I was still pretty little when he was a senior but I remember how good of a shooter he was. Was he always that good or did he just turn it in that one year.
Matt gatens
- Thread starter HawkeyeInCentralIowa
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His father, Mike was on Monday’s All Hawkeyes podcast. Said Matt would love to coach the Hawks some day.
He was so misused by Lick. Lick had them blocking out with their backs to the basket. I’m still scarred.
He was so misused by Lick. Lick had them blocking out with their backs to the basket. I’m still scarred.
Well get in line Matt. I’m updating my resume.
I think he was always pretty good, but maybe got better his last year. I am pretty sure he was sort of the team focus his senior year and took more shots then too.
Always really good just got better as he matured
He was good. He has the misfortune of having Lickliter as his coach for the first 2 years. After a good freshman season under Lickliter where he shot 40% from 3-point range and averaged 10.8 points a game, Lickliter wanted him to bulk up so he could guard bigger players. Huge mistake. His shooting dropped off dramatically. Lickliter was canned and Fran took over. He and Jarryd Cole (along with Eric May) deserve a ton of credit for staying with Iowa and at least giving Iowa a semi-competitive team for Fran's first couple of years. it was great that Gatens did have his senior year where Iowa at least made the NIT and had a great home win over Dayton where the crowd was fantastic. Over a 5-game stretch in Big 10 play that year, Gatens made 27-36 3-pointers. An incredible run of shooting.
Too bad he didn't get the experience of playing in a NCAA tournament. Hope he is involved with the Iowa program again at some point in the future.
He was an offensive force and a great shooter even in HS. He was named Iowa "Mr. Basketball" and Gatorade POY his senior year. He sort of languished under Lickliter, but I remember a stretch toward the end of his senior year that he was en fuego.
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Getting out of Lick's system was a big factor. He was always good but was kind of the first of a bunch of guys under Fran who have taken off and had a big senior year
That Dayton game, where we were designated as the road team at Carver, is still one of my favorite games. The crowd was intense the whole way and I can still see Aaron White beating the Flyers down court for some massive dunks.
His hot streak to close his senior year was one of the most unreal shooting performances I’ve ever seen
Lick bulked him up and made him play a combo forward position. That was terrible for him. Fran had him lose weight his senior and play shooting guard running off screen and playing with the ball in his hands much like CJF is used now.
I should appreciate the kid a lot more but it was such a dark time for the program. He is like the Ladell Betts of basketball.
From a pretty reliable source I've heard how Mike told Barta if Lick stayed another year Matt would transfer. That alone makes me a fan of Mike Gatens.
Gatens was a great Hawkeye. He did whatever the coaches wanted. Lickliter had him guarding guys like BJ Mullens (who was a 7 foot NBA player) for long stretches, and with the talent level we had, he was forced to be the go-to guy. He would have absolutely killed it in the CJ Frederick role when he first got here and he would have been a great #2 scorer at some point.
As a shooter, he was very good, but not as natural as someone like Jok or Bohannon. He also had to run around a million screens to get open.
As a shooter, he was very good, but not as natural as someone like Jok or Bohannon. He also had to run around a million screens to get open.
Dammit, stop talking like this was ancient history.
It was 8 years ago.
Iowa winning the Orange Bowl happened a longer time ago than this.
Damn kids trying to make me feel old when I'm not.....
It was 8 years ago.
Iowa winning the Orange Bowl happened a longer time ago than this.
Damn kids trying to make me feel old when I'm not.....
He was never just "good".
Matt Gatens was a great player & was criminally misused with Lick. When Fran came in, he let him play to his strengths and Gatens quickly showed his full skill set.
In high school he abused some really good Linn-Mar teams loaded with D1 talent. I remember being excited as hell to have him & what a bright future he'd have.. then Lick lost back to back games against UTSA roadrunners and another school of the poor. He's an all-time great for sticking around; that Dayton crowd is still the loudest I've ever heard Carver.
Matt Gatens was a great player & was criminally misused with Lick. When Fran came in, he let him play to his strengths and Gatens quickly showed his full skill set.
In high school he abused some really good Linn-Mar teams loaded with D1 talent. I remember being excited as hell to have him & what a bright future he'd have.. then Lick lost back to back games against UTSA roadrunners and another school of the poor. He's an all-time great for sticking around; that Dayton crowd is still the loudest I've ever heard Carver.
Lol poor Dayton.
Had to play what should've been a home game for them, on the road at the one P5 fanbase most starving for any postseason success.
Ditto on the Dayton Crowd, felt bad for my 3 year old boy who I took, he was freaking out LOL
That crowd was great. The only 2 crowds where I can say I am sure it was louder was the Michigan game after Chris died and a women’s game against tOSU.
Oh I cannot imagine that crowd after Chris's passing, my oh my emotions off the chart. Womens game the one where they sold it out/standing room only thing?
This is what he averaged in the 5 game stretch from Feb 9 (@NW) to Feb 26 (@IL)...
5 games - 38.4mpg
7.8/14 55.7% FG
5.4/7.6 71.1% 3pt
24.4 ppg
He was 7-10 from 3 in back to back games against IU and WI, scoring 30 and 33 pts. He ended up that season hitting 52.7% from 3.
Here's his game log from that year.
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/matt-gatens-1/gamelog/2012
I remember leaving that game with my dad talking about how much fun it was. It was so loud. Basabe had a reverse dunk early that got everyone going. White was outrunning everyone down the court and had Cartwright feeding him. Hell even McCabe played well
He's one of the best pure shooters in program history. Right up there with guys like Jeff Moe, BJ, Kent McCausland, Luke Recker and Bohannon.
