Negative Nellies

[andoboy]

Enough with the doom and gloom... We are what like 6 games into the season and some of you are writing this team off already.

Ok we lost to 3 really good teams Virginia and Seton Hall and Memphis and you can bet all three are experienced tourney ready teams that are definitely top 20 teams.

I can almost guarantee you that this team will continue to improve and 20 wins is certainly possible if not probable.

Relax and enjoy... This team is young but they can score big time so when the defense comes around and it will they will be fine. Defense takes time but it can be taught, I would be more concerned if they couldn't score

GEEZ.. NEGATIVE NELLIES

 

[hawk-i bob]

legit concerns but agree its still November

 

[PhantomFlyer]

It's not being a negative Nellie, it's just a refusal to be a Pollyanna patty, or a shill. I'm like an umpire. I call the balls and strikes like I see them. I saw enough shilling this political season to last a lifetime, I refuse to do it even when it comes to my favorite sports teams.

Yes, it's early, but unless Iowa does a miraculous turnaround, this is not a team headed for the NCAA tournament. I don't think a lot of fans, myself included, thought this was going to be a NCAA tournament season before the season started. What's been disappointing has been how bad Iowa has played D. You don't need 4-5 star recruits to play good D. It doesn't mean they won't get better but it's disappointed a 4 year starter, Jok, still can't play D. It's disappointing a guy like Uhl, who's a junior, still can't play D and plays soft. It's disappointing that Fran didn't sign a true PG, or that he hasn't signed one in his 7 years at Iowa.

Oh, and if Iowa makes some significant strides by the end of the season, even if they don't make the tournament, I will consider that a positive, because I expected a down season this year.

On the plus side, Cook looks like stud offensively. If he learns to play D he'll be playing in the NBA. I think the offense has been pretty good for the most part. The ball movement has been good for a team starting such young, inexperienced PGs.

 

[SDHawkDoc]

uva is very good. The other two are better than average, but hardly world beaters.

 

[Tommy Gavin]

I'm not a negative nellie but I don't see any realistic way Iowa gets near 20 wins.

 

[andoboy]

I'm not a negative nellie but I don't see any realistic way Iowa gets near 20 wins.

Oh you bet there's a path ISU, UNI and the remaining non conference will get you 9 then you got to get 10 in the Big Ten I see Iowa a little better than mid range and will split there games so that's 20 and a nice conference tourney and you have maybe 22 wins

 

[HawkLogic]

Since Cook doesn't play defense or rebound, that might keep him from high NBA pick...so there is some upside to him mailing in the defense this year. Cook is obviously athletic and strong, I have no idea why he can't block shots or rebound. This team gets to grow a little while he's out with his injury.

 

[PhantomFlyer]

Since Cook doesn't play defense or rebound, that might keep him from high NBA pick...so there is some upside to him mailing in the defense this year. Cook is obviously athletic and strong, I have no idea why he can't block shots or rebound. This team gets to grow a little while he's out with his injury.

Great points. The NBA wants guys who can play defense, at least some semblance of defense. He's not going to be a high draft pick if he can't play D and can't rebound. If he improves in those areas he's a lottery pick.

 

[Tommy Gavin]

Oh you bet there's a path ISU, UNI and the remaining non conference will get you 9 then you got to get 10 in the Big Ten I see Iowa a little better than mid range and will split there games so that's 20 and a nice conference tourney and you have maybe 22 wins

I think we get out of the non-conference with 8 total wins and then we'd need to go 12-6 in the Big Ten regular season to get there and that's not happening. I like our young freshman talent though and like where we're heading but imho we're going to take some lumps this year.

 

[IllQChawk]

I'm not a negative nellie but I don't see any realistic way Iowa gets near 20 wins.

Hell, this team might not win 10 games total and I'm being about as optimistic as I can with this team.....can't rebound, can't play defensive, and lacks quickness. Just not enough quality players to compete in a Big Ten that appears to be much better then past years. And yes I'm going to watch every game that is on DirecTV, there is some good bones on this team, just not enough of them to make a difference.....

 

[DanL53]

Tonight, after the Notre Dame loss, I am excited by the continued progression, but ready to adjust my hopes to 19 wins and the NIT. Just a matter of putting things together later than I thought. And, that may continue to happen but that's OK, it might not as well.

 

[PhantomFlyer]

Hell, this team might not win 10 games total and I'm being about as optimistic as I can with this team.....can't rebound, can't play defensive, and lacks quickness. Just not enough quality players to compete in a Big Ten that appears to be much better then past years. And yes I'm going to watch every game that is on DirecTV, there is some good bones on this team, just not enough of them to make a difference.....

It looks more likely they'll be closer to 10 wins than 20 wins. This team has a lot of flaws right now, and I don't think they'll be fixed in the next game or two, or even in the next month or two.

