Iowa frontcourt 2016

[perryhawk]

Obviously we don't KNOW what will happen next year. So, I can't wait to see the new guys improve and develop...next year will be exciting from that perspective.

That said, and I am excited for next year, but next years team will not be close to as good as this team is. You don't just replace experience like we lose this year and come back as good or better. Notice that I said experience and not talent.

I don't think there is much doubt that Dom will start on the front line....who starts with him will be very interesting. The place where I have a different take on the front line is this. I don't believe we will have a "center" as most believe. We will have guards and forwards.

I also believe the way next years team has to play to have success is this: They have to use the athletic depth that is on this roster. To me that means running and pressing much more than we do now. I think we will struggle in the half court on offense...and on defense at the beginning of the year. Pressing and running will allow Wagner, Cook, Hutton, Williams, and others to use their athletic ability and gain confidence. Offensive rebounding will be another area that I think this team with their quickness and athletic ability can turn it up significantly.

We will see.

I think that in 2 years we could be very, very good and a chance to maintain a pretty high level of success with the teams we will have going forward.

 

[Rustys Dad]

Alot of young talent...Williams, Uhl, Wagner, Jones, Ellingson, Cook, Moss, Hutton, etc. Fran is going to run teams to death with that group. I haven't seen Cook's handles yet...but he will have four slashers in the game at any time...penetrate and dish either inside or back to the three line. It's gonna be fun to watch.

This team is (currently) and will continue to be a lot of fun to watch! I really like Wagner and Uhl ... And excited as heck to see more of the other guys ... I like what Fran is building in Iowa City!

 

[brokenarrow73]

Possibility of Cook and Wagner growing together is exciting to say the least. Adding Uhl to the mix and damn this team will run like crazy.

Has anyone noticed that as hard as Wagner plays.. he doesn't shoot the ball at all.. I hope he develops a shot, that is what makes us so dangerous now is that we have 4 guys on the floor that can hit the three.. He is not big enough to play center..

 

[brokenarrow73]

Do we have enough height though?

Do we have enough shooters from the 3 pt line? I think that is what makes this team so different than last years team..

 

[HellaHawk]

Our best three point shooters this year are Jok, Uthoff, Behr, and Uhl. We only lose one of those guys. I think Jones has the potential to shoot a similar percentage from 3 as Uthoff. Incoming players like Bohannon and Moss are also good shooters. I'm hoping Ellingson and Flemming become better.

 

[CanadaHawk]

I'm looking at the front court as having a lot of possible pieces in 2016. Uhl is a firmer piece than most in the puzzle. Jok may swing to the backcourt more next year because we have fewer pieces with experience back there in 2016. There is a laundry list of legitimate possibilities up front. This gives the front court question marks but a lot of paths to success. We'll work something out at SG, even if Jok spends most of his time there. At PG, we have been spoiled to have 2 guys most teams would love to have this year. It's been eye-opening for a lot of fans who are used to seeing Iowa teams only succeed with high-scoring PGs. If we can produce a PG with a 2/1 A/T ratio next year, we'll be dancing. However this year ends up, there will be a winning tradition established at Iowa again. That's going to motivate CW/JB.

 

[KeyWest Tim]

The future is bright, especially if we can keep a redsirt or 2 in the pipeline each year.

But like football... Enjoy the present.

This is our year when expectations were low and we have outplayed our coverage.

Hard to believe we will ever start like this again in the next few years.

 

[HawkLogic]

The future is bright, especially if we can keep a redsirt or 2 in the pipeline each year.

But like football... Enjoy the present.

This is our year when expectations were low and we have outplayed our coverage.

Hard to believe we will ever start like this again in the next few years.

Guard play seems kind of suspect...hard to be a really good team if you don't have good Guards. I don't know if Moss will be able to step in and handle the ball some. We will need Bohannon to come in and be ready to play...CW has to develop. Ellingson needs to step up,

Flemming strikes me as Ellingson II.

 

[mazda1]

We will miss our senior leadership. I think Woody and Sapp have set the tone for toughness.

Wagner strikes me as a kid who is in this mold, but I' m not sure Dom and Peter do. Both have a ton of talent and will likely be the two "given" starters. They will have to set the standard and the tone for the incoming freshman. I hope they are up to it.

We may not run as much as many think as we lose our top defensive rebounders and likely will be more turnover prone. Defense will be an issue. No shot blocker like JU, no Sapp to stop good points, and no Woody.

I still think we've got an NIT shot, but obviously there's going to be a huge drop off. The good news is in two years we'll be very experienced, athletic, and have good depth that also will have playing time.

In the meantime I hope we significant tournament experience that these freshman can use as juniors and seniors.

