Connor is #1 in the Nation

[jerbob36]

Just because your guy doesn't score doesn't mean you played great defense. When you get beat off the dribble, or an a backdoor cut, a teammate has to help to stop a drive. That teammate's player is now wide open. One pass, open shot, bucket. It's not the help defender's fault. It's the guy who got beat.

Having said that, Connor does some of the effort things that Iowa teams haven't often done. Here's my short list of Connor's winning plays:
*a master at milking the clock. He is so good as bleeding time. The other team scores when we're up. He lets the ball bounce a couple times, maybe tosses it to the baseline ref to milk a few more ticks off.
*open-court fouls to save easy buckets. Yeah, it may be only 2 points, but on the road, that dunk is going to get the crowd hyped. He is smart in knowing how many fouls he has as well as the team.
*toughness. He is not afraid of anybody. That is a mindset. Every team needs guys like that. He is a rock when it comes to fearlessness.
*instincts. Yeah, he does get beat off the dribble at times. You know what? Everybody on our team does. Sandfort is a much weaker on-ball defender (IMHO) but I love Sandfort. But he seems to know where to be, when to double, when to deny a ball reversal at the top of the key, etc.
*post-entry feeds. Not everybody is good at that. It's not coached much at the HS level. He is a phenomenal post passer.

Safe to say he's grown on me the past few years. I've become a huge fan of his intangibles and will take his definciences.

 

[RocknRollface]

Connor isn't a great defender by any means. Hes very good at some things like stripping the ball and poor at others like moving in space.

Hes usually on point on switches where a lot of the rest of the team struggles because no one talks.

Hes much better on bigger slower players than on guards.

Overall a plus defender usually but has games where he gets exposed too.

 

[DewHawk]

IMO the defense is so poor at times not sure how you can determine who actually caused the breakdown. Picking on one player as the culprit when in most cases it is a team failure.

 

[Bishop1971]

Who cares! He has 76 assists, he plays about the entire game. He doesn’t do crap. If he didn’t have the same name as the coach he’d be playing about 5 minutes a game.

You are wrong according to Illinois coach. And also you are just wrong. You can't play as many minutes as Connor does while leading the nation in assist to turnover ratio and not play for about any team.

 

[ISUBryceC]

I've said it once and I'll say it again. Prior seasons when defenders would sag off of Connor and dare him to shoot he was a liability. This year he's hitting shots and is a totally different player.

100%. Criticism of his game was fair in prior seasons.

This year he's doing just fine. He'll at least be HM all conference IMO but he could sneak in on 3rd team maybe.

 

[Iafootballfan]

There's not a right answer to Connor, the analytics don't like him as much as what it looks like on the court. Connor is 2nd to last on the team for player efficiency rating since conference play started, only Ulis is rated worse. He's also 5th on the team for defensive box/score rating, and we're not a good defensive team.

 

[kceasthawk]

There's not a right answer to Connor, the analytics don't like him as much as what it looks like on the court. Connor is 2nd to last on the team for player efficiency rating since conference play started, only Ulis is rated worse. He's also 5th on the team for defensive box/score rating, and we're not a good defensive team.

Again, thats why I've never been a numbers guy. I'd take him out there as one of my guys on the last minute in any game up or down a couple of buckets. I'm glad he's changed a lot of peoples minds this year with his play, (finally being healthy), and we'll miss him next season regardless of what the stats say.......

 

[Iafootballfan]

Again, thats why I've never been a numbers guy. I'd take him out there as one of my guys on the last minute in any game up or down a couple of buckets. I'm glad he's changed a lot of peoples minds this year with his play, (finally being healthy), and we'll miss him next season regardless of what the stats say.......

There’s zero doubt I want him out there at the end of the game, he’ll take care of the ball and that’s #1 priority. Even so I don’t think he’d be a starter at other top half B10 teams. I think both can be true

 

[RocknRollface]

Kris is really close to being a great defender. He's had some dominating defensive moments this year. He just gets bullied sometimes which makes it hard for me to say he's a great defender. I'd say Rebraca has been great considering that he's guarding guys he has no business guarding. The amount of height, length and weight he gives up is crazy but man he battles so hard underneath every game. What Rebraca has been asked to do this year is clearly on Fran's lack of ability to bring in a true 5 this year. There's been a lot of matchups that Rebraca has been asked to guard guys he has no business guarding this year.

I believe that both Kris and Filip would be excellent top teir defenders on a deeper team with a coach that incentivized defense.

