CBS Sports article: Iowa could be a surprise team this season.

docholihawk

docholihawk

Well-Known Member
Nice little read. Positive for Iowa. I hope the link works.


Link: http://www.cbssports.com/

Click on NCAA basketball and read 5 teams could surprise.
I'm really looking forward to Iowa basketball over the next few years. I think we're going to be special.
 
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no problem - i saw it the other day and was like, F you Rothstein, a team with basically 4 returning Senior starters and one of them being a an all B1G caliber guy shouldn't be considered "surprising" or "overachieving" .... but I guess it says more about the B1G then it does about us.
 
InGoodCo said:
no problem - i saw it the other day and was like, F you Rothstein, a team with basically 4 returning Senior starters and one of them being a an all B1G caliber guy shouldn't be considered "surprising" or "overachieving" .... but I guess it says more about the B1G then it does about us.
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Iowa has the experience and talent to be very good this year. It will be interesting to see how Fran works the freshmen into the equation.
 
InGoodCo said:
no problem - i saw it the other day and was like, F you Rothstein, a team with basically 4 returning Senior starters and one of them being a an all B1G caliber guy shouldn't be considered "surprising" or "overachieving" .... but I guess it says more about the B1G then it does about us.
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Saw it the same way you did. If he'd of left it at "surprising" I'd of been ok with it but didn't appreciate the use of "overachieving". This team has been improving the past few years and I'm not sure "overachieving" is an appropriate term when discussing whether or not we can keep up the momentum and make another tournament appearance.
 
We are no surprise team, that is for sure. But considering the expectations of the B1G, a top 3-4 finish could be a surprise to some... but not to me. I am expecting it.
 
hawkjunkie said:
We are no surprise team, that is for sure. But considering the expectations of the B1G, a top 3-4 finish could be a surprise to some... but not to me. I am expecting it.
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junkie, for me, I think we have too many questions with the rotations, particularly in the paint. We're going to have to rely on Dale Jones and Wagner to be effective inside. It is yet to be seen whether Woody can stay out of foul trouble. But we need some backups to emerge. If they do, then I agree we can have a top 3 or 4 finish (particularly since WUs should be down.) But, will we be better than MSU/MD/UM/OSU/IU? It will be tough to do. I think we're going to find out how much Gabe really meant to us last season, this season.
 
We might be undersized in the frontcourt which might be a problem against teams like Gonzaga but very few teams like that in the BIG. What counters that is our bigs can all shoot the ball from range (exception Woody) which will free up our guards and wings to rebound. Could be a MORE DANGEROUS team than last year getting offense from all positions on court.
 
I have similar thoughts as Arvada. B1G is loaded this year. Iowa finishing 5-7 seems more realistic.
 
What happens if Woody gets in foul trouble? If we play with Uthoff, Jones and Wagner along with a couple of 6'5" or 6'6" guards. Are we playing small ball. I think we have players that can play multiple positions. We should cause mismatch fits for opposing teams.
 
I think McCaffery has put together a team full of interchangeable players. If the freshmen turn out to be a bunch of diamonds in the rough, as we've come to expect from Fran, we could be a very interesting team. Plenty of dependable seniors and a slew of hungry underclassmen. Can't wait to get going.
 
Tierney said:
Iowa has the experience and talent to be very good this year. It will be interesting to see how Fran works the freshmen into the equation.
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If the freshmen approach the season with humility, knowing they'll be in a supportive role, we'll be fine. Then, next season, they take over, along with Jok and Uhl I suppose.
 
We're going to miss Aaron White, no doubt about it, and also Olaseni, but there is also a lot coming back. We still have some good pieces, and good core of experience.

Just too early to know how this year's team will compare to last year (better, worse, or comparable), but I think this team has a good shot to get back to the dance again.

Gonna need some guys to step up and fill the void where AW used to be, and get contributions from the newcomers as well.
 
They have been taking one step forward each year. I would not expect anything less this year. 4 starters back, and lots of talented newcomers. This should be a good team.
 
There are only 3 teams in the BIG that have solid post play that we know about (Maryland, Purdue and MSU). Everyone else has question marks.

Indiana has a stud freshman in Thomas Bryant but Crean has never been good at running a system where they feed the post and take advantage of a great big. Zeller was underutilized. Ohio state will be in rebuilding mode. Iowa has a solid big with lots of experience in Woodbury but he's limited and can he stay out of foul trouble? Wisconsin has Nigel Hayes and a bunch of question marks but Bo Ryan has made a living out of taking someone you've never heard of and making them solid. Still, there's question marks there.

As it stands, post play is not a strength of this league that's why Purdue and Maryland could pose so many problems.
 
ClintonIAfan said:
They have been taking one step forward each year. I would not expect anything less this year. 4 starters back, and lots of talented newcomers. This should be a good team.
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"Should" be a good team. There might not be a more veteran and experienced team in the league than Iowa. MG, Woodbury, Uthoff, Jok,Clemmons have played a ton of minutes.
 
1977Hawkeye said:
We're going to miss Aaron White, no doubt about it, and also Olaseni, but there is also a lot coming back. We still have some good pieces, and good core of experience.

Just too early to know how this year's team will compare to last year (better, worse, or comparable), but I think this team has a good shot to get back to the dance again.

Gonna need some guys to step up and fill the void where AW used to be, and get contributions from the newcomers as well.
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We will, but we also missed Gatens and missed Marble and continued to get better. It's now Uthoff's turn to step up and take over the go to guy role and I have no doubt that he will. He made a ton of progress last season. Woody, Clemmons, and Gesell have the chance to go through an entire four year career without having a losing record in the B10 in any season, I wonder how far back you have to go to find another class that can say that?
 
When you consider the players coming back, woody, gesel, uthoff, jok, uhl, and Clemens, all basically starters or have starting experience, then if just one or two or the newcomers contribute, that has the making of a very strong team. Plus, lots of new blood for the future.
 
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