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

College basketball was way different back then, today talents like BJ Armstrong & Roy Marble do not stay in college for 4 years. That 86/87 team was one of Iowa's best ever and they didn't even reach the Final Four, that's just how good the rest of college basketball was back then. I think that 86/87 team wins by double digits.
 
I can't even process this. Who am I supposed to cheer for in this game? It's a tough call. The 86-87 team had more talent. But this year's team could break the press for some easy baskets. And Davis' teams weren't known for defending the 3 point line...where this team lives.
 
dwghawk said:
Which 3 point line would they be using? A foot closer for Jok and Uthoff could be huge.
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I don't think it would be that huge at this point. Players don't practice 18-20' shots because they can step back a bit & attempt a 3. No need to take a 18-20 foot shot for the risk vs reward.
 
lightning1 said:
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.
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That's true, but I think the problem would be a lot of the 2nd/3rd chances the 86-87 team would get. They sent several players to the offensive glass - Marble, Horton/Wright, Gamble, Lohaus.. That's a lot of beef.

If Woody got into foul trouble and had to sit for a while, that would be bad against that team. We saw that against MD. Otherwise, Uthoff, maybe Wagner.. I like Wagner inside, but at this point I'm not sure he'd be ready to hang with the 86-87's front court for extended minutes.

I think each team presents some match up problems for the other in certain areas - Uthoff is a match up nightmare for most teams.
 
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I wasn't here during 1986-87. I wish I was able to watch those team back then. I think this team would actually beat Alfraud team several times over. Sorry Horner, Brunner Hansen, Thomas , SoundMaster and who am I forgetting? Anyway, I keep forgetting names... I think this team is pretty special. the chemical between players are just amazing.
Licklighter's team would lose to this team 30 times . Nobody could shoot three's as well as this team does. I have never have so much fun watching these guys play this year. Absolutely amazing.
 
This year's Iowa team would smoke any of Lick's teams, and would be able to handle most of Alford's teams majority of the time. A game with the 2005-06 team (Horner, Haluska, Brunner senior season) would be a good one. The 2000-01 team (before Recker's injury) was pretty solid.

Alf's teams had a knack for playing to the level of competition so I wouldn't necessarily expect an easy game, but his teams didn't seem to have much depth IIRC, and chemistry often seemed to be a problem.
 
Different era different game.

Time warp the 86 team to today and they get beat silly by the 3 point game - see 1987 ( I think cal riverside vs Iowa) and multiply it by 5.

Raise that team in today's environment and you have a blow out the other way. Imagine Roy Marble sr, Gamble, BJ coming up through AAU. Hell even our bench was full of McDonald's all Americans like Lorenzen and Moe.
 
Maryland's starting line up has a bunch of guys who could get drafted and this team could absolutely beat that team. Still pick the 86-87 team
 
IMO There have been 4 Iowa teams with a legitimate chance at the Final 4 since I started following the Hawks...the team that made it with Ronnie Lester, Davis' first team, the Recker/Evans team (until Recker got hurt) and this year's team. That's 4 teams in over 30 years.

I am hoping we can stay healthy and if/when we lose in the NCAA Tournament we're playing well and the other team is just better...not a matter of us playing like we did at Maryland. I like the young guys on the roster and I like the incoming recruiting classes. But years like this don't happen very often for Iowa...sweeping MSU, sweeping Purdue, being ranked in the top 10 multiple weeks in a row, being projected as a 1 seed with only a couple scary/difficult games remaining, the high RPI, etc.
 
WindsorHawk said:
IMO There have been 4 Iowa teams with a legitimate chance at the Final 4 since I started following the Hawks...the team that made it with Ronnie Lester, Davis' first team, the Recker/Evans team (until Recker got hurt) and this year's team. That's 4 teams in over 30 years.

I am hoping we can stay healthy and if/when we lose in the NCAA Tournament we're playing well and the other team is just better...not a matter of us playing like we did at Maryland. I like the young guys on the roster and I like the incoming recruiting classes. But years like this don't happen very often for Iowa...sweeping MSU, sweeping Purdue, being ranked in the top 10 multiple weeks in a row, being projected as a 1 seed with only a couple scary/difficult games remaining, the high RPI, etc.
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I've never experienced this before. I'm in dreamland.
 
WindsorHawk said:
IMO There have been 4 Iowa teams with a legitimate chance at the Final 4 since I started following the Hawks...the team that made it with Ronnie Lester, Davis' first team, the Recker/Evans team (until Recker got hurt) and this year's team. That's 4 teams in over 30 years.

