[hawkIhoops]

Just home from work, flipped on the game and saw Washpun checking out of the game game at 10:50 mark.

[WildTurkey]

Who is Washpun?

[PhotoHawk]

Washpun was an Iowa recruit that many believe could have provided some solid backup minutes at the point this year for the hawks but he ultimately elected to follow the Missouri (?) head coach to TN after Pearl was let go. His recruitment sort of took a back seat to Cezar out of CA who many also felt was the better fit, including the coaching staff who believe that he was going to commit last season after his visit during the big upset of Purdue which didn't pan out and then Washpun said "No Thanks" to the IA scholarship after that came only after Cezar bounced to Okie St.

[Wassabbe]

Washpun was a big mistake by Fran and staff.

[Igothawked]

Originally Posted by Wassabbe

Washpun was a big mistake by Fran and staff.

I agree. I think he really would have helped this team. He would have been a good fit.
That is part of why I think bball recruiting is so difficult. You couldn't fully commit to two PGs last year because you knew you wanted Gessel for next year and if you had gottem them all you would have 3. I guess my point is you have to be selective but you also have to fill needs and the Hawks needed another PG this year buy whiffed on Washpun because they thought they were getting Cesar but then ended up with neither.

[olivecourt]

Originally Posted by Igothawked

I agree. I think he really would have helped this team. He would have been a good fit.
That is part of why I think bball recruiting is so difficult. You couldn't fully commit to two PGs last year because you knew you wanted Gessel for next year and if you had gottem them all you would have 3. I guess my point is you have to be selective but you also have to fill needs and the Hawks needed another PG this year buy whiffed on Washpun because they thought they were getting Cesar but then ended up with neither.

They made the decision they needed to make for success in 2012 and onward, not for success in 2011. It was a gutsy call but absolutely the right one. I've been posting on here for awhile that 18 wins would be a great record this year, and I hope fans temper their expectations a bit. To me, almost all of the decisions that Fran has made (recruiting a project like Olaseni, not recruiting Washpun, not re-recruiting Cougill, setting the soft schedule) are indicative of what he thinks the possibilities are for this year's team. That's not to say he's not going to get everything he can out of them, it's just that he's a smart guy who is realistic about what he has.

[jacknicholson]

Originally Posted by olivecourt

They made the decision they needed to make for success in 2012 and onward, not for success in 2011. It was a gutsy call but absolutely the right one. I've been posting on here for awhile that 18 wins would be a great record this year, and I hope fans temper their expectations a bit. To me, almost all of the decisions that Fran has made (recruiting a project like Olaseni, not recruiting Washpun, not re-recruiting Cougill, setting the soft schedule) are indicative of what he thinks the possibilities are for this year's team. That's not to say he's not going to get everything he can out of them, it's just that he's a smart guy who is realistic about what he has.

Exactly,, Olive, we did end up with Gesell and Clemons who can all play the point very well, and Ingram who is a SG who can play the point. As it turns out, we have done very well, much better than anyone would have suspected..... 19th ranked recruiting class for 2012....

Things are falling into place very well.....

Just need to support the Hawkeyes this year.....

[ICHAWK]

Originally Posted by olivecourt

They made the decision they needed to make for success in 2012 and onward, not for success in 2011. It was a gutsy call but absolutely the right one. I've been posting on here for awhile that 18 wins would be a great record this year, and I hope fans temper their expectations a bit. To me, almost all of the decisions that Fran has made (recruiting a project like Olaseni, not recruiting Washpun, not re-recruiting Cougill, setting the soft schedule) are indicative of what he thinks the possibilities are for this year's team. That's not to say he's not going to get everything he can out of them, it's just that he's a smart guy who is realistic about what he has.

I think he tried to get the best team he could this year, but he obviously lost what he had hoped would be a good piece when Hubbard was shown the door. I think that move kind of indicated he was not going to simply wait for the 2012-2013 season, but not trying to find another player (there was no shot at an upgrade in late June) showed that he was going to just roll with what he had. Signing Hubbard was an obvious statement that Iowa lacked a physical wing who had the athleticism/ball handling skills to put the ball on the floor and get to the lane. Even with Hubbard I figured best case scenario was 19-20 wins (that was generous without seeing Hubbard play against good competition). With Hubbard gone I figured Iowa has the same issues as last year but just a bit more added depth and some gained experience for others who came back. I was thinking that 17 wins was going to be my mark for the team this year. I just want to see players improve, and hope that the quality of the 2012 class pans out in more wins and might catch some interest from more quality players.

Iowa is not going to beat teams inside so for them to pull off some upsets/stay in games with more talented team (most big 10 teams will have more talent) they will need to shoot behind the arch well and play A LOT BETTER DEFENSE! I think they will hit shots but that defense is something UGLY right now. I wonder if Iowa would be better off playing a zone defense more often. I think that if you play smart and play hard a zone defense might be good for this team. They don't have the foot speed to stay with many of the good wing/guards they will face.

This season will be ugly as heck at times but I think it will be exciting at times too.

I just am glad I can be entertained by a team and not fall asleep like I did watching Lick ball.

[hawkIhoops]

It certainly is a head scratcher given how many Washington games McCaffrey and Co. watched while recruiting Ogelsby. Washpun is a freak athletically and those guys don't come along too often. Playing roughly half the Duke game as a freshman is a testament to his abilities.

Water under the bridge at this point and given the choice between TN and Iowa, he may not have come here anyway.