This comment is true and it surprises me in today's game where players typically play/practice one sport year around. Even when I played, we were taught to try and use our off-hand.
Amarion Nimmers Practice Highlights are IMPRESSIVE. On Aug 3, enters Transfer Portal
- Thread starter Franisdaman
- Start date
I hope there are several transfers on the team as there are several stud/physical centers in the portal and a couple of forwards that would be a big addition.
But keep in mind that dozens of other teams are pursuing the same studs we are... No guarantee that our interest will result in a commitment(s).
Yeah, my coaches wouldn't play anyone who couldn't shoot lay-ups with both hands.
It's one thing to try to go to your strong side, which is the smartest option when available, but quite another when you shoot with the wrong hand. The angle is unfavorable and it is much easier to defend. Nimmers was taking very awkward shots with his right hand from the left side of the basket. I've never seen any of the scholarship guys do that (or the equivalent for left-handed players).
Speaking of the free covid year, don't forget that at one time we had 6 players scheduled to graduate/be done in May, 2024: Josh Ogundele, Tony Perkins, Ahron Ulis, Keegan Murray (entered NBA Draft in 2022), Kris Murray (likely gone, too), and Patrick McCaffery.
Will any of these players take advantage of the free, additional covid year? If so, they would count against the 13 scholarship limit.
Stay tuned.
Nimmers had ONE scholarship offer: from Eastern Illinois.
Iowa, Drake, Illinois, Illinois-Chicago, North Dakota, Northeastern, Pennsylvania and South Dakota were all showing interest but never offered a full ride.
On May 1, 2022, Nimmers committed to Iowa as a preferred walk on.
see post #66 above, which has a good story on why he redshirted.
As you can see, Fran said that Nimmers' wrist "[was] fine." The main reasons for the redshirt was that they wanted to (1) maintain eligibility for him on the back end; his eligibility does not run out until 2027; (2) give him a year to get adjusted; (3) give him a year to learn the system; and (4) have him continue to develop as a player.
Seems like the coaches are expecting him to play. They took care of his eligibility which leads me to believe that they are expecting big things from him. I'm drooling over a guard with shooting and finishing drives. He looks like a big time player in the future.
Considering the results this past season, does that make him better since they wanted to offer him?
I get an injury would keep him from from playing, but if he could help the team win now, that should've been the focus. We won't ever really know if he was better, but we'll take guesses.Nimmers was dealing with a wrist injury. At the same time, they wanted to (1) maintain eligibility for him on the back end; his eligibility does not run out until 2027; (2) give him a year to get adjusted; (3) give him a year to learn the system; and (4) have him continue to develop as a player.
The story from the Quad Cities Times:
Hawkeyes' Nimmers will Redshirt
Steve Batterson
Nov 14, 2022
Amarion Nimmers will redshirt this season for the University of Iowa men's basketball team, a decision that is more about his future than the present.
The freshman walk-on from Rock Island has dealt with a wrist injury in recent weeks but coach Fran McCaffery said Monday the ultimate decision came down to what the 6-foot-2 guard can become as a player as he gains experience.
“It makes no sense for a walk-on to play his first year," McCaffery said. “You look at the track record of Austin Ash, Michael Baer, Darius Stokes, Riley Till, even guys like Kyle Denning who we ended up giving a scholarship to as we did with Austin, you want to maintain that eligibility on the back end, give him a year to get adjusted, to learn the system."
In Nimmers’ case, it also provides him with an opportunity to continue his development as a player.
McCaffery said he sees potential in Nimmers’ game.
“It enables him to take advantage of five years to play four if he wants to. If he wants to graduate, he can, but I think you know when he’s 22 he’ll be a pretty darn good player," McCaffery said.
“It will either be playing here or playing somewhere else. He’ll have options and I think I have the responsibility to make sure he has options."
A wrist injury suffered during preseason camp prevented Nimmers from playing in Iowa's preseason exhibition game and he had his right wrist wrapped while watching Friday's win over North Carolina A&T from a spot on the bench.
McCaffery said Monday that Nimmers' wrist "is fine."
Nimmers chose to take a walk-on opportunity at Iowa after averaging 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and two steals per game last season at Rock Island.
The second-leading scorer in the history of the Rocks program to former Stanford guard Chasson Randle, Nimmers led the Western Big 6 Conference in scoring the past two seasons.
