Next years team.

[GoHawks8809]

Patrick is not big or physical enough to play the 4 at all. He is a 3 and if he has another position, it would be the 2.

I disagree, PMac should play the 4 and Murray the 5. Gives us the ability to switch and play more man. If someone wants to feed the post against us let them. As others have said, modern basketball is 3s and guard/wing play. We have been one of the worst teams at defending the three with a “traditional” lineup. Nunge can defend the P&R okay, but not sure what he will look like after another major injury.

Look at the lineups in the tournament. Oregon played 6’6 bigs, Bama plays 6’7 bigs, Baylor plays 1 big and 4 guards. Nova has historically done very well with 1 big.

 

[IllQChawk]

I see some on here want Patrick to add weight and maybe that will allow him to play more minutes next year, but every player except to truly gifted that are one and doners have faults. Did you see Patrick fake the 3 and drive to the basket from the corner and dunk with Oregon players converging on him in the 2nd half. Never seen Connor ever do that, the kids special to borrow a term used for another freshmen Iowa player.
That's Patrick's one asset he has over other 6-10 players, speed and quickness and that is what is going to separate him from other players playing the 3 or 4 position.
Will he give up some weight against heavier players, absolutely but he'll more then hold his own against more physical players. Can't wait to see Patrick, Keegan, Kris, Ahron, Tony, Josh, Fredrick, Jack, Payton, Joe T, maybe Joe W, & Connor play next year.

 

[jonesy5960]

Patrick is not big or physical enough to play the 4 at all. He is a 3 and if he has another position, it would be the 2.

He's 6'9" and with another 10 lbs he'd be just fine at the 4.

 

[HawkLogic]

I see some on here want Patrick to add weight and maybe that will allow him to play more minutes next year, but every player except to truly gifted that are one and doners have faults. Did you see Patrick fake the 3 and drive to the basket from the corner and dunk with Oregon players converging on him in the 2nd half. Never seen Connor ever do that, the kids special to borrow a term used for another freshmen Iowa player.
That's Patrick's one asset he has over other 6-10 players, speed and quickness and that is what is going to separate him from other players playing the 3 or 4 position.
Will he give up some weight against heavier players, absolutely but he'll more then hold his own against more physical players. Can't wait to see Patrick, Keegan, Kris, Ahron, Tony, Josh, Fredrick, Jack, Payton, Joe T, maybe Joe W, & Connor play next year.

I also saw Oregon guy pump fake PMAC at 3pt line and drive by for dunks. That is all Oregon did. None of the Iowa perimeter guys could close out the 3pt line without allowing a drive by dunk/layup.

PMAC is not a "3" on defense because he doesn't have the change in direction speed to keep up the majority of the "3" players in college b-ball in man defense. I do agree on offense PMAC has a face up game based on dribble drive. Whether he develops a consistent three point shot to go with dribble drive remains to be seen

I think PMAC is a 4 in a Bigger lineup...he can stick with other team's PFs on defense. PMAC is soft on interior defense. He put on a lot of weight already and needs to play tougher, like CMAC.



.

 

[perryhawk]

I also saw Oregon guy pump fake PMAC at 3pt line and drive by for dunks. That is all Oregon did. None of the Iowa perimeter guys could close out the 3pt line without allowing a drive by dunk/layup.

PMAC is not a "3" on defense because he doesn't have the change in direction speed to keep up the majority of the "3" players in college b-ball in man defense. I do agree on offense PMAC has a face up game based on dribble drive. Whether he develops a consistent three point shot to go with dribble drive remains to be seen

I think PMAC is a 4 in a Bigger lineup...he can stick with other team's PFs on defense. PMAC is soft on interior defense. He put on a lot of weight already and needs to play tougher, like CMAC.

I actually think that PMac can guard most 3s and even some 2s. At 6’ 8/9” he can play off a little further than some and his length and lateral quickness will allow him to do that. Obviously he can get beat but he is also still learning to guard those college athletes at this stage of his career.....I guess we will find out for sure next year.

