Here is some practice video.
Owen from 3 👀
Brock with the handles 👀
Owen from 3 👀
Brock with the handles 👀
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"Brock Harding is a Gym Rat."
- Thread starter Franisdaman
- Start date
Looking forward most to watching Brock play. I think he has a chance to be special.
I think this team has a lot of talent and depth. If they get some real leadership and play making in tough games this team could make some noise.
Oh, and some defense would be helpful.
Oh, and some defense would be helpful.
It was obvious to me last year that the offense just flowed better with Brock out there. He had his Freshman miscues, but he showed some real flashes of being a great PG. I just hope Fran doesn't have the short leash with him this year and allows him to work through some mistakes on the floor. I have high hopes for him and he's going to need to be the straw the stirs the drink for this team.
This team has an under the radar feel to them and could be surprisingly good. It's going to take a couple guys to take some big steps up this year, but it's possible.
I think Patrick is going to be addition by subtraction due to his defensive and rebounding liabilities. Good kid, but incredibly frustrating to watch at times.
This team has an under the radar feel to them and could be surprisingly good. It's going to take a couple guys to take some big steps up this year, but it's possible.
I think Patrick is going to be addition by subtraction due to his defensive and rebounding liabilities. Good kid, but incredibly frustrating to watch at times.
Rebounding was a huge issue last year. Should be considerably better this year.
BirdistheWord
HB Legend
+ Brock’s defense was not terrible. He generally hustled and put him self in good position
Gym rat.
Sneaky athletic.
First in, last out.
Lunch pail guy.
Sneaky athletic.
First in, last out.
Lunch pail guy.
The biggest thing with Harding is that he's a playmaker. He'll have some turnovers, but they will be outweighed by the number of plays he makes for himself or others. The difficulty is that Fran has always valued the boring players who take care of the ball but don't make as much happen (except for shooters - everyone has a green light). Can Fran adapt to a PG like Brock?
I hope he doesn't get the Joe Touissant treatment. Joe was obviously a different type of player, but it would drive me nuts when Joe would come in, provide a spark defensively, make some nice plays, then a turnover or two and would ride the pine the rest of the game.
Maybe there was something behind the scenes we didn't know about, but his short leash with Joe got on my nerves.
Davis and Bardo, who is looking older, both understand BB, and I don't think they are in the habit of just flapping their jaws like Andy Katz and others.
Joe was a much better defensive player than BH. BH is probably much better offensively than Joe T.
His defense was horrible. Don't mistake activity with effectiveness. He was often out of position, reaching to try & make steals, letting his guy get around him & causing a 2 on 1 situation for our big guys. Hence a big part of why Owen was always in foul trouble. Not just Brock, but as a team.
I hope he takes a big leap forward in his sophomore season on both ends of the floor. If he does, this team could be dangerous.
BirdistheWord
HB Legend
You are extremely biased against Brock and remember he was a true freshman. I disagree with your overall take. Not saying he was amazing but thought he was decent and while started out very rough did show some improvement.
I think Joe was likely just coached better in high school defensively because he came out of the gate with good technique. I think Brock has the quickness and the attitude to play great on ball defense, just needs to be coached up on that end. But, given the track record of Fran and defense, believing is going to be seeing for me.
I'll be curious to see how much stronger he's gotten over the last year, because he may have problems with the more physical guards in the league just due to size and strength.
Bardo didn’t age suddenly. He just stopped dying his hair.
Almost hate to say it but I could knock down 3 3's in a row with nobody on me. Side note, who are the 2 guys wrestling on the sideline in the video?
Bardo is an Illinois homer. He's below average as an announcer. Only slightly above Beth M.
Well, I like Bardo. Some of his overuse of nicknames (Wheezy for example) gets a little old, but he is generally pretty even-handed on his commentary.
Iowa basketball is at least entertaining.
That’s a good video.
Can’t wait to see some actual offense.
Bardo isn't my favorite analyst, but I like him (and I hate Illannoy). Better than Jess, who is much more of a homer.
Settles is the best, used to be better, but still love him
It took me a while to figure out what Fran really wants out of his pg, but it's primarily shooting and ball security.
He doesn't want someone who relies on creating off the dribble. He wants to pass the ball side to side.
What he really wants is a shooting guard at the 1.
Brock will have to drive less and shoot more 3s for Fran to really trust him.
You love to use Ulis as your example. Putting him in the same category as Toussaint is wrong. Ulis was so bad offensively & not as good on D as you think he was.
Right, and most of pgs he's recruited ended up on the bench in favor of guys who can shoot but aren't actually pgs.
That’s because most of the PGs have not been that good overall. If only Tyler Ulis would’ve been a Hawk.
Most of his guards in general have not been that good overall.
I like Brock quite a bit and I just hope Fran can calm down and learn to live with the turnovers in the lane and missed 3s that are going to happen.
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You hit the nail squarely on the head. Completely agree.
Brock will never be the volume shooter J-Bo was, but if he can hit that 38% mark he'll be playing 30 minutes/game. Arguably Fran's best team was 2018-19 where the backcourt shot 40%+ from 3 on like 500 attempts.
Harding is as good a ball handler as I can remember under Fran, and he should have lots of weapons to find. I think he will have a very positive assist/turnover ratio. For me, the questions are whether he can consistently hit the open shot if teams try to sag off him, and whether he can stay in front of the guy he is guarding. There will be better interior defenders on the floor this year, which should help with any defensive weaknesses. It will be interesting to see whether Fran likes Brock or Thelwell more at PG. I think both will get a lot of minutes. If Pryce has really improved, he might be the primary backup at SG, although Thelwell could also shift over.
I agree BH and any point guard should not be a high-volume shooter IMO (that is why they have the 2 guard). The point guard, at least used to be, a facilitator, pass first guy, and game manager primarily. But needs to be able to make a decent percentage of open shots when available.
Yes, but Jess is OUR homer! LOL
Was kind of hoping for a Curtis response.... something like this...
"Is this an Iowa bball practice highlight video or a J.Crew commercial?" 😆
Joking aside... I'm cautiously excited for the season. Under the radar team makes it more fun
