Positives and Negatives 16/17 compared to 17/18

[DanL53]

Negative:

Jok is gone. Many folks might say that is addition by subtraction but I do not agree with that in this case. A First Team all Big Ten player, the fact is if we wanted to add by subtracting, last year he would have sat on the bench more than he did. And I don't think anybody would have asked for that before we saw a game play out. (And I don't accept 20/20 hindsight as reason). We lose a gunslinger.

Positives:

Every other rotation guy returns! Among them, five true freshmen now become sophomores. From a team that finished 10-8 in the Big Ten, this should be concerning for the rest of the league. Especially when it appears some of those frosh have turned up their games quite noticeably!

Speaking of turning up games. It appears, or sounds like, Bear, Ellingson and Moss have all taken another step.

A need we had in 16/17 was lack of a post player. With the addition of Garza and the emergence of Kriener, we may have that need filled.

And, it's always great to have mysteries that don't carry negatives. I'd call them Positive What If's.

What if Nunge can fill spaces in the lineup? We've some positives from him already, and we didn't have him last year...so all is on the up here.

What if Williams avoids the nagging injuries, and gains confidence? He is our returning backup point guard. Things shouldn't be expected to get worse, but the chance they improve is there. And, Ellingson again, last year that didn't seem to be an option.

Daily, Wagner, Uhl...kind of a repeat of the first comment, but all could step up their games and if not there are guys ahead of them.

Pemsl, again, mentioned...but additionally if his injuries are behind him?

The schedule. It sets up well for a team looking to compete at the top of the league.

Conclusion.

This wasn't meant to be an "everything is fixed" thread. All teams have weaknesses. We haven;t FOR SURE proven we have our defense improved, nor our rebounding, nor our depth at point guard. But what I think we see is the potential to be a much better team is there.

Thoughts? Other positive or negatives?

 

[Suterman]

Sure. Jordan Bohannon was great last year. He should be better on the defensive end and should not regress offensively. Nicholas Baer is going to be even better also. This team will be better this year without question.

 

[CanadaHawk]

Negative:

Jok is gone. Many folks might say that is addition by subtraction but I do not agree with that in this case. A First Team all Big Ten player, the fact is if we wanted to add by subtracting, last year he would have sat on the bench more than he did. And I don't think anybody would have asked for that before we saw a game play out. (And I don't accept 20/20 hindsight as reason). We lose a gunslinger.

Positives:

Every other rotation guy returns! Among them, five true freshmen now become sophomores. From a team that finished 10-8 in the Big Ten, this should be concerning for the rest of the league. Especially when it appears some of those frosh have turned up their games quite noticeably!

Speaking of turning up games. It appears, or sounds like, Bear, Ellingson and Moss have all taken another step.

A need we had in 16/17 was lack of a post player. With the addition of Garza and the emergence of Kriener, we may have that need filled.

And, it's always great to have mysteries that don't carry negatives. I'd call them Positive What If's.

What if Nunge can fill spaces in the lineup? We've some positives from him already, and we didn't have him last year...so all is on the up here.

What if Williams avoids the nagging injuries, and gains confidence? He is our returning backup point guard. Things shouldn't be expected to get worse, but the chance they improve is there. And, Ellingson again, last year that didn't seem to be an option.

Daily, Wagner, Uhl...kind of a repeat of the first comment, but all could step up their games and if not there are guys ahead of them.

Pemsl, again, mentioned...but additionally if his injuries are behind him?

The schedule. It sets up well for a team looking to compete at the top of the league.

Conclusion.

This wasn't meant to be an "everything is fixed" thread. All teams have weaknesses. We haven;t FOR SURE proven we have our defense improved, nor our rebounding, nor our depth at point guard. But what I think we see is the potential to be a much better team is there.

Thoughts? Other positive or negatives?

Concerning Jok: the positive is that we're not really losing experience by losing Jok. Having all those underclassmen last year means that we're gaining more years of experience than we lost. The defensive replacements are there, and may be better- particularly on the interior. The offense will be more balanced- particularly we'll actually have inside scoring that can balance the perimeter scoring.

