In a nutshell Connor directs the team and orchestrates the defense.
Fran?
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Keegan, Kris, Joe, Ulis and Perkins should be getting about 150 minutes a game. The remaining 50 should be split between Rebraca, PMac and JBo. Any other leftover minutes should go to Sandfort and JO. Connor should only play in blowouts with 30 seconds left.
Connor is much liked the Iowa QB's that Kirk picks to play for him. It's the guy that's not going to lose the game for you. Coaches play the guys they have the most confidence in down the stretch of games. It's all about trust...
I think they would have been quad two neutral or at home just not on the road. They don't seem like a team that will age well in the big ten.
Do you think assists are important to a successful basketball team? How about getting us into the proper sets? How about directing our motion offense and making the tweaks that are necessary to find good shots? Is it important to recognize what type of defense is being played by the other team? If they are pressing, where will the traps come? How should we space the floor to defeat the press? If a player flashes in the Post who throws them the perfect pass, or if not open who chooses to not pass into the post? Connor does all those things very very well. It does not show up on the scoreboard, which is how most people judge players. it is ridiculous in my view.
all players do those things. You can't point to a metric that shows he does it better. He may communicate better than others, he should he's been there 5 years. That in and of itself does not trump actual play.
I can have you watch connor hold on to the ball allowing the defense to reset. I can show you connor's defender sagging off helping and clogging all other action. I can show you connor's defender playing off so far he has the ease to pass because he is not an offensive threat. I can show you connor complaining to officials so much that his head coach loses the ability to think rationally.
Ridiculous in my view is how you think you have to explain it to us like we don't understand basketball. What you don't understand is that CMac Isn't some court general extraordinaire. He is an absolute liabilty that brings pretty much nothing to the court... you're just seeing what you want to see. The fact he is taking minutes and learning experience away from clearly superior younger players is the only thing thats ridiculous.
I seriously question the basketball knowledge of anybody arguing differently.
I still cant believe there are actually arguing in favor of CMac playing. If he's such a leader, he can do it from the bench and in the locker room and in practice. Ulis, Perkins and Joe T should be getting ALL of CMacs minutes and its a crime that they're not. If we lose one of those talented players in the offseason, we'll know what and who to blame. Imagine losing someone because fran had to play a 6% three point shooter who could direct the shit out of a defense! Lmao.. god its so pathetic
He has to start hitting his free throws or you can't have him in there at the end of a tight game.
It's hilarious seeing all the negativity after a B10 win...Fran will never be able to please some of you because all you search for is the bad.
Analytics are very helpful in evaluating a team and its players.
According to EvanMiya.com, Iowa's best five-man lineup that has played at least 20 possessions with each other is Murray, Connor, JBO, Rebraca and Joe T.
The most efficient four-man lineup with at least 40 possessions played together is Connor, Murray, Rebraca, and Toussaint.
This analyst sees it the way I do. Go argue with him I guess.
According to EvanMiya.com, Iowa's best five-man lineup that has played at least 20 possessions with each other is Murray, Connor, JBO, Rebraca and Joe T.
The most efficient four-man lineup with at least 40 possessions played together is Connor, Murray, Rebraca, and Toussaint.
This analyst sees it the way I do. Go argue with him I guess.
The majority of what you stated is the job of the coach. I still don't see what you see that Connor does so well to garner playing time over Joe, Kris, Perkins and Ulis. You make it sound like Connor doesn't make any mistakes and plays perfectly. He doesn't. If Fran wasn't his father, I highly doubt Connor would be playing the minutes he's getting.
There were 6 Hawks that were positive in plus/minus last night:
Rebraca, Keegan, Toussaint, Patrick, JBo, and Perkins.
In win shares on Iowa, Connor ranks ahead of only Ash, Laketa, Josh O, and Mulvey.
Rebraca, Keegan, Toussaint, Patrick, JBo, and Perkins.
In win shares on Iowa, Connor ranks ahead of only Ash, Laketa, Josh O, and Mulvey.
I looked. There are only 5 possible combinations with 20 possessions and 4 of those had Connor on them. Just by random chance he had a 80% chance of making the best lineup. The 4 and 5 man lineups most people are clamoring for don’t show up because Fran has refused to play them for many possessions.Analytics are very helpful in evaluating a team and its players.
According to EvanMiya.com, Iowa's best five-man lineup that has played at least 20 possessions with each other is Murray, Connor, JBO, Rebraca and Joe T.
