First Basketball Magazine

[longtimer]

just picked up Athlon for the upcoming year. FWIW Duke #1 (Awesome Freshmen class) 4 Big Ten teams in top 20 Wisconsin,Mich State,Indiana and Purdue @10,11,12 and 14.
Iowa picked to finish 9th. Sounds about right? Iowa recruiting class ranked 9th in Big Ten with Cook 99th ranked. Pretty much look for Iowa to regress which isnt a surprise with 4 starters gone.

 

[Tierney]

just picked up Athlon for the upcoming year. FWIW Duke #1 (Awesome Freshmen class) 4 Big Ten teams in top 20 Wisconsin,Mich State,Indiana and Purdue @10,11,12 and 14.
Iowa picked to finish 9th. Sounds about right? Iowa recruiting class ranked 9th in Big Ten with Cook 99th ranked. Pretty much look for Iowa to regress which isnt a surprise with 4 starters gone.

I think Iowa will be pretty good next year. They lose a lot of experience, but they aren't totally devoid in that area. Uhl has been around, and Wagner and the point guard are sophomores. Jok is a senior. I think Iowa has enough experience around the new guys. Uthoff was thought highly of, but Woodbury, Clemmons, and Gesell never got much acclaim for their basketball prowess. They were good players though. Its doubtfull the writer for Athlon thought much about the conference after deciding who will finish in the top three places which they are usually wrong about.

 

[BGOLD]

Iowa will finish higher than 9th. I think it will be an exciting, athletic, multi dimensional team. A lot of uncertainty, but I'm much more excited about seeing the new guys then if we had last years team returning.

 

[RADMAN]

The Hawks will surprise and if Jok breaks out they will be better than the last 3 years. Lots of length and good talent. Should end up being a top 20.

 

[NikeHawk21]

I'd be disappointed if we finished 9th, but I'm not surprised we were picked there with all we lost.

As Tierney mentioned we still do have some guys with experience coming back. Jok has played in 5 NCAA tourney games, Uhl has played in 4, Williams, Wagner and Baer have all played in two. We aren't that inexperienced IMO.

The keys will be:
1. PG play
2. Cook (is he as good as we think)
3. 3 pt shooting
4. And as always, and probably most importantly, DEFENSE!

 

[rschneider]

I am kind of excited as well to see this new group that will bee starting. Seems like we have watched Woobury, Gesell and Clemmons play for quite a while. Gonna look like a whole new team.

 

[Tierney]

I am kind of excited as well to see this new group that will bee starting. Seems like we have watched Woobury, Gesell and Clemmons play for quite a while. Gonna look like a whole new team.

People don't realize that the other conference teams are going to have to prepare for Iowa in a totally different way. This team is going to be a lot different without Uthoff, Clemmons, Woodbury, and Gesell. Hopefully, some of the new guys will disappoint some of the other conference coaches. Iowa is going to look and play a lot different than they have in the past under McCaffery, and they have some talented guys coming in.

 

[Hawk5656]

People don't realize that the other conference teams are going to have to prepare for Iowa in a totally different way. This team is going to be a lot different without Uthoff, Clemmons, Woodbury, and Gesell. Hopefully, some of the new guys will disappoint some of the other conference coaches. Iowa is going to look and play a lot different than they have in the past under McCaffery, and they have some talented guys coming in.

I'm not worried about other coaches preparing for us I'm more worried about how we prepare to stop other teams considering we lost our four best defenders

 

[NBAFAN123]

The Hawks will surprise and if Jok breaks out they will be better than the last 3 years. Lots of length and good talent. Should end up being a top 20.

I really hope you are kidding.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

I hope I’m wrong because what I think and what I hope for are usually always different with Iowa hoops. I think they’ll struggle scoring. Teams will focus on Jok and he’s not a good enough ball handler to create for himself all that well. (hopefully he’s improved at that and I’m wrong)

The PG spot will be huge I sure hope Williams can be a threat shooting the ball unlike MG was most of his tenure. Then there’s Bohanan and how much will he figure in?

