Can some of the posters finally admit...

F

Foval21

Well-Known Member
Gesell is a better player and point guard than they thought, and that Woodbury is definitely better than olaseni.

i enjoy watching sports in general but I cringe to think about how fans react to players when they struggle even though all players go through those times. Gesell is the guy that makes the offense run and Woody is the guy that directs the defense. They are much better players than their stats as they do a lot of things that don't show up on the stat line.
 
Agree with #1....absolutely. Always thought so.

Sorry, but you're way off base with #2. Olaseni plays just as well as Woody, and in a lot of cases, better. Just differently.
 
We'll I've always understood the value of Woody. I personally think he is the more consistent player than Gabe but Gabe has the potential to go off for a 15 point type game than Woody.

in regards to Mike, I'm not sure why it's clicking all of a sudden but I'm sure glad it has. He looks quicker than ever and the ball movement is better than ever as well. Mike and Woody run the pic and roll well too. Jok hitting shots is helping too.

I think we all knew the guard play was the issue earlier in the year and that's the difference. Mike and Pete's play is much improved.
 
Mike and Woody have always played good position defense and that's something that doesn't show up on the stat sheet. With White and Uthoff taking the most shots, the average fan only notices that Mike and Woody haven't been offensive phenoms like their supposed recruiting rankings suggest. That average fan doesn't look closely at defense or notice how the offense really dwindles when Mike is on the bench as he's the best ball handler by far.

The wait for an emergence of a 2 guard is what IMO has been holding the team back. With Jok emerging it's much easier for Mike to create with the floor being more spaced with another outside threat besides Uthoff out there. Jok's quick release forces teams to stop packing it in and gives more room for Mike to drive and either finish or find an open teammate. As for Woody, it was only a matter of time before he put it all together. He has shown flashes of his skill since he first stepped on campus and he appears to finally be catching up with his body and putting it all together.

The next step for both of these players is consistency. Might as well throw Jok in there as well. If they can master that, this team could be very good down the stretch and into next season.
 
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When Gesell is being aggressive and taking the ball to the hole on his own it really makes the offense hum. The last few games Gesell has been getting layups and jumpers from the free throw line and as a result Iowa's offense has opened up and really started clicking. It's been fun to watch.

I don't think Woody is "definitely" better than Gabe. They're just really different players. Gabe averages 1.7 blocks a game...Woody averages .4 blocks. It doesn't mean Gabe is a better defender, it means their style of play is a lot different.

Gabe doesn't seem very good in a straight 1 on 1 post up situation against an equally sized opponent. He tends to travel or put up a bad shot. However, Gabe is super aggressive in transition or on the offensive boards. I think he's a good change of pace for Woody and he'll be sorely missed next year.
 
Gesell and Woody are playing the best basketball of their careers. I had hoped it would have happened sooner (think of how good last years team would have been if they would have played like this), but it is great to see them playing such good basketball.
 
Seth53 said:
Agree with #1....absolutely. Always thought so.

Sorry, but you're way off base with #2. Olaseni plays just as well as Woody, and in a lot of cases, better. Just differently.
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This is what I was going to say. They give us different things, because they're different types of players. Even though they play the same position, it's like comparing apples and oranges. If they both play like they're capable, they can be used to their strengths, and we may see one of them play 30 minutes one night and the other play 30 the next game, simply because of the team we're playing.
 
Foval21 said:
Gesell is a better player and point guard than they thought, and that Woodbury is definitely better than olaseni.

i enjoy watching sports in general but I cringe to think about how fans react to players when they struggle even though all players go through those times. Gesell is the guy that makes the offense run and Woody is the guy that directs the defense. They are much better players than their stats as they do a lot of things that don't show up on the stat line.
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It's amazing to see the emotional roller coaster on this board. Iowa has played better recently. Players go in streaks, with confidence and because they have school to worry about, injuries and and they are kids.

All of the players have struggled at times. White finally looks like a passionate leader, Gesell was at the end of Purdue game, Utoff and Jok have ups and downs. Gabe played well early, now has struggled for a while. Thankfully, Woodbury as picked up the pace after he slept through Purdue. It is a game be game thing with these players, and it could flip again in a day or week or two.

This team has capable players, but has a long, long way to go regarding consistency. Who knows what the next game brings, time will tell, but don't go tell everybody that questions what happens they were wrong. Everyone has an opinion.
 
Two thumbs up for Mike Gesell and Woody. 2 IOWA Men who wanted to be Hawkeyes
& I've been of the opinion, that I'm SURE GLAD we got Mike G, when Adam committed..

These guys play together very well, often looking for each other with the Surprise pass.

They're 2 of the MOST IMPORTANT persons in he resurgence of IOWA HOOPS
 
People have been more than fair in assessing Woody and Gesell. They were critical when they played at their worst:
-Woody was a big marshmallow who didn't play within himself on defense and was very weak on the block.
-Gesell was playing like he was 6'8" and making a lot of dumb drives trying to finish rather than dish. He also couldn't make an entry pass to save his life and tried to shoot his way out of that.

It is noticeable, even to novices, that the last 4-5 games, they've both found consistency doing more smart things than dumb things. They've both become exponentially more active on offense and their court awareness has skyrocketed. They've both tried to play to their strengths:
- Woody is 7' tall and he's being more assertive toward the basket, rather than trying to finesse or dribble his way into a shot. Woody is quicker with his intent and ability to physically execute it, whether it be a drop-step and soft-hook with his left or, if he's on the right block, looking for the cutter from the opposite side baseline.
- Mikey is using his quickness to penetrate but is much smarter once he's there. He's more patient running the offense and letting it flow a bit before jacking an outside shot. He's just doing more to set up his teammates.

