I have seen a few people who have commented that Baer is a high effort guy with marginal basketball skills.......2 things. First, he actually has a lot of athleticism and skill. That drive and floater with a soft touch shows his skill imho. Second, he's a freshman. He is going to get better. I am glad he is at Iowa. I think he's going to have a great career. He's just one of those guys who is always around the ball........reminds me a little of Jess Settles in a way........
Baer's Talent
- Thread starter dbleagle1
- Start date
He is a nice player and made a big difference when IU played at Iowa. I was surprised at the level of athleticism he demonstrated in the tournament...nice player. He needs a scholarship.
For sure, no kidding. That should be Fran's first order of offseason business. If anyone on the team deserves a scholarship, it is Nick Baer.........
He certainly looked like the only one who cared today.
I just love that type of player.......he strikes me as the type of the guy who will be in the gym for 10 hours a day between now and November working on perfecting his 3 point shot and dribble drive moves, etc.........It would be cool if Jess Settles spent some time with him this summer. He probably grew up a huge Hawkeye fan and is living his dream. Honestly, I think he has the chance to be all B1G the next few years.
Although , I think Baer is a nice player, I think he needs to work on his three point shot. It seems like it is a bit Flat, no trajectory, and not much arch. Easy to defend.
As an Indiana fan, I can attest that he has the ability to make the 3 point shot.
I really, really like Baer and his passion/desire about wanting to be a Hawk and showing it on the floor comes through to me. He does a lot of good things and does not make a ton of mistakes. He is skilled and has some facets to his game.
I do see him being a contributor going forward, maybe a large contributor? I also agree with the Jess Settles comparison/reminders. What we have to be careful of though is elevating him with hyperbole. Every player at this level has some measure of talent, skill and athleticism. They would not be there if not. There's just a lot of levels to those measures and how much separates the teams that advance in each round of the tourney.
I am looking forward to seeing how much he can help us but at the same time we have not seen him be the specific 'target' of opposing defenses and in the 'carrying the load' type of role that Jok & Uthoff had to deal with. Even if he can't do it to that level he still can do exactly what he did today which was excellent in the midst of a lot of bad. Going to be fun to see.
Today, to me anyway, showed that if he gains some good weight he has some sweet game. More moves than JU around the hoop, no question.
He sort of reminds me of Kevin Boyle. He will be a nice player.
BirdistheWord
HB Legend
those who write Baer off as a perpetual bench player may need to take another look. I believe he is showing that he will be part of our nucleus going forward. His inside, outside game plus shot blocking ability are amazing. He needs to add about 10 pounds of muscle.
The kid is mentally tough and never quits. If he is not the co-captain with Jok next year there is something wrong with what the players value.
Frankly I think he gets the most out of his talent. If he hits the weights a bit this off season there will be continue to be teams that he surprises.
Frankly I think he gets the most out of his talent. If he hits the weights a bit this off season there will be continue to be teams that he surprises.
Good post.......the one intangible I see with Baer is his ability to be around the ball no matter the situation......offense, defense, fast break, etc.......That ability isn't something that is taught easily . A person either has it or they don't. He just seems to be in the Jess Settles/Chris Street type of mold. The other thing I think sets him apart is above his shoulders. He showed me something today when he missed a couple of 3 pointers (badly I might add, hehe). It didn't affect his game or the way he played. I agree, it's going to be fun to watch the type of player he develops into.......the sky's the limit as far as I am concerned.
Baer is going to start next year. Whether it be at the 3 or 4 there is no doubt in my mind he'll be a starter. He's got good length and athleticism to be at the front of Fran's press. With he has shown the ability all year to knock down spot up 3's and he expanded more of his game today with the drive to the baskets. He's a high energy player that has shown glimpses of being a decent rebounder once he adds a big more bulk. Jok will be our go to guy next year and it wouldn't surprise me if Baer is our 2nd or 3rd option next year.
Baer is very nimble for a guy with his height, has a great nose for the ball and has more fire than nearly all the rest of the Hawks combined. If he can improve on his jump shot and become a little more chiseled in the off-season I see no reason why he can't have a great career as a Hawkeye. He reminds me a lot of Chris Street. My dad and I joke around that he MAY ACTUALLY BE the reincarnation of Street. hahaha
I'll take the moderately talented, high energy, all-out-effort, never give-up player over the more talented. low hustle, don't really care player every time.
