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.
Wow glad I missed it
ISU needed help from the refs at crunch time to beat Indiana State yesterday. Every team has bad games.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.
As demonstrated in the Indiana State game, ISU is capable of having an off night as well.ISU is going to run us off our own court yet again. Getting embarrassing...
Good points.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?"
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.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
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).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?![]()
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)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.
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.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.
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.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.
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.
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.
we are heading for a very long season. No defense, rebounding or offense. It is 5 guys independently running around on the floor, zero continuity. Do not have fundamental skills![]()
Just awful. No PG play. No defense. Oh well. I think we'll end up in the lower half of the BIG.
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!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.
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 happenJust awful. No PG play. No defense. Oh well. I think we'll end up in the lower half of the BIG.
Mea culpa, I skipped over the word "without". Sorry for the mistake.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.