Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Iowa Hawkeyes' Fran McCaffrey: Time for a change?

Episode Date: January 4, 2025

Iowa Hawkeyes Basketball Faces Turbulence: Is Change on the Horizon? The Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team recently suffered a crushing defeat against the Wisconsin Badgers, raising questions about the future of coach Fran McCaffrey. With the team's NCAA tournament hopes hanging by a thread, can the Hawkeyes turn their season around?Host Trent Condon critiques the team's defensive struggles and inconsistent offense, spotlighting players like Josh Dix and Peyton Sanford. He also previews the Iowa women's basketball clash with Maryland, highlighting key players such as Taylor McCabe and Kylie Feuerbach. The episode touches on potential football recruit Mark Gronowski, adding another layer of intrigue.Explore the challenges and potential changes facing the Iowa Hawkeyes. Tune in for an in-depth analysis and passionate discussion on the team's path forward.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Rocket MoneyCancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to RocketMoney.com/lockedon today.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelThe NFL Playoffs are almost here, but it’s not too late to get in on the regular season action with FanDuel because right now, new customers can finish the season strong with TWO HUNDRED and FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS if your first FIVE DOLLAR bet wins. Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)Follow Trent Condon on X: https://twitter.com/trentcondonLISTEN TO THE PODCAST: APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-hawkeyes-daily-podcast-on-iowa-hawkeyes-football/id1441592240SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/0GTyz5ygevcGXdTF6QSoEoYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnHawkeyes

Iowa embarrassed once again this time at Wisconsin. The end of an era. Fran McCaffrey. Is there any hope for this squad? A disappointing effort. A disappointing team today. Locked on Hawkeyes. You are locked on Hawkeyes.

Your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team every day. Hey, welcome in. I'm Trent Condon, and this is the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every day. We're available wherever you find podcasts. You can also watch us on YouTube.

While you're there, make sure you hit the subscribe button. Helps us get in front of more Hawkeye fans. Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. The NFL playoffs are almost here, but it's not too late to get in on the regular season action. Week 18 with FanDuel because right now, new customers can finish the season strong with $250 in bonus bets. If your first $5 bet wins, visit Fanduel.com to get started. Well, that sucked. That effort from the Iowa men's basketball team was pitiful.

It was embarrassing. And I am ready for a change. Look, I think if you've been with us for a while, you know me. You've been listening to me for the last two decades on radio or here the last couple of years on the podcast side of things. You know that I like to take a more all encompassing view. I don't want to overreact. I think that at times us as fans don't realize as Hawkeye fans how good we have it. We want more.

And I understand that. And I want more. That's not to say that. more and I understand that and I want more um that's not to say that but that when you look at things and you have that more big picture view the day-to-day game-to-game freak out factor I try to stay away from that performance though against Wisconsin was as bad as I can remember in a long long time you know go back to was it year number four of Dr. Tom? And at the end of the season, they were just getting run out of the gym. Was that the 91 season? I think it was 92, right in that range. It's just awful. It was dreadful. And they were giving up 115 points

a game over like the last four games of the season. It was really bad. And you've had the Todd Licklider era, which is just brutal, bad basketball. But to see this, and it all encompasses now, here we are 15 years into the Fran McCaffrey era. Fran's done a good job. Look, Iowa basketball is not Iowa football. Iowa basketball is not what it was as a job in the 1980s. Iowa basketball is not what it was as a job in the 90s,

in the 2000s. Iowa basketball is looked what it was as a job in the 90s and the 2000s iowa basketball is looked nationally very poorly and the dedication that has been put in the amount of money that has been put into the basketball program falls well short of many of their brethren waiting for a practice facility to be built renovations to carver hawkeye arena all the things that need to be built, renovations to Carver-Hawkeye Arena, all the things that need to be done to compete at this level, Iowa hasn't been able and willing to do it because the investment has been on football. And I think most people would argue, well, that's the right way to invest. That's what makes the most money.