The negative we might encounter this year with Jok's loss are occasional dry spells in the offense, as the team gets used to not having him there to lean on when buckets are harder to come by. But the team growth appears ready to more than offset that generally.

As far as the rest, I'm interpreting this as: we have questions (like every team) but there appear to be more potential answers than Iowa's had in some time.

PG depth is the biggest worry. But CW is showing signs of development. BE appears ready to aid if needed as well. But we may actually miss Jok as a PG backup more than anything. In those minutes, it was a lot of pressure on an opposing D to have the leading scorer in the B1G bringing the ball down the floor. The offset will be more threats in the front court. I also think Fran will try Moss at PG occasionally for a few minutes to try and replicate the offensive pressure Jok could generate there.

 

[perryhawk]

Sure. Jordan Bohannon was great last year. He should be better on the defensive end and should not regress offensively. Nicholas Baer is going to be even better also. This team will be better this year without question.

I seldom disagree with you suter.....and this may be just a different look more than a disagreement but, I don't think it's realistic to assume JB can repeat last years offensive performance. Not saying he will regress necessarily but he set a very high bar and no longer has Jok beside him to draw the defensive attention of the other team.

I agree with the rest of your assessment I just think it a strong possibility that his offensive production won't be quite as good....hopefully I'm wrong.

 

[LBlindHawk]

Concerning Jok: you lose the go-to for end of game with a lead situations.
He carried a .911 FT% on 169 attempts.

The next two highest attempts from 16-17 were Cook and Pemsl with 122 and 120 each. They had .598 and .575 respectively.
Ellingson was 18/18
JB was 47/55 = .855

It is hard to overstate how important it was to have Jok at the line in those games. Hopefully JB maintains high 80's, but will he be the guy with over 150 FTs?

 

[perryhawk]

Concerning Jok: you lose the go-to for end of game with a lead situations.
He carried a .911 FT% on 169 attempts.

The next two highest attempts from 16-17 were Cook and Pemsl with 122 and 120 each. They had .598 and .575 respectively.
Ellingson was 18/18
JB was 47/55 = .855

It is hard to overstate how important it was to have Jok at the line in those games. Hopefully JB maintains high 80's, but will he be the guy with over 150 FTs?

Yeah, I think those are important points. I believe the way we make up for the loss of Pete and become a better team involves the following (some of it a repeat of what you mention).

1) Better team defense...the biggest factor.
2) Better rebounding (some consider this a part of the defensive improvement).
3) Free throw shooting....Bigs need to be better. Specifically Cook and Pemsl. Wagner was not very good either but I don't know that he will get the minutes and won't be shooting as many. Cook appears to be improved in this area....hopefully Cordel has been working on his free throws and improving. I think that Luka, Ryan, and Jack are pretty good FT shooters.
4) Moss....more scoring in all areas.
5) Baer, more minutes, more scoring.
6) Pounding the ball inside and drawing fouls....limiting the effectiveness of the oppositions big guys.

The good news is that I think all of these things are doable and realistic.

 

[icantfindausernamethatisntused]

I seldom disagree with you suter.....and this may be just a different look more than a disagreement but, I don't think it's realistic to assume JB can repeat last years offensive performance. Not saying he will regress necessarily but he set a very high bar and no longer has Jok beside him to draw the defensive attention of the other team.

I agree with the rest of your assessment I just think it a strong possibility that his offensive production won't be quite as good....hopefully I'm wrong.

What exactly do you mean by repeat last year's offensive performance? If you mean you think it's unrealistic that he can score 10.9 PPG, then I disagree. However, if you mean it might be unrealistic for him to match his 41.6% 3-point percentage, then I think you might be right.

Bohannon is a great shooter, but matching his 3-point shooting prowess last year will be difficult to beat. We all know how great of a shooter Jok was, and his career best was 40.2% from 3. I believe Bohannon can once again make close to 90 3-pointers this year, but he might not do so as efficiently as he did last year.

The biggest area for Bohannon to improve is his ability to drive and finish in the lane. If he can develop a consistent floater, his offensive game could vastly improve. However, given his size and athleticism, I think it is going to be difficult for him to ever be a consistent scoring threat inside the 3-point line, and if he can't improve that aspect of his game then the only increased offensive production from him will likely be increased volume rather than increased efficiency.