The most efficient four-man lineup with at least 40 possessions played together is Connor, Murray, Rebraca, and Toussaint.
This analyst sees it the way I do. Go argue with him I guess.
In fact, Conner showed up in the bottom 3 5-man lineups and 7 of the bottom 10 4-man lineups according to your criteria…
They have lots of potential and upside, but I don't know if it was just me, but they were so stagnant standing around on offense at times. and the transition D stunk.
TL: DR
Connor has had multiple surgeries, is clearly struggling getting up and down the court/rebounds because his vertical is literally half of what it used to be with said ankle injuries, and two hip surgeries…. and now new back issues? He’s shooting 21% from the field, <63% from the FT lines, and let’s not discuss is his W/S stat or his 3P%. Yes he is good at taking care of the ball, for the most part, and a lot of that was due to Garza’s presence the last two seasons. Last few games he’s had some silly turnovers. He’s even said himself “I don’t care if I play 0 minutes, I just want to help the team win.” I don’t blame Connor, or have any bias against him.
I don’t think it’s uncalled for to bring into question on a message board why Fran kept him out there as long as he did, or any strategy for that matter. It’s a fan message board ffs, that’s one of the main purposes of this place, to discuss Hawkeye Basketball related topics. At the end of the day I like Fran, he is a good coach and makes the decisions, and we as fans and media we have every right to question it his decisions, it doesn’t change a darn thing. I’m not saying Connor shouldn’t play, he has a spot on our squad and has earned it for sure. but when his biggest asset is communicating/directing in the zone from the back, that’s not a good argument IMO. Yeah he’s good at it, maybe the best on the team? But he’s also one of the worst guys in our half court offense, because he’s a cone. He can’t shoot, he can’t drive, you know he’s gonna pass. Almost all of his statistics would keep him at the end of the bench in any D1, let alone P5 bball program. God forbid we don’t have Connor, are we just going to be completely f***** in our zone? According to some of you defending his importance to that zone, it sounds like you have no faith in other guys stepping in there because we will be so disconnected. I ask those of you, “do you think the other guys don’t know how to communicate on defense in a zone they’ve been practicing all off season? Some of them for 2+ years under Fran?” We aren’t THAT much better defensively when he’s out there, and we are certainly down a man offensively.
Its my opinion, when connors on the floor for extended minutes, Fran is opting to keep younger, better two way playing, scholarship athletes on the bench when this is supposedly one of the most athletic/defensively sound rosters he’s had in years according to the majority of the fan base, media, coaches, just the general consensus. Up until this point our defense and rebounding has been next to atrocious and our schedule has essentially been a cake walk outside of 5 games, maybe. I think we are lucky to walk away with that game yesterday missing the front end of 3 1 and 1’s in the second half, and getting out rebounded by a good Maryland squad. I’m happy with the win and its the most important thing to come away with for sure, but don’t tell me you don’t want Fran to keep tweaking and improving this team, and maybe adjusting things like mpg to certain players that are clearly questionable decisions.
Connor has had multiple surgeries, is clearly struggling getting up and down the court/rebounds because his vertical is literally half of what it used to be with said ankle injuries, and two hip surgeries…. and now new back issues? He’s shooting 21% from the field, <63% from the FT lines, and let’s not discuss is his W/S stat or his 3P%. Yes he is good at taking care of the ball, for the most part, and a lot of that was due to Garza’s presence the last two seasons. Last few games he’s had some silly turnovers. He’s even said himself “I don’t care if I play 0 minutes, I just want to help the team win.” I don’t blame Connor, or have any bias against him.
I don’t think it’s uncalled for to bring into question on a message board why Fran kept him out there as long as he did, or any strategy for that matter. It’s a fan message board ffs, that’s one of the main purposes of this place, to discuss Hawkeye Basketball related topics. At the end of the day I like Fran, he is a good coach and makes the decisions, and we as fans and media we have every right to question it his decisions, it doesn’t change a darn thing. I’m not saying Connor shouldn’t play, he has a spot on our squad and has earned it for sure. but when his biggest asset is communicating/directing in the zone from the back, that’s not a good argument IMO. Yeah he’s good at it, maybe the best on the team? But he’s also one of the worst guys in our half court offense, because he’s a cone. He can’t shoot, he can’t drive, you know he’s gonna pass. Almost all of his statistics would keep him at the end of the bench in any D1, let alone P5 bball program. God forbid we don’t have Connor, are we just going to be completely f***** in our zone? According to some of you defending his importance to that zone, it sounds like you have no faith in other guys stepping in there because we will be so disconnected. I ask those of you, “do you think the other guys don’t know how to communicate on defense in a zone they’ve been practicing all off season? Some of them for 2+ years under Fran?” We aren’t THAT much better defensively when he’s out there, and we are certainly down a man offensively.
