It's Great to be a Hawkeye: Iowa City will soon welcome Fran McCaffery to Iowa Basketball

News is that Gary Barta, Iowa's AD, has extended the Iowa basketball position to Fran McCaffery, who has been head coach the past five seasons at Siena College, a Jesuit university.

Who will be the next Hawkeye basketball coach? - The Gazette
Several media reports confirm Siena Coach Fran McCaffery has accepted the Iowa coaching job ...

Report: McCaffery to Iowa ‎- WNYT
Iowa is expected to announce the move Monday in Iowa City, Iowa. McCaffery will replace Todd Lickliter, who was fired two weeks ago after the Hawkeyes' ...

Like Dr. Tom Davis, who coached at Iowa for 13 years, McCaffery brings a strong East Coast resume to Iowa City. Like Dr. Tom, McCaffery has been a head coach previously at three other schools. McCaffery has eleven years of coaching in the Midwest, as an 11 year assistant at Notre Dame. McCaffery lead Lehigh, UNC-Greensboro and Siena all to the NCAA Tournament, including three straight trips at Siena.

He may not have the doctorate, like Dr. Tom, but he has an Ivy League education on his resume, from Penn. We would imagine that Fran McCaffery knows a little about teaching young men the game of basketball and about life. Always an important skill for an Iowa head basketball coach. Always important at the 28 Jesuit universities found the USA.

Dr. Tom and Coach Fran were head coaches at Jesuit universities. Dr. Tom at Boston College, while McCaffery has been the past five seasons at Siena. Jesuit universities have great history in college basketball, from Georgetown to Gonzaga. Creighton is the closest Jesuit university to Iowa City.

Ironically, Iowa could have hired a Jesuit coach from Creighton (Dana Altman) three years ago, but settled for Butler's Todd Lickliter. Iowa's two previous coaches, Licklter and Steve Alford, had only coached at one Division I university previous to becoming the head coach at Iowa.

Coach Fran, like Dr. Tom, has coached at three universities in the past prior to coming to Iowa City. Of course, nothing is official yet, but multiple sources from The Gazette's article have confirmed, 'Fran is the Man' for the University of Iowa's basketball position.

We are excited about the choice, after reports that Dayton's Brian Gregory were heard. It appears that Iowa's AD Gary Barta didn't want to lose on the opportunity to hire Fran McCaffery, who was mentioned for other jobs opening in 2010, as the two articles below highlight.

Coaching carousel chatter ‎ESPN (blog) - Andy Katz
Iowa was extremely interested in Gregory, so this move is odd for them if he's truly the top choice. Iowa has talked to McCaffery and he remains a finalist ...

Skinner to St. John's in a holding pattern ‎Boston Globe
McCaffery, meanwhile, may be out as a possibility at St. John's since he has emerged as the leading candidate for the opening at the University of Iowa, ...

We look forward to the official announcement on Monday that Fran McCaffery will be the University of Iowa's next head men's basketball coach. The rebuilding job will be McCaffery's who brings a strong resume to the table for the Hawkeyes men's program. Official announcement with Media is Monday.

peace

The battling mid-majors vs. the middling majors on Selection Sunday

Who should be in and who should be in the NIT? Selection Sunday is Today for the Big Dance!

Watching the discussion on ESPN this morning with discussion of Creighton vs. Penn State and/or the University of Arizona.

First, don't reward 9-9 in the Big Ten or Pac Ten folks over a solid mid-major co-champion. Yes, we are talking a comparison with the Creighton Bluejays, which has been discussed on ESPN today. Look at the Conference Standings folks.

Creighton's 14-4 and a co-championship in the MVC is a worthy discussion boys. Doesn't the #9 ranked conference deserve two? Throw St. Mary's-CA off then folks. Winning in the conference means something, when we are talking a Top 10 conference and bubble teams.

Creighton is 11-1 in the past 12 games. Clearly, playing the worse game in their final game, has Creighton on the bubble. Which is too bad, because the 11 game win streak was an outstanding display of basketball. Wins on the road, including a solid win at the University of Northern Iowa, the MVC's automatic bid.

By the way, when we listen to Digger Phelps speak on ESPN, how much does he hold a grudge against mid-majors that beat him, while at Notre Dame or after, for that matter? Creighton beat UNI in Cedar Falls and beat Dayton, ending their 8 game winning streak with a 18 point win. The Auburn Tigers were 0-2 vs. UNI and Dayton.

The Big Ten is looking at a pretty full cup of teams entering the Big Dance. The MVC deserves two bids in 2009 folks. UNI and Creighton, both would look good in a match up with some of those worthy Big Ten bubble teams. Maybe the NCAA will do just that in their effort to keep teams closer to home, due to the economic times we all face today.

peace