 

[Auger]

This team will peak late in the season but I don't think it gets them into the dance. I think NIT can still happen and I think by then they could win it if part of the reason they are peaking is because on D they are keeping teams around 72 a game and not 80+ a game.

 

[TRHawkeye145]

Hell, this team might not win 10 games total and I'm being about as optimistic as I can with this team.....can't rebound, can't play defensive, and lacks quickness. Just not enough quality players to compete in a Big Ten that appears to be much better then past years. And yes I'm going to watch every game that is on DirecTV, there is some good bones on this team, just not enough of them to make a difference.....

This! Team has some good bones but thinking they will win more than 12-15 games this year is a huge stretch. Hope I'm wrong but I can't see it after the 7 games I have watched. Go hawks

 

[PhantomFlyer]

This team will peak late in the season but I don't think it gets them into the dance. I think NIT can still happen and I think by then they could win it if part of the reason they are peaking is because on D they are keeping teams around 72 a game and not 80+ a game.

Not only that but if they can improve the defense they will likely be scoring more points because they should get baskets off of Turnovers, plus more missed shots mean more fast break opportunities.

 

[Myvue]

Enough with the doom and gloom... We are what like 6 games into the season and some of you are writing this team off already.

Ok we lost to 3 really good teams Virginia and Seton Hall and Memphis and you can bet all three are experienced tourney ready teams that are definitely top 20 teams.

I can almost guarantee you that this team will continue to improve and 20 wins is certainly possible if not probable.

Relax and enjoy... This team is young but they can score big time so when the defense comes around and it will they will be fine. Defense takes time but it can be taught, I would be more concerned if they couldn't score

GEEZ.. NEGATIVE NELLIES

At this time Seton Hall or Memphis aren't either one getting votes in the AP Top 44. At this time Lunardi does have Seton Hall in the tourney but not Memphis or Iowa.

 

[DougFHawkeye]

I think we get out of the non-conference with 8 total wins and then we'd need to go 12-6 in the Big Ten regular season to get there and that's not happening. I like our young freshman talent though and like where we're heading but imho we're going to take some lumps this year.

Pretty spot on imo. I see more like 15 wins but a chance to be pretty good next year if things fall right. Don't see the NCAA or NIT this year.

 

[DodgerHawki]

Tonight, after the Notre Dame loss, I am excited by the continued progression, but ready to adjust my hopes to 19 wins and the NIT. Just a matter of putting things together later than I thought. And, that may continue to happen but that's OK, it might not as well.

If they get to 19 wins, it will be a GREAT coaching job by Fran. The game against Notre Dame was a positive step, but the fact that we are saying a 14-point loss to a good (not great) team is step forward is a level-setter about where this particular team is at. The team competed effectively for 30 minutes, you could see that players were giving more effort on defense. Without Cook (and even with him) they still have a lot of physical deficiencies that will make it hard for Iowa to slow down good teams, but they got in there and scrapped through midway in the second half. The 4-5 minute stretch at the end of the first half was great basketball, something to build on.

I applaud increased minutes for Moss and Pemsl. Moss looked nervous, but settled down. If he can continue to get comfortable and start attacking the basket, Fran has something. Jok needs to trust his teammates and not play hero ball. Every team is going to guard him like ND did. If Jok insists on taking forced shots, it won't be pretty.

 

[CanadaHawk]

If they get to 19 wins, it will be a GREAT coaching job by Fran. The game against Notre Dame was a positive step, but the fact that we are saying a 14-point loss to a good (not great) team is step forward is a level-setter about where this particular team is at. The team competed effectively for 30 minutes, you could see that players were giving more effort on defense. Without Cook (and even with him) they still have a lot of physical deficiencies that will make it hard for Iowa to slow down good teams, but they got in there and scrapped through midway in the second half. The 4-5 minute stretch at the end of the first half was great basketball, something to build on.

I applaud increased minutes for Moss and Pemsl. Moss looked nervous, but settled down. If he can continue to get comfortable and start attacking the basket, Fran has something. Jok needs to trust his teammates and not play hero ball. Every team is going to guard him like ND did. If Jok insists on taking forced shots, it won't be pretty.

I like Moss starting offensively and defensively. Something I notice is that he got 24 minutes vs ND and only took 4 shots. Jok would have been doing himself a favor setting Moss up for a few more. I think Fran was alluding to this post game by commenting Jok could have been more creative in setting up his teammates. Jok is still figuring out his total role offensively. He looks as if he's feeling he has to get up a certain number of shots a game to be effective as the scoring leader and is determined to get them come hell or high water.

 

[DavenportHawk8]

I like Moss starting offensively and defensively. Something I notice is that he got 24 minutes vs ND and only took 4 shots. Jok would have been doing himself a favor setting Moss up for a few more. I think Fran was alluding to this post game by commenting Jok could have been more creative in setting up his teammates. Jok is still figuring out his total role offensively. He looks as if he's feeling he has to get up a certain number of shots a game to be effective as the scoring leader and is determined to get them come hell or high water.

