Feel For Fran

I am sitting in the Denver Airport contemplating all the emotions Iowa Basketball Coach Fran McCaffery must be feeling.

• Pissed
• Sad
• Mad
• Sick
• Tired

His first year at Iowa has turned out to be a nightmare (record wise).  The loses keep adding up and Iowa is off to it's worst start in Big 10 play in school history.  If the Hawks don't beat Indaina at home on Sunday they just might not win a game the rest of the season.  The  players play hard, the effort is there but lets be honest you can only say that so many times.

I think it's safe to say none of us thought Iowa was going to be that good this season and I'm willing to bet none of us thought that Iowa was going to be bad at this point in the season.  Is it lack of talent?  A loaded Big 10?  I think it's both. 

This is something realtivly new to McCaffery.  Iowa is his 4th head coaching stop, a  career that started back in 1985 at Lehigh then on to UNC-Greensboro and onto Siena.  At his three previous stops, McCaffery had a total of 3... Count them 1..2..3 losing seasons.

1985-86 Lehigh 13-15 (His 1st Season)
2002-03 UNCG 7-22 (His 4th Season)
2003-04 UNCG 11-17

Fran is a proven winner who took his three previous schools to the NCAA Tournament.   But is he a proven program builder? Not with a program that is as far down as Iowa is right now.

I'm not saying it won't happen,  I feel very strongly that it will.  However this is a bigger project than anyone ever imagined.  Also winning in the Big 10 and building a program in the Big 10 is a lot different than the East Coast Conference, the Southern Conference and the Metro Atlantic Conference.  There is a learning curve for Fran and his Big 10 orientation, Iowa fans hope he's a fast learner.