[CAARHawk]

Close losses on the court, or in recruiting? See Van Coleman saying how impressed he is that Iowa can get in top recruits final 2. I just have a hard time getting excited about that kind of moral victory. While I can see hope for the future in a close loss on the court. The same isn't true with respect to recruiting. Not sure why.

[tweeterhawk]

They both suck. But I guess I feel better about coming close but losing out on better recruits. Sooner or later this staff will land one, then another, then another, and White Magic's carpet will be off and flying again.

[blkngoldUofI]

They both hurt a bit but they both are not from a lack of effort. Fran is laying the ground work which will hopefully lead to recruits looking at Iowa instead of Fran and crew having to scour the face of planet earth just to offer. The work Fran and his staff have done since they all took the job in the recruiting area is amazing. There isn't a place they haven't been.

[imported_ankle23]

i agree with Coleman here.

[brjohnson23]

I think it is a positive that we are being mentioned as a finalist for some top players. It shows that Fran and his system are appealing to top players. To be a first year coach and coming off 10-11 win seasons, just to get these players attention is impressive. We need the practice facilities to be completed and to have a season where we challenge for an NIT/NCAA bid. Then we will start getting some commitments instead of just being a finalist.

[IATrainMaster101]

Both are heart breaking but at the same time breath hope into the program and it's fans. To me the key to Van's comments was the point he made about how late Fran got in on some of these kids that he is just missing out on. To me that is telling.

Both worms will turn very soon.

[hawkfarmer]

I think the key here is that we are getting consideration from solid players that we have been recruiting for less than a year. Bball recruiting starts for most good players as 8th or 9th graders, so to get in on kids late still be in their final list is pretty dang good. In a few years, this will no longer be a good thing but more of a bummer.

[CAARHawk]

I figured out what is influencing my response. I did all that research before they hired Fran on what makes a successful coach and it all seemed to boil down to early recruiting success, so I put all my hope eggs in that basket. I just really didn't focus on on-court results at all.

So, I have had tunnel vision on the recruiting aspect. This even played out in Cartwright and Basabe's play, because I saw them more as signs of recruiting success than anything else. Need to adjust my focus a little to bring coaching and player development more into the mix.

[JHHawk]

Both are disappointing but both have some positives.
On the court, you can see progress in close losses,knowing that our talent was clearly inferior,but we competed...so when the talent evens out..we should win some of those.
In recruiting, falling just short due to lack of time courting a kid could mean that the next time,with more startup time,we will score.
I am agreeing with Coleman here. Pulling in a kid from the west coast is a longshot,but Fran's force of personality actually made it a close call for Cezar.
Seeing OKSt's taj mahal facilities makes it easy to see how a kid could be sway their way,but next time maybe it will be a program that does not have a billion dollar benefactor.
Now, that said, he must win some of these recruiting battles in 2012,with Woodbury as a top target that we need to win. Fans think it is a slam dunk to get the Iowa kids,but clearly, when they are top 100, the green lite is on for opposing coaches lately. Woodbury and Jok are true tests for Fran. After Barnes and Paige, the bleeding must be staunched.

[FalseMirage]

Originally Posted by CAARHawk

Close losses on the court, or in recruiting? See Van Coleman saying how impressed he is that Iowa can get in top recruits final 2. I just have a hard time getting excited about that kind of moral victory. While I can see hope for the future in a close loss on the court. The same isn't true with respect to recruiting. Not sure why.

I understand your disappointment and feel your pain, the light at the end of the tunnel is almost in sight.
Fran has Iowa in the running for good players and the more of them he lands, the easier it will be for him to land others. It's a step in the right direction. A basketball program that has fallen as far as Iowa's has isn't built in a day. The rebuilding has already begun.

[PhotoHawk]

Looking at it from a slightly different angle, I think the effort that Fran & Co. are doing on the recruiting trail will eventually pay off plus I am hopeful that existing recruits do not take the off-season for granted but apply the same work ethic modeled by the coaching staff to their own games. If you think about it, how worried do you think the likes of Gatens/May/Payne/etc were about playing time in 2010-2011. I'm not saying they didn't make strides or put in effort to improve during off-season, however, given Marble & McCabe's play this year and knowing White/Oglesby will be gunning for playing time next fall I hope their efforts will be even more focused. Oh and one more thing...how important will this off-season be for everyone now that they have a coaching staff they believe in who are not afraid to tell them exactly what they need to work on.

[JHHawk]

Watching ''The Journey'' last nite, I was struck by how Michigan came back from that 1-6 start in the Big Ten. In the preseason,I had them being 9th in the league and reeling from the loss of Sims and Harris,their stars from last year. But,somehow,someway, they went from 1-6 to winning 9 of their last 13 in the league,with a bunch of frosh/sophmores and novak and douglas. That is why you never give up,you always believe, as Beilein told them in the locker room after falling to 1-6 due to a beating from NW. College bb is a funny game,and just when you think a team like Iowa has no shot to make a big move...well,they go out and do just that. Like with Bryce Cartwrights surprise success, you just never know. Go Hawks.

[sportstalent]

Close losses in recruiting are better than on the court. For this reason, the next level recruits open their eyes, the under the radar kids take a look at Iowa. Seeing Iowa just missed out on a kid like Cezar is not all bad. Kids pay more attention to recruiting than some want to believe, with all the available media it is easy.
The on court losses help with the top kids moreso than the next level kids and the occasional upset gets them really paying attention. Kids want to win, playing time is secondary for most kids and it should be, they want to be part of a good thing and if Iowa is to get better in recruiting they have to win. The fact that kids like Cezar and Carter are taking looks at Iowa with their record the last couple of seasons speaks volumes to how effective this staff really is, think about it when Iowa develops the 2010 class and the 2011 class, Iowa is not far from winning on the court, or off the court.

[hawkIhoops]

Frustrating to lose out on kids no doubt. This staff is at least targeting kids that have other mid to high level D1 offers. This is exponentially better than the Lickliter-Walthal approach of targeting D2 kids in hopes of coaching them up.

Unfortunately it is going to take at least two recruiting classes and a few breaks to get the house in order.

[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