parahawkeyes
Well-Known Member
MVP- Roy Devyn Marble
His consistency has been stunning to a degree that made everybody forget how horrible he was for literally half the conference season last year. Even when he rebounded he never showed consistent 20PPG potential until the NIT. His scoring was so shockingly consistent that the only thing that changed was how he looked while doing it. The answer? BETTER. He looked better. His 3pt shooting went up as did his FT%. His seat next to all other Iowa legends is ready for its occupant!
Most Improved Player- Josh Oglesby
What do you do after your team misses the NCAA Tournament and you become Public Enemy #1 for a fan base more than willing to blame ALL of it on you? Tell them to F off, yes I know. But what about after you do that? Some would have quit, many would have lost the fire, but everybody would show at least SOME sign of the torment he suffered last year. Instead, he only got more determined to become that missing 3pt specialist his team needed. Barring major injury, he was READY TO RUMBLE!!!!!!! So then he got hit with a major injury. I admit to being one of those critical fans, but I always dared him to prove me wrong. His numbers this year: 7.2 PPG on 44% from long range, 3-to-1 assist to TO ratio. Compared to similar minutes last year, that's +3 points, +an ENTIRE assist to his A/TO ratio, but freaking EIGHTEEN, as in 18% added to his long range shooting. And he did it all without a pre-season.
Breakout Player- Gabe Olaseni
There isn't as much to say here like the other two guys. One is the newest Iowa legend and the other a guy I relentlessly bashed, so it felt great talking them up. All you have here is a guy who came into the season with a ceiling of "College Starting C, well maybe". He ended it with what I feel is the most intriguing case to make an impact at the next level. Everything about him screams NBA suddenly, from his psychical build to his game to his still-present upside. Just when you thought his game was rounded out, he started popping this 15-footer out of nowhere. Again, no question in my mind he is contributing to NBA teams while Marble and White play reserve or specialist roles. He has this season to thank.
Breakdown Player or LVP or Most Regressed Player- Zach McCabe
No, this won't be another bash fest at him. It's just something that needs to be said. As a Senior with great 6th man skills, boatloads of experience and a reputation for fearlessness and toughness, you would have expected him to bounce back after the 0 spot vs ISU. Instead he was consistently rattled and it reflected outside his gameplay as time went on. This is one of the real tragedies of the 2013-2014 season, but unlike the equally-maligned team McCabe won't get the opportunity to salvage the season. That's pure speculation, but I guarantee that if Iowa plays near its potential in the NCAA Tournament it'll be with Uthoff, Jok and Oglesby sharing McCabe's minutes. Here's hoping he makes one of those shots that made the NCAA Tournament what it is.
Most Exciting Win- January 12th, 84-74 vs Ohio State at Columbus, OH
In an upset, I picked the win @OSU over the domination we unleashed against Michigan. I honestly don't think it was even close. We'd cemented a reputation for playing great teams close only to fall up short over 2 seasons. Also, this season's horrendous losses vs ISU, Wisconsin and Nova featured an Iowa team who missed key Free Throws down the stretch. This win was a culmination of us doing literally everything that has always held us back. FTs, road, great team, great conference record, etc. All packed into this win. How influential was this victory? It was responsible for making the home loss to OSU literally unthinkable. I understand how bad home losses are, but Ohio St. is one of the teams you will allow this to. NOT ANY MORE.
Worst Defeat- March 8th, the Illinois game
Moving on
Most Disappointing Arena- Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana
I think we all underestimate the role this might have played in our collapse. Some think it played no factor at all. Common sense dictates that if you lost the makeup game, you automatically have to consider the possibility the original date would have resulted in a win. We'll never know the answer to that, but what we do know is the name of this building needs to change after this. lol
The WAY Too Soon Award- Myself
I was going to hold off on posting these, but I wanted to see if I was dumb enough to pull it off. Sure, I had planned it all day, but I never even considered we just might lose to Illinois at the buzzer. Because apparently I'm determined to receive this award posthumously.
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Hopefully some of this eases the sting, minus the obvious portions. As difficult as it is to believe the regular season is over, I wish it would have happened sooner. Now please do some of your own to take my mind off of it, lol. Peace.