Its my opinion, when connors on the floor for extended minutes, Fran is opting to keep younger, better two way playing, scholarship athletes on the bench when this is supposedly one of the most athletic/defensively sound rosters he’s had in years according to the majority of the fan base, media, coaches, just the general consensus. Up until this point our defense and rebounding has been next to atrocious and our schedule has essentially been a cake walk outside of 5 games, maybe. I think we are lucky to walk away with that game yesterday missing the front end of 3 1 and 1’s in the second half, and getting out rebounded by a good Maryland squad. I’m happy with the win and its the most important thing to come away with for sure, but don’t tell me you don’t want Fran to keep tweaking and improving this team, and maybe adjusting things like mpg to certain players that are clearly questionable decisions.
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Also, I love good discussions I don’t want to fight with anyone, we are all on the same team here. Just want us to keep growing snd reaching our potential.
Also yes you can go look at my post history and see me freaking out on the game thread about Pmac lol, I love the kid I just can’t stand how he plays. Doesn’t mean he doesn’t bring something to this team that I actually love; his quirky uncoordinated finishes that have to piss off our opponents… and his FT shooting. Just needs to draw more fouls like he did against PU.
Also yes you can go look at my post history and see me freaking out on the game thread about Pmac lol, I love the kid I just can’t stand how he plays. Doesn’t mean he doesn’t bring something to this team that I actually love; his quirky uncoordinated finishes that have to piss off our opponents… and his FT shooting. Just needs to draw more fouls like he did against PU.
Is that the stretch where Keegan scored 25 of 30 points…?Analytics are very helpful in evaluating a team and its players.
According to EvanMiya.com, Iowa's best five-man lineup that has played at least 20 possessions with each other is Murray, Connor, JBO, Rebraca and Joe T.
The most efficient four-man lineup with at least 40 possessions played together is Connor, Murray, Rebraca, and Toussaint.
This analyst sees it the way I do. Go argue with him I guess.
and the Others contributed 5?
I just checked that thread that Gunner started and he literally left Connor out of his entire 12 man lineup 😂😂😂😂😂 wait til some of these dudes read it
I don’t see how Connor is any better at #3 deep in any of the 5 spots, and is probably #4 PG and #5 SG
Joe plays hard and has 9pts, 9 assist, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals. Shooting 50% from the floor and his night is done with 8 and a half minutes left in the game. He has played well with Ulis in the few times they have played together, he shooting 90% from the feet throw line this year, and he's had one game winning shot his year. And Conner plays the last 13 minutes, with 1 point, 1 assist and 1 steal.
I said in another thread at the beginning of the year Kris needed 25 minutes a game to be ready for the Big Ten season. That hasn't happened and now he seems to have a quick hook like Joe.
I hope potential recruits don't notice what seems to be obvious.
I said in another thread at the beginning of the year Kris needed 25 minutes a game to be ready for the Big Ten season. That hasn't happened and now he seems to have a quick hook like Joe.
I hope potential recruits don't notice what seems to be obvious.
We won last night despite both Patrick and Kris playing about as bad as they have this year. Fran was smart enough to get them both off the court for the last 10 min or so, and maybe Patrick should have sat even earlier, because he was awful on both ends. That had a lot to do with why Keegan played almost the whole game, and why Connor played all of the closing minutes. Keegan, JoeT, and Rebraca had maybe their best games of the year. Weren't a few of the whiners on the board knocking JoeT and Rebraca this past week?
This was a badly needed win, and I don't understand why so many want to blame Fran for anything that doesn't go well, but never give him credit for the positives. I think Mary Land has some very talented players, although they don't seem to be very deep. As you keep bitching, ask yourself who gave scholarships to Keegan and Kris, while no other major programs were interested? Who pulled JoeT out of NY?
Let's beat the &*#(ing Badgers!
