Random Recommendations before the first Exhibition game

[DanL53]

1. Find and listen to:

The Hawkeye Report Podcast with the Barnstormers coaches.
The Hawkeye Report Podcast with Sherman Dillard
Every interview from the Prime Time League and on with all the Hawkeyes
The Hawkeye Report Article on Cordell Peml's recovery from surgery.
Everything Hawkeye Report has from Big Ten Media Day.

2. Read or listen to:

Big Ten Media Day interviews with McCaffery and the players on Hawkeye Central

Then to balance what will be a sky high feeling of utopia, Check out current Big Ten predictions which have Iowa from sixth, seventh, down to ninth. Not because Iowa is that bad, but the Big Ten is that good.

Now, if you've done all this...some things that you will have learned, or heard, to think about. (Coming in next post.)

 

[LaoHawk]

Stars are aligned for IA. Hey, FB is looking good, so are the Cubs. I think IA BB is next, or cats and dogs living together....

 

[DanL53]

1) Peter Jok expects to play a lot at the three. He is in great shape and eating better and his asthma is under control.
2) Uthoff is bigger and expects to play the four. Think, stretch four.
3) Woody is in great shape and is being touted as a 30-36 mpg player barring foul trouble. He also seems confident he can manage his fouls to stay in games.
4) Uhl gained about 20 pounds and is expected to play the four and five.
5) Wagner has put on muscle really fast. He's just under 6'7" but Dillard thinks his good footwork and strength makes up for being just a little on the short side.
6) Jones has impressed on offense and rebounding, is learning to play defense after playing entirely zone at Tyler CC.
7) It sounds as if Clemmons is ready to have a great senior year.
8) Gesell is now in Graduate school, and, my impression is he sounds more "grown up" and confident.
9) Nobody from Fran on down seemed concerned with who thinks they are good, bad whatever, they all seem confident in success.
10) Christian Williams doesn't want to redshirt, and Fran isn't sure if he wants him to or not...not ready to make any redshirt decisions.

 

[RefinedBean]

If Woody gets 36 minutes a game, I'll eat my foot. Even if he's in the best shape of his life, that is crazy talk.

 

[hawk-i bob]

If Woody gets 36 minutes a game, I'll eat my foot. Even if he's in the best shape of his life, that is crazy talk.

I agree with you...just cant see the big guy logging an average of 36 minutes..he certainly will play more than last year...but 36 seems a little high. I also don't think he will need to..I'm more than confident with the new & bigger Dom Uhl.

... this may also be Fran's way of telling Woody,,,hey we need you on the floor ... not on the bench.

 

[hawk-i bob]

1) Peter Jok expects to play a lot at the three. He is in great shape and eating better and his asthma is under control.
2) Uthoff is bigger and expects to play the four. Think, stretch four.
3) Woody is in great shape and is being touted as a 30-36 mpg player barring foul trouble. He also seems confident he can manage his fouls to stay in games.
4) Uhl gained about 20 pounds and is expected to play the four and five.
5) Wagner has put on muscle really fast. He's just under 6'7" but Dillard thinks his good footwork and strength makes up for being just a little on the short side.
6) Jones has impressed on offense and rebounding, is learning to play defense after playing entirely zone at Tyler CC.
7) It sounds as if Clemmons is ready to have a great senior year.
8) Gesell is now in Graduate school, and, my impression is he sounds more "grown up" and confident.
9) Nobody from Fran on down seemed concerned with who thinks they are good, bad whatever, they all seem confident in success.
10) Christian Williams doesn't want to redshirt, and Fran isn't sure if he wants him to or not...not ready to make any redshirt decisions.

11) Wagner sets really good screens.

 

[IronFist1776]

1) Peter Jok expects to play a lot at the three. He is in great shape and eating better and his asthma is under control.
2) Uthoff is bigger and expects to play the four. Think, stretch four.
3) Woody is in great shape and is being touted as a 30-36 mpg player barring foul trouble. He also seems confident he can manage his fouls to stay in games.
4) Uhl gained about 20 pounds and is expected to play the four and five.
5) Wagner has put on muscle really fast. He's just under 6'7" but Dillard thinks his good footwork and strength makes up for being just a little on the short side.
6) Jones has impressed on offense and rebounding, is learning to play defense after playing entirely zone at Tyler CC.
7) It sounds as if Clemmons is ready to have a great senior year.
8) Gesell is now in Graduate school, and, my impression is he sounds more "grown up" and confident.
9) Nobody from Fran on down seemed concerned with who thinks they are good, bad whatever, they all seem confident in success.
10) Christian Williams doesn't want to redshirt, and Fran isn't sure if he wants him to or not...not ready to make any redshirt decisions.[/QUOTE]

I realize we are loaded with guys who can play multiple positions and diversified skill sets but Williams should be the last one considered for a redshirt. Williams needs to get experience this season so that next season we won't have two wet behind the ears PG's. Bohannon will be a good one but he'll have hos growing pains too. I think this will Frans hardest decisions ever re: who to redshirt and who not to. Its a good problem to have although it will probably lead to transfers.

