Ever the optimist.....

R

Rawkhawk73

Banned
I W and L'd the rest of the Big Ten schedule and came up with these final Big Ten records:

#1 - OSU - 17-1
#2 - Purdue - 13-5
#3 - Illinois - 11-7
#4 - Wisc - 11-7
#5 - Minny - 9-9
#6 - Iowa - 8-10
#7 - Mich - 7-11
#8 - MSU - 7-11
#9 - PSU - 7-11
#10 - NW - 5-13
#11 - Indiana - 4-14

I have us finishing at 5-2 over the last 7 games.....losing at Illinois and at MSU and then getting Indiana in the play-in round and, if we win, Illinois in the quarterfinals.

Would be awesome to finish up that way. A guy can dream, right?:)
 


That's a helluva dream. They're going to be lucky to get 2 more wins. I don't see any way they get 5.
 


I thought I was being optimistic when I predicted 3 more wins.

If you are going to dream, dream big.
 


If, as you predict, we are going to win five more games, one of them surely has to be Michigan State which is currently playing worse than any other team in the Big 10. For the record, I would be very happy winning 3 of the last 7 conference games.
 


I agree with Hawke - I think we can get 3 more wins, but that is on the optimistic side of it. To do this, we'll have to get at least either two more road wins or two wins over ranked opponents, given that Michigan is our only remaining home game against an unranked opponent if I'm not mistaken. It's doable, but not sure if it will happen.

I'm not so concerned about the number of W's the rest of this year just as long as we continue to compete.
 
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I guess the way I look at it......we've played every Big Ten team tough at home, with the exception of NW and they happened to have one of those unreal shooting performances that sometimes happens.

We had Ohio State and Illinois on the ropes early in the year and let it slip away......we're now a better team than we were then. Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan aren't world beaters. NW on the road will be tough, but we owe them. Illinois and MSU on the road is too much to ask, even in a dreamworld. Purdue is senior day.

I know it's a million to one shot, but in the immortal words of Jim Carey...."So you're telling me there's a chance??"
 
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1977Hawkeye said:
I agree with Hawke - I think we can get 3 more wins, but that is on the optimistic side of it. To do this, we'll have to get at least one win over a ranked opponent and/or another road win. It's doable, but not sure if it will happen.

I'm not so concerned about the number of W's the rest of this year just as long as we continue to compete.
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It looks like the team is getting comfortable with Fran's style, which makes for a good product on the floor.
 


This is beyond dreaming you are in a medical induced coma.

With that said I would love to have to eat my own words.

In your prediction it would mean that the Hawks bet Wisconsin on my 35th birthday this wednesday. What more can a Hawk fan ask for?!?!
 


If this were to happen and the hawks do win5 more games and have a decent showing in the tournament, would that be enough to get them a spot in the NIT?
 


Honestly I like our chances with both Wisconsin and Minnesota this week. I think we at least split them. I feel better about Wisky. 1st meeting this year, They play OSU after us. Plus it is a home game, we are on a high right now playing good basketball, plus.. We have an extra day to prepare for them. I'm wondering what Wisconsin's high TO is on the year. I'm thinking we force them to give it up more.
 


If McCaffrey goes 5-2 or 4-3 in the next 7, he should get some votes for BT coach of the year, as this team has very litlte talent. If and I mean IF we can get any production from McCabe, May, Brommer, Archie and Marble, we might have a shot at winning a couple more games. If not, I think the level of guard play we face will be too much for Cartwright to handle with all the minutes he has logged. Our perimeter players need to man up and start knocking some shots down vs. deferring to Cartwright and Basabe. Wisconsin will smother us and we will be lucky to break 50 unless we get some help from the bench.
 


hawkIhoops said:
If McCaffrey goes 5-2 or 4-3 in the next 7, he should get some votes for BT coach of the year, as this team has very litlte talent. If and I mean IF we can get any production from McCabe, May, Brommer, Archie and Marble, we might have a shot at winning a couple more games. If not, I think the level of guard play we face will be too much for Cartwright to handle with all the minutes he has logged. Our perimeter players need to man up and start knocking some shots down vs. deferring to Cartwright and Basabe. Wisconsin will smother us and we will be lucky to break 50 unless we get some help from the bench.
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I'm not sure where the "this team has very little talent" statement comes from.

Right now, of the top 25 scorers in the league, 12 are underclassmen and we have 3 of them. No other team has more than 2 returning.

We also have the 4th leading rebounder in the league and the leading assist man in the league.

