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Kris Murray - Inject him into the starting 5, and increase his minutes NOW.

Lighting Hawk

HR MVP
Sep 16, 2021
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I'm not even going to sugarcoat it. Nothing about Patrick's game makes me think he should be a starter.

He is praised often for his offensive ability, and how he is hard to guard because of his gliding sort of unconventional style of play, but his stamina and defensive efforts are just flat out bad several times. He seems to gas out quickly and needs to take a break, otherwise, he is playing one way, and it's obvious if you watch him. I often am praying the ball goes out of bounds so he can catch his damn breath. He's barely shooting 40% from the floor, and 25% from 3 which is basically what I would have guessed before even stat checking because it feels like every game he goes 1-4 or 1-5 from 3. There are some glaring issues that we just got exposed to last night, and against Illinois, some against Purdue and VA - Rebounding being the main one. I think an adjustment to the line-up and minutes distributed could play a significant role in fixing that.

Starting 5 IMO:
* Each of these guys should play no less than 18MPG - 3 of the 5 currently are playing less than that.

(1)- Ahron Ulis -
Joe T is out of control. I feel bad because I love the kid and he's a gamer he just has been struggling. Really want to see him get out of this slump. Until then Ulis needs the keys, he is a good defender, a good free-throw shooter, a decent facilitator, and shooter, and has a high BB IQ. he's still learning but for the most part, he shows that he is in control. This is the one position I could have gone either way with Joe or Ahron on, they both have similar statistics but neither has proven to be solidified PG of this team.

(2)- Tony Perkins - without a doubt, he is an overall better player than Jordan. Jordan in my opinion is the perfect 6th man. Everyone knows his strength, everyone knows his weaknesses, he's easy to shut down and we don't have a team with consistent shooters, but we have guys who can knock down the occasional 3 balls. I will take Perkins' dog mentality on D, his ability to cut, his mediocre 3 point shooting, and his athleticism for 20+ minutes on the floor, starting every night, over JBo. He's also a better rebounder, although not great.

(3)- Kris Murray - He is a better player than Patrick at the 3. I stated earlier that Patrick should not be a starter, and my opinion was before I even investigated the season statistics. The analytics heavily support my claim, and I think the majority would say he passes the eyeball test.

Kris Murray
Per game: MPG - 18.4/ PPG - 10.4 / RBPG - 5.7 / APG - 1.0 / STL - .8 / BLK - .8
shooting splits - (FG%/2pt%/3pt%/FT%) - 50% / 52.3% / 46.4% / 64.3%
Per 40 min: (PPG/RBPG/APG/STL/BLK) - 22.7 / 12.3 / 2.2 / 1.7 / 1.7

Patrick McCaffery
Per game: MPG - 23.6/ PPG - 11.4 / RBPG - 2.8 / APG - 1.9 / STL - .4 / BLK - .3
shooting splits - (FG%/2pt%/3pt%/FT%) - 40.8% / 48.1% / 25% / 82.1%
Per 40 min: (PPG/RBPG/APG/STL/BLK) - 19.3 / 4.7 / 3.2 / .6 / .4

If you look at the advanced statistics Kris sits at the top just below his brother, 2nd on the team in eFG%, points produced, total rebounding percentage (just below Josh O), 3rd in block %, 2nd on WS/40, 2nd on +/- behind Keegan.

The sad thing is, Kris is 8th on the team in minutes played. Patrick has (by KM's MPG average) an entire game's worth of minutes played on Kris, and he still hasn't matched his production in almost every important statistic. Let alone the statistic we are struggling with the MOST - Rebounding.

Kris played 16 minutes last night because of his 2 fouls early on, but he still should not have left the floor in the 2nd half. He had a +/- of 11, the highest on the team. played 9 minutes less than Patrick, had 6 rebounds, 3 offensive to Patricks 4 total, and added 2 steals and 2 blocks, which Patrick garnered 1 block. Patrick isn't the exception here, the entire team played poorly, I'm just comparing a small sample within a larger pool of statistics.

