Nice Surprise this AM

[GunnerHawk]

They showed a rerun of the exhibition game at 9:00.

I know the competition was not too tough but did notice several things that give be increased optimism about this season.

Joe W. - looks stronger and as smooth as ever, total confidence in his shot
Luke G. - looks leaner and indeed quicker. Nice inside spin move to the basket early. He is a very good offensive rebounder
C.J.F. - this young man can stroke it and when pressured can put it on the floor, nice mid-range jumper. I also like his intensity on defense.
Jack N. - has lost a step with the added weight, has legit 3-point range. Will be a nice compliment to Garza, can't teach 6'11". Xavier take note, this is how Fran will use you. He and Nunge would make a dynamic combination at the four.
Connor Mc. - Plays within his self, always looking for the open man. Lacks quickness but is tenacious. Yes, reminds me a lot of Chad Calabria.

J. Bo - did not look himself. His shot is there but slow on defense.
Ryan K. - never got in the flow, but I'm sure he'll pick it up against better competition.
Joe T. - super quick but needs to slow down and let the game come to him. Defensive mindset is there
Bakari E. - didn't contribute much, but only first game
Pat Mc. -Smooth and can stroke it. Will need to get stronger. Question if he'll redshirt when Pemsl comes back. A year would do him a lot of good, just like Fredrick.

I think we have solid depth, 7-8 deep.

 

[CP84]

Pat shouldn't be impacted by Pemsl.

Pat will typically be a 3 while Pemsl will play 4.

 

[Hawk-Fran1]

Super high on the starting five add Kriener Pemsl Pat M thats a super solid 8 and Bakari or Joe T fighting for back up guard minutes

 

[ddelzell]

I added BTN+ just to watch the exhibition game the other night. I had high expectations for Nunge and Patrick Mc, but the kid I came away most impressed with was C.J. Fredrick. That kid can flat out stroke it. It was hard to tell much on the defensive side of the ball because the level of competition the Hawks played was not very good, at all.

I'll be going to the SIU game this Friday. I really want to see how/if the Hawks can improve on the defensive side of the court. Especially Conner's ball security. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but he's really going to have to pick it up or he's going to be sitting a lot more that he wants to.

 

[doughawk]

I will enjoy watching this team without the black hole (Cook). Ball goes in but never comes out. I look forward to watching Wieskamp and Fredrick score along with Garza.
However, no one else looks like they are a reliable scorer game after game. I think McCaffrey and Nunge will be very inconsistent scoring. Neither look for the chance to score.
If Fran chooses to play man to man this team will get abused. He needs to play zone all the time. We are slow to below average slow as a team. Also this team will have rebounding problems. The only quick jumper I see is the freshman point guard. The rest are going to have to learn to box out.
Young McCaffrey needs to be red shirted. He has some skills but isn't ready for the Big 10 yet. Kreiner looks the same as last year. No noticable improvement to me.
Yes, they only played 1 insignificant exhibition game. However, you can see players individual abilities. The team game will improve but so will the competition.
I'm thinking this team will be fortunate to make the NIT this season.
I won't be frustrated with the players. I will likely be frustrated with the coaching again.

 

[mtdew_fever]

Sounds like the 4/5 spots are strong with 4 guys rotating through.

Who guards the opposing 3 spot on the wing?


QUOTE="GunnerHawk, post: 7045988, member: 13798"]They showed a rerun of the exhibition game at 9:00.

I know the competition was not too tough but did notice several things that give be increased optimism about this season.


I think we have solid depth, 7-8 deep.[/QUOTE]

 

[HawkTex]

Super high on the starting five add Kriener Pemsl Pat M thats a super solid 8 and Bakari or Joe T fighting for back up guard minutes

You can be upset all you want, but Connor M. is no where near being a legit high level PG. Better hope BE or JT can be the guy by mid December. Connor brings some things to the party but does possess a PG skill set. Fran is trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

 

[CP84]

You can be upset all you want, but Connor M. is no where near being a legit high level PG. Better hope BE or JT can be the guy by mid December. Connor brings some things to the party but does possess a PG skill set. Fran is trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

Disagree. He's a good ball handler and passer. If he facilitates the ball like Monday (11 assists) then we're in good shape with our shooters.

 

[owenhawk]

I will enjoy watching this team without the black hole (Cook). Ball goes in but never comes out. I look forward to watching Wieskamp and Fredrick score along with Garza.
However, no one else looks like they are a reliable scorer game after game. I think McCaffrey and Nunge will be very inconsistent scoring. Neither look for the chance to score.
If Fran chooses to play man to man this team will get abused. He needs to play zone all the time. We are slow to below average slow as a team. Also this team will have rebounding problems. The only quick jumper I see is the freshman point guard. The rest are going to have to learn to box out.
Young McCaffrey needs to be red shirted. He has some skills but isn't ready for the Big 10 yet. Kreiner looks the same as last year. No noticable improvement to me.
Yes, they only played 1 insignificant exhibition game. However, you can see players individual abilities. The team game will improve but so will the competition.
I'm thinking this team will be fortunate to make the NIT this season.
I won't be frustrated with the players. I will likely be frustrated with the coaching again.

