Why can't we get a point guard?
- Thread starter 83Hawk
- Start date
The rapist Piere Pierece?
I like Gessell as a 2 guard, but he is not a PG. Fran needs to find someone who can come in and play right away. I get it we missed the boat on Ulis, but there has to be other PG options out there.
Mike and Sapp have been dissapointing. Maybe playing Williams some minutes would push them to play better.
Playing both Sapp and Gesell at same time is doubling up on the problem. Neither is much of a scorer, shooter, FT shooter, rebounder.
Fran supposedly passed on Monte Morris after having an in with Marble family. Seems like Fran hitched Iowa's future to gesell/Woody 4-star future.
My concern with the Freshman Williams at PG is he looks to have much worse shot than Gesell/Clemmons.
Gessell is a decent guard but not going to win you games. The real problem is we don't have anyone on this team that wants to get in teammates faces and demand more. When the lead got cut to around 8 you should have had someone getting everyone together. Instead you saw deer in the headlights looks on everyone.
Did Washpun pass on Iowa or Iowa pass on Washpun, I always assumed it was the latter.
We simply lack people that can create shots off the dribble. And other than Marble, we have for some time. It's a huge hole in end of game situations. Because when games get tight, athletic teams gets handsy with us on defense, take our players' space, and we really struggle to get quality shots.
It's been a glaring recruit hole for sometime now that Fran has been unable to fix. We should have two players on our roster at all times whose number one strength is creating their own shot off the dribble.
It's been a glaring recruit hole for sometime now that Fran has been unable to fix. We should have two players on our roster at all times whose number one strength is creating their own shot off the dribble.
I like Fran and appreciate his candor, but time and time again I read his press conferences about the great guards some team has and how we are really going to defend their quickness. Or postgame conferences about how we just couldn't stop their penetration. Well Fran, that can be remedied through recruiting. We don't need a 4 start Ulis type, just get a Washpun, Jackson s(former WI) or pretty much any of the guys we can't deal with that every school has. Crimminy, UW-Milwaukee's PG would make this team exponentially better.
Bohannon better be the real deal, if not, I don't see Fran being around after the '17-'18 season.
I don't think Bohannon is the real deal straight out of high school. Like most of Fran's recruits, he'll be serviceable his Junior and Senior years. If Fran keeps making the Tournament, he's not going anywhere, good point guard or not.
Remember that this is Washpun's fifth year. If you look at his stats last year they are comparable to Gesell last year:
Washpun: 7.6 ppg, 2.6 apg, 1.9 to/g.
Gesell: 7.4 ppg, 4.0 apg, 1.8 to/g.
Washpun: 7.6 ppg, 2.6 apg, 1.9 to/g.
Gesell: 7.4 ppg, 4.0 apg, 1.8 to/g.
What from I've seen of MG - seems like he can get penetration but then gets stuck under the basket with no plan and has to chuck it back to the top of the key.
The Marble family gave us an assist with an all American caliber point guard, only now he is playing in an ISU uniform as Fran chose not to recruit him. That being said, our pgs are taking way too much blame on this board. They will be solid this year.
He's just not a leader. Coach said himself in the preseason that the team doesn't have a trueleader. Not exactly a ringing endorsement of your four year starter at point guard. But Mike can seldom create a good shot for himself and running the shot clock down to 4 before you let him go iso has almost always been a failure. The ball should have been in Uthoffs hands in the second to last posession
I keep hoping we could find a PG similar to a Ronnie Lester type. You would think that we could find a player that can do the things you mention, plus one more thing, make free throws whether it's the first half, or the game is on the line.
I think everyone is confused about who we are and what the goal is. If you are asking "Why don't we have the best point guard in the country?" Then the answer is that Fran hasn't been able to get him.
But the answer that you asked is silly. We have a point guard. He was a top 100 recruit coming out of HS. He has been a four year starter for us, and he led us to our first NCAA victory in quite some time last year.
He has outplayed nearly every point guard that we have played this year. The exceptions would be Morris and the kid from Notre Dame. If you are seriously thinking that we are going to have the best point guard on the floor every game that we play...then you should probably cheer for a different team. Maybe Duke or Kentucky.
There is a lot that goes in to coaching a B1G basketball team, and managing the roster is a pretty big part of it. It does seem strange that both Iowa and Michigan State passed on Morris. Why would that be? Are Izzo and Fran idiots? Hmmmm, I don't think they are. Could it be that maybe there was some other issue that kept them from recruiting that kid? Hmmmm, there might be.
Do you guys know everything that is going on inside Iowa Basketball...Michigan State Basketball...Iowa State Basketball? Hmmmm, I don't think so. Do you think there might be academics that are being considered...maybe character issues? One of the things that I have loved about both Fran and Kirk is their emphasis on character. I haven't heard that same emphasis coming out of Ames for a while now.
If you really are wanting to watch the best point guard in the country, and you aren't interested in watching the kids that Fran believes are the best kids for his team; then seriously, why don't you just become a fan of a different program?
