the tournament. Now he has to make a S16 for fans to show up. The goal posts keep getting moved.

The fans who would only donate to NIL with a new coach are the same people. The fan base mostly sucks and will always hypothetically be better when perfect conditions are met.

I don’t think it would necessarily become great with a new coach. Personality wise Fran is a massive upgrade over Alford and Lick, but he too has turned a lot of people off. That absolutely hurts attendance and NIL.

 

[douglasbader]

I would pay a billion dollars to see Fran have gotten himself an Andre Woolridge at some point the last 13 years.

 

[Thanksgiving Dinner]

Name a coach that has been to four straight tournaments that Iowa could easily attract?

Especially after you just pushed out a coach who'd been to four straight tournaments.

 

[douglasbader]

Only at Iowa do teams routinely flop at season's end and then it's the fans' fault. Maybe the constant letdowns by the basketball team are what make the fans fickle?

With Alford, you had huge hype and promises and out of that got one NCAA tournament win, a rape scandal, and lots of condescension and excuse-making. This was followed up by a coach who went 3 for 3 in having the worst 3 seasons in the history of the program. All together, 12 years of that shit. I just can't believe the fans wouldn't be so excited to support that! What shitty fans!

You are making his point though. If the fans were so upset by Alford and Lick for the scandals and terrible unentertaining basketball, then they should be gloriously happy where Fran has gotten Iowa back to.

Instead, it's been constant, "well, yeah, we'll show up if THIS happens!"

That's his point and you just drove that home.

 

[ivan_drago]

“Iowa flops at the end of the season,” is a narrative invented by retards.

 

[Uli Kunkel]

What would you call getting run off the court in the second round as a 2 seed, followed by two first-round losses as the higher seed? Finishing with a flourish?

 

[douglasbader]

Especially after you just pushed out a coach who'd been to four straight tournaments.

Ultimately I think the best thing for everyone would be that Fran decides another complete re-build and putting Patrick through another year at Iowa isn't the right thing for him and his family. He decides to retire and spend the rest of his 60's watching his youngest 2 kids grow up and Patrick gets a fresh start.

Everyone sings kumbaya and Iowa has been elevated enough that they can immediately go out and grab a really good coach that fires up everyone again. The new coach keeps the current young core, adds a bunch of transfers and everyone gets a fresh start.

 

[douglasbader]

None of that is going to happen though as Fran has been spending his time driving to Moline to watch his new recruits play and seems to have every intention on returning. Patrick also seemed like he is set on coming back.

We're going to get something that is essentially bringing the young guys and Patrick back with Bowen / Jelly / Mulva all possibly gone and the Brauns kid coming in. Might pick up a couple transfers. They will go 11-9 or 10-10 and be right there for an NCAA 7/8/9/10 seed and hoping that they can finally make a mini-run.

 

[Uli Kunkel]

And for the record I am not saying Fran should be fired. I personally would like him to move on but he has done nothing to deserve being fired. He has done exactly what he was hired to do.

Ultimately this program is going to need some postseason success before fans are more routinely engaged. Even sporadic sweet 16s would help, it doesn't have to be a conference championship or a Final Four.

 

[Gushawk]

I probably won’t ever show up anything other than an occasional weekend game no matter what. It’s a pain in the ass.

 

[douglasbader]

I probably won’t ever show up anything other than an occasional weekend game no matter what. It’s a pain in the ass.

Not to beat a dead horse, but this as well. BTN and every game on tv with many starting at 8pm on weeknights and the lack of weekend games at an arena that is not well known for being parking or fan friendly is also going to be an issue forever.

Unless you live in the immediate Iowa City area, you aren't even thinking about attending a game as a casual fan. Forget it if you have kids.

 

[L. Wade Childress]

Vastly different styles, but Fran has a lot in common with Mick Cronin in terms of both consistency and early tournament exits. It’s not like Fran cannot coach, just as Cronin has proved at UCLA. Making the tournament in eight out of 10 years is absolutely exceeding expectations at Iowa. That said, I have moved past the “bad luck” rationale, and feel like the defense needs to be addressed, if we want to see more tournament success. You can have successful regular seasons because it is tough to get up for every game and we have a good offense, but at the end of the year every team is fighting their hardest.


This year feels quite a bit different for me. I feel like Fran will definitely consider moving on. We have a new university president, likely/possibly a new AD, and serious family issues going on. I can see Fran not wanting Jack to deal with similar issues or possibly not even play for his dad.

 

[CurdMan]

Once you’re out of the habit of going to games or donating, it’s tough to re-establish. NCAA tournament second weekend contender or not.

 

[L. Wade Childress]

I probably won’t ever show up anything other than an occasional weekend game no matter what. It’s a pain in the ass.

This is where Iowa State fans are far better than Iowa. They are not as great as they claim to be, but they are far more dedicated in Iowa. They just do not have the financial base that we do.

