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That was awful.

ScoutRefugee

HB Legend
Oct 7, 2012
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Just awful. No PG play. No defense. Oh well. I think we'll end up in the lower half of the BIG.
 
Too early to tell, but if you have to reference this game, we stink. Virginia is very good, though.

We will grow and get better. Now seems to be the time to grow and get better. Don't fall behind the curve because it gets tighter with every game.
 
I thought Iowa would keep it under 20 but lose by something like 16, 17 pts. Iowa looked worse than I thought. This team is young and will get better but right now they have some pretty big holes.
 
Iowa is very young, and Virgina is very good. We have talent but they haven't played together for very long. Yes we return Jok, but we lost all other experience. If anyone had any grand visions of this team competing for anything you are smoking crack. I'm just hoping to see improvement from now until the end of the year, maybe pull off an upset here or there but thats it. I'd be happy just to finish around .500 for the year.
 
Iowa is very young, and Virgina is very good. We have talent but they haven't played together for very long. Yes we return Jok, but we lost all other experience. If anyone had any grand visions of this team competing for anything you are smoking crack. I'm just hoping to see improvement from now until the end of the year, maybe pull off an upset here or there but thats it. I'd be happy just to finish around .500 for the year.

I completely agree with this statement. Just frustrating that in year 7 we are still without PG play and in a rebuilding year. Some of this could've been addressed with transfers. Offer Dailey late instead of grabbing a PG for a year? Meanwhile ISU is looking great yet again (will they just suck for once!) and even Rutgers is now 6-0 and receiving votes in polls.

But I guess this is the card we are dealt. Take the growing pains this year and hope it pays off down the road in a couple years. I do think they will be very good in 2-3 years though.
 
I completely agree with this statement. Just frustrating that in year 7 we are still without PG play and in a rebuilding year. Some of this could've been addressed with transfers. Offer Dailey late instead of grabbing a PG for a year? Meanwhile ISU is looking great yet again (will they just suck for once!) and even Rutgers is now 6-0 and receiving votes in polls.

But I guess this is the card we are dealt. Take the growing pains this year and hope it pays off down the road in a couple years. I do think they will be very good in 2-3 years though.
ISU needed help from the refs at crunch time to beat Indiana State yesterday. Every team has bad games.
 
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VA is really good and we did not play very well. Their defense is as good as we will see all season and they couldn't miss early on. We're not as bad as we looked tonite but probably not as good as we might have hoped.
 
That was the worst match up possible for a young team. Virginia is very good and will be a top 5 team all year. Iowa will take some time to mature. Hopefully they make it into conference season with less than 5 losses.
 
I have watched two games now. Both Seton Hall and Virginia are good teams, but that is no excuse for a "matador" defense and an offense built to get it to Jok or Cook or shoot a wild three.

We might as well play a 1-2-2 zone with the point guy having his foot in the paint. I have never seen teams dribble-drive or have so many people alone under the basket against Iowa and I have been watching a long time.

Jok is a great shooter however he seems to be a marble statue on D. Cook might be thinking, "Why am I here?"
 
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Jok and Cook are the only two Hawks who have
an average in double figures for scoring. It the opponent
shuts those two down, then the Hawks lose the game.
We really need a third scoring threat or it will be a long
season.
 
I can understand being taken to school, but that was embarrassing. UVA 18 assists/5 TOs vs Hawks 8 assists/18 TOs Wow It can only get better.
 
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I have watched two games now. Both Seton Hall and Virginia are good teams, but that is no excuse for a "matador" defense and an offense built to get it to Jok or Cook or shoot a wild three.

We might as well play a 1-2-2 zone with the point guy having his foot in the paint. I have never seen teams dribble-drive or have so many people alone under the basket against Iowa and I have been watching a long time.

Jok is a great shooter however he seems to be a marble statue on D. Cook might be thinking, "Why am I here?"
Good points.