 

[twindman]

I bet 50% of the posters on here don't even know who this is!!! LOL

 

[twindman]

I disagree, PMac should play the 4 and Murray the 5. Gives us the ability to switch and play more man. If someone wants to feed the post against us let them. As others have said, modern basketball is 3s and guard/wing play. We have been one of the worst teams at defending the three with a “traditional” lineup. Nunge can defend the P&R okay, but not sure what he will look like after another major injury.

Look at the lineups in the tournament. Oregon played 6’6 bigs, Bama plays 6’7 bigs, Baylor plays 1 big and 4 guards. Nova has historically done very well with 1 big.

Do you remember what Cockburn did to Murray when he had to play the 5? Just backed him down to about 5 feet from the hoop. Unless Murray puts on 30 lb - no way. The same would happen to PMac at the 4 without at least 20 lb. And thru no fault of his own, he has trouble putting on weight.
Now maybe against a team like Oregon, it would work if they were quick enough. Not so well in the B1G unless it changes a bit.

 

[retrodent]

I disagree, PMac should play the 4 and Murray the 5. Gives us the ability to switch and play more man. If someone wants to feed the post against us let them. As others have said, modern basketball is 3s and guard/wing play. We have been one of the worst teams at defending the three with a “traditional” lineup. Nunge can defend the P&R okay, but not sure what he will look like after another major injury.

Look at the lineups in the tournament. Oregon played 6’6 bigs, Bama plays 6’7 bigs, Baylor plays 1 big and 4 guards. Nova has historically done very well with 1 big.

How soon you forget how a bunch of 6’6” 200 pounders destroyed iowa

 

[David1979]

I wouldn't be surprised to see Ulis pass Toussaint at some point at the PG position.
I think it will be this if Wieskamp is gone
Joe T/Ulis probably equal minutes
CJ
Perkins
PMac
Murray

they really need Wieskamp to come back in order to be a tournament team. If he doesn't they aren't going to be very good.

 

[David1979]

I disagree, PMac should play the 4 and Murray the 5. Gives us the ability to switch and play more man. If someone wants to feed the post against us let them. As others have said, modern basketball is 3s and guard/wing play. We have been one of the worst teams at defending the three with a “traditional” lineup. Nunge can defend the P&R okay, but not sure what he will look like after another major injury.

Look at the lineups in the tournament. Oregon played 6’6 bigs, Bama plays 6’7 bigs, Baylor plays 1 big and 4 guards. Nova has historically done very well with 1 big.

Agree. that is the game these days.

 

[GoHawks8809]

Do you remember what Cockburn did to Murray when he had to play the 5? Just backed him down to about 5 feet from the hoop. Unless Murray puts on 30 lb - no way. The same would happen to PMac at the 4 without at least 20 lb. And thru no fault of his own, he has trouble putting on weight.
Now maybe against a team like Oregon, it would work if they were quick enough. Not so well in the B1G unless it changes a bit.

Garza scored 36 and we were ran out of the gym. I get it, some lineups will dictate us to play a more traditional 5. But for the most part we should play small.

 

[Slim45]

I actually think that PMac can guard most 3s and even some 2s. At 6’ 8/9” he can play off a little further than some and his length and lateral quickness will allow him to do that. Obviously he can get beat but he is also still learning to guard those college athletes at this stage of his career.....I guess we will find out for sure next year.