That's the direction to go. But that aside, Brent's been here 15 years, and he got this program back to the level that Dr. Tom had it. Yeah, you remember, maybe 86, 87, year number one, remember that was George Ravling's recruits that he was able to do that with. And George Ravling with a little bit of help from some guys in Michigan, that aside. And then after BJ and Roy and Ed, that group moved on, Iowa was a bubble team, a fringe NCAA tournament team, would win a game in the tournament, and that was it.

And his final season, yes, they beat Arkansas in the round of 32 and got to the Sweet 16. And put up a hell of a fight against UConn. But that's the last time we've seen a team in the Sweet 16, 25 years ago. And, well, now it's 26 years ago. Jeez. It's been a long time. And you look at the programs that made Sweet 16 since then, and it gets even more frustrating. But Fran had brought the program back to that level. They just didn't have the success, winning that second game to get

there. And I just, I was continually, wait, wait, wait. And then even with this year's team, I saw the athleticism of Sadu Traore. I saw what a baller Drew Thelwell can be. You see the defensive numbers that had improved until the matchup against Wisconsin. You saw all these things, and it gave me that glimmer of hope that this one was going to be different.

I was dead wrong. It's the same thing. That's on me. God forbid I actually try to be optimistic, right? For a fandom. My fandom's not very fun. I haven't seen a championship in a long time. 1991.

I'm a Bears fan. I was in kindergarten. 1985. I'm a Twins I was in kindergarten, 1985 I'm a Twins fan I was 11, 1991 Timberwolves, never Hockey, Minnesota Don't like the Wild name

but they should be the North Stars, that aside And then the Hawkeyes and we know the highs and lows, but God forbid I be optimistic that I actually have hope for a team and not hope that they're going to win a championship, that they're going to win two stinking games of the NCAA tournament. No, the defense is hideous. The offense is inconsistent. Your most talented offensive guy, Josh Dix, isn't aggressive enough. The guy that's too aggressive is going through something right now

with Peyton Sanford. Just on and on and on. This team. And to not have, I guess, the moxie, to just take it in that fashion, lying down. The guys are going to have bad games. You play at any level of athletics, you know there's just those moments where it's not going well.

It doesn't matter how good or bad your team is, there's just those moments where it's not going well. It doesn't matter how good or bad your team is. There are just those times that it's not going well. That was Iowa last night from about the eight-minute mark of the first half on. It just wasn't their night. But where's Fran? Where's the guy that we got? The guy that had to fight and claw and do everything possible for his team. Where is he?

I mean, is he mentally checked out? Is his heart and mind in Indianapolis already because his middle boy's there and his youngest son's going there? And his oldest son and his assistant there? Does he want to be here anymore? Because I saw a guy last night that was checked out that didn't care, and that's disappointing. Is he sad that he's not coaching his kids anymore? I have no idea.

But that's not the Fran McCaffrey that I believed in. That's not the Fran McCaffrey that at least got this program back to respectability. That guy was nowhere to be found. The effort was putrid. It was embarrassing to get run out of the gym like that. Where's, who's stepping up? Where's the tough guy? Where's the guy that's saying, no, we're not doing this. Where's the guy that's going to take control? Well, it's not on the bench right now with the coaching staff, apparently.

His frame looked checked out. So I guess it's up to the players and it's not on the bench right now with the coaching staff, apparently. Because Fran looked checked out. So I guess it's up to the players. And it's up to the players now to respond. Because this thing is teetering. And this thing can get ugly in a hurry. Owen Freeman on the open market, that dude's going to make money. Josh Dix on the open market, he's going to make money. You look at next season, and you look at the future of this program,

who is next? I think it's a question we need to start getting into. We'll get into the game a little bit more. The end of the era for Fran McCaffrey definitely feels that way. Just a pitiful performance. We got more on this one. A little more basketball talk for you also coming up as we will talk about the women's basketball team. They got undefeated. Maryland coming to town on Sunday evening. Should be a fun one at Carver Hawkeye Arena. Five o'clock tip off for that one. We'll break it down a little bit. Get into the matchup.