Patrick can score, yes, and he does some other things well (run the floor, he's long and can disrupt passing lanes, and fast for his size) but almost all of the things he does well, Kris does as well, if not BETTER. Am I wrong thinking it's an abomination that Kris is not in our starting lineup? Tell me I'm wrong.

(4)- Keegan Murray - Far and above proven to be the best overall player on this team. Still learning how to distribute the ball out of double teams as well as Garza did, but that will come with time. He's not 100% right now, but with 8 days off I think we see as close to a 100% Keegan we've gotten in a couple of weeks.

(5) - Filip Rebraca - Gotta be him, even though he's not a true 5. He has struggled with his free throws and rebounding, but still is averaging over 6 per game in 20 minutes. So about on pace with what KM would average per 40. I think he is actually a pretty good defender given what he's dealt with and his size, and he's a lot more athletic than we have allowed him to be in our offense (I.E that dunk last night). He's our best option at the 5 and has a bit more offensive dynamics than Josh O, as well as a better grasp on the offensive it seems. I don't think Josh is too far behind though and I am all for him getting 10 MPG.


Reduce their minutes (time to pick on the vets):

PMac -
second on the team, playing 23.6 - he's not deserved that with his inconsistent play and points I've already made before this, relative to KM.
JBo - Playing 23.3 - he could be good for 15-18 right now. IMO we could probably get the exact same production out of him and MORE from Tony swapping their minutes cuz he is only averaging 18.1
Connor - Playing around 16 MPG, but is averaging a team-low 1.1 PPG, and shooting 14% from 3. this post wasn't to rip on the McCaffery's because I think they are worthy of playing time and they both bring good things to this team, but honestly every time Connor steps on the floor now he's almost just a turnover if he shoots it. He also was crossed up horribly by Brockington last night and then later in the game committed a horrendous turnover into a double team to Keegan which was clearly not there. Connor has been a good player for us for a while, but a lot of that was because of the shooters around him and Garza, now that he's being asked to be a part of the scoring in this offensive again, he's not producing. Has he earned these minutes? Who should he be playing over? I say no, and his leash is very short if he has.

Go ahead and tell me I'm wrong. Our guys need to be better, but Fran needs to be better with his rotations/personnel. Our defense already isn't great, but he limits it even more with our lineups, or lack thereof, mixes. I'm sorry but it's painful to watch us go down by that much and force 3's with plenty of time to get 2's and TO's.
 
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I'm not even going to sugarcoat it. Nothing about Patrick's game makes me think he should be a starter.

He is praised often for his offensive ability, and how he is hard to guard because of his gliding sort of unconventional style of play, but his stamina and defensive efforts are just flat out bad several times. He seems to gas out quickly and needs to take a break, otherwise, he is playing one way, and it's obvious if you watch him. I often am praying the ball goes out of bounds so he can catch his damn breath. He's barely shooting 40% from the floor, and 25% from 3 which is basically what I would have guessed before even stat checking because it feels like every game he goes 1-4 or 1-5 from 3. There are some glaring issues that we just got exposed to last night, and against Illinois, some against Purdue and VA - Rebounding being the main one. I think an adjustment to the line-up and minutes distributed could play a significant role in fixing that.

Starting 5 IMO:
* Each of these guys should play no less than 18MPG - 3 of the 5 currently are playing less than that.

(1)- Ahron Ulis -
Joe T is out of control. I feel bad because I love the kid and he's a gamer he just has been struggling. Really want to see him get out of this slump. Until then Ulis needs the keys, he is a good defender, a good free-throw shooter, a decent facilitator, and shooter, and has a high BB IQ. he's still learning but for the most part, he shows that he is in control. This is the one position I could have gone either way with Joe or Ahron on, they both have similar statistics but neither has proven to be solidified PG of this team.

(2)- Tony Perkins - without a doubt, he is an overall better player than Jordan. Jordan in my opinion is the perfect 6th man. Everyone knows his strength, everyone knows his weaknesses, he's easy to shut down and we don't have a team with consistent shooters, but we have guys who can knock down the occasional 3 balls. I will take Perkins' dog mentality on D, his ability to cut, his mediocre 3 point shooting, and his athleticism for 20+ minutes on the floor, starting every night, over JBo. He's also a better rebounder, although not great.

