garbage

[lightning1]

I wouldn't call this team "garbage". It's average. That's it. Now, you could make an argument that McCaffrey's coaching is garbage. I'm sure that an "average" team is not what he was hired to put on the court, in season 5. I don't see this team making the NCAA tourney. Which makes it 1 NCAA first round loss as McCaffrey's only appearance in the Tourney. That's unacceptable to me.
Of course, what I find Unacceptable, Gary Barta finds outstanding! There in lies our problem.

 

[Bigtenchamp]

You think I'm just talking about this season... So you can downvote all you want and say I'm overreacting.

I sure hope I am but I'm not JUST talking about this year.

What I've seen is exactly what I saw the end of the last year... almost exactly the same.

We will see what happens but I have seen no change in the pattern from the end of last year yet.

 

[Armstrong10]

Talk about over reaction, good grief.

This team just played two top 25 teams and we hung in there with both teams. Are we going to win the NCAAs this year? Hell no but this type of bs from the fan base is exactly the reason why Mr. Davis Davis no longer was the coach at Iowa.

I'm not really sure what some of you expect. Iowa is NOT a national powerhouse in any sport other than wrasslin' nor will they ever be. It's flippin cold in Iowa during the winter and the summers aren't spent walking along white sand beaches. The women are rather rotund and quite frankly there is nothing to do outside of a 4 hour drive to Chicago or getting drunk to new heights at the downtown bars.

We are not in the middle of a recruiting hot bed outside of the occasional 4 star (and every decade or so a 5 star) player.

My point: Be happy with a team that is going to make the NCAAs 70% of the time, make the Sweet 16 a few times each decade and the Elite 8 on rare occasion. We have not been relevant, truly relevant, since the 1998-99 season. Fran has rebuilt this program from a pile of dog **** and deserves fan support regardless of a few lumps here and there. We don't have the boosters that other programs have, we don't have the history than some programs have, and we don't have the geographic recruiting base that some programs have. Just be happy.

I would take 70% of the time in a heartbeat. But making the play in game and the tourney for the first time in forever does not equate to 70%.

 

[Tierney]

I would take 70% of the time in a heartbeat. But making the play in game and the tourney for the first time in forever does not equate to 70%.

Woodbury, White, and Uthoff are great players, but the guards have been pretty disappointing. Iowa will win there share of games this year, unless Woodbury or White get hurt.

 

[Knight78]

With close games it comes down to coaching and execution, and the execution is based on the coaching.
Fran is consistently out coached in close games.

i think it's because of the radical style change in tempo- first 38 minutes up tempo pushing ball, last two minutes- slow down. The kids don't seem to adjust to the change very well.


ive seen Simeon HS , work on the half court slow down game in early stages of mismatches to be ready for that situation at the end of games, maybe Hawks could occasionally slow it down and work on the half court patient game.

Did you even see the two losses? We were pretty much a half court team with a few fast breaks. Not as slow as the Lick years but definitely nothing like last year.

 

[Knight78]

Same with Jok at 2. I don't care what his defense is, this team needs someone to fill up the basket. His defense will come around; we won't know about his offense with his butt on the bench watching guys that can't shoot consistently under the bright lights of a game. Jok needs 25 mins a game the next few games in non-con.

If Jok gets 25 minutes a game, he may score 30 but he'll give up 40. His defense is pathetic. Out of position a LOT, bad footwork, doesn't understand how to to fight through a screen, doesn't talk when his man is setting a screen.... I could go on. The guy can fill it up, but most high school JV players play better defense. He really needs to work on his defense before I'd feel comfortable with 25 minutes a game for him.

 

[HomerChampless]

If Jok gets 25 minutes a game, he may score 30 but he'll give up 40. His defense is pathetic. Out of position a LOT, bad footwork, doesn't understand how to to fight through a screen, doesn't talk when his man is setting a screen.... I could go on. The guy can fill it up, but most high school JV players play better defense. He really needs to work on his defense before I'd feel comfortable with 25 minutes a game for him.

Like you I can also play the hyperbole game. So, which Iowa player(s) displayed an ability to play defense? You could even go back to last season if you cared. Gabe maybe?

Putting up a good defense seems to be a team problem for Iowa. IMO, Iowa's identity is to score lots of points in hopes it's enough to win.

 

[atomicblue224]

If Jok gets 25 minutes a game, he may score 30 but he'll give up 40. His defense is pathetic. Out of position a LOT, bad footwork, doesn't understand how to to fight through a screen, doesn't talk when his man is setting a screen.... I could go on. The guy can fill it up, but most high school JV players play better defense. He really needs to work on his defense before I'd feel comfortable with 25 minutes a game for him.

Didnt he hurt his foot? or his leg?

 

[Knight78]

Like you I can also play the hyperbole game. So, which Iowa player(s) displayed an ability to play defense? You could even go back to last season if you cared. Gabe maybe?

Putting up a good defense seems to be a team problem for Iowa. IMO, Iowa's identity is to score lots of points in hopes it's enough to win.

In another thread here I gave my assessment. While Gabe is a great athlete, he is just that: an athlete who plays basketball and not an athletic basketball player. He is constantly out of position on defense; that is because he's looking to block shots instead of playing actually defense. Do NOT equate the two! Trying to block a shot is a last resort on defense; if you are in the proper position and use the proper footwork your opponent doesn't get the ball where he wants and doesn't score easily on you anyway.

Anyway, I've already stated that the team plays better defense when Woody is in the game. Woody is rarely out of position and is always talking to his teammates.

And FWIW, Jok is completely lost when on the defensive end. He might as well not be out there as he even gets in his teammates' way, helping out the opponent. Again, he can learn to play defense but from what he has demonstrated he doesn't have the heart to play defense.