 

[Suterman]

I seldom disagree with you suter.....and this may be just a different look more than a disagreement but, I don't think it's realistic to assume JB can repeat last years offensive performance. Not saying he will regress necessarily but he set a very high bar and no longer has Jok beside him to draw the defensive attention of the other team.

I agree with the rest of your assessment I just think it a strong possibility that his offensive production won't be quite as good....hopefully I'm wrong.

Very possible. Jordan is a gamer though and I won't count him out. Sophomore slump is always possible and if it happens to Jordan, it doesn't mean good things for the Hawkeyes.

 

[hawk-i bob]

JBo will be a better player than last year...because he is better.
That doesn't mean he will score more or have better shooting percentages...because 'others' are better as well & we have at least two additions.
One thing is for sure...the kid can flat out shoot.

I think it comes down to matchups from one opponent to another. Some games he will score a lot some others' he will not.

That's was I like about this team...lots of options for Fran as well as our opponents to prepare a scouting report.

 

[kceasthawk]

I seldom disagree with you suter.....and this may be just a different look more than a disagreement but, I don't think it's realistic to assume JB can repeat last years offensive performance. Not saying he will regress necessarily but he set a very high bar and no longer has Jok beside him to draw the defensive attention of the other team.

I agree with the rest of your assessment I just think it a strong possibility that his offensive production won't be quite as good....hopefully I'm wrong.

Yes, we lost Jok, to draw the defense, BUT. I think we'll see an entirely different Moss this year. I think he deferred to Jok and others in many games, only showing glimpses of his potentcial. Think he breaks out this year, and will have a 2nd team all BIG type of year.

 

[nu2u]

Defense will almost certainly improve and that is a big, big difference. Garza brings back the Woodbury presence; Kriener is developing. With 10-12 players jockeying for more minutes, I have to believe that you better hustle and play aggressive defense or Fran will give you a seat - especially with regard to inside rebounding where Fran has another 2-3 quality low players he can bring off the bench.

 

[unoHawkeye]

As others have alluded to, I don't believe that Bohannon matches his statistical production from last year, but the defensive attention that he draws should open up a lot of opportunities for our post players and other shooters. If Isaiah Moss/Brady Ellingson can become go-to scorers this year, I don't see many teams with the ability to stop this offense.

 

[perryhawk]

What exactly do you mean by repeat last year's offensive performance? If you mean you think it's unrealistic that he can score 10.9 PPG, then I disagree. However, if you mean it might be unrealistic for him to match his 41.6% 3-point percentage, then I think you might be right.

Bohannon is a great shooter, but matching his 3-point shooting prowess last year will be difficult to beat. We all know how great of a shooter Jok was, and his career best was 40.2% from 3. I believe Bohannon can once again make close to 90 3-pointers this year, but he might not do so as efficiently as he did last year.

The biggest area for Bohannon to improve is his ability to drive and finish in the lane. If he can develop a consistent floater, his offensive game could vastly improve. However, given his size and athleticism, I think it is going to be difficult for him to ever be a consistent scoring threat inside the 3-point line, and if he can't improve that aspect of his game then the only increased offensive production from him will likely be increased volume rather than increased efficiency.

Yep, we're pretty much in agreement.....

 

[AZmess]

The question marks are going to be:
-PG:

-can JBo figure out a way to score? Other teams are going to try and wear him out
-Can Williams improve and give them quality minutes as the back up?​

-will they figure out a way to defend better than they did last year?

 

[AZmess]

Defense will almost certainly improve and that is a big, big difference. Garza brings back the Woodbury presence; Kriener is developing. With 10-12 players jockeying for more minutes, I have to believe that you better hustle and play aggressive defense or Fran will give you a seat - especially with regard to inside rebounding where Fran has another 2-3 quality low players he can bring off the bench.

I like to think that the D has to improve by default. Jok (who I loved) is gone and we can all agree he wasn't the best defender. Additionally, everyone else is a year older/smarter/stronger.

But I need to see it first.