(3)- Kris Murray - He is a better player than Patrick at the 3. I stated earlier that Patrick should not be a starter, and my opinion was before I even investigated the season statistics. The analytics heavily support my claim, and I think the majority would say he passes the eyeball test.

Kris Murray

Per game: MPG - 18.4/ PPG - 10.4 / RBPG - 5.7 / APG - 1.0 / STL - .8 / BLK - .8
shooting splits - (FG%/2pt%/3pt%/FT%) - 50% / 52.3% / 46.4% / 64.3%
Per 40 min: (PPG/RBPG/APG/STL/BLK) - 22.7 / 12.3 / 2.2 / 1.7 / 1.7

Patrick McCaffery
Per game: MPG - 23.6/ PPG - 11.4 / RBPG - 2.8 / APG - 1.9 / STL - .4 / BLK - .3
shooting splits - (FG%/2pt%/3pt%/FT%) - 40.8% / 48.1% / 25% / 82.1%
Per 40 min: (PPG/RBPG/APG/STL/BLK) - 19.3 / 4.7 / 3.2 / .6 / .4

If you look at the advanced statistics Kris sits at the top just below his brother, 2nd on the team in eFG%, points produced, total rebounding percentage (just below Josh O), 3rd in block %, 2nd on WS/40, 2nd on +/- behind Keegan.

The sad thing is, Kris is 8th on the team in minutes played. Patrick has (by KM's MPG average) an entire game's worth of minutes played on Kris, and he still hasn't matched his production in almost every important statistic. Let alone the statistic we are struggling with the MOST - Rebounding.

Kris played 16 minutes last night because of his 2 fouls early on, but he still should not have left the floor in the 2nd half. He had a +/- of 11, the highest on the team. played 9 minutes less than Patrick, had 6 rebounds, 3 offensive to Patricks 4 total, and added 2 steals and 2 blocks, which Patrick garnered 1 block. Patrick isn't the exception here, the entire team played poorly, I'm just comparing a small sample within a larger pool of statistics.

Patrick can score, yes, and he does some other things well (run the floor, he's long and can disrupt passing lanes, and fast for his size) but almost all of the things he does well, Kris does as well, if not BETTER. Am I wrong thinking it's an abomination that Kris is not in our starting lineup? Tell me I'm wrong.

(4)- Keegan Murray - Far and above proven to be the best overall player on this team. Still learning how to distribute the ball out of double teams as well as Garza did, but that will come with time. He's not 100% right now, but with 8 days off I think we see as close to a 100% Keegan we've gotten in a couple of weeks.

(5) - Filip Rebraca - Gotta be him, even though he's not a true 5. He has struggled with his free throws and rebounding, but still is averaging over 6 per game in 20 minutes. So about on pace with what KM would average per 40. I think he is actually a pretty good defender given what he's dealt with and his size, and he's a lot more athletic than we have allowed him to be in our offense (I.E that dunk last night). He's our best option at the 5 and has a bit more offensive dynamics than Josh O, as well as a better grasp on the offensive it seems. I don't think Josh is too far behind though and I am all for him getting 10 MPG.


Reduce their minutes (time to pick on the vets):

PMac -
second on the team, playing 23.6 - he's not deserved that with his inconsistent play and points I've already made before this, relative to KM.
JBo - Playing 23.3 - he could be good for 15-18 right now. IMO we could probably get the exact same production out of him and MORE from Tony swapping their minutes cuz he is only averaging 18.1
Connor - Playing around 16 MPG, but is averaging a team-low 1.1 PPG, and shooting 14% from 3. this post wasn't to rip on the McCaffery's because I think they are worthy of playing time and they both bring good things to this team, but honestly every time Connor steps on the floor now he's almost just a turnover if he shoots it. He also was crossed up horribly by Brockington last night and then later in the game committed a horrendous turnover into a double team to Keegan which was clearly not there. Connor has been a good player for us for a while, but a lot of that was because of the shooters around him and Garza, now that he's being asked to be a part of the scoring in this offensive again, he's not producing. Has he earned these minutes? Who should he be playing over? I say no, and his leash is very short if he has.

