Fix it

[Cableman]

You're the coach, the Iowa roster is what you have to work with. How or what would you do to save the season? Play Dailey more as a back up to the point until Conner gets going, thus moving Brady back to the back up 2. Try JBO at the 2 a little more. Stay the course and hope that Baer is the glue and has knock the rust off and can help jump start the rest of the season?

 

[#1DieHardHawk]

Save the season or save my job?

I'd hire Kirk's agent and negotiate a new extension with a 90% buyout and bonus structure starting at one win.

 

[HawkGold]

Still think some of the players dont mux w Fran well. Since the bench is deep I would attack on D more.

I would have Pem,Uhl and Wagner in moore and have them attack the rim. Cook playing weak side. I would pair Nunge and JBo more.

JBo needs to handle the ball less and stress movement for shots.

With a long bench we need more scrum. That works well for Baer and Pem.

Anyway u paint it....no pt guard.

 

[#1DieHardHawk]

Okay, all sarcasm aside, there's not a lot you can do with simple line-up juggling.

I firmly believe that the biggest problem with this team centers around poor focus/determination and lack of on-court leadership. Think about it. How often do you see mini huddles in dead ball situations? How often do you see players clapping and shouting out words of encouragement to their teammates when things aren't going well? Bohannon stands there and chews on his mouthpiece, and the rest drop their heads and pace around.

How do you fix that? You can't force players to become leaders, and teaching determination and mental toughness is doable, but takes time. A large portion of the solution starts with recruiting. You can look for skill sets, and that's important, but you also have to look for toughness, determination and leadership, and I'm not sure this staff truly prioritizes those traits.

 

[hawkeye12345]

I would tank the season in hopes of getting a better draft pick.

 

[NikeHawk21]

Play the top 6/7 the majority of the minutes. Problem is right now Moss isn’t earning the minutes at the 2 and neither him or Ellingson has any consistency. Here’s what I’d do though

JBo 30 / CMac 10
Moss 20 / Dailey 20
Dailey 10 / Baer 30
Nunge 30 / Pemsl 10
Cook 30 / Pemsl 10

That’s really a 6 man roatation that includes Connor for spot minutes to give JBo a breather at the one. Now keeping Cook out of foul trouble would be the big concern so we would still have to play a lot of zone. If any of the bigs got in foul trouble I would turn to Garza (size) or Wagner (defense), depending on the particular matchup.

On offense when Dailey is in there I would let him bring the ball up the court some and let JBo run through screens to get open shots. Our primary offense is still letting Cook operate in the post with 4 shooters around him, same with Pemsl when he is in there.

The main thing would be stressing defense, no turnovers, and playing hard. So if those things aren’t being shown by somebody out there you yank him and go to the next guy. These guys won’t learn the importance of these things until it is actually stressed by a coach imo.

I’d do all that for a measly fee of $200K....

 

[WinOneThisCentury]

Turnovers. Period. You have to protect the basketball and treat every possession like it's the last two minutes of the game. Iowa doesn't do that. Bohannon is convinced he can make a bounce pass to Cook through three people as I've seen him try it 15 times in the last 5 games. Cook can jump out of the freaking gym...how about throwing it to the rim...instead of through traffic?

When this team actually shows patience on offense, and moves the ball, even late in the clock, they typically get something down low or a decent shot. The problem is, everybody has been told by their coach they are a three point shooter and have the green light at all times. Guess what...when the other team is making a run...an open three by a guy shooting 25% from three isn't a good shot. Fran obviously hasn't told his team that. You have to get something going to the basket and score or get fouled.

I would absolutely love to see Fran ask his team to get the ball down low within the first 20 seconds of the clock...if they don't, anything goes. This team needs to work inside out.

 

[PCHawk]

Still think some of the players dont mux w Fran well. Since the bench is deep I would attack on D more.

I would have Pem,Uhl and Wagner in moore and have them attack the rim. Cook playing weak side. I would pair Nunge and JBo more.

JBo needs to handle the ball less and stress movement for shots.

With a long bench we need more scrum. That works well for Baer and Pem.

Anyway u paint it....no pt guard.

I don't think we should attack more on defense. When we attack on defense, we give up wide open layups.