Everything you’ve posted in this thread has been pretty much spot on. As to what some are posting about not needing a traditional 5 and going with keegan at the 5, well I somewhat agree. BUT in BIG play we have to have a guy with nunge‘s height because of the other centers in the league. Im not sure fran hits the transfer portal for a big, I think he rides nunge for 25-30mpg and josh O to back him with keegan playing the 5 in certain situations. In the situation nunge gets hurt keegan probably starts at the 5 and they go small. We now have the athletes to do that, spread the floor and attack off the bounce...as long as we’re able to rebound with that group! I think joshO takes big strides this offseason and probably surprises ppl next yr.
my prediction for pt:
JoeT 25/Ulis 15
CJF 25/Perkins 15
I think the 3/4positions will be pretty fluid w/
Pmac 25/ Kris 15/ Perkins 5/Sandfort 15/keegan 20
Nunge 25/joshO 10/Keegan 5
And connor will get around 15 somewhere in there...from where idk

 

[amahawk]

This is good discussion and a good thread.....A couple items from posters here that I think are the key needs for next year.

1) Depth in the post.
2) Outside shooting.
3) Defensive improvement at a high level.


So, in reverse order I think the current roster has a pretty good group to step up the defense significantly. They will be athletic and long...quicker at pretty much every spot. I think and hope that Fran feels that way...he adapts to the personnel that he has and next years team can obviously press, run, play good half court defense and that HAS TO BE a cornerstone for next years team to have some success. With quickness and athleticism we need to be a good rebounding team as well.

Outside shooting: The first step is for the current roster to develop their offensive skills and take a significant step in the offseason. I feel pretty confident that Keegan Murray can do that. Next in terms of level of confidence is Nunge and Patrick. The rest of the gang doesn't have to be great but they should all be competent....SO this might be where we need to bring in a transfer?..I think that is important.

Depth in the Post: I think Josh O has a lot of potential.....but he has a LONG way to go for next year. I hope that he is 100% dedicated to doing what needs to be done. I think that Jack is better than many give him credit for and if he starts and plays regular minutes he will develop consistency....BUT you have to worry about his health..SO a transfer would be great. Does a transfer make Josh O say adios?

So, assuming Joe W is gone.....and Connor takes a while to heel up and get back in the groove, here is what I see:

PG: Joe T/Ulis
2G: CJ/Tony
Wing: Patrick/Kris/ P S
PF: Keegan, Kris/PS
C: Nunge/JO
(Connor in there somewhere when healthy)

That leaves 1 scholarship for a shooter and one for a post player.......

I think that IF the defense does what we hope, we get competent post depth, and the outside shooting that we need.....this will be a tournament team...

I think those recruiting needs will start to unfold pretty quickly and we will see some action in the next few weeks?

I think that you are 100% correct!

 

[RocknRollface]

Not a good idea to count on incoming freshmen for anything major. What I've seen of Payton is someone that really can shoot, just a flat out great shooter that is sufficiently athletic to get shots, e.g. not Brady Ellingson. Anything beyond that is pure speculation.

The main problem with Ellison was the problem with most of this year's starters.

Great shooter, but one dimensional.

You can have one dimensional shooters as floor spacers to compliment other players who can shift the defense.

You can't have all shooters and no one to collapse the D.

 

[ChiPackHawk]

The main problem with Ellison was the problem with most of this year's starters.

Great shooter, but one dimensional.

You can have one dimensional shooters as floor spacers to compliment other players who can shift the defense.

You can't have all shooters and no one to collapse the D.

Besides Bohannon, who would you consider "one dimensional"?

 

[Pepperman]

Besides Bohannon, who would you consider "one dimensional"?

you didn’t ask me, but for sure Connor!

so 2 of the 3 “guards” on the court to start each game.

 

[kceasthawk]

I disagree, PMac should play the 4 and Murray the 5. Gives us the ability to switch and play more man. If someone wants to feed the post against us let them. As others have said, modern basketball is 3s and guard/wing play. We have been one of the worst teams at defending the three with a “traditional” lineup. Nunge can defend the P&R okay, but not sure what he will look like after another major injury.

Look at the lineups in the tournament. Oregon played 6’6 bigs, Bama plays 6’7 bigs, Baylor plays 1 big and 4 guards. Nova has historically done very well with 1 big.

