Was sorry to see that Wagner played
- Thread starter Hawk68
- Start date
I'm sorry he's not on the fb team. Need him there worse than on the bb team.
Again, scoring will not be an issue with this team.
Wagner provides invaluable minutes off the bench with his defense and rebounding. And he's athletic enough to score around the rim. That's all Iowa needs him to do.
Wagner provides invaluable minutes off the bench with his defense and rebounding. And he's athletic enough to score around the rim. That's all Iowa needs him to do.
BINGO.....Ahmad is clearly in a position where he is not going to be a top scorer. SO, how would he make himself a starter and a prime time player on this team? Rebounding and defense. He could be a team leader in both of these areas. Go after it Ahmad....get the Reggie Evans Dennis Rodman intensity and take no prisoners. Own the boards, shut people down, get after it in those areas and he will stand out on this team.
Still would like seeing him hauling in td strikes from hawk qb's 
Wagner was fine yesterday. Some pluses:
He looked good taking the ball off the glass and bringing it up the court; I believe he had a great pass to Garza while doing so.
He also had a tip on an offensive rebound that went to Garza for an easy score.
There was really zero need for him to score. His one shot was a good move in the post, I believe.
He looked good taking the ball off the glass and bringing it up the court; I believe he had a great pass to Garza while doing so.
He also had a tip on an offensive rebound that went to Garza for an easy score.
There was really zero need for him to score. His one shot was a good move in the post, I believe.
I like Ahmad, but I'm not seeing it. Is he that much superior at defense that he should replace Big's that are a threat to score? I'm not sure how to quantify defense. In rebounds per minutes played Wagner was last, in 2016-17, compared to all the other forwards.
Cook .216
Pemsl .259
Baer .244
Wagner .213
Uhl .219
Kriener .262
Wagner is quick and athletic, but that doesn't seem to translate to production. Now we add Garza and Nunge, who are both taller/longer and appear to be better offensively. I'm not seeing many minutes from Ahmad, unless he takes his defense and rebounding to another level.
Every team needs a guy or two willing to do the dirty work. Now, Baer was the logical choice given how he helped his first two years, but he then started developing "some" offensive game, with a half-decent 3 point shot to boot.
But when you look at the vets on this team...we got a lot of players who figure to pencil in the "dirty work vets" type. Every one of them.
Uhl, Baer, Ellingson, Wagner, Williams - all fit the bill to me. Iowa's going to need these veterans to lead, to set the example - and their offensive profiles during their careers show, they ain't scorers (Baer has shown flashes), but can provide the glue type output all teams need.
Just need to be better at it is all.
But when you look at the vets on this team...we got a lot of players who figure to pencil in the "dirty work vets" type. Every one of them.
Uhl, Baer, Ellingson, Wagner, Williams - all fit the bill to me. Iowa's going to need these veterans to lead, to set the example - and their offensive profiles during their careers show, they ain't scorers (Baer has shown flashes), but can provide the glue type output all teams need.
Just need to be better at it is all.
BirdistheWord
HB Legend
Wagner did have the highest offensive rebound percentage on the team, which directly correlates to incremental possesions. The stat i could not find but would like to know is rebounds per missed shot (or however it is defined).
http://www.foxsports.com/college-ba...ategory=REBOUNDING&sort=8&time=0&pos=0&team=0
well there are not very many Reggie Evans...those are pretty high shoes to compare. I think what people are suggesting is...not every player will score points every time out...but there are other areas of the game that they can contribute.
this football thing...well its Ahmad's choice of what sport he plays..his scholarship was offered to play BB not FB.
I hope he starts and NB provides the offensive spark off the bench. Even though the team got better at D last season as it went on they still are not a great defensive unit...Wags helps this team a lot.
Exactly and if he plays FB for Iowa I hope it is as a 5th year grad student w no hoops eligibility left.