We also have 2 of the top 10 steals leaders in the league in addition to 2 of the top 10 free throw shooters in the league.

As a whole, we are leading the league in steals and are 4th in offensive rebounding.

All of what I mention above is coming back.

What has held us back this year are three things:

1) Getting acclimated to a new coach and staff that teaches things diametrically different than the previous staff. Fran even mentioned talking with Gatens about how the previous staff taught something as fundemental as closing out on shooters and having to re-teach those concepts because they were taught wrong.

2) Bulk inside. We are near the bottom in defensive rebounds and field goal % defense because of our lack of size in the middle (surprising, to me anyway, we are right in the middle of the pack in 3pt % defense).

3) Experienced depth. We come off the bench with Marble and McCabe, who are in their first years, and Brommer who may as well be in his first year.

Bottom line is that I believe it is flat out incorrect to label this team as having little talent. The stats back up the talent that's there, but there are some things that can't be fixed this year....namely it being the first year under Fran, our lack of frontcourt size and our lack of experienced depth. Those things can be easily corrected with time, teaching and a couple quality big men recruits.
 




doclee said:
"There is nothing more irritating that a good example."

...Mark Twain
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We definitely have more talent than people give us credit for and more than our record indicates.......we're getting better as the season goes on and we'll be a tough out in the BTT.
 


I get this feeling that when Fran gets this thing fully turned around that this team will have a lot of swagger to them. I see it in Cartwright, Basabe, and Marble especially. I think Fran likes kids that have that in them, and he also seems to have that himself. I'm not taking about overt cockiness, but rather a team that is confident in themselves, and their coach. I think that will be a good thing, and something that has been missing from the Hawkeyes BB teams for a LONG time.....
 


I don't know about these WINS predictions for the remaining season but everyone has to see there is progress happening and that is something we haven't seen in YEARS. That to me is a win for the program. Just keep going!
 




Iowafarmgirl said:
Wisconsin and Minnesota are both going to SHELL Iowa. Both games will be ugly.
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It could happen against Wisconsin. I dont think it will, but it is possible. No way Minnesota shells us at home. They are extremely thin in the backcourt and Hoffarber admitted that he is getting worn down. If we can control the boards and get out and run I really like our chances against the Gophers.
 


Iowafarmgirl said:
Wisconsin and Minnesota are both going to SHELL Iowa. Both games will be ugly.
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Iowafarmguy,

I challenge you to find a single post of yours that's even remotely positive as it relates to the Hawkeye basketball team.

By the way, I'll go on record here as challenging your assertion that they will get "shelled".
 


Rawkhawk73 said:
I'm not sure where the "this team has very little talent" statement comes from.

Right now, of the top 25 scorers in the league, 12 are underclassmen and we have 3 of them. No other team has more than 2 returning.

We also have the 4th leading rebounder in the league and the leading assist man in the league.

We also have 2 of the top 10 steals leaders in the league in addition to 2 of the top 10 free throw shooters in the league.

As a whole, we are leading the league in steals and are 4th in offensive rebounding.

All of what I mention above is coming back.

What has held us back this year are three things:

1) Getting acclimated to a new coach and staff that teaches things diametrically different than the previous staff. Fran even mentioned talking with Gatens about how the previous staff taught something as fundemental as closing out on shooters and having to re-teach those concepts because they were taught wrong.

2) Bulk inside. We are near the bottom in defensive rebounds and field goal % defense because of our lack of size in the middle (surprising, to me anyway, we are right in the middle of the pack in 3pt % defense).

3) Experienced depth. We come off the bench with Marble and McCabe, who are in their first years, and Brommer who may as well be in his first year.

Bottom line is that I believe it is flat out incorrect to label this team as having little talent. The stats back up the talent that's there, but there are some things that can't be fixed this year....namely it being the first year under Fran, our lack of frontcourt size and our lack of experienced depth. Those things can be easily corrected with time, teaching and a couple quality big men recruits.
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1) Who is going to score off the dribble for this team other than Cartwright?
2) Who has the athleticism to defend / score down low outside of Basabe?
3) Who can McCabe guard in the big ten?
4) Who can knock down enough jumpers to keep teams honest defensively outside of Gatens?

I get your time, experience, maturity take and agree to an extent, but we have 3 guys on this team that would not make another big ten roster. The fact that our two best players are also our two newest players, kind of shoots a hole in your premise that guys need to acclimate. Where would we be without Basabe and Cartwright?? More of these players, fewer projects.
 


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