ESPN's Summer Shootaround Series: B1G
- Thread starter Section136
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I don't see Woody as the most important player for this year's team and I don't see he needs to vastly improve his O. Steady improvement and efficiency, not getting silly fouls, increased rebounding numbers and continued improvement on D would suffice for what this team needs out of him.
The Hawks' most important player will be the one who can stretch the court.
The Hawks' most important player will be the one who can stretch the court.
Section136
Well-Known Member
I think Woody CAN be the most important player but I don't think he HAS to be. They say the biggest jump college big men make is between their freshman and sophomore years. He didn't command a double team in B1G play last year. If he does that it just gives the other guys even better looks from the outside.
True. But as we saw last year, if we have guys that are wide open and the can't knock down a long jumper, it doesn't matter if they have space. But, more importantly, the rest of Iowa's offense is not necessarily conducive to having Woody camped out and pulling double teams in the post. Iowa is best I transition when guys are getting to the rim.
It will be nice as his offensive game continues to develop and be keeps getting stronger along with the development of more perimeter shooters. After White has graduated, this team will be set-up more for inside-outside.
It will be nice as his offensive game continues to develop and be keeps getting stronger along with the development of more perimeter shooters. After White has graduated, this team will be set-up more for inside-outside.
About stretching the court- that will determined by committee, not just one player.
Woody may not be the most important player on the team, but I can see the author's point. Woody could be argued to be the most unusual talent on the team. He certainly makes Iowa a different team on defense when he's in there. As his offense improves, Iowa becomes more balanced on offense. It's difficult to stop a 7-footer who can make a jump hook with either hand and pass well, if he's strong enough to hold a post position. Woody is close to that this year and will already have arrived vs some teams. He may not be Iowa's most important player now, but he could be in the future.
Knight78
Well-Known Member
"Stretching the court" as you put it is predicated on your big men being offensive threats. If Woody can become that offensive threat that makes the outside on-ball defender need to take a half-step back in order to make a quick double-team, then our outside shooter gets that much more of a good look to shoot. Yeah, we had a lot of good looks last year that simply didn't go down. But he wasn't much of an offensive threat last year, so a lot of our "looks" never happened.
This year, he will need to be respected in the post. This year, the defenders on ball-side will need to drop back that half-step or he will take his defender one on one. It's amazing how much better you can shoot from beyond the arc when the defender gets there a half step late.
I look at last year's team and we simply didn't have a consistent offensive post presence. This year we will. I played for Lewis "Buzz" Levick and we predicated our offense on getting the ball to the post - it was a statistic he tracked. It made our outside shooters a LOT better to make the defender turn to help and then turn back to defend.
BrueCrew3
Well-Known Member
As much as I hate to admit it, I agree with the Wart.
(Sorry .. Luther grad.) But it's not just Woody .. it's GO as well. At the end of last season, GO turned the defense up a notch and was instrumental in the NIT run. If he can do the same thing on the offensive side this year AND Woody can find his short range jumper/hook shot, that will make them a strong 1-2 punch down low.Just my 2¢ .. ..
GO HAWKS!!!
OakRaiders
Well-Known Member
Pure and simple the season comes down to guard play. Look at any team that makes a great run in confrence or NCAA and you will see great guard play. Post play was not what kept the hawks out of the dance last year. If guard play improves on offense the Hawks have the depth to make great strides in the W - L column. If the season is full of average guard play look for a lot of last season.
Of course the guards need to play better. They will. I expect Marble to have a stellar senior season and the supporting cast in the backcourt is a good blend of experience and talent. But part of the improvement among the guards will be improved play in the post. That makes life a lot easier for the guards on O and D. They can gamble on D and the opposing D must give room for a drive rather than allow an entry into the post. That's especially important for Marble. If a D is forced to give him room to maneuver then he can certainly play PG and well.
OakRaiders
Well-Known Member
I am not sure I am fully following what you are trying to say here. Why would a Big10 defense ever give Marble space? As the best scorer in the guard court he will be the last one to get left alone. Woddy in the post will help a bit but that is not the game changer that this team needs on offense. This team needs to improve is PPG and small strides but its maybe 4th or 5th scoring option will be nice but not what is needed to make a big push.
Everything is pretty much qued up:
Depth: Check
Ability to play team defense: Check
Vetran Leadership: Check
Strong front court: Check
The only thing i see not being able to check off is the guard who can take over a game with 2 min or less on the clock and a guard court I can consistantly count on to distribute and score the ball with high effiency.
Knight78
Well-Known Member
Really? Post play was not what kept the Hawks out of the dance last year? Really? Were we watching the same games last year? Our posts didn't get the ball on the block and didn't command double teams. Our contested layup percentage was atrocious. Putbacks tended not to happen and we were letting teams get offensive rebounds too much, especially late in the games where we lost leads. How is that guard play?
Plus, when the guards get beat outside (happens to the best), it's the bigs that have to pick up the slack and our bigs need better spacing and footwork to cover up. How many dunks did Indiana get? No secondary switching inside led to Zeller having a great stat line when it was actually our poor interior defense.
I agree that our guard play was suspect at times last year, but our post play was worse. What happened that carried us into the NIT so deep? Guard play. This year, with the bigs having a year of playing together and getting their spacing, footwork and communication to improve will do wonders for our outside game.
