Fran McCaffery and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Transfer Portal

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carvers4math

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Dr. Tom coached in a loaded Big Ten while Fran has feasted on a weak bottom half of the conference. It's not even close IMO.
Between the conference differences, the tournament records, and the public demeanor and class, they shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same sentence. Having seen that family at high school games, I just can’t take any of them seriously.
 

Cyinthenorth

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Sandfort looks like a player who could be a good piece with playmakers around him but struggle without good point guards and inside finishers to open up shots. Probably an improvement on defense over a middle aged final form Jobo but not on offense.

I've barely been following this but is Fran just going to eat a scholarship or two because he can't get any transfer targets?
Ironic you bring up Sandforts defense. He is tall at 6'7'' but has really short arms and limited athleticism. He got abused defensively all season long, and he just doesn't have the physical makeup of somebody who will improve much on that end.
 
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inCyteful

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As good as TD? Didn’t know Fran had 2 sweet 16s and an elite 8.
They did, they were just robbed of them by the Tourney Committee with JP the main instigator. In reality, there would have been a Final Four there last year if they hadn't gotten multiple shafts.
 

GMackey32

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Ironic you bring up Sandforts defense. He is tall at 6'7'' but has really short arms and limited athleticism. He got abused defensively all season long, and he just doesn't have the physical makeup of somebody who will improve much on that end.
So he's perfect for Fran's system then
 

HFCS

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Ironic you bring up Sandforts defense. He is tall at 6'7'' but has really short arms and limited athleticism. He got abused defensively all season long, and he just doesn't have the physical makeup of somebody who will improve much on that end.

Worse than Jobo?
 

Mick Mars

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I like Sandfort. Honestly I think he's going to be pretty good. I don't know if he'll be an all-conference player or anything but he's going to be a productive player for the remainder of his career there.



I think he's about as good as Dr. Tom. Once Raveling's players were gone he was basically a 20-10 round of 32 coach. Fran is basically one tick lower that that but he's right there.
He did inherit a lot of talent from Raveling but many coaches have screwed up good talent and he produced those first three years at a pretty strong level- the 1987 Big 10 was loaded with IU (national champs), Purdue, etc. as was the 1989 Big 10- Michigan (national champs) and Illinois (Final Four). He also had the coaching acumen to move Gamble, who averaged about 2.5ppg his junior year for George at the 4, to 2 where he used a big senior year to launch a solid NBA career as well as moving a low production guy in Lohaus to the 4 who also then went on to a long NBA career. The 1993 team likely was an Elite 8 or Final Four team until the unfortunate Street tragedy. And he went to the Sweet 16 in his lame duck year with a roster that was entirely his own. And that's without getting into on-court and AAU/HS game behavior of Fran and family- TD had more class in his right hand than Fran does in his entire existence- he is a buffoon.

No doubt TD had some 20-10 years as mentioned but his "highs" are greater than Fran's and the sample size is almost the same- TD got ran after 13 years and this upcoming season is year 13 for Francis. What I find humorous is Iowa fans were big into the phrase "next level" when Slick Alford was brought in and, 23 years removed from TD, they still aren't back to the level they were in 1999.
 

HFCS

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He did inherit a lot of talent from Raveling but many coaches have screwed up good talent and he produced those first three years at a pretty strong level- the 1987 Big 10 was loaded with IU (national champs), Purdue, etc. as was the 1989 Big 10- Michigan (national champs) and Illinois (Final Four). He also had the coaching acumen to move Gamble, who averaged about 2.5ppg his junior year for George at the 4, to 2 where he used a big senior year to launch a solid NBA career as well as moving a low production guy in Lohaus to the 4 who also then went on to a long NBA career. The 1993 team likely was an Elite 8 or Final Four team until the unfortunate Street tragedy. And he went to the Sweet 16 in his lame duck year with a roster that was entirely his own. And that's without getting into on-court and AAU/HS game behavior of Fran and family- TD had more class in his right hand than Fran does in his entire existence- he is a buffoon.

