New Iowa basketball assistant meets the press

A Question and Answer session with new Iowa assistant basketball coach Andrew Francis:

What has it been like so far? “It's been a whirlwind. I try to always be as even keel as possible. Everyone has been so welcoming and helpful. Although it's a lot of work, it's been a pretty smooth transition. Guys on the team, getting to know them. They have been warm and accepting. That's made everything a little easier. Ton of work and lot of people we have to speak to. This is going to take the efforts of a lot of people to continue to grow and bring Iowa basketball back to where it belongs and, hopefully, to succeed where it's been before. We have a lot of goals and things to accomplish as a staff.”

Have you made any contact with local AAU and high school coaches? “I've reached out to a number of AAU coaches and number of high school coaches. Everyone has been really receptive and helpful. It's a work in progress and you can't get everything done in a couple of days. I've been here 5 days. We have to make sure we extend ourselves to all the coaches and have them see what were trying to do, lay out what our vision is and grow relationships in the surrounding area as well as nationally. But we first have to take care of home.”

Signings for current spring period? “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. We're still going over our roster and getting a feel for where our guys are and what they can do. We don't want to jump the gun with any concrete expectations. We'll continue to evaluate and meet people. We want the best players that fit the system, but also the best young people. This is not just about basketball. (At Siena) we had very close-knit teams and continuity on those teams. It worked because the guys respected one another and genuinely liked one another.”

What can you tell us about Coach McCaffery that we might not know? “What you see is what you get. He's very knowledgeable. As people get to know him and see how he works and operates, they will see the knowledge he has and how he gets it across to the players. He does a great  job of teaching the guys. He doesn't play a ton of head games. ‘This is exactly what I want you to do. How do we make that happen?' … He's a quality individual. A regular guy who's passionate about basketball and trying to be successful. He's teaching guys ways to be successful not only in basketball but in life. … He's a big-time family guy.”

What do you know about the Iowa program? “As a college basketball fan, I knew of Iowa's tradition with Jess Settles and other players when I was still in college. Big- time program as far as always competing in the Big Ten and on the national stage. Someone to be reckoned with. Obviously, I'm an East Coast guy and we don't get a lot of Iowa basketball games here. I respect Iowa. I'm learning more about them now as I'm part of the Iowa basketball family. … It's slipped a little bit and it's our job to get it back where it needs to be in the national spotlight.”

What about you? “The biggest thing about myself basically is that I'm just a regular guy. A humble guy who really wants to work hard to be successful. I do work. I try to get after it. I want to be a person who teaches more than just about basketball. Ultimately what we're trying to do is win a lot of basketball games and help guys be prepared to be successful in life. It's very important to Coach McCaffery and me. It's about mentoring these young people. It's important to help the next generation because people have helped us along the way. We'll work hard on the basketball side of it, but when the ball stops bouncing, what type of man are you going to be?”

Your thoughts on the current players? “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. You watch the team last year and see them running a system completely different than what we're going to do. … You have to respect guys in the program because they have put in a lot of work”

Your area of expertise? “I study the game and player development. I'm not pigeon holed to just working with forwards and centers. At Siena, Coach gave me a lot of freedom to work with the players and I don't think that's going to change here. Each player has different things they are good at it. They may need different things to help them improve.”

Your thoughts on Aaron Fuller's transfer and the loss of two incoming recruits? “When you have change, you expect a level of change because there is so much uncertainty. 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 laying the foundation and we're trying to lay the foundation now. I don't think it's out of the norm (for the transfer and defections). I only met Aaron a couple of times; he's a real quality young man who felt like he wanted to transfer for personal reasons and you have to respect that. It seems like everybody else is on board. We have to extend ourselves to our players and recruits to have them get to know us and have a level of trust. Relationships are a big key.”

Short time to recruit good or bad? “It's a leap of faith … you have to trust your instincts, a feeling or vibe you get. 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.”