STAFF PICKS: Xavier Foster

ISC

Well-Known Member
Oct 15, 2009
1,457
704
113
Iowa
I actually think XF is going to Iowa (just a total gut feeling -> ya know the old cyclone kick to the groin type thing).

Now that being said, I don't think it would be his best decision. I watch a lot of Iowa basketball (i'm just a BB junkie really) and am not sure i've ever really seen a big man get better under Fran. Tyler Cook is getting a cup of coffee in the NBA, but i don't think he ever improved at all while in college. Adam Woodburry never got better. Aaron White ?? Maybe you could argue Aaron got better. But it's a short list.

Then you look at the guys Prohm has helped improve their games -> guys like Burton, Nader, Babb, etc. Yeah, i know he had a few misses too, but all in all, i'd say most of the guys get better under Prohm (I'm excluding the grad transfers as we didn't really have much choice on a lot of them).

Anyways, just my 2 cents :) Hoping he chooses the good guys, but even if he doesn't, will hope it all works out for him in the end no matter where he chooses.
 

Beyerball

Well-Known Member
SuperFanatic
SuperFanatic T2
Jun 18, 2013
7,400
6,694
113
Texas
Just stop with the “recruit they like” non sense.. this staff loves every recruit in this class to this point. Not one of them they feel is a reach. Jaden and Dubar are great sizes for their position with long arms and athletic who can both really stroke it.. Blackwell is uber athletic and tough defensively and will be a solid scorer within 15 feet.
 
  • Disagree
  • Agree
Reactions: ISC and Cydkar

johnnydugouts

Well-Known Member
Jan 11, 2013
1,602
168
63
Just stop with the “recruit they like” non sense.. this staff loves every recruit in this class to this point. Not one of them they feel is a reach. Jaden and Dubar are great sizes for their position with long arms and athletic who can both really stroke it.. Blackwell is uber athletic and tough defensively and will be a solid scorer within 15 feet.

we hear this every year from every team. We heard it last year and two of the guys couldn’t even make it to the first game.
 

FinalFourCy

Well-Known Member
Mar 5, 2017
9,357
9,145
113
40
They’ve been good enough under Fran to keep the interest of the instate kids.
Much to the dismay of UNI and Drake.
Upper Iowa, too, in the case of the Murray boys.

Honestly, Fran has done a great job at Iowa. Nearly a generational coach. But he’s pretty fortunate to have success he has had. He’s strung together Tavernhawks, kids nobody wanted, a couple decent instate kids that were kind of forced to go to Iowa, family, and a few hidden gems. If any of those latter or the good instate kids had been misses or left early, he’s probably viewed a lot differently in Hawk land. As it is, he’s a success for an Iowa coach and the best coach many hawk fans can remember.
 

FinalFourCy

Well-Known Member
Mar 5, 2017
9,357
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we hear this every year from every team. We heard it last year and two of the guys couldn’t even make it to the first game.
Are you familiar with these two?
We never heard anything of Anderson having those physical attributes. It was known he was a risk in that regard.
Nearly every discussion of Leech came with the qualifier of him being a long play, and that he needed to get in the program and continue to rehabilitate his body and game. Clearly that investment was later deemed not worth it, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t factual.
 

ATCy

Well-Known Member
Jun 3, 2015
803
991
93
I think anyone who has spent time with Fran realizes that he is a normal person. He’s got an ego but his temper is a funny sidebar for most people that know hoops, or work with CvC.

To me it seems like frans biggest recruiting problem is that he sometimes thinks too highly of his own player evals.
As in normal did you mean A-hole?
 
  • Funny
Reactions: isu83

Cydkar

Well-Known Member
Apr 12, 2006
26,587
12,134
113
i was proven wrong, but there wasn’t much separation at the time in my opinion. It happens.

I try to be objective. Otherwise I’m setting myself up for disappointment. on the other hand I don’t recalll a single time you’ve ever admitted you are wrong, which is a shitload of times. But I understand that being right isn’t why you post here, so whatever.
 

Cloneon

Well-Known Member
Oct 29, 2015
2,674
2,671
113
West Virginia
I actually think XF is going to Iowa (just a total gut feeling -> ya know the old cyclone kick to the groin type thing).

