Hawkeye chat 7 tonight

You heard new UI basketball coach Fran McCaffery, so now let's hear from you.

Chat tonight at 7. Join Dochterman, Hlas and me.

McCaffery wants to be at Iowa. I remember those exact words three years ago.

Patience will be needed. Time will tell.

Recruiting? I like the areas where McCaffery has contacts. He has the midwest, east coast and some of the south covered. Not a lot of experience west of Nebraska, just going off resume.

PR? Sure, home run today. Today was the easy one. I like the fact that he's opened the door, warmly, to former players. I had no idea that was such an issue until today. But, as I wrote, some of that is former players and some is the former coaches.

Wife? She's very tall. Maybe 6-2. She's very much into basketball, too. That can't hurt. Cute kids? You bet. Brother who's a sports columnist? Yes, McCaffery has that, too.

Winner? Gary Barta and men's gymnastics sure hope so. It's harsh, but economic reality dictates that this works. Or else.

Patience will be needed. Time will tell.

By the way, renovations at Carver are thundering along.