Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Iowa Hawkeyes' Joshua Lewis + Fran McCaffrey's Future, Tom Kakert joins & Wrestling preview

Starting point is 00:00:00 Iowa basketball has added its biggest recruit of the Fram McCaffrey era right after a three-game losing streak and questions about his future What's happening with Iowa hoops 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 hit the subscribe button Just takes a moment and helps us get in front of more Hawkeye fans today's episode of lockdown

Starting point is 00:00:47 Hawkeyes is brought to you by game time Download the game time app create an account and use code locked on college for $20 off your first purchase Well, here we are on the day of Iowa back on the hardwood again. They get Penn State coming in We'll talk about that game here momentarily. And one of the more important games, certainly that I was had in a while and they need to get off the Schneid. We'll talk about that here in a moment. We got wrestling happening, Carver Hawkeye coming up this weekend. We'll get into that a little bit as well. Plus Tom Kaker from Hawkeye report.com is going to stop in. We'll talk some Iowa basketball with Tom along with a little bit of football

Starting point is 00:01:25 and Yosei Appanessa. That's all still to come. But the story of the day is Joshua Lewis, a four star prospect has committed to Iowa. And a lot of times people hear four star, like there's different ranges of four star. It depends on the recruiting service. If you're a 24 seven person, if you're part of on three if you're at rivals wherever you are They all do it a little bit differently and just to say that it's not all equal a four-star prospect One site might be a three star somewhere else. So that's something you have to evaluate But when we're talking about actual numbers, and this is what it is. This is a top 40 kid Iowa hasn't had this high of a prospect in the recruiting world in basketball. You gotta go back to Tyler Smith.

Starting point is 00:02:08 Remember Tyler Smith at the end of the Alfred regime, just how good he was, hit the ground running, a really talented guy that finished up his career back home in Tennessee. That's how long ago it was since Iowa's got a player of this ilk. Now, also looking at Joshua Lewis, and I'll be honest, you know when It opened up his recruitment. He decided he's a Florida kid. He was committed to South Florida USF that's kind of an odd one not a whole lot of history Remember they were really good last year and their coach Amir Abdul Rahim was one of the top prospects in the country In fact when I was putting together my list of next Iowa coaches,

Starting point is 00:02:45 I always kind of have that in my back pocket. You guys hear about athletic directors? Well, I do it too because I'm weird. Anyway, he was one of those guys. Incredibly impressive what he did at a place that doesn't have a whole lot of basketball success. He passed away tragically. Ender went surgery, looked to be pretty routine. He wasn't.

Starting point is 00:03:01 And so he decommitted really tough. Obviously for him He went through the process and then he looked at his final group of teams You look at the teams that were on his list here It's just one of these things doesn't belong NC State final four team a year ago NIL absolutely for basketball Auburn Bruce Pearl made a recent final for Marquette a lot of basketball success, Michigan State, obviously we know. And there's Iowa. Four star kid, top 40 player nationally. It's not gonna go Iowa's way. And it goes Iowa's way. And then we see him in the video if you say, you gotta check it out. Him squawking.

Starting point is 00:03:39 It was fun. It really was a good time, put a smile on face and it's it's just so wild because I Was throwing dirt on friends grave this thing was over and it's still very well could be like you're not going to If you believe a change needs to be made if your beth gets you get to the end of the season and you believe for the better I'm into your program for a athletic department that you have to make the change as the head coach of the men's basketball program You do it Regardless of who is committed to your program Regardless of who's in your program and is likely going to leave look at fray mcaffrey is fired after this season

Starting point is 00:04:17 The likelihood that all these guys are going to be a part of it is incredibly low We see this all the time the turnover in college basketball is immense When there's a coaching change and there's a really good chance that the guys that you're enjoy watching play Owen Freeman, Brock Harding, Josh Dix, all those guys would depart if there is a coaching change and the likelihood that goes along with it is also you're going to see a guy like Joshua Lewis also leave the program. Still to get this commitment. I think it changes things a little bit 30 number 37 in the rankings over at rivals This is a guy that is incredibly athletic. That's what you continued here watching the tape on him He's got explosiveness to him and he's a different type of athlete

