Big Surprise

H

hawkeye12345

Well-Known Member
Aaron Fuller plays and is our leading scorer and rebounder. Who would have thought? This coaching staff is really ******* me off and don't give me any crap about him being injured earlier in the season because he logged bush league minutes in EVERY game but two leading up to last nights game.

Its the same story every damn year. First year it was Peterson and sometimes Kelly who were benched, last year it was Palmer and now this year its Fuller. How long before Fuler heads back to the bench never to be seen again? Or will it be another player that Lick all of a sudden doesn't like that will lose minutes to the athletically challenged Devan Bawinkel?

Everyone in the world knows that you don't win a game at the half. Lets try and find a way to get Gatens a blow (and I'm not talking the Darryl Strawberry kind).

If Brommer has a broken leg then don't play him but if the kid doesn't then get his butt on the floor. If Neari is that bad then why is he sitting on the bench in an Iowa uniform? If Archie is that raw and isn't capable of playing at the Big10 level NOW then why in Gods name did you ever sign him out of JUCO when we need help NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wish I could go in to a profanity laced tirade right now to really let you all know how I feel but that wouldn't do us any good. I am sick and tired of watching us lose because of **** poor decisions that are made prior to the game and during the offseason. If kids are healthy enough to practice then they are healthy enough to play. If kids aren't good enough to log a single minute in a game then they aren't good enough to warrant a scholarship or even sit on the bench in uniform. If kids are to RAW and need extra practice time to develop then you don't F'ing sign them out of JUCO. ^%$%&$*%(%%)$#^T%
 
Care-Bear-Hugs-being-nice-133507_419_327.gif



Buck up, there lil' fella - everything's gonna be ok!
 
I completely understand your frustration. It seems to almost be a trend that a guy has a career night, and what is his reward, he then gets fewer minutes. Fuller played like a man with a mission last night, I was very pleased with his effort.

The thing to be seen now is whether the benching effect will come in to play with Lick's own son, who, as we all know, had a breakout and career night last night. I seriously doubt LL will now see fewer minutes, rather it should be the opposite, but if he does I would have to think that would contradict anything the athletic department, i.e., Barta, would like to see happen. I think Barta would prefer to see whether we can keep the excitement/momentum going, and playing LL might just be the key to that.
 
While I agree that Palmer shouldn't have been benched so quickly last year after having those two big games, but so far, Fuller is continuing to get the minutes. But if Fuller does end up on the bench soon with the way he has been playing, I'll be with you that it is a crock. I don't anticipate Fuller riding the pine though.
 
There's no consipracy here. Fuller played significant minuites (and played well) in the exhibition schedule. He sprained his ankle and missed a couple of weeks altogether. Since then he's come back and he's been consistently increasing his minuites as his conditioning and ankle allow.

I can understand some frustration but it still doesn't make sense to look at things that aren't there.

Remember to wear the shiney side out or it won't work.
 
hawkeye12345 said:
Aaron Fuller plays and is our leading scorer and rebounder. Who would have thought? This coaching staff is really ******* me off and don't give me any crap about him being injured earlier in the season because he logged bush league minutes in EVERY game but two leading up to last nights game.

Its the same story every damn year. First year it was Peterson and sometimes Kelly who were benched, last year it was Palmer and now this year its Fuller. How long before Fuler heads back to the bench never to be seen again? Or will it be another player that Lick all of a sudden doesn't like that will lose minutes to the athletically challenged Devan Bawinkel?

Everyone in the world knows that you don't win a game at the half. Lets try and find a way to get Gatens a blow (and I'm not talking the Darryl Strawberry kind).

