Uneducated thoughts on Alabama State game.

[LetsGoHawks83]

I really hope Fran has the guts needed when JBo starts an important game 1-6 from 3 to bench him and play Uhlis/TP.

Ot took him a little while, but he did eventually bench him the other night, when the game stayed close and NO ONE could shoot. Fran played guys that would defend. So that's a good sign.

Then last night we hit a school record 20 3s.... Basketball is a funny sport sometimes.

 

[EduNeerHawk]

You know when you see good defense and Iowa's hasn't been very good the last 2 games. Discussions like this remind me of last year when people on here were complaining about the talking heads downplaying Iowa's potential because of their lackluster defense. The talking heads were right. An elite offense was/is not enough to overcome a bad defense.

I still think Iowa's defense can/will be better than last year's but it won't be if played like the last 2 games.

With respect to Patrick, I'm hoping that his ankle situation improves. Maybe that's what's behind his lackluster defense so far. If not, maybe his minutes should come down and Perkins/Kris can get some of those. Perkins played exemplary the last couple of games and is an instant upgrade defensively. Kris plays a lot like his brother. Sound defensively and gets a lot of boards.

I know when I see good defense too... and I do think our D will be better this year. A lot of factors too come in to play like who we play and when/where we play them. Wisky is #1 Defense and #12 in offense. PU is #1 in offense and #7 in Defense 4 pts better per game than Iowa. We are #2 in offense and #10 in defense. What does that mean? Well, PU has hardly played killers row here in comp but their next game is against North Carolina.

PU has played:
Univ. of Indianapolis
Bellarmine
Indiana State
Wright State

Look...I am not trying to compare this defense or this team to teams like PU, Illini, Big Blue or MSU because they have on paper better talent. PU only lost 1 key player from last year per Athlon's magazine.

I said this in another thread. Very optimistic with this team. This league is tough for every team, not just Iowa.

 

[Ihawkhoops]

On the plus side, I cannot recall seeing a Fran team move the ball as consistently as the team did last night. The offense looked like some of the offenses Iowa has struggled to defend. Guys penetrated to an open spot, didn't charge or take wild shots, recognized where the help came from, and made the defense pay for leaving shooters open. Shooters took good shots and there were some ball fakes which led to better looks for others.

On the TBD side, still not sure on defense--interior or exterior. NC Central was hopefully a wake-up call. Alabama State hit some pretty tough shots, so credit them. You can live with guys making those shots, but not the matador defense for a layup we saw against NC Central.

Oh the holy *&%$ side, I don't see Josh or Mulvey contributing more than water break minutes and fouls. I didn't expect anything from Mulvey, but of the two, Mulvey can at least catch a post feed and make a basketball move. Josh looked really uncomfortable last night--hopefully just some early season jitters and trying to do too much.

Keegan is amazing. Great games by Perkins, Sandfort, and Kris. Joe T. making shots will be a huge plus.

 

[jonesy5960]

I know when I see good defense too... and I do think our D will be better this year. A lot of factors too come in to play like who we play and when/where we play them. Wisky is #1 Defense and #12 in offense. PU is #1 in offense and #7 in Defense 4 pts better per game than Iowa. We are #2 in offense and #10 in defense. What does that mean? Well, PU has hardly played killers row here in comp but their next game is against North Carolina.

PU has played:
Univ. of Indianapolis
Bellarmine
Indiana State
Wright State

Look...I am not trying to compare this defense or this team to teams like PU, Illini, Big Blue or MSU because they have on paper better talent. PU only lost 1 key player from last year per Athlon's magazine.

I said this in another thread. Very optimistic with this team. This league is tough for every team, not just Iowa.

When it comes to relative strength of offense and defense I'm typically looking at Kenpom. Iowa's defensive efficiency ranking prior to the last 2 games was 57. Not great but a lot better than last year. After last night they're sitting at 85. That's how bad the last 2 games were. One thing we agree on. They "should" be better.

 

[hooper56]

I think we've shown some improvement on defense. When the only close game was on the line, we held NCC to 25 points in the second half. Sometimes I think when we schedule these lesser teams and we get racing up and down the court, we kind of get in the spirit of things and just play to outscore them, which we have easily done so far. Yes, the schedule will get worlds harder, but we are getting a chance to play a lot of players and basically sort them out for the upcoming schedule. For example, Sandfort has proven he is good enough to play and perhaps a few guys have shown they aren't.

BTW, apropos of exactly nothing, Utah St. might be the most caucasian team in the country. I watched their game against Penn yesterday morning and I think their 7th guy was the first person of color off the bench.

What is your point in bringing that up? What are you insinuating? What does it matter?

 

[hooper56]

On the plus side, I cannot recall seeing a Fran team move the ball as consistently as the team did last night. The offense looked like some of the offenses Iowa has struggled to defend. Guys penetrated to an open spot, didn't charge or take wild shots, recognized where the help came from, and made the defense pay for leaving shooters open. Shooters took good shots and there were some ball fakes which led to better looks for others.

