Better team?

[revkev73]

Is Iowa a better team with Fredrick, Garza, CMac, getting many more minutes than if we had JBO, Moss, Cook in the starting lineup?

Is the team better defensively? Yes.

Does the team have more "compete?" Yes

Does the team play more fundamental basketball? Yes

Is the team more resilient? Yes

Does the team play more as a "team"? Yes

Does the team have better leadership? Yes

Do the players seem to "like" each other more as teammates? Yes

What am I missing?

My two cents...

 

[1hawkeye1]

Do the players seem to "like" each other more as teammates? Yes

This is complete conjecture.

 

[homes]

Yes, it's conjecture. If Bohannon remained healthy, would Fredrick have emerged as the threat that he's become, or would his shots been taken by Jordan? Who knows. Same for if Cook had stayed. Would there be space for him and Garza down low? Who knows, but that seems less likely. Hard to know about Moss too because even when he was here you didn't know which Isaiah would show up, so who knows about this year. My final conjecture is that Bohannon's absence, assuming all come back next year, will only make Iowa more potent because now there will be 3 legitimate outside threats, making Iowa very difficult to defend. Toussaint could lead the country in assists next year (oops, I guess this is my final conjecture).

 

[PCHawk]

I think this team is better than last year's team. The question is, would Cook and Moss getting heavy minutes on this team make us even better, or big us down a bit. Cook was fun to watch and a damn good player, but he was here again there is a pretty good chance we run the offense through him and give Garza way less touches. That's bad for Iowa. If Fran could convince Cook to be Aaron White, we would be a way better team this year with him on it. If he continued the same role he had last year, we would probably be worse.

I won't do Moss.

 

[dirtwrap]

This team has grit, heart, toughness or whatever you want to call it, and they have it in spades. Everyone on the team is extremely unselfish, and whether we are on the road, at home, leading or trailing, all I see is everyone engaged and supportive. That kind of chemistry is so under-valued.

As far as JBo, I wish we had him. He would fit in with this team like a missing piece. Just another guy that plays the right way with elite shooting talent. It would be hard-pressed to think that between JBo, Wiesy and CJ, that all 3 would struggle to shoot. With such a load on the block in Garza, surrounding him with shooters makes us extremely dangerous.

Cook was and is a great player, seemed like a great teammate, and was by far the most athletic player we have had in a very long time. However, saying that, his skill set did not mesh well with how this team has to play in order to be effective. It just took away so much from the effectiveness as the team when he and Garza were on the floor, and when Garza wasn't on the floor Cook wasn't skilled enough on the block to be doubled.

Moss could have fit in well with regards to his skill set, however, I just never saw him have what it took mentally. If those minutes have to go somewhere, CJ is a better upgrade in every way. That kid has the "it" factor as well as very balanced confidence.

So the answer to the OP questions is yes to all of them. There is no doubt going forward that our scheme will be to punish teams down low with Garza and then shoot their eyes out with CJ and Wieskamp. Kriener will be a key contributer off the bench, however, will probably act much more like a starter. CMac will be the swiss army knife, do everything well, and get the ball to our weapons. And hopefully between JoeT and Bakari that one of them can contribute some defense and spark and we give them some minutes. Pemsl is just a body at this point to provide a breather, so hopefully he can hold his own.

 

[1hawkeye1]

Garza and Cook together did not work. Not either guy's fault. It just didn't work. 2 guys trying to occupy the same space and play the same game.

Moss is a non factor. He doesn't help a team much over the long term, nor does he hurt it.

JBo is the real question. When he has help from the outside he is definitely a weapon. When he is the only option from outside, teams can easily shut him down and exploit him defensively. That really isn't that surprising. If a team has 1 PG and he is the only outside threat, it's pretty easy to shut that down.

JBo 2.0 or whatever, is a different animal. He doesn't have to carry the entire load. He looked like a different player this year and I can't wait for next year. I think Garza will be back and we'll be fighting for a B1G championship.

For now, though, I'm just gonna sit back and enjoy this ride. Men's team kicking ass, women's team kicking ass, wrestling team kicking ass, football team has already kicked ass. That's a lotta ass kicking!!!

 

[InGoodCo]

There's a lot of ways to win basketball games but what I am really liking about the Iowa program under Fran is he's shown he can adapt to the pieces he has. It doesn't have to be a certain way. Or look a certain way. It doesn't have to go thru the post. It doesn't have to be done on the perimeter. He's developed guards, forwards and centers. Not just 1 position. The offense has run thru all of them at points over the years.

Defense has been a shortcoming, but a lot of D is want to. If Iowa has a lot of guys who want to do the work, they will do the work. They have been efficient with Defense in the past. I think a lot of that gets over blown.I love the style of play and think about this, Fran is going to have his 5th selection in 7 seasons to 1st team All B1G this year when Luka gets the nod. Marble, White, Uthoff, Jok and Garza. That's nuts. To give you more prospective on that. Prior to Marbles 1st team nod in 14 - Iowa only had 2 players selected to the B1G first team the previous 18 years. Now we have 5 in the last 7.

I think now that we have retrospect as a tool at our disposal, we can look and see that the 17-18 season was an outlier year for Fran. I don't think we've won enough, I want more post season success but it's nice to know that we are a pretty healthy program again. 1 that is in much better shape then it was in 2011 when Fran took the gig. 1 that in theory, should be in much better shape when we are ready to look for another hire.

 

[Robowe]

Players 'like' each other more when they win. They high five more too.

 

[revkev73]

This is complete conjecture.

It is based on how I "experience" their interactions as a fan, an observer. I claim nothing more.