I thought Dr. Tom's teams played crappy, soft, zone defense, who gave opposing teams too many wide open shots. Those teams look like lockdown defenders compared to what we see with this team. And it isn't just poor help defense, or not switching on screens, as some have claimed. It's poor technique on defending their man. Jok stands straight up and then tries to reach instead of moving his feet. Uhl is brutal on defense. Cook is terrible on D. The guards are slower than slow. When will Fran sign a PG that can guard and drive past power conference guards?

I have no idea why Uhl plays more than 5 minutes a game. He does so many things poorly. He can score some points, at times, but he's terrible on D, doesn't box out, plays soft, makes stupid decisions with the basketball.

And who were the people saying Williams was the answer at PG? He can't play defense and he does nothing on offense, other than that he's a really good PG. :)

Everyone is right, this team will get better. The problem is EVERY team in college basketball will get better as the season progresses, that's the nature of basketball. Will Iowa improve dramatically more than everyone else? I doubt it. If anything we've seen Fran teams wilt, not get stronger at the end of the season.

It's going to be a looooooong season for the Hawks. When does the baseball season start up? :)
 
1. Iowa played very sloppy
2. UVA played extremely sharp and experienced ball
3. Our inability to consistently penetrate forced us into tons of poor shots
Talent wise VA was head and shoulders above IA. Iowa could have brought their A+ game and Virginia their C+ game and they would have won. Iowa had no business being on the same court as VA. It was like men against boys.
 
Everyone should have seen this season coming a mile away.

This is what happens to super young teams.

Well get better progressively but it is not a matter of making a few defensive adjustments, these guys dont know how to play defense and its going to take most of the year to start to see results.

BTW, is it starting to sink in how Woodbury effected the game? ....without being a shot blocker.
 
Good points.

I thought Dr. Tom's teams played crappy, soft, zone defense, who gave opposing teams too many wide open shots. Those teams look like lockdown defenders compared to what we see with this team. And it isn't just poor help defense, or not switching on screens, as some have claimed. It's poor technique on defending their man. Jok stands straight up and then tries to reach instead of moving his feet. Uhl is brutal on defense. Cook is terrible on D. The guards are slower than slow. When will Fran sign a PG that can guard and drive past power conference guards?

I have no idea why Uhl plays more than 5 minutes a game. He does so many things poorly. He can score some points, at times, but he's terrible on D, doesn't box out, plays soft, makes stupid decisions with the basketball.

And who were the people saying Williams was the answer at PG? He can't play defense and he does nothing on offense, other than that he's a really good PG. :)

Everyone is right, this team will get better. The problem is EVERY team in college basketball will get better as the season progresses, that's the nature of basketball. Will Iowa improve dramatically more than everyone else? I doubt it. If anything we've seen Fran teams wilt, not get stronger at the end of the season.

It's going to be a looooooong season for the Hawks. When does the baseball season start up? :)
It's a little bizarre to me. It's almost like Fran values tall, lengthy, average players over recruiting position specific players that excel at the position they play. We have 5 or 6 guys that are 6'4 to 6'8 and can do a lot of things OK but do nothing above average (Jok and Cook being the exceptions).
That equals a mediocre basketball team.
 
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Not surprised really. That was every bit the ass kicking I was expecting.
They are not without talent, but play very poor fundamental basketball.
Hope to see progress, expect a lot of tough nights along the way.
 
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Not surprised really. That was every bit the ass kicking I was expecting.
They are not without talent, but play very poor fundamental basketball.
Hope to see progress, expect a lot of tough nights along the way.
This is my problem with positionless basketball. It's more "skills" oriented basketball than honing your craft at a position you're best suited for. They all pass a little, dribble a little, rebound a little, shoot a little. defend less (apparently)
The only way I see a line up like that winning titles is if they have 7 or 8 top 25 recruits on the same roster. Where they all do those things very well. Fran will never have a roster like that at Iowa.
 
Everyone should have seen this season coming a mile away.

This is what happens to super young teams.

Well get better progressively but it is not a matter of making a few defensive adjustments, these guys dont know how to play defense and its going to take most of the year to start to see results.