Go ahead and tell me I'm wrong.
That was the 5 I texted to my buddy after Illinois. Right now we need Kris' rebounding and defense, I think Patrick would be more effective off the bench in shorter spurts. The Murray boys need to play together, period. They have been doing it their whole lives, chemistry like that is hard to come by
 
Generally agree. I don't get why Kris isn't playing more. He got 6 rebounds in playing only 16 minutes against ISU. He's one of our better defenders and he is shooting the 3 well. I don't even care who he replaces, as long as its not Perkins or Keagan.

Connor only played 8 minutes against ISU, which seems about right. Bohannon got 31, which is way way too many.
 
Generally agree. I don't get why Kris isn't playing more. He got 6 rebounds in playing only 16 minutes against ISU. He's one of our better defenders and he is shooting the 3 well. I don't even care who he replaces, as long as its not Perkins or Keagan.

Connor only played 8 minutes against ISU, which seems about right. Bohannon got 31, which is way way too many.
He is shooting 47% from 3 this year taking 3.5 3's per game in less than 20 minutes of playing time. that's the highest on the team besides laketa and ulis who have taken a combined 9 3's.
 
I don't think we will see any big lineup changes or strategy changes out of Fran. This is same guy that trotted out the same starting lineup with CMAC over both Keegan/Kris every game last season.

This particular loss to ISU had nothing to do with who was playing---they all were bad.

Lack of rebounding and defense, means PMAC should be coming off the bench. If it is really a stamina issue, then less minutes means he'd be more effective.
 
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I don't think we will see any big lineup changes or strategy changes out of Fran. This is same guy that trotted out the same starting lineup with CMAC over both Keegan/Kris every game last season.

This particular loss to ISU had nothing to do with who was playing---they all were bad.

Lack of rebounding and defense, means PMAC should be coming off the bench. If it is really a stamina issue, then less minutes means he'd be more effective.
agree. which sucks

agreed 100x they were all poor. shot terrible, crapped our pants several times, didn't rebound well as a team, and were frequently down by 15-20, no answer.

and agree. all I'm saying. I don't love PMAC as a player but genuinely think he's a great kid, enjoy listening to him chat on podcasts, I just don't think he's ready for this starting role. It's pretty obvious Fran is making a mistake starting him over Kris, and Jordan is simply one-dimensional, Tony isn't.
 
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I'd absolutely go with an increase in minutes for Kris and Perkins with an overall reduction coming from Connor (down to 5-8 minutes/game) and Bohannon to 15-18 minutes. I'd have Patrick at 15-20 depending on the situation. Same for Rebraca.

There's a lot of ways to divvy up the minutes and rotations. Generally, though, more court time for Kris, Tony and Ahron would be a good move.
One other thing, I'd put a heavy emphasis on the quality of defense and rebounding as the expectation for getting minutes. Before anyone says that's what Connor brings, no. The desire alone is not enough. The physical tools to carry it out are also required. Just like I wouldn't want a total defensive liability on the floor unless he was shooting a good volume at 50% from the 3 line, I also wouldn't want a guy with no offense out there unless he's shutting down an opposing scorer and dominating the boards.
 
him and perkins need more minutes. Perkins had a rough game last night but who didn't?
 
It doesn't have to be Rebraca. Both Murray's can play the 5 just as well. He adds nothing. Give me Toussaint/Bohannon/Perkins/Murray/Murray with Pat and Ulis off the bench. Everyone else should get very few minutes, depending on the matchup.
 
It doesn't have to be Rebraca. Both Murray's can play the 5 just as well. He adds nothing. Give me Toussaint/Bohannon/Perkins/Murray/Murray with Pat and Ulis off the bench. Everyone else should get very few minutes, depending on the matchup.
I think that's a recipe for getting Murray into foul trouble. The OP's 5 sounds right.
 
Also, I like Ulis, but Toussaint has consistently been better than him. Just because Fran has him on a short leash doesn't mean he isn't the better player. The stats and eye test prove this out. They are pretty close and maybe should be getting similar minutes, but Toussaint should start and it's ridiculous that Fran sits him for long stretches game in and game out. Talk about killing a guys confidence.
 
