This team is better than last year's.

The hawks don't need to prove it to me. Ballhog Marble is gone, I'm going to try to power it inside and get called for a charge McCabe is gone and no show melsahn is gone. Now we have shooters who love distributing the ball on the court. It's going to be a fun season.
You can have shooters who love distributing the ball on the court.

I'd prefer shooters who love shooting the ball into the basket.











Consistently.
And at crunch time.
Against top 100 teams.
 
there is no way this team is as good as last year's thus far. All in all a terrible tournament. WE need GUARDS!
 
White is better, Clemmons is better Uthoff and Woody are night and day better. Also we don't have McCabe. I think all that is a wash with losing Marble and Basabe.

If Gesell can somehow start making shots and we get decent shooting from Oges and Jok, we will be pretty darn good. I know those are some pretty big ifs but if none happen we will end up like last year.

I guess what I'm saying is on the bubble is our floor with room to improve depending on guard play.
 
White is better, Clemmons is better Uthoff and Woody are night and day better. Also we don't have McCabe. I think all that is a wash with losing Marble and Basabe.

If Gesell can somehow start making shots and we get decent shooting from Oges and Jok, we will be pretty darn good. I know those are some pretty big ifs but if none happen we will end up like last year.

I guess what I'm saying is on the bubble is our floor with room to improve depending on guard play.

Oges should be playing at Coe.
Woodbury is "maybe" a serviceable player at this level but he is painfully slow and robotic.
Our guards have played about a hundred college games. Do you really think they are going to get better?
I feel bad for White and Uthoff. They are legit d-1 players and would be really super if they were surrounded by some athletes.
This is an average team. I would love to think different and was really hoping to see something to be excited for this year. I am sorry. There is nothing there.
 
Nope.

End of game screw-ups/turnovers/ continue.
Check.

No clutch 3-4 shooters replacing Marble.
Check.

Losing another close game.
Check.


Discount triple-check.
 
I've noticed something I thought might be an issue... absolutely no chemistry on this team. I thought lack of the ball hog might help, it hasn't. The players act like they hate one another. Could it be Fran's behavior encourages lack of chemistry? Somebody always at fault. It's not a team, it's individuals being yelled at by a hot head. Going to be a long season.
 
I always thought the term ball hog was reserved for junior high basketball? Once you get to college there is no such thing as a ball hog. Your best player takes the most shots. That's how it's supposed to be.
 
I always thought the term ball hog was reserved for junior high basketball? Once you get to college there is no such thing as a ball hog. Your best player takes the most shots. That's how it's supposed to be.
Yes, you are right, of course. But the mantra that Marble was the reason for last season's freefall must continue.
 
Yes, you are right, of course. But the mantra that Marble was the reason for last season's freefall must continue.

Amazing how some fans blame last year on our 1st team all league NBA performer, isn't it? And how without him, this team will finally be free to reach their true potential? Wow.

We now can see why Devyn ended up taking all those end of shot clock and game shots....no one else was willing or able.

And now it is chemistry again? C'mon...that is weak. As with elections...its the economy , stupid....for Iowa bb, its the talent.
 
Amazing how some fans blame last year on our 1st team all league NBA performer, isn't it? And how without him, this team will finally be free to reach their true potential? Wow.

We now can see why Devyn ended up taking all those end of shot clock and game shots....no one else was willing or able.

And now it is chemistry again? C'mon...that is weak. As with elections...its the economy , stupid....for Iowa bb, its the talent.

exactly! Since when does the only player who can create his own shot become a problem? For all of you who thought marble was the problem, now you've got your wish watching gesell,clemmons,oglesby, trying to create their own shot at the end of the shot clock! None of these 3 guys would be playing at UNI. Lack of point guard or any other decent guard for that matter is Iowa's problem and that comes down to Fran and recruiting.
 
I think this team is better than last years team. Last years team didn't win the national championship, and this years team probably won't either. I think they will have a pretty good year.
 
Here's my take on the whole thing.