Starting point is 00:04:59 Than what we've seen recently and throughout most of the frame of Caffrey era and and that's what also makes us Something different. You know, we've talked a lot about the differences that we've seen Briwa basketball as it pertains to frame of Caffrey his sideline demeanor just looks so different I've called it checked out. That's what it appears on the surface, but That's kind of what you have. It is a guy that he just looks so different near You're kind of less scratching your head. But then you go through and you look at what they've added. You look at this class, the class of 2025. DK, the big kid, that's at a prep school

Starting point is 00:05:36 who's already signed six to 200 pounds. A developmental guy, you'll hear that, but a lot of upside that they really like. Desmond Briscoe from Indianapolis, six foot eight, athleticism, good rebounder. This is what we hear out of him. Now Joshua Lewis, maybe the best athlete out of the bunch, a guy that can go get it,

Starting point is 00:05:52 has got skills offensively and a top 100 player in. Here's another component that maybe I overlooked. And credit somebody on the YouTube channel, on the comments section, they mentioned this, and it's fair This is still relatively a young team. Yes. You have a senior and Peyton Sanford. You got fell well coming in also remember He's making the transformation from the Ohio Valley Conference to the Big Ten. It's a pretty big jump Dix is a juniors played a lot of basketball, but he still look at a big part of this court

Starting point is 00:06:22 Owen Freeman just a sophomore Owen Freeman, just a sophomore. Brock Harding, just a sophomore. Zaidou Traori, going through it for the first time and just a sophomore. This is a really young group. Ajay Dembali, just a sophomore. This is an incredibly young group overall, along with the freshmen and Cooper Koch,

Starting point is 00:06:41 we haven't been able to see much of him this year. Price Sanford, there's another one. Also, you guessed it, a sophomore. This is a young group. And because of that, maybe expectations got a little too high. Maybe I had the expectations that weren't likely with this squad. And one final thing. I go back to the last time we saw really down year

Starting point is 00:07:05 with Fray McCaffrey's team that was back in the 2017-18 season that year Iowa had a little bit of buzz before the year had a bunch of young pieces it was a sophomore Tyler Cook a sophomore and Isaiah Moss a sophomore in Jordan Bohannon a freshman and Luca Garza Cortell Pemsel was a part of that team you had Jack Nungey part of it but all these guys were incredibly young and it just it went awry it was really bad and they went through a downturn I don't think any of us expected they went in an exempt tournament they lost to Louisiana Lafayette in South Dakota State. They got drilled by Iowa State.

Starting point is 00:07:47 Got beat up by Indiana and it was a down year, but what did they do? Those guys became upperclassmen. They got a whole lot better the following season. That was the year that Iowa was a shot away from beating Tennessee and getting to the Sweet 16. Had a great comeback victory against Cincinnati in the NCAA tournament and had the Vols, took them to overtime, a number two seed in overtime. That's how close that they were. Does Freyja McCaffrey deserve a Mulligan on this season?

Starting point is 00:08:19 It's a question I think we're all going to be talking about and one we're maybe going to have to answer. Let's get into a little bit more conversation we'll go behind the scenes Tom Kaker runs a recruiting and runs the shop over at on three Hawkeye report.com he will join us we'll get the latest on his thoughts on the addition of Joshua Lewis we'll talk about that plus a little football talk with Tom Kaker as we continue this is Locked on Hawkeyes. Attending NFL playoff games is an experience like no other. The energy, the excitement, the connection with other fans are unmatched. I remember the thrill of seeing the Bears would clinch a playoff win live. It was a long time ago, but it's a memory I'll never forget.

