Observations Heading into B1G

[BirdistheWord]

Heading into B1G play, we have our work cut out for us down 0-2.

1. Teams are going to swarm Keegan, they know he is our clear MVP - Others will have to step up in hostile environments
2. We MUST collectively rebound the basketball, especially on defensive end or we are toast (Guards have to get their noses dirty)
3. We have to keep getting to the rim/hit cutters - and not settle for too many 3's
4. Fran must trust guys like Kris and Tony to keep logging more minutes - they have high ceilings
5. I am not a big fan of the hockey line changes, Fran needs to keep experimenting with rotations

 

[IllQChawk]

I'm a little concerned about Joe Toussaint, he's being abused by taller guards and he's providing nothing offensively. He'll have to kick it up a notch starting on Monday if he wants to log extended minutes.

 

[relishingwinning18]

I'm a little concerned about Joe Toussaint, he's being abused by taller guards and he's providing nothing offensively. He'll have to kick it up a notch starting on Monday if he wants to log extended minutes.

Yeah, and Ulis seems to be getting better and better.

 

[Slim45]

I'm a little concerned about Joe Toussaint, he's being abused by taller guards and he's providing nothing offensively. He'll have to kick it up a notch starting on Monday if he wants to log extended minutes.

Don’t get it. Was shooting the ball really well early in the season now just doesn’t look to shoot at all. Seems like fran has done a great job at smashing any confidence joe built. Going into the season we heard how this was Joe’s team, but as soon as he makes a mistake it’s to the bench. Most coaches if a guy (especially the starting pg) makes a mistake, pull him out have a chat, send him back in. Does it again bench him. Fran pulls him and he sits for 10min straight.
I think frosh Joe will be the best version we’ll get. He knew he was going to play a lot with jbo hurt and only bakari to back him up and he played loose.
Ulis is a good player, and will more than likely end up the better player. But I still think at this point joe brings more to the table if he’s allowed to.

 

[monoman3232]

I think we're worse on defense than we were last year. Not a fan of the defensive philosophy that Fran has decided to go with this year. Just don't have the personnel, coaching, and culture to run it effectively against most teams.

 

[RocknRollface]

I think we're worse on defense than we were last year. Not a fan of the defensive philosophy that Fran has decided to go with this year. Just don't have the personnel, coaching, and culture to run it effectively against most teams.

Whats the philosophy?

Seems like the philosophy to me is to wing it and not worry about the details.

Defense is all details.

The combination of this year and last has exposed Frans ceiling.

He can't do it with a great offensive team and then when he has capable defenders he still can't get them to play any defense.

Theres really no path forward to any thing of significance with him.

 

[HotelAlphaWilcoKilo]

Not a fan of the defensive philosophy that Fran has decided to go with this year.

 

[monoman3232]

Whats the philosophy?

Seems like the philosophy to me is to wing it and not worry about the details.

Defense is all details.

The combination of this year and last has exposed Frans ceiling.

He can't do it with a great offensive team and then when he has capable defenders he still can't get them to play any defense.

Theres really no path forward to any thing of significance with him.

Trying to be more aggressive and force turnovers. They are forcing more turnovers this year, but their defensive efficiency numbers are still bad and the turnover percentage is just going to go down as we play Big Ten teams. As far as ceiling goes, it's probably more indicative of Iowa's ceiling than Fran's. There's probably not a path forward to anything of significance with any coach at Iowa.

 

[PinkLockerRoom]

I think we need a lot more from Rebreca. He needs to rebound much more and be much more physical.

 

[HawkLogic]

Trying to be more aggressive and force turnovers. They are forcing more turnovers this year, but their defensive efficiency numbers are still bad and the turnover percentage is just going to go down as we play Big Ten teams. As far as ceiling goes, it's probably more indicative of Iowa's ceiling than Fran's. There's probably not a path forward to anything of significance with any coach at Iowa.

If there is no path to significance with any coach. Then what makes this guy special?

 

[Ngnosis hwk scence]

I'm a little concerned about Joe Toussaint, he's being abused by taller guards and he's providing nothing offensively. He'll have to kick it up a notch starting on Monday if he wants to log extended minutes.

Hear you and you are on point. More minutes for Kris and and the other brothers off the bench. Tough minute management of time for Fran. got a feeling he will fail miserably. oh well and oh well for Iowa basketball

 

[SDHawkDoc]

I think we need a lot more from Rebreca. He needs to rebound much more and be much more physical.

