Coach needs to have a talk with Matt

yes matt was on the bench for a long time....and coach brought him in for a reason. i just don't see anything negative about what matt did. we didn't get a call, not saying we should have but...we could have. we didn't make the play but we were aggresive, got the the lane etc..
 
chr4hwks said:
Matt did beat his guy off the dribble but took it too far into the big man. He should have stopped & pulled up a mid range jumper or kicked it out to get the defense scrambling.
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I agree with this. As has been said, the team had been playing well while Matt was on the bench. Part of me cringed when they subbed him in and went to him for the 3 and the drive after sitting for so long, but if Coach is confident in him then so am I. The 3-ball almost dropped and was a good open look. I'd rather have a cold Gatens shooting that shot than the other 5 guys who had been on the floor.

Also, the 5 guys on the court looked tired and had been out there for a while. I was thinking we could use some fresh legs.

I like the call for Gatens to drive in the lane - he just didn't make the right decision. He either should have pulled up in the lane or even slowed down and pulled up to get contact from the trailing defender. He's our best FT shooter and it would have been great if he got to the line. I can't remember if anyone was open on the perimeter for the kickout. I wish the spacing was better so their 7footers man would have been open for a dish when he tried to block Gaten's shot. Also, most teams won't have that type of size/shot blocking in the lane waiting for Matt.

meh
 
Amen Hawkeye12345! Nobody is saying he is a bad player. He made a bad decision to drive and not pull up for the jumper. Wake's 7 footer had just got done blocking 3 hawkeyes on three straight attempts, and Matt G decides to drive the ball in...not smart. He does got his shot blocked 90% of the time, and seldom draws fouls. He would be an even better player if he keeps it between 10ft and beyond. He was all we had for the last two years on horrible teams. People need to realize that this is a far better team and Matt G is not who we need trying to create, he is just not that athletic. Marble imo is a better option in the 2 hole. Its not bad thing that were debating Matt G, just means that we are improving and have better players now!
 
Again, McCaffery did not have Matt Gatens lose almost 20 pounds in the offseason to stand around the arc and chuck up threes all game. My guess is, and I will call it a guess even though our coach has said it publicly that he wants and expects Gatens to penetrate to the basket. The coach believes Gatens is athletic enough to finish or get fouled and go to the line. So, until I hear McCaffery state differently, I am going to stick with what he said in the offseason and I am going to assume that he was completely fine with Matt's drive to the bucket last night!

From a Q/A with Coach McCaffery on 10-14-10:

Q. Could you ever see Cully and Bryce both starting at the same time?
COACH McCAFFERY: That's a possibility. I've committed to Matt Gatens pretty much as our 2 guard, when I talked about peeling some weight off of him, he had bulked up so he could play some forward. I said, look, you're not a forward, you're a guard; get down to 208 and stay there and drive the ball to the basket, and you're seeing him be way more explosive now. He's actually driving and dunking the ball like he used to, and I need him to kind of be a 2 and think like a 2.

Geez, I hope Coach McCaffery knows what he is talking about???
 
Do you really think that Gatens can finish over a 7' player? Come on.

There's certainly opportunity for him to create his own shot but going up against a 7' isn't one of them. If the goal was to get fouled while in the act of shooting then Gatens should have taken the ball deeper to the rack instead of trying some off balance floater. It wasn't a smart play.
 
burky247 said:
We've seen this same thing with Gatens over and over. Gatens does not finish around the rim.
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This has been a weakness his first 2 years. Remember that he lost weight and improved his explosiveness during the offseason. I don't expect him to be near May's level of explosiveness but I do expect to see an improvement in his ability to score off the dribble (whether its finishing at the rim, pulling up in the lane, or at the FT line). I haven't seen an improvement yet but I'm sure the scouting report is to push him left (which has also been a weakness) and he has an injury on that hand.

If he can get past his man a mere 3 times per game and finish better - whether its at the rim, pulling up, or at the line - it will go a long way. We can use the points and it will give him more space for the outside jumper. I'm confident the staff has been working him hard to add this to his game.

I know thats optimistic but losing 15-20 lbs of weight and molding his body for quickness and explosiveness while receiving effective coaching has me positive.
 
JHHawk said:
Guess Fran will have to answer whether he wanted Matt to penetrate into the paint on the last play....I am guessing he did. Most coaches prefer having the ball get into the paint in crunch time. I have seen every game that Matt has played at Iowa and yes,he has been stuffed at the hoop a number of times,but Fran called the play for a reason, Matt getting the call is automatic points. He did not get the call,but he could have,as there was body contact and he hit his wrist...I suspect that Fran will call his number again...get used to it. I am ok with Matt pulling up,no doubt,but taking it to the hole is ok also.
Basabe and McCabe had shots blocked also...it happens.
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If that is the case then why did Fran draw up a 3 point play after the TO?
 
bemsj said:
i don't miss a game of iowa bball. like i said, i'm sure coach has no problem w/ matt getting in the paint, if he is fouled, it is pretty much an automatic 2pts. it didn't happen this time, that happens it sports, it is what it is.
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Welcome to the board Matt Gatens.
 
hawkeye12345 said:
There is NO WAY that the play called was for Matt to drive to the bucket....END OF STORY. Are you kidding me?
QUOTE]

I agree that the play called wasn't for Matt to drive to the bucket.