If Brommer has a broken leg then don't play him but if the kid doesn't then get his butt on the floor. If Neari is that bad then why is he sitting on the bench in an Iowa uniform? If Archie is that raw and isn't capable of playing at the Big10 level NOW then why in Gods name did you ever sign him out of JUCO when we need help NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wish I could go in to a profanity laced tirade right now to really let you all know how I feel but that wouldn't do us any good. I am sick and tired of watching us lose because of **** poor decisions that are made prior to the game and during the offseason. If kids are healthy enough to practice then they are healthy enough to play. If kids aren't good enough to log a single minute in a game then they aren't good enough to warrant a scholarship or even sit on the bench in uniform. If kids are to RAW and need extra practice time to develop then you don't F'ing sign them out of JUCO. ^%$%&$*%(%%)$#^T%
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You are out of your element on this one.

Fuller's "bush league" minutes were DUE TO THE INJURY. He missed practice with the injury. Then they tried to ease him back, and the injury did not take it very well. THAT'S why he didn't many minutes. His ankle would swell up as soon as pressure was taken off of it. Fuller wasn't playing much because of his ankle.

Neari is on the end of the bench BECAUSE HE'S A WALK-ON. All programs need walk-ons. They aren't taking a spot of a scholarship player, hell even John Lickliter showed a walk-on can contribute. Are walk-ons going to typically lead a team or log a lot of minutes for BCS schools? No. But they are invaluable in practice and give added depth without taking spots from scholarship players. Neari has every right to be on the Iowa bench, he helps out in practice and is a great teammate.

Be mad at the program all you want, but Fuller was held out because of the injury. I've seen it first hand where he's play a min or two and then couldn't go. Conspiracy theories... whatever.

I'm not saying players can't get into a coach's proverbial doghouse, but the last month or so Fuller's limited time was on his injury whether you want to believe it or not.
 
Stormin - you may be right about his ankle not allowing him to play more minutes. When did he hurt it? I'm just ****** because I have to watch us get pounded like a $20 whore and then watch NM win going away - two programs going in different directions with no hope in sight.

11/15 - first game of season he logs 13 minutes
11/17 - he logs 10 minutes
11/20 - he logs 3 minutes
11/23 - he logs 1 minute
11/24 - dnp
11/28 - dnp
12/1 - 3 minutes
12/5 - 19 minutes
12/8 - 14 minutes
12/11 - 3 minutes
12/19 - 22 minutes
12/21 - 25 minutes
12/29 - 34 minutes

Why did he only get 3 minutes against ISU? And if his injury was that bad then why is he playing at all - especially the mop up minutes that he put in against Texas and BGU?

As for walk-ons. Sure we need them on the team to be the punching bags in practice but when you are this limited in terms of depth then get the kid 1 or 2 minutes to give the starters a breather during the game IF THEY ARE THE ONLY DEPTH ON THE TEAM. I can't remember the last time Iowa actually had a full compliment of scholarship players? Does anybody know?
 
Early in the year, Fuller also struggled on the defensive end with a few missed assignments and some foul trouble that limited his play. Additionally he was missing the close put backs and Cougill was providing more offense when healthy so I think this is more of a case of confidence and regained shooting touch (along with health). I actually commend the staff on recognizing that Cougs is still not 100% and going with their best options at this point in the season.

I will admit, that I was apparently wrong on Neari (at least to this point) as I actually did think he would be seeing a few minutes a game similar to Lickliter in terms of giving guys a break but perhaps it is taking him longer to progress than hoped. Even so, without John & Nick, you would be looking at a team of 7 or 8 bodies which does not even allow you to do walk-thru drills via 5-vs-5 in practice so I agree with Stormin that each player is valuable to the team.
 
webguy96 said:
I actually commend the staff on recognizing that Cougs is still not 100% and going with their best options at this point in the season.
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It sure is taking him a long time to get well.

OP forgot Cy Tate as an example. Lick's first year, Cy was relegated to the end of the bench until Cole got hurt and, surprise, Tate could actually play pretty well.

And Fuller did start the first two regular season games and play few minutes. Foul trouble has been blamed for that but he had two fouls in each game so there might have been more involved.
 
Its a crock that continues to boil. You don't think he plays favorites or whatever you want to call it? For whatever reason Lick wants to be like Norman Dale from Hoosiers where its either my way or the highway. It seems that most kids are taking the highway it would seem and we are relegated to a decent mid-major ball club with some special talent mixed in.