On the TBD side, still not sure on defense--interior or exterior. NC Central was hopefully a wake-up call. Alabama State hit some pretty tough shots, so credit them. You can live with guys making those shots, but not the matador defense for a layup we saw against NC Central.

Oh the holy *&%$ side, I don't see Josh or Mulvey contributing more than water break minutes and fouls. I didn't expect anything from Mulvey, but of the two, Mulvey can at least catch a post feed and make a basketball move. Josh looked really uncomfortable last night--hopefully just some early season jitters and trying to do too much.

Keegan is amazing. Great games by Perkins, Sandfort, and Kris. Joe T. making shots will be a huge plus.

When Alabama St tried to zone us, we absolutely destroyed it....setting a record for 3 point shots made in a game.

 

[HawkAssassin]

Alabama St gave us our first look at a zone. I can only think of one possession where it felt like Keegan got tunnel visioned. It’s a nitpick. Other than that, the ball movement was great.

I think Tony showed real promise as a passer last night. Showed a real good understanding of angles. Maybe he just needed 1 good game against NC Central to break the ice so to speak.

Toussaint is a combined 8/14 on midrange twos and three pointers so far. He hasn’t been shy. Personally, I still think it’ll be Ulis eventually, but you can’t bench a guy when he’s playing well. I hope both do really well.

Keegan is the better overall player, but I like Kris’ shot more. He is going to be a real weapon as a stretch 5. I’m not down on Rebraca yet, because I think he can move and is skilled. I just think Kris will prove too good.

I’m more than a little annoyed that they came out so good defensively for the first 10 minutes and didn’t maintain it.

 

[HawkLogic]

Lol. Dolph was praising some of the Alabama State players at some point during the game. I had flashbacks his "why can't we have one of those" type of comments. Fortunately he used self restraint this time. Gotta love Dolph.

Dolph is an Iowa fan and was supposed to be off microphone and just spoke the truth.

Dolph was right----we needed quicker guards and Fran went out and got JoeT, Ulis, and Perkins. Dolph was meh on Dailey and Dailey transferred into oblivion---he should have concentrated on getting a college degree.


Fran is on a roll on his player evaluation in recent years. The two Murray's are now the two biggest recruiting steals in Iowa b-ball history. Sandfort looks like a another win.

I think JoshO is still a project that was worth the risk schollly.

Coaching is a lot easier if you are a name school with a feeder system for 5-star recruits. Getting a good team at Iowa requires above average player evaluation skils.

 

[SDHawkDoc]

I find this team entertaining to watch.

That may not be important to some Hawk fans, but I've got to be honest that even though I have relatively strong personal ties to the university I'm just not going to watch games if I don't find them fun to watch. This is not a complaint that Hawk teams owe me entertainment. More an honest acknowledgement that I'm not so invested in all things Iowa Hawkeye that I can't find better alternatives if they are boring. I watched probably only a handful of minutes of any game during the dreadful lick years.

While they have things to work on, I'm liking what I'm seeing. This team puts on an entertaining show.

 

[unoHawkeye]

A buddy of mine showed me a 37.5 line, and our D is never going to improve.
Watch Purdue play D, they may cover 37.5 against us.

Can I get your buddy’s bookie’s information?

 

[fivecardstud14]

A buddy of mine showed me a 37.5 line, and our D is never going to improve.
Watch Purdue play D, they may cover 37.5 against us.

Unless he had an alternate line, which is possible, no books had it at -37.5 last night.

 

[kceasthawk]

1. Keegan makes thing look effortless. He shows little emotion while gashing the other team. It looks like he’s not even trying, like he isn’t breaking a sweat or breathing hard. He’s special. Maybe more so then Luka Garza?
2. Kris had a quiet double/double. Looked great tonight. I’m glad he and his brother wear different numbers because I’m not smart enough to tell during the game which one is right and left handed. He will be fun to watch.
3. Sandfort has such a quick release. If his shot is as accurate as I think he’ll be, how do you stop it. We really need that shot on this team.
4. I really like Jess Settles as an announcer. Fun to listen to and I think he has a bright future. Also loved him as a player.
5. I bet the over at 151 (won easily) and for Alabama state to cover at 28 (barely won). Good night for me at the online sportsbook! Also bet a single game parlay for the patriots to cover -6.5 and the under at 47.5 so even better night betting for me!

As for #2. First off it was quiet because he did not have a double. Needed two more boards, but yes he played well. Its not hard to tell them apart at all at this point. Obviously Kris is left handed. While Kris is coming on, Keegan is WAY more aggressive with the ball in his hands right now then Kris. A lot of factors. Keegan playing a key role last year and his current role, and he has REALLy stepped into his role. Kris is coming, but him being under the weather the last week or so, (thats pretty much all the current regular season games), has him just starting to get his footing. He's going to play a big role on this team now and in the future.

 

[kceasthawk]

I believe that they are both right-handed, but @PHawkKenyon taught them to play with their off hand, with mixed results. 😉

Actually I thin they were both left handed.......

