Media Day 2016
- Thread starter seer_hawk
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Last year it was pretty easy to name the starters. This year we could see 7-8 different starters, during the season, even if everyone stays healthy. This is Fran's first rebuilding year since he got us to the level of a consistent NCAA qualifier. Fingers crossed he has the right underclassmen and recruits to get us to an even higher level over the next 4 years.
I did see a clip of Coach McCaffery talking about Tyler Cook saying that he probably has the highest ceiling of any recruit he has brought to Iowa. We've had several first team Big Ten players, so that is saying a lot.
"Well, I think he’s capable of being a star. I really do. You guys that have been around me know that I say what I think typically, so it’s not like let’s go easy and not push him. I have a responsibility to be honest, and I think he’s an impact player, certainly on our team, in our league, and on a national level. I think he’s that good."
"Well, I think he’s capable of being a star. I really do. You guys that have been around me know that I say what I think typically, so it’s not like let’s go easy and not push him. I have a responsibility to be honest, and I think he’s an impact player, certainly on our team, in our league, and on a national level. I think he’s that good."
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Whole bunch of articles out there so not gonna link em all. Trying not to get aboard the hype train but it's tough not to. I still think making the Dance is the ceiling for the team because we don't have a true PG and we're so young. Sounds like Cook is the real deal though. The struggle for this team will be finding another option when Jok is taken away. It sounds like Fran has had all the big boys working on their 3 pointers over the summer. It will almost certainly be position less basketball. I think a very underrated combo will be Cook and Wagner. Jok even said Wagner is unbelievably fast for a guy his size. People kinda forget about Wagner with Cook on board, but Wagner still has a big role.
Jok said to expect a lot of dunks this year. Tough to not get excited.
Jok said to expect a lot of dunks this year. Tough to not get excited.
Wagner could probably walk across the street and be our best receiver.
So, you're saying he would never play?
Sounds like Cook is the real deal. I am hoping the kid can come in and play solid minutes and put up 7-8pts a game. Sounds like he is a match-up nightmare can step back and hit the 15footer and also attack the glass. That's a nice combo to have.
I think Fran and staff will have a challenge this year, but I think this team will be fun to watch. I expect them to lose some "bad games" but also pull off some upsets. Their young and inexperienced, which can be both good and bad. I think not having a "true PG" will hurt in crunch time, but outside of that I think they will be fine. It sounds like Iowa will not have a true PG or Center but 5 athletic guys who can step out and hit the 3 and also attack the rim.
I am pumped for this season. My expectations are not high, but the brand/style will be fun to watch.
I think Fran and staff will have a challenge this year, but I think this team will be fun to watch. I expect them to lose some "bad games" but also pull off some upsets. Their young and inexperienced, which can be both good and bad. I think not having a "true PG" will hurt in crunch time, but outside of that I think they will be fine. It sounds like Iowa will not have a true PG or Center but 5 athletic guys who can step out and hit the 3 and also attack the rim.
I am pumped for this season. My expectations are not high, but the brand/style will be fun to watch.
How about the typo by the CR gazette in today's paper. The article (about Tyler Cook) says "Hawks' Smith can stand the heat". Hello Mike Hlas, it's Tyler Cook, not Tyler Smith
MIKE HLAS I THE GAZETTE
Hawks' Smith can stand the heat
I OWA CITY - You may not be thrilled having college basketball shoved down your throat in the first week of October, and it may not thrill me to do part of the shoving.
But listening to Fran McCaffery talk Wednesday about the mosttouted freshman on his youthful 2016-17 Iowa men's basketball team was a gust of fresh air in the middle of football season, where big-picture talk is considered taboo.
'I think he's capable of being a star, I really do,' McCaffery said about four-star recruit Tyler Cook of St. Louis, a chiseled, 6-foot-9 freshman who may add a lot of entertainment value to tickets to Hawkeye games this winter.
'You guys who have been around me know I say what I think, so it's not like let's go easy and not push him,' McCaffery said. 'I think I have a responsibility to be honest, and I think he's an impact player certainly on our team, in our league,
► HLAS, PAGE 2B
Iowa freshman Tyler Cook talks to reporters during media day for the Iowa men's basketball team Wednesday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.
Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette
Hlas/ Smith assigned big expectations
► FROM PAGE 1B
and on a national level. I think he's that good.' That's right, a coach put that on his freshman big man: Be a star. Be a national impact player. I love it.
But McCaffery would never have done it if the 19-year-old Cook was an emotional work-in-progress. This player expects the expectations.
'This summer my dad called me one time and we had a long talk,' said Cook. 'My dad said 'You're a freshman, not a rookie.' That kind of stuck with me.
'It's my first year here, but I've been playing basketball a long time. I think I know what I'm doing a little bit.
'I was highly recruited for a reason. I can do a lot of things on the court. I can help out in a lot of different ways.' As cocky as those comments may seem left to themselves, Cook didn't stand at center court of Carver-Hawkeye Arena during his first college media day and shout 'Climb on my shoulders, I'm taking you to the promised land!' In fact, the first thing I heard him utter was 'Potential is a dangerous word. It just means you haven't done anything yet.
'The expectations I have for myself are above anybody else's. Just to be the best I can be. Making sure I'm leading, making sure I'm doing everything the coaches ask me to do.' McCaffery had a simple, effective plan for how to sell Iowa to a player who had high-profile programs from around the country after him. He told Cook he was going to be a multidimensional player before Cook realized it himself.
'Nobody likes to be put in a box, obviously,' Cook said. 'Especially myself.
'I kind of do a little bit of everything on the court. Fran saw that in me. He's seen me work out, seen me play. He preached to me from Day 1 when he recruited me that you've got to be more than just a post player, got to be more than a 5-man.
'That he saw that before I even saw it was a big factor for me.' Cook said he shoots thousands of shots a day from all over the court. He opened his PTL season with four dunks, but he made three 3-pointers in the title game a few weeks later.
'I try to make myself as unguardable as possible,' he said.
His basketball role models? 'LeBron James, Draymond Green, DeMarre Carroll, LaMarcus Aldridge, Blake Griffin - guys that can do a little bit of everything, pretty much everything from the 3s (small forwards) to the 5s (centers).
'I watch a ton of film. Just watching pretty much everybody I can, trying to soak in as much information as possible.' For 19, Cook speaks articulately and purposefully. He's a freshman in the interview game, not a rookie.
'We were ranked in the Top 10 in the country in high school my junior and senior year,' he said. 'Obviously, being one of the top 50 players in the country, you get a lot of this kind of stuff. You just get used to it over the years.' We now return you to your regularly scheduled button-down college football programming.
MIKE HLAS I THE GAZETTE
Hawks' Smith can stand the heat
I OWA CITY - You may not be thrilled having college basketball shoved down your throat in the first week of October, and it may not thrill me to do part of the shoving.
But listening to Fran McCaffery talk Wednesday about the mosttouted freshman on his youthful 2016-17 Iowa men's basketball team was a gust of fresh air in the middle of football season, where big-picture talk is considered taboo.
'I think he's capable of being a star, I really do,' McCaffery said about four-star recruit Tyler Cook of St. Louis, a chiseled, 6-foot-9 freshman who may add a lot of entertainment value to tickets to Hawkeye games this winter.
'You guys who have been around me know I say what I think, so it's not like let's go easy and not push him,' McCaffery said. 'I think I have a responsibility to be honest, and I think he's an impact player certainly on our team, in our league,
► HLAS, PAGE 2B
Iowa freshman Tyler Cook talks to reporters during media day for the Iowa men's basketball team Wednesday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.
Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette
Hlas/ Smith assigned big expectations
► FROM PAGE 1B
and on a national level. I think he's that good.' That's right, a coach put that on his freshman big man: Be a star. Be a national impact player. I love it.
But McCaffery would never have done it if the 19-year-old Cook was an emotional work-in-progress. This player expects the expectations.
'This summer my dad called me one time and we had a long talk,' said Cook. 'My dad said 'You're a freshman, not a rookie.' That kind of stuck with me.
'It's my first year here, but I've been playing basketball a long time. I think I know what I'm doing a little bit.
'I was highly recruited for a reason. I can do a lot of things on the court. I can help out in a lot of different ways.' As cocky as those comments may seem left to themselves, Cook didn't stand at center court of Carver-Hawkeye Arena during his first college media day and shout 'Climb on my shoulders, I'm taking you to the promised land!' In fact, the first thing I heard him utter was 'Potential is a dangerous word. It just means you haven't done anything yet.
