Feb 18 Update:
Feb 13, Original Post:
Feb 13, Original Post:
Last edited:
Is Chris Hassel right? Is now talking Iowa to the Final Four.
- Thread starter Franisdaman
- Start date
National Championship!!!
Absolutely, IF we get the Luka for most of the season and the Nunge we've seen of late. We do have to remember that MSU is not playing well at all right now...
Not without CJF. And it is looking more and more likely he is not going to be anywhere near 100% for the remainder of the season... That really, really sucks.
Unless the freshmen continue to elevate their game, with the adding of consistency, that has the potential to overcome the loss of CJF. 🤞
Unless the freshmen continue to elevate their game, with the adding of consistency, that has the potential to overcome the loss of CJF. 🤞
Well, it will give us a shot at getting bounced by Gonzaga in the Elite 8.
Cmac was also huge, anything you get from him is a bonus, if he could do that every game and if JoeW could play like he's playing the rest of the way ...lookout
This is what's fun about being an Iowa fan. It just takes a couple of wins against so-so teams to forget recent history, like getting swept by Indiana
I would say that it was 1 week ago that half the people suggesting a deep run in the tournament today wanted Fran fired and had Iowa as an 8 or 9 seed getting bounced in the first round. Very entertaining.
CJ was not working the foot yesterday on the bench. That surprised me that he would make the trip, not dress and then not be working the foot bag while sitting during the game.
My 3rd grade daughter is more emotionally mature than Hassel.
100% disagree.
IOWA just demonstrated how they can win, without CJF, without 20 points from POY, and it is by not playing zone defense, it’s by playing a defense that limits the 3 point FGA%, it’s by limiting 2nd Chance points.
playing more Nunge, Murray, Perkins, PMac who all rebound and limit 3 pt shooting is the key to winning, and we just saw them all do so in aggressive M2M
Chris gets plenty of exercise jumping on and off Iowa’s bandwagon. Seriously, he can piss off.
BirdistheWord
HB Legend
I think you are both right. I dont think anyone honstely thinks we are going to get anything on the offensive end like we saw from CMac going forward. And while we proved we can play dominant ball without CJF, it was against a terrible Michigan State team. CJF elevates our ceiling considerably. But if our bench can even play decent, we have a chance to make a run.
Weezy is on a tear. I don’t expect him to keep hitting over 50% from the 3, but if he can stay up around 45-50% then that keeps us in most games. Nunge is quietly putting up great numbers off the bench and instantly improves our defense and rebounding. 6th man of the year candidate for sure. I’m less confident Connor can consistently hit the 3, but if he does then we are definitely a final four caliber team.
if KM can be that guy losing CJF may not sting as much. Saw some really good things with him yesterday . He could be a real X factor for a deep run .
F*** Gonzaga.......and the committee members who want to put us in their region.
BirdistheWord
HB Legend
Yeah, I hate that matchup because they remind me of IOWA, but with more quickness and athleticism. I would take my chances with anyone else, even Baylor.
Nahhh, a lot of us haven't forgotten but what are you gonna do....
The inability to consistently play good all-around basketball will most definitely be our demise 2, MAYBE 3 games into the tourney.
The trick for us fans is to no longer EXPECT something special to come out of this season. Only HOPE.
Yesterday's game was somewhat of an anomaly. Things from yesterday that could but likely wont happen again this season:
1) Cmac scoring 16 points with 4 of 6 from behind the arc. I'd put the probability of this near zero.
2) Garza scoring 8 points. Again, I'd put the probability of this near zero.
3) Iowa holding an opponent to 58 points while playing pretty sound defense throughout. MSU it should be noted struggles mightily offensively this season so..
Overall not sure what to make of it. Nunge came back with another strong outing after stumbling a bit against Rutgers and Indiana and Keegan continues to impress. The biggest trends that were still in play from the last several games were Weiskamp playing out of his mind and Garza still kinda looking for what he had during the first 17 games of the season. Hopefully the former continues and the latter finds what he's looking for.
1) Cmac scoring 16 points with 4 of 6 from behind the arc. I'd put the probability of this near zero.
2) Garza scoring 8 points. Again, I'd put the probability of this near zero.
3) Iowa holding an opponent to 58 points while playing pretty sound defense throughout. MSU it should be noted struggles mightily offensively this season so..
Overall not sure what to make of it. Nunge came back with another strong outing after stumbling a bit against Rutgers and Indiana and Keegan continues to impress. The biggest trends that were still in play from the last several games were Weiskamp playing out of his mind and Garza still kinda looking for what he had during the first 17 games of the season. Hopefully the former continues and the latter finds what he's looking for.
I enjoy Chris Hassel for what he is. A goof, who does good imitations (I.e. Marty “Scumbag” Tirrell and Cooter Ray from Nebraska)(even Dolph). But, if your looking for expertise or professionalism, he’s not your source.
Agreed. To me this stretch for Weiskamp is who he really is, and who he should be most of the time IMO. He was looking for shots it appeared, and that's good for Iowa most days. When you put 3 really good games in a row up in this Conference, it's not luck.
