Rank the Hawkeyes offense and defense

[hawksense]

Be realistic. There's a lot we don't even know about this team yet. Hell, they don't even know.

Anyway, out of the 14 teams in the league, where do you see the Hawks ranking?

I could see us scoring 75. Where does that put us? About middling, i suppose.

Defensively is where I think we make or break our season. If our scoring margin is plus 1, good for us. I think we can be an upper tier defensive team. Strong rebounding and post d with steady to good guard defense.

I still feel we'll finish 6-8 place this year. Not bad, considering. Hoping for better with a lot of great surprises, just like every year.

 

[perryhawk]

I agree with the sentiment that the defense is where this team either makes or breaks this coming season. The good part about that is this team has the physical tools to be really good in that area. The length and athleticism that a good chunk of this roster has, appears to fit a style of play founded in great defense. The questions/concerns that remain are, can this coaching staff push this young roster to consistently play defense at a high level? Will youth and inexperience prohibit this group playing at the necessary level?

I think great defense can feed effective offense and for this team to be successful I think they have to have that happen. I have no idea, at this point, where that will rank among the other teams in the Big 10.

Bottom line for me is still this, there is plenty of athletic talent on this team but there is also a major lack of experience.....we have a good coaching staff but I'm not sure how much they can make up for the lack of experience on this years team. So, in the end I think there is a great deal of potential here but my guess is that we don't see a really high level of play until the season after this one.

Last but not least I think an NIT or bubble team this year is a reasonable expectation that will lead to a strong future for this program.

 

[nu2u]

The good news: Offense will improve w/o Woodbury

The bad news: Defense will be worse w/o Woodbury

TBD: Will the good news outweigh the bad news.

That's pretty simplistic, of course, but its a good place to start because. Will need to see Cook and Pemsl play and will be watching to see if Uhl takes a big step forward.

Right now, I think Iowa will have a higher scoring offense but will also allow more points. A big key for me will be team 3PT shooting percentage - this team has a few good options besides Jok but 2nd and 3rd options are unproven.

 

[HoustonREDHawk]

We will be longer on the perimeter and more athletic on the interior, but it is hard to say how that will translate on the court. The cohesiveness of our team on defense was a strength last year. That came from experience playing together, so the improved athleticism may not mean better defense. On offense, we will have more ability to take it to the hoop, but I don't see a lot of shooters to make up for the loss of Uthoff.

 

[Carlton]

We will be longer on the perimeter and more athletic on the interior, but it is hard to say how that will translate on the court. The cohesiveness of our team on defense was a strength last year. That came from experience playing together, so the improved athleticism may not mean better defense. On offense, we will have more ability to take it to the hoop, but I don't see a lot of shooters to make up for the loss of Uthoff.

Not disagreeing with your observation, but a healthy Ellingson and Bohannon would appear to be guys that could be called upon to shoot from the perimeter.
That being said, is there any thought that Jordan will redshirt this year?

 

[CanadaHawk]

We will be longer on the perimeter and more athletic on the interior, but it is hard to say how that will translate on the court. The cohesiveness of our team on defense was a strength last year. That came from experience playing together, so the improved athleticism may not mean better defense. On offense, we will have more ability to take it to the hoop, but I don't see a lot of shooters to make up for the loss of Uthoff.

Agree that we will definitely miss the cohesiveness from experience. The increased athleticism and length probably makes it a wash. Jok will probably replace JU's output in the scoring and 3pt columns. Then it's a question mark as to who replaces Jok's output, but one with multiple possible answers. We will have more points in the paint with this outfit, something that's bound to open up the shooting. Yes, the answers are unproven. It will be interesting to see who answers the call.

 

[Legend12]

Be realistic. There's a lot we don't even know about this team yet. Hell, they don't even know.

Anyway, out of the 14 teams in the league, where do you see the Hawks ranking?

I could see us scoring 75. Where does that put us? About middling, i suppose.

Defensively is where I think we make or break our season. If our scoring margin is plus 1, good for us. I think we can be an upper tier defensive team. Strong rebounding and post d with steady to good guard defense.

I still feel we'll finish 6-8 place this year. Not bad, considering. Hoping for better with a lot of great surprises, just like every year.

75 points per game would have placed them 6th in the conference last season.
74 points allowed per game would have placed them tied for 12th in the conference last season.
+1 scoring difference would have placed them 11th in the conference last season.

