Iowa basketball: Four former Hawks who could replace Andrew Francis

COLUMBUS, OH - DECEMBER 30: Assistant Coach Andrew Francis congratulates Mike Gesell #10, both of the Iowa Hawkeyes, after defeating the Ohio State Buckeyes 71-65 at Value City Arena on December 30, 2014 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - DECEMBER 30: Assistant Coach Andrew Francis congratulates Mike Gesell #10, both of the Iowa Hawkeyes, after defeating the Ohio State Buckeyes 71-65 at Value City Arena on December 30, 2014 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
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COLUMBUS, OH – DECEMBER 30: Assistant Coach Andrew Francis congratulates Mike Gesell #10, both of the Iowa Hawkeyes, after defeating the Ohio State Buckeyes 71-65 at Value City Arena on December 30, 2014 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH – DECEMBER 30: Assistant Coach Andrew Francis congratulates Mike Gesell #10, both of the Iowa Hawkeyes, after defeating the Ohio State Buckeyes 71-65 at Value City Arena on December 30, 2014 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)

Assistant coach Andrew Francis is leaving the Iowa basketball program. Here are four former players who could replace the well-respected coach.

As we mentioned in an article this yesterday morning, the departure of Andrew Francis came as a surprise to many Iowa basketball fans as Francis has been with head coach Fran McCaffery for 12 years dating back to his time in Siena.

He’s also going to be sorely missed as a coach, friend, tactician, and a recruiter.

It sounds like Andrew Francis will be making a lateral move to Cal, which means there is now room on Fran McCaffery’s staff for another assistant to join the Iowa basketball program.

While it will certainly be a much broader search than what we are proposing here, it’s a fun prospect to think about some of the former Hawkeyes who could legitimately (key word here) be considered for the new assistant coaching vacancy.

Here are the four former Iowa basketball players who could and should be considered as a part of Athletic Director Gary Barta’s replacement search.