Welp time to break down the videos....(yes it's long)
5:56- That was the first point where I started to worry that we were gonna choke away the comeback. Underclassmen had done a nice job bringing us back and instead of attacking the basket or looking to force a defender from his right to collapse so he could kick it, Mike blindly tries to dump it to Wagner, who was not ready and was well-guarded by Indiana who had been burned on the high screen just a few series before.
To Iowa's credit, they made enough plays over the next couple of possessions to regain the lead. Only problem was....................there was way too much time left on the clock for the starters.
3:16- Uthoff with another long fade away jumper off of one leg that hits the front of the rim......but wait there's more!
3:01- Back to the Iowa that's lost 5 of 6, Jok takes a dribble handoff and immediately pulls up with Ferrell in his face. That's one of those shots where it's great if you make it......but f***ing awful if you miss. There were 25 seconds left on the shot clock and Indiana switched on the play pretty well. We've seen Jok make those shots before...............but not very much at all during this losing streak.
To Woodbury's credit, and he's about to lose it here in a second, he is the only one capable of crashing the boards to get the offensive rebound. Now, remember just a second ago about how I said he's gonna lose his credit?...................So, instead of doing what 7'1" lugs usually do when they get an offensive rebound underneath the left side of the basket, this particularly inept 7'1" lug decides to shot fake (yes he actually contemplated shooting there), and then dribble along the baseline to the right side to hand it off to Gesell, who sees space along the baseline to drive. (Note that of Woodbury's options, this is probably down there among the things you "should not do....but only because they tend to oh let's say never work")
Gesell drives baseline and of course is matched stride for stride by Indiana's big man, unable to show the quickness to beat anyone to the basket, and then instead of trying a quick reverse layup on the left side to try and protect himself and possibly draw a foul, he jump stops on the left side, allowing Indiana's guy to contest the shot enough that Mike shorts it and then draws the foul himself despite being in front of the Indiana rebounder because he was reaching behind to fight for the ball. Now you could argue an over-the-back reach on Indiana's guy, but since that whole sequence by Iowa to that point was a disaster, it wouldn't have made sense not to cap it off with anything other than a foul on Iowa off the miss, and going the other way.
2:28- More of the same from Iowa. A couple half-hearted high ball screens and Clemmons driving into traffic and nearly losing the ball. He kicks it out to Uthoff with time still on the shot clock and he's one on one with his guy...........so you're thinking Uthoff is gonna shoot it right? Btw, does Woodbury ever set high screens for Uthoff? I'm gonna have to go back and look for this. Woody has a great opportunity to set a pick for Jarrod her and instead stands at the elbow with his thumb up his butt, and then Clemmons inexplicably runs up and Jarrod hands him the ball, now with 8 seconds to go on the shot clock. Woody sets a screen for Sapp and he actually gets enough separation to get off a desperation 3 as the shot clock winds down, and had he gotten a little bit more time to set himself on that shot, who knows if he makes it......
Instead, the shot is short, and again Woodbury comes up with the rebound, this time on the right side, and AGAIN he f***ing passes up a layup opportunity (but this time he didn't bother to shot fake first.......), and kicks it out to Uthoff, who finally decides to shoot the ball.......right off the kick out....off-balance and fading away again.........right after they had gotten a new shot clock.
Why?
Is it because we're Iowa? It might be because we're Iowa. That usually has a lot to do with it, I think...............*tosses chair*
1:30- Iowa has missed its last 6 shots and Mike Tirico asks "which senior is gonna step up for the Hawkeyes". The answer is none. Jok, though (a junior), decides to catch a pass cutting off a screen and attacks the basket, which is nice to see. But for some reason, in yesterday's game, Pete decided that every layup he took was gonna get swatted if he didn't try some acrobatic Kobe Bryant windmill maneuver to get the shot off, and he ends up missing badly and not drawing a foul in the process, and rarely did when he shot like that last night. Tirico then calls it a terrible offensive series for Iowa.
1:05- Clemmons misses both FTs much to the delight of Dan Dakich. The video was a little choppy, but it looked like he was releasing the ball a little late on both attempts. Usually you're gonna end up short on those attempts, then, because you don't have your legs into the shot. You can kinda get away with that if you have good upper body strength and form (and aren't tired from playing over 30 minutes in a college basketball game), but I'm going to assume that Clemmons is not that kind a guy.........................
0:28- And the last one to top it off, Uthoff curls around a high screen, which is some nice action off the ball btw, especially if you actually make contact with the guy you're screening and don't just lazily brush by him......but once again........instead of stepping into his shot, Uthoff fades away off one leg and even allows his defender to come back into his line of sight, which could've very easily altered the shot, and it's no good. Then to finish the job, a tired Woodbury allows himself to get bodied just enough to lose ground underneath the basket, despite having the inside position during the entire sequence, gives up the rebound, and Iowa is forced to foul.
And in spite of all these failures, Iowa still had a chance to tie the game at the end............................