Coach has done a fantastic job. Mikey has done an awesome job. The truth is that last night he was matched up against a better point guard. So you think the best thing to do is skewer him on the internet because of it. Let's reserve this conversation for about 10 years down the road...let's compare these two boys when they are 30 years old. I wonder how Dejean-Jones is doing now? How about the White (name, not color...lol) kid From ISU that was determined the screw some NBA team over his mental condition?
Don't call yourselves fans of Iowa if you think the best thing to do after our kid played his heart out...and failed...is to call him a failure on the internet. You are no fans. I will be cheering hard for Mike and Anthony to have great success the rest of this season...and the rest of their lives. They have demonstrated to all of us the character to make us all proud.
Go Hawks!
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Yep. Iowa was really late to the party so to speak. They offered him the first week in April. Cuonzo Martin had been recruiting him pretty hard when he was at Mizzu State. Iowa kinda saw Washpun as a "fallback recruit". They waited on guys like Eli Carter, Cezar Guerrero, the Jackson kid that went to Baylor, amongst a few others.......
The Dayton PG also outplayed MG - their guards gave Iowa fits, both offensively and defensively. So, Iowa has lost 3 games and MG has been outplayed in all 3 games. It's not like it's going to get easier in the B1G which has some pretty good pgs.
I would disagree. Mike got two fouls in the first two minutes and a quick 3rd in the 2nd half. When we made the big comeback, it was when our PG was finally in the game.
I don't remember how Mike got those 3 fouls, but maybe a case could be made that he was outplayed cause of the fouls. We. He was on the floor, he was the best guard in the game.
Which B1G guard would you trade Mike for?
Go Hawks!
I don't remember how Mike got those 3 fouls, but maybe a case could be made that he was outplayed cause of the fouls. We. He was on the floor, he was the best guard in the game.
Which B1G guard would you trade Mike for?
Go Hawks!
Sure. Why not a Ronnie Lester type. He was only the best pg in Iowa history. Those guys are easily available everywhere. Right?
Yeah, he really wanted an Iowa offer out of high school but he felt disrespected that Fran waited so long to offer and went to UT at the last minute.
We could have had Washpun and Morris.
For all the talk of Fran being able to identify talent he really missed badly with those situations.
You need to be honest with yourself.
MG is a liability against teams that play tight pressure defense. It renders him very ineffective.
The main problem is he just isn't a true point.
He does his best but he doesn't have the handle to beat good defenders.
Ronnie was once in a lifetime. Not only the best PG but the best player to ever play at IA - since at least the late 70's that I've been watching. I suspect ever but can't directly can't speak to pre-late 70's.
I am being very honest. I am not disagreeing with anything you are saying. I have already stated that I believe Morris outplayed him, and is better than him . I agree with what you were saying. That is not the point.
The point is that I believe Fran got the best point guard for our team at that time. And I believe Mike has done his best, and I don't believe people need to come on the Internet and berate him every time he gets out played by an opponent.
He is actually a point guard. He isn't as quick as some of the elite point guards. I am glad he is the Hawkeye's point guard. And I will keep cheering for him this season. I believe there is a chance he will lead us to some unique victories the last couple of weeks of this season.
Go Hawks!
the problem with this team is they all have balls that tinkle like wind chimes. We need some dudes with balls that clang like cymbals. Our PGs are Rudocks, we need a Beathard.
If your PG becomes frightened...the whole team becomes frightened.
If your coach becomes confused...the whole team becomes confused.
It is called leadership...or lack thereof...
It is "easy" when Uthoff is draining threes...but when it gets close and the environment is hostile...fright, doubt, fear, too often infiltrate this team of mental lightweights...thus the collapses in confusion and frustration.
Who will lead them...that is a long, unanswered question?
If your coach becomes confused...the whole team becomes confused.
It is called leadership...or lack thereof...
It is "easy" when Uthoff is draining threes...but when it gets close and the environment is hostile...fright, doubt, fear, too often infiltrate this team of mental lightweights...thus the collapses in confusion and frustration.
Who will lead them...that is a long, unanswered question?
Really good post. What's not to like and respect about MG. Perfect? Of course not but you can go to bed at night knowing this kid is a first class kid. He always stands up and addresses the media in a respectful manner win or lose. He's a Christian and a finance major working on his masters degree. By the way he's not exactly a bad basketball player. It's not easy to be an elite player at this level. If it was everyone would be elite. There's 330 or so starting D1 point guards.
I was much more critical of him and some of the other guys until I realized who they were behind the scenes, met their parents and realized what a schmuck I was for criticizing them. Proud to have all of these guys in our program.
You want to know what type of team and players we have? We lose a 1 pt game to a nationally elite ranked in-state rival at their place and their fans flock over to our message boards seeking validation. What does that tell you about their team when they come here to seek attention instead of just being able to savor a victory and move on. That confirms what I know about the type of guys and team we have. When you have to continually tell everyone else how great you are, well that just screams insecurity and maybe you know inside that you are not that great.
GO HAWKS! Looking forward to more games.
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