 

[HoustonREDHawk]

I agree with you...just cant see the big guy logging an average of 36 minutes..he certainly will play more than last year...but 36 seems a little high. I also don't think he will need to..I'm more than confident with the new & bigger Dom Uhl.

... this may also be Fran's way of telling Woody,,,hey we need you on the floor ... not on the bench.

Agreed. We need Woody on the floor more, but I will be surprised if he averages more than 30 min per game. If everyone stays healthy, I think Uthoff will be the only one averaging more than 30 min, and I expect that he will get at least a 2-3 min blow each half.

 

[Mohawkeye]

Agreed. We need Woody on the floor more, but I will be surprised if he averages more than 30 min per game. If everyone stays healthy, I think Uthoff will be the only one averaging more than 30 min, and I expect that he will get at least a 2-3 min blow each half.

My guess is that Gesell will also average 30 plus, at least in the Big and post season. Anything over 28 minutes a game from Woody is bonus. We have an odd mix of experience and newbies this year, who plays one game may not get much time in the next.

 

[CanadaHawk]

My guess is that Gesell will also average 30 plus, at least in the Big and post season. Anything over 28 minutes a game from Woody is bonus. We have an odd mix of experience and newbies this year, who plays one game may not get much time in the next.

Gesell has had injury or endurance issues every year at Iowa late in the season. I don't think he'll go over 28min/game average without blowing a gasket in February/March, which is when we'll need him most.

Woody, on the other hand, I can see enduring physically on the floor over 30min/game. But averaging anything over 28min tops may be to much to ask without him constantly being in foul trouble.

Uthoff, of course you'd like on the floor as much as possible, but you'd like him at full strength in March. I'm thinking Fran may try to save him vs weaker competition and also give newbies more minutes. Therefore, in the B1G he will definitely average more than over the course of the season- maybe a season average of 32.

Jok minutes are tied to endurance. He's had problems with this but we've seen him visibly get stronger. Depending on endurance, he could go anywhere between 23-30. This depends on where his happy place is for most productive # of minutes/game and the development of newbie wings.

Clemmons is another interesting case for minutes. For Clemmons, a lot is not on him. If IM or AF blow up over the course of the season, his minutes could go so far down as to be just an MG backup. On the other hand, if the wings take a while to develop, if MG needs help late in the season, Sapp could average close to 30. I think it'll be somewhere inbetween.

 

[The Sleeping Dog]

Woody needs to be on the court every minute of every competitive game. Every second he's on the bench exposes our lack of size and interior strength.

 

[hawki1968]

When Fran talks about Woody playing 34 minutes, it is in general terms: If we are playing Florida St in the ACC/B1G Challenge, Woody will play 30+ if he stays out of foul trouble. However, when we are up 20+ in some of our preseason games, he may only play 20. Then add in the games where he is in foul trouble. Combined, you're likely to see something hovering more around 28 min a game.

The average really isn't important, though, as long as he is able to play the big minutes against the right teams at the right times.

 

[DanHawkPella]

Updated MPG by Position chart (wild ass guesses):

PG: Gesell 26 mpg; Clemmons 14 mpg
SG: Fleming 18 mpg; Ellingson 12 mpg; Jok 8 mpg; Moss 2 mpg
SF: Jok 18 mpg; Uthoff 16 mpg; Jones 6 mpg
PF: Uthoff 12 mpg; Jones 10 mpg; Uhl 14 mpg; Wagner 4 mpg
C: Woody 30 mpg; Uhl 10 mpg

Total Minutes:
Woody 30
Uthoff 30
Gesell 26
Jok 26
Uhl 24
Fleming 18
Jones 16
Clemmons 14
Ellingson 12
Wagner 4
Moss 2
Baer 0 (will play some though, just not much)
Hutton 0 (any injuries bring him into play though)
Williams 0 (redshirt, or get him experience for next year?)

Why not start Clemmons?
He may start early in the year, but by late December I think Fleming or Ellingson at the SG is necessary to get the right spacing. Clemmons can only shoot wide open, catch and shoot 3's.

Why Jones for 16 mpg?
I think he's a matchup problem if he can play defense and rebound. He's a better 3 point shooter than Uhl and has a more refined inside game, just lacks his length and defense. Both will play a lot.