Honestly the torn meniscus is not really a major injury. Its not anywhere near a structural issue as an ACL. He really should come back fine physically. I tore my left one about three years ago, and never had surgery at all. Did 6 weeks of physical therapy and have pretty good range of motion. It bothers me from time to time, and I'm on my feet for about 7 or 8 hours a day. Quite often they don't even operate on a meniscus but with Jack being a 20 something basketball player of course they want to make him 100% right. Its a fairly common issue when people get older and the cartilage continues to dry out from aging.

 

[2432Hawk]

I bet 50% of the posters on here don't even know who this is!!! LOL

You big dummy

 

[HawkRugged17]

You big dummy

 

[skydog0784]

Joe T./Ahron Ulis
CJF/Perkins
PMac/ Kr. Murray/ Sandfort
Ke. Murray/CMac/ Kr. Murray
Nunge/ Ogundele/ Ke. Murray

This could change if we hit the Grad Transfer Market. Weezie is gone.

I agree with this line up and the fact that Weezy is gone.

 

[blhawk]

You see the team being better without Garza? Keep in mind he scored almost half of our points. Two of the starters that are returning scored 0 points. Even if Garza is a defensive liability, he’s carried this team and Frans paycheck for 2 seasons now

Great point. Garza was also the second leading scorer in '19 only 1.5 behind cook who played 7 more minutes than him and LG was right there with a couple other guys for second in rebounding that year. Fran has only made the field of 64 twice at Iowa without Luka being a major factor. I'm expecting nothing.

Also find it hilarious the # of people in this thread who thinks there's a possibility cmac is just going to move on. I'd be willing to bet there's a better chance he plays 2 years than being done. Gonna milk that nepotism cow for all it's worth to the detriment of the team. Again. The fact fran kept playing him despite 0 fg and not much else last 5 games is absolutely ridiculous. Dumb to make that info public. It was bad enough had he been healthy

 

[Lumas Etima]

Also find it hilarious the # of people in this thread who thinks there's a possibility cmac is just going to move on. I'd be willing to bet there's a better chance he plays 2 years than being done. Gonna milk that nepotism cow for all it's worth to the detriment of the team. Again. The fact fran kept playing him despite 0 fg and not much else last 5 games is absolutely ridiculous. Dumb to make that info public. It was bad enough had he been healthy

You might be right. Two-year starters don't usually just walk away.

But I will say this: If Connor is having double hip surgery during this off-season, the likelihood that he is ready to go at the start of the season is not high. If I'm in his place, and I think I have a chance to play pro baseball someday, and if I've missed the last two baseball seasons because of covid/injury, I might be thinking it's time to let my brother have the basketball spotlight, and focus my energies on being ready for baseball. But that's just me.

 

[Hawkdome]

1 NCAA win every 2 years is Fran's "body of work"...so that sounds about right

.........
We only have two ncaa wins in 11 years.

 

[BBHawk]

.........
We only have two ncaa wins in 11 years.

Wrong. Iowa beat Davidson in the round of 64 in 2015; Iowa beat Temple in the round of 64 in 2016; Iowa beat Cincinnati in the round of 64 in 2019; 2020 cancelled; and Iowa beat GCU in the round of 64. So in reality, Iowa has 4 wins in the last 6 years of NCAA Tournaments.

 

[paladinhawk]

.........
We only have two ncaa wins in 11 years.

???
4 1st round wins since 2015

 

[HawkLogic]

Do you remember what Cockburn did to Murray when he had to play the 5? Just backed him down to about 5 feet from the hoop. Unless Murray puts on 30 lb - no way. The same would happen to PMac at the 4 without at least 20 lb. And thru no fault of his own, he has trouble putting on weight.
Now maybe against a team like Oregon, it would work if they were quick enough. Not so well in the B1G unless it changes a bit.

I saw Cockburn get 20 points and Illinois bounced early out of the tournament.

 

[AwkHawk]

You might be right. Two-year starters don't usually just walk away.

