Basabe Likely to Start vs Penn State

I'm a big Woody supporter.:D But I'm also impressed with the way Basabe has been stepping up his game. He's been a complete beast inside. I just don't think you can deny him that spot anymore.
I think even Woody would admit that Mel is outplaying him. If won't hurt him to sit and watch a little.
I look for MB to go total beast mode Thursday night.
 
I dont really care who starts. Basabe has been getting a lot of minutes and is pretty much always on the floor at the end of the game. If the Hawks start winning, I like the move. If they continute to lose games they should win, it doesnt do much for me.
 
When Coach McCaffery was asked on his call-in show last night if Basabe had earned a starting spot, the coach said "Perhaps." Not sure this translates into a sure thing.
 
I think this is a matchup move if it happens. PSU has a smallish frontline,with Bgornich at 6'9'', Ross Travis at 6'6'' and Marshall at 6'4''. Woody does not work well vs a lineup like that. Their biggest subs are Graham and Taylor,both 6'8''. Woody might not have a great matchup in this game,outside of possibly the Euro(Bgnorich).

Could be a preview of a lineup vs another smallish,athletic group...Minny. Woody only matches up well vs Eliason on Minny. Mbakwe vs Melsahn/Gabe is better.
 
My two cents worth.

First, as far as the importance of a sixth man goes I think providing a spark off the bench is huge. That said I think it's even more important to have your 5 best players on the court as starters. The sixth man means very little if your only playing with 4 capable starters (nothing against Woody, but he's not there yet). By starting Basabe, it also gives Iowa one more starter that will attack the rim as we didn't fair to well settling for jumpers last game.

Second, I think we're putting way to much thought into how this switch could affect the long term development of Woody. The kid is only a freshman, he will be very important to this program in the future, but at this point its a work in progress. The vast majority of his improvement will come in the offseason as opposed to whether he's starting or coming off the bench. The fact is he's simply not big enough in terms of size to body up against the centers in this conference and while it may not be psychologically affecting him, you can definitely tell he's getting out muscled. IMO Woody's problem right now is the fact he's physically getting abused by his opponents and he's not "the threat" that we need him to be. While defensively he's been OK the fact is we are not in a position to play a starter down offensively, because we're already struggling on the offensive side of the court.

Woody will be fine and Basabe has earned it.
 
storminspank said:
Why? Because he missed on D assignment on Byrd?
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not sure which assignment you are talking about, but i like what woodbury is doing and clemmons is struggling. i also think it would stagger out the current personnel groupings which are nothing short of painful when marble, mccabe, oglesby and may are on the floor together.

woodbury is only playing 14 minutes and his 40 minute numbers are completely reasonable right now. he changes the defensive complexion of the game and he doesnt even need to block shots to do it.

clemmons gets suckered into quick shots because they dont respect his jumper. the first few minutes of the purdue game were painful. also, sapp has some ability to create but is really poor at feeding the post.
 
Wassabbe said:
Not a fan. Keep the young kids confidence from dropping and keep him in the starting lineup. His development is the biggest key to Iowa being a true Big 10 contender in a couple years. Who cares if he starts over Mel as long as Mel plays more anyway? 31 min to 17 last game
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Of course you're not a fan of the move because it's a good move that should help the Hawks. As an ISU fan you'd prefer we keep Woodbury in there to see if he can set the record for shots blocked. Shots he takes that is. We need to start the first half strong instead of playing catch up, and starting Basabe should help with this.
 
9YRPLAN said:
not sure which assignment you are talking about, but i like what woodbury is doing and clemmons is struggling. i also think it would stagger out the current personnel groupings which are nothing short of painful when marble, mccabe, oglesby and may are on the floor together.

woodbury is only playing 14 minutes and his 40 minute numbers are completely reasonable right now. he changes the defensive complexion of the game and he doesnt even need to block shots to do it.

clemmons gets suckered into quick shots because they dont respect his jumper. the first few minutes of the purdue game were painful. also, sapp has some ability to create but is really poor at feeding the post.
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Very rarely do I come across a post I disagree with so completely. Sapp is arguably the best on-ball defender on the team, does a good job of creating for his teammates, and typically isn't careless with the ball (his A/T numbers are right there, or better than every conference point guard outside of Trey Burke).

Woodbury may impact the game in other ways besides offense, but his offense is atrocious right now. He's averaging just over 3 ppg in conference play, including a 5-game stretch with just 2 points per game. Clemmons brings more to the table, and moving White to the 3 again (which is what would happen if you put Basabe in for Clemmons) would be a very bad thing.
 
9YRPLAN said:
not sure which assignment you are talking about, but i like what woodbury is doing and clemmons is struggling. i also think it would stagger out the current personnel groupings which are nothing short of painful when marble, mccabe, oglesby and may are on the floor together.

woodbury is only playing 14 minutes and his 40 minute numbers are completely reasonable right now. he changes the defensive complexion of the game and he doesnt even need to block shots to do it.

clemmons gets suckered into quick shots because they dont respect his jumper. the first few minutes of the purdue game were painful. also, sapp has some ability to create but is really poor at feeding the post.
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No disrespect to Woodbury, but I've seen nothing in his playing time during the B1G season that shows he needs to be starting right. Clemmons, on the other hand, has.
 
While, I respect the opinions of people, I have this question:

Why would Aaron White go back to being a 3-man, a role that he struggled with and partly why Clemmons was inserted into the lineup, but also McCabe did nothing to belong as a starter.

Maybe Basabe is going to start for White? Maybe Gesell? Better yet Marble?

Basabe comes in for Woodbury, so it is pretty natural to guess Woodbury is going to the bench. Also, as much as I think Woodbury is going to be a very, very good player for Iowa, he simply is not getting the job done right now.

I like Woodbury's game, but here is where he is struggling, can't shoot the 10-12 ft shot, Basabe can and he is having trouble with physical play, Basabe has been Iowa's best big guy all season. The numbers haven't always shown it, but he has regained his energy and is playing very well at this point.
 
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