ESPN Article on our Hawks after Garza returns
- Thread starter Chishawk1425
- Start date
We need to celebrate any good news these days:
Luka Garza is the rare national player of the year candidate who will return to his program.
Thanks for the link, there's more "meat" to this article compared to many ESPN pieces.
Luka Garza is the rare national player of the year candidate who will return to his program.
Thanks for the link, there's more "meat" to this article compared to many ESPN pieces.
As one who has harped about the need to play better defense this is interesting:
..four of the past five NCAA champions were top-5 in adjusted offensive efficiency (the top three offenses in 2020 were among the AP's top 7 when the season was shut down, so this trend appears to be here to stay).
I should probably just shut up and just enjoy the offensive fireworks.
..four of the past five NCAA champions were top-5 in adjusted offensive efficiency (the top three offenses in 2020 were among the AP's top 7 when the season was shut down, so this trend appears to be here to stay).
I should probably just shut up and just enjoy the offensive fireworks.
This is sweet!! I haven't been this excited about Hawkeye Basketball since halftime of the game on that infamous day in 1987.
In 2015/2016 I approached that level of excitement when we were cranking into the top 5, but even though I didn't want to admit it at the time......looking back I realize that run was a bit of fool's gold.
This one feels different!!
Let's go baby!!!
BirdistheWord
HR Heisman
Nucleus is very strong.
Wildcards:
1. Jack Nunge....bounce back? No idea what to expect, but solid rebounding, screens and decent defense would be fantastic.
2. PMac. Even a sliver of what Baer brought off the bench would be a big plus.
3. ONE freshman needs to step up. I love Ulis, but his spot is uber crowded. I am going with Keegan Murray, kind of a 3/4.
Wildcards:
1. Jack Nunge....bounce back? No idea what to expect, but solid rebounding, screens and decent defense would be fantastic.
2. PMac. Even a sliver of what Baer brought off the bench would be a big plus.
3. ONE freshman needs to step up. I love Ulis, but his spot is uber crowded. I am going with Keegan Murray, kind of a 3/4.
I worry we have too big of bench again that seemed to plague prior teams hope keeps it to a solid 9 or so regulars
Play the whole bench in those non-conference gimme games. They need experience “just in case”.
And, on the flip side, the past 5 champs were at least top 11 in adjusted defensive efficiency. The Hawks still have a lot of work to do.
Well then tell our opponents to stop f***ing making shots against us......
BirdistheWord
HR Heisman
Yes, I do believe we can get carried away with 11-12 man rotations, but once roles are better defined with newbies we should get into a groove with about 9.....see below
1. Garza
2. Weezy
3. CMac
4. CJF
5. JoBo
6. Joe T.
7. Nunge
8. PMac
9. Keegan M.
10. Perkins OR Ulis
At our best around 9, build the depth with non cons in case of injury.
I worry about transfers. Those players will be needed when Srs. and Jrs. are done.
I'm sort of dumbfounded that anybody really thinks that a healthy JoBo and these tangential bench pieces makes this team THAT much better than last year??
I'm ecstatic that Luka is back--but let's keep things in perspective--why wouldn't top 15-25 be more realistic than top 5??
This team didn't defensive rebound well, wasn't very good defensively, and lacks athleticism.
This team will be good but they're too slow, too short, and TOO WHITE to be taken too seriously as a potential Final Four team.
I feel like Iowa 2006 (with a few wins in the dance this time) is a much more realistic projection/comparison than a top 5 team.
3-5 seed that's ultimately beaten in the Sweet 16 because they can't defensive rebound or defend.
Hope I'm very much wrong. Regardless it may not matter as this season could easily be junked due to COVID
I'm ecstatic that Luka is back--but let's keep things in perspective--why wouldn't top 15-25 be more realistic than top 5??
This team didn't defensive rebound well, wasn't very good defensively, and lacks athleticism.
This team will be good but they're too slow, too short, and TOO WHITE to be taken too seriously as a potential Final Four team.
I feel like Iowa 2006 (with a few wins in the dance this time) is a much more realistic projection/comparison than a top 5 team.
3-5 seed that's ultimately beaten in the Sweet 16 because they can't defensive rebound or defend.