 

[NEIChawk]

No point guard, not a lot of good ball handlers. We need more movement, more motion...sooner or later a defender tires and WE might get an easy lay up.....I always have a little change of heart when the ball tips, but my world comes crashing down when we are stagnant, poor defense, poor rebounding, turnovers, etc....

 

[lightning1]

This roster isn't built to do anything well. We have size but few traditional post players - back to the basket types. Swing the ball with passing, as little dribbling as possible and crash the boards relentlessly.

 

[DDThompson]

I don't think we should attack more on defense. When we attack on defense, we give up wide open layups.

Agree. This team is having a hard enough time on basics and help defense.

 

[HawkGold]

I don't think we should attack more on defense. When we attack on defense, we give up wide open layups.

When we dont attack we give open 3s. Most p5 tesms have a few guys who are automatic. Since we are lacking at pt guard a bennie is having more than our share of 6-7 plus guys who know how toul foul in the lane. 5 fouls....next....

 

[NikeHawk21]

This roster isn't built to do anything well. We have size but few traditional post players - back to the basket types. Swing the ball with passing, as little dribbling as possible and crash the boards relentlessly.

I disagree. I think Cook and Pemsl are probably two of the best post players we’ve had since Fran has been here. I also think this team can be a solid 3pt shooting team.

What Fran has to figure out is how to limit turnovers and how to play better defense. I think moving Nunge to the the 4 and getting more minutes for Dailey and Baer will help. He also needs to make this a point of importance. I.e if you throw a turnover you come out, or if you blow a defensive assignment you come out. That’s the only way these players are going to get the message.

 

[ibahawkeye]

I think Frans lineup against Iowa State is closer than it was but unless Moss can become more consistent, I don’t know if we have an answer on the roster.

Dailey and Nunge seem to be some bright spots recently. I’d keep getting them more minutes.

I think Wagner’s reduced role is a good sign as he can’t add much offensively. Garza is another that needs his minutes reduced.

 

[lightning1]

I disagree. I think Cook and Pemsl are probably two of the best post players we’ve had since Fran has been here. I also think this team can be a solid 3pt shooting team.

What Fran has to figure out is how to limit turnovers and how to play better defense. I think moving Nunge to the the 4 and getting more minutes for Dailey and Baer will help. He also needs to make this a point of importance. I.e if you throw a turnover you come out, or if you blow a defensive assignment you come out. That’s the only way these players are going to get the message.

They might be 2 of the best but Pemsl isn't tall enough, nor athletic enough to be a 1st or 2nd option, back to the basket, post player. Cook could fit that bill but he doesn't have much variation in his post game. If he can't bull into the lane and dunk it.....his offensive game is limited.
If you put Pemsl's post game in Cook's body, you might have something there.

 

[NikeHawk21]

They might be 2 of the best but Pemsl isn't tall enough, nor athletic enough to be a 1st or 2nd option, back to the basket, post player. Cook could fit that bill but he doesn't have much variation in his post game. If he can't bull into the lane and dunk it.....his offensive game is limited.
If you put Pemsl's post game in Cook's body, you might have something there.

Not a lot is going right for the hawks right now but I think you are being a little over-critical in this case.

Pemsl averaged nearly 9 points a game last year in less than 20 minutes, while shooting almost everything around the basket (61% FG).

I agree Cook needs some seasoning on his post moves and overall feel, but either way he is a mismatch when he catches the ball on the block, that’s why almost every team is sending a double team at him when he gets it.

I you’re looking to be things to be critical about on this team I’d probably start with turnovers, defense, spacing, effort, and free throw shooting.

 

[lightning1]

Not a lot is going right for the hawks right now but I think you are being a little over-critical in this case.

Pemsl averaged nearly 9 points a game last year in less than 20 minutes, while shooting almost everything around the basket (61% FG).

I agree Cook needs some seasoning on his post moves and overall feel, but either way he is a mismatch when he catches the ball on the block, that’s why almost every team is sending a double team at him when he gets it.

I you’re looking to be things to be critical about on this team I’d probably start with turnovers, defense, spacing, effort, and free throw shooting.

I like Pemsl but he'd be limited in the offense I was describing. Once defenses started to double down when he got the ball in the post. He's not all that tall for a post player, he can't jump and his arms aren't very long. He gets the most out of his game. IMO.