[JHHawk]

Originally Posted by AIRHAWK

In watching the NCAA tourney, you see a lot of very good basketball players at some of these obscure schools. I am confident that Fran will be able to get good players to come to Iowa City. Good school, rabid fans waiting for the return to respectability. Play in the Big 10 or some of these lesser leagues? I really don't think it should be that hard of a sell.
It will happen...one player at a time

This is what I am struck by as I watch the tourny.
The big men at some of the smaller schools would do just fine at Iowa next year at center. Some of the guards as well.

I think the trend toward parity in college bb is more pronuonced than ever this year.
Gonzaga has some nice athletes, and made the mighty St Johns look average.
Morehead St had some nice players. As did VCU. And so on.
Iowa can get some of those guys and compete with the top Big Ten teams...heck,we compete with them right now.

[deanvogs]

Originally Posted by JHHawk

This is what I am struck by as I watch the tourny.
The big men at some of the smaller schools would do just fine at Iowa next year at center. Some of the guards as well.

I think the trend toward parity in college bb is more pronuonced than ever this year.
Gonzaga has some nice athletes, and made the mighty St Johns look average.
Morehead St had some nice players. As did VCU. And so on.
Iowa can get some of those guys and compete with the top Big Ten teams...heck,we compete with them right now.

I think you hit it on the head JHHawk. When Fran says you are never as far away from winning as you think, it is because of this. There are tons of kids that slip through the cracks, develop later, or are just plan misses by the recruiting analysts out there. I know it is great to get top 100 kids. Yet for every one of those, there is 2 kids like Cartwright and Basabe, that you can win and compete with.

Signing top 100 kids makes your job easier, but it doesn't mean you can't do the job without getting those kids. If you "hit" with a Cartwright and Basabe, you can start to compete. Sprinkle in a "hit" with a White, and Meyer, and the two other kids Fran will bring in, and you have a good team that can win. Now don't get me wrong, we really have no idea if a White or Meyer is truly a "hit"......yet I have confidence in Fran that he can tell the difference. He offered both of these kids early, and there is a reason for that. It isn't like these kids were last minute guys that he had to get just to get a body on the floor for practice.

Whomever we bring in, I am truly excited about Hawkeye BB again, and that is a GREAT feeling!

[sportstalent]

Originally Posted by deanvogs

I think you hit it on the head JHHawk. When Fran says you are never as far away from winning as you think, it is because of this. There are tons of kids that slip through the cracks, develop later, or are just plan misses by the recruiting analysts out there. I know it is great to get top 100 kids. Yet for every one of those, there is 2 kids like Cartwright and Basabe, that you can win and compete with.

Signing top 100 kids makes your job easier, but it doesn't mean you can't do the job without getting those kids. If you "hit" with a Cartwright and Basabe, you can start to compete. Sprinkle in a "hit" with a White, and Meyer, and the two other kids Fran will bring in, and you have a good team that can win. Now don't get me wrong, we really have no idea if a White or Meyer is truly a "hit"......yet I have confidence in Fran that he can tell the difference. He offered both of these kids early, and there is a reason for that. It isn't like these kids were last minute guys that he had to get just to get a body on the floor for practice.

Whomever we bring in, I am truly excited about Hawkeye BB again, and that is a GREAT feeling!

I guess the thing in recruiting is no matter where the kid is rated, it doesn't matter, unless a kid simply doesn't belong on a Division 1 team period mid-major or major.

John Henson is a kid that comes to mind, he was the No. 5 rated prospect at 6-10 and 185 lbs and is playing at UNC. Ok, so he has good skill, but the great word of "potential" was often used with this kid it wasn't funny. His freshman year he flat out stunk, until the last 7 or 8 games, he got pushed around and looked out of place playing against anybody over 200 lbs. This year, he looks like something of a player, not like the No. 5 player, but a player that still has to develop.

The combination of player attitude from the kid coming to campus and player development are two most important factors, not matter if the kid is a 5* player or a no* player. Kids that get recruited to any Division 1 school have talent, but their work ethic and the belief in the coaching staff is going to factor in to how much that player develops.

It cannot be about playing time, kids want to win. Iowa has had so many players transfer out that player development has been an afterthought and obviously they didn't believe in the staff.

With Fran and company at the helm, we have seen what attitude and belief can get out of a team that wasn't expected to compete...period.
Yes, Iowa won 11 games only, but if they played with the same enthusiasm they did this year as last year, they would never have beaten Purdue. Iowa was a broken team at the end of last season, this year they stayed a team. If that same situation existed during this season, I think it would have difficult to watch Iowa period and they would have won less than 10 games.

Iowa won 11 games this year, what has happened after the season. Fell short on a PG that no other 11-win team had a shot at and picked up an emerging prospect for the 2012 class, not bad at the end of the day.

[drldm]

being in the final 2 means our odds ,we should get the top recruit.