This was a badly needed win, and I don't understand why so many want to blame Fran for anything that doesn't go well, but never give him credit for the positives. I think Mary Land has some very talented players, although they don't seem to be very deep. As you keep bitching, ask yourself who gave scholarships to Keegan and Kris, while no other major programs were interested? Who pulled JoeT out of NY?
Let's beat the &*#(ing Badgers!
Totally agree with you that we needed the win, that’s what’s most important. However there’s not just blame being asserted here, there’s plenty of logical discussion and questions of the tactics Fran used being raised, rightfully so. Just because we won, doesn’t waive the right to be critiqued or criticized for certain moves/strategies in game. That’s the nature of the beast. I’m not going to be an apologist for Fran, or sit here and not raise questions on a board specifically used for just that, when I’m curious what other people take away.
Kris hasn’t had hardly a sniff at the #3 spot in quite some time, ans is often on the floor with both Pmac and Keegan now the last 3 or 4 games since he went off at Utah State? Seemingly playing the 5 to relieve Rebraca. He looks a bit lost at times and either is hesitant on defense or is fouling too quickly benching himself like he did against western Illinois. I almost wonder if he still has a nagging injury because he was wearing an ankle brace last night. Patrick was pretty abysmal, good of Fran to keep them both on the bench actually since they were poor I agree he should have taken Patrick out sooner too.
I guess my gripe is why do you take out the guard who is the hottest on the floor on both ends, for doing nothing wrong? Maybe he puts him back out there, maybe he dribbled too much for the defense they were playing, idk. I just found it odd because joe was on fire. Then second It just didn’t add up to me (previous reasons stated) why Cmac played so long? I mean he did a couple nice things on D, but also got dominated by bigger post players 2 times isolated I remember, didn’t gather multiple rebounds, missed the back end of a 1 and 1, when the game was tight (it happens) and missed another open 3. Scoring isn’t all that matters, but I think it’s playing with fire when you keep at 4v5 for sn extended time period, especially with the injuries he’s had, and the back problems he’s facing. He’s a tough kid, so he’s always gonna try and go out there and play hard for us, that’s what I like about him, but Idk if he is our best option. Kinda like him, CJ, and Jordan all playing hurt against Oregon, and then Wiesy going down too. It reflected in the score. It didn’t matter how connected we were on D that game if he’s physically not fit to go. Just a question that came accross my mind.
Fran was the first to offer the Murray’s and they accepted before any other programs could offer outside of Western Illinois (I think it was, without looking), but they both had about 40 Division 1 programs showing interest and had unofficial offers and phone calls, meetings etc. set up after their year at DME, Kenyons stated on the board before. And I think Fran and his staff are great recruiters, I think they are honestly held back by Barta more than anything. Frans done great with having Garza, making the tournament, winning 20+ games, yet our facilities are pretty shit, we are geographically in a small city with harsh winters, and honestly carver isn’t a great environment compared to other appealing P5 schools. Barta needs to get more stud nets to come, let em in free, renovate the facilities and maybe we will land some more recruits. But Owen freeman was a good get, so were Bowen and Dix. Hope they all pan out.
I would in no way compare Boyle with Connor. My memory of Boyle was a very good player. Just checked and he averaged over 10 ppg, 49% fg, 71% FT, 5.7 rb. And these include a bad senior year. I don't know for sure, but I think he must have been hurt, as he took half as many shots. Did more digging and he only played the last 2 games his senior year.
Pretty much agree with all of this. I was poking at those folks who evaluate players based on their last game or two, without looking at the big picture. JoeT was on the crap list heading into the Mary Land game, and now he is all-B1G... I am glad we have both JoeT and Ulis, and adding Dix, Iowa should be loaded next year at PG for the first time in a long time.
Fran has been especially hard on JoeT, and at times seems to bury him on the bench, after he takes him out. I also don't understand most of the time. My theory is that Fran likes Ulis and Perkins together, and they have been an especially effective combo on the defensive end. I think Connor plays when they need to guard some size, but still want a ball handler. The four guards can't guard an interior player, while Connor can. Personally, I would like to see Fran turn Ulis, Perkins and JoeT loose together on defense in spurts, to see how the opponent handles the pressure...
I don't know what is going on with Kris right now, but we need him back in sync tomorrow in Madison.
Kevin Boyle was a solid player who did a little bit of everything, but wasn't great at anything. He (and anyone) was a much better player, when playing with Ronnie Lester and Kenny Arnold in the backcourt. When he became "the man" his senior year, it was a lot harder.
Kevin Boyle College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com
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