So far, Rebraca has been an underwhelming portal pick up.

I'd like to see Fran's tepid use of the portal change and see him get more aggressive. Just don't see it happening.

 

[DodgerHawki]

I think we're worse on defense than we were last year. Not a fan of the defensive philosophy that Fran has decided to go with this year. Just don't have the personnel, coaching, and culture to run it effectively against most teams.

the numbers would say you are correct. Iowa currently 116th in the nation in adjusted defense efficiency, allowing 98.5 points per 100 possessions. Last year finished at 75, allowing 96.5 per 100 possessions.

Against our conference cohorts, 2nd in offensive efficiency (behind Purdue) and last in defense (behind even putrid Nebraska). Iowa is what it is under Fran. Very efficient/elite offense, defense borderline awful. What you get is a team that will win some games and be entertaining, but would really be defying the odds to go very far in either the BTT or NCAA tournament should they get there.

 

[RocknRollface]

Trying to be more aggressive and force turnovers. They are forcing more turnovers this year, but their defensive efficiency numbers are still bad and the turnover percentage is just going to go down as we play Big Ten teams. As far as ceiling goes, it's probably more indicative of Iowa's ceiling than Fran's. There's probably not a path forward to anything of significance with any coach at Iowa.

I can buy the pressing part. But that's not the problem with the defense, it's when they get into the half court. The focus and attention to detail is non existent. Its all an after thought and it will never work that way.

I guess the second part depends on how you define significance.

For me its sweet 16.

Iowa had at least 3 future nba guys on the team last year. Theres a shit load of coaches that could have done better than 1 and done.

 

[Ronman]

This quickly, and seemingly inevitably turned into a a bitch session about McCaffery by the usual suspects.

Ulis and Tousainnt have remarkably similar stats. Both need to look for more points. Kris and Felipe and especially Patrick really need to focus on rebounding. Getting more boards will help both our offense and defense. Keegan, even though he will be the focus of other teams, needs to keep doing what he's doing. JBo needs to start hot and stay hot. Same with Payton and he needs to keep playing hard on defense.

Not much was expected of this team. I think they've displayed a higher ceiling than most predicted. Just play hard every minute you're on the floor and good things will happen. We're not going to win the B1G, but if we finish in the upper middle, the kids and the coaching staff did a pretty decent job.

 

[RocknRollface]

the numbers would say you are correct. Iowa currently 116th in the nation in adjusted defense efficiency, allowing 98.5 points per 100 possessions. Last year finished at 75, allowing 96.5 per 100 possessions.

Against our conference cohorts, 2nd in offensive efficiency (behind Purdue) and last in defense (behind even putrid Nebraska). Iowa is what it is under Fran. Very efficient/elite offense, defense borderline awful. What you get is a team that will win some games and be entertaining, but would really be defying the odds to go very far in either the BTT or NCAA tournament should they get there.

I've seen enough.

I thought this year would be different, he has the players to defend but its exactly the same as every other year.

Its only about the offense.

Hes to stubborn to accept that he needs to play defense to win.

 

[pocha444444]

I've seen enough.

I thought this year would be different, he has the players to defend but its exactly the same as every other year.

Its only about the offense.

Hes to stubborn to accept that he needs to play defense to win.

Same, I had much higher hopes for this team's defense. It has to be coaching, we have the players to defend this year sans a rim protector. It also doesn't help that guys like Perkins and Kris lose minutes to Rebraca, Bohannon, etc. If we consistently played Joe/Ulis/Perkins/Murray/Murray our defense would look much better. Fran doesn't seem to care though.

 

[Jizzer]

Whats the philosophy?

Seems like the philosophy to me is to wing it and not worry about the details.

Defense is all details.

The combination of this year and last has exposed Frans ceiling.

He can't do it with a great offensive team and then when he has capable defenders he still can't get them to play any defense.

Theres really no path forward to any thing of significance with him.

This, it's kind of mind boggling to pinpoint how our guys get blown by all the time. If we can't get that with Joe (who may be our quickest player we've ever had), it's never going to be there.

 

[KcTo]

the numbers would say you are correct. Iowa currently 116th in the nation in adjusted defense efficiency, allowing 98.5 points per 100 possessions. Last year finished at 75, allowing 96.5 per 100 possessions.