Starting point is 00:09:03 This year, Game Time makes it even easier to create those unforgettable Moments with their new feature game time picks it filters out the fluff and shows you only the best deals on great seats So you can focus on what matters being there I use game time picks to grab tickets for a game at Carver Hawkeye Arena, and it couldn't have been easier I found a super deal that gave me great value for amazing seats And I could even preview the view from my spot before I bought it the all-in pricing my favorite a game changer No more surprise fees at checkout plus knowing my tickets are back by the game time guarantee gave me complete peace of mind Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with game time download the game time app create an account

Starting point is 00:09:46 Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with game time download the game time app create an account make sure you use the code Locked on college for $20 off your first purchase terms apply again create an account and redeem code locked on college lock ed on co LL Ege locked on college for $20 off download game time today last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed. Right now Tom Caker from Hawkeye Report, you'll be at Carver Hawkeye Arena tonight watching the Hawks in Penn State 8 o'clock tip off. That's FS1 I want to say correct Trent. I think it is FS1. If you can't watch it on TV you can hear it at least locally here and throughout most of the state. Once the sun goes down on news radio 1040, W-H-O. Hello, Tom, how are you? I'm good and I will be one of those hearty souls that will be in attendance tonight. That's good.

Starting point is 00:10:40 Yeah, looking forward to it. Absolutely. As am I. I want to see how this team bounces back. You know, Tom, Trent and I, and we haven't been alone speculating that the McCaffrey era is coming to an end. And we've been, you know, both out there willing to, you know, put go on record, et cetera. Not that we'd not to wear Fran haters. I don't think either one of us would check that box. I won't speak for Trent. I know I'm not. We just think it's coming to an end. That's all. But yet We see this recruiting class that keeps getting better and better and better which leads me to believe you know what? I might be dead wrong just when we thought we had something figured out not so fast I mean, this is another good get a four-star wing in Joshua Lewis

Starting point is 00:11:20 That's added to a pretty good overall top 25 class Tom is that's added to a pretty good overall top 25 class Tom. The Michael Corleone line was just when I thought I was out they pulled me back in. Yes. You know. Yeah. That's the Godfathers three I believe. But yeah they're recruiting really well. I mean they got the kid from Minneapolis who's coming in who is very highly thought of, you know, out of high school, went to Miami and he's with the team now, will not play obviously the rest of the year. But and then Joshua Lewis, who's I think probably the highest rated recruit that they've got in the Fran era.

Starting point is 00:12:01 So locked him up, got him. Now, he has not signed yet. They won't be able to sign until the second signing period, but I don't even know that they really even sign anything. I don't know what they're signing these days. Letter of Intent seems to be gone away. I don't know. Cash the NIL check and that's good enough? good enough? Yeah, I guess. But anyway, he's sold on Iowa and now they've got four recruits. I think the first two guys, Brisco and Diakite, they're more developmental. They're bigger guys and they've got some promise. But I wouldn't expect either of those guys to come in and kind of make an immediate impact, especially Dikete because he's pretty skinny.

Starting point is 00:12:49 6'10". He's got to add some weight. But yeah, they're doing well with the roster development and trying to put something together, but it's a results driven business guys. It always has been and always will be. So it's got to win some basketball games starting with tonight. Yeah, absolutely. And they got to rip off a few because it's going to get more and more difficult as the back half of the schedule gets there. So what's gone wrong here as you look back

Starting point is 00:13:17 in all encompassing the last couple of weeks, short of the Indiana game, and it's a struggle to get by an average Nebraska team at home. You get blown out in both your LA trips. You get beat by a bad Minnesota team. What will you point to most? What's gone wrong and why this squad just looks all out of sorts all over the place. I think it's a multitude of things. Um, you know, the rebounding was something that I was concerned about coming into the year and

Starting point is 00:13:44 then that has proven to be one of the bigger problems for this team is they have that rebounded the basketball very well at all and France teams other than the the the the four-year stay of Adam Woodbury have not defended very well and When unless that offense is cooking and unless that offense is making a lot of three point field goals, Iowa has struggled and lost some games badly. I mean, it's just, those are just the facts of the matter. And I hate using injuries as an excuse, but you know, Peyton Sanford's beat up.

Starting point is 00:14:21 Josh Dix was limping around the other night. Uh, he's obviously not 100%. Owen Freeman's wearing like braces on his ankles. So I know his ankles are not 100%, but nobody is this time of year in college basketball. So it's part of the game, but it seems like it's hit all of their kind of key guys that they're just not healthy. Tom, you were there, so I'm anxious to get your take on this.