1 - White never has been a "look for my own" kind of player. He's always been an energy scorer. He scores by moving off the ball and picking up the garbage baskets. Defensively he plays out of position way too much looking for the steal.
2 - Woodbury, being a center, can score but has to have someone deliver the ball to him when he has the position in the post; and no one on the team apparently knows how or when to feed the post. The team definitely plays better defense when he's in the game.
3 - Gessell is a good enough scorer but doesn't seem to understand that he's only 6 feet tall - pull up and shoot the 8-12 foot jump shot and quit trying to take it in for a layup! Defensively he's the best on-ball defender we have. He's pretty good about staying in front of his man.
4 - Clemmons is pretty good on defense and is improving every game on offense - but for some inexplicable reason he goes to sleep on routine passes and they get picked.
5 - Utoff should be our go-to scorer because he's out best shooter, but he seems unwilling to take on that role. How many times did he have an open 3 but instead of shooting did this: fake a shot (with no intention of shooting), dribble once (and go nowhere) and then pass it away from the basket. Also, he has issues taking it strong to the basket as he's simply not strong. He's a good shooter but a soft player.
6 - Oglesby is a catch and shoot guy. He does well when his feet are set and he has a bit of space. He works hard on defense and knows how to use his teammates to help him out there.
7 - Olesani is an athlete who plays basketball; he is NOT a basketball player who is athletic. He is still miles away in offensive skills and is typically out of position on defense because he tries to block shots more than play defense.
8 - Jok likes to shoot and is willing to shoot. The problem is once he shoots he's done. He has no idea what to do on defense and is a liability. He can learn to play D; he's a capable enough athlete to do so, but he needs to put his heart into it. Right now he's playing defense like he's allergic to it.
9 - Dickerson is very quick... VERY quick. He's still trying to figure out his role on the team. He has the capability to be a "drive and dish" guy. Watching him shoot I don't think he'll be a consistent scorer for us, but he can be a consistent assist guy.
10 - Uhl, well, it's too soon to tell. He looks athletic but he needs about 20 more pounds to play in the B1G effectively.
 
Here's my take on the whole thing.

1 - White never has been a "look for my own" kind of player. He's always been an energy scorer. He scores by moving off the ball and picking up the garbage baskets. Defensively he plays out of position way too much looking for the steal.
2 - Woodbury, being a center, can score but has to have someone deliver the ball to him when he has the position in the post; and no one on the team apparently knows how or when to feed the post. The team definitely plays better defense when he's in the game.
3 - Gessell is a good enough scorer but doesn't seem to understand that he's only 6 feet tall - pull up and shoot the 8-12 foot jump shot and quit trying to take it in for a layup! Defensively he's the best on-ball defender we have. He's pretty good about staying in front of his man.
4 - Clemmons is pretty good on defense and is improving every game on offense - but for some inexplicable reason he goes to sleep on routine passes and they get picked.
5 - Utoff should be our go-to scorer because he's out best shooter, but he seems unwilling to take on that role. How many times did he have an open 3 but instead of shooting did this: fake a shot (with no intention of shooting), dribble once (and go nowhere) and then pass it away from the basket. Also, he has issues taking it strong to the basket as he's simply not strong. He's a good shooter but a soft player.
6 - Oglesby is a catch and shoot guy. He does well when his feet are set and he has a bit of space. He works hard on defense and knows how to use his teammates to help him out there.
7 - Olesani is an athlete who plays basketball; he is NOT a basketball player who is athletic. He is still miles away in offensive skills and is typically out of position on defense because he tries to block shots more than play defense.
8 - Jok likes to shoot and is willing to shoot. The problem is once he shoots he's done. He has no idea what to do on defense and is a liability. He can learn to play D; he's a capable enough athlete to do so, but he needs to put his heart into it. Right now he's playing defense like he's allergic to it.
9 - Dickerson is very quick... VERY quick. He's still trying to figure out his role on the team. He has the capability to be a "drive and dish" guy. Watching him shoot I don't think he'll be a consistent scorer for us, but he can be a consistent assist guy.
10 - Uhl, well, it's too soon to tell. He looks athletic but he needs about 20 more pounds to play in the B1G effectively.

Pretty good analysis.

As I see it, Fran has got to get Dickerson worked in more , Clemmons and MG don't have it, Mike is a decent back up combo gaurd at this level and Clemmons is more of a mo valley caliber player.

It would also be nice to be able to switch out Jok for Ogelsby but like you said PJ just doesn't get it on defense.

Our general poor play in the half court and disinterestedness in feeding the post has become more and more concerning to me because I think its stemming from the coach.

This team will do nothing with out having a scoring option on the block. Fran needs to get this aspect figured out soon.
 
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