goldenhawk96
Well-Known Member
Just to play devil's advocate: White also played 20 feet from the hoop most of the time; I'm sure his rebound rate would be higher at the 4 position offensively and defensively.
Basketball Banquet Awards.....
- Thread starter ForeverHawk
- Start date
imported_ankle23
Well-Known Member
Mel was 'sick' and didn't play a lot post indiana stadium crumble problems winning post indiana crumble. mel no get any awards at the end of the year..........hmmm....
kicker22
Well-Known Member
Agree 100% about the rebounding, and if that were the argument that most were giving for Mel deserving a reward I'd be ok with it. What I'm not OK with is saying he deserved it taking a "gamble" on a program and coming to Iowa with Fran. I liked Mel as a player, but I'm not in the camp that says reward him for doing something years ago.
Everyone that signs on with a program takes a gamble. I simply don't believe a player should receive an award his senior year for a decision he made before his freshman year.
tweeterhawk
Well-Known Member
We're going to have to agree to disagree here. Committing to one small school close to home, then following the coach you committed to to a program halfway across the country you had never visited and probably didn't know much about, being a key part of the rebuilding of that program and putting in solid performances all four years probably is worth something more than a mention.
kicker22
Well-Known Member
My argument is based on the post season awards given, which one do you turn into a "lifetime achievement award". I'm not saying that I don't appreciate him or anything he did while at Iowa, all I'm saying is that based on the awards handed out that night, I feel they should apply to this season and not a culmination of what was accomplished over a period of 4 years.
I'm not saying send the seniors out without any recognition, I'm simply saying to turn a single season award into a "lifetime" achievement award simply because we feel he deserves a "thank you" is a stretch. I wouldn't have been against commemorating with a plaque or some sort of impromptu award to express what he's meant to the team. Again, I simply don't feel it merits giving him a single season award thanking him for his 4 years as a Hawkeye.
Tmoney12
Well-Known Member
Ok, let's not get carried away here. He didn't turn down Duke and Kansas to build something at Iowa. He chose Iowa over Sienna and Drexel. Stop acting like coming to Iowa was an amazing altruistic act, because in reality, it was a HUGE opportunity that dropped into Melsahn's lap that he would have never received if Coach McCaffery didn't bring him along. It would have been ridiculous for him to reject the offer.
LawVHawk
Well-Known Member
BC and St. Johns recruited Mel hard before he committed to Sienna and he could have reopened his recruiting and talked to them. Both are attractive offers for a three-star forward from the New York City area and would have meant he could have played close to home where Moms and Pops could come watch him. Texas also was interested.
Rewatch the OT of the Tennessee game, something happens that seems pretty "unusual".
LawVHawk
Well-Known Member
For those of us who don't have it recorded to rewatch, can you give a hint?
BrueCrew3
Well-Known Member
According to Yahoo! Sports, VCU (Shaka Smart) also had an offer on the table.
GO HAWKS!!!
Tmoney12
Well-Known Member
This is true, but keep in mind this was before VCU went to the Final Four or anything. Rejecting Iowa in favor of VCU would have been a huge coup in 2010, even with how bad Iowa was.
However, despite what "interest" some people seem to "remember" that Texas, St. John's, or BC had for Mel, I can't find any record of them offering him. Since he flipped to Iowa in April, and the signing period is April and May, you'd think that if those teams wanted him, they'd slip him an offer.
I think some people desperately want to equate what Basabe did with what Matt Roth did, but it's not the same. Roth was an elite level talent that rejected bigger offers to come to Iowa. Basabe was a Big Ten honorable mention talent, who chose Iowa because we were, by far, the biggest offer that came to him.
jacknicholson
Well-Known Member
jacknicholson
Well-Known Member
jacknicholson
Well-Known Member
I still remember him outplaying Sullinger at Ohio State his freshman year.....
Certainly seemed like we were a different team with Mel playing, he made it more difficult for opponents to score under the basket with his blocking and rebounding ability......
If they are giving co-awards, Olaseni and Uthoff should have shared the award.....
Remember this article on Mel by Bilas.....
[h=1]ESPN’s Bilas: “I’m a big fan” of Iowa’s Basabe[/h] [ 3 ] October 24, 2011 | Rick Brown
Tweet
Iowa's Melsahn BasabeJay Bilas was watching on the Big Ten Network when Iowa freshman Melsahn Basabe stuffed the stat sheet in a 73-68 loss to No. 2 Ohio State on Jan. 4, 2011.
Basabe had 22 points, 13 rebounds and six blocked shots in that game. Three of those rejections were on shots put up by heralded Buckeye freshman Jared Sullinger, who finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds.
“It was ridiculous,” Bilas, a former Duke star and current ESPN college basketball analyst, said of Basabe’s effort that night. “He was phenomenal. He’s got ability. And he kept doing it (all season). It wasn’t just a one-time deal. I was really impressed with him.”
Basabe went on to become the first Iowa freshman ever to total over 340 points, 200 rebounds and 40 blocks in a season. The last Hawkeye player to do that, regardless of class, was future NBA player Ryan Bowen in his senior season (447 points, 271 rebounds and 41 blocks in 1997-98).
Basabe finished the season averaging 11 points and a team-best 6.8 rebounds a game and made the Big Ten all-freshman team. He finished the season with six double-doubles, five of them in Big Ten play.
“I’m a big fan of that kid,” Bilas said. “He’s bouncy, he’s athletic and he goes after the ball.”
Basabe, who weighed 208 pounds at the end of last season, is up to 234 now. He is just one of several things Bilas likes about coach Fran McCaffery’s second Iowa team that returns four starters from an 11-20 season.