Fran will sort it out. I didn't watch the game in Germany, but as noted, Wagner isn't on the court to score. Last year, he was our second most active player on the defensive end, and he is one of our better offensive rebounders. I would like to see him used to set picks and roll to the basket regularly. He does need to finish better and improve his free throw shooting.
Happy to see Big AW bringing the ball up and touching it outside the paint. The game was choppy so its hard so say exactly where everyone but Cook (4) and Garza (5) are going to play. Still see a scenario where he and the Baer split up the 3 time with just constant pressure at that position.
Ahmad is going to get his minutes against more physical players. Wags brings toughness to this team and Fran knows that. He is a great athlete and you can never have too many of them.
His job is not to score. His job is to do all the little things that make the whole greater than the sum of the parts. He defends and makes plays on that end, he rebounds and advances the ball, he attacks the offensive glass.
You'll see more "stat production" out of him as teams commit more attention to Cook/Garza/Nunge (and hopefully a healthy Pemsl), opening up Wagner to clean up misses by these guys, or be on the receiving end of passes from having his guy leave to double, or just get caught watching guys like Cook/Garza/Nunge.
And then there is Kreiner, who appears to be ready to stretch the floor, clearing for a 1-v-1 offensive rebounding matchup for Wagner to exploit.
Learn to love Wagner for what he is now. There is a lot to love.
Guess I'm alone on this one
Kelvin Bell needs to recruit him harder!!
Same probably goes for Uhl. I imagine most of the minutes will go to Cook, Pemsl, Garza, Kreiner, Nunge.
All you that are pushing Wagner seem to forget he is pretty much the antithesis of Jok. Jok was mostly scoring and little defense and (until the end) rebounding. Wagner rebounds and defends but doesn't score much. So you lose the offense.
Much better to find a player that can rebound and defend 'pretty' good, but also score. If you remember last year, Kriener rebounded well, scored, and was diving on the floor and bodying up against big guys. In my opinion, his only weakness was too many fouls.
jmho
Much better to find a player that can rebound and defend 'pretty' good, but also score. If you remember last year, Kriener rebounded well, scored, and was diving on the floor and bodying up against big guys. In my opinion, his only weakness was too many fouls.
jmho
I dont think anyone is pushing AW... just pointing out there is more to the game than scoring...sometimes having too many scorers can be as much of a problem.
Ya it would be great to have everyone rebound defend & score..but you also need those glue guys. I agree Ryan Kriener is a much better shooter...
IMO glue-guys can also contribute in the scoring column. I'd probably label both Bohannon and Baer glue-guys.
I don't think you can ever have too many scorers, unless you have a Recker vs Evans dynamic where they don't share the ball like they should. IIRC both Lute and Davis had teams with 4-5 double digit scorers.
If you aren't a threat to score, you'd better be really strong in other area's of your game, because you are a liability on offense, if defenders can help off of you.
Without so many quality Big's I could see both Uhl and Wagner contributing 10-15 minutes per game. Right now it seems Fran has options that don't require sacrificing scoring.
I guess we will agree to disagree...in the scheme of things normally glue guys are those who dont force individual offense when there are better options.
one could also turn the scheme..if you are a scorer you need to be just as strong on defense...or you are a liability on defense,...I think most would agree it wasnt our offense that cost us games last year.
You need players who provide overall energy to the team and raise the level of those around them by doing things that aren't on the stat sheet, like helping on defense, setting picks to open shots or driving lanes, and tracking down loose balls. Besides Baer, I think Wagner does those things better than any of our other players.
There are trade offs that need to be considered, as noted. A lot will depend on how much the other guys have improved on defense and overall, and whether Wagner has improved his shooting and ball handling. The team has a lot of good offensive options, which IMO makes Wagner potentially even more valuable. The coaches will need to figure out how he would fit into different lineups, and his primary role(s) in those lineups. On offense, I would love to see Wagner primarily setting picks and rolling to the basket for a feed or to hit the offensive boards, but he needs to show that he can finish at the rim and make free throws for that to be effective. On defense, he can be more of a lock down defender for opponents with both size and speed, and can be very effective in presses or zones. I think Wagner is a better option when Baer is resting, because he might do much of the same without some of the ball skills.
