On Sunday my Twitter feed was full of tweets that Iowa had found its new men's basketball coach: Fran McCaffery. Yes, I was one of the many who had to look him up to find out who exactly he was. It seems like the Iowa athletic department is trying to find another Kirk Ferentz type coach, someone not well known by the fan base but will come in and do the job. Coach McCaffery has the background of turning college basketball programs around, but he hasn't coached at the level that Iowa plays in. The Big Ten is a little (fine, a lot) different than the MAAC, where Sienna plays. As you can see I was a little skeptical when I found out who he was.
Monday morning was the traditional introduction news conference. As I watched and listened the more I liked. Coach McCaffery had some former players in attendance and he wants them to be part of the program in some way, even as an assistant coach perhaps. The program has been missing this greatly in the past decade. There was a disconnect between the Dr Tom years to the current situation. Another thing that really impressed me was Coach McCaffery's desire to adapt to the situation. He isn't planning on implementing one system and sticking with it. Instead he wants to inventory what he has for players and build around that. Even in games he will adapt, something not seen at Iowa in decades (even Dr Tom would stick with the press when it wasn't working). Coach McCaffery wants to play different offenses and defenses to keep the opponents off-balance. He wants to run the floor and make good decisions. Most of all he wants the players to play with passion, as he will coach with passion, and to have fun. Best way to have fun is to win, of course, but he also needs to make it fun in a loss.
What I am most impressed about is his relationships with the players. He opens his home to the players and connects with them, and their families, on a personal level. Anyone who has gone away to college knows that homesickness does come into play and it's nice to have someone who wants to be a family away from your family. I also think that this is why he has become to be known as an excellent recruiter. He will be able to sell the program to the recruits. I am also impressed with his desire to contact the current class of recruits and keep them on board.
This is an exciting time for Iowa Basketball. The last three (losing) seasons have been rough; to an extent the Alford years were rough too. Coach McCaffery provides us with some summer optimism as we prepare to see the team hit the court. Hopefully next winter I won't be thinking "how long until football starts?"
Edit: Right after I posted this I received a tweet for http://www.letsbemadagain.com/ from well known Hawkeye basketball blogger Storminspank. This is an example of the renewed commitment in the Iowa Basketball program. Check it out (requires Flash 10).
