The Athletic is worth the subscription especially since The CR Gazette turned into bird cage lining at best.
Was mostly referring to the Murray twin comments in my first post.
Good stuff and it seems once B10 teams and especially Iowa hit the tournament, they are indeed tough to prep for and the game is officiated differently than the normal B10 grind.
I read that as it's hard for Fran.
How so? The “anonymous coach” said, “I like the Murray brothers, but it’s hard to play them together.” I can interpret it either way. I assume it means hard for Iowa to play both at the same time, but depending on coach there were a couple games where Kris lit it up too.
I meant from the coach. Looks to me like he meant playing both at the same time. They can clearly play together with any number of players.
Why would it seem Iowa is tough to prep for in the tournament?
I would say because of the pace we play at. A lot of teams aren't used to getting back on defense that quick. Then again, there are some teams that can play well at that pace.
I’m not sure that’s true. Many of Kris’s best moments have been when Keegan is not in. They have very similar skillsets and when Keegan gets so much of the focus of the offense (rightly so), Kris sometimes gets lost a bit.
The comment about Iowa being tough to prepare for in a tournament is one of those conventional wisdom things that sounds good, but in reality hasn't come to fruition. In the NCAA tournament under Fran, the only time Iowa lost in the second round as a higher seed was last year in the Oregon game.
Why? PMac HAS played well. He has his mistakes and some irksome tendencies, but he is developing into a nice player.
Vs league opponents familiarity with our style eliminates any edge.
Bob -- One thing you must know about this forum is people assume you are either a 100% Fanboy or 100% hater. You are not allowed to be in the middle. Heaven forbid you are critical of a player or Fran because that means you are hurling personal insults and not a "fan" of the team, according to the loud people in this forum who think their opinions matter more than others... which is absolutely insane. I've been very critical of Fran's rotations this year but I'm also as big a fan as there is.
I was pretty upset earlier in the season that he was starting over Kris, and I still think Kris should start, but PMac has improved significantly. I think he's forcing less shots, less off balance attempted, "layups," high off of the backboard.
I look at the "rock fight" comment as a significant reason for Fran's lack of BTT success. For whatever reason his teams don't handle teams that play physically and in the BTT the officials allow a higher degree of physical play. It can be argued the officials letting play get more physical as the conference schedule moves on, is a factor in the "Fran fade."
The coach knew he was being anonymous, no reason for a "good ole boy network" in that context. But, hey, if that helps you justify your opinions vs. someone who has coached, by all means, carry on.
He had a rough patch where he looked lost. It's great to see him refocused on what he's good at and sticking to it.
Hey man, that shlt is history each new season. Virginia became the first 1-seed to EVER lose in the First Round in 2018, and they were National Champions in 2019.
It’s also not just a Patrick question. Kris can also play the 5, which creates a lot of different combinations. I like the variability by opponent - sometimes Iowa has had good success for stretches with the Murrays and Patrick in together. That gives Iowa a lot of size and length. I would like to see Kris’s minutes go up to 25 min + most of the time, which would uptick the number of minutes he plays with Keegan.
Kris is playing the 5 pretty much every game while subbing for Rebraca. The reason he doesn't get the minutes is because he doesn't get a lot of playing time at any other spot.
Every off-season, a lot of posters will make playing time predictions for each position. I would be interested in seeing someone take a stab at how minutes are actually being distributed by position with this year's team.
Because there are some "fans" on here who think he sucks and only plays due to nepotism, etc....