I look back at the just deplorable effort against Wisconsin. Plus a little football talk. Mark Gronowski. Is it going to happen as we continue? This is Locked on Hawkeyes. This is Locked on Hawkeyes. Today's episode of Locked on Hawkeyes is brought to you by the FanDuel Sportsbook. Well, the NFL playoffs are almost here, but it's not too late to get in on the regular season action with FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook.

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Make every moment more with FanDuel, an official sportsbook partner of the NFL. Trent Conant back with you again Locked on Hawkeyes Thanks for being with us And I'll mention Mark Gronowski Going to find out apparently maybe Saturday We're going to find something official on that front

When it happens we'll be back with you With a reaction to that Mark Gronowski If he does make the commitment Going to change certainly the fortunes of Iowa football Let's get into the nitty-gritty of last night. It was rough. Rough. 1-16-85.

So we talked about big picture to kick it off. Now, this game individually. In a game where you score 85 points, you score 85 points against Wisconsin, you should win. 95% of the time, 98% of the time, didn't happen here. Wisconsin came into this game, we talked about this yesterday, not shooting the ball real well from the outside. Outside of John Tajay,

this team was not shooting the basketball well. This was a team that was playing at a quicker pace, but still, middle of the pack in the country, 181st in tempo. And the other crazy thing is Iowa was playing pretty well defensively. In comparison, Iowa was improved into the top 100 and three-point field goal defense. They were 28th in the country going into last night. Now

they're like 121st. Just one thing after another. Absolutely hideous. A couple other news and notes from that one. This is from OptiStats. Wisconsin today became the first team in the last 25 seasons men's or women's college basketball to score 115 or more points, shoot 60% from the floor, 65% from the three-point line, and 85% or better from the free-throw line. 25 years, basically 50 seasons

because we're talking 10s and women's. Brutal. Peyton Sanford goes one for nine. There were lots of open opportunities. He's not hitting them.

And you start to wonder, is he pressing too much? Is the injury, that shoulder injury that he had earlier this year, is it in his head? This Peyton Sanford is almost becoming unplayable. When he's performing like this, Iowa has better options.

Iowa has guys that are a lot better to have on the floor. And then he looked back, played well against Utah, but the struggles he had against Iowa State, the struggles that he had against Utah State, in the losses, he has been bad. Really bad. He was 6-20 from the floor against Michigan. That's a high watermark in their losses. You just have to have more out of him. You can't. This is your senior. This is your leader. This is your guy. I don't know what it is. We know he's gone through shooting slumps before, and he's been able to pull himself out of it,

but this guy right now is not good enough. Owen Freeman. Now, he had a tough task last night. He's going up against two seven-footers. Zywa Just? No. Do they give a guy that's shown a little bit of something any playing time?

No. Riley Mulvey. Talked about that. Riley Mulvey's not great. If a game like that, getting out-rebounded. Iowa gets out-rebounded in the game by 17. It's just, it's one thing after another.

1.53 points per possession by Wisconsin. Iowa, by the way, now after this one. The Hawkeyes, defensively. We talked about the improved numbers this year. It's feeling different. What an idiot I was. They're now 128th in the country in defensive efficiency. That seems high. 128th in the country. Not only that, they dropped 13 spots in Ken Pomeroy's rankings, from 42nd to now 55th. Here's some more numbers for you. And those numbers,

well, they don't matter as it pertains to the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, right? They don't look at Ken Palm. Maybe they should, but they don't. So Iowa goes in yesterday, 49 in the net ranking. That was their number going into action. And remember, when we're talking about the net ranking, though it's capped at 10 points, the margin of victory, the efficiency numbers are not capped.