BTW, is it starting to sink in how Woodbury effected the game? ....without being a shot blocker.
They are young but they aren't that young. They start a SR, a JR, 2 SO, a FR. The bench is young but Iowa was blown out of this one before Fran even blinked to go to the bench.

Someone who avg 0.4 and 0.3 blocks per game his final two years is not a shot blocker. Woody was to shot blocking what he was to high jumping. Uthoff had 2.5 blocks per game. You could label him a shot blocker.

They will get better but every team will get better. The defense is atrocious and agree with you that it probably can't be fixed in a year.
 
It's a little bizarre to me. It's almost like Fran values tall, lengthy, average players over recruiting position specific players that excel at the position they play. We have 5 or 6 guys that are 6'4 to 6'8 and can do a lot of things OK but do nothing above average (Jok and Cook being the exceptions).
That equals a mediocre basketball team.
Drives me freakin' nuts. All I hear about from everyone is how these guys have the dream size for playing a zone and should make our team a defensive nightmare for teams. Then I watch Fran play man and it's matador defense time because our guards are pedestrian slow. Even when they play zone they have slow feet, out of position and give up wide open looks. I think he gets wet dreams thinking of how many 6'4"-6'8" guys he can draft. So he has big guards who are slow and can't shoot, and bigs who are athletic but thin and get pushed around in the B1G. I'll give credit to Fran in his recruitment of the 3-4 position players, they have been solid, but his guards have been at best tolerable, and at worst terrible. He's yet to land a true PG of any caliber who can beat any B1G guard off the dribble, and he's been just as bad recruiting 2G's who can shoot from beyond the arc or drive to the bucket.

Will someone take a 2 x 4 to Fran's head (j/k) and knock some sense into him. Apparently he doesn't realize the college basketball game is all about the guards. Basically teams score via layup/dunk (on a drive to the bucket) or they hit 3 pt shots. If you have guards who aren't proficient at one or both of these things you are way behind the 8 ball.

This is the B1G, Fran, you aren't going to win pressing teams or fast breaking teams out of the gym. That might work in small conferences, that's not going to work in the B1G. I don't mind pushing the ball up the court or even pressing at times, but the good teams (MSU, Wis) aren't going to be beat that way. You have to play good defense and execute on offense. You have to beat them playing a halfcourt game.
 
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Anybody that defends Fran's coaching after seeing this team play the first few games is really drinking the Kool aid. Major D1 conference making major $$$$ to coach and your team comes out ill-prepared and plays defense like a junior high team just learning how to play the game. I would agree that these guys may get much better throughout the season but this is not just "Ok". I won't even begin to discuss how terrible the PG situation seems.....because the team defense says enough. Can someone tell me please what Uhl brings to the plate because there's a bench seat that has his name written all over it.
 
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Uhl was a bust from the get go but he had a miracle streak of 3s last year to get people to think differently.

Everybody has been crowing about how athletic this team is and the only athleticism I see is Cook dunks.
 
They are young but they aren't that young. They start a SR, a JR, 2 SO, a FR. The bench is young but Iowa was blown out of this one before Fran even blinked to go to the bench.

Someone who avg 0.4 and 0.3 blocks per game his final two years is not a shot blocker. Woody was to shot blocking what he was to high jumping. Uthoff had 2.5 blocks per game. You could label him a shot blocker.

They will get better but every team will get better. The defense is atrocious and agree with you that it probably can't be fixed in a year.

I said he was NOT a shot blocker.

There were actually people who thought Iowa would be better this year just because they are more athletic.
 
They are young but they aren't that young. They start a SR, a JR, 2 SO, a FR. The bench is young but Iowa was blown out of this one before Fran even blinked to go to the bench.

Someone who avg 0.4 and 0.3 blocks per game his final two years is not a shot blocker. Woody was to shot blocking what he was to high jumping. Uthoff had 2.5 blocks per game. You could label him a shot blocker.

They will get better but every team will get better. The defense is atrocious and agree with you that it probably can't be fixed in a year.

1 returning starter.

Uhl basically doesn't count since doesnt play like an upperclassmen.