Starting point is 00:14:50 On Tuesday night, the Minnesota game, the tennis was bad, obviously the results not what anyone, I'll give them the fact that they got back into this at the end, because it looked like it was going to be a blowout and maybe we would have heard the boo birds because I don't know at the end, but what was it like? Did it feel like it was over at any point? I mean the whole era? Did it feel like wow this is kind of the beginning of the end? Did it feel like that at all for the Minnesota game? I don't know. It's hard to say. I always push back on the attendance thing a little bit because it's been, that's been

Starting point is 00:15:27 kind of the attendance. It's been all a year. The students just haven't shown up except for probably the Iowa State game. And I don't know how you fix that, but they've got to fix that. And I didn't expect a lot of people. It was cold, yeah, windshield warning, eight o'clock with a Tuesday where there were high school games going on at the same time. But it has not reached Licklider levels of attendance, which were worse than this. They just were. But they've got to figure

Starting point is 00:16:00 out a way to reengage with this fan base because you can't give your tickets away right now to anybody. But you know what I did? I was my seat in press row, just the section over is where Beth Getz sits on press row. And so I just always kind of kept glancing at her to see what her body language was like. And she was just very stone-faced. She does not show any emotion one way or the other or disgust or like bumping her hand on the counter or anything. She just very stoic, just watching the game

Starting point is 00:16:36 and then exiting the building. It's a difficult spot, but I keep getting this, the financial part of it. We know the TV revenue is really good. I brought up when Iowa State needed to make a choice, it was a $10 million decision to fire Steve Prohm, pay the buyout to get outs from UNLV. That was $10 million to make it happen.

Starting point is 00:16:56 And Iowa State was able to, yet people are concerned about the ongoing litigation in college athletics, the COVID money that still needs to be paid back from the athletic department to the university. Where is Iowa, the athletic department, as a whole financially right now? Well, and then you've also got to throw in the fact that they're going to have to take $20.5 million out of their expected budget and put that towards paying their football, basketball and other athletes along the way.

Starting point is 00:17:26 So that's another part of this equation where things are tight. Here's the other thing that they are seriously thinking about. I know this for reality that this, they've got a project for Carver Hawkeye arena that they want to upgrade that place and put some suites up on the top. And that's no secret. It's out there. They're trying to fundraise for it. It's about $65 million, I believe.

Starting point is 00:17:52 And it's hard to fundraise right now with all the different ways where money is going. And there are still some people out there who just want to do facilities things. They're not into paying players and stuff. So they look in her lead gifts and that sort of thing. Um, it's hard when, you know, as much as women's basketball is a, is a big deal in Iowa city, uh, it was bigger when 22 was playing basketball. It's not as, it's not as big of a go to, I mean, there's still people go into all those games, but it's, it's coming back to the ground a little bit. Um, men's basketball still has to be your

Starting point is 00:18:32 number one thing and they've got to, you know, people just don't want to get to that program right now. They just don't. I mean, you've seen it with the NIL stuff and everything. And, um, that's the hurdle that they've got to climb right now and just kind of look at is how is this going to kind of what's the cost benefit of doing what you're going to what you might have to do? Yeah. Can you afford not to? I mean, there's a lot of questions on the table. Fascinating. Back to the back to the game Tuesday.

Starting point is 00:19:04 A couple of guys, Tom. Drew Thelwell, is he hurt a little bit because his offensive production last couple of nights certainly hasn't been where we thought it was going. And then Traore, I thought it was his best game as a Hawk. So Thelwell and Traore from Tuesday, if you would. I think you're absolutely right with Sadio. I thought he looked comfortable for the first time since Before he rolled that ankle. I think that was like the South Carolina upstate game Was when he kind of held a bit of an injury there with that ankle, but he looked good I just don't think either guard

Starting point is 00:19:42 Played very well and they spent a lot of time sitting next to Fran as a result. They thought Brock struggled at times. I thought Drew struggled at times. I think they're getting going up against bigger guards and they're just getting kind of beat up by that. Now tonight, you won't have that because Penn State's got at least one guard who's smaller. Ace Baldwin is one of the best guards in the conference

Starting point is 00:20:09 But he's only six one so it's it's not like there's a massive difference there So I think we'll see more of them, but they've been going up against like that USC team I mean their smallest guy was like six five It was just like, you know mouse in the house, but we saw with UCLA too, with the daily kid just posting up Brock long over and over again. I got a football question for you. I know you have a good relationship with Epi, Epinessa and Yose. He's out there. He's played a couple of all-star games.

