Kriener reminds me a bit of Chris Street, actually

[DanHawkPella]

He has a long way to go before getting to that level (Street was likely a 1st round NBA draft pick), but when I think about his game there are a lot of similarities. Please save the posts about me over-hyping Ryan - it's simply a comparison not a prediction. Lot's of time to go yet obviously.

• Both are Iowa kids who were 6'9" (Street's official Iowa listing was 1" or more short - not many remember this but there was an official measurement somewhere that exposed this but I can't find it. Davis tended to under-list his roster.), but Kriener is a bit bulkier at 247 vs. the 220 listed for Street

• Both are good rebounders (Street was averaging 9.5/game his last season - 5.1 as a frosh and 8.2 as a soph). Kriener has 48 rebounds in 153 minutes or about 1 every 3.2 minutes, which is very good (Cook has 73 in over 369 minutes, or about 1 per 5 minutes). Street was the best Hawkeye rebounder I've ever seen, though. Wide shouldered and determined.

• Both are very good face up shooters from 15 feet and also solid on the block. Street extended this range to include a few 3 pointers his last season, but not many and shot 22% from 3. Kriener reportedly has 3 point range as well but it could take another year or two to start seeing it in games. Street shot around 57% FG's and Kriener is currently at 59%.

• Street was an excellent FT shooter at 89% his last season, including 34 in a row to set an Iowa record. But he was only 68% his sophomore year. Kriener's shot looks excellent at the line, but the jury is still out based on his few attempts this year (9 of 14 for 60%). My guess is that he can get that to around 80% in the long run.

• Both appear to be great hustlers. Kriener runs the floor hard, something I don't see out of Cook and sometimes our other bigs. Street was even more intense and just played 100% all the time - very much like Baer does.

• Both players play efficiently. They know themselves and play within themselves, and yet show a lot of confidence with their play. They play within the system while still being aggressive, but don't hurt their team by hunting shots or being careless.

I don't think Kriener will be a 1st round NBA draft pick, but I do think he can approach Chris's Junior stats of 14.5 pts, 9.5 reb and 0.9 blocks if he can get 28mpg by then. The rebounding total may be tough to get to but something around 12ppg, 8.0 reb is reasonable if he continues to progress (never a sure thing).

The one thing Street had that will be tough to replicate is that his footwork and agility were more like a 6'6" person (he handled the front of the press), and that is the biggest difference I see - maybe Baer's agility in Kriener's body. The older people among us remember Chris as he was as Junior and not as a freshman (5ppg; 5rpg), so it makes the comparison harder, but I like what I see from Kriener.

Street was Nick Collison before Nick Collison (#12 overall pick) and was just coming on the national stage and showing his NBA caliber when he passed away. It's too bad we can't all bring up Youtube videos of his Senior year and NBA career because they would have been fantastic.

http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/iowa/1993.html

 

[FairfIowafan1984]

No, street was a first round draft pick he reminds me more of a Ryan Bowen maybe. Chris street not even close plus we haven't seen enough games of him.

I love kriener but he won't be a first round draft pick. Street was predicted to be the 15th pick in the draft before he died. also there game are different, some similarities but not enough to compare him to one of the best players to ever put a iowa uniform on.

 

[DanL53]

I was excited about Kriener when we got him, but he has surpassed my early expectations. If I had to pick a guy he reminds me of, Street would be a good one. But, if his three point shot comes around an obscure comparison which I like is Matt Bullard before he hurt his knee.

The difference is purely aesthetic. Street always seemed to be running on full speed. Bullard was more a smooth guy that just made things look easy.

 

[DodgerHawki]

He has a long way to go before getting to that level (Street was likely a 1st round NBA draft pick), but when I think about his game there are a lot of similarities. Please save the posts about me over-hyping Ryan - it's simply a comparison not a prediction. Lot's of time to go yet obviously.

• Both are Iowa kids who were 6'9" (Street's official Iowa listing was 1" or more short - not many remember this but there was an official measurement somewhere that exposed this but I can't find it. Davis tended to under-list his roster.), but Kriener is a bit bulkier at 247 vs. the 220 listed for Street

• Both are good rebounders (Street was averaging 9.5/game his last season - 5.1 as a frosh and 8.2 as a soph). Kriener has 48 rebounds in 153 minutes or about 1 every 3.2 minutes, which is very good (Cook has 73 in over 369 minutes, or about 1 per 5 minutes). Street was the best Hawkeye rebounder I've ever seen, though. Wide shouldered and determined.