Against our conference cohorts, 2nd in offensive efficiency (behind Purdue) and last in defense (behind even putrid Nebraska). Iowa is what it is under Fran. Very efficient/elite offense, defense borderline awful. What you get is a team that will win some games and be entertaining, but would really be defying the odds to go very far in either the BTT or NCAA tournament should they get there.

Doing the same thing year after year and expecting different results = defintion of insanity
- Albert Enstien

this is another consistent Fran team, that he coached to punish defense and encourage soft defense.

and another +100 defensive rating ensure a quick out in the BTT and NCAAs.

whats interesting is that Frans tournament ceiling is the same wether he has zero NBA players on roster or 3 NBA players on roster…

I guess that’s a good thing and a bad thing

 

[perryhawk]

So far, Rebraca has been an underwhelming portal pick up.

I'd like to see Fran's tepid use of the portal change and see him get more aggressive. Just don't see it happening.

I think that a transfer like the kid that was at Minnesota last year (Liam?) and went to Vanderbilt with his uncle(?) would have been a difference maker for this team. He was a 7 footer who could block shots. That said, I think he is sitting out and hurt, much like CJF at Kentucky.

 

[perryhawk]

the numbers would say you are correct. Iowa currently 116th in the nation in adjusted defense efficiency, allowing 98.5 points per 100 possessions. Last year finished at 75, allowing 96.5 per 100 possessions.

Against our conference cohorts, 2nd in offensive efficiency (behind Purdue) and last in defense (behind even putrid Nebraska). Iowa is what it is under Fran. Very efficient/elite offense, defense borderline awful. What you get is a team that will win some games and be entertaining, but would really be defying the odds to go very far in either the BTT or NCAA tournament should they get there.

I tend to agree with this assessment.....but have some hope that the defense will improve based on the Woodbury years at Iowa (or in that time frame) where we got as high as 30th in this defensive rating?

Obviously the defense has to improve for this team to succeed at the level we would all like.....that seems unlikely but we have the athletes and length to do it....some Fran teams have been decent on defense, but like Iowa Football's offense....we just can't seem to get where we need to be and then stay there consistently. I still have hope but would be lying if I didn't say that hope is fading.

 

[RocknRollface]

I tend to agree with this assessment.....but have some hope that the defense will improve based on the Woodbury years at Iowa (or in that time frame) where we got as high as 30th in this defensive rating?

Obviously the defense has to improve for this team to succeed at the level we would all like.....that seems unlikely but we have the athletes and length to do it....some Fran teams have been decent on defense, but like Iowa Football's offense....we just can't seem to get where we need to be and then stay there consistently. I still have hope but would be lying if I didn't say that hope is fading.

I told people almost every week for years at the time that Woodbury was an excellent defender.

People who complained about him were fools.

He understood where everyone needed to be.

He was basically the defensive coordinator on the floor for those teams.

We haven't had a guy who talks on defense since then. Luka tried to at times and Connor too.

Woodbury brought all the details and communication to the floor that a normal Fran team doesn't have.

 

[perryhawk]

I told people almost every week for years at the time that Woodbury was an excellent defender.

People who complained about him were fools.

He understood where everyone needed to be.

He was basically the defensive coordinator on the floor for those teams.

We haven't had a guy who talks on defense since then. Luka tried to at times and Connor too.

Woodbury brought all the details and communication to the floor that a normal Fran team doesn't have.

This points me again to the analogy of the Iowa football offense vs Iowa basketball defense. We have been told over and over that the Iowa FB offense is very complicated and it seems to take a while for everything to be working right in order to produce........then, for some reason, these Iowa basketball players seem to struggle with the defensive concepts and coordination to make sure people are where they are supposed to be.....

I wonder if Woodbury would be a good assistant coach who could help take our defensive performance up several notches?....

 

[BBHawk]

Don’t get it. Was shooting the ball really well early in the season now just doesn’t look to shoot at all. Seems like fran has done a great job at smashing any confidence joe built. Going into the season we heard how this was Joe’s team, but as soon as he makes a mistake it’s to the bench. Most coaches if a guy (especially the starting pg) makes a mistake, pull him out have a chat, send him back in. Does it again bench him. Fran pulls him and he sits for 10min straight.
I think frosh Joe will be the best version we’ll get. He knew he was going to play a lot with jbo hurt and only bakari to back him up and he played loose.
Ulis is a good player, and will more than likely end up the better player. But I still think at this point joe brings more to the table if he’s allowed to.

