Chalk up another close lose to Fran



FRANAMANIAC said:
So you're saying that, as a coach, you have a player who has 0 points the whole game. You also know this player is injured, as you said. So you choose to put him in? That would be on you man.

Don't get me wrong I love Fran as much as the next guy, hope he stays for years to come, but that turnover, in my opinion, was on him.
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For the cord, both Fran and Dev say he's not hurt. I don't believe that for a second, but it's not like they're saying he's playing hurt. The company line is that he's healthy.
 


I only saw the last six minutes of the game and what I didn't understand is why did it appear we were more concerned with running time off the clock like we had a ten point lead instead of the four point lead we had? That put us in a bad Lickliter like position where we got pressured to take bad shots because the shot clock was running down. We should have ran our normal offense and forgot about running time off the clock. That would be my biggest concern. All the other mistakes hurt but players are going to make mistakes like this. It's unfortunate as we had a good chance to win this one. Marble is a disappointment this year. I always felt he wasn't NBA level yet but I did expect more out of him than this.
 


BigD said:
I only saw the last six minutes of the game and what I didn't understand is why did it appear we were more concerned with running time off the clock like we had a ten point lead instead of the four point lead we had? That put us in a bad Lickliter like position where we got pressured to take bad shots because the shot clock was running down. We should have ran our normal offense and forgot about running time off the clock. That would be my biggest concern. All the other mistakes hurt but players are going to make mistakes like this. It's unfortunate as we had a good chance to win this one. Marble is a disappointment this year. I always felt he wasn't NBA level yet but I did expect more out of him than this.
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He's playing hurt. There is no explanation other than that. He hasn't been the same since getting hurt, and he's getting worse by the game, which tells me he keeps aggravating it. He has to be allowed to heal, or forced, if he's lying about it. He's barely even trying to do the things that can make him effective anymore, especially his step back jumpers on the pull up. My guess is because he's physically incapable of doing those things right now.
 


Because 2-3 guys have 2 fouls in the first 10 minutes of games. Basabe, Clemmons and Woodbury would foul out in the first half if they got more PT.
 




bighawkeyedaddy said:
FIFY
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LOL! So how is Marble different than any other player we have? So far there hasn't been a single member of the team that has proven trustworthy enough to handle these situations. Gesell certainly did a bang up job, didn't he? Who else you going to go to? "O-for-the century" Oglesby? Zach "Bull in a China shop" McCabe? Marble has the most experience doing so, therefore he should be on the floor. The worst part of this whole thread is that I'm being forced to defend Marble!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 


eveningnewsteam said:
Agreed. That uncontested shot with 1 sec on the shot clock is unforgivable. The 3 at the end is unforgivable. Guys completely out of position. It happens all the time.
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The staff went to zone after the 2nd timeout by Minnesota. Gave too much space to the shooter.
And, let's be honest, Minn was 3-15 from three before that shot went in.
 




Agreed were lacking a go to guy, but the fact is they're playing with the lead. That go to guy isn't as heavily relied upon if we make clutch free throws and defensive stops. Lets be honest we do the little things right and don't give up the three then that go to guy doesn't become an issue, because were not looking for a last second shot to regain the lead.
 


This issue with losing close games is a systemic problem that Fran created himself. He proclaims a guy or guys as the "go to" and once they reach the Big 10 they aren't. By that time the rest of the team is pigeon holed into their "roles". This is the second year in a row that Fran's psychological strategy has backfired. Currently, Iowa has a bunch of pretty good players on their team that if they played like a team could win a lot of games. We have a lot of good players but not 1 let alone 2 superstars or "go to" players as Fran proclaims at the beginning of each year. So what happens to the team when everyone, including the player, coaches, fan and opponents, figures out that this "go to" player(s) actually isn't? No one else steps up and makes plays because it hasn't been their role and we lose close games. If Fran would have come out and be honest with the fans and players at the beginning of the year that we don't have a superstar on this team but we have a bunch of guys that are really good. He could have said "if we play well as team we could win a lot of games and on any given game any one could step up and win that game." But he didn't say that and now he has a confidence issue with his "go to" (Marble) because he isn't performing like a superstar and everyone else on the team is playing the "role" that Fran pigeon holed them into. If you recall he had the same issue last year with Basabe when he put him on a pedastal at the beginning of the season. If Fran doesn't watch out he is going to lose not only his proclaimed "go to" guy but all the other really good players we have on the team that he has pigeon holed as "role" players.
 