 

[HeRKeYHoPeFuL]

JBo will be a better player than last year...because he is better.
That doesn't mean he will score more or have better shooting percentages...because 'others' are better as well & we have at least two additions.
One thing is for sure...the kid can flat out shoot.

I think it comes down to matchups from one opponent to another. Some games he will score a lot some others' he will not.

That's was I like about this team...lots of options for Fran as well as our opponents to prepare a scouting report.

I think this is an appropriate take on JBo. Folks can look at whether he is better/worse than last year, but that won't matter much if everyone else improved enough to take pressure off of him.

He was a KEY part of last year, as we had Jok, Bohannon, Baer, then mostly inconsistent players filling in the rest of the lineup. If we have more standouts, Bohannon isn't needed to be as effective in so many big spots... he can be more selective or have subpar performances "covered up" by other players stepping up.

 

[youflog1hawk]

I'm normally a not to high or to low person but I believe this team will be much better than most think. By the big ten Fran will know his rotation set. As the season progresses Our experience and depth will just continue to grow with these youngsters.

The down side would be if the veterans do not grow and assert themselves causing rotation issues where at times the team looses cohesiveness. There are a lot of players to try at many positions. We need a set rotation.

 

[AZmess]

Fran has never known his rotations. I don't see that changing.

 

[Herky T Hawk]

I'm excited for this team. Across the board I really like the starters and many guys that could be starting. But, here are my biggest worries.
1. I think that our viable backup PG will be playing baseball this season. Any extended injury to JBo and you can kiss the NCAA tourney goodbye. Williams lacks confidence and shooting ability to be a really good backup PG. Teams can sag off of him and clog up his passing/driving lanes.

2. I'm worried about our depth a SG. Brady, going into his fourth year in school, hasn't really shown himself to have gained noticeable improvement every year in the system. I honestly expect the same streaky shooter that he has been for the previous 2 seasons. When Moss hits the bench for a break I'm expecting one of two things. 30% of the time Brady hits 2 or 3 quick threes spurring the offense. 70% of the time Brady misses several threes and the offense goes into a funk. After Brady, who the heck knows what we'll get out of Dailey when he plays.

3. I'd love to see Uhl rework himself into being a quality SF that can backup Baer. Baer does best when he plays fewer than 30 minutes and doesn't feel like he has to take the team upon his shoulders. Look at how he he played at the end of last season after he won the 6th man award. He was pressing and trying to do too much and his game suffered.

I'm not worried about PF or C. I think we have enough bodies with good talent to do really well at those positions, even with an injury or two. These positions have talented players that bring different skill sets to the court meaning that the opponents have to play differently depending upon who is out there. Having two guys available that can fill the traditional C role will help out a ton on defense.

 

[HellaHawk]

Good post, as always. The 2013-2014 team versus the 2014-2015 team is an apt comparison. The 2013-2014 team had a slump at the end of the season and squeezed into the tournament in the Last 4 in. Last year's team went on a run at the end of the season and made it into the Last 4 out.

The 2013-2014 team lost three seniors: Marble, Basabe, McCabe. Last year we just lost Jok--comparable to the loss of Marble.

The 2014-2015 team added three players: Uhl, Dickerson, and Ellington (who redshirted). None were meaningful contributors. This year's team adds: Garza, Nunge, and Connor (also a RS). It seems they will contribute much more than the freshman in 2014-2015.

The 2014-2015 team improved upon the record of the 2013-2014 team and earned a 7th seed in the NCAA. This year's team has the potential to best that record, but it could go either way. 2014-2015 team was more veteran, but that also meant they likely would improve less between the seasons. We should see a bigger jump with 4 key contributing Freshman from last year becoming Sophmores this year.

 

[BBHawk]

Concerning Jok: you lose the go-to for end of game with a lead situations.
He carried a .911 FT% on 169 attempts.

The next two highest attempts from 16-17 were Cook and Pemsl with 122 and 120 each. They had .598 and .575 respectively.
Ellingson was 18/18
JB was 47/55 = .855

It is hard to overstate how important it was to have Jok at the line in those games. Hopefully JB maintains high 80's, but will he be the guy with over 150 FTs?