I respect your thoughts and by no means do I think this team will be world beaters but as you alluded to, Cook was a black hole on offense. And losing Baer hurts because of some of the intangibles he brought to the team.

I guess my question is by losing what you term a black hole (and I agree) and adding a more cohesive, consistent offense, a year of growth by the two best players (Wieskamp and Garza), and adding what looks like it could be an upgrade to Moss in Frederick, why do you believe that the team will struggle to make the NIT when the made the tourney last year and was a shot away from going to the Sweet 16?

Not trying to be combative just more curious and looking for a good conversation and your thoughts. It's not like the players that were lost were great defensive players (Baer was a very good off the ball defensive player mostly due to effort). I have no worries about the offense because they have two big-time scorers and Fran's team knows how to put up points (and I think the offense will be much more efficient). To me, there is no reason to think the team won't be very similar to last year record-wise.

 

[Underscore2]

A Black Hole led the team in scoring and rebounds. Nice perspective.

 

[DougFHawkeye]

I just hope that Garza and Nunge spend most of their time down low and play the in/out game rather than sitting outside and hucking up 3's.

 

[kceasthawk]

A Black Hole led the team in scoring and rebounds. Nice perspective.

May need some context, on how much he possessed the ball in order to accomplish that...

 

[Suterman]

I respect your thoughts and by no means do I think this team will be world beaters but as you alluded to, Cook was a black hole on offense. And losing Baer hurts because of some of the intangibles he brought to the team.

I guess my question is by losing what you term a black hole (and I agree) and adding a more cohesive, consistent offense, a year of growth by the two best players (Wieskamp and Garza), and adding what looks like it could be an upgrade to Moss in Frederick, why do you believe that the team will struggle to make the NIT when the made the tourney last year and was a shot away from going to the Sweet 16?

Not trying to be combative just more curious and looking for a good conversation and your thoughts. It's not like the players that were lost were great defensive players (Baer was a very good off the ball defensive player mostly due to effort). I have no worries about the offense because they have two big-time scorers and Fran's team knows how to put up points (and I think the offense will be much more efficient). To me, there is no reason to think the team won't be very similar to last year record-wise.

I agree with your entire post except for the last line. I think our non conference schedule this year is much tougher than last year so 11-0 non con this year is not likely to happen. I think a 10-10, or 11-9 conference record is fairly likely again this year. I think an NCAA bid is possible but it is not a given.

 

[L. Wade Childress]

You can be upset all you want, but Connor M. is no where near being a legit high level PG. Better hope BE or JT can be the guy by mid December. Connor brings some things to the party but does possess a PG skill set. Fran is trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

he was a freshman last year dude

 

[L. Wade Childress]

I just hope that Garza and Nunge spend most of their time down low and play the in/out game rather than sitting outside and hucking up 3's.

yes! Two big guys on the block at all times is the way the game is evolving.

 

[The Deplorable Sleeping Dog]

The ball tended to die with TC, and frequently froze for a while with him. Not Reggie Evans like situation but definitely wasn't good at moving the ball. Shot was pretty much always TC's first through fifth thoughts.

TC was by no means a dumb kid, that was clear from his interviews, but he wasn't a quick thinker on the court. He knew his strengths-and they were very real and important to the team success-and he played to them. TC was a volume scorer and the last two seasons of Hawks needed that volume.

The great thing about college BBall is ever couple of years the team is really different. We don't need that volume in 2020, I don't think. Have more good scorers so one guy doesn't need to do so much and no one is thinking "I" have to score this basket.

 

[DougFHawkeye]

yes! Two big guys on the block at all times is the way the game is evolving.

Yes....that was my point

 

[owenhawk]

I agree with your entire post except for the last line. I think our non conference schedule this year is much tougher than last year so 11-0 non con this year is not likely to happen. I think a 10-10, or 11-9 conference record is fairly likely again this year. I think an NCAA bid is possible but it is not a given.

Oh I agree not a given by any means. I could see the team anywhere from NIT team to an NCAA 5-6 Seed. I still think the will be a 19-20 win team going into the Big Ten Tournament.

 

[Hawksfor3]

Two bigs under the basket on defense+a nice little jump hook and kick-out pass on offense. I like it. An occasional hit from 3 would be a bonus.

 

[CP84]

A Black Hole led the team in scoring and rebounds. Nice perspective.

And yet was 7th on the team in conference play PER and WS/40 but keep assessing value based on gross totals rather than efficiency.

 

[HawkTex]

Disagree. He's a good ball handler and passer. If he facilitates the ball like Monday (11 assists) then we're in good shape with our shooters.

He can against lesser competition. He can’t break high level PGs down off the dribble nor does he handle man pressure from much quicker PGs. No outside game so teams will slough off and let him shoot like last year. His skill set is what it is. No one, however, can question his intensity. There is a role for him just not at PG.

 

[CP84]

He can against lesser competition. He can’t break high level PGs down off the dribble nor does he handle man pressure from much quicker PGs. No outside game so teams will slough off and let him shoot like last year. His skill set is what it is. No one, however, can question his intensity. There is a role for him just not at PG.

Outplayed Haliburton last year in fewer minutes and played well in NY.

I'm willing to give a 1st year player some growing pains. Nunge struggled as a freshman too.