No doubt TD had some 20-10 years as mentioned but his "highs" are greater than Fran's and the sample size is almost the same- TD got ran after 13 years and this upcoming season is year 13 for Francis. What I find humorous is Iowa fans were big into the phrase "next level" when Slick Alford was brought in and, 23 years removed from TD, they still aren't back to the level they were in 1999.

I grew up rabid Iowa fan in 80s and 90s and this fits my memory.

I really don’t get why so many have so much love for Fran there having grown up a fan in years they did better. Maybe (outside of Campbell who is universally loved) ISU fans are radically more critical of and expect so much more from coaches.
 
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ClonesTwenty1

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Yep. And Bowen is going to be thrown to the wolves next year. Ulis is going to really have to step up or we’ll likely see Connor have to step into that role.

Connor
Perkins
Sandfort
PMac
Rebraca

Please, please, please give us that starting 5 lol.
For whatever reason, just because it’s Iowa, I still think they end up with 19 wins with that lineup. Don’t ask me how or why.
 
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Mick Mars

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I grew up rabid Iowa fan in 80s and 90s and this fits my memory.

I really don’t get why so many have so much love for Fran there having grown up a fan in years they did better. Maybe (outside of Campbell who is universally loved) ISU fans are radically more critical of and expect so much more from coaches.
I think it’s a combination of Iowa being so far removed from being a consistent nationally relevant program and at the same time having to watch ISU have a stretch in about that same time that includes regular season titles, an Elite 8, several Sweet 16’s, several Big 12 tourney titles and becoming more nationally relevant- Iowa fans just can’t accept or share that limelight so they try to act and think that Fran has them back to where they once were- truth is, from Lute’s Big 10 title in ‘79 to TD’s Sweet 16 in ‘99, those were their glory years.
 
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Acylum

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For whatever reason, just because it’s Iowa, I still think they end up with 19 wins with that lineup. Don’t ask me how or why.
Agree. Combination of playing in the b1g and traditionally having one of the weakest non-con schedules in the country I think.
 
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BryceC

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I grew up rabid Iowa fan in 80s and 90s and this fits my memory.

I really don’t get why so many have so much love for Fran there having grown up a fan in years they did better. Maybe (outside of Campbell who is universally loved) ISU fans are radically more critical of and expect so much more from coaches.

I think Iowa fans are pretty hard on Fran. Honestly I'm not sure it's deserved though.

I think Fran is about the level they can expect from their program right now to be honest. I think he puts a pretty consistently good but not great product on the floor. I think that fanbase is basically teetering - if they have a last few years of Prohm run I think they are friends and family only at games and it might bury the program.

I wasn't a fan of Iowa per se in the 80s and 90s but I watched a lot of their games and stuff. I mean this sincerely and I'm in the same boat as you - those days were a very long time ago. We old. The interest in that program started to flag at the end of the Dr. Tom era, Alford killed it, Lick burned the corpse, and Fran has to deal with what is left.
 

Cyclones1969

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I think Iowa fans are pretty hard on Fran. Honestly I'm not sure it's deserved though.

I think Fran is about the level they can expect from their program right now to be honest. I think he puts a pretty consistently good but not great product on the floor. I think that fanbase is basically teetering - if they have a last few years of Prohm run I think they are friends and family only at games and it might bury the program.

I wasn't a fan of Iowa per se in the 80s and 90s but I watched a lot of their games and stuff. I mean this sincerely and I'm in the same boat as you - those days were a very long time ago. We old. The interest in that program started to flag at the end of the Dr. Tom era, Alford killed it, Lick burned the corpse, and Fran has to deal with what is left.
The problem with your statement isn’t that Iowa basketball is no longer worthy of a better coach than Fran

The problem is there are a lot of coaches that could achieve what he has without the embarrassing behavior, and family dysfunction, that has made up such a big part of his tenure

I remember after the incident of calling a ref a cheating ************, a national reporter even saying he hasn’t ever won enough to justify keeping him and his antics
 

inCyteful

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For whatever reason, just because it’s Iowa, I still think they end up with 19 wins with that lineup. Don’t ask me how or why.
I am all for Iowa winning 20ish games every year and getting embarrassed the first weekend of tournament. That will keep Fran there until he retires.