Lick has had 3 years to put a winning (or at the very least entertaining) product on the floor and he has failed epically up to this point. Adding four players next year that aren't program changers isn't going to change the outcome. Why he hasn't scoured the Juco ranks to get kids that can play NOW is beyond me. And don't give me any crap about they're trying and just haven't been able to land anyone yet....get new assistants that can. If you want a perfect example of the inability to land players at one school with a set of assistants and moving on just look at New Mexico. alford sucked at Iowa not because he wasn't a good coach but because he had assistants that couldn't recruit. He leaves Iowa and lands assistants with ties to Nike, another with ties to kids from Houston and Neal follows him as well. They are now in the top 15 in the country in 3 years while we are still fighting to survive is the midmajor riff raff.

And to follow up on the JUCO route. Who have we landed from Juco's?
Devan Bawinkel - fail
Devon Archie - fail
Jermaine Davis - fail

How much scouting did we really do to land those three studs? I'm calling Archie a fail because he's a JUCO transfer and hasn't logged a minute at Iowa and now because he lacks ability will redshirt and tie up a scholly for another year. He may be a stud on the floor in two years and I will apologize to him at that time but up to this point...fail.

In three years at Iowa, with an under performing team that lacks depth and talent we have landed three juco transfers...pathetic.

Just to compare apples with apples. Minny was in a very similar situation as Iowa when they hired their coach. In his first year he grabs two JUCO transfers in Bostick and Carter. Neither are studs but they fill a need....See a Need, Fill a Need. Players don't want to join a losing program, at least not the players that are going to make a difference.
 
hawkeye12345 said:
Its a crock that continues to boil. You don't think he plays favorites or whatever you want to call it? For whatever reason Lick wants to be like Norman Dale from Hoosiers where its either my way or the highway. It seems that most kids are taking the highway it would seem and we are relegated to a decent mid-major ball club with some special talent mixed in.

Lick has had 3 years to put a winning (or at the very least entertaining) product on the floor and he has failed epically up to this point. Adding four players next year that aren't program changers isn't going to change the outcome. Why he hasn't scoured the Juco ranks to get kids that can play NOW is beyond me. And don't give me any crap about they're trying and just haven't been able to land anyone yet....get new assistants that can. If you want a perfect example of the inability to land players at one school with a set of assistants and moving on just look at New Mexico. alford sucked at Iowa not because he wasn't a good coach but because he had assistants that couldn't recruit. He leaves Iowa and lands assistants with ties to Nike, another with ties to kids from Houston and Neal follows him as well. They are now in the top 15 in the country in 3 years while we are still fighting to survive is the midmajor riff raff.

And to follow up on the JUCO route. Who have we landed from Juco's?
Devan Bawinkel - fail
Devon Archie - fail
Jermaine Davis - fail

How much scouting did we really do to land those three studs? I'm calling Archie a fail because he's a JUCO transfer and hasn't logged a minute at Iowa and now because he lacks ability will redshirt and tie up a scholly for another year. He may be a stud on the floor in two years and I will apologize to him at that time but up to this point...fail.

In three years at Iowa, with an under performing team that lacks depth and talent we have landed three juco transfers...pathetic.

Just to compare apples with apples. Minny was in a very similar situation as Iowa when they hired their coach. In his first year he grabs two JUCO transfers in Bostick and Carter. Neither are studs but they fill a need....See a Need, Fill a Need. Players don't want to join a losing program, at least not the players that are going to make a difference.
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How can you say that Devon Archie is a failure when he hasn't seen the court due to injury, then sickness and then the decision to redshirt? You have to see the guy perform before you can deem it a failure. Or if in two years from now he has not played or played at a poor level you can say failure. But surely that is somewhat premature to say at this point!

And regarding the original post about Fuller, I think his playing time was limited because he was injured. No more no less! Some people look for any reason to complain about Lick and the program!
 