I can accept losing if the players gave everything they had. Except for Baer, I didn't see that today.
I can accept losing if the players gave everything they had. Except for Baer, I didn't see that today.
I agree with pretty much all of the comments in this thread about Nick Baer. Wish we had five players with his intensity.
I cannot agree more about today. His effort and play stood out while others in the upper class seemed to quit, pout or both when it got tough. It would have been nice to see that kind of effort across the board win or lose like it was there last game (which it was).
I would much rather we give a scholly to a new recruit with high potential than give it to baer. he is a fine player with good effort but he is not a game changer. if he earns a starting job in 2 years then maybe reward him with a scholly his senior year, otherwise the key to this team going forward is continually upgrading talent
I have nothing against baer, i just hope for iowa to do big things in the future.
I have nothing against baer, i just hope for iowa to do big things in the future.
Some good commentary. The Baer is an interesting creature. Obviously an omnivore about the ball...always seems to find it somewhere.
I agree with the poster about the shooting. He seems like a gym rat so maybe he will. Based on the returning players only (not including RS fresh) the starting line up will feature a Baer and one forward. Uthoff was an inferior rebounder as a sophomore, and never really became much of a rebounder. Baer already pursues the ball with more intensity than Uthoff.
I'm pulling for the kid. Like to see Iowa boys rewarded for becoming Hawks.
I agree with the poster about the shooting. He seems like a gym rat so maybe he will. Based on the returning players only (not including RS fresh) the starting line up will feature a Baer and one forward. Uthoff was an inferior rebounder as a sophomore, and never really became much of a rebounder. Baer already pursues the ball with more intensity than Uthoff.
I'm pulling for the kid. Like to see Iowa boys rewarded for becoming Hawks.
Yes he would have to sit out because he is still a transfer, unless he could show some sort of financial hardship then he could petition for immediate eligibility.
Someone in another thread compared him to Ryan Bowen and I really like that comparison. Baer doesn't have the athleticism Bowen had but he has a similar game.
He hustles, shoots pretty well from 3 and can slash well, he anticipates rebounds well and just seems to always know how to be in the right place.
I don't expect him to be the player Bowen was but if he's close it will be huge lift to the team.
I picture him as a very solid 6th man type of player.
He hustles, shoots pretty well from 3 and can slash well, he anticipates rebounds well and just seems to always know how to be in the right place.
I don't expect him to be the player Bowen was but if he's close it will be huge lift to the team.
I picture him as a very solid 6th man type of player.
It seems like there is quite a difference in opinion on Baer among the fans.......some feel he needs to be a team captain while others don't even think Fran should offer him a scholarship.......That's interesting. It's like we are looking at two different players. Well, count me in the camp that he should be a huge part of the team with a scholarship sooner rather than later and leader on the team for the next 3 years.
Looks like Baer should have been starting this year. CW/Wagner/Baer all should have had a lot more minutes at expense of Gesell/Clemmons/Woody and then maybe we would have showed up in BTT and NCAA tourney.
Many of us have said for weeks that he should be starting ahead of AC. Anything to try getting the team out of the funk. Fran refused to make any adjustments and the result was as expected.
No. He's had up games and down games like any freshman, but one thing I'd never say is he looks lost on the court. The kid can ball and has an extremely high BB IQ.
Nice player, but the kid is limited. He flew under everyone's radar this year. Wait until coaches game plan against him, it will be a totally different story. This board has a history of hyping players. Example: Woodbury, Ellingson, etc. Next year is going to be a long long year.
I posted in another thread that while I expect that his on-the-court contributions will continue to rise, I think his greatest asset may be that he has the makings of being the leader that this team has sorely missed since Eric May graduated.
BirdistheWord
HB Legend
I love how people call him a "nice" player who basically led iowa in scoring, most of which were when it counted against a #2 seed, and basically a road game for us.
There's a bit of a difference when a team game plans against u. Rest be assured Villanova didn't game plan for Baer today. Might also explain why the supposed 3rd team all American was a no-show today.
Trust me, Jay Wright is no dummy. Baer has been one of the first off the bench all year. Jay Wright knew exactly who he was and what contributions he could make and accounted for him. Baer was just the only one who was consistently making plays for Iowa. Also, the plays he was making were not plays you necessarily game plan for. It was just a kid who has a nose for the ball and makes relatively good decisions for a RS freshman. He will be a major factor for the Hawks for the next 3 years.
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