But I will say this: If Connor is having double hip surgery during this off-season, the likelihood that he is ready to go at the start of the season is not high. If I'm in his place, and I think I have a chance to play pro baseball someday, and if I've missed the last two baseball seasons because of covid/injury, I might be thinking it's time to let my brother have the basketball spotlight, and focus my energies on being ready for baseball. But that's just me.

I don't follow baseball but have seen other reference him focusing on playing it/him having a brighter future there. Does he actually have legit MLB talent? Is it pretty widely thought that he will be a pro player some day?

 

[Hawkdome]

My apologies glad to be wrong on our first round ncaa wins.

 

[Hawkdome]

Now I feel a bit better about the Fran years. His teams are usually pretty fun to watch. Except for a few games. Like Oregon this year.

 

[HawkIDrummer]

Now I feel a bit better about the Fran years. His teams are usually pretty fun to watch. Except for a few games. Like Oregon this year.

I wouldn't jump too far... 4 wins vs 2. Meh.

 

[NI hawk]

I don't follow baseball but have seen other reference him focusing on playing it/him having a brighter future there. Does he actually have legit MLB talent? Is it pretty widely thought that he will be a pro player some day?

He is no where near being a legit MLB talent.

 

[InsaneHawkJJP]

Has anyone mentioned the transfer portal? No! Well we should definitely go that route, you heard it here first! /S

 

[BBHawk]

I wouldn't jump too far... 4 wins vs 2. Meh.

In the last 6 years.

 

[Jizzer]

My apologies glad to be wrong on our first round ncaa wins.

Why did you even say "2" to begin with?

 

[Mohawkeye]

I saw Cockburn get 20 points and Illinois bounced early out of the tournament.

NCAAs aren’t about dominant centers. You need a big bruiser in the Big, but if we want to do better in the NCAAs we need to get more comfortable with playing smaller line ups that play great defense. Even so, it’s somewhat of a crapshoot. Teams that get lucky from 3 point land can win on any given night.

I think Nunge is healthy and has a great year, but I’m really curious to see a front line of the Murray brothers and PMac playing together, after another year of weight gain.

 

[jonesy5960]

Everything you’ve posted in this thread has been pretty much spot on. As to what some are posting about not needing a traditional 5 and going with keegan at the 5, well I somewhat agree. BUT in BIG play we have to have a guy with nunge‘s height because of the other centers in the league. Im not sure fran hits the transfer portal for a big, I think he rides nunge for 25-30mpg and josh O to back him with keegan playing the 5 in certain situations. In the situation nunge gets hurt keegan probably starts at the 5 and they go small. We now have the athletes to do that, spread the floor and attack off the bounce...as long as we’re able to rebound with that group! I think joshO takes big strides this offseason and probably surprises ppl next yr.
my prediction for pt:
JoeT 25/Ulis 15
CJF 25/Perkins 15
I think the 3/4positions will be pretty fluid w/
Pmac 25/ Kris 15/ Perkins 5/Sandfort 15/keegan 20
Nunge 25/joshO 10/Keegan 5
And connor will get around 15 somewhere in there...from where idk

Connor is starting and getting at least 22 per game. You can pretty much pencil that in right now.

 

[Slim45]

Connor is starting and getting at least 22 per game. You can pretty much pencil that in right now.

Not with surgery on 2 hips he’s not

 

[jonesy5960]

Not with surgery on 2 hips he’s not

I should have qualified that with if he is healthy enough to play.

 

[HawkIDrummer]

In the last 6 years.

and? Lets not go full on clone here and start snipping convenient windows to make the numbers look better.

 

[BBHawk]

and? Lets not go full on clone here and start snipping convenient windows to make the numbers look better.

Nope, just stating the window within which this was achieved.

You can't consider McC's accomplishments in a vacuum. McC started this run in year 5. His predecessor drove the program into the ground. The coach before that had alienated half of the fan base.