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******Northwestern at IOWA Game Thread******

I read the NU rivals board and one poster mentioned Freeman is soft AF for his size.

Can't say I disagree with that too much 🤷‍♂️. Hunger was pushing him around a lot, either by using his legs or just a hand to the chest.

Often when OF gets double teamed he gets bent over - literally and figuratively 😅 - and struggles to even maintain possession. Ideally you'd want some more assits out of so many double-teams, but OF had only 2 assists ... and 3 rebounds.

Still a big fan and see more upside, but he's obviously gotta bow up a little bit more.
Until Iowa changes their philosophy on strength and conditioning, they will always get pushed around.
 
Until Iowa changes their philosophy on strength and conditioning, they will always get pushed around.
It starts with recruiting. Iowa seems to have one bigger guy that can bang inside, but they don't seem to have two very often. I thought Dembele was going to be a true PF inside but he's not. They need Traore in there. Too many second chance points for the Cats,

12 turnovers isn't going to work either.

But, NW is a good team that should win a lot of games.
 
Until Iowa changes their philosophy on strength and conditioning, they will always get pushed around.
Well obviously a big part of the problem too has always been Fran's propensity for tall skinny White dudes. So is it actually known that Iowa doesn't emphasize S&C? I mean the results might suggest it, but then again, someone like a PS doesn't seem like they're ever gonna add much bulk or strength. I honestly don't know.
 
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It starts with recruiting. Iowa seems to have one bigger guy that can bang inside, but they don't seem to have two very often. I thought Dembele was going to be a true PF inside but he's not. They need Traore in there. Too many second chance points for the Cats,

12 turnovers isn't going to work either.

But, NW is a good team that should win a lot of games.
And the 7' guy who played really well the last time he was out there can't see the floor even as a backup for some reason.
 
I read the NU rivals board and one poster mentioned Freeman is soft AF for his size.

Can't say I disagree with that too much 🤷‍♂️. Hunger was pushing him around a lot, either by using his legs or just a hand to the chest.

Often when OF gets double teamed he gets bent over - literally and figuratively 😅 - and struggles to even maintain possession. Ideally you'd want some more assits out of so many double-teams, but OF had only 2 assists ... and 3 rebounds.

Still a big fan and see more upside, but he's obviously gotta bow up a little bit more.
he put on weight but not muscle. Look at other players (especially in the big 12) they are dudes.... they have muscle. Owen looks a bit soft (physically speaking)
 
he put on weight but not muscle. Look at other players (especially in the big 12) they are dudes.... they have muscle. Owen looks a bit soft (physically speaking)
He wasn't good in the second half yesterday on both ends of the court. He's a great player, but some things are becoming apparent. When double and triple teams come at him he's a turnover waiting to happen. Those should be kickout opportunities for open 3 pointers but we aren't taking advantage of them. The other thing I noticed last night was that he basically stopped playing defense or going hard to the rim for fear of picking up the dreaded 3rd foul. Iowa had zero inside presence during that second half run and Freeman had 6 points, 2 turnovers, and 1 rebound while missing 2 free throws. If your 5 is only getting 1 rebound in a half you're in trouble.
 
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It starts with recruiting. Iowa seems to have one bigger guy that can bang inside, but they don't seem to have two very often. I thought Dembele was going to be a true PF inside but he's not. They need Traore in there. Too many second chance points for the Cats,

12 turnovers isn't going to work either.

But, NW is a good team that should win a lot of games.
There was a couple year stretch where they had Garza, Cook, Kreiner and Nunge together.

Since Garza we haven't had as many real bigs, more tweeners.

Traore will be a big improvement once he's ready to go.
 
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This probably makes me a horrible person, but I am so glad that Dix was the one to attempt that last shot instead of Sandfort.


Seems like every time Payton gets a truly real opportunity for "hero ball", its just another dent on the rim or a lost handle in the process of either catching it or going up for the shot. Or he forces a much tougher shot on himself than it should have been.
not at all, I was actually hoping the same....
 
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he put on weight but not muscle. Look at other players (especially in the big 12) they are dudes.... they have muscle. Owen looks a bit soft (physically speaking)
Just look at how much muscle Jack Nunge added when he went to Xavier. It is a night and day difference. Barnhizer came in about the same size as Sandfort and look at him now. For whatever the reason, Fran wants thin guys.
 
It starts with recruiting. Iowa seems to have one bigger guy that can bang inside, but they don't seem to have two very often. I thought Dembele was going to be a true PF inside but he's not. They need Traore in there. Too many second chance points for the Cat
12 turnovers isn't going to work either.

