...and bad defensive teams always get beat. We have/are great evidence of that.
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Amarion Nimmers Practice Highlights are IMPRESSIVE. On Aug 3, enters Transfer Portal
- Thread starter Franisdaman
- Start date
No we don't. Fun fact: Miami has the 6th best offense and 109th best defense in the country. No doubt they got bounced early, right?
Iowa State had the 7th best defense in the country, while Pitt had the 122nd best defense so naturally Iowa State won that game, oh wait...
Or how about the 2018 tournament, when the #1 defensive team in the country (Virginia), with the best defensive coach in the country, became the first #1 seed in history to lose its first round game?
Yes, there are always a few exceptions (not Iowa), but by and large the teams who play the best defense and are guard dominant will perform the best. You can go back and see the historical defensive efficiency of teams who make the final four and it is very unusual for those teams to not have a stout defense.
Again, Iowa's tourney performance under Fran speaks for itself and we lose when we don't hit threes because we don't have anything else to fall back on (defense).
I have looked at the historical data and the teams that tend to do the best are teams that are good on both offense and defense. Almost every national champion, ever, has been something like top-30 in both offense and defense.
If only we had an above average coach that emphasized both.
I finally got around to watching his practice tape. His stroke looks good. Nice spin move. He can also get up.
I will be truly disappointed in Fran if he allows Amarion Nimmers to sit on the bench again this up coming season without giving him a scholarship and at least playing him extended minutes during the non conference schedule. Show us what he's got!
Just by watching that tape and yes, I know it was edited, but my god, he possible is the best skilled and athletic guard Iowa has on it's roster and it's not even close, and at 6-3 he can multiple positions.
There was a reason that Ahron Ulis left the team and I'm hoping Nimmers was partially to blame in a good way......
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I think I agree. His videos are eye popping at times. My only hesitancy arises from a question; how did he get no offers and come to Iowa as a walk on? The Amarion's video does not look like a walk on player. Not great with his weak hand but the rest of the package looks like a guy that should get steady minutes in the Big Ten.
If The Amarion is not playing we either have a killer duo in Harding and Bowen AND a killer duo in Perkins/Dix where those four need to consume all the time or there is some fundamental defect in his game that wipes out the positivity, like being a turnover machine or a renegade gunner.
Right now, I want to see much more.
Its unbelievably intriguing.
How does that talent not warrant a scholarship offer from a major conference team?
Theres obviously a piece to the puzzle we can't see but even so you'd think with that athleticism and shooting he'd get plenty of offers just on potential.
I'm a Moline alumnus and I don't really pay attention to high school players in the other Quad City schools but Nimmers may have been injured and didn't play summer AAU basketball or he didn't play because of Covid 19, either way, not playing in front of college coaches may have been the reason he wasn't recruited or ranked. Just guessing but in the end, Iowa may have pulled a proverbial rabbit out of the hat by getting him on campus as a preferred walk-on.
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Playing summer AAU basketball has to be expensive for the players parents and maybe the money wasn't there to allow him to participate, just throwing it out there.
Amarion isn’t playing if he’s taking the spotlight away from Patrick.
And the two best offenses Tony Bennett had at Virginia they made the Elite 8 (2016, #8) and won the Natty (2019, #2).
Otherwise their best defenses it was
2018, #1: first round loss
2017, #2: second round loss
2015, #2: second round loss
I think covid free years have played a part in why kids like Amarion didn't get a scholarship offer to a high major school. When schools have kids sticking around for ANOTHER year, they don't have that scholarship (or scholarships) to offer. Granted, Iowa had 2 open scholarships last season so I don't know why Fran didn't pull the trigger and offer.
And look at Iowa's 2024 class. Right now we have FOUR scholarships to offer! Great, right? Well, that number might reduce to 2 if PMac and Tony decide to use their free covid year for 2024-2025. Suddenly 2 kids who might have gotten scholarships from Iowa won't because PMac and Tony are occupying them for ANOTHER year.
I was coming on here to say the exact same thing.
It may seem like a cop-out argument, but this really isn't rocket science. The best bet to go deep in March is to have a really good offense and a really good defense. Easier said then done, I know.
That's an interesting point I had not thought of.
I wasn't just talking Iowa though, I don't think he even had valley offers did he, let alone power conferences? I could be wrong.
His highschool highlights and stats were impressive and his athleticism is elite.
Im so curious to watch him play.
He had one offer (Eastern Illinois).