Now that being said, I don't think it would be his best decision. I watch a lot of Iowa basketball (i'm just a BB junkie really) and am not sure i've ever really seen a big man get better under Fran. Tyler Cook is getting a cup of coffee in the NBA, but i don't think he ever improved at all while in college. Adam Woodburry never got better. Aaron White ?? Maybe you could argue Aaron got better. But it's a short list.

Then you look at the guys Prohm has helped improve their games -> guys like Burton, Nader, Babb, etc. Yeah, i know he had a few misses too, but all in all, i'd say most of the guys get better under Prohm (I'm excluding the grad transfers as we didn't really have much choice on a lot of them).

Anyways, just my 2 cents :) Hoping he chooses the good guys, but even if he doesn't, will hope it all works out for him in the end no matter where he chooses.
Managing your expectations by lowering the bar is normal. My take is the closer it gets to 'decision' time (note 'decision' time is not necessarily, 'announcement' time) the less confident I get about us because people tend to fall back to comfort; not logic. That said, Prohm is infinitely more 'comfort' than Fran.
 

Cloneon

Well-Known Member
Oct 29, 2015
2,674
2,671
113
West Virginia
i was proven wrong, but there wasn’t much separation at the time in my opinion. It happens.

I try to be objective. Otherwise I’m setting myself up for disappointment. on the other hand I don’t recalll a single time you’ve ever admitted you are wrong, which is a shitload of times. But I understand that being right isn’t why you post here, so whatever.
Based on that statement we can presume Prohm is MUCH better at developing players? Another solid reason Foster should go to ISU.
 

JM4CY

Well-Known Member
SuperFanatic
SuperFanatic T2
Aug 23, 2012
33,780
65,185
113
America
we hear this every year from every team. We heard it last year and two of the guys couldn’t even make it to the first game.
Heeeerrrreees Johnny!
giphy-downsized-large.gif
 

Crookedhatkid

Well-Known Member
May 14, 2018
2,770
2,956
113
39
I actually think XF is going to Iowa (just a total gut feeling -> ya know the old cyclone kick to the groin type thing).

Now that being said, I don't think it would be his best decision. I watch a lot of Iowa basketball (i'm just a BB junkie really) and am not sure i've ever really seen a big man get better under Fran. Tyler Cook is getting a cup of coffee in the NBA, but i don't think he ever improved at all while in college. Adam Woodburry never got better. Aaron White ?? Maybe you could argue Aaron got better. But it's a short list.

Then you look at the guys Prohm has helped improve their games -> guys like Burton, Nader, Babb, etc. Yeah, i know he had a few misses too, but all in all, i'd say most of the guys get better under Prohm (I'm excluding the grad transfers as we didn't really have much choice on a lot of them).

Anyways, just my 2 cents :) Hoping he chooses the good guys, but even if he doesn't, will hope it all works out for him in the end no matter where he chooses.

I am no fan of Fran but White definitely got much better from his freshman year till his senior year. Woodbury also improved noticeably, never got anywhere near his recruiting rankings, but he improved as a player. That being said I think both could have been better developed elsewhere.
 

CyclonesRock

Well-Known Member
Jan 1, 2018
1,194
1,594
113
Iowa
I am no fan of Fran but White definitely got much better from his freshman year till his senior year. Woodbury also improved noticeably, never got anywhere near his recruiting rankings, but he improved as a player. That being said I think both could have been better developed elsewhere.
Yes, Woodbury's eye pokes got much more efficient his senior year....:eek:
 

sadam

Well-Known Member
Jan 8, 2014
1,238
424
83
I am no fan of Fran but White definitely got much better from his freshman year till his senior year. Woodbury also improved noticeably, never got anywhere near his recruiting rankings, but he improved as a player. That being said I think both could have been better developed elsewhere.

Thought I remember seeing someone post Woodbury’s year by year stats and he actually got worse statistically year by year. It may have just been blocks per game can’t really remember for sure. From memory I definitely don’t remember him improving much. Feel like jok improved a decent amount.
 

Drew0311

Well-Known Member
Nov 7, 2019
6,883
10,613
113
50
Norwalk, Iowa
I don't normally follow former Cyclones after they leave Iowa State. However, I will be interested in following what Marcedus Leech does at his next stop. Will he ever get his mojo back or is he washed out with that injury. Sad either way that he has had to go through so much.