Yup yup... Seeing BJ, Roy and Ed play 4 yrs together was awesome for me as a kid. To see 3 great players be the core of a team and be together 2 yrs is going to be completely unheard of now let alone 3 or 4.
Álvaro Folgueira
- Thread starter Zstatman
- Start date
InGoodCo
Well-Known Member
I think Iowa lost more talent than it's signed so far. But I think PG we upgraded, 2G we probably are a wash with the K-state guy, I'd personally take Dix for sure, the 3 or 4, we probably upgraded with Cooper and whoever takes Ladji's spot, 5 - totally agree. The thing no one is talking about here, is NONE of these players were coached defense, defense wasn't a priority and the system was flawed to be successful at Iowa.
No one is thinking about the giant upgrade we got with X's and O's and defense. I'm less worried about the roster spots, it's overall talent and more dialed in on, how do they play defense, are they together as a team and who are the last 2 or 3 guys they pick up.
Ben plays a very short bench in most seasons and he really rides his wings. Fran always had 2 or 3 or even sometimes more "Projects" his entire tenure at Iowa. Guys who flashed, would come in for some spot minutes, and never actually contribute to winning at Iowa. I think Ben will have less of those types, but will still have some burnouts, no one bats 1000
SwirlinLingerie
Well-Known Member
There has only been one Iowa team over the last quarter century that has come as close to the Sweet 16 as Drake did this year. (The OT loss to Tennessee). So that's where I land on Drake's roster. If a lot of it was due to coaching - then the roster was made up of kids who had the right attributes to be coached. Which is also a type of skill.
InGoodCo
Well-Known Member
That's what I've been saying, they also beat a Power Conference opponent in the dance, something Iowa hasn't done since 1999...every win has been over a mid major in the dance since then. I would stop being too caught up in the fact they were at Drake last year or they don't have a bunch of P4 offers.
InGoodCo
Well-Known Member
FWIW, everyone else thinks Iowa is doing very well in the portal, except for our fanbase.
Iowa top 3 portal team
Iowa top 3 portal team
BigD
Well-Known Member
"The thing no one is talking about here, is NONE of these players were coached defense, defense wasn't a priority and the system was flawed to be successful at Iowa."
Well, I have been talking about it for at least seven years or more. One other issue is we don't know how many of Fran's players were planning on leaving regardless of whether Fran was returning as head coach.
So as far as what we have coming in next season, I think we just up graded.
One more point I will make here about basketball players. Most like to be glory boys and spend most of their energy on the offensive side of the court trying to score, but appear to be average at best or poor defensive players. Playing defense can be energy draining and often times there is little recognition given for those who put out the effort to play up in a guy's shirt.
Good old fashion "up in a guy's shirt" in basketball and on pass defense in football. A bunch of pussies playing five to seven yards off of the line of scrimmage on defense.
thedukeofearl
Well-Known Member
From The Athlete:
The Hawks follow Michigan, Louisville and Kentucky
Arkansas and Auburn follow them
Ben McCollum’s best teams at Northwest Missouri State had a star point guard and a stretch big. Last year at Drake, McCollum had the star point guard in Bennett Stirtz but was missing the stretch big. McCollum got Stirtz, the top transfer in our rankings, to follow him to Iowa, and now he has his stretch big in Folgueiras, who was the Horizon League player of the year at Robert Morris and went for 15 points, 10 boards and four assists in an NCAA Tournament loss to Alabama. Folgueiras should be perfect in McCollum’s system and help open the floor for Stirtz. McCollum also got his Mitch Mascari replacement in Kansas State transfer Hausen, who made 90 3s this past season.
McCollum had four other Drake rotation guys follow him along with Stirtz, most notably Manyawu and Banks. Both are slightly undersized for the high-major level but have the athleticism to make up for it. McCollum was convinced last preseason that Howard would eventually end up at the high-major level, so pencil him into the 2025-26 the breakout list. As McCollum proved in his first year at Drake, continuity matters when it comes to his system. Iowa is still looking for one more guard to round out its rotation, but with the talent of Stirtz, the history of McCollum and the addition of a player like Folgueiras, I’m tempted to put the Hawkeyes in my next Top 25.
Damn...
The Hawks follow Michigan, Louisville and Kentucky
Arkansas and Auburn follow them
Iowa
Portal additions: Bennett Stirtz, Alvaro Folgueiras, Brendan Hausen, Tavion Banks, Isaia Howard, Cam Manyawu, Kael CombsBen McCollum’s best teams at Northwest Missouri State had a star point guard and a stretch big. Last year at Drake, McCollum had the star point guard in Bennett Stirtz but was missing the stretch big. McCollum got Stirtz, the top transfer in our rankings, to follow him to Iowa, and now he has his stretch big in Folgueiras, who was the Horizon League player of the year at Robert Morris and went for 15 points, 10 boards and four assists in an NCAA Tournament loss to Alabama. Folgueiras should be perfect in McCollum’s system and help open the floor for Stirtz. McCollum also got his Mitch Mascari replacement in Kansas State transfer Hausen, who made 90 3s this past season.
McCollum had four other Drake rotation guys follow him along with Stirtz, most notably Manyawu and Banks. Both are slightly undersized for the high-major level but have the athleticism to make up for it. McCollum was convinced last preseason that Howard would eventually end up at the high-major level, so pencil him into the 2025-26 the breakout list. As McCollum proved in his first year at Drake, continuity matters when it comes to his system. Iowa is still looking for one more guard to round out its rotation, but with the talent of Stirtz, the history of McCollum and the addition of a player like Folgueiras, I’m tempted to put the Hawkeyes in my next Top 25.
Damn...
BigD
Well-Known Member
Yeah, that was definitely an uplifting and encouraging assessment.
