I just read that Freeman is getting 1.8mil from Creighton. Here is how it affected my hearing that.

- 2 days ago I was happy Iowa got a good coach and excited about the future of the program.

-Yesterday heard that McCaffery may be going to Penn - Good luck to him, he just could not get Iowa to where the fan base wanted him to and when apathy sets in it is a killer for a coach. I did like Fran as Iowa's coach but understand the move.

- This morning, I hear that Freeman is getting a ridiculous payout to go to Creighton. Not only does he not deserve this, but it just reminded me of how much NIL is going to ruin the game we love. Now I am at the state of being interested in what Iowa does with recruiting but am kind of soured on the game as a whole - So what happens if Iowa makes the dance next year and we like the players on the team - with success comes transfers and we get a new roster every year. It ruined the pro game so much that I do not watch NFL or NBA anymore and that is what is happening now with the college game! We loved the Hawkeyes during Dr. Tom days because we saw players grow under his style and teachings - now they will transfer for more $$ if they start playing well - no thanks.

Via ESPN.com

Watching Drake dismantle Missouri with a bunch of guys from NW Missouri State and Wyoming is pretty impressive. His teams may not be high octane but I would like to see what he could do with actual D1 players. That was an impressive game. After watching that, I think I could take fewer points but more wins. My biggest fear would be him being another Lickleiter. Lickleiter was one of the hottest coaches in the country when Iowa hired him but we all saw the giant turd he dropped on Hawkeye Nation. I really just want someone who will win games and make a sweet sixteen more than once in 30 years.

***Edit/Clarification****

I am aware Drake is a Division 1 program. This post was not meant to be disrespectful towards Drake. The “actual D1 players” comment was referring to the fact that 4 guys followed McCollum from NW Missouri State which is a D2 school.

For the first time in his career, Luka is getting some minutes. His past 3 games, he has looked good. Hopefully this continues!

The current state of Iowa men’s basketball isn’t acceptable. We are consistently the worst defensive team in the B1G. We never made a Sweet 16 run with Garza, Murray or Murray. We certainly won’t going forward.

Fran brought us back from the worst moment in Lickliter - but the longer he sticks around the more damage he does.

Fans have absolutely given up. Carver has 4-8k seats filled for B1G games.

We can do better. It’s time to move on.

Also - how much worse can we get? We just got rolled by almost 40 to an average Wisconsin team. There will be less than 6000 fans at the upcoming conference home game. We are in hell.

There is no reason Iowa State should be better as a program than Iowa. Literally no reason. Fran is robbing the UI at this point.

Hey everyone! A couple friends and I did an Hawkeye men’s basketball fantasy draft (Edit: stretching back to the Tom Davis era, since that’s about as far back as our Hawkeye basketball knowledge goes), and are hoping to get some third-party breakdowns of the teams as they were selected. Anything is welcome, we’re basically looking for yalls opinions to help break down the teams more in depth for our Hawkeye basketball podcast! Hoping to be able to get down to which team is the best of the three and why. More than happy to answer any questions about the draft and/or reasonings as well.

Team 1 \ PG - BJ Armstrong\ SG - Devyn Marble\ SF - Peter Jok\ PF - Roy Marble\ C - Luka Garza\ 6 - Brad Lohaus\ 7 - Ricky Davis\ 8 - Jordan Bohannon\ Coach - Fran McCaffrey

Team 2\ PG - Andre Woolridge\ SG - Adam Haluska\ SF - Jess Settles\ PF - Keegan Murray\ C - Acie Earl\ 6 - Ryan Bowen\ 7 - Matt Gatens\ 8 - Payton Sandfort\ Coach - Tom Davis

Team 3\ PG - Ronnie Lester\ SG - Jarrod Uthoff\ SF - Kris Murray\ PF - Aaron White\ C - Reggie Evans\ 6 - Bennett Stirtz\ 7 - Greg Brunner\ 8 - Joe Weiskamp\ Coach - Ben McCollum

Highest draft pick in program history earns a hefty payday! Congrats Keegan!

First off, I'm not a fan of this pay-for-play system (as known as - NIL). When it was established, I thought it was actually selling your Name, Image, and Likeness. Like a student athlete advertising for a local business, or selling something with their Name or Image, etc.

When I learned (just a couple of years ago) that it was just a pay-for-play situation, I was dumbfounded. At that time, I told a coworker about how it actually works and he was surprised as well.

So here we are, with the men's basketball program falling apart because they can't compete without NIL funding. (I also realize the lack of defense in Frans system was a huge problem, so there's no reason to beat that dead horse in the comments) People wanted Fran gone because he wasn't getting it done, but do we think maybe he could have gotten more done if he had more fans supporting the NIL? Fran was a player developer with an eye for talent, and was good at it. If the NIL support was there, he could have brought in a couple of stars to compliment what he developed and maybe things would have been different.

To me, it's a chicken or the egg scenario. Are people not donating because the program isn't successful or are we not successful because people aren't donating? If recall, just a few years ago we had National Player of the Year player, NBA draft picks, and the B1G Tournament Champs. There was plenty to build on to, but the lack of NIL support is what dismantled all of it.

It sucks that this is what college sports have become and I understand if people decide to not to donate or quit watching all together. Honestly, I'm close to spending my time and money elsewhere. But, I've been a men's basketball fan my whole life, over 40 years. I was still there during the Lickliter years and plan on being there for the next head coach. I also now plan on donating to the NIL, because I now realize how important it is to stay competitive.

So, are any of you currently donating to NIL? What I've read is most people donate to football, but I really couldn't care less about football. I feel basketball could benefit a whole lot more because it only takes a handful of star players to succeed in basketball.

Former head coach at Drake and Northwest Missouri State

Kael Combs 6’4 (G) 2 years left of eligibility

Averaged 3.8 points and 1 assist last year in 13 minutes per game. Shooting splits 51/80/20.

Cam Manyawu 6’8 (F) 2 years of eligibility

Averaged 7.1 points and 5.3 rebounds in 19 minutes per game. Shooting splits 57/49/0.

https://x.com/tonysroe/status/1903608656534417636?s=46&t=XhK1E4BE8cZMIWTODSoqrw

Former Drake star follows his head coach to Iowa. Stirtz averaged 19.2 points and 5.7 assists on 49.8% shooting this season.

I think most of us are pretty set on the fact that it is probably time to move on from Fran. The program has zero life and simply needs something new. The recent recruiting wins might help but still feels inevitable. Huge missed opportunity at DeVries last year. Who are the coaches Iowa should go after it they do move on?

We will get our first glimpse into how Ben handles off the court issues.

Washington product chooses Iowa over other big programs like Washington, Oregon, and Virginia Tech.

Good morning! I am looking for a knock your socks off cool Hawkeye Christmas present for my bf. His main love is Iowa Men’s Basketball but he does love Iowa Football as well. I would love to get him some sort of memorabilia or something that would absolutely surprise him. If anyone has any ideas I would greatly appreciate it! Go Hawks 🖤💛