'The expectations I have for myself are above anybody else's. Just to be the best I can be. Making sure I'm leading, making sure I'm doing everything the coaches ask me to do.' McCaffery had a simple, effective plan for how to sell Iowa to a player who had high-profile programs from around the country after him. He told Cook he was going to be a multidimensional player before Cook realized it himself.
'Nobody likes to be put in a box, obviously,' Cook said. 'Especially myself.
'I kind of do a little bit of everything on the court. Fran saw that in me. He's seen me work out, seen me play. He preached to me from Day 1 when he recruited me that you've got to be more than just a post player, got to be more than a 5-man.
'That he saw that before I even saw it was a big factor for me.' Cook said he shoots thousands of shots a day from all over the court. He opened his PTL season with four dunks, but he made three 3-pointers in the title game a few weeks later.
'I try to make myself as unguardable as possible,' he said.
His basketball role models? 'LeBron James, Draymond Green, DeMarre Carroll, LaMarcus Aldridge, Blake Griffin - guys that can do a little bit of everything, pretty much everything from the 3s (small forwards) to the 5s (centers).
'I watch a ton of film. Just watching pretty much everybody I can, trying to soak in as much information as possible.' For 19, Cook speaks articulately and purposefully. He's a freshman in the interview game, not a rookie.
'We were ranked in the Top 10 in the country in high school my junior and senior year,' he said. 'Obviously, being one of the top 50 players in the country, you get a lot of this kind of stuff. You just get used to it over the years.' We now return you to your regularly scheduled button-down college football programming.
Cook already looks like a solid body and Wagner is now listed at 235 lbs.
Despite a lack of height, they should be able to put a body on people down low. Haas at pu is the one player in the conference that they won't have a matchup for, but that will be true of a lot of teams.
Despite a lack of height, they should be able to put a body on people down low. Haas at pu is the one player in the conference that they won't have a matchup for, but that will be true of a lot of teams.
They learned well from white chocolate last year. #woody
That's a pretty high bar given that Davis was a 1st round draft pick and had a long nba career.
God damn I love Fran McCaffery
While tempering expectations for freshman is generally preferred, I suspect Cook and the coaching staff expect a lot more than 7 or 8 per game. Barring injury, I would be very surprised if he wasn't our second leading scorer while averaging nearly double the amount u are hoping for. I suspect he will avg about 14/6 this year. He is so active and athletic, he will be a grinder in the post, great in transition and the reports of a fast improving mid range game are nothing short of exciting. It remains to be seen how effective he will be at the free throw line, but he seems like a player that will end up there quite often.
Side note, I thought it was interesting Fran mentioned only one player will redshirt, and it's the walkon Till. I would have guessed at least one from the incoming freshman class would redshirt with the most likely candidates Dailey, pemsl or kriener. Fran himself acknowledges anything beyond a 10 man rotation is tough to do. I guess we'll see in another month. Williams and bohannon are going to have to mature quickly if we are going to challenge for a top half finish in the B1G, but the athleticism and versatility of this team is very intriguing.
If Jordan Bohannon is not a "true PG" then what designation would you give him?
Bohannon played the PG position almost exclusively as a 4 year varsity starter at Linn-Marr and also for the Martin Brothers team. I recall reading an article that mentioned him as a young boy and how his father sensed that Jordan would not grow as tall as his older brothers. His dad pushed Jordan to practice as a point guard in developmental basketball teams and that is where he played most in the years leading up to high school. As far as I can tell, he has played PG virtually all of his young basketball career so far.
I realize Bohannon isn't as athletic as Charlie Moore, Xavier Simpson, or some of the other PGs Fran offered ahead of him but that doesn't change the fact that PG is his position in college. Also, PGs can be proficient 3PT shooters and still run the offense.
Knowing the makeup of this team I think I've done a pretty good job of managing my expectations up to now. The team is young, and only 1 returnee started and scored over 6 points per game. Even the players with experience are unknowns (with the exception of Jok). I agree the ceiling is probably an NCAA Tourney qualifier. That said it is difficult not embracing the length and athleticism of this team, and hoping for a lot more.
