Iowa leads the Big Ten in scoring with 75 points a game
- Thread starter YouGotThatRight
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Hard to stop anyone when your guys are at such a disadvantage athletically. Iowa bigs and MICH bigs were about the same in terms of athleticism. The guards was the difference. They were able to attack off ball screens and get into the lane at will.
Iowa guards couldn’t get into the lane at all.
Reminds me of 90% of the Cubs teams of the 70s 80s and 90s that would lead the league in hitting and be last in pitching. As a reminder, pretty much all of those teams sucked.
Speaking of scoring and defense....if the 42 point turnaround from game 1 to game 2 isn't a Big Ten Tourney record, it has to be darn close.
Which Hawkeye guard does Carson Edward's remind you of? The
He certainly isn't very good at teaching defense, that's for sure.
I also think you have to consider our style of play too. The higher number of possessions in a game, the more possessions for the opposing team. It's not a surprise where we are in conference given our style of play.
Yet, there is just something about this staff that is stubborn when it comes to their defensive philosophy and how it fits their personnel. I think sometimes the coaching staff puts the players in positions that are uncomfortable with their skill set defensively. I think hiring a defensive minded assistant in the off season might get this team over the hump. They have made progress on that side of the floor this year.
You're right. I think Fran's philosophy is that it doesn't matter how many points the other team scores because Iowa will score more.
If I were to be honest & objective, I would do like others have suggested many times:
Let go one of your assistants and do what Beilien did; hire a defensive minded coach.
That way, when your offense stalls (like last night), at least you have your defense that might force turnovers where you get an easy bucket going the other way. And with momentum from that, shots might start to fall.
I've been around a lot but haven't posted much until now. I have always enjoyed your posts. I also want to thank you because I've used some of your free links for games.
I completely agree with what you've written. We need an influential defensive minded coach who can motivate them to on that end of the floor.
thanks. If you ever need a link, let me know. I just don't post them on here publicly anymore.
I just think it's time for Fran to shake things up. He's had the exact same staff for 9 years. We know we can score. Our Achilles heel is defense.
Beilein is an offensive guy just like Fran; but he brought in an defensive guy to improve things. I think it's time for Fran to do the same thing.
During one time out last night, they showed on TV the Michigan Defensive coach doing all the talking; Beilein did not say a thing. And, as we all saw, Michigan knows what they are doing on defense.
I saw that. I think Fran needs to think real hard about this and attempt to make it happen. I also noticed Michigan was more physical than earlier in the year. The book is out on us to be physical and we will wilt. Until we start mentally pushing back our defensive energy will continue to suffer.
That was an extremely refreshing thing to hear back when Fran was hired; sort of the perfect "Anti-Lick" guy. Unfortunately, Fran's teams have also been quite ugly at times; not as often, just in more important situations.
I agree with much of that. However, Garza is arguably the most athletically challenged big in the league. I can't name a player for any B1G team that gets significant floor minutes who is slower and has less vertical than he does. He works hard, of that I have no doubt. It just looks like he's wearing cinder blocks on his feet.
He is the worse defensive player at Iowa that I can remember. He cannot block, force a bad shot, take a charge or rebound. He’s even far worse at help defense, getting fooled on shot fakes and making it challenging for 3 point shooters!
