Fran McCaffrey seems to be on the right path.

I honestly dont see them competing for a conference title anytime soon.

I honestly dont see them competing for a conference title anytime soon.

 

They have an outside shot next year if there are a lot of early departures across the Big 10 which is possible (would require Zeller, Oladipo, Thomas, Harris, Burke, Payne, etc. to all go pro). But their chance of winning the Big 10 would more be a result of the conference being bad than Iowa being really good.

They have an outside shot next year if there are a lot of early departures across the Big 10 which is possible (would require Zeller, Oladipo, Thomas, Harris, Burke, Payne, etc. to all go pro). But their chance of winning the Big 10 would more be a result of the conference being bad than Iowa being really good.

Even with that they are short on talent, existing and incoming.

They have an outside shot next year if there are a lot of early departures across the Big 10 which is possible (would require Zeller, Oladipo, Thomas, Harris, Burke, Payne, etc. to all go pro). But their chance of winning the Big 10 would more be a result of the conference being bad than Iowa being really good.

They will be really good next year regardless of early departures. Of their 9 conference losses this year, 7 were by 4 points or less. Their conference tourney loss was by 3, so 8 out of 10 by 4 or less, starting 3 freshman a sophomore and a junior most of the season. As Al McGwire used to say, the best thing about freshmen is they become sophomores.There is reason for a lot of optimism as they only lose 1 player, and gain a couple of guys who are supposed to be pretty good players.

Even with that they are short on talent, existing and incoming.

Not really.

Not really.

How so? Iowa is nowhere to be found in the top 50 recruiting rankings for the past forever. 2012 was a nice class but still isnt in the same realm as the top classes for conference foes. Compare that with OSU, IU, MSU, Michigan and even Illinois.

How so? Iowa is nowhere to be found in the top 50 recruiting rankings for the past forever. 2012 was a nice class but still isnt in the same realm as the top classes for conference foes. Compare that with OSU, IU, MSU, Michigan and even Illinois.

Last year they ranked in the top 50. White, Basabe and Marble are all really good players. Maybe not lottery picks, but guys that can win you games. If no one transfers or flunks out, if Woodbury gets stronger and plays anywhere near someone 7'1", they will contend for the Big Ten title next year. If they could have closed out games this year, the only team they really couldn't or shouldn't beat was Michigan.

 

Peter Jok was rated #10 prospect in the country by Van Coleman, and they have Uthoff coming to play next year as well. McCaffery is really turning that program around.

Edited March 26, 201313 yr by Dick Allen

Its just hard to convince people that X team is going to be a Big 10 contender, when OSU, MSU and Wisconsin have been there every year for the last what 10 years? You add in Michigan and Indiana, and its just pretty brutal to get to the top.

 

Not saying Iowa wont, just that its a steep hill to climb to go from the middle to the top

Looks like Collins to NU is very likely.

 

Hopefully they had those ducks in a row before they fired Carmody.

Its just hard to convince people that X team is going to be a Big 10 contender, when OSU, MSU and Wisconsin have been there every year for the last what 10 years? You add in Michigan and Indiana, and its just pretty brutal to get to the top.

 

Not saying Iowa wont, just that its a steep hill to climb to go from the middle to the top

 

Hey now, Illinois has more Big 10 titles than Wisconsin in the last 10 seasons.

If Illinois was more consistent over the last 10 years... But they had 2 really good years and then...

Last year they ranked in the top 50. White, Basabe and Marble are all really good players. Maybe not lottery picks, but guys that can win you games. If no one transfers or flunks out, if Woodbury gets stronger and plays anywhere near someone 7'1", they will contend for the Big Ten title next year. If they could have closed out games this year, the only team they really couldn't or shouldn't beat was Michigan.

 

Peter Jok was rated #10 prospect in the country by Van Coleman, and they have Uthoff coming to play next year as well. McCaffery is really turning that program around.

But you understand that doesnt put you near the talent level of the contenders in the conference. It looks good compared to other Iowa classes but compare that to what Crean is bringing in. Its night and day. At this point its a better goal to finish in the top half of the conference I dont think theres much of a chance of actually competing for a regular season title.

Edited March 26, 201313 yr by RockRaines

Its just hard to convince people that X team is going to be a Big 10 contender, when OSU, MSU and Wisconsin have been there every year for the last what 10 years? You add in Michigan and Indiana, and its just pretty brutal to get to the top.

 

Not saying Iowa wont, just that its a steep hill to climb to go from the middle to the top

Obviously the only way to convince anyone is to actually do it. We will see. I think McCaffery has positioned them to be really good in coming seasons.

But you understand that doesnt put you near the talent level of the contenders in the conference. It looks good compared to other Iowa classes but compare that to what Crean is bringing in. Its night and day. At this point its a better goal to finish in the top half of the conference I dont think theres much of a chance of actually competing for a regular season title.

If they knew how to close out games, they would have finished in the top half of the conference and contended for a title this year. They didn't get it done, and obviously a year of experience isn't a guarantee they will learn how, but I'm thinking a year older will help them immensely, especially since they are only losing a reserve. A pretty good reserve, but what is coming in should be better than that.

Edited March 26, 201313 yr by Dick Allen

Does anyone know a good site to find the top all time stat leaders at a given school? I've done a bit of googling and couldn't find anything; I could only find single lists of Indiana's Top Ten Scorers or something, but never any sources.

If Illinois was more consistent over the last 10 years... But they had 2 really good years and then...

 

f***ing Bruce Weber. Sigh.

Does anyone know a good site to find the top all time stat leaders at a given school? I've done a bit of googling and couldn't find anything; I could only find single lists of Indiana's Top Ten Scorers or something, but never any sources.

 

Have you tried the school's sports website? For Illinois, their basketball page has an almanac/record book with hundreds of pages of stats/records/etc.

Have you tried the school's sports website? For Illinois, their basketball page has an almanac/record book with hundreds of pages of stats/records/etc.

I had looked and didn't see anything, but looked again and found what will probably be the best I can do: a PDF of a media book Indiana printed for the 2009-10 season.

Does this site work for you?

 

http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/

 

They are usually the best for pro sports

Does this site work for you?

 

http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/

 

They are usually the best for pro sports

I checked that one, but could only figure out how to look at individual previous seasons, not the entire history.

I checked that one, but could only figure out how to look at individual previous seasons, not the entire history.

 

yeah i found that out too haha

Hire someone from the Matta tree, its been fairly successful so far. Chris Jent or Jeff Boals are about ready.

 

Who's tree does Chris Mack fall under?

I checked that one, but could only figure out how to look at individual previous seasons, not the entire history.

 

Are you looking for specific information? Here is Indiana's from iuhoosiers.com. It's labeled their Record Book, but it looks like a media guide to me. It's 276 pages.

 

IU Basketball Record Book

 

On a separate note, Colt Ryan needed 8 points tonight to become Evansville's All-time leading scorer. He dropped 39 at Canisius in an 84-83 win. Didn't leave much room for doubt!

Collins to NW official.

First time ever as a head coach and you start in the Big Ten...with the worst facilities in the conference. Good luck Mr. Collins.

 

Wonder how Crawford feels about the Champaign-Urbana area.