 

[HiawathaHawk]

This year feels quite a bit different for me. I feel like Fran will definitely consider moving on. We have a new university president, likely/possibly a new AD, and serious family issues going on. I can see Fran not wanting Jack to deal with similar issues or possibly not even play for his dad.

You’ve been saying something similar to this for 5 years or more.

 

[Hawkstrat]

You’ve been saying something similar to this for 5 years or more.

Right, but this year...

 

[MikeyJoe]

Only at Iowa do teams routinely flop at season's end

Huh?

 

[L. Wade Childress]

You’ve been saying something similar to this for 5 years or more.

well, I always wanted to be a weatherman.

 

[Hawkstrat]

Right, but this year...

While I was joking, I think next year is the one where he seriously considers calling it quits. Coaches two of his sons through college, watches the last one.

 

[Uli Kunkel]

Huh?

Even more "huh?" is plucking half a sentence out of a post to remove all context and then presenting it on its own.

 

[Gushawk]

Vastly different styles, but Fran has a lot in common with Mick Cronin in terms of both consistency and early tournament exits. It’s not like Fran cannot coach, just as Cronin has proved at UCLA. Making the tournament in eight out of 10 years is absolutely exceeding expectations at Iowa. That said, I have moved past the “bad luck” rationale, and feel like the defense needs to be addressed, if we want to see more tournament success. You can have successful regular seasons because it is tough to get up for every game and we have a good offense, but at the end of the year every team is fighting their hardest.


This year feels quite a bit different for me. I feel like Fran will definitely consider moving on. We have a new university president, likely/possibly a new AD, and serious family issues going on. I can see Fran not wanting Jack to deal with similar issues or possibly not even play for his dad.

I agree and welcome

 

[Hawkstrat]

"huh?" is plucking half

What?

 

[ivan_drago]

What would you call getting run off the court in the second round as a 2 seed, followed by two first-round losses as the higher seed? Finishing with a flourish?

LOL. They were the hottest fucking team in the country heading into the tournament last year, but MAJOR laugh out fucking loud at “higher seed,” in the 8/9 game where they were 2 point underdogs

 

[ivan_drago]

The loss to Oregon sucked, but it sucks way more because they were the only team in the tournament to play someone who got a bye in round one.

 

[Uli Kunkel]

Exactly, if any team was going to make a tournament run it would have been last year's and what did they do? They flopped!

 

[ivan_drago]

You said routinely. Words have meanings.

 

[ivan_drago]

Or you’re using “end of the year,” to mean a single game, which might be even dumber.

 

[ivan_drago]

But this conversation is stupid because Fran isn’t going anywhere. He’s made the ncaa tournament for half a decade straight. At Iowa.

 

[Uli Kunkel]

All this was presented in the context of fans not fully buying into the product. And in that context yes, the tournament matters. The lack of sweet 16 complaint is thrown around on this board constantly.

I wasn't perpetuating the "Fran fade" myth.

 

[TurdBurgler]

The situation with having the kids on the team sucks. Puts everyone in a bad position when they don't live up to expectations.

This was a frustrating season but I am still all in on Fran. Don't think we can do better, and more like that we do a lot worse.

Add a guy like Fardaws to next year's team and it's a big ten contender.

 

[Hawkstrat]

It isn't that Iowa can't do better than Fran, it's about how confident you are in Iowa's ability in finding and hiring that guy?

 

[ivan_drago]

All this was presented in the context of fans not fully buying into the product. And in that context yes, the tournament matters. The lack of sweet 16 complaint is thrown around on this board constantly.

I wasn't perpetuating the "Fran fade" myth.

 

[douglasbader]

It's just reached the same fucking point that it has with Kirk Ferentz for me. I love both of them, but for the love of fuck if these two mid-late 60's stubborn fucking dipshits would just respectively do ANYTHING to fix their offensive and defensive issues it would be all most of us are asking for.

They are fucking fantastic at other aspects of the game (defense and special teams for Kirk and offense for Fran) and all they need to do to take the final next step is do literally anything to fix the other part.

The fact that both seem either oblivious to it or so old school and stubborn they almost won't fix it out of spite is maddening.

 

[BillyBob]

If only Oregon had to play that 1st round game!

 

[douglasbader]

Also, get rid of your fucking children from the program. No more for the love of fuck.

Unless somehow Jack is awesome.

 

[douglasbader]

If only Oregon had to play that 1st round game!

They were stupidly underseeded and everything, but yeah, having something that has never happened in the history of the NCAA Tournament happen to your team sort of sucks.

 

[KitKatApples]

Name a coach that has been to four straight tournaments that Iowa could easily attract?

Adolph Rupp

 

[B19Rob]

They were stupidly underseeded and everything, but yeah, having something that has never happened in the history of the NCAA Tournament happen to your team sort of sucks.

Sort of like a nine seed getting home court advantage for their first two games too. I think Houston should be pretty pissed about that.

 

[Hawkstrat]

Adolph Rupp

The one coach who recruits fewer black guys than Fran.