Starting point is 00:20:39 The latest the Polynesian one, he has shot up the recruiting rankings after those performances as well. I can't remember which side it was. I think he went up like 80 spots, which I just don't remember seeing this late in the game. Take us in a little bit. And is you'll say a kid that's going to be able to come in and help that defensive line right away this year. It's going to have a chance.

Starting point is 00:20:58 Now they've got he's coming in to play defensive end and they've got probably three guys that are pretty solid. And then you've got Kenneth Merriwether, probably the next guy, but I think it's going to be a lot like when AJ came in, where it's just going to be hard to keep them off the floor or off the field rather. And he's just going to, he's going to be out there. I think at some point and, you you know making an impact. I just think kids too good to sit and he's going to be out there this year. Ask you a week or two ago about

Starting point is 00:21:32 anything in the portal for this semester that's done you mentioned that at that time. When we look to the spring period though when the portal opens again cornerback obviously specific do you expect them though to be overly active? You know, another position you think about, you got two nice running backs, but after what Caleb Johnson did, if there's a heavyweight out there that wants to come to Iowa,

Starting point is 00:21:53 now is that something that they'd be willing to look into? Just how active do you think they'll be when the spring portal opens? I think part of it will depend on what they see this spring from the team. And if they see a glaring hole that like, hey, we got to go find somebody. I think corner is definitely on that list. There's no question they'd want to get some more depth there, but they tried and couldn't

Starting point is 00:22:17 get anybody. But I think all the other positions, they kind of pretty happy with what they got and the hall that they got. But if there's a certain guy out there that pops in there, you know, you just go for it and you try to get them. But yeah, it'll be a challenge though, because I think you're kind of budgeting your house money out at that point. So I guess these schools are signing deals according to Wisconsin. They're already signing deals subject to the house approval. That's what happened with the Lucas kid. That's how they signed that two-year deal with them,

Starting point is 00:23:02 and it was pending approval of the house settlement which should come in April. Apparently Scott text Castro's also going to the senior bowl. Oh is he? Apparently so yeah. Try to mention the schedule for men's basketball coming up here. So are the last two I mean I'm not winnable they can they'll win some more games but Penn State tonight at Ohio State and then the water gets deeper with Purdue coming because they've got a long layoff. They've, they're off for over a week once we get through Monday night, Tom. Yeah. Um, they've got a big stretch coming up. And as Trent and I have talked about that

Starting point is 00:23:41 back end, that last day, woof, man, that's a, I mean, if they make a run in that last date, they're back in the NCAA tournament talk, but boy, it's gonna be a heck of a way to get a run at Illinois, at Northwestern, get Oregon and Washington come and die with City, Michigan State's come and die with City. I mean, they got that last date. Oher at Rutgers and that Maryland, too. Hello. I mean that's just Murderers row Tom Cakert Hawkeye report comm Tom great stuff as always to speak with you in a week. Thank you Tom Cakert

Starting point is 00:24:18 Okay. Thanks guys. Thank you Tom Cakert Hawkeye report Tom Cakert Hawkeye Report. Back with you one final time, Locked On Hawkeyes. I'm Trent Condon. Thanks for being with us and making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every day. Hit subscribe if you're watching on YouTube. Five star reviews if you're over on the podcast. I really do appreciate it. Those analytics, however they all work, right?

Starting point is 00:24:44 Put it together those clicks really really do help us those great Descriptions that you guys give the comment section on YouTube and the reviews that you give on the audio side on Apple and wherever you get your podcast all right wrapping things up here Time to talk a little wrestling and be honest. I usually try to talk a little bit more wrestling But we've got to this point here as we're in end of January and there hasn't been a ton. Yes, there's been some injuries. There's been a few things that we've touched on, but overall now we're getting into the meat of things, right?