Hope I'm very much wrong. Regardless it may not matter as this season could easily be junked due to COVID
Time will tell. Not sure what your comment about color of the players means. Team has a chance to be very good if they can improve defensively. If they don't, they will be a very exciting team to watch but ultimately not contend for the conference or a deep tournament run. Experience and talent usually means good things. I like how this Iowa team competes.
I think you are right. Right now, let the least likely to get minutes, choose to redshirt or not. Maybe Perkins or Ulis can find some time especially if they standout defensively...and I think both are said to be that. We will need Ogs also cause I think we are short @the 4/5. Patrick will play and the Murray twins can help out at the 4, maybe one wants to shirt and the other plays. The twins may want to play together all 4 years. Someone posted that this year may be historic in Iowa history and some of the freshmen may want to be on this roster because of the expectations. We are really deep. but we may need some game time experience for the freshman class this season .
Iowa was 18 at the end of last season, so unless you think they got worse, 19-25 doesn’t make any sense.
Bohannon is Iowa’s all time leader in 3pt FGs and one of the top two career scorers in the Big Ten (I bet you can guess the other). Jack Nunge was a starter before his injury (that’s over Connor, who was a stud filling in for him). Not to mention an All Big Ten player in Wieskamp, an All Freshman player in Fredrick, and the nation’s leader in A/TO in Connor. Assuming Toussaint plays at least as well as he did last year (he was named as the toughest guard in the Big Ten by one of Maryland’s players), Patrick is a contributor, and at least one of the freshmen turns into a contributor, not many teams in the country can boast that kind of depth. Even if you think Top 5 is too high, I bet you couldn’t name 10 teams with a better outlook as of now.
Too short? Lol. Too white? LOL. The only concerns that one could reasonably hold entering the season are rebounding and perimeter defense (losing Evelyn is tough here, but getting a healthy Bohannon and healthy Fredrick should help)
A healthy Fredrick and Bohannon shooting 3s from all over or Garza not double teamed and Weezy ready to do it all, good luck opponents.
BirdistheWord
HR Heisman
Building on Chishawk and Uno...While we do not know what we have with our 5 freshman. Just think of our depth last year. Pemsl was a solid piece. Riley Till was a piece. We even had to rely on one of the walk ons when CJF was out (Austin Ash?). Evelyn was decent and did progress as the season went on, but had very limited upside. I would be willing to bet that we will far surpass what we had last year given how mediocre our depth was. Plus we have both Nunge and PMac to add, which was covered above.
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I'll be honest with you, I stopped reading after you said they are "TOO WHITE" to be taken seriously. Your point would have been valid and respected without the "TOO WHITE" part.
Some of our best teams over the last 20 some years have been a bunch of "white" guys, so what's the deal?
I think the NCAA needed Luka to come back.... he is a guy that they can focus heavily on because he's got the marketability of a good college player.... tough, charismatic, good looking guy, all around offensive scoring ability, constantly has tissues in his nose and has an animated dad.... Everything college basketball needs to have stories about him
I think the NCAA needed Luka to come back.... he is a guy that they can focus heavily on because he's got the marketability of a good college player.... tough, charismatic, good looking guy, all around offensive scoring ability, constantly has tissues in his nose and has an animated dad.... Everything college basketball needs to have stories about him
Iowa essentially played a 7 man rotation - including a very limited (due to injury) Pemsl. At times that was only 6 scholarship guys, plus a walk-on when Wieskamp missed a few games. Even so, last year's team was in the 90s for team defense. That's actually fairly impressive considering how limited the rotation was. Even when facing mismatches, Fran was stuck with the guys he had. There's every reason to expect the defense improves. Even if they can only get to top 50-60, that should pay huge dividends as we know what we'll have on offense. The key will be finding a good 9 man rotation or so, and hopefully a couple of the frosh end up redshirting.
With Garza back, there's every reason to expect at least a Sweet Sixteen run (barring injury) - and farther depending on what the brackets look like.
And good lord, with Ayo and Kofi back, Iowa-Illinois is going to be reminiscent of the battles from the late 80s.
I'm not a stats guy but I'm guessing Iowa will lead (or be damn close to leading) the nation in scoring average for P5 teams this year. That is true regardless of the racial make-up of the team. Iowa's biggest problem last year was depth. The B1G Ten was also pretty stout, if you'll recall.
