For me it still comes down to defense, Still not a strong point for the Hawks.
*** #12 Iowa vs. Illinois WBB Game Thread ***
- Thread starter huntermmm
- Start date
She is a really solid coach.
Illinois only has 2 losses. Was impressed by their team. Just feels like we let one get away.
Poor defense and rebounding plagues Iowa once again. Bluder needs to retire after the season and Iowa needs to hire a coach that can teach players how to defend. Did not close driving lanes and gave up so many wide open jumpers from free throw line. Sad. We are overrated. I don't see us beating Michigan next week. My optimism after the Purdue win is gone.
Iowa plays too soft. Bluder really needs to play the bench more. Starters know they wont sit or very long no matter how they play. Don't understand Syd and Hannah not playing more. They play with a lot more intensity than a couple of starters.
She's good. There's not many gimmes in the big and she definitely has Illinois going in the right way. But i really don't like the men's team for decades.
You have to be in it to let it get away. Illinois wanted it more. Iowa had no hustle on defense and were often out of position. We were also over reliant on Monica and Caitlin and rarely looked to drive the ball. Illinois attacked on both sides of the ball and deserved to win.
And the only coach i actually dislike in the women's big is Marylands coach.
Not sold on Molly Davis. She certainly brings effort and has her moments but overall I believe the caliber of Big 10 play is a bit much for her. Rebounding and the uncontested shots by Illinois were killers today.
I agree. She is really good. And totally agree about mens team.
Rebounding. Too many free shots in the paint. Refs didn’t help much either.
Molly is not the problem. She showed some great hustle with a near steal and block in the fourth. She has been excellent from three off of kickouts. She's not going to create for herself the way Caitlin does, but she's a solid player and good backup PG. I prefer her over Marshall at the 2 also as Marshall is struggling on offense in every facet.
Iowa played with effort but seemed to lose focus. I though Stuelke would be more active even as young as she is. We need better rebounding and rotation on defense.
Marshall is just God-awful at this point. Her head must be tied in knots cuz we’ve seen the ability over the years but she is an overall liability at this point.
What is most frustrating is how predictable this L was. We knew they’d test us. We needed to battle, attack, hustle. We didn’t. Can’t believe we only lost by 4 tbh. It felt more like 14.
We have lots of problems. I can’t help but think that, rather than a second shot at last year, this season should be approached as a warmup up for next. Figure out our strengths in returning players — Clark, Feuerbach, Stuelke, O’Grady, Edigar, maybe Gyamfi, McCabe and Affolter. Rebuild around those pieces. Who is deserving of a COVID year? At this point Warnock and Martin are the only ones I think are worthy of consideration. What do we need from the portal? Go and get it. After this game (not to mention K State and NC State)…I may have changed my tune on rebuilding. It’ll be painful to rebuild a starting roster from scratch but JFC.
I hate to be alarmist but at this point, our weaknesses are glaring. Indiana and Maryland do not hesitate to hit the portal and stay relevant bc of it. We have lost enough games against unranked teams now that I just don’t see it coming together for us and I fear it will affect our recruiting if we don’t adjust — big picture wise.
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New coach brought I think 3 players with her and also got a major txfr from NC state. Portal is opening a whole new world for lots of programs.
Michigan will be tough, but significant amounts of the Michigan roster don’t out-athlete Iowa, whereas Maryland, Ohio State and Illinois out athlete Iowa at most spots on the floor. The athleticism recruiting losses, including Adalia McKenzie, really make it hard for Iowa, especially with the losses of Taiwo and Kylie. Davis, for her part, is not a solution to Iowa’s athletic shortcomings.
I disagree with the premise (yours ?) that Iowa has recruited well, or well enough, and should be worried about it falling off. Iowa has too many players that are athletically challenged, and has mostly (not entirely) struggled in recruiting more athletic players, e.g. Adalia McKenzie, who would have really helped today. Bluder’s background and offensive instincts also make it hard for her to develop more athletic players who need some skill development. In an improving Big Ten, Iowa’s athletic shortcomings will be a growing problem.
I agree if Bluder does not recruit the portal to get an athletic 2 that can/drive and shoot 15-foot shot Iowa will be the same next year.
GM needs to graduate and move on.
Same book, different chapter.
Same book, different chapter.
Exactly. 4 of 5 starters were transfers at some point. I guess high school seniors can just not expect much attention unless they are true 5 stars.
It's the new normal. No need to rebuild / develop players when you can just buy someone else's already stars.
4 of the top 6 leading scorers were on the team last year. The coach brought a starter from Dayton with her and added another transfer from North Carolina State. A second Dayton transfer is the 7th leading scorer.
So 3 of the 5 starters were on a really bad team last year. Green has done an amazing job. Going from last to perhaps a top half of the league finish is pretty good.
Illinois is a good team; we have regressed overall. Caitlin has grown and has tried to include her teammates, she should have 2-3 assists per game more than she has if they could convert shots. Monica is worse on defense and missing a couple of shots/game she made last year. Kate and McKenna probably on par with last year but both not athletic enough to defend top 20 team's athletic players. Gabby clearly worse with her shooting slump. Davis not living up to advertised ability. We're going to be very lucky to earn a 4 seed so we can host the 1st weekend; playing away from Carver might almost be a blessing based on how we weren't up to the moment last year. Still hoping for some magic but doubtful at this point....a team with this amount of expericence should be able to perform beyond their ability, but to be realistic it's probably not going to happen. Feel bad for Caitlin; I know she loves her teammates, but might be time to read them the riot act.
I'd like to see GM come in off the bench - it may ignite her game again. She continues to get 28+ minutes and does not produce much. She passed up several open looks against Purdue. I'm not sure why teams aren't collapsing GM's defender and double teaming Monica until GM proves she can burn them.
Stuelke needs more minutes as well. People would be up in arms if there was a player on the men's team producing like she does and only getting 10mpg....
@shikreto is 100% correct. Bluder is playing this season like a "redo" of 21-22 instead of looking at the future of the program. I'm afraid that's going to hurt them in the long run.....I think Davis is the only sub that gets >12 mpg regularly.....
Stuelke needs more minutes as well. People would be up in arms if there was a player on the men's team producing like she does and only getting 10mpg....
@shikreto is 100% correct. Bluder is playing this season like a "redo" of 21-22 instead of looking at the future of the program. I'm afraid that's going to hurt them in the long run.....I think Davis is the only sub that gets >12 mpg regularly.....
Total crossroads of the season right now..
Choice 1) Decide you are going to commit more to defense and hold people accountable for not defending, which they have shown they can do in certain games this year.
Choice 2) Understand that you are not a defensive team and just start outscoring people - but then get more "teeth" in the game and have people on the floor that can score, especially out of the 2 and 3 positions. And if this is the choice, then push the ball and RUN!
This isn't last year, that's apparent. This group isn't responding well to getting everyone's best shot.
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