So Iowa dropped six spots last night, after last night's loss. They go down to number 55 now, from 49 to 55 in the net rankings. But now they are 0-4 in quadrant one. in the net rankings. But now they are 0-4 in Quadrant 1. They are 3-0 in Quadrant 2. That's good. But you look at the depth of the resume and what's coming up and where this team's going to get wins. I think a minimum, Iowa has to be 500 in the Big Ten to be an NCAA tournament team. That means going 10-10. We've talked about the end of the schedule here. This was one of their most winnable games on the road that they have. The other ones that I'd throw in the mix, USC, it's a long road trip, and also the road trip to Rutgers, who's really young, but talented. Those are the most winnable road games that they have. Northwestern, going to be tough,

the rematch later in the season. Nebraska, it doesn't feel like they ever play well over there. Look at some of the others. There's not a ton of winnable games on the road. This is one of them, and he got blown out of the building. It feels like it's over. It feels like this program has hit, and I'm ready for change. And we've talked about this on the football side plenty, and on the basketball side, I'm ready.

Will the next coach be as successful as Fran McCaffrey? Who knows? But I think we've seen the upside. We've seen the ceiling and they keep hitting their head on it. Entertaining? Sure. Offensively. But another component to this that leaves me frustrated is these are the same conversations that I've been having for the last 15 years on frame McCaffrey and his program. We've been talking about these things year in and year out, the lack of defense, the lack of rebounding, the way that their program is built, lack of athleticism, those kinds of things. And he's had opportunities to fix it. Not only that, but he's also had opportunities to go out

and bring in assistants that can help. Bring in an assistant coach that is actually going to be able to teach. I bring up the example often of when Luke Jasnich went to Michigan when Beeline was there. Very quickly transformed what they were on the defensive end of the floor. They went from a team that played 1-3-1 defense terribly. You get corner threes against them all the time. And within a year, they were one of the best defensive teams in the country.

Now, some of the players that they had helped with that, no doubt. But you had somebody willing to put in the time, put in the philosophy that we're going to put in the work on the defensive end. And Iowa just doesn't. Fran is unwilling to do it. So he's shown us who he is. And it's going to be up to Beth Getz now to make the determination. Even if Iowa does get back to the tournament. Even if Iowa does win a game in the tournament.

That's not good enough. And you're going to lose guys. You're going to lose players. But that is the reality. You see the attendance. You see the attendance. You see the embarrassing nature of what Carver-Hawkeye Arena, not for wrestling, not for women's basketball, but for men's basketball was.

And for old guys like me and old guys like you, you knew what Carver meant. You know what the field house meant before that. You know, I think of a young guy that I work with, Lucas Strain, just graduated from Iowa. Worked with him over on the radio, on the Iowa Sports Radio Network. And was talking Iowa basketball. He has very little recollection of even the Todd Licklider era.

Like all he knows, really, is the Fran McCaffrey era. And think of the number of people that we've lost. Think of the number of fans that haven't seen success. We're talking about people now that are in their 30s that maybe have a vague recollection of a Sweet 16. How many people have checked out on Iowa basketball? I don't know how much worse it can get in terms of where the fan perception is,

but people don't care. People have checked out. It's time for a change. Fran McCaffrey's unwillingness to change is leading to Iowa having to make a change. That's where we are. Let's talk some women's hoops, a little football as we come back. Iowa takes on undefeated Maryland. Sunday, 5 o'clock tip-off for that one.

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Rocketmoney.com slash locked on. Try kind of back with you one final time. Locked on Hawkeyes podcast. Rapid reaction after the disappointment that was Iowa Wisconsin so the women get their opportunity against Maryland Maryland is undefeated on the year Maryland has not played an overly daunting schedule to this point they got a win against Duke that was a nice one Duke that's been in the rankings all season long but then you kind of go through the rest and there just isn't a whole lot of depth to the resume in fact I think it says a lot that they

are 13-0 on the season yet their net net ranking is still only 21st in the country they have played three road games this year but that is really all that's on there beat Syracuse who is down a little bit from what they've been in the past. Got the road win against Purdue earlier this season. And had a nice win, though, recently against Michigan State and Rutgers, their last two times out. Both those games were at home as we get back into Big Ten play. This squad, though, for Maryland, very balanced attack. Got a couple of newbies, a couple of transfers that have come in.