Joe's stats say otherwise. He is considerably better this year than any other year he has played. He is averaging about the same minutes so far as he did in his freshman year with a better A/TO ratio (although it is 1.3/1.3 right now) this year.
The real difference is that Ulis is getting better with each game. It is a luxury to have them both, but Ulis has a 3.3/1.2 A/TO ratio (>double Joe's) and he's averaging more slightly more rebounds. Joe is the more efficient shooter but Ahron distributes/moves the ball a little better. Both play decent defense, so why not play them both? They both average about 17.5 mpg.

 

[farina1]

I'm a little concerned about Joe Toussaint, he's being abused by taller guards and he's providing nothing offensively. He'll have to kick it up a notch starting on Monday if he wants to log extended minutes.

I believe he tied for being the second leading rebounder against Western Illinois. Look at our guards combined rebounding total and then compare to the combined total of Rebracca and PMac.

 

[HoustonREDHawk]

This quickly, and seemingly inevitably turned into a a bitch session about McCaffery by the usual suspects.

Ulis and Tousainnt have remarkably similar stats. Both need to look for more points. Kris and Felipe and especially Patrick really need to focus on rebounding. Getting more boards will help both our offense and defense. Keegan, even though he will be the focus of other teams, needs to keep doing what he's doing. JBo needs to start hot and stay hot. Same with Payton and he needs to keep playing hard on defense.

Not much was expected of this team. I think they've displayed a higher ceiling than most predicted. Just play hard every minute you're on the floor and good things will happen. We're not going to win the B1G, but if we finish in the upper middle, the kids and the coaching staff did a pretty decent job.

I think this sums up my thoughts pretty well. Ulis and JoeT are both solid point guards, and we should be happy that we have two athletic PGs, who can play some on-ball defense and distribute the ball on offense. I agree that they should look to score a little more, to keep their defenders from helping with our primary scorers.

Rebounding is going to determine whether the Hawks can win about half of their B1G games. Defensive rebounding needs to be an emphasis, and Patrick, Rebraca, Kris, and Keegan need to make that their priority at the end of defensive possession. We cannot let other B1G teams dominate the lane, and our guards and wings need to get their share of long rebounds, before leaking out.

I did not see the Western Ill game, but it is a decent win. Mary Land is a must win, if the Hawks want to have any realistic chance of finishing in the top half of the B1G. There are a lot of good, but not great B1G teams, and the order of finish after the top 4 or 5 is totally up for grabs, except for Nebraska, IMO.

 

[Buffalo43]

I watched the game last night and Ulis outplayed Joe T again

 

[Buffalo43]

I like Ulis Perkins Sanfort Keegan Kris in at same time

 

[SDHawkDoc]

I thought that the instances of outstanding plays that Joe T has shown would be coalescing into something more consistent by now. He just hasn't worked out how to take that burst and control it enough. Couple that with not enough progression on his perimeter shot and this is where he's at. He's still a contributer. Ahron seems to be a steadier hand.

 

[RocknRollface]

This points me again to the analogy of the Iowa football offense vs Iowa basketball defense. We have been told over and over that the Iowa FB offense is very complicated and it seems to take a while for everything to be working right in order to produce........then, for some reason, these Iowa basketball players seem to struggle with the defensive concepts and coordination to make sure people are where they are supposed to be.....

I wonder if Woodbury would be a good assistant coach who could help take our defensive performance up several notches?....

Fran needs a defensive coordinator the way John Beileine did it. Maybe that could be Woody. (I think he's still playing somewhere though).

Thats not a new idea around here but its the only thing that will change the outcome IMO. But obviously Fran has to see the need.

I don't think its that the concepts are difficult, I think maybe they are doing to many different things trying to adjust to the opponent instead of taking the simple approach.

Sometimes they're switching, sometimes not. Sometimes doubling the post sometimes not ect. I don't know what that approach is because to be good at something you need to do it the same way consistently.

I also think they probably aren't spending the necessary time on the practice floor and the film study to gain the level of familiarity necessary with eachother.

From my experience its repetitions that yield the most results.

 

[perryhawk]

I thought that the instances of outstanding plays that Joe T has shown would be coalescing into something more consistent by now. He just hasn't worked out how to take that burst and control it enough. Couple that with not enough progression on his perimeter shot and this is where he's at. He's still a contributer. Ahron seems to be a steadier hand.

I've thought for some time that Ahron is a more cerebral player.....I think that he is more under control and less likely to make a bad play, while gradually increasing his offensive performance.

