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Rothstein Projects Iowa 10th in the B1G. B1G Media & ESPN have IOWA 9th. Sports Illustrated has us 10th in B1G & 63rd Overall

Alright! 10th!!! That’s probably generous. Our 3 decade tour of irrelevance continues. Shit program overall. Small glimpses of hope last season until the turds of reality came tumbling down.
Still haven't recovered from that beating you took as a kid?

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I'm looking for a different starting lineup than what he has listed there.....I am taking a wild guess that Connor isn't 100% (even if he is 100% cleared) in terms of conditioning and timing and that Patrick is in that starting lineup in his place.
Probably correct. I do like the potential of this Iowa team, but from an outsider's perspective i can see why they picked Iowa 10th. Iowa has to have more unknown players come through to be good than really any team above it. It doesn't mean it can't happen, it's the way it is. Iowa had 2 2nd round picks last year and couldn't do better than 4th. Plus lost another starter to transfer in CJ Frederick.
 
I'm looking for a different starting lineup than what he has listed there.....I am taking a wild guess that Connor isn't 100% (even if he is 100% cleared) in terms of conditioning and timing and that Patrick is in that starting lineup in his place.

I agree. I think you replace Connor w/ Patrick.

Jon, however, has a pretty good relationship with Fran, so maybe Jon knows more than we think. And @BlackNGoldBleeder has always stated that we need Connor to feed the post! ;)


Rothstein's Projected Starting 5 for IOWA:
G
Joe Toussaint
G Jordan Bohannon
G Connor McCaffery
F Keegan Murray
C Filip Rebraca
 
I agree. I think you replace Connor w/ Patrick.

Jon, however, has a pretty good relationship with Fran, so maybe Jon knows more than we think. And @BlackNGoldBleeder has always stated that we need Connor to feed the post! ;)


Rothstein's Projected Starting 5 for IOWA:
G
Joe Toussaint
G Jordan Bohannon
G Connor McCaffery
F Keegan Murray
C Filip Rebraca

Fran has the luxury to do a lot of things with the lineup this year. Depending on the opponent, here are a couple lineups I'd like to see:

Joe T
JBo
Perkins
Murray
Rebraca

Or

Joe T.
Perkins/JBo
Murray
PMac
Rebraca

Also, I hope Kris gets a chance to showcase his skills this season.
 
I really don't follow basketball much, but it does make sense. You look at what the team did, what they lost, and what they have coming in. If you look at it like that, would you rate them any different? However, there are always the unknown factors. Did anyone think Michigan would be as good as they were last year? MSU as bad? There are always unknowns. That's why you play the games. We as fans like to see the best in our guys, the men who represent our University. We hope and look for the best, and you know, some times it happens! No one is guaranteed to be right or wrong, so let's hope he is dead wrong and under estimates our guys!
 
This year will mark the biggest reset under Fran since (and with the exception of) the two year stretch where Uthoff, Jok, Gesell, Clemmons, and Woodbury all exited the program, leaving us with a bunch of underclassmen and role-player type juniors (Baer aside) that went 4-14. So it’s not surprising outside expectations are low.

Fortunately, this team has 1) an upperclassmen presence with Bohannon, Rebraca, and McCaffery that Fran’s worst team didn’t have. Not to mention that Pat is a 21 y/o RS So. and the Murray’s/Toussaint are all 20 (Toussaint with two years under his belt). 2) Substantial NCAA Tournament experience, which that ‘17-‘18 team did not have (as they were coming off an NIT appearance. Only Baer - remember his game against Villanova as a freshman!? - could be argued). 3) Better, more versatile defenders. Better rebounders, better rim protectors, better athletes, greater threats in transition. I’m not going to expound further, but you can compare the rosters and decide for yourself if you agree or disagree.

The bottom line is that that 2017-2018 team finished 11th in the Big Ten. I think this year’s team finishes with an additional four-five wins (prorated from the 18 game Big Ten schedule to 20), finishes around .500, which is good for 7th or 8th in the Big Ten, with a chance to dance based on non-con and B1G Tourney play
 
The pick isnt unreasonable , it’s wrong but unless you have been watching you wouldn’t notice the big upgrade in athleticism. The B1G will find out soon enough.
 
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The pick isnt unreasonable , it’s wrong but unless you have been watching you wouldn’t notice the big upgrade in athleticism. The B1G will find out soon enough.
Iowa does have better athletes coming in but when you lose Garza and Weisskamp in the same year, that is a deep hole to fill.
 
I really don't follow basketball much, but it does make sense. You look at what the team did, what they lost, and what they have coming in. If you look at it like that, would you rate them any different? However, there are always the unknown factors. Did anyone think Michigan would be as good as they were last year? MSU as bad? There are always unknowns. That's why you play the games. We as fans like to see the best in our guys, the men who represent our University. We hope and look for the best, and you know, some times it happens! No one is guaranteed to be right or wrong, so let's hope he is dead wrong and under estimates our guys!

I agree with you. It's all an opinion right now, but when you look at the analysis of the 9 teams listed above Iowa, should Iowa move up?

Michigan State fans must be scratching their heads; last year they finished tied for 8th in the B1G. This year they are projected 6th.
 
It matters what Iowa does on the court, not what a talking head says about them. I want them to be fun to watch and get better as the season develops.
You create your future.
 
Articles like this one are designed to do exactly what this one did (I didn't read it): get people to click on it, discuss it with people so those people go and click on it.
 
