All the more reason why Fran the coach needs to make sure he stays objective and doesn't put his sons in situations where the fans will sling arrows at them. I see that situation developing a little bit with Connor which will intensify if Touissant starts smoothing out his game and not looking like a freshman and Connor continues to start. Tricky waters to navigate but doable if Fran plays his cards right.
How do we compete this season?
- Thread starter HawkSTL
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All the more reason why Fran the coach needs to make sure he stays objective and doesn't put his sons in situations where the fans will sling arrows at them. I see that situation developing a little bit with Connor which will intensify if Touissant starts smoothing out his game and not looking like a freshman and Connor continues to start. Tricky waters to navigate but doable if Fran plays his cards right.
If you think Wieskamp and Garza are capable of carrying this team anywhere other than to last place in the B1G you are delusional. I love Garza, but he has one post move. DePaul sat on it all night and he didn't recognize it. JW is a stud, but is still primarily a spot up jump shooter which is also very easy to defend when teams get out on him and cut off the baseline (see DePaul).
We can agree to disagree and see what the season brings. I completely disagree that all this team needs a PG to do is load up Garza and Wieskamp. Those guys can get 20 each and Iowa still loses by a large margin. There is a reason teams advance in March have great guard play and it's not because they are game managers.
I hope so. We lost to their practice squad last year so not holding my breath that there are two wins there.
I’d say that if **** really hits the fan on this season, we still finish above NW and Nebraska. If the team that showed up for DePaul is what we can expect the rest of the year (which I don’t expect), then I think the Hawks still get hot shooting and steal a few games we aren’t favored in
What move would that be and how do you "sit" on a move? What does that even mean?
They doubled him hard as soon as he caught the ball and he stupidly tried to split it most of the time and they took it away.
It had nothing to do with a specific move.
What you meant to say is Garza doesn't understand the way to beat double teams.
To say he has one move is to show your ignorance of the subject.
Threads like these help me find posters that I never have to read again.
BirdistheWord
HB Legend
Connor gives great effort and is tough as freaking nails, but he is not a B1G Starting Caliber PG.
Agree. He is a decent complementary/utility player at any of the perimeter spots that could give you 7-10 minutes a game for a B1G team competing in the upper half of the league. He does not possess the offensive skills or footspeed/quickness that should be expected of a PG getting majority minutes at this level.
I suspect this prognosis will bear out as the competition stiffens. Last night didn't really change any of the underlying issues this team has. Just nice to see us play a little better and hit the pause button.
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do you think a lot of big ten teams can lose their starting pg and not have a drop off?
BirdistheWord
HB Legend
That's fair. Be that as it may, dont try and convince me that CM is the answer at PG for the next 2 years after Jordan leaves (assuming he plays this year).
This is what I have seen .....We need DEFENSE BAD...... Joey is a solid defender, I think CJF can be the best defensive guard in years then we are in bad shape. Conner defense was bad as was Luka- Nunge. Joe T and EB will need minutes because Jordan guards NO ONE. Conner needs to play 6-8 minutes a half and Jordan will play so you must have CJF and Joey must be on floor for 30-32. Watching them on bench and us giving up drive after drive will not fly. How many times do the coaches have to see that and have our best defenders on bench. So frustrating to watch. Looks like Fredericks gets the Moss treatment.
I've seen the bigger guys stand and appear like they wonder who should get the rebound. But I also see Joe T at 5'10" go after rebounds. I agree that CJ and Joe are good defenders. I believe they'll probably be more like Sapp was as time goes by.
Good post. We can debate who should start, get more minutes, should play this or that position, but I have absolutely no idea how anyone not completely delusional can't see that under Fran, Iowa PG play has been anemic. Watch these obscure teams in the mid-major ranks of college ball and look at what their guards can do vs. ours. Utah Valley had a couple guards carving Kentucky up last night. Oh I know, it's the not the Kentucky with 5 future NBA first round draft picks (just getting ahead of L.Wade's response here), but it's still Kentucky vs. Utah Valley.
It gets so old watching Iowa's guards get smoked off the bounce and dribble in circles on offense. Quick guards are a commodity in college basketball like running backs are in football. There's a reason people take notice of Goodson relative to Young / Sargent. Not saying these guys can't add value, but they aren't Goodson. Of all people you would think White Magic would understand the absolute necessity to have quickness at minimally the 1. I don't care who he has offered. These kids have a dozen or more offers so it's not like Fran is some master at evaluating talent. Instead of marveling at the quickness of other teams, recruit some of that here.
I was pondering this also. Now that Pat is redshirting, and there still being a possibility that JBo redshirts, how deep can we go and still be effective?
I'm hoping that Jack and Cordell elevate their play and very soon. We need to pull out of the zone more often or at least extend it as teams are shooting over it. I also believe that we need more 3/4 court pressing as it has been effective disrupting bringing the ball down court. If we go man to man, that might help, but can we maintain enough freshness to do that most of the game? Questions, questions.
Good points raised. Tough call on Bohannon. Obviously depends on how he feels, but I would hate for him to have a senior year like Gatens did. Seems like there will be more dynamic guards on the roster next year + Touissant will have a year under his belt. I would like to see him on a team where a PG can drive and dish and defenses can't focus on him. I hope I am wrong, but this team just doesn't seem to have the right pieces in place to have an NCAA tournament type season.
If both red shirt, it will put a premium on Touissant, Pemsl, Nunge and Evelyn to step up and contribute something on a consistent basis. The press is kind of a double-edged sword. Seems like it works better in the non-conference. B1G teams might stumble a time or two, but once they adjust they get easy baskets.
I'd agree on the rotation needing to be smaller....like max of 10.
Rather than focusing on what they are bad at.....focus on what they are good at.
They wont ever be a lock down defensive team. However, they can be really good at rebounding, so allowing the other team a 2nd chance isnt an option.
On offense, I really think they should be ok. Space the floor, rotate the ball. Possibly even slow the game down a little...kind of like how UNI does it.
Rather than focusing on what they are bad at.....focus on what they are good at.
They wont ever be a lock down defensive team. However, they can be really good at rebounding, so allowing the other team a 2nd chance isnt an option.
On offense, I really think they should be ok. Space the floor, rotate the ball. Possibly even slow the game down a little...kind of like how UNI does it.
I think it's just that our PG's the last 7 years have been from Iowa and White, to be honest. Right? Gessell for 4 years, now Bohannon. Both have been very good players for Iowa, won a lot of games, but haven't exactly been the ideal PG in most peoples minds. Between them, we've made 4 NCAA tourneys in 7 years, NIT twice. Not terrible, but also not PG's that have put us over the top. I get it, I think most do. Fran was loyal to both and didn't really recruit over either.
Personally, I think Touissant is a breath of fresh air in those regards. He's quick and feisty, and seems to be able to finish at the rim. If he continues to improve we are going to really like him. It would have been great to have a player like Mike or Bohannon to shoot it when passed to on the wings. Hopefully, CJF can be that guy. If he is, this backcourt will be pretty good the next 3 years. With Pat joining on the wing, we just need to hope that Weiskamp stays for two more.
Then again, maybe I'm wearing some serious goggles right now.
Good post. I think Touissant has the potential to be the PG many of us have wished for since Fran took the Iowa job. He could also be a guy that leaves after this season because he and Fran don't see eye to eye. Touissant + the guys coming in next year should really move the needle athletically for Iowa. I said the same thing about the Hutton, Moss, Williams class and well, that didn't exactly pan out. Only time will tell, but I hope Fran trusts Touissant enough to let him work through mistakes and that Touissant can adjust his game to Fran's system.