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Also, I like Ulis, but Toussaint has consistently been better than him. Just because Fran has him on a short leash doesn't mean he isn't the better player. The stats and eye test prove this out. They are pretty close and maybe should be getting similar minutes, but Toussaint should start and it's ridiculous that Fran sits him for long stretches game in and game out. Talk about killing a guys confidence.
I agree with how Fran pulls him out. Sometimes you just have to let a guy get going. But in the last few games Joe has almost no stat line and if you look at how he’s played it’s been inconsistent, erratic and out of control. This lineup is as of late. He’s definitely been the more effective PG in the grand scheme of things and had much better games/stat lines. I guess it’s just hard to tell because Fran just benches him for extended minutes if he doesn’t like something. Annoyed with that as well.
 
Also, I like Ulis, but Toussaint has consistently been better than him. Just because Fran has him on a short leash doesn't mean he isn't the better player. The stats and eye test prove this out. They are pretty close and maybe should be getting similar minutes, but Toussaint should start and it's ridiculous that Fran sits him for long stretches game in and game out. Talk about killing a guys confidence.
This. year they are remarkably similar in terms of stats. Turnover rate about the same, assist rate about the same. Both shooting well from 3 on very limited amount of shots. Ulis gets to the line a lot more than does Toussaint. The people waiting for Toussaint to emerge and be a great guard, it's not happening. He is what he is, solid player. Likely same for Ulis. No shame in that, but solid players are going to have games where they do great and you will think they are an all-conference performer.

But a combination of these 2 has been fine for Iowa's offense, which is top 10 in efficiency. Iowa just needs to have Keegan, Patrick and Sandfordt stop jacking so many 3's. High-volume shooters that are not good from beyond the line.
 
Nah he'll be fine. Whatever it takes to get Rebraca off the floor. Play Pat at 5 if you're worried about fouls.
At least Rebraca rebounds and isn't completely soft physically. I like Patrick but he needs to get tougher and work on his rebounding which his dad has been a total failure at with his sons along with shooting mechanics. I trusted Fran making Rebraca his top target out of the sea of portal options but it looks like a head scratcher now. Straight dogshit performance in the portal and the team is paying for it
 
Main reasons for me that Rebraca plays more/starts rather than Pmac, are he is more physical and a far better defender and his actually attempts to play D. Those are stats that produce points, not just iso play and scoring like Pmac does 50% of his offensive touches.
 
I'm leaning to this lineup:
Joe T
Tony P.
KeM
KrM
PMac

If that isn't a starting lineup it would be the lineup with the most minutes.

Ulis is right there and is perfect to put in if Joe is out of control. I'd be ok in switching them as well but Joe is really disrupts an opponents offense as does Perkins. I'm ok with JBo starting as well but if he can't get his shot off he is not effective. I would have JBo in at the end to shoot FT. Rebraca is fine as a starter too.

There is a lot of flexibility in the lineup above.
 
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Main reasons for me that Rebraca plays more/starts rather than Pmac, are he is more physical and a far better defender and his actually attempts to play D. Those are stats that produce points, not just iso play and scoring like Pmac does 50% of his offensive touches.
That dribble down the lane and dunk was extremely surprising to me from Rebraca. If he can bring that energy and athleticism every play we'd have a player on our hands.
 
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At least Rebraca rebounds and isn't completely soft physically. I like Patrick but he needs to get tougher and work on his rebounding which his dad has been a total failure at with his sons along with shooting mechanics. I trusted Fran making Rebraca his top target out of the sea of portal options but it looks like a head scratcher now. Straight dogshit performance in the portal and the team is paying for it
Rebraca's rebound rate is worse than Ogundele's and Kris's, and isn't much better than Keegan and Mulvey's. Keegan's was better last year when going against much better competition. Small sample size for some of those guys obviously, but if Rebraca isn't noticeably better at rebounding than those guys, there's no reason for him to be getting meaningful minutes. He's a non-factor as a rim protector. He's actually probably better guarding the perimeter than he is inside, but again that's not saying much.
 