They can both switch on to just about anyone which is what really makes a good defender these days.

Problem is obviously there is no depth behind them and Fran would rather they avoid fouls then get stops.

Given the handcuff they are working with its pretty impressive they play as well as they do.

 

[OutbackBowl2017]

Connor is that glue guy every team needs on their team. He does a lot of good things that help the team win and knows when to push the ball or tell the guys to pull it out, set up the offense, run some clock, and try and get a good shot. He’s the coach on the floor. I like him out there to calm things down or amp up the emotions and tempo.

And I never would have thought he’d be the better of the two McCaffrey’s on the floor but he is.

 

[goodbyebobby]

Connor’s intangibles make up for his poor 1on 1 defense. He’s a warrior. Ask Brad Underwood what he thinks of Connor. I love this kid. He is easily the smartest and best passer on the team. His 3pt shot is so much better this year.
If you want a talk about a poor defender then you need to focus on his brother PMac.
Who is the worst defender on the team!

Defense is not discussed at Margaret's dinner table.

 

[Franisdaman]

While we are on the topic of my son, I am thinking of adding him to the staff next season at $500,000 a year.

Thoughts?

 

[Bulldogs1974]

You are wrong according to Illinois coach. And also you are just wrong. You can't play as many minutes as Connor does while leading the nation in assist to turnover ratio and not play for about any team.

I'm fine with connor now that he can make open 3's. But his assist to turnover ratio has more to do with style of play than ability. We take good shots and don't turn it over. He's a passer not a creator of offense. Most pg's have to drive and dish to get assists in addition to passing around the perimeter leading to a few more to's.
So can/could connor play in most other system, the answer is not as many as you'd think.
It's much like iowa's defense in football. Some of their statistics are predicated on system. Like tackles, Iowa's lb's are going to get a lot of tackles because the dline is playing 2 gap responsibility and are not allowed to make 1-1 plays move very often. This leads to freed up linebackers. Is it wrong, no, it's our system.

 

[Franisdaman]

What does JR know???

 

[Bulldogs1974]

What does JR know???

View embedded media

I also heard settles call cmac, not a good defender but “elite”.
So I’d call it hyperbole or not knowing what a word means.
It’s their alma mater what do you want them to say. I would also agree with Koch’s assessment, he does a lot of things well but let’s not act like they are being objective.

 

[HawkLogic]

Connor can’t guard a 1 or a 5. Just because Fran says he can doesn’t make it true. He’s a decent role player for sure. To be fair not many guys on the team can guard a true big ten 5. And maybe one or two that could stick with a true big ten point guard.

In B1G ranking1s, Iowa is 14th in FG defense and 13th in 3pt FG defense. Since CMAC is so good at defense and Kris Murray, Rebraca, Perkins, Ulis all solid athletes, they ought to be capable of good defense... I guess the problem with the defense is Fran himself.

This is an above average Big10 team with a really good offense and poor defense. Usually this means you lose anytime you have a bad shooting game and that seems to often happen in 1st or 2nd ncaa tourney game for Iowa.

CMAC is having a solid season...yes to be fair his Assist to TO ratio is great, but his lack of scoring and below the rim play means he is not a great player. If he were a great player, the NBA would be on him.....they're not. The NBA is excited about Kris Murray...the guy that Fran played behind his two boys for Kris' first 2 years.

 

[Bishop1971]

I'm fine with connor now that he can make open 3's. But his assist to turnover ratio has more to do with style of play than ability. We take good shots and don't turn it over. He's a passer not a creator of offense. Most pg's have to drive and dish to get assists in addition to passing around the perimeter leading to a few more to's.
So can/could connor play in most other system, the answer is not as many as you'd think.
It's much like iowa's defense in football. Some of their statistics are predicated on system. Like tackles, Iowa's lb's are going to get a lot of tackles because the dline is playing 2 gap responsibility and are not allowed to make 1-1 plays move very often. This leads to freed up linebackers. Is it wrong, no, it's our system.

Yeah, pretty good analogy too. For me connor brings the toughness this team desperately needs. I like him starting over Patrick but it also adds some freedom on where and when to use Patrick.

 

[Iafootballfan]

There's not a right answer to Connor, the analytics don't like him as much as what it looks like on the court. Connor is 2nd to last on the team for player efficiency rating since conference play started, only Ulis is rated worse. He's also 5th on the team for defensive box/score rating, and we're not a good defensive team.