Baer plays like an upperclassmen.

This is a really young team and historically those teams struggle in the big ten.

Especially when you dont have a pg or a center to defend the paint.
 
I have only seen the Seton Hall and UVA games, but Iowa is going to need to improve dramatically to win more than 6-7 games in the B1G, which isn't that good. As someone who appreciates seeing a team execute, UVA is tremendous. Right now, Iowa's execution doesn't exist on defense and isn't much better on offense, except they have Pete. Makes me appreciate even more what we had last year.
 
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I didn't get to see the game. So without watching it (listened to it on the Cavs' radio network), here's my thoughts.

I knew when I saw the schedule months ago that this game could be a serious butt kicking. Lack of a true quality point ready to go, a severely inexperienced team from the context of time together and playing major college basketball minutes, an opponent that's experienced who grinds opponents into dust. To me, it was a recipe for disaster.

Iowa has literally ONE player who is used to this type of competition within the context of the roles on this basketball team. He cannot do it alone. It's going to take time to fit the pieces into "Fran roles", and a lot of butt kickings are probably in store for us until that happens.

I'd also say...look at Iowa basketball objectively before a season starts (which is the exact same thing I do with football) before placing any specific expectations on them.

I never saw a tourney team this year - hell, I thought having a winning record was iffy at best. Yet the good out of a season like this is by around mid season next year, if the roster wind up for the most part intact this is going to be a much improved team.

My expectations this year were that players begin to find their roles to where we go into next year with that figured out. And that's it. Once we see that happen, then I think we'll see overall quality of results improve. They're just not there yet is all. And from the looks of it, they're not even close. It'll happen, just not as quickly as we wish it would. So, until then...more drubbing are probably in store for us.

They'll get there, folks. Just gonna take time.
 
Last year's team wasn't that great on defense. Woody played positional defense and clogged the paint a little, but it was Uthoff and Baer doing most of the disrupting on defense with long arms and shot blocking. Uhl has always been bad on defense, Cook doesn't play any, and Jok has always been too slow to be good defender, and Baer is out of position trying to guard quicker perimeter guys.

That is recipe for bad defense, plus fran's style is to run instead of grind it.
 
I didn't get to see the game. So without watching it (listened to it on the Cavs' radio network), here's my thoughts.

I knew when I saw the schedule months ago that this game could be a serious butt kicking. Lack of a true quality point ready to go, a severely inexperienced team from the context of time together and playing major college basketball minutes, an opponent that's experienced who grinds opponents into dust. To me, it was a recipe for disaster.

Iowa has literally ONE player who is used to this type of competition within the context of the roles on this basketball team. He cannot do it alone. It's going to take time to fit the pieces into "Fran roles", and a lot of butt kickings are probably in store for us until that happens.

I'd also say...look at Iowa basketball objectively before a season starts (which is the exact same thing I do with football) before placing any specific expectations on them.

I never saw a tourney team this year - hell, I thought having a winning record was iffy at best. Yet the good out of a season like this is by around mid season next year, if the roster wind up for the most part intact this is going to be a much improved team.

My expectations this year were that players begin to find their roles to where we go into next year with that figured out. And that's it. Once we see that happen, then I think we'll see overall quality of results improve. They're just not there yet is all. And from the looks of it, they're not even close. It'll happen, just not as quickly as we wish it would. So, until then...more drubbing are probably in store for us.

They'll get there, folks. Just gonna take time.
Your probably right, but in the mean time this will turn into the football board. You know how it go's ( all the players are terrible, and shouldn't be on a D1 scholarship, The coaches, especially Fran are all idiots who have no idea how to teach.) Like what's been said, its going to be a long year!
 
Just awful. No PG play. No defense. Oh well. I think we'll end up in the lower half of the BIG.
Hi agree that was awful but I think the team is so young that you'll see improvement from game to game that was the first time they played a team to play defense like that it will be a great learning experience I do agree about the point guard play specially Williams just seems slow and tentative to do anything he doesn't seem to make anything happen
 
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