However, I want to put some of the focus on the other players. I didn't see anybody on the floor calling for the ball or working hard to get open to have it in his hands at the end of the game.

Somebody needs to be the guy who wants that pressure, who wants to be that leader with the ball at the end.
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Another thing I'd like to add on the drive, I'm sure it didn't help Matt that he basically had to do it one-handed. I'm guessing he would have been able to go up stronger if both hands were healthy. However, that speaks to it not being the best decision.
 
he is really bad at driving to the hoop because his release there is so low that anyone can block it. Saw it happen dozens of times last year. Kelly would drive and the ball would be rim high when it left his hand--gatens was lower net high.
 
ForeverHawk said:
This is what I don't like about refs. There was definitely contact there. I understand why refs don't make that call. However, contact is contact. What makes that any less of a foul because it happens inside the last 30 seconds and not some other time during the game? Nothing wrong with trying to draw the foul by going to the rim with your best free throw shooter bar none! With that being said, Matt has not been a very good finisher at the rim the past two seasons. If that was the play, Fran made it and he had his reasons.
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He didn't get that call last year in the numerous times he made the same move, and no surprise he's not going to get it there.

If he's going to make that move, he ought to pull up short, inside the lane for a short jump shot. He doesn't have the strength, the length or the elevation to get that shot off he tried last night. It worked for him in high school, not at the D-1 level.
 
hawkeye12345 said:
Nobody is talking about May. We are talking about Gatens trying to drive for the game winner against a team with 7' players and bigs that patrol the middle. We're also talking about a player (gatens) that isn't a drive type player. Gatens has never been much more than a role player forced into a superstar role on terrible teams.
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So this team is suddenly "good" and he is no longer one of the best players on it? In hindsight maybe he should have pulled up and shot it but if memory serves me he did receive a ball screen and made the decision to take it in. The reason I mention May is because everyone is acting like he is Jordan now or something and Cartwright is Isiah Thomas. I'm more concerned about blowing an 18 point lead than what Gatens did on the last play.
 
Number 1 all you idiots who are complaining that he didn't get a call weren't watching the game. It was a clean block and he didn't get anywhere near the rim. We've seen this for 3 years now he isn't creative around the rim. That's a skill and he doesn't have it. That's it. Matt's a good player but not a great one. I can't remember with the exception of maybe 1 game last year where he put the team on his back and willed them to win.
 
Did I type my post in invisible ink? McCaffery asked Gatens to lose 20 pounds to become more explosive. He wants him taking the ball to the hole. Before his injury, McCaffery said Gatens was much more explosive being lighter. I know most of you are experts, being former DI basketball players and all, but I am going to stick with what McCaffery wants and expects from Gatens at this point! I guess that should just about end the debate then???
 
Hey Forever were you a DI bball prospect...if not your point is moot and totally irrelevant. I get that he was asked to lose weight to be more explosive but it wasn't just for drives to the hole it was to be able to get up and down the court quicker. Yes this does just about end the debate.
 
seepig said:
Hey Forever were you a DI bball prospect...if not your point is moot and totally irrelevant. I get that he was asked to lose weight to be more explosive but it wasn't just for drives to the hole it was to be able to get up and down the court quicker. Yes this does just about end the debate.
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Hey seepig, no I wasn't a DI basketball player......you??? Nor did I claim to to be any type of expert on whether Gatens should have made the drive there or not last night. I for one did not have a problem with it. However, too many posters are already on Gatens' case pointing out his limitations. when he has only played in a couple of games this year after coming back from surgery.

I made it quite clear in an earlier post, that his coach asked him to lose weight because he wanted Gatens to drive to the basket more because he is a guard and not a forward. Being too heavy last year, Gatens was not utilizing his athletic abilities. That is not my opinion, that is the opinion of Fran McCaffery. Too many posters want to pigeon hole Matt as a spot up shooter and that is not the role set in place for Matt by Fran. Last I checked, the coach of the team established each players roles, not a bunch of message board posters?

Now, if you want to keep on debating this, perhaps you should contact the new Iowa basketball coach, as he seems to have a plan for Gatens that many of us do not agree with. Again, I am going to trust him for now!

Let's not forget that Gatens is the leading returning scorer on the team as well.
 
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