Regardless, Iowa improved on defense last year. I'm pretty sure the numbers reflect that. I am one of those people who don't get swept up in hype. This team will have to earn it like anyone else. However, your objections are silly. There are certainly unknowns with the bench and incoming freshmen (all five of whom are not white btw), but there are reasons to be optimistic that a healthy Nunge and PMac can be a substantial upgrade. And depending on how Fran wants to fill out the starting 5, you might see Joe T coming off the bench to be a spark plug. I really like how Joe got stronger and better as the season wore on last year. There was no freshman fade with him.
I like this team. Nothing is guaranteed, but this team on paper is very solid. And I'm not sure if there's a serious contender in the country who will have as much experience as Iowa. Get onboard, man. They'll be good. We'll see what happens.
A few freshman coming up big and Joe T improving will go a long way toward my moderately negative outlook (relative to the consensus at least) being incorrect. I hope I’m DEAD WRONG and you all remind me—nothing would make me happier!
As for Nunge, he can’t seem to stay on the court so I’m just counting any positives he brings as an unexpected bonus P Mac I don’t think anyone knows due to all the Very unfortunate shit he’s endured.
Cheers to me hopefully being a very wrong “negative Nancy” and GO HAWKS!!
As for Nunge, he can’t seem to stay on the court so I’m just counting any positives he brings as an unexpected bonus P Mac I don’t think anyone knows due to all the Very unfortunate shit he’s endured.
Cheers to me hopefully being a very wrong “negative Nancy” and GO HAWKS!!
BirdistheWord
HR Heisman
I will boil it down on newbies + bench, this is all we need, not super high expectations
Slight Improvement for Joe T (less turnovers, better decision making)
Rebounding, Decent Defense and 35%+ from 3 for Nunge
Energy off Bench for PMac (A few dunks, garbage buckets)
ONE Freshman to make a moderate impact (I predict Keegan)
I think you're discounting the impact that experience will bring having everyone back, Nunge and JBo and PMac healthy, and a deeper bench. Joe T. and CJ may be significantly improved from last season. Joe T., in particular, should be much more consistent and confident and that's huge. CMac is one year more experienced. Weiskamp should benefit the most from another season of experience; he should also have fresher legs late in season with the added depth and experience; he also won't have to be "THE" number 2 guy night in and night out. Garza may, incredibly, be improved, especially defensively and in terms of passing.
Having JBo and possibly PMac as third and fourth sharpshooters on the perimeter cannot be discounted. Joe T.'s ability to penetrate could be lethal with the inside/outside combos if he has learned how to be in control. Nunge is the big key; if he can approximate what Kreiner gave Iowa then that's a big plus. If one of the freshman bigs can give Pemsl-like minutes that will be a push. If Joe T. doesn't improve for some reason, Iowa has two more frosh PG possibilities in Ulis and Perkins (?Is that his name?). Plus, JBo can play point part of the time if need be.
There are way more ball handlers this year so bringing the ball up the court should be much improved. Also, this should cut down on turnovers. The offense AND defense should be much more efficient because of so much experience playing together coming back. Also, if everyone is healthy and stays healthy that will be big down the stretch; it really hurt Iowa when CJ got dinged up at the end of last season and both he and Weezy did not have their legs at the end of the season. JBo and PMac should help provide them legs at the end of the year -- remember, before the end-of-the-year slide because of CJ and Weezy falling off (and Kreiner, too) Iowa was on pace to finish at the top of the B10 or at the least tied for the lead.
Iowa 04-05, is a better comparison. That’s if Pierce was not a predator and Reiner had gotten his Med-Shirt, of course. This year’s team is that what-if that never happened in the past. 95-96 Is the ultimate what-if. Imagine if Millard’s knee had never robbed his potential, Settles’ back and Kingsbury hadn’t become the John Daily of Cbball. Yes, F4 is dreaming big. E8 is my ceiling, but its realistic if JBO & Nunge stay healthy and most of the players progress properly. This year’s team is missing a Joey Hauser or EJ Liddell, unless Nunge can resemble an upperclassmen J.R. Koch. An Isiah Moss type wing off the bench would make us look even better but Im just happy we finally/hopefully get to see that what-if season play out.
