Some change expected for Hawkeye basketball as staff builds

Since Fran McCaffery's hiring 15 days ago, there hasn't been much good news for the Iowa men's basketball program.

Starting sophomore forward Aaron Fuller is transferring and two of four recruits - Cody Larson and Ben Brust - rescinded their letters of intent. Also, guard Kaylon Williams committed Monday to Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the same day the former Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Kirkwood Community College standout was told of McCaffery's interest.

Before you think too little, too late, listen to McCaffery's first Iowa recruit, assistant coach Andrew Francis, who spoke with reporters Tuesday by telephone.

“When you have change, you expect a level of change because there is so much uncertainty,” said Francis, who was on McCaffery's Siena staff the last three years. “There's the question: ‘Can I fit his system?' I know I'm not one of his guys.' There are a lot of questions these young men will have.

“You expect a certain level of change from the players' standpoint. We're building something. We're trying to lay the foundation now. I don't think it's out of the norm (for Fuller's transfer and the defections).”

Francis understood Fuller's desire to play closer to home in Arizona.

“I only met Aaron a couple of times. He's a real quality young man who wanted to transfer for personal reasons and you have to respect that,” he said. “It seems like everybody else is on board.”

With a couple of extra scholarships suddenly available, and already trying to fill the holes of the worst season in Iowa men's basketball history, Francis realizes the spring recruiting process that runs through May 19 will be a sprint.

“It's a leap of faith ... you have to trust your instincts, a feeling or vibe you get,” he said. “If they give you a great feeling, you go with your gut. Sometimes you can tell, just being around them. You want guys who want to be here.”

One of those guys might be Siena signee Melsahn Basabe, a 6-foot-7 forward out of Glen Cove, N.Y. Basabe, who was recruited by Francis, reportedly will ask to be released from his scholarship to sign with Iowa.

Per NCAA rules, coaches are not allowed to talk about recruits until they sign, but Francis, who's contacted a number of local high school and AAU coaches, talked about the recruiting process in general.

“The main thing we're looking at is to make sure we get the best players possible, players who want to be a part of Iowa basketball,” he said.

Francis said he and McCaffery are looking at the roster and getting a feel for what those players can do without prejudging anyone.

“You can watch guys on film and get one view and get them out on the court and do things you're planning to do and get another view,” Francis said. “You watch the team last year and see them running a system completely different than what we're going to do.”

As someone who played and coached in the East, Francis still knew about Iowa's proud basketball tradition as well as the recent downfall.

“It's slipped a little bit,” he said. “and it's our job to get it back to where it needs to be in the national spotlight.”