Iowa, Belmont, Creighton, Drake, Illinois, Iowa State, Marquette, North Dakota State, UNI, South Dakota, Toledo, Princeton and Columbia showed interest but did not offer.
Here's a story from April 25, 2022 that discussed his situation:
With the growth of the transfer portal and college players using an extra year due to Covid-19, there are certainly some outstanding high school players who are slipping though the recruiting cracks this year.
One of those players is 2022 guard Amarion Nimmers from Rock Island. The 6-foot-3 guard had an outstanding senior season for the Rocks, averaging 23.9 points per game, including scoring 45 in one game this past year.
But, the recruiting interest has been slow to come for the talented guard. That was until recently when business started to pick up. Nimmers has a scholarship offer from Eastern Illinois and recently he started hearing from Iowa and Illinois.
“It was good visit today,” Nimmers said. “Coach Eldridge had reached out to me on twitter and they asked if I wanted to come for a visit, so I went there.”
The visit included a tour of the campus and also watching the Iowa players doing a workout. Then he was able to play pickup with some of the Iowa players, which he really enjoyed.
“I got to tour the facilities and see what it was like there. I spent time with Coach Eldridge on the campus tour and then when we were at the basketball facility I was with Coach McCaffery and he talked to me quite a bit.”
NImmers said the Iowa players were very welcoming to him on the visit and they were helpful when they were playing pickup ball as well.
“The players were really nice. After we got done, Patrick McCaffery sat down and talked with me and (Ahron) Ulis and (Tony) Perkins were giving me pointers on the court.”
After spending time with the Iowa players and coaches, Nimmers came away impressed and said that the Hawkeyes will definitely be staying in touch as they continue this process.
On Monday evening, former Iowa assistant coach Billy Taylor, was set to meet with the guard at his high school in his new role as the head coach at Elon. Then on Tuesday, Nimmers is set to travel to Champaign for an unofficial visit to the University of Illinois.
Hawkeye Beacon - 2022 guard visits Iowa
Amarion Nimmers, a 2022 guard from Rock Island, discusses his visit to Iowa and future trips this week.
iowa.rivals.com
This March, 2022 article from the Chicago Sun Times mentions another issue. Not sure who was playing ahead of him on his AAU team.
The Rock Island guard was an afterthought after playing very little off the bench for the Illinois Wolves in the spring and summer on the AAU circuit.
11 high school basketball players that raised their stock this season
A look at the best players throughout the state from this past season, including plenty who raised their stock and status.
chicago.suntimes.com
So, it appears there were 3 issues that hurt Amarion's recruitment:
* Schools looking at the transfer portal for players and not at high school players
* The free covid year took away potential available scholarships
* In spring & summer AAU ball following his junior year he came off the bench and played very little; the result was that he did not get much exposure to college coaches.
* Schools looking at the transfer portal for players and not at high school players
* The free covid year took away potential available scholarships
* In spring & summer AAU ball following his junior year he came off the bench and played very little; the result was that he did not get much exposure to college coaches.
I just feel like there's something else to the story.
It's well known that the Murray's were under recruited because they were late bloomers physically. They hit a big growth spurt late their senior year, after lots of scholarship spots have already filled up.
Was Amarion also a late bloomer? Did things just not click until his senior year? Is there a big hole in his game that we're not aware of?
There must be something else, since the tape we've seen looks great.
I'm honestly disappointed we didn't get this until the 2nd page
Bad news......would really suck if he went to a Big 10 school and he lit us up a couple of times a year.
will be interesting to see if he reconsiders....
there has been no announcement from Fran or the UI
I hope he finds a good landing spot because it's pretty clear the Iowa door has been slammed shut; if he comes back knocking, Fran is not answering the door
Just watched that orig video again, I realize it's highlight clips and vs Iowa but how DON'T you find some PT for this kid? Finishes w/both hands, drives, slashes, passes...does he want a guaranteed starting spot or what am I missing here? Maybe looking for a scholly which is a huge deal too I guess.
Actually, he only finishes with the right hand, never the left. That said, he demonstrates a ton of athleticism and basketball skill in the highlights. We can only speculate why EIU was his only offer coming out of high school and Fran wasn't willing to offer him one after what was basically an extended try-out.
Yeah, I think we'd all like to know what the story was here....
He's paying out of state tuition, which had to suck for his family; many thought Fran might put him on scholarship....
Gotta love some of these kids. "I'll always be a Hawkeye".
Uh no...you just announced you were no longer a Hawkeye.
Uh no...you just announced you were no longer a Hawkeye.