Rebraca's rebound rate is worse than Ogundele's and Kris's, and isn't much better than Keegan and Mulvey's. Keegan's was better last year when going against much better competition. Small sample size for some of those guys obviously, but if Rebraca isn't noticeably better at rebounding than those guys, there's no reason for him to be getting meaningful minutes. He's a non-factor as a rim protector. He's actually probably better guarding the perimeter than he is inside, but again that's not saying much.
I disagree respectfully. Any sort of improvement we can give our team rebounding is only going to benefit us. I don’t think I’m wrong about him being a better fit than Ogundele because he actually has a better grasp of the offense than Josh. If Josh comes along further down the road I’m all for keeping him on because he is a good rebounder and defender. Playing Pat as a 5 is not even an option. He can’t play the 5, he is 200 lbs soaking wet and gets tired playing the 3, imagine what banging around trying to guard Hunter Dickinson, Kofi, or the Purdue boys would do to him? And he’s an awful defender/rebounder already.
If anything you could argue to start him at the 3, and play Keegan and Kris at 4/5, since they are better defender, rebounders. But I think Rebraca brings more to what our team needs than Patrick. Play Kris as many minutes as Patrick he will do a lot more than with him, and that’s apparent In the advanced stats above, so that’s why I say keep him at the 3 where he can be a mismatch.
 
Basically:

Rebound = second change points or more possessions = more points for our team.

pmac is missing most of his shots, but not getting anything back in return with his rebounding. Therefore put ourselves in the best possible position by having someone out there more effective both ways, and keep Rebraca a more efficient offensive threat and better rebounder at the 5.

however these kids aren’t chess pieces. There’s relationships built and trust. Plus Fran has the angle of nepotism to deal with whether he’ll admit it or not. He has a very tough job right now.
 
I disagree respectfully. Any sort of improvement we can give our team rebounding is only going to benefit us. I don’t think I’m wrong about him being a better fit than Ogundele because he actually has a better grasp of the offense than Josh. If Josh comes along further down the road I’m all for keeping him on because he is a good rebounder and defender. Playing Pat as a 5 is not even an option. He can’t play the 5, he is 200 lbs soaking wet and gets tired playing the 3, imagine what banging around trying to guard Hunter Dickinson, Kofi, or the Purdue boys would do to him? And he’s an awful defender/rebounder already.
If anything you could argue to start him at the 3, and play Keegan and Kris at 4/5, since they are better defender, rebounders. But I think Rebraca brings more to what our team needs than Patrick. Play Kris as many minutes as Patrick he will do a lot more than with him, and that’s apparent In the advanced stats above, so that’s why I say keep him at the 3 where he can be a mismatch.
I wasn't talking about Pat. I want the Murray's both starting in the frontcourt. I only said play Pat at the 5 as a half joke because the other poster had responded how playing Murray at the 5 would get him in fouls trouble. Rebraca isn't helping the rebounding, we rebound better with both Murray's in together. Rebraca is also a negative on the offensive end. He does nothing but camp in the lane all possession, killing spacing and driving lanes for our wings and guards.
 
Man, would love to just see Josh O on the floor for 12 MPG.
Me too, think all of us would. Just want to see him come along more and he needs a shot. Problem is Fran has too many guys in his rotation and he’s still trying to work out who deserves minutes. Every time we lose though we all sit behind a screen and critique the sh*t out of him and say what he should have done. We aren’t wrong but we don’t empathize enough with the difficulty of his job because we have raised expectations from winning a few games lol. Such is the life cycle of hawks fans. Act like we don’t expect a lot as underdogs, win games, expectations sky rocket, lose a few and jump of cliffs, win a few more, sky rockets again! Then ultimately our souls are crushed… and then a glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel and the cycle begins again :)
 