With McCaffery in the stands at Rock Island Fieldhouse to watch an opposing team’s player last December, Nimmers established a school single-game scoring record with a 45-point performance last season against Dubuque Hempstead.
Hawkeyes' Nimmers will redshirt
Amarion Nimmers will redshirt this season for the University of Iowa men's basketball team, a decision that is more about his future than the present.qctimes.com
I think Fran is a bit old school in this thought. Kids can transfer anytime, so play them when they can help.
Yeah, there are too many unknowns. We have no idea what the conversations were after it was decided that he would redshirt. And Dasonte Bowen was supposed to be more of a factor but unfortunately was not.
One player during the Fran era that SHOULD have redshirted but didn't was Gabe Oleseni. Man, we could have used him the year after his eligibility was up.
Fran, 100%! Gabe would've been a HUGE help with another year, I think he played sparingly that first year and was a great example of someone who wasted a year on mop up duty IIRC.
Bad news boys. Fran is 63 or 64. He's not changing his ways.
Nimmers had no offers. A lot of guys can take off in the controlled scrimmages but cannot think fast enough to handle the speed of a live game.
On a much brighter note, this kid look like a talented scorder. Of course, it was lax defense and he didn't show much instinct for passing. A guy coming off the bench that can create some havoc and generate a burst of points is valuable as hell though.
I watched the whole thing and didn't see him attempt a single shot with his left hand. He did make strong drives to his left on many occasions and looked very comfortable dribbling with his left hand which is more important (no way he could play B10 ball if he couldn't dribble with his left hand). I wouldn't be surprised to see this guy get some minutes next year and down the road for us. Very impressive tape. If I saw an incoming recruit making these plays in high school games I'd be stoked. Well here's a guy doing it against Big Ten players.
Who cares other then a few dweebs that think every player needs to use both hands equally, As long as the ball goes threw the basket I don't get a crap which hand he uses.
It looks to me that at the end of the year Nimmers was the best guard we had on the roster and Ulis saw the writing on the wall. Hope he finds a university that he can get extended starter minutes and be productive.
Once a Hawk, always a Hawk....
I assume you're not calling me a dweeb, because I never said he needs to use both hands equally. He does, however, need to be able to finish with his off hand around the basket or teams will never have to respect him as a shooter when driving to the left or from the right baseline. It's a serious flaw in an otherwise impressive skill set. Presumably, it is something that coaches can work with him on. (You'd think his previous coaches would have done so.) As it stands, he can make valuable contributions off the bench. Get the left hand going and he could be a key guy playing major minutes.
If it isn't the lack of a left hand, how did a guy with this kind of athleticism not get any D1 offers except from lowly EIU?
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How did the rest of Iowa players get D1 offers is off hand is so important. Go down the list they pretty much all revert to their strong hand. Kris always left, Perkins right, Connor always left, ulis always, rebraca almost always spun right. I don’t really recall anyone hardly using their off hand to finish. Keegan used to a lot but that’s because he was virtually ambidextrous by college age.
If Nimmerss is Chauncey Leslie quick, he can get by using only his strong hand. For lessor athletes, not being to finish with both hands really limits the dribble drive game.
I watched more of the clips. I think he could be a stud for us, but when all you see is just the good plays, it is hard to make a sound judgement.
I have seen enough of Ulis to say the entire composition of his offensive highlights would be a very short film. He just can't shoot/make baskets. Nimmer's should give us more than Ulis did.
Everyone uses their strong hand when they can. It's the smartest play. But, you have to be able to use your off hand when the situation call for it. Basketball 101.
I agree 100%. Best guard on the team and would guess Fran let uhlis know what's up.
Andrea Woolridge only used one hand. He did ok.
Kris only used one hand and he was an all American.
Rebraca probably shot less than 5 times all season with his off hand.
Its not that big of a deal anymore and in no way would it prevent a coach from offering a scholarship.
All we've seen from Nimmers is highlights, I can promise you he has to have had some serious flaws that we're not seeing in order for everyone to pass on a guy who shot that well and has elite athleticism.
it wasn't. At the time of the red shirt announcement, Fran said his wrist was fine.
Fran at the time probably thought Ulis was going to have a break out year so it made sense to redshirt Nimmers he also thought Bowen would contribute at higher level than he did
What has changed about the game that not being able to use both hands around the basket isn't a big deal? If you're driving from the right baseline, the only way to score is with the left hand off the glass (unless you have the hops to dunk it). The board is in the way of your right hand, and even if you're far enough to the left of the baseline that it isn't, the right-handed shot is a very low percentage. This is Basketball 101 and it along with basic physics hasn't changed.