Cook looks like the real deal but he’ll be a frosh so he could be a 8 pt and 4 rb guy or as good as 15/10. (I don’t think he’ll avg a double double I just think the potential is there and Iowa will be a team to be wrecking with if he is and I’m wrong)

Does anyone really know which Dom Uhl will be playing most of the year? He showed flashes here and there and then at times struggled. His length and skills has what he’s capable of being pretty high. But I’m not going to predict a huge year till he shows more.

Wagner I think will struggle down low at times against some of the bigger bangers. He’ll get the tough assignments at the defensive end and how much he’ll be asked to contribute at the offensive end is up in the air. He better avg over 6 rbs a game or more and make hustle plays. How much that adds up to is anyones guess game to game. I think he’ll be a good player down the road and playing with/practicing against Cook will only help him.

Now Baer is an X factor. Some think he may crack the starting lineup and some don’t. I’m not sure how the coaches will use him. Safe to say he’ll play a ton though. I loved what he brought off the bench last yr and it seems like a role that team needed. This year with a mostly new cast of key players it’s anyones guess on if he’ll be better suited to be starting or remain off the bench.

I think this team is going to be athletic and how well they defend/rebound and then transition to O and get quick open looks is going to show how well they sink or swim. I think the half court O will be their bugaboo much like last yr and can they stop anyone else from scoring?... I have a tough time predicting a place in the league cause I’m not up on the other teams so much yet. I know Iowa’s not the only one going through a bit of an overhaul. I don’t think Iowa will be in top 5 I’ll say that much. I think their ceiling may be around 6-8 maybe… Heck if I know but I can’t wait to see what this group can do.

 

[NikeHawk21]

I hope I’m wrong because what I think and what I hope for are usually always different with Iowa hoops. I think they’ll struggle scoring. Teams will focus on Jok and he’s not a good enough ball handler to create for himself all that well. (hopefully he’s improved at that and I’m wrong)

The PG spot will be huge I sure hope Williams can be a threat shooting the ball unlike MG was most of his tenure. Then there’s Bohanan and how much will he figure in?

Cook looks like the real deal but he’ll be a frosh so he could be a 8 pt and 4 rb guy or as good as 15/10. (I don’t think he’ll avg a double double I just think the potential is there and Iowa will be a team to be wrecking with if he is and I’m wrong)

Does anyone really know which Dom Uhl will be playing most of the year? He showed flashes here and there and then at times struggled. His length and skills has what he’s capable of being pretty high. But I’m not going to predict a huge year till he shows more.

Wagner I think will struggle down low at times against some of the bigger bangers. He’ll get the tough assignments at the defensive end and how much he’ll be asked to contribute at the offensive end is up in the air. He better avg over 6 rbs a game or more and make hustle plays. How much that adds up to is anyones guess game to game. I think he’ll be a good player down the road and playing with/practicing against Cook will only help him.

Now Baer is an X factor. Some think he may crack the starting lineup and some don’t. I’m not sure how the coaches will use him. Safe to say he’ll play a ton though. I loved what he brought off the bench last yr and it seems like a role that team needed. This year with a mostly new cast of key players it’s anyones guess on if he’ll be better suited to be starting or remain off the bench.

I think this team is going to be athletic and how well they defend/rebound and then transition to O and get quick open looks is going to show how well they sink or swim. I think the half court O will be their bugaboo much like last yr and can they stop anyone else from scoring?... I have a tough time predicting a place in the league cause I’m not up on the other teams so much yet. I know Iowa’s not the only one going through a bit of an overhaul. I don’t think Iowa will be in top 5 I’ll say that much. I think their ceiling may be around 6-8 maybe… Heck if I know but I can’t wait to see what this group can do.

I don't think scoring will be an issue. Remember last year we had two guys on the floor most of the game that didn't seem to having any interest in shooting or scoring the ball.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

I don't think scoring will be an issue. Remember last year we had two guys on the floor most of the game that didn't seem to having any interest in shooting or scoring the ball.

I should have wrote struggle more than last year. This year they won't have a Uthoff to lean on. And say what you want about MG/Clemons play they did a good job of running the offense and getting JO and Jok good looks. Can this years team do the same? I just have my reservations.

