After watching the Hawks this season, they have three Bigs
- Thread starter Hawk68
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I'm sure they can but they are young and have to break some habits! When you are bigger and stronger than most in high school your outside jumper isn't needed to be used as much.
I really enjoy all the players individual strengths and games. Pemsl footwork is great, Cook had the jumper going before the broken finger, and Wagner is a great athlete.
Great talent to work with for sure!
I really enjoy all the players individual strengths and games. Pemsl footwork is great, Cook had the jumper going before the broken finger, and Wagner is a great athlete.
Great talent to work with for sure!
Cook has the ability to shoot from beyond 15ft but it's not required at this point, why force it? He is playing the role asked and needed at this point. Pemsl has the ability too but his role is to play down low. I would agree with your assessment of Wagner. Too bad you're not talking baseball as 1 for 3 would be considered good.
I think Wagner and Pemsl are better in the paint. Pemsl, in particular, has great footwork. They should play to their strengths. Cook, I believe, has it in him to be a decent outside shooter and I hope he spends the off season taking hundreds of practice shots until he he proficient from 8 feet out.
By the same token, Kriener has shown he has confidence in his 10 footer and I will be surprised if we don't see him hit a three pointer before long. And supposedly, our incoming bigs, Garza and Nunge, are both capable shooters
By the same token, Kriener has shown he has confidence in his 10 footer and I will be surprised if we don't see him hit a three pointer before long. And supposedly, our incoming bigs, Garza and Nunge, are both capable shooters
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If Pemsl and Cook could hit a few 10" jumpers, it would be a hell of a lot easier then, to fake one and go for the hoop.
Pemsl is in the Bobby Knight mold of assiduously playing the best percentages. He can shoot twos and threes, but knows it's better for the team to pass off if he thinks he can't do his thing. He has dozens of passes to the wings who shoot and make threes. I really don't want him taking outside shots as he's about 20% less likely to make it compared to Jok or Baer or Bohannon, guys he usually passes to. When he gets more confident, then he'll shoot the ten or twelve footer.
When the guys regularly start to quickly look for kickouts to the off side the guards game will take a step forward and the double teams will let up a bit on the posts.
Cook will likely be only a 4 next year IMO and with the options we will have with Baer, Uhl, Garza, Nunge, and Kriener we shouldn't have too many times with two non shooters on the floor. Cordell and Cook do nice things for us, but playing them together isn't a strength for us.
Cook will likely be only a 4 next year IMO and with the options we will have with Baer, Uhl, Garza, Nunge, and Kriener we shouldn't have too many times with two non shooters on the floor. Cordell and Cook do nice things for us, but playing them together isn't a strength for us.
I agree with OP regarding Wagner and Pemsyl. I don't want them taking jump shots. Wagner has the worst shooting form I have ever seen. Pemsyl is getting better at free throws, but he has great moves down
low and no need for him to be shooting farther than 6ft.
Cook's shooting and rebounding has really suffered because of his broken finger. He has the ability to shoot 3pointers and was doing it prior to the injury.
Kreiner is our best shooting big man and for some reason isn't getting much playing time.
Nunge will be a big help in this area. He is already better than Uhl, Baer and will challenge Kreiner as our
best shooting big man. He will play a lot next year.
low and no need for him to be shooting farther than 6ft.
Cook's shooting and rebounding has really suffered because of his broken finger. He has the ability to shoot 3pointers and was doing it prior to the injury.
Kreiner is our best shooting big man and for some reason isn't getting much playing time.
Nunge will be a big help in this area. He is already better than Uhl, Baer and will challenge Kreiner as our
best shooting big man. He will play a lot next year.
I disagree with OP. Cook actually has a pretty nice looking shot for a big, and has hit a couple of 3s on the year. Both Cook and Pemsl look solid at the free throw line in terms of form and rotation, so I would expect their percentages to climb with more reps and some confidence. Pemsl's footwork and use of his body is very advanced for a freshman.
...and next year Luka Garza will certainly make it hard for him to get more minutes. I have a friend who lives near Baltimore who has seen Garza play in a couple tournaments and he is shocked Iowa beat traditional basketball programs like Georgetown, Indiana, and Louisville to sign him.
Garza is widely recognized as one of the best Center recruits in the nation this year. He is 6ft 11 and around 240, rebounds well, and has shooting accuracy out past 20 feet. I could be wrong but I think Garza relegates Kriener to a very limited role next year.
http://www.foxsports.com/college-ba...garza-could-have-huge-role-as-freshman-021117
Spot on! With so much experience leaving, we didn't quite get the pieces that were B1G ready to fully replace what left. It will take next years' class as well. Next year we can pair Cook/Pemsl/Wagner with a center who can shoot (Kriener or Garza). I would expect to also see us play a "big" lineup more often next year with the previously mentioned logjam of players at the forward positions. There will likely be times next year where we feel we have such a big rebounding advantage that our offense will be Bohannon and Ellingson running off screens to hoist a three and let our forwards crash the glass.