I know it was already referenced, but to forget the twin brother of a projected 1st round draft pick is quite an oversight.
 
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With the loss of offensive production, anything between 7th - 11th seems reasonable as a predicted finish.

Two big questions: 1. Where does the scoring from?
2. Can they play significantly better defense after being poor on that
end for several years?

We know that better athletes can be put on the floor to play improved D. There's still a significant jump, even if those lineups get significant minutes, that will need to be made for the team to embrace D rather than it being an afterthought as it has been for several seasons. It's been a good while since Fran's last good defensive teams at Iowa. Will it be possible to conjure that up overnight? It doesn't help that one of the players they will count on for scoring support also happens to be a terrible perimeter defender(Bohannon, obviously).
 
With the loss of offensive production, anything between 7th - 11th seems reasonable as a predicted finish.

Two big questions: 1. Where does the scoring from?
2. Can they play significantly better defense after being poor on that
end for several years?

We know that better athletes can be put on the floor to play improved D. There's still a significant jump, even if those lineups get significant minutes, that will need to be made for the team to embrace D rather than it being an afterthought as it has been for several seasons. It's been a good while since Fran's last good defensive teams at Iowa. Will it be possible to conjure that up overnight? It doesn't help that one of the players they will count on for scoring support also happens to be a terrible perimeter defender(Bohannon, obviously).
I’m unsure as to how much the Hawks are counting on for scoring is Jordan Bohannon. My guess is the main scorers on this team come from in no particular order , though it could be in this order:
PMac 15 ppg
Ke Murray 13-16 ppg
Filip Rebraca 10-12 ppg
Tony Perkins 11 ppg
Joe T 8-10 ppg
Kris Murray 9-10 ppg
Then Jordan at about 7-9 ppg
 
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I could really get surprised by development of Josh O and Riley Mulvey but since I’ve no idea I’ll have to revise this after non-con play and again more depending on how much A Ullis and Connor play since that brings us to 11 player rotation, if those 4 are added to the 7 previously mentioned
 
I’m unsure as to how much the Hawks are counting on for scoring is Jordan Bohannon. My guess is the main scorers on this team come from in no particular order , though it could be in this order:
PMac 15 ppg
Ke Murray 13-16 ppg
Filip Rebraca 10-12 ppg
Tony Perkins 11 ppg
Joe T 8-10 ppg
Kris Murray 9-10 ppg
Then Jordan at about 7-9 ppg

That would put JBo on target to have his lowest scoring season since the one where he only played 10 games and needed hip surgery. I think he can outpace that, especially as the teams SG.
 
The pick isnt unreasonable , it’s wrong but unless you have been watching you wouldn’t notice the big upgrade in athleticism. The B1G will find out soon enough.
Purdue, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Ohio State, Rutgers, Maryland.

Which teams does Iowa move ahead of and why? Look at other rosters besides Iowa’s. Other teams are athletic, too. The loss of Garza, Weiskamp, Frederick and Nunge is more than any other team lost (Minnesota lost everyone but only Carr a comparable loss.).
 
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I guess Keegan wasn't good enough to be a breakout star last year? Maybe he didn't follow the Hawks much.

I believe it said the player had to average fewer than 10 ppg last season, and I believe that describes Murray. I mean, Curbelo was playing as well as anyone on Illinois by the end of the year and he won’t exactly sneak up on anyone, but he’s on the list for the same reason. I do think Murray is poised to have a very good year.
 
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Purdue, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Ohio State, Rutgers, Maryland.

Which teams does Iowa move ahead of and why? Look at other rosters besides Iowa’s. Other teams are athletic, too. The loss of Garza, Weiskamp, Frederick and Nunge is more than any other team lost (Minnesota lost everyone but only Carr a comparable loss.).
You only named 8 teams, so that would make them 9th right there.
 
Ok I’ll play,
Purdue
Michigan
Illinois
Iowa
Ohio state
Indiana
Maryland
Rutgers
Michigan State
Penn state
Wisconsin
Nebraska
Northwestern
Minnesota
In that order not counting ties
 
That would put JBo on target to have his lowest scoring season since the one where he only played 10 games and needed hip surgery. I think he can outpace that, especially as the teams SG.
Maybe he will but I think the 2 guard starter will be Perkins or Kr. Murray but that’s not my decision. Could be Connor for all I know
 
With the loss of offensive production, anything between 7th - 11th seems reasonable as a predicted finish.

Two big questions: 1. Where does the scoring from?
2. Can they play significantly better defense after being poor on that
end for several years?

We know that better athletes can be put on the floor to play improved D. There's still a significant jump, even if those lineups get significant minutes, that will need to be made for the team to embrace D rather than it being an afterthought as it has been for several seasons. It's been a good while since Fran's last good defensive teams at Iowa. Will it be possible to conjure that up overnight? It doesn't help that one of the players they will count on for scoring support also happens to be a terrible perimeter defender(Bohannon, obviously).

I hope I am wrong but I wonder where 3 point shooting is going to come from.
 
Maybe he will but I think the 2 guard starter will be Perkins or Kr. Murray but that’s not my decision. Could be Connor for all I know
As with some others, what I'd like to see and what I expect to see are different.

Like to see: 1.Bohannon not starting and getting 10-12 minutes/game in spot duty.
2. Connor concentrating on baseball.

Expect to see : 1. Bohannon starting and playing 25+ minutes/game. 2. Connor logging significant minutes.
 
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