 

[Hawk_4shur]

Fran is on a roll on his player evaluation in recent years. The two Murray's are now the two biggest recruiting steals in Iowa b-ball history. Sandfort looks like a another win.

"Player evaluation" is easier when the kids are in your backyard.

I think Fran understands pretty well what kids will do when he recruits them. I'm guessing a lot of his "misses" have to do with "settling" for some of them.

And, I think recruiting services also judge recruits on how hard they are being recruited - kind of a reverse logic. I wonder how much time anyone (other than Iowa) spent trying to recruit or evaluate two kids 20 miles away with a former Hawk father?

 

[kceasthawk]

I still wonder if Patrick isn't fully recovered from his ankle issues.

Lower leg injury. Hmmmm....

 

[kceasthawk]

I really hope Fran has the guts needed when JBo starts an important game 1-6 from 3 to bench him and play Uhlis/TP.

I think he saw enough of that in the game Tuesday. Jbo never did come back in the second half.....

 

[kceasthawk]

On the plus side, I cannot recall seeing a Fran team move the ball as consistently as the team did last night. The offense looked like some of the offenses Iowa has struggled to defend. Guys penetrated to an open spot, didn't charge or take wild shots, recognized where the help came from, and made the defense pay for leaving shooters open. Shooters took good shots and there were some ball fakes which led to better looks for others.

On the TBD side, still not sure on defense--interior or exterior. NC Central was hopefully a wake-up call. Alabama State hit some pretty tough shots, so credit them. You can live with guys making those shots, but not the matador defense for a layup we saw against NC Central.

Oh the holy *&%$ side, I don't see Josh or Mulvey contributing more than water break minutes and fouls. I didn't expect anything from Mulvey, but of the two, Mulvey can at least catch a post feed and make a basketball move. Josh looked really uncomfortable last night--hopefully just some early season jitters and trying to do too much.

Keegan is amazing. Great games by Perkins, Sandfort, and Kris. Joe T. making shots will be a huge plus.

Absolutely. I had hopes for JO, but he's got a LONG way to go, and the competition will get a lot better. He looks so uncomfortable out there. I can't imagine him at Mackey or Assembly hall WITH fans this year....

 

[kceasthawk]

I find this team entertaining to watch.

That may not be important to some Hawk fans, but I've got to be honest that even though I have relatively strong personal ties to the university I'm just not going to watch games if I don't find them fun to watch. This is not a complaint that Hawk teams owe me entertainment. More an honest acknowledgement that I'm not so invested in all things Iowa Hawkeye that I can't find better alternatives if they are boring. I watched probably only a handful of minutes of any game during the dreadful lick years.

While they have things to work on, I'm liking what I'm seeing. This team puts on an entertaining show.

So SDHawk are you watching KF's boys on Saturdays? They may seem boring, BUT its usually high drama.

 

[SDHawkDoc]

So SDHawk are you watching KF's boys on Saturdays? They may seem boring, BUT its usually high drama.

Sometimes. I shut off the pu game early and enjoyed the rest of the day much more. Same with wisky.

 

[jdv77]

I think that we saw that the Hawkeyes can play two consecutive halves of good defense, but it was the second half against NCCU and the first half against Alabama State.

 

[goodbyebobby]

Unless he had an alternate line, which is possible, no books had it at -37.5 last night.

Buddy showed it to me from Winners Circle site, a place in downtown Indy.

 

[kceasthawk]

Sometimes. I shut off the pu game early and enjoyed the rest of the day much more. Same with wisky.

I hear you. I didn't really watch the 2nd half. Wasn't going to let it ruin my day....

 

[cubsMDdmb]

Buddy showed it to me from Winners Circle site, a place in downtown Indy.

I would have bet a lot of money on that line. A lot of money to me anyway. I bet on Alabama state at +28.5 which seemed like a good bet.

Seems like there is money to be made on picking the underdogs to cover the spread early in the year when name brand teams play no name teams. There are always exceptions but last night I was counting on Iowa playing the bench a lot late in the game and ending with the walk ons. We were up over 30 late in the game but Alabama State kept their starters in while we played walk ons. It keeps the score closer.

Someone else earlier pointed out that picking the over on these Iowa games early in the season is a good bet too. It sure is. They seem to set the line around 150 which is easy to bet the over on when we don’t play great defense.

 

[Buffalo43]

Kris is great. Looks a lot like Keegan his first several games last year. Might have the second or third best overall game on the team right now.

He looks Keegan as well

 

[RocknRollface]

I totally agree. Last year's starting 5 was much slower of foot than this group. There wasn't a single great defender on it. This starting 5 has Keegan and JoeT replacing CJ and Connor. That alone is a huge upgrade. I thought Patrick with his length and athleticism would make a jump defensively this year but he's probably been the weakest link. Rebraca looks to be about a push with Luka defensively.

Rebraca looks like a pretty mobile defender at least. Much better than Luka there.

He doesn't have the size inside to protect the basket though so not as good there.