Moss. Shot almost 80%, has better handles than Jok had and was much stronger going to the hoop. He had several and ones last year and will only have more with the way he is shooting it this year. He will also keep teams from sagging too much on Bohannon. They collectively will keep opponents honest defensively.
Edit - Jok shot 79.4% FTs as a freshman at Iowa. Moss shot 79.3%

 

[The Sleeping Dog]

Disagree at 2 depth. Brady has improved significantly in all areas of the game. I hope we find a way to keep him in late in close games; that's your 90% shooter. He's not great but he's pretty good. If his ball handling skills have improved that might solve the reserve point guard problem. That's a total TBS situation.

Disagree with regression from J Bo. Having now watched thousands of these kids over an seemingly impossible 5 different decades the guys that regress, other than injuries, have one or both of two traits. They do not play with maximum effort and focus and they don't seem joyous, . That lack of joy really hinders progress. Two guys provide good examples.

Mike Payne. For the old geezers who saw him did he ever seem really happy? He wasn't lazy by any means but his body language and face read disinterest. He played like a good soldier who did it because he was built and trained for it but didn't really enjoy it.

Mel Basabe. Another kid that never seemed really very happy. Didn't smile much. Didn't appear very interested from the bench. Not a problem but another guy that didn't really loaf but clearly was unenthusiastic.

Everything that is known about Jordan Bohannon bespeaks the opposite. Not just being bred to play, although that's obvious, but with matching enthusiasm and desire to improve. Extremely competitive fueled in part by being underestimated as a recruit. The limited eye exposure this summer has shown Jordan working on getting deeper into the lane with the ball.

Statistically he had the best freshman season at point guard since Ronnie Lester. The other freshmen starters really aren't even close. I expect him to steadily improve every season. Jordan will never be the weak link in any combination of players on the court. The key is to keep him surrounded with scorers-which it seems the Hawks will have and defensively backed by a flexible and big combination of players-which the Hawks will also have for the foreseeable future.

CW is the biggest question mark. If he's improved and is no longer a significant offensive liability then 17-18 should be a very good season for the Beloved Iowa Hawkeyes. Thinking 22-23 regular season wins.

 

[SDHawkDoc]

Good news is that any improvement defensively will go a long way.
They don't have to become a lockdown team on the defensive end. That would be nearly impossible to accomplish as I expect, and hope, that they will continue to push the tempo offensively and run other teams off the floor. As long as the matador defense that we saw too much of last year is significantly reduced, that will translate positively on the floor.

 

[TheGuy9]

While Peter was definitely an asset to the team, there were several games in the season where he shot the Hawks into a hole which they couldn't dig themselves out of. With a more balanced attack and players not deferring to a single player, it could make the Hawks a much tougher team. It's true that Pete did win many games for the team, but he also had a hand in many of the loses.

 

[iabcuda]

Never thought that Jok's presence on the floor made the other players around him better. Somewhat the opposite when Jok would drain a 28 footer, they would stand and watch and the look on their faces was more like "Hell, I can't do that."

 

[Legend12]

While Peter was definitely an asset to the team, there were several games in the season where he shot the Hawks into a hole which they couldn't dig themselves out of. With a more balanced attack and players not deferring to a single player, it could make the Hawks a much tougher team. It's true that Pete did win many games for the team, but he also had a hand in many of the loses.

Which games were those?

 

[IowaNiceHawk]

Tyler Cook will be better, as a complete player (like FTs) than last year.

Cordell Pemsl played great last year, but I wager he'll be better also.

So, will Isaiah Moss.

This team is going to be a tough match for many opponents.

Go Hawks

 

[MonmouthHawk]

Iowa was outside the top 100 on D last year according to KenPom. I think they take a big step forward. The bigs and I think CW will help on that end. They will miss Jok at times but Moss and JBo have a chance to get more looks. Iowa should be able to have great inside outside balance with all of the quality bigs and improvement from Cook. Really looking forward to this year, I think for them to really go far Moss will really have to expand his game creating in the lane and shooting well. That is my early take.