I am hoping we can stay healthy and if/when we lose in the NCAA Tournament we're playing well and the other team is just better...not a matter of us playing like we did at Maryland. I like the young guys on the roster and I like the incoming recruiting classes. But years like this don't happen very often for Iowa...sweeping MSU, sweeping Purdue, being ranked in the top 10 multiple weeks in a row, being projected as a 1 seed with only a couple scary/difficult games remaining, the high RPI, etc.
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I also felt the 1992-93 team had a shot at reaching the Final Four - until they lost Chris Street. They were steamrolling most opponents, and beat the Fab 5 even after losing Street. Granted, Michigan walked into a buzzsaw in Carver that day, but still. That team was good.
 
Give me Ralph Miller's 6 pack team w/ John Johnson, Fred Brown,. Glen Vidnovic, Dick Jensen, Chad Calabria and Ben McGilmer. They were the best Iowa team I have seen.
 
lightning1 said:
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.
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I think Bill Jones guards JU and would succeed. He wouldn't shut JU down, but keep him in check. Remember, Jones was 6'-7" or 6'-8" himself and he was long and he guarded the off guard, in his day. He was a shutdown defender. His problems were on offense, until his SR season, if I recall.

No one...no one, on the 2015-16 team guards Roy Marble. Zero chance of that. Listen to Steve Bardo and some of the other old-timers that competed against Iowa at the time. Roy Marble was the man, with the possible exception of Nick Anderson.

I think 86-87 wins 9 out of 10 and you're 100% correct; they'd kill this team on the boards. Remember, Kent Hill was the 11th man off the bench and he averaged 4 rebounds and almost 4 points per game. The 86-87 team was so, so stacked, which is why it was such a shame they didn't win it all. I can, in good conscience, say they should have won it all.

http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/iowa/1987.html
 
The 3 point line is such a huge part of the game. Today's team would win at least 3 out of 10 by shooting good from 3.
 
I like gessell..but let's just start with that....bj Armstrong would dominate gessell. Bj could shoot, score, defend, dish, manage the flow...hit the big shot...this would be a tremendous mismatch. Lohaus vs woody....i mean....Lohaus would stretch woody out to 3 pt land so instead he would get probably get matched up against Horton on defense. Uthoff on Lohaus when he's in the game? Big ed was a better offensive player, brings as much or more toughness..push due to woodys defense/height advantage. Who gets matched up on uthoff? The lone bright spot for the current hawks... g. Wright probably draws that assignment. Advantage uthoff. Kevin Gamble vs clemmons? Marble vs jok? Jok may be athletic enough to speed marble..but jok is a flopper at times....god love him....but marble would take him to the paint often. Jok might get even on the outside....still the G.O.A.T.??? dominates this matchup. Gamble enough said. I honestly don't think it's much of a game. Could the 16 hawk beat the 86-87 hawks...sure....2 or 3 out of 10 is the way I see it. All depends on how hot the current hawks shoot.
 
1977Hawkeye said:
I also felt the 1992-93 team had a shot at reaching the Final Four - until they lost Chris Street. They were steamrolling most opponents, and beat the Fab 5 even after losing Street. Granted, Michigan walked into a buzzsaw in Carver that day, but still. That team was good.
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You're right. I try not to think about that season. Russ Millard became eligible 2nd semester and that team was already tough to beat without him.
 
proudhawkfan21 said:
I like gessell..but let's just start with that....bj Armstrong would dominate gessell. Bj could shoot, score, defend, dish, manage the flow...hit the big shot...this would be a tremendous mismatch. Lohaus vs woody....i mean....Lohaus would stretch woody out to 3 pt land so instead he would get probably get matched up against Horton on defense. Uthoff on Lohaus when he's in the game? Big ed was a better offensive player, brings as much or more toughness..push due to woodys defense/height advantage. Who gets matched up on uthoff? The lone bright spot for the current hawks... g. Wright probably draws that assignment. Advantage uthoff. Kevin Gamble vs clemmons? Marble vs jok? Jok may be athletic enough to speed marble..but jok is a flopper at times....god love him....but marble would take him to the paint often. Jok might get even on the outside....still the G.O.A.T.??? dominates this matchup. Gamble enough said. I honestly don't think it's much of a game. Could the 16 hawk beat the 86-87 hawks...sure....2 or 3 out of 10 is the way I see it. All depends on how hot the current hawks shoot.
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This year's team would play zone the entire game.
 
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