Yup Jok has to set up other players. I mean ND was throwing 2 guys at him, he has to recognize it and pass it off. Overall I thought Jok forced it too much, but hell if I just scored 42pts in a game I would be pulling the trigger as well. Something to learn from before conference play.

 

[jasonrann]

I'm not a negative nellie but I don't see any realistic way Iowa gets near 20 wins.

At the beginning of the season, I was hoping for 18 wins. Given the youth on the team, I think that would be quite an accomplishment. What I saw last night from Bohannon, Moss and Pemsl gives me even more hope. Sucks to lose Cook for an extended period, but it's just another opportunity for minutes for kids that need to learn on the job.

 

[David1979]

No way they get 20 wins. That is not negative they just aren't ready this year. Especially with Cook being out 3 weeks and the defense is really bad.

 

[DanL53]

If they get to 19 wins, it will be a GREAT coaching job by Fran. The game against Notre Dame was a positive step, but the fact that we are saying a 14-point loss to a good (not great) team is step forward is a level-setter about where this particular team is at. The team competed effectively for 30 minutes, you could see that players were giving more effort on defense. Without Cook (and even with him) they still have a lot of physical deficiencies that will make it hard for Iowa to slow down good teams, but they got in there and scrapped through midway in the second half. The 4-5 minute stretch at the end of the first half was great basketball, something to build on.

I applaud increased minutes for Moss and Pemsl. Moss looked nervous, but settled down. If he can continue to get comfortable and start attacking the basket, Fran has something. Jok needs to trust his teammates and not play hero ball. Every team is going to guard him like ND did. If Jok insists on taking forced shots, it won't be pretty.

Yes, it will be a great coaching job. As far as I'm concerned each season has been with Fran. I'm only going to lower my hopes one loss to the wrong team at a time. We've already got to upset someone that I didn't expect to win against, once, just to hit the 19. But I'm remaining stubborn believing we do have the talent, just haven't put it together yet. Loss of Cook? More room to play Pemsl and others. And when Cook comes back he will have had that much more time to learn.

 

[Suterman]

The future is very bright for these kids, it just isn't going to happen this year.

 

[kzoohawk80]

It's early so I'll reserve judgement. Especially with a young team. Disappointed in the defense. Jok has been awful and Fran insists on him guarding the other teams best player. Moss looked good on defense last night. Why hasn't he been playing ? Really questionable by Fran there. Bohannon is forced to play a lot because Williams can't guard anyone. That's a lot to ask of a true freshman.

Offensively I love this team. Their where I thought they'd be. This team has the potential to be scary offensively by the end of the year. They still need to learn what a good shot is. Also they need to reckonize mismatches.

 

[BGHAWK]

OP has a sit Peter Jok thread, and calls others Negative Nellies?

 

[CanadaHawk]

Yup Jok has to set up other players. I mean ND was throwing 2 guys at him, he has to recognize it and pass it off. Overall I thought Jok forced it too much, but hell if I just scored 42pts in a game I would be pulling the trigger as well. Something to learn from before conference play.

Good point about the psychology of just coming off a 42pt game. It's pretty obvious after ND that the team is growing. Now we get to watch the pieces come together. Unlike last year, we're going to be on the right side of some upsets this February.

 

[DanL53]

Good point about the psychology of just coming off a 42pt game. It's pretty obvious after ND that the team is growing. Now we get to watch the pieces come together. Unlike last year, we're going to be on the right side of some upsets this February.

I was going to post something like that. If one likes to watch good Iowa basketball, don't give up on this team. There are going to be games we put it all together and when we do we could beat some teams that don't expect it.

 

[lovedwatchingLester]

Ok let's see so far I count one game we may have won being we didn't. That being a home game to Seton Hall. For a young fairly new team learning to play with each other, it was a lot to expect them to go on the road and win over Virginia, Memphis and Notre Dame. Could they have pulled out a win in any of those games, sure but really would last year's team with all their experience have done much better record wise ? Possibly . I still expect this team to grow and learn to communicate considerably better as the year goes on. We haven't come close to finding out yet what each of our Hawkeye players individually can do yet let alone when they do begin to mesh as a team. They can and will I suspect work out some issues over their next 2 games and then we will see against ISU how much more we still need to do. Put it together I. A tough game against UNI and then clean it up more before the B1G. I think they will be ready and will do very well in conference against at best a medium tough schedule though I think we catch a big break this year in conference scheduling and can really do some damage there. Time will tell but we are only 7 games in and 3 were road games against quality opponents. Hang in there I believe lots of good things to come , just haven't gotten there yet. I still think as many said earlier this may not be a team anyone wishes to play come February/ March expecting an easy win. Patience is a virtue