 

[HoustonREDHawk]

Someone easy to forget is Baer. We are going to need some glue guys next year with so little experience. He isn't ever going to be the star player, but I think he will be an important contributor.

 

[HeRKeYHoPeFuL]

Here is my hope for our frontcourt:
Slasher/Shooter: Baer/Moss or Jok/Baer
Stretch Four: Dom/Jones
Screener/Post Up: Wagner/Cook

Hutton will likely pick up some minutes at the SF in the lockdown defender role as well... (so difficult to assign players positions)

 

[johnnashhawk]

I wasn't able to see the game today...I simply noted the little time Williams has had on the court to date.

PG next year should be interesting...if Williams is as terrible as you suggest.

Hopefully Fran's plan A at PG for the future will be a pleasant surprise for us all.

And if he can make some clutch free throws...well...that is always a bonus.

Just an observation.....Wagner is the second coming of Reggie Evans...strong and determined. Sometimes I can't believe he gets his hands on a rebound...he's very deceptive, I think because of his width.

That being said he is right now our best offensive rebounder. I can see the game is slowing down for him, and I expect a lot of productive minutes next year.

PG is the wild card. CW has no confidence right now. Don't know if or when he'll ever get it. Don't know if Boho can come in as a fr and take the team over. Don't know if Moss is an option. But what has occurred to me is that Ellingson posseses a lot of the skills necessary to play the position. He can penetrate and score with either hand and decision making is above avg, as is his vision. I think we're all disappointed in his perimeter shot, but from everything I've seen, he may be the first option at this stage. Reparte anyone?

 

[Kurt Warner]

I have a feeling jordan bo will be the starting pg next year. We will definitely be down from this year but im anxious as heck to see all these new guys in action.

 

[hansenhawk]

Quick question, might Fran go after a transfer at the PG position?

Or, will our scholarship situation not allow that?

Of course he already tried that with Dickerson...

 

[HeRKeYHoPeFuL]

Hansen, I think that is a fair question. I don't even think he has to look JUCO necessarily, as there is so much to offer a solid, dependable grad - transfer point guard.

I just don't know where the scholly would come from. I'm totally against asking a kid to leave, but if it is voluntary, I have no problem taking advantage of the opportunity to shore up a perceived weakness of next year's team.

 

[HoustonREDHawk]

PG will be Williams or Bohanon. Too early to give up on Williams.

 

[hansenhawk]

It's not that we are giving up Houston, it's just that our PG next year will basically have NO experience what so ever.

Nothing wrong with finding a PG with more of that.

 

[HoustonREDHawk]

Problem is that we don't have a scholarship available, unless something has happened that I don't know about. Fran's eye for talent and ability to develop players is going to need to work some magic again next year (still White Magic).

 

[EduNeerHawk]

Just an observation.....Wagner is the second coming of Reggie Evans...strong and determined. Sometimes I can't believe he gets his hands on a rebound...he's very deceptive, I think because of his width.

That being said he is right now our best offensive rebounder. I can see the game is slowing down for him, and I expect a lot of productive minutes next year.

PG is the wild card. CW has no confidence right now. Don't know if or when he'll ever get it. Don't know if Boho can come in as a fr and take the team over. Don't know if Moss is an option. But what has occurred to me is that Ellingson posseses a lot of the skills necessary to play the position. He can penetrate and score with either hand and decision making is above avg, as is his vision. I think we're all disappointed in his perimeter shot, but from everything I've seen, he may be the first option at this stage. Reparte anyone?

I'll Repartee.....there are a few positions that are a wild card for next season and not just PG. This is a fun conversation already. Some positions are wild but I really like the talent Fran and coaches have to work with. The staff is a very cerebral staff starting with the head man and I am confident they have a solid plan in place to fill these 4 senior starting positions.

I'm seeing the CW like others are but I disagree with the no confidence piece. Yea, he's made a couple of boo boos (4 to be exact) but it's not enough time on the floor and at the right time on the floor for me to judge fairly. I want to see him on the floor in more meaningful minutes. Out of 21 games, he's only played in 12 of them averaging about 5 mins/game. That's a tough PG gig with those 59 minutes on the floor and at the time he is out there with the team on the floor he's playing with. Probably 50 of those minutes are just running out the clock at the end of the game.

Need to give him and other players on the bench more rope here, more quality PT. When I see CW, I see the potential, the length (wow), a very talented and athletic player - he just looks the part to me plus I saw him be one the best BB players in Illinois HS BB which is nice to be and have on any BB resume.

I hope that PG position works out for him and the team because we may lack a 7 footer next year at the C position but it would be nice to offset with the additional inches in the front court of a 6'6" pg on the floor.