Over 40+ years of watching college BBall I've seen plenty of athletic teams that looked awful at trying to get the ball in the basket. I really hope this team has balanced enough scoring, and solid rebounding, that the players can showcase the best athleticism we've had a a long time. I admit the interviews have me pumped.
I think Jordan is a point guard in a similar way that Gesell was a PG. I'm assuming Jordan will be a capable facilitator like Mike, but I'm also assuming that, like MG, he'll be fairly one dimensional in his scoring approach. While Mike was primarily driving and not much of a shooting threat, Jordan will be a shooting threat without much likelihood of driving into the lane and finishing at the hoop.
What I, and many others, would like to see is a quick PG who defenders can't either sag off or play super tight because they are a threat to either shoot or blow by you. They are capable of pulling defenders away from their man to guard them, so they can kick it out for an open shot. I think Ulis and Moore both have that ability, but JoBo/Gesell likely don't.
I'm absolutely excited for Jordan and admittedly haven't seen him, so I can't say that he certainly doesn't have that drive-and-dish ability (If he does, then I believe we'll be a much better team than many anticipate), but from everything I've heard, he's not the most quick/athletic
Cook will probably avg closer to 12 or 13 pts. He is that good.
He's a shooting guard. He doesn't have high D-1 handles and he doesn't have a high D-1 passing IQ. He's a capable guard but he'd rank among the bottom of BIG starting PG. IMO. And this is just my opinion.
Its a little early to define Bohannon as a SG with low D-1 handles & low passing IQ...whether he is a so called true PG or not...he WILL be competing for playing time as a ball handler on offense.
Young Point Guards; Similar Expectations
We're going to play the same way," McCaffery said Wednesday during the Iowa Men's Basketball Media Day. "When we recruited Christian and Jordan, we felt they were perfect fits for what we do.
"We're going to have to be patient because we're young, but they're smart, tough, and versatile. They both can get to rim, make shots, and battle defensively. I'm excited for both of them."
I've seen Bohannon...it is remarkable how much bigger & stronger he has got...and quicker. I hope defenders sag off him. No Bohannon is not as quick as Ulis....but not very many are. I'll take Bohannon's outside shooting over Moore's quickness. It will be interesting to follow Mr Moore. Its one thing to blow by people but one still needs to finish.
I'm more worried about JB on D his frosh year. This is why I think he nod will be given to CW as the starter.
Im expecting 7-8, anything above that is gravy! I realize w/all freshman there will highs and lows through out the season.
I remember Trimble and even Yogi struggling at times during their freshman seasons. It happens.
If Cook is a scoring threat almost anywhere on the court (if his 3 has come along), one aspect of his game that might become very important is his ability to find and pass to the open player when he gets the double team off the pass (post) or off the dribble.
If he can draw double teams and be a go-to guy down the stretch of games, that makes a huge difference. We've often had good "teams" of 5-8 players who could hang with MSU and others for much of the game, only to lose in the last 2 minutes because they had a future 1st round NBA player and we didn't.
If he can draw double teams and be a go-to guy down the stretch of games, that makes a huge difference. We've often had good "teams" of 5-8 players who could hang with MSU and others for much of the game, only to lose in the last 2 minutes because they had a future 1st round NBA player and we didn't.
no question Williams has a tremendous defensive upside...
I'm setting the bar at 7 conference wins and an NIT berth.
I still think think they will play some good games and be fun to watch at times.
This year is just most likely a little dip given the turnover of players from last year. A lot of young guys that are either new to the college game or have gotten few minutes thus far isn't likely to add up to an upper tier conference finish.
I still think think they will play some good games and be fun to watch at times.
This year is just most likely a little dip given the turnover of players from last year. A lot of young guys that are either new to the college game or have gotten few minutes thus far isn't likely to add up to an upper tier conference finish.
I think CW will be one of the better players on the team. Very versatile and can make buckets in a variety of ways...kid has some things going for him that can't be taught. If the bigs can make outside shots pulling the D out a bit and Fran has a long line-up in post CW up and let him do work down low with his reach...he will be hard to guard IMO.
When we started 2 freshmen in 2012-13, we went 9-9. I know the B1G is supposed to be better than then, but this team arguably has more potential than the 2012 one. I understand the caution, but 7-11 should probably be expected as a bare minimum. 7-11 would be a big vs little dip from 12-6.
