Really impressed with this team tonight

HaydenHawk56

Well-Known Member
Purdue may be number 1, but IMHO Iowa looked better in a loss than they did in a win on their own homecourt especially for where each program is at this point in time.

If Fran can keep this team progressing throughout the conference season and peaking in March....maybe he can finally break the glass ceiling in getting his team out of the 1st weekend in the NCAAs.

I have bagged on Fran a lot, but I don't mind saying I got goosebumps watching this team play tonight (and the things they did to Virginia on their homecourt). That press had flashes of some early athletic Mr. Davis teams. Not that this team is anywhere close to 86/87, but there was some athletic steals going on in the back and front court from that active press. Would be nice to see Fran experiment with some true full-court pressing as well moving forward.

This team likely still does not have the elite guard play or enough height to be a champion of the conference or the NCAAs. But they could be a Top 5 Conference finisher and give some good team everything it can in the NCAAs.

Just keep improving guys/coaches and stay healthy.

I will say it again, I think Iowa deserves to be ranked. This looks like a good team that is going to win plenty of games.
 
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When Filip got into foul trouble early I was thinking the game was over and the hawks are gonna get beat by 30. Seeing josh ogundele in the first half for extended minutes made me think the kid is not a big10 caliber player. He looked incredibly slow to get into position constantly and just flat out looked like he didn’t belong on the court. BUT then came halftime. I have no clue what fran said at the half but the kid, and the whole team for that matter seemed to play w/ a different swagger. I single out Ogundele because the difference from the first half to the second half has got to be one of the biggest transitions I’ve ever seen out of a player from one half to the next. Props to him and if he can play like he did in the second half he is going to get a lot of minutes in conference play. The fight out of this team on the road to the now #1 team in the country without their leading scorer was impressive.
 
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I was actually. more impressed with this team this game than last year's team in general. They seem more together. The word the announcer used is saltines which is right on, They are missing from injury one of the best players in the country both defensively and offensively from an injury. They couldn't get their 3's to fall. Yet what keep them in the game is good defensive for a change! Most impressive was their close outs on defensive this is the first game I can remember them doing that well. So much good from this game!! Platers who normally don't play got extra minuets. This will build their confidence as they could hang with one of the best teams in the country in a hostile environment without their best player!! I also liked Fran's coaching! This is a much better team than people think!! I dear say better than last years team.
 
I am not going to blow my load too quickly. Great effort against Purdue, but can you give me 2 of the next 3. Give me that and I am jizzing over everyone.:)

Illinois
@ISU
Utah St.(South Dakota) Which is turning into a sneaky tough game.
 
This team likely still does not have the elite guard play
I'm not sure what label to attach to Joe T, but I more than like what I am seeing from him. He is one tough S.O.B.and may be the quickest guard since Ronnie Lester. Water bug moves and has the TOs under control. Got his shot dropping and not afraid of big moments. I have no problem with him creating something with the game on the line. He is a WINNER and will be 1st Team BIG next year.

More stuff I like:

The Englishman or Big O for short. We have a man-child that is gonna be a difference maker against the big brutes!

DEFENSE, wow!!! Where those really Hawkeyes?

Best Mackey performance in like FOREVER.

DOWN NINETEEN against number one on their court and were a jump ball away from possibly pulling it out.

All this without Murry 1. Which actually is going to pay dividends as it forced more onto the plates of others.

They are not going to be afraid of anybody. Going to be ANOTHER fun season!
 
Listened to Matt Painter interview after the game and he praised the Hawks

Gave them a lot of credit

Said we were a lot tougher than his team

Very gracious and with a grin wouldn't comment on the Purdue guard who elbowed
Jordan and went to the free-throw line

English lad, Ogy was impressive and should get much more playing time, however
he needs conditioning. Might have to use him in short stretches at this time

The intensity on D is remarkable and definitely better than the 2915 teams with Uthoff,
Woody and Gessel

They were the last Hawk team to win in Lafayette

Came from far behind in the second half for the win with impressive D

Lotta folks turned the game off, but I watched all the Lick games so I stayed
around
 
Yep, to play #2 #1 on their court early in the season without keegan and JBo not having a big trey game and to make it super close is really amazing. The defense played well in the 2nd half so I think this team can win a bunch of games.
 
I really want to watch us press the hell out of teams with Joe T, Perkins, Ulis, and the Murrays.

I just looked at the box score. Pmac, Perkins and Kris Murray scored 41 of Iowa's 70 points. Pmac has to be in that mix somewhere. At 6'9, active with length, great at getting transition buckets...you want him on the floor when you are pressing, pushing tempo...all of it.
 
Listened to Matt Painter interview after the game and he praised the Hawks

Gave them a lot of credit

Said we were a lot tougher than his team

Very gracious and with a grin wouldn't comment on the Purdue guard who elbowed
Jordan and went to the free-throw line

English lad, Ogy was impressive and should get much more playing time, however
he needs conditioning. Might have to use him in short stretches at this time

The intensity on D is remarkable and definitely better than the 2915 teams with Uthoff,
Woody and Gessel

They were the last Hawk team to win in Lafayette

Came from far behind in the second half for the win with impressive D

Lotta folks turned the game off, but I watched all the Lick games so I stayed
around

He's already lost quite a bit of weight and gotten in better condition from when he got here. I like having that big guy enforcer on our team, especially certain matchups in the BIG. We already have many lanky 6'6" - 6' 9" players. We kind of need that big body in the middle, IMO.
 
I'm not sure what label to attach to Joe T, but I more than like what I am seeing from him. He is one tough S.O.B.and may be the quickest guard since Ronnie Lester. Water bug moves and has the TOs under control. Got his shot dropping and not afraid of big moments. I have no problem with him creating something with the game on the line. He is a WINNER and will be 1st Team BIG next year.

More stuff I like:

The Englishman or Big O for short. We have a man-child that is gonna be a difference maker against the big brutes!

DEFENSE, wow!!! Where those really Hawkeyes?

Best Mackey performance in like FOREVER.

DOWN NINETEEN against number one on their court and were a jump ball away from possibly pulling it out.

All this without Murry 1. Which actually is going to pay dividends as it forced more onto the plates of others.

They are not going to be afraid of anybody. Going to be ANOTHER fun season!
Brian Garner was the quickest Iowa guard I have ever seen, including a healthy Lester. Teams would sag off him because he had no outside shot and they still couldn't keep him out of the lane. But he had only two speeds. Quick and totally out of control. And one speed in the classroom. Reverse. He was at Iowa when all the Hunter Rawlings hullabaloo was going on and that was bad timing for Garner. Like Ray Thompson, he flunked out. His time at Iowa was relatively brief.
 
Brian Garner was the quickest Iowa guard I have ever seen, including a healthy Lester. Teams would sag off him because he had no outside shot and they still couldn't keep him out of the lane. But he had only two speeds. Quick and totally out of control. And one speed in the classroom. Reverse. He was at Iowa when all the Hunter Rawlings hullabaloo was going on and that was bad timing for Garner. Like Ray Thompson, he flunked out. His time at Iowa was relatively brief.
Northside, I would have to say Kevin Smith was the quickest Hawkeye I have ever seen, and Garner may be a close second.
 
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