 

[revkev73]

Yes, it's conjecture. If Bohannon remained healthy, would Fredrick have emerged as the threat that he's become, or would his shots been taken by Jordan? Who knows. Same for if Cook had stayed. Would there be space for him and Garza down low? Who knows, but that seems less likely. Hard to know about Moss too because even when he was here you didn't know which Isaiah would show up, so who knows about this year. My final conjecture is that Bohannon's absence, assuming all come back next year, will only make Iowa more potent because now there will be 3 legitimate outside threats, making Iowa very difficult to defend. Toussaint could lead the country in assists next year (oops, I guess this is my final conjecture).

Yes, a healthy JBo would be another great threat next year! Who wouldn't want him starting or off the bench? but Fredrick is 6-4!

 

[HaydenHawk56]

Maybe Moss and Cook were a cancer on the program. Both thinking they are better than they are (not that they suck or don't have things they bring to the table), both with sights set on looking elsewhere.

 

[99topdawg]

Players 'like' each other more when they win. They high five more too.

This picture is proof that Pemsl doesn't like Wieskamp.

 

[revkev73]

Garza and Cook together did not work. Not either guy's fault. It just didn't work. 2 guys trying to occupy the same space and play the same game.

Moss is a non factor. He doesn't help a team much over the long term, nor does he hurt it.

JBo is the real question. When he has help from the outside he is definitely a weapon. When he is the only option from outside, teams can easily shut him down and exploit him defensively. That really isn't that surprising. If a team has 1 PG and he is the only outside threat, it's pretty easy to shut that down.

JBo 2.0 or whatever, is a different animal. He doesn't have to carry the entire load. He looked like a different player this year and I can't wait for next year. I think Garza will be back and we'll be fighting for a B1G championship.

For now, though, I'm just gonna sit back and enjoy this ride. Men's team kicking ass, women's team kicking ass, wrestling team kicking ass, football team has already kicked ass. That's a lotta ass kicking!!!

Agree with JBo, if healthy, an asset. Limited defense of course and the more he has become identified as a guy to "not let beat you" the more difficulty he was having getting his clean shots off. CJ can do it much easier given his height, and he shoots very QUICKLY! And with CONFIDENCE!

 

[revkev73]

This picture is proof that Pemsl doesn't like Wieskamp.

Pemsl is going to be a big key to how Iowa finishes the year. I like him and he seems to understand that Garza and others are the guys who need to be shooting, not him. He tends to box out, know the game, and also seems to be content with his role. I am a fan! He also has some grit and snark at times.

 

[revkev73]

Maybe Moss and Cook were a cancer on the program. Both thinking they are better than they are (not that they suck or don't have things they bring to the table), both with sights set on looking elsewhere.

I don't know if they were "cancers" but watch some of the games...when those two players had the ball, everyone else stood around and watched to see when they would shoot it.

 

[revkev73]

This team has grit, heart, toughness or whatever you want to call it, and they have it in spades. Everyone on the team is extremely unselfish, and whether we are on the road, at home, leading or trailing, all I see is everyone engaged and supportive. That kind of chemistry is so under-valued.

As far as JBo, I wish we had him. He would fit in with this team like a missing piece. Just another guy that plays the right way with elite shooting talent. It would be hard-pressed to think that between JBo, Wiesy and CJ, that all 3 would struggle to shoot. With such a load on the block in Garza, surrounding him with shooters makes us extremely dangerous.

Cook was and is a great player, seemed like a great teammate, and was by far the most athletic player we have had in a very long time. However, saying that, his skill set did not mesh well with how this team has to play in order to be effective. It just took away so much from the effectiveness as the team when he and Garza were on the floor, and when Garza wasn't on the floor Cook wasn't skilled enough on the block to be doubled.

Moss could have fit in well with regards to his skill set, however, I just never saw him have what it took mentally. If those minutes have to go somewhere, CJ is a better upgrade in every way. That kid has the "it" factor as well as very balanced confidence.

So the answer to the OP questions is yes to all of them. There is no doubt going forward that our scheme will be to punish teams down low with Garza and then shoot their eyes out with CJ and Wieskamp. Kriener will be a key contributer off the bench, however, will probably act much more like a starter. CMac will be the swiss army knife, do everything well, and get the ball to our weapons. And hopefully between JoeT and Bakari that one of them can contribute some defense and spark and we give them some minutes. Pemsl is just a body at this point to provide a breather, so hopefully he can hold his own.

Yes, lots of GRIT on this team and a lot of that "IT" that is difficult to quantify. Even when they lose, you feel like they have given it their best shot, left nothing in the tank.

 

[HaydenHawk56]

I don't know if they were "cancers" but watch some of the games...when those two players had the ball, everyone else stood around and watched to see when they would shoot it.

Maybe black holes then?

Feed them the ball, it never comes back.

Or more simplistic term:

 

[homes]

Maybe Moss and Cook were a cancer on the program. Both thinking they are better than they are (not that they suck or don't have things they bring to the table), both with sights set on looking elsewhere.

I've never heard or read anything that would suggest that's the case. I think something like that would have bubbled to the surface.

 

[HaydenHawk56]

I've never heard or read anything that would suggest that's the case. I think something like that would have bubbled to the surface.

Just speculation of course, but we are definitely doing better without them up to this point in time.

 

[homes]

Just speculation of course, but we are definitely doing better without them up to this point in time.

Record-wise, it's pretty much the same as last year at a similar point in the season. This team is playing well right now. After the DePaul game this year, I thought this team was in big trouble. I don't see them going backwards to that place, but it is a long season and they have many tough games left. But I agree, the table is set for them to have a very good season.