Why Fleming?
His game and body are pretty mature, and he seems unflappable. He's played with and against Big 10 level athletes and I think he fits in extremely well. Ellingson is a better shooter, but Fleming can get in the paint a little more and can shoot out to 25 feet if the clock is winding down (a key skill imo).

Toughest choices?
I feel good about the PG, SG and Joks role at SF given the recent articles. Woody's minutes are clear, and Uthoffs minutes are clear but even though he'll play the 4 based on the recent news it's less clear where Jones and Uhl will be playing - will they play the 3 or will they play the 4 and bump Uthoff to the 3? Unclear exactly how that will go, although it matters not so much on offense. The nice thing is that Uhl, Jones and Uthoff can create a lot of problems for teams from the 3/4 spots.

I think people are going to be really happy with Fleming, Ellingson and Jones. Clemmons to me is a liability because he'll look good against teams outside the Top 25, but when we get good defensive teams they can exploit the fact that his 3's are almost all catch and shoot, wide open 3's (which he doesn't get against good teams) and he lacks anything else that isn't a driving layup (ie: no in between game). Those deficiencies kill the spacing of our offense against good teams and hurt everyone else as well, especially when he and Geselll are on the floor at the same time since Gesell's range is limited too (but he can shoot off the dribble).

Fleming and Ellingson and space creators imo, and Fleming can get into the lane and create for others if they over play his shooting, Ellingson may be more limited in that regard but has a high BB IQ by all accounts.

 

[Ollie4ISU]

Woodbury has played an average of 17.9 minutes per game over his first three seasons. He averages 5.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.6 fouls per game. Expecting him to average even 30 minutes per game, let alone 36 is setting yourself up for disappointment, in my opinion. That is doubling his historical playing time. That simply isn't logical. If he gets to 25 minutes, nine points and eight boards, that would be a successful season as an individual player. Again, in my opinion.

 

[DanL53]

Woodbury has played an average of 17.9 minutes per game over his first three seasons. He averages 5.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.6 fouls per game. Expecting him to average even 30 minutes per game, let alone 36 is setting yourself up for disappointment, in my opinion. That is doubling his historical playing time. That simply isn't logical. If he gets to 25 minutes, nine points and eight boards, that would be a successful season as an individual player. Again, in my opinion.

Everyone is welcome to their opinion. The exact phrase McCaffery used was 30-36 mpg barring foul trouble.

As to Woody's historical playing time, he also had a sidekick all three years in Gabe Olaseni, who we all know is playing professional ball in Europe.

If I had to make a bet, I'd say that if Woody doesn't get injured he plays between 29/30 mpg. But a rather inconsistent 29 or 30 because he could certainly play many more in games without foul problems.

As to disappointment? I have a feeling once fans see what Uhl can bring off the bench there won't be disappointment.

 

[Ollie4ISU]

Everyone is welcome to their opinion. The exact phrase McCaffery used was 30-36 mpg barring foul trouble.

As to Woody's historical playing time, he also had a sidekick all three years in Gabe Olaseni, who we all know is playing professional ball in Europe.

If I had to make a bet, I'd say that if Woody doesn't get injured he plays between 29/30 mpg. But a rather inconsistent 29 or 30 because he could certainly play many more in games without foul problems.

As to disappointment? I have a feeling once fans see what Uhl can bring off the bench there won't be disappointment.

Woodbury has played 30 minutes or more in a game exactly once in his career. That was 30 minutes in the OT loss to Tennessee in the 2014 NCAA game. Suddenly he is going to average 30-36? I don't see it.

 

[DanL53]

Woodbury has played 30 minutes or more in a game exactly once in his career. That was 30 minutes in the OT loss to Tennessee in the 2014 NCAA game. Suddenly he is going to average 30-36? I don't see it.

Again. McCaffery said 30-36 mpg barring foul trouble. There is a difference between that statement and averaging 30-36 mpg. Please note he said, "barring foul trouble".

Again. Gabe Olaseni played a significant role all three previous seasons. Enough that last year he was the Big Ten's "Sixth Man". So yes, suddenly the minutes are available.

I see no reason to not expect 29/30 mpg from Woody. So, you and I disagree. No biggie. The season will tell.