"Adding four players next year that aren't program changers isn't going to change the outcome."

Why do people come on this board claiming they know what next year's class will bring?? Did you not see Brust just put up 50 points in a game, and another article posted on this board talked about how well Marble is doing. Mix in some decaf and quit acting like you know that which you don't.
 
I know this....we have four 3 star players coming in next year and McCabe is the only player with any high major offers. The other three players have offers from mediocre major conference teams or above average mid major programs. I'm trying for the life of me to try and find a player that was rated 3 star that actually changed a program without a strong supporting cast (which we don't have).

And to Forever - I think I stated why I felt Archie was a fail up to this point. Coaches don't scour the JUCOs trying to find projects. The shoulder injury certainly set the kid back but a baller is a baller no matter how much playing time he has. If the kid can't step in and help this team then he either 1) wasn't that good to begin with or 2) Lick is throwing this year away before the Big10 season even starts.

If it's 1) then he shouldn't have been offered. If its 2) then Lick shouldn't be the coach of the Hawkeyes.
 
hawkeye12345 said:
I know this....we have four 3 star players coming in next year and McCabe is the only player with any high major offers. The other three players have offers from mediocre major conference teams or above average mid major programs. I'm trying for the life of me to try and find a player that was rated 3 star that actually changed a program without a strong supporting cast (which we don't have).

And to Forever - I think I stated why I felt Archie was a fail up to this point. Coaches don't scour the JUCOs trying to find projects. The shoulder injury certainly set the kid back but a baller is a baller no matter how much playing time he has. If the kid can't step in and help this team then he either 1) wasn't that good to begin with or 2) Lick is throwing this year away before the Big10 season even starts.

If it's 1) then he shouldn't have been offered. If its 2) then Lick shouldn't be the coach of the Hawkeyes.
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I disagree. We don't know anything about Archie and I can't fault the redshirt after injury and pnemonia, so unlike you I will hold off on saying bringing him in has been a failure!!!
 
I don't think you get it. If it were just one "3-star" player, then your point would be well taken.....but we are getting 4 solid recruits, which together create the supporting cast you are talking about. Again, take some time off. Your frustration (I understand the frustration) is impacting your judgment.
 
I don't know what Archie will bring either but I suspect from the numbers and JUCO route that it might not be a whole lot.

I think the opportunity lost was not offering Seth VanDeest of Drake a scholly. Is he the greatest player ever? Probably not but he would have brought much needed height to our lineup and has decent skills. This would have given us two legit big men in this class; Cougil & VanDeest.... then add Larson to the mix next year and you might have something over the next 3-4 years. Again,,, maybe Archie will be great but my gut tells me opportunity lost.
 
I am also glad to see Fuller get more minutes and hope this is not another mysterious Palmer, etc. disappearing act. He has done a nice job.

What I am about to say will get my membership on this site revoked.....

Why not give Brommer a few minutes in games to see what he can do ? Yes he is an offensive liability from what we have seen but he is another big body and has 5 fouls to give. Play him 5-10 minutes a game to see if he can develop as a defensive presence down low and a rebounder/garbage/hatchet man. My point is some players take time to develop but you'll never know what is possible until you give a player the nugget of PT and a 'role'. Lick should tell Brommer if you want PT start as a 'garbage man' and if you do it well for a 5-10 minutes a game we'll look at increasing your minutes. If not,,,, go to him and ask him to transfer because the program needs all the scholly's it can get and you have no intention of ever playing him. Besides we are going nowhere this year.... why not take a chance on all of our kids in hopes of developing some good role players.
 
I have to agree with the minority here. Our coach is like a little child. If you get in his little doghouse,you stay there. I am not sure why he likes Tucker so well. Its not like he has been doing our program any good. He recruited Brommer and either play him or watch him bail like the rest have done. If Archie is healthy,play him. We need bodies,not redshirts. With our luck,Archie will redshirt and then transfer and not have to sit out. I am tired of mediocracy and there is no end in sight. Pay the guy off and say goodbye.
 
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