Iowa AD: Fran McCaffery's progress reminds many of early Kirk Ferentz years

IOWA CITY - Kirk Ferentz began his Iowa football coaching career 2-18 but turned the program into a Big Ten champion by his fourth season.

Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta wasn't there for Ferentz's turnaround. But Barta's surrounded by plenty of people who were there. Those people tell him that first-year Coach Fran McCaffery's basketball program has a similar feel to Ferentz's Iowa beginning.

“To me success is if you can feel progress,” Barta said. “I've been told by several people that when Kirk first came there was this feeling - the record didn't show it - but we were making progress. We were moving in the right direction. I wasn't here, but that's how I feel about what Fran has done. Our record doesn't yet show where we want to be. But those two overtime losses at home, you can just feel that we're getting closer and closer.

“We're not near where we want to be, but I feel good about where we're headed.”

A loss today against No. 6 Purdue sends Iowa (10-19, 3-14 Big Ten) to its first last-place Big Ten finish since 1994 and its fewest league wins since 1964. A defeat would clinch back-to-back 20-loss seasons, the only two in school history. Yet, the mood around the program is upbeat rather than dour.

Iowa's paid attendance is up by 21.4 percent this year. Despite losing nearly two-third of its games, Iowa has scored nearly as many points as its opponents. The Hawkeyes have lost five games by three points, including two in overtime. Freshman Melsahn Basabe, junior-college transfer Bryce Cartwright and junior Matt Gatens rank among the Big Ten's leaders in multiple categories.

“I think we have progressed. I had hoped we would progress more,” McCaffery said. “Any time you begin a season you hope to be in a position to win a championship or be above .500. There's a number of different goals you might have. I didn't have a win total in my head as far as what I thought this team could accomplish. All I wanted to do was prepare for the next game and try to get better. I think we've done that.”

Jarryd Cole has played for two coaches and committed to another. He plays his final home game at Iowa today, and he's lost more games than any player in Iowa history. Cole is confident the program is headed in the right direction even with a potential 20th loss on the horizon.

“I definitely do see some upside coming, Cole said. “We have the right guys to do it. McCaffery and all the assistant coaches are all on the trail hot to recruit. I have faith that they're going to bring in the right guys, and I'm going to do the right things. I want to be a part of this system.”

Barta fired Todd Lickliter last March after Iowa suffered through the worst three-year period in school history. After a two-week search, Barta hired McCaffery, who was fresh from three straight NCAA Tournament bids at Siena. McCaffery promised a change of style and a commitment to reviving moribund Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Along with the attendance increase, Iowa averages nearly seven points a game more this year than last.

“The best way to describe it is to say when I hired Fran, I was excited,” Barta said. “I felt like we had made the right choice. I felt like he was engaged and excited and the right fit. But you never know.

“Now, here we are, almost to the end of the season, and I still very excited about our hire, about his fit, about the way he's going about it. The reinvigoration is a statement that the fans agree, he's a good fit. He's going about it the right way. They're excited to watch his brand of basketball which we suspected people would be.”