“(Point guard) Bryce Cartwright is really good, and Matt Gatens is back,” Bilas said. “They’ve got some pieces there to be a lot more competitive. And they’re making a splash in the recruiting area, which is a big deal.”
Iowa’s biggest catch is Adam Woodbury, a 7-foot 1-inch center from Sioux City who picked the Hawkeyes over North Carolina. He and another Top 100 national recruit, guard Mike Gesell of South Sioux City, Neb., will sign binding letters of intent on Nov. 9 along with Patrick Ingram, a guard from Indianapolis, Ind.; Kyle Meyer, a forward from Alpharetta, Ga., and Anthony Clemmons, a guard from Lansing, Mich.
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parahawkeyes
Well-Known Member
Sound reasoning, Tmoney.....
Absolutely, if not for the little setback of being slightly wrong, though I see where the confusion comes in with Texas. They aren't *listed* as having an official offer, and although obviously having the offer is not one in the same as having interest, he wasn't "recruited hard". Texas had five players in that class already including two PFs, all a week or more before Basabe's visit date at Iowa. My best guess based on all that is they ran out of schollies. Either that or a simple case of him telling them he is going to Sienna, VCU or St Johns.
Also I'd hold off on the coup talk for VCU landing commits over Iowa at the time, given the class was at least good enough for a FF nucleus. And I can totally guarantee this is the first time anybody has linked Basabe directly to Matt Roth, I promise. I doubt people are forcing a comparison, though the only reason I'm bringing it up is because I'm not seeing Roth's uniqueness for this? Is it athletes from another state that were heavily recruited then went on to become superstars? We've had more of those that we can count in football.
I think the real issue here is the sharp regression instead of recruiting credibility. His era indeed punctuated our rise from putrid, but IMO we're reeling to this day because of the fringe starter player we got from a 12-7 1.5 blk freshman. His NBA tools matched that stat line so we wanted a freakin' NBA player out of the deal. Remember Bryce Cartwright plummeted also, otherwise we're looking at...what are we looking at? Sitting in 2014 grazing a 12 seed? That's what is so agonizing about Basabe and that's what we'll hold onto, having saw exactly how good he really is.
parahawkeyes
Well-Known Member
I still remember him outplaying Sullinger at Ohio State his freshman year.....
Certainly seemed like we were a different team with Mel playing, he made it more difficult for opponents to score under the basket with his blocking and rebounding ability......
If they are giving co-awards, Olaseni and Uthoff should have shared the award.....
Remember this article on Mel by Bilas.....
ESPN’s Bilas: “I’m a big fan” of Iowa’s Basabe
[ 3 ] October 24, 2011 | Rick Brown
Tweet
Jay Bilas was watching on the Big Ten Network when Iowa freshman Melsahn Basabe stuffed the stat sheet in a 73-68 loss to No. 2 Ohio State on Jan. 4, 2011.
Basabe had 22 points, 13 rebounds and six blocked shots in that game. Three of those rejections were on shots put up by heralded Buckeye freshman Jared Sullinger, who finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds.
“It was ridiculous,” Bilas, a former Duke star and current ESPN college basketball analyst, said of Basabe’s effort that night. “He was phenomenal. He’s got ability. And he kept doing it (all season). It wasn’t just a one-time deal. I was really impressed with him.”
Basabe went on to become the first Iowa freshman ever to total over 340 points, 200 rebounds and 40 blocks in a season. The last Hawkeye player to do that, regardless of class, was future NBA player Ryan Bowen in his senior season (447 points, 271 rebounds and 41 blocks in 1997-98).
Basabe finished the season averaging 11 points and a team-best 6.8 rebounds a game and made the Big Ten all-freshman team. He finished the season with six double-doubles, five of them in Big Ten play.
“I’m a big fan of that kid,” Bilas said. “He’s bouncy, he’s athletic and he goes after the ball.”
Basabe, who weighed 208 pounds at the end of last season, is up to 234 now. He is just one of several things Bilas likes about coach Fran McCaffery’s second Iowa team that returns four starters from an 11-20 season.
“(Point guard) Bryce Cartwright is really good, and Matt Gatens is back,” Bilas said. “They’ve got some pieces there to be a lot more competitive. And they’re making a splash in the recruiting area, which is a big deal.”
Iowa’s biggest catch is Adam Woodbury, a 7-foot 1-inch center from Sioux City who picked the Hawkeyes over North Carolina. He and another Top 100 national recruit, guard Mike Gesell of South Sioux City, Neb., will sign binding letters of intent on Nov. 9 along with Patrick Ingram, a guard from Indianapolis, Ind.; Kyle Meyer, a forward from Alpharetta, Ga., and Anthony Clemmons, a guard from Lansing, Mich.
This is the part that's going to make people cringe, though I'm refusing to accept that as to why Reggie Evans suddenly became Darryl Moore. Nothing to sneeze at, but extremely guardable. Five 20-point games that season, four 15+ the rest of the career. I wonder if Cartwright was better than we thought that year.
jacknicholson
Well-Known Member
WTF are you talking about, sunshine.....
Why are you talking about texas and vcu. Remember Mel went to Iowa and some people appreciate what he has done for the team, despite much less playing time than he should have received.....
There are quite a few real Hawkeye Fans who realize what Mel did for the team, and are grateful he followed Fran to Iowa.....
Since Hawkeye sports are so painful for you, please stop watching them and do everyone a favor by not posting your rambling nonsense, sport.....
imported_ankle23
Well-Known Member
you are just going to have to tell me what happens - no chance watching that game again. Mel had 9 minutes that game, iowa scored 1 point in OT.
