Fantasy Matchup: This Year's Hawks Vs. 1986-87 Team

1977Hawkeye

1977Hawkeye

Well-Known Member
Since Iowa is having such a great season, comparable to the 1986-87 team, it got me to thinking about how this year's Iowa team would do in a fantasy matchup against that particular Iowa team. I'm assuming the 86-87 team was as it was then - Armstrong, Marble, Horton as sophomores, not Seniors.

The starting lineups:

1986-87:
Armstrong
Marble
Gamble
Horton/Wright (they both started at times, so take your pick)
Lohaus

2015-16:
Gesell
Clemmons
Jok
Uthoff
Woodbury

I've watched some of the games on YouTube of the 1986-87 Iowa team, and from what I saw, they didn't shoot a lot of threes although they had some guys that could make them. Most of their offense came in the paint, the FT line, and in transition. They led the country in rebound margin, but were also prone to turnovers.

This year's Iowa team, I believe, has better shooters overall, and the 1986-87 team often liked jam the paint with a zone D, so they would often leave outside shooters open, which could be a bad idea against this year's team.

I wonder how well this year's team would handle the 86-87 team's full court press. Get past the front line, and there are opportunities to beat them on the back end.

I believe the 86-87 team had more raw talent from top to bottom, with at least as much depth, and even more experience coming off the bench. That team was just flat out loaded.

It's an interesting matchup though IMO, with a contrast in style. I believe it would hinge mostly on how well this year's team shoots from outside, and the tempo of the game - if they got hot from downtown, they could win. Otherwise, the 86-87 team's inside game may be too much to overcome. Not sure this year's team could keep up in a 94 foot game - the 86-87 team was at its best in transition. If it became more of a half-court game, IMO that would be better for this year's team.

It's fun to think about, anyway.
 
I cut my teeth on that 86-87 Team with Iowa Basketball and I have no hesitation saying that the 86-87 team would have the advantage and it would be because of the guard play. I think most other positions would be good match ups but Marble and Armstrong I think would have their way with Gessel and Clemmons. Also, if the transition game became a factor I do not think Woody would be able to sustain through the game,

It is my opinion as well it is hard to compare to what we see on screen because I firmly believe the college basketball product in the 80 and 90s was far superior than what we have now. The competition that 86-87 team played is all around much better than what the current hawks are playing. Not taking anything away from their success and I hope they make a nice run but that is what I see.
 
Who guards Marble?
Who guards Uthoff?
Those are the problems in this match up. Both teams are deep. Both teams can play full court press. This year's team would get killed on the boards against the 86 team. The 86 team would have to try and defend this year's 3 pt shooting ability. That would be a good game.
 
I agree that this year's team would have a lot of trouble with Armstrong & Marble, and may also have trouble handling the 86-87 team down low. So, I too think that the 86-87 team takes it, but if they kept the tempo in check, and shot the 3 well, it would be a good game.

If they tried to run with that 86-87 team, though, I honestly think it could get ugly, so they'd have to slow it down and run their stuff to get good shots.

Also a good point was made about the quality of the game in the 80's - teams just played at a higher level back then IMO, so the 86-87 team was more seasoned against that, but I was taking that out of the equation.
 
That '86-'87 team was fun to watch and still stick in my mind as an all time best. They are so different from this team so it's hard to measure since the game has changed so much with the 3 pt ball. The 3pt shot at that time was still in its infancy, so you didn't have all the sharp shooters you have now.

You didn't have 6'8" guys mastering the 3 ball. Those shots were left to the true 2-3 guards, if the team had them. Now, all kids growing up shoot the 3. This has changed the way the game is played and is now played from the perimeter in, instead of the post out, if you will. Teams don't post up players like they did back then with Ewing, Barkley, Robinson, etc. and dump it in. Completely different.

That team ran a full-blown full court hard press which was fun as hell & gave team fits. The key would be how this Iowa team would handle that pressure, especially the young guys. It was nasty. They also went 10 deep and would run teams out of the gym. Davis literally had a line change at times. The key for the 86-87' team would be if they could cover all the perimeter 3 point shooters. It would be fun to watch the styles collide.

I'd have to give the edge to the '86-'87 team. A true legit Final Four team. Not saying this years team isn't. Time will tell.
 
