Adam Woodbury is a HAWKEYE

[okeefe4prez]

I have read through this entire thread and see nothing that suggests anything more than being excited to get Woodbury. I remember a prediction thread over Woodbury's production as a freshman where most were a little outlandish. But I still do not know what "persona" "we" created for Woodbury.

In my experience on these message boards there are always a few that have an extreme opinion one way or the other (granted usually the most vocal) but most take the middle ground.

Yep. I generally take the middle ground. Things are generally not as bad as they look nor as good as they look. I will admit I will be disappointed if we don't get at least a 2 seed this year, but my expectations are tempered somewhat by what Lickliter did to the program.

 

[expos1994]

oh really, tell us more

There were no defenders within 5 feet of him when he received the pass. Shoulda been an easy 2. Aaron White probably woulda done a 360 and jammed, but Woodbury tried a simple 2 handed dunk and got rejected by the rim. And he's 8 feet tall...

 

[HawkIPA]

I have read through this entire thread and see nothing that suggests anything more than being excited to get Woodbury. I remember a prediction thread over Woodbury's production as a freshman where most were a little outlandish. But I still do not know what "persona" "we" created for Woodbury.

In my experience on these message boards there are always a few that have an extreme opinion one way or the other (granted usually the most vocal) but most take the middle ground.

Im not talking just about this thread. Its every thread that centers around Woodbury that has idiots expecting huge numbers out of him or calling for him to be on the bench.

 

[sportstalent]

Woodbury is emotional all the time, on the bench or on the floor. He constantly communicates.
Yes he could do more offensively, but doesn't have too, that is the beauty of this team.
I don't think anyone works harder on the defensive end as Adam, as someone already said, Iowa's defense did a 180 as soon as he joined.
He set the tone of how hard to play on that end. It sometimes just takes one guy. Say what you want, but he has had a far bigger impact to the turnaround than will ever be given credit for. The bonus is that Gabe is a great compliment to him and I am so thankful Iowa has two legit Centers on the roster.

 

[sportstalent]

There were no defenders within 5 feet of him when he received the pass. Shoulda been an easy 2. Aaron White probably woulda done a 360 and jammed, but Woodbury tried a simple 2 handed dunk and got rejected by the rim. And he's 8 feet tall...

Iowa has a Sasquatch on the roster?

 

[atomicblue224]

You are truly an Old World Gentleman, Vin, as always.....

Vin! Welcome back!

 

[TritonHawkeye]

There were no defenders within 5 feet of him when he received the pass. Shoulda been an easy 2. Aaron White probably woulda done a 360 and jammed, but Woodbury tried a simple 2 handed dunk and got rejected by the rim. And he's 8 feet tall...

Hopefully Fran keeps him focused on doing what he does well and not trying to dunk when a layup is all that is needed.

Personally I couldn't care less if he can dunk or not. He needs to get his points any way he can, if it is layups, it's layups...whatever...just score.

 

[expos1994]

Yes he could do more offensively, but doesn't have too, that is the beauty of this team.

We don't need another Erik Hansen... Woodbury needs to be able to hit a few shots every game and find ways to get to the FT Stripe. He needs to get 8-10 points per game plus rebound and defend or he's a liability IMO.

We'll still win without him playing well, and we are winning. But we need a good center. And he has not been that guy thus far this year. Sophomore slump after a mediocre freshman season.

 

[TritonHawkeye]

Proud of yourself? Does it make you feel good that you were one of the first to trash on Woodbury?

Woodbury may or may not ever become what some of us hoped he could be but he will always have a place in my memory and heart because he was the first to choose Iowa over Roy Williams and North Carolina. Whether some of you want to acknowledge it or not he contributes to Iowa's success.

Awesome post SS and 100% agree!

 

[SpiderRico]

We don't need another Erik Hansen... Woodbury needs to be able to hit a few shots every game and find ways to get to the FT Stripe. He needs to get 8-10 points per game plus rebound and defend or he's a liability IMO.

We'll still win without him playing well, and we are winning. But we need a good center. And he has not been that guy thus far this year. Sophomore slump after a mediocre freshman season.

I disagree with this. We have 2 legit centers. One game, Woodbury might be on and Olaseni struggles or vice versa. I think if we can get 12-14 points and 8-10 rebounds and a couple of blocks out of the CENTER POSITION, regardless of who it is, we'll be good to go.