 

[nu2u]

The more I think about it, my hunch is that Fran tries to increase the tempo on offense this year which involves as many as 10 players who will get regular minutes. Push the ball off of defensive rebounds, 2,3, or 4 passes to find the open shooter, and apply pressure after made baskets more often. More shots, not as much dribbling.

I really don't know what to expect defensively because of the newcomers. On paper, it feels like this year's team will give up more points. Clemmons, Woodbury, and Gesell were pretty tough defenders. Maybe some added quickness will close the gap. It will probably be a work in progress and a lot of sideline foot stomping early in the season.

 

[hawksense]

75 points per game would have placed them 6th in the conference last season.
74 points allowed per game would have placed them tied for 12th in the conference last season.
+1 scoring difference would have placed them 11th in the conference last season.

That was only to emphasize that in order to win, we need at least a one positive point scoring margin. I didn't imply that enough.

It's all simply guesswork for entertainment's sake.

 

[hawksense]

If Williams is back on defense, he could alter a lot of shots with his freak-like arms.

 

[nu2u]

If Williams is back on defense, he could alter a lot of shots with his freak-like arms.

Hope so. Need to tighten up the perimeter defense.

I'm more concerned about what will happen under the basket. Woodbury was a force on the boards. Cook has that potential IMO. Wagner and Uhl will be counted on to help fill the void - these guys have at least one full season under their belt. Pemsl is sort of a wild card in my mind.

 

[DanL53]

I think it takes a good look at the thirteen other teams. And the schedule. I'm still in the middle of doing so, and at this time I have Iowa penciled in at fifth or tied for it. As to the scoring output and defense, if anyone can get me a ten minute meeting with the head of Big Ten officials I'll then let you know.

 

[HawkLogic]

The good news: Offense will improve w/o Woodbury

The bad news: Defense will be worse w/o Woodbury

TBD: Will the good news outweigh the bad news.

That's pretty simplistic, of course, but its a good place to start because. Will need to see Cook and Pemsl play and will be watching to see if Uhl takes a big step forward.

Right now, I think Iowa will have a higher scoring offense but will also allow more points. A big key for me will be team 3PT shooting percentage - this team has a few good options besides Jok but 2nd and 3rd options are unproven.

Defense will be worse for teams with true bigs...not many teams fall into that camp.

We will miss Uthoff big time for offense/shot blocking.

Anytime you lose seniors, it is a loss. So we will miss gesell/clemmons for ball handling but poor shooting, Woodbury for solid play.

On the plus side, we won't have to watch Fran make the same mistake over and over and put the ball in MG's hands for last shot.

 

[hawksense]

When you lose seniors and experience, it can really hurt you.

A positive outlook would require that we might believe that the open playing time would be filled with some talents or abilities that the previous might not have possessed.

We're going to leave some stinkers out there. Hopefully, not many.

 

[SDHawkDoc]

I hope Wagner has been in the weight room and eating well this summer and comes back with 10+ lbs of muscle. I'd love to see him take an owning the boards mindset. If he scores 6-8 pts. in a game that would be great.

 

[HeRKeYHoPeFuL]

I think we'll finish Top 4 in points scored per game (due to style; closer to 6th tempo-free).

I think we'll finish 6-10th in points allowed (4th-8th tempo free).

 

[SDHawkDoc]

I hope they can score as much as some of you are predicting.

The year will probably be a struggle for wins in the conference. 10 wins is the ceiling if a lot of things go their way, 5 if they really struggle. 7 or 8 conference wins is my expectation level.

 

[lovedwatchingLester]

Until I see the proof I say 12-6 in the B1G. When they do lose I think they come back next game with the understanding that overlooking anybody is how you get beat, no matter who they are. The bench, players, coaches, Fran could be pretty exciting good and bad but wow should be fun

 

[FairfIowafan1984]

I feel this will b a NIT team if I had to predict. I think offense ranks 5th and Defense ranks 12th.

Truthfully this team could win 4 games and I wouldn't be surprised or 11 games in the big ten. And that non conferance is the hardest I've ever seen we will know a lot more then.

There are just way to many question marks besides Jok. But NCAA the following year and atleast next acouple after that.

Just be patient with this years team, and don't overreact when they lose because we have good players but they are just so young.
GO HAWKS no matter what I'll watch ever game even if we lose them all( which won't happen)

The future is so bright I can't wait!

 

[PhantomFlyer]

I hope they can score as much as some of you are predicting.