Connor had his career game, it's in the books and likely never to be seen again.
Michigan State is bad, would love to see them bounced from The Tourney. We started great and didn't let up, their poor shooting helped, and limited their chances by rebounding well. Good win.
Weiskamp has been the most consistent player this season not named Garza (sans last 4 games) so it's not unlikely that he stays at least close to where he's been playing of late. JBO had a stretch of 5 games like this where he was on fire and he cooled off again soo... hoping JW can keep his going a bit longer.
so if we play like we did yesterday , without CJ we have no chance to make a run ? think about what you are posting dude .
CJF is an essential member of this team. Yes, we can beat some weaker teams without him, but to be our best, he has to be on the floor at close to 100%. We have no one on the team, not Ulis or Perkins or even Murray, that gives us what CJ does.
wait..... am I on the right board? I thought the season had already ended in disgrace and CMac couldn’t start for Lisbon high school 😂😂 what a difference a week makes!! We’re back in title contention!!
Monkey,
If the Mules (yes, the Mules!) can win a National Championship, WHY NOT the HAWKS??
do you guys buy this "Iowa is a hard scout when you just have a day to prepare?"
Not sure if I buy this because:
* Round 1, they have several days to prepare
* Round 2, sure, they have just a day to prepare
* Round 3 (Sweet 16), they again have several days to prepare
Agree if Joe W plays like he did yesterday it's not a stretch for Iowa to get to the FF. But if CMac plays the way he did yesterday in March, I don't know who the hell's going to beat Iowa.
EDIT: And I'm not suggesting that will happen unless every team Iowa faces is as hapless as Michigan State.
EDIT: And I'm not suggesting that will happen unless every team Iowa faces is as hapless as Michigan State.
People talk about Iowa having to play 6 good games in a row.
The way I look at it is, no, they have to play 2 good games in a row and do that over 3 weekends.
I get so sick of saying this over and over but people here are WAY TOO FOCUSED ON OFFENSE. This includes the point of the tweet in the OP.
defense is what will take Iowa far. The defensive effort we saw yesterday is what’s needed.
defense is what will take Iowa far. The defensive effort we saw yesterday is what’s needed.
I don't know, but does anyone have the video of Hassel playing Fran on Sound off back in the day?
This team can survive without Frederick. He is really good but I don’t think we can count on a 100 percent healthy CJ or anywhere close to it the rest of the year. To get wins most of these things have to happen:
1) Lukas gotta be Luka.
2) Weiskamp keep playing like he can- offensively don’t be afraid hunt his shot, shoot threes, be a threat to drive, minimize the long 2 attempts even though he has it in his game, rebound like he wants to be a NBA player; and don’t disappear in second halves.
Those are your two studs. They need to bring it everytime.
3) JBo - what do you do when he can’t get shots? If he is a liability defensively he’s got sit more. If you can get him clean looks by having him play off the ball or running plays for him or whatever then let him shoot through slumps. This one can get tricky. Some games he is probably suited for 18 minutes while others it might be 35.
4) Then we have to trust Fran to play the right hand to win the game that night. He was good at finding the right combos.Then he wasn’t. Murray, PMac, JT, Nunge then Perkins and Ulis can all increase the defensive intensity and have active hands, quick feet, shot blocking ability. Some of them can score pretty well. Can Fran pull the trigger on the right combinations to win the game on a particular night?
I dunno if he can. Over the years he has said after the fact he should have played certain players more on a given night. Will he be able to read the game , matchups, etc and give the right guys minutes? It’s tricky. Easy to say after the fact some players should have played more/less. Can Fran get it right during the game?
1) Lukas gotta be Luka.
2) Weiskamp keep playing like he can- offensively don’t be afraid hunt his shot, shoot threes, be a threat to drive, minimize the long 2 attempts even though he has it in his game, rebound like he wants to be a NBA player; and don’t disappear in second halves.
Those are your two studs. They need to bring it everytime.
3) JBo - what do you do when he can’t get shots? If he is a liability defensively he’s got sit more. If you can get him clean looks by having him play off the ball or running plays for him or whatever then let him shoot through slumps. This one can get tricky. Some games he is probably suited for 18 minutes while others it might be 35.
4) Then we have to trust Fran to play the right hand to win the game that night. He was good at finding the right combos.Then he wasn’t. Murray, PMac, JT, Nunge then Perkins and Ulis can all increase the defensive intensity and have active hands, quick feet, shot blocking ability. Some of them can score pretty well. Can Fran pull the trigger on the right combinations to win the game on a particular night?
I dunno if he can. Over the years he has said after the fact he should have played certain players more on a given night. Will he be able to read the game , matchups, etc and give the right guys minutes? It’s tricky. Easy to say after the fact some players should have played more/less. Can Fran get it right during the game?
💯 agree...
Defense will keep you in games when the shots aren’t falling.
lack of defense will not work against high efficiency offenses like gonzaga