^^ There's a YouTube video with a couple clips from the Iowa/UTEP game from the 1987 Tournament, and one of the announcers compared Iowa to the chinese red army.. "They just keep throwing troops at you and beat you with numbers" or something to that effect, and that UTEP prepped for the press by using 6 guys on defense.
 
This team doesn't really have the comparable talent I don't think. I was born in 86-87 so i never watched but this era of college hoops doesn't really compare to the days when 1 and done was rarely a thing if at all. This team is awesome in comparison to other teams this season and that's all that really matters to me.
 
Ed Horton would take Woody's lunch money and make him name his 1st born after him. Then, Lohaus would have Woody spinning in circles. Finally, if Woody was able to gather himself, he could jump as high as he could + 6" and he might touch Sir Jamalot's elbow as he posterized him on a vicious dunk.

This is not a knock on Woody. He's fine. It's just how much better Horton / Lohaus / Wright were.
 
I would luv to see that '86-'87 team match up with the teams of today with a run at today's NCAA tournament. It would be an interesting clash of styles.
 
This years squad would have to shoot well above average I believe.

Interesting matchup.

How cool is it we are able to compare this year's team to an all time great team. It's pretty effin cool.
 
If time travel is ever a thing i want all time sports leagues. Id watch stupid amounts of all time NBA matchups
 
Uhtoff would be the biggest obstacle for that team to defend. But on the flip side, people don't realize how good Gamble, Marble, and Armstrong were unless you had the privilege to watch them play. And Horton, Lohaus, and Wright were bodies none of the guys from this team have seen this year unless you count Hammons from Purdue. Not saying it would be a blowout but I would expect 86-87 team to win 8 out of 10 times they play.

But I'm an old man and really loved being around to watch them play:) To me a more interesting match up would be Bobby Hansen's freshman year final four team with Ronnie, Waite, Krafcisin, Vinnie Brookings, Boyle, Gannon, and Kenny Arnold. I think those two teams would match up pretty well and would be a heII of a game to watch!!! And that was a great team to watch play as well. So spoiled to get to watch that Hawkeye team playing in the old Field House against guys like Kevin McHale, Isaiah Thomas, Joe Berry Carroll. That was some awesome basketball!

But I love this team!!! Uhtoff is just so much fun to watch. He does things we haven't seen a person his size do. He still has a great chance to win the Wooden Award in my opinion!!! Just an incredible year to be a Hawkeye fan:)
 
At first glance this fantasy game would be a joke. Outside of Uthoff and Jok, I don't think any player from the current team would even crack the rotation on the 1986-1987 team.

But then you have to remember that TD did not really coach a lot of half court defense and particularly against the 3 point shot. Utoff and Jok might go for 40 apiece agains that D.
 
HawkPrdatr40 said:
86-87 would win this game. Point Guard and Low Post would be the difference in the outcome..
Click to expand...

The '86-87 team may have been the best team in the country that year. Mr. Davis doesn't call for the four corners in the second half we probably don't blow the big lead and win that game vs. UNLV.

This year's team is good but not as good as that team.

'86/87 91
'15/16 84
 
I'm not sure the post would be as much of a mismatch as people are saying. Woody can hold his own defensively and Uthoff would be Horton/Wright's worst nightmare on the perimeter. And Uthoff blocks a lot of shots. And we can throw a lot of bodies at them Uhl/Wagner/Baer.
I think Gesell would struggle against the 86 back court.
I'd give the edge to the 86 team but Mr. Davis let a lot of teams back into games that had no business being there. He'd take his foot off the gas in the 2nd half when he had a lead. This year's team can make him pay for that with their 3 pt shooting.
 
^Woody runs the floor pretty well for a big man, but would he be able to do that the entire game against a team like that & be effective? That is one question. It comes down to how the current team would handle the press & frantic pace.

That '86-'87 team would turn a team over 5 times in a row at times, it seems. They were fun to watch.
 
Here's another way to compare:
The 86-87 had 3 guys with long NBA careers (Armstrong, Lohaus and Gamble), another who should have had a long career (Marble) and a bunch of other guys who got a sniff in the NBA or played for a while overseas.

I cannot see the current team duplicating that.
 
86-87 team for the simple fact that league/competition was light-years better than this year's B1G league.
 
86-87 had far superior talent than the current squad. I don't think it would be a matchup as rebounding would be dominated by Lohaus, Horton, Kent Hill, and Les Jepsen.
 
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