His consistency has been stunning to a degree that made everybody forget how horrible he was for literally half the conference season last year. Even when he rebounded he never showed consistent 20PPG potential until the NIT. His scoring was so shockingly consistent that the only thing that changed was how he looked while doing it. The answer? BETTER. He looked better. His 3pt shooting went up as did his FT%. His seat next to all other Iowa legends is ready for its occupant!
Most Improved Player- Josh Oglesby
What do you do after your team misses the NCAA Tournament and you become Public Enemy #1 for a fan base more than willing to blame ALL of it on you? Tell them to F off, yes I know. But what about after you do that? Some would have quit, many would have lost the fire, but everybody would show at least SOME sign of the torment he suffered last year. Instead, he only got more determined to become that missing 3pt specialist his team needed. Barring major injury, he was READY TO RUMBLE!!!!!!! So then he got hit with a major injury. I admit to being one of those critical fans, but I always dared him to prove me wrong. His numbers this year: 7.2 PPG on 44% from long range, 3-to-1 assist to TO ratio. Compared to similar minutes last year, that's +3 points, +an ENTIRE assist to his A/TO ratio, but freaking EIGHTEEN, as in 18% added to his long range shooting. And he did it all without a pre-season.
Breakout Player- Gabe Olaseni
There isn't as much to say here like the other two guys. One is the newest Iowa legend and the other a guy I relentlessly bashed, so it felt great talking them up. All you have here is a guy who came into the season with a ceiling of "College Starting C, well maybe". He ended it with what I feel is the most intriguing case to make an impact at the next level. Everything about him screams NBA suddenly, from his psychical build to his game to his still-present upside. Just when you thought his game was rounded out, he started popping this 15-footer out of nowhere. Again, no question in my mind he is contributing to NBA teams while Marble and White play reserve or specialist roles. He has this season to thank.
Breakdown Player or LVP or Most Regressed Player- Zach McCabe
No, this won't be another bash fest at him. It's just something that needs to be said. As a Senior with great 6th man skills, boatloads of experience and a reputation for fearlessness and toughness, you would have expected him to bounce back after the 0 spot vs ISU. Instead he was consistently rattled and it reflected outside his gameplay as time went on. This is one of the real tragedies of the 2013-2014 season, but unlike the equally-maligned team McCabe won't get the opportunity to salvage the season. That's pure speculation, but I guarantee that if Iowa plays near its potential in the NCAA Tournament it'll be with Uthoff, Jok and Oglesby sharing McCabe's minutes. Here's hoping he makes one of those shots that made the NCAA Tournament what it is.
Most Exciting Win- January 12th, 84-74 vs Ohio State at Columbus, OH
In an upset, I picked the win @OSU over the domination we unleashed against Michigan. I honestly don't think it was even close. We'd cemented a reputation for playing great teams close only to fall up short over 2 seasons. Also, this season's horrendous losses vs ISU, Wisconsin and Nova featured an Iowa team who missed key Free Throws down the stretch. This win was a culmination of us doing literally everything that has always held us back. FTs, road, great team, great conference record, etc. All packed into this win. How influential was this victory? It was responsible for making the home loss to OSU literally unthinkable. I understand how bad home losses are, but Ohio St. is one of the teams you will allow this to. NOT ANY MORE.
Worst Defeat- March 8th, the Illinois game
Moving on
Most Disappointing Arena- Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana
I think we all underestimate the role this might have played in our collapse. Some think it played no factor at all. Common sense dictates that if you lost the makeup game, you automatically have to consider the possibility the original date would have resulted in a win. We'll never know the answer to that, but what we do know is the name of this building needs to change after this. lol
The WAY Too Soon Award- Myself
I was going to hold off on posting these, but I wanted to see if I was dumb enough to pull it off. Sure, I had planned it all day, but I never even considered we just might lose to Illinois at the buzzer. Because apparently I'm determined to receive this award posthumously.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hopefully some of this eases the sting, minus the obvious portions. As difficult as it is to believe the regular season is over, I wish it would have happened sooner. Now please do some of your own to take my mind off of it, lol. Peace.