I honestly think they've benefitted from Fran finally realizing that he could either squander another season with his ridiculous platoon rotations or he could allow his best players to play more, get into a rhythm and adapt to the game flow.
 
When your shooting guard is actually shooting and hitting shots, it makes everyone look better. All the sudden Mike gets assists etc. Jok continuing to hit shots will make a huge difference in this team and open some things up I think. Crossing my fingers it will continue! But yes, Mike and Woody have played solid as of late and its good to see!
 
I've been very impressed with Gesell lately. It appears his mid-range game is far more effective than his 3 point shooting, and he's done a great job lately of picking his spots when driving the lane. Remember when he would drive the paint and have his shot swatted? That rarely happens these days. He's easily the best PG on the team.

As for Woody - No, he isn't as athletic as Gabe, not even close. IMO, other than shot blocking and running the floor/finishing in transition, he does everything else at least as well or better than Gabe does. Olaseni's footwork also seems lacking - he gets called for steps quite often. Woody is just sound all the way around with overall better basketball skills. Olaseni's athleticism is mainly what makes him productive, the way I see it. Otherwise, he's fairly raw. Didn't he start playing basketball only a couple years before he came to Iowa? It shows in certain areas.

But as stated above, they are two different players and each are productive in their own ways. I guess you could say each is a "change of pace" player when compared to the other.

Just my 2 cents.
 
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Gesell has transformed his game. He was not playing well to start the season. Proof that Fran is a good coach and knows what he's doing.

Can't agree that Woody is better than Gabe. He's a totally different style of player. Woody is more defensive oriented. Gabe is more athletic and explosive. Both are valuable to this team.
 
Seth53 said:
Agree with #1....absolutely. Always thought so.

Sorry, but you're way off base with #2. Olaseni plays just as well as Woody, and in a lot of cases, better. Just differently.
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Gotta disagree with you on GO. Don't get me wrong, I like the kid… A lot. But Woody is much better all-around then Gabe. Gabe has poor hands, turns it over too often, and is not very good on the defensive side. GO does blocks a lot of balls, is good on the boards, hustles, and can provide a spark offensively (however, if it isn't clicking in the game, it's tough to watch him).
 
Gesell has been playing like an average starting B10 pg lately, that's a big step up from where he was earlier this year. As long as he doesn't need to score and can just run the team, he's been solid.
 
Seth53 said:
Agree with #1....absolutely. Always thought so.

Sorry, but you're way off base with #2. Olaseni plays just as well as Woody, and in a lot of cases, better. Just differently.
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Until the adjustment on the alley oop from White yesterday, Gabe had been in a funk for several games. That adjustment is, hopefully, a sign he is back in a groove.
 
STILLBUSTER said:
People have been more than fair in assessing Woody and Gesell. They were critical when they played at their worst:
-Woody was a big marshmallow who didn't play within himself on defense and was very weak on the block.
-Gesell was playing like he was 6'8" and making a lot of dumb drives trying to finish rather than dish. He also couldn't make an entry pass to save his life and tried to shoot his way out of that.

It is noticeable, even to novices, that the last 4-5 games, they've both found consistency doing more smart things than dumb things. They've both become exponentially more active on offense and their court awareness has skyrocketed. They've both tried to play to their strengths:
- Woody is 7' tall and he's being more assertive toward the basket, rather than trying to finesse or dribble his way into a shot. Woody is quicker with his intent and ability to physically execute it, whether it be a drop-step and soft-hook with his left or, if he's on the right block, looking for the cutter from the opposite side baseline.
- Mikey is using his quickness to penetrate but is much smarter once he's there. He's more patient running the offense and letting it flow a bit before jacking an outside shot. He's just doing more to set up his teammates.

I honestly think they've benefitted from Fran finally realizing that he could either squander another season with his ridiculous platoon rotations or he could allow his best players to play more, get into a rhythm and adapt to the game flow.
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The part regarding MG has been the most critical/crucial to the last two games on the offensive side of the ball.

Defensively, we seem to be getting more "proactive" and not always looking for that fast-break-out-of-nowhere. They're letting the game come to them when necessary, but not "waiting" for things to happen, if that makes sense.

In all honesty, much as these last two wins were awesome, we can also say we are very fortunate to have caught a depleted Michigan team and a rood-poor Maryland team at just the right time.
 
I don't have to admit it because I've been in Mike's corner on this site since he arrived at Iowa. All off season when everyone was replacing him with TD before he stepped on campus I scoffed. MG was getting railed for not living up to potential by his sophomore year.... gimme a break. Most kids don't get there that quick, it's not shocking to me at all that he's playing like a Junior now that he's a Junior.

Now, people are replacing TD before he even gets a chance - like they did with Peter Jok last season. It's comical, but the unfortunate way of message boards.

Another common deal is everyone thinks that recruits that aren't here yet, are going to subplant guys that have been in the program for 2 or 3 seasons...it happens, but that's not the norm....well, it was when Fran took over because of the shape of the program when he did, but it's not the norm at an established program, which Iowa is now without a doubt.
 
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