If Nimmers has no left hand, he is much easier to defend. When he's driving the right baseline, you know he won't be trying to score and will either be looking to pass or will keep dribbling to the other side of the basket. No help defense needs to come if he gets past his man.
You're probably right, though, that he has other flaws in his game, or maybe he has had previous behavior issues that we don't know about.
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They've got some kids that can ball over in Rock Island. You had Chasson Randle. We almost did and in hindsight, should have offered Tyler Hall. He broke the Big Sky Conference scoring record and averaged 20 ppg during his career at Montana State. He's still in the G League averaging 14 ppg for the Texas Legends. Get Nimmers on the floor and let's see what he can do!
I agree completely...Iowa not going to get 4-star or 5-star studs. These overlooked athletic guys that go to mid majors--fran needs to take some recruiting risks. He gets enough Shooters/skilled but soft guys out of Iowa.
Fran's 1st year he immediately offered Ogelsby out of Cedar Rapids---meanwhile Ogelsby's teammate was an Uber athletic PG and Fran waffled on offering and that guy ended up at Tennessee and then UNI and had a career far exceeding Ogelsby.
There's lots of reasons why he only received one offer. First of all, we don't know at what level his AAU team played at, that was one of the reasons Brock was not listed higher because supposedly his AAU team was not a top tier team, did his team attract scouting services, was there any preferred shoe contract tied to his AAU team, was there other players on his team that were considered better athletes? These things matter as far as recruiting goes. Another reason could be tied to Covid, we just don't know except the kid is extremely athletic and apparently gifted, so I'm pretty sure Iowa feels blessed to have him. Me too....
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I didn't even know we had a guy named Nimmers on the roster. Was he hurt to start the season, or just decide to redshirt? Did he play in a few early non-con game blowouts?
There are many possible reasons, but I find it difficult to believe it was because Nimmers was under the radar. His info on the official Hawk web site makes it sound like everyone should know about him. Maybe his dad is Brian Joens or something.
High School – Team MVP and captain all four years… first team all-state, all-conference and all-district his sophomore to senior year… conference points per game leader his junior and senior year… Illinois Player of the Year and Illinois Male Athlete of the Year Finalist as a senior… averaged 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and two steals as a senior… shot 62 percent from the field and 44 percent from 3-point range his senior year… holds schools records for most points scored in a game and season, and most dunks in a season and double doubles as a guard… second leading scorer in school history… member of Rock Island High School’s team that won two conference championships as a sophomore and junior, and runner-up his senior season.
Based on those stats, Surprising he wasn't a high major target. I like the 44% from 3pt line...with his dribble drive game, that really makes him quite different than our typical shooters.
Sorry to bring this thread up again but it dawned on me that Fran was on the side lines watching Nimmers in every clip in this video.
I bring this up because you would think that at least his assistants would try to convince Fran to offer him a scholarship seeing Amarion is probably the most athletic and impactful guard on the roster even more so the Tony Perkins.
What is Fran watching to delay giving him a scholarship? It's not like Fran is waiting for Amarion to become the one and only defensive specialist on the team....come on that's not going to happen, but boy could Iowa have used his skill set late in the year.
If Fran doesn't put him on scholarship by summer or at least fall practice I don't know what Fran is expecting out of his guards, we all have seen some of his past players and this kid has them all beat. The best clip was when he crossed over and got Pilip Rebraca to fall on his a$$, now that was funny....
I bring this up because you would think that at least his assistants would try to convince Fran to offer him a scholarship seeing Amarion is probably the most athletic and impactful guard on the roster even more so the Tony Perkins.
What is Fran watching to delay giving him a scholarship? It's not like Fran is waiting for Amarion to become the one and only defensive specialist on the team....come on that's not going to happen, but boy could Iowa have used his skill set late in the year.
If Fran doesn't put him on scholarship by summer or at least fall practice I don't know what Fran is expecting out of his guards, we all have seen some of his past players and this kid has them all beat. The best clip was when he crossed over and got Pilip Rebraca to fall on his a$$, now that was funny....
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Fran has decades of evaluating talent. He wouldn’t watch a season worth of practice and think, “hmm that Nimmers kid is our best guard, but I don’t think I’ll play him. In fact I won’t give him a scholarship either.”