My biggest concern about next year is having our post defenders ready to effectively defend high pick and roll action or offer shot blocking presence behind our guards. If we can get both of those things figured out... we'll be a high seed in the NCAAs.
This is a really good thread, with fair assessments. Like many others, I watch stats carefully because, generally, the team that shoots the best and rebounds the best, has fewest turnovers, etc., etc will win the game, no matter how flashy some players look, or how many dunks they make. In his prime, Bobby Knight of Indiana won a couple of national championships and a whole bunch of Big Ten titles, with great guards and teams with a bunch of slow, tall EFFICIENT guys mixed in with a couple of athletic forwards. A lot of people hated him, but if a player took bad shots or had more turnovers, they were benched.
On our current Hawkeye team, Fran is trying to keep everybody happy and avoid defections. As we go forward, starting next season, he is going to have to make some really tough decisions on playing time because we have three very talented kids coming in, all of whom I'll bet will play right away. I have no idea who will end up as starters next year, but I think 35% field goal shooting and 45% free throw shooting will get a look by Fran. Those are season stats for two of our starters, whereas we have two players on the bench (Baer and Pemsl) who are in the TOP THREE on the team in EIGHT positive categories (points scored, shooting percentage, rebounds, blocks, assists, and steals. The reason the categories don't add up to eight is because Pemsl and Baer are BOTH in the top three in two of the categories (blocked shots and rebounds). I love efficient players, so I have to point out that those two have made those accomplishments despite playing 352 fewer minutes so far than Peter Jok and Jordan Bohannon, two players who are also multi-category statistical leaders. Another player who had really good efficiency rating was Ryan Kriener, who for a while was near the top on the team in results (shots and rebounds) in comparison to the paltry minutes he played.
These things are all interesting, but there are probably good reasons why certain players play big minutes and certain players don't. (I'm trying to think like Fran now, if that is even remotely possible.) Maybe he is looking to bring out the potential certain players have, but have only shown in spurts. Possibly some players are such "team guys" that they are easier to sit, because he has to keep some others happy. In some positions, he has no choice but to play a certain player because the others at that position are flat out not as good. The head coach knows the parent(s) of the players, their high school coaches and which ones the media likes. Whether that plays a role or not, it at least has to cause stress and ulcers. Certain players have poise and leadership, and that can count for a lot. Some upperclassmen have paid their dues and have stuck with the program, and they deserve their reward, and the best reward is minutes. Another factor is that some players just are better match-ups against opposing players from the other team. Who knows, maybe some players just plain get on the coach's nerves, or there is a personality situation. Some players need some time to catch their breath. I think Baer expends so much energy that he has to have more "pit stops" than many. Big guys like Wagner or Pemsl maybe can't go extended minutes because they are hauling more weight than a slimmer kid. Lots of factors to consider. I guess the "buck stops here" when you are the coach. That's why they earn the big money.
On our current Hawkeye team, Fran is trying to keep everybody happy and avoid defections. As we go forward, starting next season, he is going to have to make some really tough decisions on playing time because we have three very talented kids coming in, all of whom I'll bet will play right away. I have no idea who will end up as starters next year, but I think 35% field goal shooting and 45% free throw shooting will get a look by Fran. Those are season stats for two of our starters, whereas we have two players on the bench (Baer and Pemsl) who are in the TOP THREE on the team in EIGHT positive categories (points scored, shooting percentage, rebounds, blocks, assists, and steals. The reason the categories don't add up to eight is because Pemsl and Baer are BOTH in the top three in two of the categories (blocked shots and rebounds). I love efficient players, so I have to point out that those two have made those accomplishments despite playing 352 fewer minutes so far than Peter Jok and Jordan Bohannon, two players who are also multi-category statistical leaders. Another player who had really good efficiency rating was Ryan Kriener, who for a while was near the top on the team in results (shots and rebounds) in comparison to the paltry minutes he played.