sd6365 said:
This issue with losing close games is a systemic problem that Fran created himself. He proclaims a guy or guys as the "go to" and once they reach the Big 10 they aren't. By that time the rest of the team is pigeon holed into their "roles". This is the second year in a row that Fran's psychological strategy has backfired. Currently, Iowa has a bunch of pretty good players on their team that if they played like a team could win a lot of games. We have a lot of good players but not 1 let alone 2 superstars or "go to" players as Fran proclaims at the beginning of each year. So what happens to the team when everyone, including the player, coaches, fan and opponents, figures out that this "go to" player(s) actually isn't? No one else steps up and makes plays because it hasn't been their role and we lose close games. If Fran would have come out and be honest with the fans and players at the beginning of the year that we don't have a superstar on this team but we have a bunch of guys that are really good. He could have said "if we play well as team we could win a lot of games and on any given game any one could step up and win that game." But he didn't say that and now he has a confidence issue with his "go to" (Marble) because he isn't performing like a superstar and everyone else on the team is playing the "role" that Fran pigeon holed them into. If you recall he had the same issue last year with Basabe when he put him on a pedastal at the beginning of the season. If Fran doesn't watch out he is going to lose not only his proclaimed "go to" guy but all the other really good players we have on the team that he has pigeon holed as "role" players.
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Great post. I bet four to five guys transfer this summer.
 


sd6365 said:
This issue with losing close games is a systemic problem that Fran created himself. He proclaims a guy or guys as the "go to" and once they reach the Big 10 they aren't. By that time the rest of the team is pigeon holed into their "roles". This is the second year in a row that Fran's psychological strategy has backfired. Currently, Iowa has a bunch of pretty good players on their team that if they played like a team could win a lot of games. We have a lot of good players but not 1 let alone 2 superstars or "go to" players as Fran proclaims at the beginning of each year. So what happens to the team when everyone, including the player, coaches, fan and opponents, figures out that this "go to" player(s) actually isn't? No one else steps up and makes plays because it hasn't been their role and we lose close games. If Fran would have come out and be honest with the fans and players at the beginning of the year that we don't have a superstar on this team but we have a bunch of guys that are really good. He could have said "if we play well as team we could win a lot of games and on any given game any one could step up and win that game." But he didn't say that and now he has a confidence issue with his "go to" (Marble) because he isn't performing like a superstar and everyone else on the team is playing the "role" that Fran pigeon holed them into. If you recall he had the same issue last year with Basabe when he put him on a pedastal at the beginning of the season. If Fran doesn't watch out he is going to lose not only his proclaimed "go to" guy but all the other really good players we have on the team that he has pigeon holed as "role" players.
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I wish I could spend a day inside your head, I bet it's fascinating.
 


I will say this again, right now outside of Basabe, the contributions from the upperclassmen are pretty insignificant at this point. McCabe played well at Minnesota, but still made some of the same dumb fouls he always does, the difference, he actually made a couple shots little else.

Marble, if he is injured, sit him...when he didn't play against MSU, I didn't really notice he wasn't on the floor. Give him a couple games off, if his toe feels better then see if he can go.

May can play defense at times, actually I liked him taking advantage of Coleman and going to the basket, Coleman is an athlete, but relies on it too much defensively, this match-up I would have liked to see May exploit more, but he isn't an aggressive offensive player.

When Fran got to Iowa and opened up the cupboard there weren't even crickets.

Honestly, the youth thing is just an excuse, that is it. Fran is replenishing the talent and I expect the 2014 to have some real athletes in it, but also one or two to be pretty highly ranked. Jok is going to help and so will Uthoff, if either can help solidify the bench and give Iowa scoring from that area then all is well.

When Fran brought Marble back in maybe he was hoping this would happen: Austin Hollins, Minnesota's best defender without question, would switch from Gesell to Marble. It didn't happen and the end result was a turnover. Hollins can play defense and he went to Mike after he hit a couple of shots in the 2nd half.

Blame Fran if you want, but blame him for believing in his players, look there is nothing wrong with that and regardless of what Fran/Marble say when he has to have help up and down from the bench to the floor, something is not right.

The thing with Marble is that he played well against smaller, shorter guys last season, he used his length and height against them, but like in the Purdue game he couldn't take advantage of it. With the way players flop, he can't just back a guy down either and on top of it lose sight of the rest of the floor.

Also, if anyone thinks Iowa has a "best" player in anything...they don't.

Another thing that Iowa struggles with is running a fastbreak, honestly, it is painful to watch for me. When Gesell gets in transition, if there isn't an initial look to get it out of his hands, I cringe, but a lot of the time he makes a long pass that is not on target either. Clemmons is the only player that has shown any ability to run an effective fast break because he gets in the middle of the floor right away and looks to pass early, not when he gets inside the FT line.

FT shooting when it has mattered, except for Wisconsin has just be dreadful.
 




hawkfan33 said:
And none of that is surprising for a young team playing in the toughest conference in the country. We've had some frustrating losses, but we're competing in every game (except the Michigan) and this experience will help us next year.
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Do not know how many will return, but watching the OSU/Michigan game last night...Neither team started a senior.
 


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