Who replaces Gatens' offense, defense, leadership?

[tweeterhawk]

I want this season to keep going, well past Indy and this weekend. I sincerely hope that Matt gets enough of an opportunity to keep climbing the all-time Iowa scoring record ladder.

Sooner or later, the ride will come to an end, and we will be thankful for what was accomplished this year and begin to look with some excitement to next year.

Matt has really upped his game this year (perhaps because he finally has some players around him), especially the past few weeks. He is averaging nearly 16 points a game, but also has been a contributor on rebounds and defense, usually drawing the assignment of guarding the opponents' best player. He also clearly has been the leader on this team.

Between the players who'll be returning (hopefully) and who'll be coming in, who fills his shoes next year:

• Offense?
• Defensive intensity?
• Team leadership?

 

[uihawk82]

No one player will replace him. I think you will get combined point avg improvements from enuf players to make up his scoring.

I am not sure if they can replace his leadership.

And wow, his defense has been great. Oglesby can really work on his footwork and quickness to be a better defender.

I think the defense may need to come from a new player.

 

[Foval21]

offensively - collective effort. marble should increase and white. even if they stay the same if you add up the leaving players ppg and split it evenly between the ones coming in they have to score like 5-6 ppg each. not too bad.

defensively - no one. we dont have a perimeter player that has his combo of quicks and strength. marble and may and ogelsby could possibly if may gets healthy and jo and marble add a lot of strength. ingram probably is the best bet but he is like 3 in shorter than matt but probably quicker so i would bet on him. he wont play anywhere near matt's minutes though so someone else will also need to step up.

leadership - marble and white collectively. they seem to give off what leaders have. white as the energy guy and marble as the ice in the veins type. matt has both of those but not sure anyone else has both.

 

[DuffMan]

Adam Woodbury

 

[homes]

defensively - no one. we dont have a perimeter player that has his combo of quicks and strength. marble and may and ogelsby could possibly if may gets healthy and jo and marble add a lot of strength. ingram probably is the best bet but he is like 3 in shorter than matt but probably quicker so i would bet on him. he wont play anywhere near matt's minutes though so someone else will also need to step up.

Defense is about want to, every possession. Take a possession off, and Big Ten caliber players will kill you. Gatens, this year, didn't take plays off. If that mentality can be conveyed to Marble, Oglesby and others, it will serve them well.

 

[FalseMirage]

White has shown leadership qualities.

 

[herbyhawk]

when people talk about players needing weight, Marble at 6'7 195 lbs and Oglesby at 6'5 184 are the ones that need to gain weight, look at how Gatens he went for 225 to 215 and look how he improved, if JO and Marble were to get up to 215 they would be less likely to get knocked around, and be better defenders.
Marble will surprise on the defensive end as he will not be the primary ball handler, and can concentrate on defense and shooting, Oglesby will be improved and should be more comfortable shooting the ball.
and rather than looking at replacing a leading scorer you look at who is the 2nd leading scorer, which is Marble at 11 ppg, with White at 10ppg that just means they have to up their scoring a notch and then look at the incoming freshmen and see how the 16 ppg is divided up,

 

[bcl20]

Marble will be the player who takes over as our best player.

 

[HawkeyeHypnosis]

Oglesby has been a lock on D most of the year, hopefully he will keep getting better on offense.

 

[hawkIhoops]

Aaron White has a very high ceiling. Gatens has been huge this year, but without White, the season would be lost due to Basabe's struggles. 13 points, 9 boards, 3 steals and numerous hustle plays that don't show up in the stats. White isn't afraid to wear his emotions on his sleeve and we need that type of passion.

 

[H8IAST8]

Oglesby has been a lock on D most of the year, hopefully he will keep getting better on offense.

SAY WHAT!

 

[slmatt]

Watching the game today, I thought JO played a very smart game, good defense and didn't force his shot as he sometimes does when he isn't scoring big. The only poor decision is when he didn't take that three but instead faked dribbled in twice and pulled up with a defender there. I would agree that his defense is very solid!

 

[MisterLucky]

Aaron White has the best basketball mind and the most leadership qualities, but I don't discount May as a leader assuming his back doesn't cause him to give up the sport.