I wasn't talking about Pat. I want the Murray's both starting in the frontcourt. I only said play Pat at the 5 as a half joke because the other poster had responded how playing Murray at the 5 would get him in fouls trouble. Rebraca isn't helping the rebounding, we rebound better with both Murray's in together. Rebraca is also a negative on the offensive end. He does nothing but camp in the lane all possession, killing spacing and driving lanes for our wings and guards.
Wasn’t sure if you were serious about him at the 5. We run motion a lot and he’s coming out setting screens, taking the ball at the high post, and on the wing sometimes. He’s much more active than just a low post guy. Putting Kris and Keegan against bigs like aforementioned is asking for foul trouble. Neither of them is a true 5, neither is Filip, but I’d rather have his larger frame on one of those big guys than Kris. And I’d rather have Kris starting at the 3 mismatched against a smaller player than he can expose on the both ends. Just my opinion, but obviously “starting” doesn’t mean crap, I just think we need to give minutes to the guys who are gonna help us win, and keep them in at crucial points of the game. That rides on Frans shoulders
 
Wasn’t sure if you were serious about him at the 5. We run motion a lot and he’s coming out setting screens, taking the ball at the high post, and on the wing sometimes. He’s much more active than just a low post guy. Putting Kris and Keegan against bigs like aforementioned is asking for foul trouble. Neither of them is a true 5, neither is Filip, but I’d rather have his larger frame on one of those big guys than Kris. And I’d rather have Kris starting at the 3 mismatched against a smaller player than he can expose on the both ends. Just my opinion, but obviously “starting” doesn’t mean crap, I just think we need to give minutes to the guys who are gonna help us win, and keep them in at crucial points of the game. That rides on Frans shoulders
Agree that who starts doesn't matter, it's all about minutes and who finishes games. I had a big problem with Fran's minute distribution last season but I'll say he's surprised me these past few games with the extended minutes for Ulis and Perkins. My main beef is with Rebraca and his benching of Toussaint for large stretches of games. It's a tough situation because we don't have a true 5/rim protector, but since we don't have a true 5 I'd rather just get the best players on the floor on both ends. Rebraca isn't one of the top 7.
 
Me too, think all of us would. Just want to see him come along more and he needs a shot. Problem is Fran has too many guys in his rotation and he’s still trying to work out who deserves minutes. Every time we lose though we all sit behind a screen and critique the sh*t out of him and say what he should have done. We aren’t wrong but we don’t empathize enough with the difficulty of his job because we have raised expectations from winning a few games lol. Such is the life cycle of hawks fans. Act like we don’t expect a lot as underdogs, win games, expectations sky rocket, lose a few and jump of cliffs, win a few more, sky rockets again! Then ultimately our souls are crushed… and then a glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel and the cycle begins again :)
Agree, the subs would be fine if he brought in Perkins and Kris to replace Jabo and Pat after 6/7 minutes. Let those starters with those two for 5 minutes. Then bring in Ulis for Joe and let that lineup go 3/4. The entire lineup changes though, killer. Keegan should be playing the first 12 of every half, with a break, and then the last 4/5. Build around that. It seems he's giving Kris and Perkins more minutes, so hopefully that continues to trend that way. PG play seems split with who's playing better as well, so I like that. The big piece, is Josh O needing some more minutes, as this glaring rebounding and defensive presence inside, isn't going away.
 
Agree that who starts doesn't matter, it's all about minutes and who finishes games. I had a big problem with Fran's minute distribution last season but I'll say he's surprised me these past few games with the extended minutes for Ulis and Perkins. My main beef is with Rebraca and his benching of Toussaint for large stretches of games. It's a tough situation because we don't have a true 5/rim protector, but since we don't have a true 5 I'd rather just get the best players on the floor on both ends. Rebraca isn't one of the top 7.
Agree, but man sometimes Joe is just really ineffective, and needs to sit. His fake drive and stops at 10 feet out get a bit annoying, along with his crazy dribbling above his head. The word is clearly out on his shot, so guys are just sagging off of him. He's gotta adapt.
 
Think we all have similar but different opinions who is on the floor but the fact (which we can all agree on) is Fran needs to change some things to better our rebounding stats. It’s been abysmal. But to me rebounding is something you improve on in the offseason training, which is what worries me it’ll be hard to work on. Some of it is positioning and a lot of it is boxing out and desire/reactions. We’ve haven’t been a great rebounding team consistently but I’m missing Joe W’s rebounding he was one of the best in the country at it as a wing.
 
