Last year Iowa's 3 quarter court press against Purdue was great. Towards the end of the season they were a playing solid defense. So did they get worse by losing Jok and adding Garza and Nunge. Look there are lots of defensive of schemes out there. It's up to Fran to find the right one. Defensive ball pressure is a great luxury to have. But it is rare. Even quick guards struggle with ball pressure. It's not as common as you might think. I don't remember Iowa having anybody. Murray was a great defender but not an on the ball hawk. Horner was one of the slowest I could think of and those teams were ranked. It comes down to assignments and rotating. Mostly just knowing and trusting each other. It's something Frans teams struggle early with every year because for some reason he thinks he can play 12. The depth isn't real the cream will rise and Iowa defense will be very good real soon.
Prepare for NIT
- Thread starter And1Hawk
- Start date
I agree on the Grambling part...but no way the sleepwalking in large chunks..sitting in Carver I didnt see any sleepwalking at all....the game was more about how well Grambling was playing opposed to how bad we were.
Do we have more talent than Grambling.?..yes and we did win. I have no idea that Grambling played their best...i dont think anyone really does...unless you follow & have watched them play before last night.
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I was a slow footed point guard and as long as I knew where my help was coming from and trusted that it was there. I was able to put pressure on opposing guards by just know the scheme and what I needed to take away. That's why I stress playing 8 cause you have to know each other and each other's tendencies. Teams like Kentucky can just line up superior athletes and lock you down. But there are other ways. Who was the last Wisconsin defender that you said was just to quick. It's scheme and trust.
Holding Grambling to 43% shooting is not a good number. Against a really good team, yes it could be. Grambling shot 38% against VCU. I never said Iowa doesn't have the potential to make the NCAA tournament. It doesn't change the fact that the effort on the defensive end was just plain bad last night. That's all.
The Grambling game was perfect for two reasons: (1) It provided the team with a little adversity in the second half to see how they would handle it, and (2) It gave our naysaying fans a chance to predict gloom and doom for the rest of the season.
You'll have to forgive me if I don't abandon ship after our third game, which pitted us against a spunky, quick, motivated team.
You'll have to forgive me if I don't abandon ship after our third game, which pitted us against a spunky, quick, motivated team.
If Moss is running sub 3 second 40's when he 's healthy, he's playing the wrong sport.
Dang doom and gloomers 3 games into the season!?! C’mon at least wait till we see them play against a real opponent in the tourney or some conference matchups....
Didn’t the commentary last night say that this team had new starters? They had players that had just become eligible?
This isn’t the same team that played VCU.
This isn’t the same team that played VCU.
and I said the effort last night was not disturbing....and it certainly was not plain bad...unless of course you would prefer to hand pick those plays to make your point.
disturbing & bad are not even close...
ya but it doesnt help one when trying to make a point between 38 & 43%..
I think the announcers said several guys for Grambling had just become eligible, and that the starting five were all new? If so, nobody...not even the great masters of rankings...know how good Grambling State will be.
Nope, they got better. Or at least they will be better once they settle in. Jok was practically a defensive liability. Garza and Nunge have already displayed more than enough defensive talent to cover Jok's lost D....
Peter wasn't a great defender. This squad looks like they will improve on defense. The pressing and trapping with Garza on the back and Nunge on the front. Boys like Big AW, the Baer, Nunge, Bo and even Brady are good in that defense.
Hopefully they will stay in those kinds of Ds and then drop into an aggressive zone.
Hopefully they will stay in those kinds of Ds and then drop into an aggressive zone.
so now we're arguing over disturbing and bad? I give up. People bound to make the case that Grambling is good and the defensive effort last night was okay are going to believe it no matter waht.
no because posters like you will never ever give the opponent any credit for anything close to be talented.
They were good shooters and pretty quick with the ball,... I think they end up being a decent team by end of the season...
ya words matter...you called Grambling bad...(you see its all or nothing with you)
you said its doesnt matter how Iowa goes about trying to stop a team (zone,man,press) - it matters only if they can ....(again its all or nothing with you)..
you said Iowa was bad defensively last night (all or nothing).
you pointed out every possession you could come up with when there was a breakdown (yep there it is all or nothing)....of course you failed to mention how many minutes Grambling failed to score...maybe we just got lucky in the zone defense?
No one said Grambling is good...what we said was they played well...as difficult as this may be...ya sometimes the other guys do play well..
Based on the fact we have added 2 bigs + the added year of experience..I would suggest we will be a better rebounding team which makes us a better defensive team.
While there will be some B1G teams that have quicker (lateral) guards..not all of them do. And just because a team has quicker lateral guards doesnt mean they cant be defended..they still have to run their offense,,they still have to make shots...
I wish I had some of the insight that you find on this sight, I would be a millionaire!
I really don’t like it when you say realistic when it’s clearly your opinion. The reality is none of us know how this season will play out.
Personally, I am optimistic and believe our bigs will be difficult for teams to handle. Both freshmen are difficult matchups because they are inside/out threats. Grambling struggled once we went with Nunge, Cook, and Garza. Nunge’s ability to hit 3’s is hard to defend with both Cook and Garza with him. Throw in the 3 point shooters JBo and Moss and this lineup is really tough to stop.
Also, I believe the defense will improve from last year because of the length on this team. Last night after getting down 59-56 the defense was really good. A lot of that was due to having Nunge, Cook and Garza on the floor together.