And for those who doubt player efficiency ratings, here are the top 5 rated players in the conference. Looks like it's pretty accurate to me.

 

[Bishop1971]

And for those who doubt player efficiency ratings, here are the top 5 rated players in the conference. Looks like it's pretty accurate to me.

View embedded media

Hunter is the worst used player in the big. I've said it before but Michigan gave away at least 5 games this season because Howard is a terrible coach.

 

[KuwaitHawk]

Proof that clown fans don’t know anything about College Basketball.

You could have dropped the last three words and still been right.

 

[Walter White Returns]

During Sunday's game in Minneapolis:

View embedded media

Connor has never been great defensively and I think the fans wondering why he was on the court was during the 2020-2021 when Connor was obviously hurt, playing out of position, shooting 27% from 3 and averaging 3 ppg while a future top 5 NBA pick rode the pine behind him.

Connor seems healthy now and is a big part of the team’s success but let’s not pretend questions about Connor’s minutes in the past were due to a low basketball acumen.

 

[rcamp67]

No he can't.

He's not nearly quick enough to guard 1-3, and is undersized to guard 4 and 5.

He works hard and is smart/tough, but is very limited physically.

He does the best with what he's given, but that isn't enough to make him effective.

To his credit, at least he wants to try to play defense, which is more than Jordan Bohannon could ever say.

This boys and girls is an example of a fan who “knows the game”. You see, he has almost become somewhat of an expert because he has used the “rewind” button on his dish network subscription many times and really understands the intricacies of the game as a result. Be more like this fan. He’s likely headed for a HC position at a major institution after years of DVR.

 

[Bishop1971]

And #1 in my ❤️

 

[Phenomenally Frantastic]

Congrats to Connor. He has really worked on his game and it shows. He knows his role and helps his team when he is in the game. He routinely makes good decisions. He is playing great defense this year and takes high percentage shot attempts in rhythm.

 

[RocknRollface]

His defense tonight has been excellent.

The recovery off the double has been perfect and thats where he's struggled before.

Quick run, make the offensive player pick up the dribble, get right back. Well done.

 

[szohn]

No he can't.

He's not nearly quick enough to guard 1-3, and is undersized to guard 4 and 5.

He works hard and is smart/tough, but is very limited physically.

He does the best with what he's given, but that isn't enough to make him effective.

To his credit, at least he wants to try to play defense, which is more than Jordan Bohannon could ever say.

HA!!!
He’s worth 3 wins a year

 

[szohn]

Three wins a year above a replacement player???

YES

 

[BrewHawk]

HA!!!
He’s worth 3 wins a year.

Who do we lose to without him?

Not this crappy Ohio St team.

 

[Ronman]

At this point, it's just stupid to discuss the merits of Connor. All the information his detractors need to know is the name on the back of his jersey.

 

[BrewHawk]

This boys and girls is an example of a fan who “knows the game”. You see, he has almost become somewhat of an expert because he has used the “rewind” button on his dish network subscription many times and really understands the intricacies of the game as a result. Be more like this fan. He’s likely headed for a HC position at a major institution after years of DVR.

It will become more evident against better teams. There aren't many in the Big Ten right now.

 

[Franisdaman]

connor being interviewed now

 

[Franisdaman]

 

[Franisdaman]

 

[Franisdaman]

 

[Franisdaman]

 

[Franisdaman]

 

[Mohawkeye]

Connor isn't a great defender by any means. Hes very good at some things like stripping the ball and poor at others like moving in space.

Hes usually on point on switches where a lot of the rest of the team struggles because no one talks.

Hes much better on bigger slower players than on guards.

Overall a plus defender usually but has games where he gets exposed too.

Very fair assessment. His defense was good tonight and his passing exceptional. Maybe his best game as a hawk.

 

[Franisdaman]

Very fair assessment. His defense was good tonight and his passing exceptional. Maybe his best game as a hawk.

hopefully we can carry this forward to the games coming up

 

[Franisdaman]

this assist tonight was a beauty.

 

[sm_hawkeye]

There's not a right answer to Connor, the analytics don't like him as much as what it looks like on the court. Connor is 2nd to last on the team for player efficiency rating since conference play started, only Ulis is rated worse. He's also 5th on the team for defensive box/score rating, and we're not a good defensive team.

Ummm you have to start five players so why would being 5th be a negative again?

His assist to turnover ratio is looking a little be a bit more impressive after tonight. He needs to demand opportunities to playmake as he did today, his experience and knowledge is an asset.