The year will probably be a struggle for wins in the conference. 10 wins is the ceiling if a lot of things go their way, 5 if they really struggle. 7 or 8 conference wins is my expectation level.

This is a voice of realism.

Sure, I hope a bunch of inexperienced players step in and the light immediately turns on and magic happens, but I don't expect it. We'll most likely score less pts and give up more pts than last season, plus be weaker on the boards. It's a recipe for vying for a spot in the NIT, not the NCAA tournament.

 

[DanHawkPella]

Losing Uthoff, Woodbury and Gesell hurts us much more on defense than on offense.

Uthoff blocked shots both inside and on the arc.
Gesell stayed in front of people.
Woodbury played great position defense on guys and was a strong defensive rebounder.

I think our spacing will be better this year and provide more driving lanes, as we have some adequate 3 point shooting and a legitimate high post in Cook (and Wagner to a lesser degree). Will we have 1-2 young guys step up on the perimeter on offense to make it all work? That's a good question.

I think we score 2-3 more ppg this year but give up 3-4 more. Young players just struggle more on that end I think.

 

[PhantomFlyer]

Losing Uthoff, Woodbury and Gesell hurts us much more on defense than on offense.

Uthoff blocked shots both inside and on the arc.
Gesell stayed in front of people.
Woodbury played great position defense on guys and was a strong defensive rebounder.

I think our spacing will be better this year and provide more driving lanes, as we have some adequate 3 point shooting and a legitimate high post in Cook (and Wagner to a lesser degree). Will we have 1-2 young guys step up on the perimeter on offense to make it all work? That's a good question.

I think we score 2-3 more ppg this year but give up 3-4 more. Young players just struggle more on that end I think.

Spacing wasn't the problem last season, we had excellent spacing. The problem is we didn't have any guards who could beat anyone off the dribble, so Jok and Uthoff had trouble getting wide open 3's, especially after teams starting manning up on them to take away the 3 ball and making Jok and Uthoff beat them off the dribble.

Will Iowa have guys who can drive to the lane this year to open it up for wide open 3's. I'm skeptical. They don't have a true PG, certainly not one with above avg quickness/handles. 3 pt shooting this year will likely be worst unless someone can demand a double team. We had Uthoff and Jok last year who were both excellent 3 pt shooters, and AC was a good 3 pt shooter if he had an open look. Uthoff bailed out the offense a lot last year when guys were struggling or the shot clock was winding down. Who is the bail out guy this year?

Plus, don't forget, good defense/good rebounding led to more fast break opportunities and easy buckets. Iowa's strength has always been pushing the ball up the court. If you don't think the D will be as good, and I agree with you, I don't see how the offense scores 2-3 more ppg this year. Iowa got a lot of easy buckets off the fast break last season. I was one of Gesell's harshest critics but he was as good as any guard in the country running the fast break. Incredible passer and ability to push the ball up the court on the break. Not to mention Uthoff was also amazing on the break. There's no way Iowa replicates that this year with a bunch of freshman/sophs seeing significant minutes.

 

[hawksense]

Spacing wasn't the problem last season, we had excellent spacing. The problem is we didn't have any guards who could beat anyone off the dribble, so Jok and Uthoff had trouble getting wide open 3's, especially after teams starting manning up on them to take away the 3 ball and making Jok and Uthoff beat them off the dribble.

Will Iowa have guys who can drive to the lane this year to open it up for wide open 3's. I'm skeptical. They don't have a true PG, certainly not one with above avg quickness/handles. 3 pt shooting this year will likely be worst unless someone can demand a double team. We had Uthoff and Jok last year who were both excellent 3 pt shooters, and AC was a good 3 pt shooter if he had an open look. Uthoff bailed out the offense a lot last year when guys were struggling or the shot clock was winding down. Who is the bail out guy this year?

Plus, don't forget, good defense/good rebounding led to more fast break opportunities and easy buckets. Iowa's strength has always been pushing the ball up the court. If you don't think the D will be as good, and I agree with you, I don't see how the offense scores 2-3 more ppg this year. Iowa got a lot of easy buckets off the fast break last season. I was one of Gesell's harshest critics but he was as good as any guard in the country running the fast break. Incredible passer and ability to push the ball up the court on the break. Not to mention Uthoff was also amazing on the break. There's no way Iowa replicates that this year with a bunch of freshman/sophs seeing significant minutes.

After reading this, the person I first thought of was Dom Uhl. He may hold the key to the Hawk offense. He may not. It was just a premonition.