Could this be Fran's best bunch of bench players

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uihawk82

Well-Known Member
Watching the last 10 minutes of the game today when the bench got a lot of consecutive minutes gave me a really good look at all the bench players.

Nunge, Patrick, Keegan, toussaint, and others are a very strong bunch of players. And all coming back.

If Ulis is close to as good as his brother and the same goes with Keegan's brother, that bodes well for the next few years.

How do you see this group and who has the most upside (I go with K Murray who could start if need be)?
 
Perkins had a couple really nice moves. He may actually be ahead of Ulis as far as game ready? Looks like he has more of a BIG TEN Body at the moment. But give these guys all a full year in Iowa's conditioning and weight program I think they'll all look different last year. Patrick moves really well for his size I've noticed. Almost like a point forward. If we can get Joe W back next year to the mix, we could be very solid again.
 
A starting lineup of Connor, CJ, Wieskamp, Murray, and Nunge is pretty damn good. Im not sure what other teams lose yet, but if the conference is down a bit, that team could compete for a title too.
 
Just thinking about it real quick, Wisconsin loses about everybody next year and Illinois will lose their top 2 for sure. Im not really sure about Michigan but I do know they have a top class coming in. They will probably be the new team to beat for the foreseeable future.
 
I have watched a lot of Iowa basketball over many years. This is far and away the best bench I have ever seen. Could this
be the best bench during recent years in the BT? Good bet.
 
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Murray and PM are going to be a serious problem for other teams. Two 6'8 plus long armed athletic guys that can handle the ball and run the floor... Pff Wait till PM improves his shot selection and court awareness even more he's got a crazy high ceiling too I think. Future looks bright to me but man I want to soak in the present while we have it. There's no telling when/if we'll have a team this good again. This is unreal
 
HuckFinn said:
I have watched a lot of Iowa basketball over many years. This is far and away the best bench I have ever seen. Could this
be the best bench during recent years in the BT? Good bet.
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In recent years, Yes...........but '86-'87 will always stand out as the deepest team we have had. But then again, it is pretty damn close. Been a pretty fun ride so far.
 
This bench is crazy good and it's almost like "how did this happen all of a sudden?" Hasn't everyone been lamenting our less than impressive recruiting classes like forever? EVERYONE of these guys are studs! Hats off to Fran.

Our 2nd Team could compete pretty well in the BT right now.

I am anxious to see Kris Murray next year. Haven't gotten much of a sample of his game yet, but he looked really smooth a few games ago taking it to the hole with a left handed spin move. If he can be 80% of the player his brother is becoming he will be really good and it will look like bookends out there with him being a lefty.
 
We will be in the hunt for a B10 title next year. Ulis is going to be really good. Perkins is going to be really good. Patrick Mac is starting to show the diversity of his offensive skill set...he's taking the ball to the hole and dishing...and finishing...plus, he can shoot it. Murray has huge, huge upside. Nunge is going to keep getting better and better.

If Weiskamp comes back...which is obviously less than certain...we will be really deep again...with some guys that can play multiple spots. We just need Olgundele to make some strides in the offseason to spell Nunge for 10-12 minutes a game.
 
I posted this on the game thread. At one time you had Turbo, PMac, Nunge, & KeMurr on the floor. (The outlier was Weezy.) Throw in CMac or AU and you've got a STRONG starting unit for the next 2 years.

Simply my 2 cents .. ..
 
Fran is smart getting the bench so many quality minutes. It'll pay off with a close and hard-fought W at some point come March.
In a way I hate to think about how much it'll benefit next season because this team is just so much damn fun to watch right meow!
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bogeyman said:
Perkins had a couple really nice moves. He may actually be ahead of Ulis as far as game ready? Looks like he has more of a BIG TEN Body at the moment. But give these guys all a full year in Iowa's conditioning and weight program I think they'll all look different last year. Patrick moves really well for his size I've noticed. Almost like a point forward. If we can get Joe W back next year to the mix, we could be very solid again.
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Yeah Patrick really does seem to glide around pretty well and effortlessly, impressed by his athleticism so far.
 
Both Murray and P Mac seem to be interchangeable at this point. They are going to anchor the future of the program the next few years. They are long and when they add some additional strength...look out. Fran can put a really long team on the floor. Can you imagine going with a line up of Toussaint/Ulis/Connor at the point, then Weiskamp, Murray, P Mac, and Nunge. Those last four are long and all of them can really run. Have fun shooting over that zone.
 
I definitely think this is Fran's best team. He had some other teams that reached the top 10 but they were brief stays because those teams weren't as physically and mentally tough. Also, Fran still plays a lot of guys but now the bench guys aren't liabilities. I still feel pretty confident when Joe T, Keegan, Pat and Nunge come in the game. I remember it always used to feel like holding your breath when the "second line" would come in because they were clearly a huge step below the starters.
 
PCHawk said:
A starting lineup of Connor, CJ, Wieskamp, Murray, and Nunge is pretty damn good. Im not sure what other teams lose yet, but if the conference is down a bit, that team could compete for a title too.
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With this lineup the bench is Kris, Ulis, Perkins and Toussaint...still a high level 9 man depth.

Side Note - Where’s this year’s thread about too many guys in the rotation...has to be 7 or 8 max?
 
Murray and Patrick are becoming 2 Nick Baers coming off the bench and bring energy. Our defense off the bench brings a lot with length and Joe T puts pressure on guards. With that said, Nunge is probably our biggest weapon off the bench. We go high/low with Garza and him. Stretching both of those guys out is hard to cover for defenses.

Ulis and Perkins both look ready physically to me. Ulis plays with a really good pace and under control.

I would say yes on best bench for Fran's tenure. Best team also. Our whole team seems to have an edge to them.
 
This is the group I envisioned earlier in the year (before Keegan blew up). Joe T running the point with Nunge, Pat, Keegan, and one of the freshman (Ulis) getting minutes. I'm amazed that so many of these guy are playing a lot with the starters and seem to seamlessly blend in with them when called upon. It's really beyond my expectation.
 
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