There are trade offs that need to be considered, as noted. A lot will depend on how much the other guys have improved on defense and overall, and whether Wagner has improved his shooting and ball handling. The team has a lot of good offensive options, which IMO makes Wagner potentially even more valuable. The coaches will need to figure out how he would fit into different lineups, and his primary role(s) in those lineups. On offense, I would love to see Wagner primarily setting picks and rolling to the basket for a feed or to hit the offensive boards, but he needs to show that he can finish at the rim and make free throws for that to be effective. On defense, he can be more of a lock down defender for opponents with both size and speed, and can be very effective in presses or zones. I think Wagner is a better option when Baer is resting, because he might do much of the same without some of the ball skills.
I agree on defense, rebounding and being athletic enough to finish around the rim.. he just needs to actually finish around the rim. Faaaar too often he would miss bunnies inside. Hopefully he buttons that up this year!
Please explain Ellingson's dirty work. Fran said he hadn't missed a shot in three weeks of practice, but never mentione
If you had too many of them, we would be the only BIG team to average 10 points a game.
Good team are those whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts, as noted above. A good team needs guys that can score, rebound, defend, hustle, handle the ball, etc... You have to play a guy that can average 20 and get north of 40 but is a mediocre defender. A good coach finds the best way to adjust the roster/game plan to compensate for the scorers weakness.
This year's squad looks to be as talented as we've seen since 2006, although less experienced. That makes the various compensations for each player's individual weaknesses so much easier. Should be good this season and very good for the next two, barring injuries, academic casualties and other Iowa calamities that strike when the Hawks seem to be rolling.
This year's squad looks to be as talented as we've seen since 2006, although less experienced. That makes the various compensations for each player's individual weaknesses so much easier. Should be good this season and very good for the next two, barring injuries, academic casualties and other Iowa calamities that strike when the Hawks seem to be rolling.
AW strengths are great defender, rebounder, can handle the rock and push the ball up the floor.
His weakness has the worst looking form on a ft shot that I have ever seen, missed a lot of bunnies last year.
Bottom line he will help in certain situations. Opposing team has a physical scorer or gets hot.
AW can come in and shut them down. He has great lateral quickness and is physical. He can wear a opponent down.
Fran brought in the scorers for the inside with Garza and Nunge.
If Fran can get these two to play with the defensive intensity and the intangibles that AW bring look out!
His weakness has the worst looking form on a ft shot that I have ever seen, missed a lot of bunnies last year.
Bottom line he will help in certain situations. Opposing team has a physical scorer or gets hot.
AW can come in and shut them down. He has great lateral quickness and is physical. He can wear a opponent down.
Fran brought in the scorers for the inside with Garza and Nunge.
If Fran can get these two to play with the defensive intensity and the intangibles that AW bring look out!
I guess I'm confused where Wagner would fit on the football team. Sure he's a tough physical guy and I get that and it's mostly joking, but he likely would not see the field for the FB team IMO.
He definitely has a place on the bball team. He plays a very important roll. You don't need 5 scorers on the floor at all times, having an energy guy who can defend and rebound while being able to pass the ball well are all we need from Ahmad. The only thing I'd really like to see him improve from last year is his touch around the rim. I've seen him make some great moves only to clank a lay up off the back of the rim awkwardly.
I'm really pulling for him as I feel he's one of those glue guys that makes the game/life fun for everyone and he seems like such a great person.
He definitely has a place on the bball team. He plays a very important roll. You don't need 5 scorers on the floor at all times, having an energy guy who can defend and rebound while being able to pass the ball well are all we need from Ahmad. The only thing I'd really like to see him improve from last year is his touch around the rim. I've seen him make some great moves only to clank a lay up off the back of the rim awkwardly.
I'm really pulling for him as I feel he's one of those glue guys that makes the game/life fun for everyone and he seems like such a great person.