Smikely is their leading scorer and really good shooter. You know, interesting thing, they got a couple of transfers that have come in. Smikely is their leading score and really good shooter. You know, interesting thing, they got a couple of players, Poffenberger, another one, that she's like 6'2". She's one of their top rebounders, but she's more of a guard. So just an interesting mix. And you know what you're going to get with Brandon Free's teams. They're going to be athletic. They're going to be physical, maybe a little dirty.

That's what you get for the most part. I'm really interested to see, though, because there are so many new faces for Maryland, a test like this in Carver. It's going to be jammed. It's going to be packed. It's going to be a great environment. I just want to see how they react to the environment.

On the Iowa side, there are some decisions to be made. And we've seen down the stretch, going back to the last game, Taylor McCabe was outstanding. And with it, Kylie Feuerbach, she's been struggling. Is it time for a change in the starting lineup? I don't think so. I don't think so, certainly currently. You're winning. You're feeling like, yeah, I think they have kind of their rotation down. And we've seen these freshmen more and more be able to go out there and be really comfortable even playing in the fourth quarter. You have to be incredibly excited.

Iowa got off to the slow start in the first quarter, was able to battle back right away. But McCabe hitting shots. And the thing that I'm really enjoying about Taylor McCabe is she is proving to be more than just a three-point shooter. Now, that's still her game. I mean, that's a number one.

But you can see that there's a better effort on the defensive end of the floor. I think you see that a part of the game from her that she's out there giving that kind of effort on that side. And then, yeah, she's looking for a shot. But also understanding how to quickly swing. It's not there, and she doesn't need much room to hoist and get a three-pointer up, but moving the ball much quicker than what we've seen in the past. Feuerbach's going through a bad stretch right now. And also, Sidney Affolter. I wonder about her,

you know, coming off that injury, the surgery that she had before the year. She just, she doesn't look completely right. Now, we saw her play so well down the stretch last year. And really, the last four, five, six weeks of the season, she ascended in a big-time way. I mean, she really stepped forward, but she was still doing it as the third, fourth, sometimes fifth option on the floor. This is different. I think scouting reports are much different on her. And some of the things that she was able to do in the past just aren't there. Finally, Lucy Olsen has struggled the last couple of times.

I think it also goes to show us just remembering how special Caitlyn was. Because Lucy Olsen has a couple of bad games. We just were never used to that. Caitlyn would always bounce back. If there was a poor game and it was a rarity in its own right, that she'd bounce back. This is normalcy, right? Players all over the country, really good players like Lucy Olsen,

they go through a stretch of a couple, three, four, sometimes five games where they're not playing well. Let's hope that's not the case and she bounces back because they're going to need her. They really are. And the physicality that Maryland's going to play with, they're going to bring a lot of pressure. Brenda Freeze's team, they will do that. Even if it's not full court pressure, they will pressure you with the basketball. Turnovers have been an issue all year long.

I don't love the matchup for Iowa, but I love that they are going to be home. Should be a really fun one. Looking forward to it again. Five o'clock tip off for that one. If you got tickets, I think you're going to be in for a treat with Maryland coming in. That will be also on BTN, regular BTN, not BTN+, which is great. Nothing like that. That'll be a good one. As mentioned, coming up here as we're sitting on Saturday morning, there is some potential news on Mark Gronowski on the football front,

potentially a commitment. Sounds like a good shot of it, but we'll see. We'll see what else is out there. Is it going to be NFL draft? Is it going to be Iowa or is he going to continue to look around again? Once we have that information, we will definitely pass it along. We'll be back with you with a quick instant reaction podcast one way or the other with Mark Gronowski.

But does sound like there is going to be some news down the horizon here sometime on Saturday. Thanks for being with us. And thanks for makinged On Hawkeyes your first listen every day. Rapid reaction, disappointing loss. Let's have a good one on the women's basketball side and we'll talk to you again soon. Thanks for being with us and making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every day. Talk to you soon. Go Hawks.