Joe on the other hand appears to me (no expertise-I might be completely full of it) to depend to much on his athleticism. I imagine that Joe was quicker than almost all of his opponents as he was growing up playing basketball, and stronger than a good share of them as well. I think the trouble with not keeping his balance, which I think affects the rest of his game, comes from getting his upper body to far out over his base. When he does that it doesn't take much contact to send him to the floor....and it doesn't allow for a quick change of direction. I think that if Joe could get this aspect of his game under control, the rest of it would start to improve. I think he has all the tools....good free throw shooter, good form, pretty good passer, etc.....

 

[RocknRollface]

I like Ulis Perkins Sanfort Keegan Kris in at same time

Thats the best overall lineup.

 

[ObeseMuffins]

When Jbo plays, our defense suffers.

 

[iahawks10]

I believe he tied for being the second leading rebounder against Western Illinois. Look at our guards combined rebounding total and then compare to the combined total of Rebracca and PMac.

5-30 from 3pt should get the guards a lot of rebounds.

 

[BirdistheWord]

I have noticed this difference between the two:

Joe: Tends to hang on to the ball, more dribbling, possibly indecisive?
Ulis: Tends to make quicker decisions and get rid of the ball.

Not saying Ulis always makes the better decision but he just seems more decisive IMHO.

Cheers,
Bird

 

[BirdistheWord]

When Jbo plays, our defense suffers.

Hot Take!

 

[SDHawkDoc]

When Jbo plays, our defense suffers.

That's always been the issue, hasn't it. He's a legit D-1 spot up shooter who simply doesn't have the athletic ability to compete defensively with the caliber of athletes that he has to go up against. Even though his effort on the D end leaves something to be desired, he'd still be at a severe disadvantage even if he played to his max on that end.

It just must be so counter to Fran's thinking to play a guy that's a better defender rather than primarily an offensive player. Otherwise, Perkins would be getting the lion's share of the minutes at the 2 spot.

 

[BBHawk]

That's always been the issue, hasn't it. He's a legit D-1 spot up shooter who simply doesn't have the athletic ability to compete defensively with the caliber of athletes that he has to go up against. Even though his effort on the D end leaves something to be desired, he'd still be at a severe disadvantage even if he played to his max on that end.

It just must be so counter to Fran's thinking to play a guy that's a better defender rather than primarily an offensive player. Otherwise, Perkins would be getting the lion's share of the minutes at the 2 spot.

Tony is already top 5 in mpg (5th). He will get more minutes with CMac out for a while after injuring his ankle last night(?). While I agree that he wouldn't hurt the team if he got more minutes, I still think he'll play top 5 minutes this year and be a starter his last 2 years. He has really stepped into being a leader this year. JoBo is a good leader, toio, and a hell of a shooter but he isn't the defensive force that Tony is. And Tony has really worked on his game. I haven't really seen any weaknesses this year.

 

[RocknRollface]

That's always been the issue, hasn't it. He's a legit D-1 spot up shooter who simply doesn't have the athletic ability to compete defensively with the caliber of athletes that he has to go up against. Even though his effort on the D end leaves something to be desired, he'd still be at a severe disadvantage even if he played to his max on that end.

It just must be so counter to Fran's thinking to play a guy that's a better defender rather than primarily an offensive player. Otherwise, Perkins would be getting the lion's share of the minutes at the 2 spot.

I made a point about this in the game thread yesterday.

Mid majors are full of guys like JBO who can shoot the hell out of the ball.

We've seen it last two gamed against W Illinois and Utah St. What keeps most major conference coaches from offering them is defense.

 

[Ihawkhoops]

So far, Rebraca has been an underwhelming portal pick up.

I'd like to see Fran's tepid use of the portal change and see him get more aggressive. Just don't see it happening.

Agree. Rebraca is a head scratcher. He is undersized and has yet to display the mid-range / 3-point game Fran touted when he transferred. I expected him to struggle against Purdue and Illinois, but he hasn't established himself as a post presence against the cupcake teams, which doesn't bode well for B1G play. Give his lack of production, I would like to see Josh or Mulvey get some PT.

Isolating Keegan has worked in the non-conference, but he will face relentless double teams and traps in conference play. Perkins and Ulis need to see more PT and as much as I hoped Joe would turn the corner, he seems like a bust at this point. He is disruptive on D, but doesn't seem to be able to do what Fran wants on the offensive side. Best hope for Iowa is to get teams in scramble situations, as their half court offense with no post presence is going to struggle.