Starting point is 00:25:13 We're getting into the part of the schedule that gets really fun. Penn State coming up next week. That'll be a monster. Has Iowa closed the gap with all these new additions this year? Are we going to see the young guys go out there year. Are we going to see you know, the the young guys go out there? What are we gonna see from Gabe Arnold? What are we gonna see from Ben Keeter? The new additions of that to come in with a Cal Parko and what we've seen out of Timur as he makes his way back from injury. There's a lot out there with this squad

Starting point is 00:25:39 Drake Ayala was the big ten wrestler of the week a week ago Should be really fun to see a guy, local guy, for Dodge kit have an opportunity. We'll be keeping an eye on that, but it's Ohio State coming up this weekend. There is a betting line out there. In fact, over at Circus Sports, they have betting lines for college wrestling duels.

Starting point is 00:25:56 And you can find that Iowa, at least the opener had them as a 10 point favorite in the duel here. Should be a really good environment over there. Another top 10 matchup, but until we see them against Penn State, I'm just, I want to see this team at a distance, keep building, but really excited. And I believe the gap has closed. Look, when we get to March, I was going to have to probably have almost everything go

Starting point is 00:26:20 perfect, right? From Stephen Buchanan running the table to having Caliendo win a championship Parker win a championship teamer win a champion I mean these are the kind of things you're gonna have to do I'll be there in the finals all these guys being there and then that next here a guy if it's right a block at 41 if he's gonna be able to get to you know all-american status can that happen same thing for game Arnold same thing for Ben Keter all those things probably gonna have to happen and Penn State

Starting point is 00:26:48 Not wrestles to their ability, but there's an outside chance likely I wouldn't say so but let's keep building things wrestling We'll get more and more into it going forward a couple of spotlight matches to keep an eye on mentioned Drake Ayala At 133 he'll get a top 10 matchup against the Ohio State wrestler as long as Nick Bozakis goes for them. Couple others, Timur, him on his way back against Sami Sassou. Those two have faced off one other time and Timur dominated. I believe it was his first collegiate match if memory serves. 74 should also be a good one. Top 10 matchup there with Patrick Kennedy, the Hawks going up against the sixth ranked wrestler from Ohio State and then

Starting point is 00:27:28 a heavyweight. Penn Keter gets a fifth ranked Nick Feldman. So those are some of the matches to watch. That'll be one o'clock on Saturday on BTN. We will be back with you tonight after the conclusion of Iowa Penn State on the hardwood Iowa basketball, a must win must win situation in fact didn't talk about that a whole lot This is must win for this Iowa squad They have to get this one as we talked about with Tom Caker this schedule gets much more difficult I believe over these next four games three of them are at home You got to go at minimum three and four and you might have to run the table

Starting point is 00:28:02 Penn State is the easiest of these four games After that you go to Ohio State on Monday Then you come back home after a week away against Purdue followed up with the rematch against Wisconsin That's before you go on the road before the next six road trips to Rutgers, Maryland Illinois Northwestern amongst them Oregon comes to town in between along with Washington The schedule is gonna be a bear. Gotta get some wins. Get some positivity. It was great getting the commitment of Joshua Lewis. Iowa, Fray McCaffrey getting a four-star. Now let's get some wins. We'll talk to you tonight after the conclusion of Iowa-Penn State.

Starting point is 00:28:36 Thanks for being with us and thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. That's what we do for you each and every day talking Iowa Hawkeye sports, wrestling, basketball, men's and women's football and a whole lot more right here on the Lockdown Network and the Lockdown Network has you covered with your favorite team every day. NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, all covered there. Plus, we got our special shows like Lockdown Big Ten, Talking All Things Big Ten, Lockdown College

Starting point is 00:29:04 Basketball, Lockdown College Football, Locked On Across the We got our special shows like locked on Big Ten talking all things Big Ten locked on college basketball locked on college football Locked on across the board. That's what we do and thanks for being a part of locked on Hawkeyes We'll talk to you again tonight. Go Hawks

Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Iowa Hawkeyes' Joshua Lewis + Fran McCaffrey's Future, Tom Kakert joins & Wrestling preview

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