Agree, but man sometimes Joe is just really ineffective, and needs to sit. His fake drive and stops at 10 feet out get a bit annoying, along with his crazy dribbling above his head. The word is clearly out on his shot, so guys are just sagging off of him. He's gotta adapt.
Yep he hasn't looked great the last two games, but neither has Ulis. Need to let them both play through mistakes. They both (Toussaint especially) look world's different on offense with better spacing, and getting Rebraca off the floor helps with that.
 
I’d go interchangeably with Ulis/Joe T. And PMac off the bench purely because I’d rather have Rebraca out there, if nothing less, to absorb fouls. I’d love to have Josh O in there sooner than later.
 
I'm not even going to sugarcoat it. Nothing about Patrick's game makes me think he should be a starter.


I just don’t see what PMac brings to the table.


Give me Toussaint/Bohannon/Perkins/Murray/Murray with Pat and Ulis off the bench. Everyone else should get very few minutes, depending on the matchup.




This aged well. Not trying to pick a fight; just pointing out how AFTER A LOSS there usually (and sadly) is a complete overreaction.

Ironically, @Lighting Hawk, when discussing JoeT, said that sometimes you just have to let a guy get going. But that same philosophy didn't apply to PMac?

Good thing the coaches saw and continue to see what PMac brings to the table.

Again, not picking a fight, but the "experts" on here got PMac wrong when they said he should be benched and that he brought nothing to the table yet we are to NOW take the "experts" seriously when they tell us who should start and how many minutes each player should play?

There's been nonstop discussion on who should start and how many minutes each player should play. Well, the coaches got PMac right and the "experts" on here were wrong. Maybe, just maybe, the coaches know what they are doing and are actually the real experts.
 
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This aged well. Not trying to pick a fight; just pointing out how AFTER A LOSS there usually (and sadly) is a complete overreaction.

Ironically, @Lighting Hawk, when discussing JoeT, said that sometimes you just have to let a guy get going. But that same philosophy didn't apply to PMac?

Good thing the coaches saw and continue to see what PMac brings to the table.

Again, not picking a fight, but the "experts" on here got PMac wrong when they said he should be benched and that he brought nothing to the table yet we are to NOW take the "experts" seriously when they tell us who should start and how many minutes each player should play?

There's been nonstop discussion on who should start and how many minutes each player should play. Well, the coaches got PMac right and the "experts" on here were wrong. Maybe, just maybe, the coaches know what they are doing and are actually the real experts.
They actually are the experts here. It’s their job and livelihood. Their job is to teach basketball, teamwork and winning basketball games. Some players will develop under their tutelage and make a living playing basketball due to the players talents, ability to learn, genetic given talents and work efforts. That and some luck too imo. Some players will grow from the university experience and that’s as far as basketball will take them but the experience they gain will be invaluable in their lives. Hopefully most will get positive experiences but they can learn as much from negative experiences and one day use those to their advantage. I love watching Iowa basketball and of course I have my own opinions , which as a fan I can express here. I hope every Hawkeye would score 50 points a game but 13-15 players, including walk-one times 50 points a game, seems a bit unrealistic .. I wish it could all be fair, everyone playing equal minutes but that job belongs to our experts, for better or worse. Your point about PMac is one of the things I enjoy most, a younger player getting the minutes playing to watch their growth. Sure he’s the coaches son and unfortunately gets criticized for that when other younger players don’t seem to me get those minutes to play and grow. I think I’m objective enough but not an expert( not my job), to see players like Peyton Sandfort, Ahron Ullis , JoeT, Josh O. Riley Mulvey, not getting minutes to show their abilities instead of 36 minutes for Jordan who’ll be moving on next year I think all those players mentioned have talent and ability to flourish at Iowa. For some they’ll get that opportunity one day, unfortunately for others they won’t. I just wanted to say thanks to all the players that play for me and my enjoyment and the Hawkeyes and wish them all the best. Of course I could just be a guy that says winning is everything and if your not first your last, but that’s just not me.
 
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