• Both are very good face up shooters from 15 feet and also solid on the block. Street extended this range to include a few 3 pointers his last season, but not many and shot 22% from 3. Kriener reportedly has 3 point range as well but it could take another year or two to start seeing it in games. Street shot around 57% FG's and Kriener is currently at 59%.

• Street was an excellent FT shooter at 89% his last season, including 34 in a row to set an Iowa record. But he was only 68% his sophomore year. Kriener's shot looks excellent at the line, but the jury is still out based on his few attempts this year (9 of 14 for 60%). My guess is that he can get that to around 80% in the long run.

• Both appear to be great hustlers. Kriener runs the floor hard, something I don't see out of Cook and sometimes our other bigs. Street was even more intense and just played 100% all the time - very much like Baer does.

• Both players play efficiently. They know themselves and play within themselves, and yet show a lot of confidence with their play. They play within the system while still being aggressive, but don't hurt their team by hunting shots or being careless.

I don't think Kriener will be a 1st round NBA draft pick, but I do think he can approach Chris's Junior stats of 14.5 pts, 9.5 reb and 0.9 blocks if he can get 28mpg by then. The rebounding total may be tough to get to but something around 12ppg, 8.0 reb is reasonable if he continues to progress (never a sure thing).

The one thing Street had that will be tough to replicate is that his footwork and agility were more like a 6'6" person (he handled the front of the press), and that is the biggest difference I see - maybe Baer's agility in Kriener's body. The older people among us remember Chris as he was as Junior and not as a freshman (5ppg; 5rpg), so it makes the comparison harder, but I like what I see from Kriener.

Street was Nick Collison before Nick Collison (#12 overall pick) and was just coming on the national stage and showing his NBA caliber when he passed away. It's too bad we can't all bring up Youtube videos of his Senior year and NBA career because they would have been fantastic.

http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/iowa/1993.html

Different types of players. Street's athleticism and ability to move well for a guy 6-9 was what had him endeared with the NBA folks. Kriener won't ever have that ability to move laterally. Averaging 14 and 9.5 is a really, really hard thing to do. I think the Iowa players who have done so since Street died consists of Reggie Evans and Jared Reiner as a senior (until he got hurt).

We'll know more about Kriener as he gets to play more, he will actually be part of the game plan for other teams. Kudos to him for making the most out of his opportunities.

 

[IamHawkeye]

Different types of players. Street's athleticism and ability to move well for a guy 6-9 was what had him endeared with the NBA folks. Kriener won't ever have that ability to move laterally. Averaging 14 and 9.5 is a really, really hard thing to do. I think the Iowa players who have done so since Street died consists of Reggie Evans and Jared Reiner as a senior (until he got hurt).

We'll know more about Kriener as he gets to play more, he will actually be part of the game plan for other teams. Kudos to him for making the most out of his opportunities.

Don't remember Street scoring much in first year. Mainly defense and rebounding. Stats if I'm wrong.

 

[DanHawkPella]

Street averaged 5pts, 5reb as a freshman.

My OP may have been too long, but I did put that in there as well as qualified my comparison by saying Kriener didn't have Street's agility (which is more Baer like) and that 12 pts, 8 boards was a better target by his Junior year. I agreed that 9.5 reb is a tall order, and that Street was probably the best Hawkeye rebounder I've seen (although Evans would argue for that title).

Bowen is a better comparison for Baer if talking basketball styles, which I was. Iowa hasn't had a lot of 6'9" types who could bring intensity, rebounding and both a 15-20 ft faceup game as well as a back to the basket post game. That makes the list of comparables very small imo. Will be fun to see how high Kriener's ceiling really is. He does have 30 lbs on Street, just not the agility even though he moves fairly well.

Bullard was more of a face up 4 who didn't do much on the block. Good agility - too bad he was injured early in his career or he'd have been even more athletic. Kriener is a hybrid face up 4 because he can work the block, and with his size at 247 lbs he can also play the 5 spot.