 

[Gary-Waterloo]

I agree with all other posters who mentioned defense. If Iowa was even average defensively last year they would have been a really good team. If they can become average to slightly above this year they should be a really good team. I think the Hawks gave up a record number of layups last year. Cook and JaBo were not good at all last year. I hope Fran made Cook understand that if he wants to play in the NBA he will have a much better shot at it if he becomes a defensive star. JaBo just has to be able to keep in front of players. They have a lot of players who can score but they just need to force other teams to take more difficult shots. They have enough bodies and length that they can run some traps to wear teams out. The offense will work itself out but the defense really needs to step up.

 

[Ronman]

While Peter was definitely an asset to the team, there were several games in the season where he shot the Hawks into a hole which they couldn't dig themselves out of. With a more balanced attack and players not deferring to a single player, it could make the Hawks a much tougher team. It's true that Pete did win many games for the team, but he also had a hand in many of the loses.

I never questioned Pete's shot selection, although I'm sure he took some ill-timed bombs. I was usually more surprised when the shots didn't fall. There were, however, several games when we were coming down the stretch that he made some boneheaded passes or lost the ball dribbling into traffic. That said, I never thought of Jok as anything but a positive asset to the team overall. He plainly won a lot of games for the Hawks over his tenure.

 

[mazda1]

We will definitely start out the year playing better defense than we did last season at the start. We have more experience and the benefit of extra games and practices. As we get into better competition I'm still concerned about our ability to defend the dribble drive. Our bigs never really figured out how to rotate on help D and while I expect us to improve I don't think it's automatic just because we have more interior size. We definitely have the potential to be better.

Our offensive production will miss Jok at the end of shot clocks and his automatic free throws helped reduce end of game pressure for us.

Early on Jok was huge on getting the ball off the D glass for us. Garza should help, but we need all our bigs to play with intensity in this aspect of the game. This is still a significant concern for me. I get the feeling Tyler is more concerned about getting out for an ESPN slam than getting the ball.

The back up point minutes are an unknown, but we're starting the year in much better shape than last season.

I'm definitely looking forward to the hoops season and think it will be a good year. I'm not as ready to go overboard hyping this group as some after the European trip.

 

[TheGuy9]

Which games were those?

Here you go.

All Loses and in many cases his field goal percentage was either the worst or the second worst among Iowa starters. There are more but here's a link if you would care to look at them game by game. Just highlight, right click and choose go to option.
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/iowa/2017.html

TCU 8-17
Indiana 4-11
Mich St. 2-11
Minnesota 8-20
Illinois 3-9
Northwestern 2-9
Maryland 4-12
As i said, he was an asset but he did have some not so great games,

 

[Legend12]

Here you go.

All Loses and in many cases his field goal percentage was either the worst or the second worst among Iowa starters. There are more but here's a link if you would care to look at them game by game. Just highlight, right click and choose go to option.
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/iowa/2017.html

TCU 8-17
Indiana 4-11
Mich St. 2-11
Minnesota 8-20
Illinois 3-9
Northwestern 2-9
Maryland 4-12
As i said, he was an asset but he did have some not so great games,

If this is your attempt to back up your claim that "there were several games in the season where he shot the Hawks into a hole which they couldn't dig themselves out of" I suggest you take some time to ponder the idea that you might not have any idea what you are talking about. It will save you some embarrassment.

But let's look at the Illinois game just for fun. Iowa trailed at the half, 24-40, and you have asserted that is a game where Jok got the Hawks into a hole they couldn't get out of.

In the first half Jok was 1-4 from the field....2-2 from the line. So he missed 3 shots...and 6 total for the game while going 3-9, and he shot them into a hole they could never overcome?

Some other first half shooting #s from that game:
Cook 1-5
Bohannon 0-3 (would finish 1-9)

 

[RocknRollface]

Concerning Jok: you lose the go-to for end of game with a lead situations.
He carried a .911 FT% on 169 attempts.

The next two highest attempts from 16-17 were Cook and Pemsl with 122 and 120 each. They had .598 and .575 respectively.
Ellingson was 18/18
JB was 47/55 = .855

It is hard to overstate how important it was to have Jok at the line in those games. Hopefully JB maintains high 80's, but will he be the guy with over 150 FTs?

Jok shot a ton of frethrows because he had the ball all the time the whole game, not just the end.