 

[hawk-i bob]

Updated MPG by Position chart (wild ass guesses):

PG: Gesell 26 mpg; Clemmons 14 mpg
SG: Fleming 18 mpg; Ellingson 12 mpg; Jok 8 mpg; Moss 2 mpg
SF: Jok 18 mpg; Uthoff 16 mpg; Jones 6 mpg
PF: Uthoff 12 mpg; Jones 10 mpg; Uhl 14 mpg; Wagner 4 mpg
C: Woody 30 mpg; Uhl 10 mpg

Total Minutes:
Woody 30
Uthoff 30
Gesell 26
Jok 26
Uhl 24
Fleming 18
Jones 16
Clemmons 14
Ellingson 12
Wagner 4
Moss 2
Baer 0 (will play some though, just not much)
Hutton 0 (any injuries bring him into play though)
Williams 0 (redshirt, or get him experience for next year?)

Why not start Clemmons?
He may start early in the year, but by late December I think Fleming or Ellingson at the SG is necessary to get the right spacing. Clemmons can only shoot wide open, catch and shoot 3's.

Why Jones for 16 mpg?
I think he's a matchup problem if he can play defense and rebound. He's a better 3 point shooter than Uhl and has a more refined inside game, just lacks his length and defense. Both will play a lot.

Why Fleming?
His game and body are pretty mature, and he seems unflappable. He's played with and against Big 10 level athletes and I think he fits in extremely well. Ellingson is a better shooter, but Fleming can get in the paint a little more and can shoot out to 25 feet if the clock is winding down (a key skill imo).

Toughest choices?
I feel good about the PG, SG and Joks role at SF given the recent articles. Woody's minutes are clear, and Uthoffs minutes are clear but even though he'll play the 4 based on the recent news it's less clear where Jones and Uhl will be playing - will they play the 3 or will they play the 4 and bump Uthoff to the 3? Unclear exactly how that will go, although it matters not so much on offense. The nice thing is that Uhl, Jones and Uthoff can create a lot of problems for teams from the 3/4 spots.

I think people are going to be really happy with Fleming, Ellingson and Jones. Clemmons to me is a liability because he'll look good against teams outside the Top 25, but when we get good defensive teams they can exploit the fact that his 3's are almost all catch and shoot, wide open 3's (which he doesn't get against good teams) and he lacks anything else that isn't a driving layup (ie: no in between game). Those deficiencies kill the spacing of our offense against good teams and hurt everyone else as well, especially when he and Geselll are on the floor at the same time since Gesell's range is limited too (but he can shoot off the dribble).

Fleming and Ellingson and space creators imo, and Fleming can get into the lane and create for others if they over play his shooting, Ellingson may be more limited in that regard but has a high BB IQ by all accounts.

 

[hawk-i bob]

Updated MPG by Position chart (wild ass guesses):

PG: Gesell 26 mpg; Clemmons 14 mpg
SG: Fleming 18 mpg; Ellingson 12 mpg; Jok 8 mpg; Moss 2 mpg
SF: Jok 18 mpg; Uthoff 16 mpg; Jones 6 mpg
PF: Uthoff 12 mpg; Jones 10 mpg; Uhl 14 mpg; Wagner 4 mpg
C: Woody 30 mpg; Uhl 10 mpg

Total Minutes:
Woody 30
Uthoff 30
Gesell 26
Jok 26
Uhl 24
Fleming 18
Jones 16
Clemmons 14
Ellingson 12
Wagner 4
Moss 2
Baer 0 (will play some though, just not much)
Hutton 0 (any injuries bring him into play though)
Williams 0 (redshirt, or get him experience for next year?)

Why not start Clemmons?
He may start early in the year, but by late December I think Fleming or Ellingson at the SG is necessary to get the right spacing. Clemmons can only shoot wide open, catch and shoot 3's.

Why Jones for 16 mpg?
I think he's a matchup problem if he can play defense and rebound. He's a better 3 point shooter than Uhl and has a more refined inside game, just lacks his length and defense. Both will play a lot.

Why Fleming?
His game and body are pretty mature, and he seems unflappable. He's played with and against Big 10 level athletes and I think he fits in extremely well. Ellingson is a better shooter, but Fleming can get in the paint a little more and can shoot out to 25 feet if the clock is winding down (a key skill imo).

Toughest choices?
I feel good about the PG, SG and Joks role at SF given the recent articles. Woody's minutes are clear, and Uthoffs minutes are clear but even though he'll play the 4 based on the recent news it's less clear where Jones and Uhl will be playing - will they play the 3 or will they play the 4 and bump Uthoff to the 3? Unclear exactly how that will go, although it matters not so much on offense. The nice thing is that Uhl, Jones and Uthoff can create a lot of problems for teams from the 3/4 spots.

