Now that the dust is starting to settle on the WI aftermath, here's an attempt at a balanced opinion.
About the game, sure the last minute didn't go as all Hawkeyes had hoped. Hawkeye Zach McCabe certainly isn't happy about it. But what put us in that position was Basabe's health. He's the leading rebounder on the leading rebounding team in the B1G, WI is last BTW. Yet WI beat us in rebounding (38-33 per Rivals, 35-33 per ESPN). Basabe's absence made a difference, on the boards and on D underneath as Kaminsky continues his hot streak.
Concerning Twittergate, you've got some inappropriate comments to Zach and a response that, although inappropriate, you might expect from a passionate young man. Banning team social media seems like a responsible way to end the pointless and destructive confrontation.
The larger picture is the Jekyll and Hyde response the fans have to winning and losing. Every team disappoints unless you're hoisting an NCAA banner. And we're breaking into another level of NCAA play with good, but not overwhelming talent. So Fran is doing what his 28 years of coaching experience have taught him and going with his seniors to win the close games. Even though they're seniors, this is a new level of competition for them- many of the same teams but with more at stake. So they're not always coming through with the win. I'm still hopeful of a good NCAA run, the first of several, with games like this perhaps putting us in a position to win the next close game.
About the game, sure the last minute didn't go as all Hawkeyes had hoped. Hawkeye Zach McCabe certainly isn't happy about it. But what put us in that position was Basabe's health. He's the leading rebounder on the leading rebounding team in the B1G, WI is last BTW. Yet WI beat us in rebounding (38-33 per Rivals, 35-33 per ESPN). Basabe's absence made a difference, on the boards and on D underneath as Kaminsky continues his hot streak.
Concerning Twittergate, you've got some inappropriate comments to Zach and a response that, although inappropriate, you might expect from a passionate young man. Banning team social media seems like a responsible way to end the pointless and destructive confrontation.
The larger picture is the Jekyll and Hyde response the fans have to winning and losing. Every team disappoints unless you're hoisting an NCAA banner. And we're breaking into another level of NCAA play with good, but not overwhelming talent. So Fran is doing what his 28 years of coaching experience have taught him and going with his seniors to win the close games. Even though they're seniors, this is a new level of competition for them- many of the same teams but with more at stake. So they're not always coming through with the win. I'm still hopeful of a good NCAA run, the first of several, with games like this perhaps putting us in a position to win the next close game.