Currently #8 on the Iowa All Time Scoring List.
1 Roy Marble...2,116 (4 yrs: 1986-1989, 134 GP, .539 FG%,, 15.8 ppg; 26 three pt goals)
2 Aaron White...1,859 (4 yrs: 2012-2015, 140 GP, .517 FG%,, 13.3 ppg; 61 three pt goals)
3 Acie Earl...1,779 (4 yrs: 1990-1993, 116 GP, .508 FG%,, 15.3 ppg; 2 three pt goals)
4 Greg Stokes...1,768 (4 yrs: 1982-1985, 120 GP, .545 FG%,, 14.7 ppg)
5 BJ Armstrong...1,705 (4 yrs: 1986-1989, 130 GP, .492 FG%,, 13.1 ppg; 136 three pt goals)
6 Roy Devyn Marble...1,694 (4 yrs: 2011-2014; 136 GP, .415 FG%,, 12.5 ppg; 134 three pt goals)
7 Ronnie Lester...1,675 (4 yrs: 1977-1980, 99 GP, .471 FG%,, 16.9 ppg)
8 Matt Gatens...1,635 (4 yrs: 2009-2012; 128 GP, .415 FG%,, 12.8 ppg; 239 three pt goals)
9 Jess Settles...1,611 (5 yrs: 1994-1997, 1999, 116 GP, .490 FG%,, 13.9 ppg; 113 three pt goals)
10 Adam Haluska...1,578 (3 yrs: 2005-2007; 98 GP, .430 FG%,, 16.1 ppg; 212 three pt goals); NOTE: 284 pts @ ISU = 1,862 in four years
1 Roy Marble...2,116 (4 yrs: 1986-1989, 134 GP, .539 FG%,, 15.8 ppg; 26 three pt goals)
2 Aaron White...1,859 (4 yrs: 2012-2015, 140 GP, .517 FG%,, 13.3 ppg; 61 three pt goals)
3 Acie Earl...1,779 (4 yrs: 1990-1993, 116 GP, .508 FG%,, 15.3 ppg; 2 three pt goals)
4 Greg Stokes...1,768 (4 yrs: 1982-1985, 120 GP, .545 FG%,, 14.7 ppg)
5 BJ Armstrong...1,705 (4 yrs: 1986-1989, 130 GP, .492 FG%,, 13.1 ppg; 136 three pt goals)
6 Roy Devyn Marble...1,694 (4 yrs: 2011-2014; 136 GP, .415 FG%,, 12.5 ppg; 134 three pt goals)
7 Ronnie Lester...1,675 (4 yrs: 1977-1980, 99 GP, .471 FG%,, 16.9 ppg)
8 Matt Gatens...1,635 (4 yrs: 2009-2012; 128 GP, .415 FG%,, 12.8 ppg; 239 three pt goals)
9 Jess Settles...1,611 (5 yrs: 1994-1997, 1999, 116 GP, .490 FG%,, 13.9 ppg; 113 three pt goals)
10 Adam Haluska...1,578 (3 yrs: 2005-2007; 98 GP, .430 FG%,, 16.1 ppg; 212 three pt goals); NOTE: 284 pts @ ISU = 1,862 in four years
Jess Settles only played 5 years?
Matt was a very good freshmen and became a great player by Iowa standards. If Matty G was on this 2020 squad, a talented group, the boys would have like 2 losses. Imagine everything CJ does, just better (the 3 maybe not but both were are such good 3 ballers that the difference wouldn't matter).
I'm not sure I agree that Matt was misused but don't entirely disagree. The team was so depleted and Matt so much better than everyone else on the squad, Eric May was injured a lot, that Lick really had to use Matt as a kind of do everything player. Matt would probably do a better job defending a guy and giving up 7 inches than say the BromArch or whoever else was on those two catastrophically bad teams. I know he'd jump center better than Cougs or the BromArch. So when you're filling every role on a team you're just gonna not be good at something, like defending +7" in the post.
Jesus, think of the talent disparity between the team on the floor tomorrow and the team F Mac inherited?
This while playing 2 yrs under Lick is quite an accomplishment.
Oh God, I remember those 14 or 15 point halves and cringe.
this x 10. I remember watching one game where he ran his streak to like 11 in a row or some crazy shit from 3.....and it wasn't like he was hitting open 3's with his feet set, some of the makes were insane. I just shook my head for like 10 minutes straight of game time.
I am glad I am a Hawk fan, can't imagine what the other team's fans were thinking.
I remember hearing that too. I've assumed it was true. Thus I have Matt Gatens permanently placed on my All-time Iowa lists! Overall what a great coaching change! Put Gatens on some better teams and he would have really flourished. Put him on those teams with Woodbury and Gesell and he would have been great. Might have been that clutch end game player those teams were missing.
Watched him score 33 in a 67-66 Hawkeye victory over what I believe was a #15 Wisconsin team in 2012,.. We had won the early season matchup in Madison so Wisconsin was looking for payback,.. Gatens was absolutely unstoppable in the second half,.. Badger fans poured out of Carver with a mixture of anger and tears,.. It was glorious!!!
The crowd that game was nuts from the tip off to the end. It was a nationally broadcast lead in game to Super Bowl XXVII and probably had a pretty good TV viewership. Sad circumstances, but great eight point win over the Fab Five. At game's end, the Hawk players gave the game ball to Chris Street's family at court side. Very emotional moment for all involved.
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Can we please recognize the contribution McCabe provided to Iowa BB history in his UFC takedown of the MSU player?!