 

[Hawk5656]

I don't think scoring will be an issue. Remember last year we had two guys on the floor most of the game that didn't seem to having any interest in shooting or scoring the ball.

I'm way more concerned about our defense than our scoring

 

[NikeHawk21]

I should have wrote struggle more than last year. This year they won't have a Uthoff to lean on. And say what you want about MG/Clemons play they did a good job of running the offense and getting JO and Jok good looks. Can this years team do the same? I just have my reservations.

I was talking about Woody and MG. Yes, MG did a good job getting those guys the ball but hopefully having 5 guys who can score it on the floor will be tougher to defend.

 

[Tierney]

I should have wrote struggle more than last year. This year they won't have a Uthoff to lean on. And say what you want about MG/Clemons play they did a good job of running the offense and getting JO and Jok good looks. Can this years team do the same? I just have my reservations.

I don't think this years team will have to be dependent mainly on two scorers. Iowa is going to have a lot of guys that can score. McCaffery will have them passing the ball around until someone gets open. They should be able to break down a defense with their length and athletic ability. From what I've seen, the players coming in don't look to be overly shy about their offensive capabilities. I think it will take a good coach to bring it out, and I think the Iowa coaching staff is pretty good.

 

[Hawk5656]

I don't think this years team will have to be dependent mainly on two scorers. Iowa is going to have a lot of guys tha can score. McCaffery will have them passing the ball around until someone gets open. They should be able to break down a defense with their length and athletic ability. It looks like Iowa will have lots of scorers.

It'll be interesting to see how the scoring breaks down. I think Jok, Cook and Baer will be the three leading scorers on the team

 

[NikeHawk21]

Clearly Jok will be the top guy. If Cook can separate himself as the number 2 option and average 10 or more a night we will be in good shape. I think any one of Uhl, Baer, Moss, and Williams could potentially be the third leading scorer. Definitely excited to watch it unfold.

 

[1hawkeye1]

I really looking forward to IABB. It's gonna be a fresh start with a lotta new guys coming in. Gonna be fun.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

Clearly Jok will be the top guy. If Cook can separate himself as the number 2 option and average 10 or more a night we will be in good shape. I think any one of Uhl, Baer, Moss, and Williams could potentially be the third leading scorer. Definitely excited to watch it unfold.

I agree that more than likely those will be who put it in the hoop the most. I just think Jok will be a marked man and will have his share of off games because of it. Can Cook shoulder a large scoring load? Maybe, I'd be awesome if he can. Uhl I'm not so sure about. He was so up and down in his play that I find it hard to guess at how he'll do as a starter playing big mins. Moss is a huge question mark. Williams too. He'll have the ball in his hands the most. What he has going for him is his size obviously and we'll see if he can use that to his benefit. (Poor mans Penny Hardaway type of game maybe??) Will he be a scorer or more of a facilitator? We'll just have to wait and see. Don't get me wrong I think their potential as a team is high. I'm just not sure how fast they all can get there individually and as a team.

 

[NikeHawk21]

I agree that more than likely those will be who put it in the hoop the most. I just think Jok will be a marked man and will have his share of off games because of it. Can Cook shoulder a large scoring load? Maybe, I'd be awesome if he can. Uhl I'm not so sure about. He was so up and down in his play that I find it hard to guess at how he'll do as a starter playing big mins. Moss is a huge question mark. Williams too. He'll have the ball in his hands the most. What he has going for him is his size obviously and we'll see if he can use that to his benefit. (Poor mans Penny Hardaway type of game maybe??) Will he be a scorer or more of a facilitator? We'll just have to wait and see. Don't get me wrong I think their potential as a team is high. I'm just not sure how fast they all can get there individually and as a team.

I get what you're saying, predicting this team is pretty much all speculation at this point, that's why it is so interesting. As for Uhl he averaged 6 pts last year in roughly 17 minutes of play time, while taking a back seat to JU, Jok, and Clemmons. I don't think it's too unreasonable to think with more minutes he will be in that 8-10 PPG range. Everyone says Uhl was so up and down last year but raves about Baer, he had his struggles too, producung off the bench on a consistent basis is very tough to do IMO.