I believe these things will make an NCAA invite a reality, but that’s just my opinion.
A couple of things. First I attend the majority of games. Given my distance from Carver I elect to miss a few like Grambling choosing to watch them from home. I also like Fran very much and think he's done a very good job and I enjoy watching his brand of basketball. Does not mean I don't have my own observations. I'm not a koolaid drinker and choose to state my views from a point of objectivity or as close as a fan of a team can get. Bottom line is I'd be thrilled to make the big dance every year including this one. Who wouldn't?
How does my realistic assessment conflict with the notion of an opinion? I do not state it as your opinion or anyone else's?
I have a deep respect for what it takes to make the NCAA tourney especially from a power 5/6 conference and from a 14 member conference like the B1G with a strong number of established programs. It's not like it used to be when we could line up 10-12 patsies in the non-con and then go 9-9 in the conference and punch our card for the dance with 20 wins. This ridiculous RPI metric gets involved today and the competition for a bid is fierce among many power league schools.
In addition it's not easy to make the NIT anymore like it used to be when they used to throw out bids to the power 5/6 conference teams who did not make the big dance like candy. Today's version only takes a couple at most from each power 5/6 conference and the rest are for the little guys left out. The point being me saying this team is a likely NIT candidate should not be a slap in the face. It means this team has had a solid campaign and is an absolute near miss from the big dance. Just like last year where I felt we had a team worthy of bid but did not make it.
I see this team in that 19-21 win range. The issue is where will our SOS be and who are the big wins and bad losses. With that kind of record, it's going to be square on the bubble. We have a real good team but there is a serious deficiency on the defensive end. I love and want high scoring teams but there will be nights where we are not scoring it and combined with our inability to stop someone due to our lack of quickness and depth in the backcourt this will spell defeat. We are almost there as a program but not quite there yet to have lofty expectations.
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See the statements in bold and a reminder you recently brought up a debate we had LAST year about a game played what, eleven months ago. That's a long time ago to be still waving a victory flag. I don't think you are objective at all.
I think you meet this standard...a crazy person seldom knows they are crazy. You just THINK you are objective.
And, many fans on here have followed the Hawkeyes for a very long time.
Now, I'll return to respecting your opinions as soon as I see you respecting the opinions of others.
Well you and I have similar experiences watching the Hawks so I guess by your definition I’m being realistic in my assessment that we will make the NCAA’s.
Look at Iowa’s schedule. They should start 13-0. 11-2 if they stub a toe or two against equal competition, like a Va Tech. Then the B1G foot race starts in earnest. No reason to think this team can’t win 20-22 reg season games, especially when two of their best players (Garza and Nunge) are true freshmen who should only get better, and the team’s heart and motor (Baer) hasn’t even logged a minute yet.
It was from the past but the point was I tried to mention that Seton Hall out of the Big East has become a really solid program again. Several poo-poo'd that warning and blew it off only to be stunned that we lost only to go into meltdown mode.
I'm not asking for respect of my opinions in the least. Why does that matter? Hold grudges if you want to.
Last season should be a stark and fresh reminder of how close the margin is at Iowa to being in or out of the big dance. We had a team worthy of being just barely in but were left out.
Playing more zone is a great idea and another category the 6-7 Dailey is better at than Bawinkel I mean Ellingson.
Usually when there's something that cannot be argued in an opinion it's confirmed when the rebuttal opinion comes back with name calling. That's a dead give away for 'yes I have concerns too'.
and U are so smart..u now can determine what concerns others have and the dead give away that determines that.
U are such a smart guy to start a dumb ass thread...being such a smart guy U could have at least waited til we lost a game...
I only have one opinion of U and it has zero to do with Iowa BB.
U know the guy that was yelling last night when we shot free throws...that wasnt U was it? I loved it went the band told him to shut up when he got ahead of himself.
I'm not the one that brought up something from a year ago...
And as far as last season, I just posted some fan opinions about it and it sure doesn't seem like many thought we were a just barely in team.
So let me get this straight.... you are the one expressing displeasure instead of just stating your rebuttal of why you think we will make the tourney which you could be proven right ... but while you are tossing out vitriol you are thinking I am the one yelling at the game against Grambling? Ok.
what U should get straight is I think you are a moron for posting a thread Prepare for NIT after 3 games and then tell others to be objective & not drink the kool aid. NOW thats funny.
U obviously were not at the game last night..as U didnt get the yelling & the band part.
Where did I say we would make the NCAA? OR not....lets try this again..to judge this team from 3 games is brutally unfair and I would suggest there isnt a player on this team who wouldnt think they need fans like you like they need a toothache.
I brought it up so it's on me. I think it was in relation to something disputed or being discussed. When we make the tourney this year which would be great you can hold this opinion over me forever. No problem from my end.
We had some excellent wins last year including wins over tourney teams ISU, Michigan, Wisconsin, Maryland, Purdue, etc. and one ripped away at Minny. We some bad losses too including UNO. We tied at 10-8 for fifth in the B1G with 4 other teams and were the only one of the 4 not to get in. We lost Tyler Cook early in he season for a stretch which was not factored in. I'd argue we had as many good wins as many of the final 4-8 teams to get invited. I'd also bet there were a number of teams that got in that did not beat 5 different tourney teams. The RPI is total crap.
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