And, actually, that's what we're getting right now.....11.6ppg, 9.1rpg, 1.5apg, and 1.7bpg.

 

[PCHawk]

A guy who starts for a legit top 10 team as a sophomore is a sure fire sign that he sucks at basketball.

 

[sportstalent]

So a Defensive POY is a liability to a team?

 

[ssckelley]

I disagree with this. We have 2 legit centers. One game, Woodbury might be on and Olaseni struggles or vice versa. I think if we can get 12-14 points and 8-10 rebounds and a couple of blocks out of the CENTER POSITION, regardless of who it is, we'll be good to go.

And, actually, that's what we're getting right now.....11.6ppg, 9.1rpg, 1.5apg, and 1.7bpg.

Great post! I think part of the reason why people are so down on Woodbury is because how good Olaseni has developed. I'll be honest I never dreamed Olaseni would become this good and when Woodbury committed I thought he would get the bulk of the minutes with Olaseni coming in to give Woody a breather. Now I see Fran going with the hot hand, which is a nice luxury to have. If you look at them both together that is not bad production out of the center position.

 

[Seth53]

The problem with Woody is that while he may meet the expectations of Fran at this point in his career. He has failed to meet the expectations (albeit unrealistic) of the fans and the hype/celebrity status he obtained the moment he rejected Roy and decided to become a Hawk.


I think the problem, as usual, is the fact that this board created a persona for him that he simply will never live up to. I don't think it's his fault, but for all the hype surrounding him from day 1, I understand why people who follow the message boards have yet to be impressed.

Honestly, asking a 7' 1" player to dunk/score when wide open isn't "hype"

 

[kicker22]

Great post! I think part of the reason why people are so down on Woodbury is because how good Olaseni has developed. I'll be honest I never dreamed Olaseni would become this good and when Woodbury committed I thought he would get the bulk of the minutes with Olaseni coming in to give Woody a breather. Now I see Fran going with the hot hand, which is a nice luxury to have. If you look at them both together that is not bad production out of the center position.

Agree 100%. I don't think anyone saw Gabe turning into this player when he stepped foot on campus. I think the fact of the matter is that both Gabe and Woody are playing at a high level and are putting up good numbers at the center position.

Rather then worrying about what each does or doesn't do individually I think its better to look at the combined numbers they are putting up each game at the center position.

 

[glidinghawk]

We don't need another Erik Hansen... Woodbury needs to be able to hit a few shots every game and find ways to get to the FT Stripe. He needs to get 8-10 points per game plus rebound and defend or he's a liability IMO.

Woody will never average 8 points a game, because he will never get more than 18 minutes a game on average. And we already know he's not a shot blocker -- and never will be.

 

[glidinghawk]

Agree 100%. I don't think anyone saw Gabe turning into this player when he stepped foot on campus. I think the fact of the matter is that both Gabe and Woody are playing at a high level and are putting up good numbers at the center position.

Rather then worrying about what each does or doesn't do individually I think its better to look at the combined numbers they are putting up each game at the center position.

Good point. Also, Woodbury has reduced his turnovers slightly and has increased his assists slightly. But he has stretches of minutes where he really hurts the team.

 

[CPHAWK82]

Woodbury has the tools to be a great player and has shown a lot of those this year. Lately is seems as some of the things people are saying about him are getting back to him and are in his head when he goes to dunk it. Like TritonHawkeye said in his post. Fran needs to tell him to just do what he is capable of and lay the ball up. Fact of the matter is he was in the right position and he thought "I need to throw this down" when in fact he's not a great dunker. Just lay it in and hand the ball to the ref and everyone will still cheer. The guy is an asset on defense and distributes the ball wall and rebounds effectively. Just like Basabe did after his sophomore year, he needs to just do what he's good at and practice at getting even better at those things. I personally wouldn't mind him going back to the sky hooks.

 

[sportstalent]

Good point. Also, Woodbury has reduced his turnovers slightly and has increased his assists slightly. But he has stretches of minutes where he really hurts the team.

Every player you can say the last point and it applies.

 

[sportstalent]

Woody will never average 8 points a game, because he will never get more than 18 minutes a game on average. And we already know he's not a shot blocker -- and never will be.

You will eat your words on the scoring and mpg aspects. He doesn't have to be a great shot blocker to be a great defender.