JBO, Moss and Ellingson are all good to excellent freethrow shooters and equal to better ballhandlers than Jok.

Having a guy to shoot frethrows at the end of games is of virtually no concern for this team.

 

[RocknRollface]

I'm excited for this team. Across the board I really like the starters and many guys that could be starting. But, here are my biggest worries.
1. I think that our viable backup PG will be playing baseball this season. Any extended injury to JBo and you can kiss the NCAA tourney goodbye. Williams lacks confidence and shooting ability to be a really good backup PG. Teams can sag off of him and clog up his passing/driving lanes.

2. I'm worried about our depth a SG. Brady, going into his fourth year in school, hasn't really shown himself to have gained noticeable improvement every year in the system. I honestly expect the same streaky shooter that he has been for the previous 2 seasons. When Moss hits the bench for a break I'm expecting one of two things. 30% of the time Brady hits 2 or 3 quick threes spurring the offense. 70% of the time Brady misses several threes and the offense goes into a funk. After Brady, who the heck knows what we'll get out of Dailey when he plays.

3. I'd love to see Uhl rework himself into being a quality SF that can backup Baer. Baer does best when he plays fewer than 30 minutes and doesn't feel like he has to take the team upon his shoulders. Look at how he he played at the end of last season after he won the 6th man award. He was pressing and trying to do too much and his game suffered.

I'm not worried about PF or C. I think we have enough bodies with good talent to do really well at those positions, even with an injury or two. These positions have talented players that bring different skill sets to the court meaning that the opponents have to play differently depending upon who is out there. Having two guys available that can fill the traditional C role will help out a ton on defense.

Ellingson was obviously improved last year and was the opposite of streaky.

He lead the leauge in 3pt %. How could that possibly be viewed as streaky?

Yes he disapears regularly because he has trouble getting open, but when he does shoot he makes them more than anyone else.

 

[RocknRollface]

Jok didnt shoot Iowa out of games, he did sometimes force shots that were poorly timed in close games.

He did often keep both teams in the game with his great shooting and bad turnovers/poor D.

The real problem was that often when he would get hot, the rest of the team went into a shell and stopped looking at the basket.

When you stop looking at the basket the defense adjusts and starts turning you over quickly.

 

[hawksense]

People keep looking for "big leaps forward" in defending.

Get better. Better than you were last season.

A big leap? Start with getting better. Period. It changes the balance of everything.

If perimeter defense doesn't get better, you risk foul trouble in the post with players trying to clean up the mess.

I hope for some stalwart defenders at a couple of positions that help change the attack of opposing offenses. If you know where a team is going to attack and where it won't, things become a little easier to identify and defend.

 

[DanL53]

People keep looking for "big leaps forward" in defending.

Get better. Better than you were last season.

A big leap? Start with getting better. Period. It changes the balance of everything.

If perimeter defense doesn't get better, you risk foul trouble in the post with players trying to clean up the mess.

I hope for some stalwart defenders at a couple of positions that help change the attack of opposing offenses. If you know where a team is going to attack and where it won't, things become a little easier to identify and defend.

Yes, a big part is learning how to drive the ball where you want it to go. Don't have to stop penetration, but can't allow a guard to pick a lane.

 

[kceasthawk]

Jok shot a ton of frethrows because he had the ball all the time the whole game, not just the end.

JBO, Moss and Ellingson are all good to excellent freethrow shooters and equal to better ballhandlers than Jok.

Having a guy to shoot frethrows at the end of games is of virtually no concern for this team.

Yep, it helps that Garza looks solid from the line. If Cook and Pemslkeep working on that skill set, we'll be in good shape.

 

[SDHawkDoc]

People keep looking for "big leaps forward" in defending.

I don't know who is looking for "big leaps forward", but it's certainly not me.
I'm just hoping for some improvement. Anything beyond the matador defense we saw on both the perimeter and interior too much of the year.
The goal is to outscore the opponent. 5 or so more stops a game than what they would routinely get last year would go a long way.
I love the style they play offensively with pushing the tempo. Keep scores in the upper 70s to mid 80s. Don't lose that. Just play a little better on the defensive end.