Will be interesting because his skill sets overlap both Nunge's and Garza's. Give's us great depth and flexibility at those spots. Really makes one wish that Cook could flex out to SF as his face up game develops

 

[hawkguy77]

I have VCR tape of the last game Chris played. He truly was a special player.

 

[Hawk_4shur]

I really like Kriner (and I like all the freshmen). But comparing him to street is kind of a stretch.

If he can come close, he will be a really good player.

 

[EastIowaHawk]

Street was a tremendous all-around athlete, being also a 1st team all-state quarterback. He also had a very outgoing personality and I think Ryan is a little quieter.

 

[nu2u]

Kriener is compared favorably to Chris Street. Baer is likened to Ryan Bowen. Meanwhile, some see similarities between Luka Garza and Adam Woodbury and Jack Nunge is already drawing comparisons to Jarrod Uthoff.

I think all have some degree of validity.

For me, I am waiting for the day when Iowa fans can legitimately say ......

"he really reminds me of Andre Woolridge"

 

[DanHawkPella]

Yeah, Woodridge type PG would make a bigger difference than almost anything we've mentioned. Hard to stop even with no left hand

 

[HoustonHawkeye]

If Kriener's numbers come close to Street's, it will be extremely impressive. There is so much talent in the 4/5 spots this year, and the next 3 years, that Kriener will not get the minutes the Street did as a Junior. Will be interesting.

 

[fivecardstud14]

Kurt Thomas - pick & pop 15 footer all day. Maybe some Derrick Favors as well...but obviously Kriener is not as big as either of those two.

 

[Bulldogs1974]

Really love what I see from him so far. I did have concerns how he would play. Small school Iowa bigs don't always see the height he does now, so my hopes weren't real high. He has certainly exceeded all expectations.

 

[torbee]

The only real glaring difference is vertical/jumping ability. Kriener will never have the athleticism or jumping ability Street had. That said, he has that toughness and tenacity that Chris had, which is fantastic.

I actually like DanL's Matt Bullard comparison, to be honest. Kriener is probably an even better shooter, though, and Bullard was no slouch.

 

[Buffalo43]

How about a Russ Millard comparison?

 

[Mohawkeye]

I get the comparison and see it as well. I don't remember Street being such a great athlete other than his coordination and strength. They both have good hands, strength and play within themselves. Kriener seems to have a wickedly good mid range shot, so offensively I would put him ahead of Street at the same stage. Street was tough as nails, hope we see that out of Kriener.

 

[ZumaHawk]

Really love what I see from him so far. I did have concerns how he would play. Small school Iowa bigs don't always see the height he does now, so my hopes weren't real high. He has certainly exceeded all expectations.

I also had low expectations as I saw him in high school. But remember good small school kids play AAU ball all summer long which ends up being way more games than a regular season for high school.

 

[Fan In Black]

He doesnt remind me of Chris at all. However I think he is going to be a very good player for Iowa.

 

[CanadaHawk]

Chris was a physical rebounding and defensive presence who could get you some points too. Kriener is more of a scorer. I think his range will be out to 3pt. He can rebound, which makes him stand out so far among the young bigs. But scoring is his forte. Not near as physical as Chris so far.

 

[LTHawk]

For those who question Ryan's toughness, I would refer you to the gentle giant Haas from Purdue who found himself on the floor when he tried to take a rebound away from him.

 

[Iowamavs14]

One of my all time favorite Hawks is and always will be Chris Street. Chris made huge strides from his freshman to Sophmore year and Sophmore year to his Junior year. If young Mr. Kriener can do the same he will have a great Hawkeye career.

 

[Jumpshot00]

One of my all time favorite Hawks is and always will be Chris Street. Chris made huge strides from his freshman to Sophmore year and Sophmore year to his Junior year. If young Mr. Kriener can do the same he will have a great Hawkeye career.

Great point on improving. I think this years team is pretty fun to watch because all the young guys have an upside that is interesting to project out. As expected nobody has really showed consistency but all the freshman (and soph's) have shown flashes that make you think they can become really,really good. It will be interesting to see what players are really dedicated to their game and work on improving in the off season. Hopefully all of them, but realistically there will be some who don't improve much and some that may transfer. At this point though, looking at the upside of everyone is pretty exciting.