These things are all interesting, but there are probably good reasons why certain players play big minutes and certain players don't. (I'm trying to think like Fran now, if that is even remotely possible.) Maybe he is looking to bring out the potential certain players have, but have only shown in spurts. Possibly some players are such "team guys" that they are easier to sit, because he has to keep some others happy. In some positions, he has no choice but to play a certain player because the others at that position are flat out not as good. The head coach knows the parent(s) of the players, their high school coaches and which ones the media likes. Whether that plays a role or not, it at least has to cause stress and ulcers. Certain players have poise and leadership, and that can count for a lot. Some upperclassmen have paid their dues and have stuck with the program, and they deserve their reward, and the best reward is minutes. Another factor is that some players just are better match-ups against opposing players from the other team. Who knows, maybe some players just plain get on the coach's nerves, or there is a personality situation. Some players need some time to catch their breath. I think Baer expends so much energy that he has to have more "pit stops" than many. Big guys like Wagner or Pemsl maybe can't go extended minutes because they are hauling more weight than a slimmer kid. Lots of factors to consider. I guess the "buck stops here" when you are the coach. That's why they earn the big money.
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One issue I've seen (and I don't mean to pick on Ryan, but I can recall a sequence from him) is the lack of cohesion. I've seen Jok draw the defense and drop a bounce pass into the path where our bigs should be rolling only to have the pass intercepted (TO charged to Jok) because Ryan didn't take the path that the defense opened.
These types of things will skew stats to some extent, and coaches will catch them as they happen and in film study. Those issues that cause mistakes from others can impact playing time significantly.
These types of things will skew stats to some extent, and coaches will catch them as they happen and in film study. Those issues that cause mistakes from others can impact playing time significantly.
I think all the players make a couple of mistakes every game, but the idea is to play through the mistake. I've noticed that Bohannon, Wagner, Baer, Moss, Williams and Ellingson never seem to change their expression when they screw up or have a turnover, while Ryan (Darn, I know I shouldn't have done that), Uhl (eyes look up at the sky) Cook (wide eyes and he slows down) and Cordell (blank stare) will make some facial or body expression that lets you know they screwed up. Jok's eyes get wider and he gets an "aw, shucks" half-smile look with his mouth. Dailey I don't see enough of to know. But the most interesting is Fran..... What a fun team to watch. Go Hawkeyes!
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I would put CW in that second group most of the season, he has been better lately but the rest of that first group seems to me spot on
Pemsyl is leading the B1G in field goal percentage. His free throws look good and, on the game by game, Pemsyl has had a decent year at the line. His numbers are improving of late. His overall percentage is killed by two terrible games (1-8 & 2-7) early in the season. Pemsyl has the best low post offensive skills of any Hawk since Bruner. Like Whitey, Pemsyl draws a lot of fouls.
Cook shoots .518 from the field. Kreiner is at .540. Cooks free throw shooting is wildly inconsistent but he too has had a several good shooting games mixed with a few terrible games. Kreiner's stroke also looks pretty good but his results have been poor. Given the progress made in Woody's stroke there's no reason to think that neither will improve significantly.
It's pretty hard for freshmen to beat out upper classmen. Would Cook start if there was a senior White and junior Uthoff? Cook is a comparable recruit to Garza. Kreiner and Garza are of comparable size (6'10" vs. 6'11" and both in the 250 range) so its not like Garza will overwhelm Kreiner with size. Hawks future is very bright at the 4 & 5 spots. Possibly four guys of B1G starting quality will pound the middle for years to come.
Go big with Baer/Nunge or small with Ellingson/McCaffery at the 4 spot. All of that assumes the incoming freshmen are reasonably close to as good as their recruiting projects.
Cook shoots .518 from the field. Kreiner is at .540. Cooks free throw shooting is wildly inconsistent but he too has had a several good shooting games mixed with a few terrible games. Kreiner's stroke also looks pretty good but his results have been poor. Given the progress made in Woody's stroke there's no reason to think that neither will improve significantly.
It's pretty hard for freshmen to beat out upper classmen. Would Cook start if there was a senior White and junior Uthoff? Cook is a comparable recruit to Garza. Kreiner and Garza are of comparable size (6'10" vs. 6'11" and both in the 250 range) so its not like Garza will overwhelm Kreiner with size. Hawks future is very bright at the 4 & 5 spots. Possibly four guys of B1G starting quality will pound the middle for years to come.
Go big with Baer/Nunge or small with Ellingson/McCaffery at the 4 spot. All of that assumes the incoming freshmen are reasonably close to as good as their recruiting projects.
I will be happy if our bigs all 1) hustle 100% of the time (especially Cook), 2) learn to establish rebounding position and show the toughness to keep it (everyone except maybe Wagner, who also can improve), 3) play defense (everyone except maybe Wagner, who also can improve) and 4) figure out how to shoot at least 70% from 15 ft with the clock stopped (everyone except Uhl).