But, NW is a good team that should win a lot of games.
Dembele play has been very disapointing so far. Expected him to be a defensive force and rebounder.
 
And to be fair, Brock only had ONE FT attempt (and he missed it).

For sure, Owen has to get better at the charity stripe (he was 1-4).

When you break the FT shooting down:

5-5 (100%) Payton & Dix
2-3 (67%) Pryce
4-11 (36%) Owen, Brock, Even, Drew
.................................................
11-19 (58%) TOTAL
==================
And how many of these were on the front end of one and ones? Gave away another 3 or 4 points!
Pi’s- poor
 
It starts with recruiting. Iowa seems to have one bigger guy that can bang inside, but they don't seem to have two very often. I thought Dembele was going to be a true PF inside but he's not. They need Traore in there. Too many second chance points for the Cats,

12 turnovers isn't going to work either.

But, NW is a good team that should win a lot of games.
Dembele needs to watch film on Ed Horton and learn how to use that big body to bang in the paint.
 
typically players practice FT's on their time. No excuse & not a coaching issue IMO. More mental than anything. Any D1 player should be capable of shooting 75% from the line. Crunch time is all mental. Mike Gessell may be one of the worst crunch time FT shooters in Hawkeye history. Frustrating.

Sad thing is lot of these guys were better FT shooters in high school and they get to Iowa and make a career of missing 1 and 1's.. Mentally not able to handle the pressure of bigger stage. If you needed a guy to implode and lose a close game, Gesell always seemed to find a way. Harding needs to get the FT part of his game cleaned up. I like Harding's game a l lot more than Gessel, but you can't win close games when your PG is a 50% FT shooter.
 
And the 7' guy who played really well the last time he was out there can't see the floor even as a backup for some reason.
Yep, and I never thought I'd say that, but Mulvey gave some good minutes the few times he's played, ALWAYS has energy, and some spark. I'd have given him Brauns minutes and some of Dembele's. Couldn't have hurt, thats for sure......
 
Yep, and I never thought I'd say that, but Mulvey gave some good minutes the few times he's played, ALWAYS has energy, and some spark. I'd have given him Brauns minutes and some of Dembele's. Couldn't have hurt, thats for sure......
Without Traore we literally have zero athleticism off the bench in the front court. Freeman has zero protection out there either. I’m not sure there’s a Big Ten team we’re going to be able to out rebound all year.
 
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Without Traore we literally have zero athleticism off the bench in the front court. Freeman has zero protection out there either. I’m not sure there’s a Big Ten team we’re going to be able to out rebound all year.
Likely not. Iowa was outrebounded by Ryder and tied South Carolina Upstate. This is probably the worst rebounding team in the B1G and the worst of Fran's tenure at Iowa.
 
How many front end of a 1 and 1? I know Freeman had one down the stretch.
From the 3 minute mark to end the game it went:

Owen missed the and-1
Owen missed the front end
Dix made the and-1
Owen missed the and-1
Brock missed the and-1

In a tight game it's great when everyone gets the ball into the lane. Great things happen. It's what we should have saw in the Utah State game. Payton missed a 3 early in the shot clock around the 3 minute but then didn't take a shot the rest of the game. Iowa has other shooters and guys willing to get into the paint. Other than FT% I'm proud they learned from the Utah State finish.
 
Without Traore we literally have zero athleticism off the bench in the front court. Freeman has zero protection out there either. I’m not sure there’s a Big Ten team we’re going to be able to out rebound all year.
No doubt. Was hoping to see Koch continue to develop. The few minutes Tadjo played he looks even more lost then Dembele. We go small and you have PS at the 4 getting abused on the glass and backed down in the paint. We need a Tyler Cook type enforcer at that 4 spot. Hell just give me a Greg Brunner or James Winters...
 
Just look at how much muscle Jack Nunge added when he went to Xavier. It is a night and day difference. Barnhizer came in about the same size as Sandfort and look at him now. For whatever the reason, Fran wants thin guys.

A lot of that is just age and maturing physically. Garza certainly put on a lot of muscle at Iowa. I would agree it’s not a point of emphasis for Fran.
 
It starts with recruiting. Iowa seems to have one bigger guy that can bang inside, but they don't seem to have two very often. I thought Dembele was going to be a true PF inside but he's not. They need Traore in there. Too many second chance points for the Cats,

12 turnovers isn't going to work either.

But, NW is a good team that should win a lot of games.
Yep, but last night, Owen was maybe the softest player on the court. Iowa can't have that going forward.
 
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