I think people are going to be really happy with Fleming, Ellingson and Jones. Clemmons to me is a liability because he'll look good against teams outside the Top 25, but when we get good defensive teams they can exploit the fact that his 3's are almost all catch and shoot, wide open 3's (which he doesn't get against good teams) and he lacks anything else that isn't a driving layup (ie: no in between game). Those deficiencies kill the spacing of our offense against good teams and hurt everyone else as well, especially when he and Geselll are on the floor at the same time since Gesell's range is limited too (but he can shoot off the dribble).

Fleming and Ellingson and space creators imo, and Fleming can get into the lane and create for others if they over play his shooting, Ellingson may be more limited in that regard but has a high BB IQ by all accounts.

sapp 14 min ... no way...20plus...

 

[revkev73]

mg burns a lot of energy...and gasses easily...

He needs to play in moderation...

 

[FranklinHawk]

sapp 14 min ... no way...20plus...

Yeah, Sapp and Fleming were the 2 there that stood out to me. I think Anthony's minutes will be higher and Fleming's lower (from what I have read Fleming needs to work on defense, while different players think much like Pete.

 

[Mohawkeye]

Gesell has had injury or endurance issues every year at Iowa late in the season. I don't think he'll go over 28min/game average without blowing a gasket in February/March, which is when we'll need him most.

Woody, on the other hand, I can see enduring physically on the floor over 30min/game. But averaging anything over 28min tops may be to much to ask without him constantly being in foul trouble.

Uthoff, of course you'd like on the floor as much as possible, but you'd like him at full strength in March. I'm thinking Fran may try to save him vs weaker competition and also give newbies more minutes. Therefore, in the B1G he will definitely average more than over the course of the season- maybe a season average of 32.

Jok minutes are tied to endurance. He's had problems with this but we've seen him visibly get stronger. Depending on endurance, he could go anywhere between 23-30. This depends on where his happy place is for most productive # of minutes/game and the development of newbie wings.

Clemmons is another interesting case for minutes. For Clemmons, a lot is not on him. If IM or AF blow up over the course of the season, his minutes could go so far down as to be just an MG backup. On the other hand, if the wings take a while to develop, if MG needs help late in the season, Sapp could average close to 30. I think it'll be somewhere inbetween.

I don't think Gessel's minutes were limited much last year by his elbow injury and I don't think endurance has ever been an issue for Gessel. He did have the foot injury his freshman year, but he hasn't had one injury that has been chronic. Just bad luck. Mostly, his minutes have been limited by depth with Clemmons and Marble also playing the point.

I think it is much more likely Woody will have issue with endurance and playing more than 30 minutes a game. Big guys in college tend to have endurance issues, especially on running teams. Most senior guards are capable of playing 30-35 minutes a game.

 

[mazda1]

I expect Moss to get more minutes as the season wears on. He's a talented scorer who can create his own shot. As the competition gets better I expect his relative success compared to the other newbies will rise.

 

[BirdistheWord]

EDITED Total Minutes:
Woody 25
Uthoff 30
Gesell 26
Jok 24
Uhl 23
Fleming 17
Jones 19
Clemmons 16
Ellingson 4
Wagner 10
Moss 6
Baer 0 (will play some though, just not much)
Hutton 0 (any injuries bring him into play though)
Williams 0 (redshirt, or get him experience for next year?)

 

[hawkeyeguy69]

I agree with you...just cant see the big guy logging an average of 36 minutes..he certainly will play more than last year...but 36 seems a little high. I also don't think he will need to..I'm more than confident with the new & bigger Dom Uhl.

... this may also be Fran's way of telling Woody,,,hey we need you on the floor ... not on the bench.

I see Woody playing closer to 25 minutes per game, rather than 30. Fran is prepping him to play a ton, for certain games we need him. That said, I do not see us playing him that many minutes on average.

I think with the team we have, Fran will attack the opponents more often than not. Opting to go with a smaller lineup to run the ball. Hitting with a Jones, Uhl, Fleming or whoever and attacking the rim or draining shots. Pushing the ball to beat down the other team.

Attacking our opponents will take a lot of players to stay fresh. Gesell and Uthoff won't need to leave the game much for that to happen. If Jok's health is that much better (and diet can help), then have Wagner or Uhl or Woody set those screens and watch the shots fall. Throw in Fleming or Ellingson or Jones or Moss or Clemmons and just keep attacking the other team. That can be done without Woody. Easy, I am afraid to say for our opponents. That may be a little confident , but I think this team has the swagger and will be able to drop the hammer on teams. Some good teams too.

One thing is for certain, we will know in about a month from now! And even with having a solid upperclassmen core, this team will grow considerably throughout the year. As the newbies improve, mature to the pace of the college game and mesh together with teammates.

So, sit back in that chair and get ready to enjoy the performance. This should be the funnest ride you have seen in many, many years...

#GoHawks #Attack