Recent content by drew003

I don't think its my opinion. If you compare the experience/production we are returning compared to other teams, objectively (i.e., statistically) it is worse than almost every other Big 10 team. Then, if you look at our youth, it objectively (known offers and recruiting rankings) is worse than...

Looking at our current roster objectively, its an NIT roster as best. We are putting a lot of faith in young players who were not heavily recruited. The team lacks ball handlers, shot creators, interior size, shotblocking, and post defense. It has wing/forward length in spades.

Where is this misconception coming from that Williams and Moss are being advertised as good? Neither had other major conference offers, and Williams had to wait until spring to get his offer from Iowa. Williams finally got into the rotation, that was weak with guard depth, at the end of the...

Fleming never had comitable offers to those places. He was not a top recruit, and did not making any Top 150 lists despite playing on high profile AAU and high school teams.

I think Ellingson still has potential as floor-spacer, who doesn't make mistakes. There is value in that. Ellingson isn't a plus athlete, but his shooting percentage should increase as he gets more accustomed to the speed of the game. Fleming's problem was that he was a jack of all trades...

Neither of these guys had Power 5 offers. I'm sure neither expected to be the starting point as a sophomore or freshman. They will be fine, and there would still be minutes available.

There is no reason to be believe Hutton was good. He didn't blow up on AAU, he didn't garner all state honors his senior year, he didn't flash in the prime time league, and the gossip is that he was the furthest behind of the freshman wings. He had very limited offense, and you can't play a...

I don't think the reviews of Hutton have been all that glowing. He wasn't even all state in high school and is pretty limited on offense at this time.

The academic fraud for some reason doesn't bother me as much. Probably, because I accept that many Football and Men's Basketball players at the Division 1 level are not truly student-athletes. And whether its blatant academic fraud, or simply steering them into majors with athlete-friendly...

Altman wouldn't have Iowa in the final four. It's a whole lot easier to recruit to Oregon than Iowa. The west coast has a lot of basketball talent, and Oregon has a lot of Nike money. I think Fran was, and has turned out to be, an excellent choice back in 2010. We needed someone with...

Riley is from the west coast, and he has some "recruiters" on staff. I don't think Riley is dirty, but I think he's willing to sell the bling perhaps a little more than we are.

Exactly. No different than how underclassmen in football can ask a committee for a draft projection; doesn't mean they are leaving.

My point is "soft" is almost always physical, and I think its hollow to attribute our close loses to a lack of personal or coaching toughness or motivation. Rather, we would attribute the close loses to a lack of isolation players and athleticism. Not being an "alpha male" in basketball...

The "soft" label is unfair. Uthoff is not "soft." He's a slender built kid, who is not overly explosive. Of course he has a hard time finishing through contact. It's physical, not mental. Nobody calls Ahmad Wagner soft, well the kid is built like an NFL TE. The book on Uthoff is easy...

I apologize. I did not realize you were speaking based on of your inside knowledge of amateur athletics over the past 40 years. I'll double down on my statements that kids 30 years ago are the same as kids today--some are lazy, some love to compete, and all fall on a spectrum somewhere in...