Gatens needs McCabes Confidence
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deanvogs
Well-Known Member
I kind of thought the same thing, which isn't uncommon for Freshman. I really like the way he attacks the rim though. Once he become better at finishing, he will be much tougher to guard.
DuffMan
Well-Known Member
McCabe is also 2-3 inches taller than Matt, which might explain why he drives it better. The timing on this is also odd considering Matt is comming off a stretch in which he's played very efficiently and appears to be much more confident than he was earlier when fighting the injury.
DodgerHawki
Well-Known Member
Not exactly sure what you mean...
Gatens has been playing at a high level since the Iowa State game. I wish he would get to the line more, but he's pretty much being defended by a better athlete than himself every game in the Big 10. He's shooting the ball very well right now. He'll have some more opportunities against some of the teams in the Big 10 to get to the rim, but against teams like Illinois and Ohio State he's going to get his shots from outside, which he did (and made a good percentage of them.)
Gatens has been playing at a high level since the Iowa State game. I wish he would get to the line more, but he's pretty much being defended by a better athlete than himself every game in the Big 10. He's shooting the ball very well right now. He'll have some more opportunities against some of the teams in the Big 10 to get to the rim, but against teams like Illinois and Ohio State he's going to get his shots from outside, which he did (and made a good percentage of them.)
To me . . . it looks like McCabe will take any shot. I am OK with this. Also, I agree that Gatens is playing great ball right now. What I would like to see is the fearlessness that McCabe has to take any shot. I still think Gatens is a little hesitant. The stretch in the second half where Iowa couldn't get a basket is where Gatens has to be the one to lead the team.
LG210
Well-Known Member
I think we need to start running the offense to get Gatens more three-point attempts at the top of the key while there is more than 3:00 remaining in the game.
This is our go-to play with under 3:00 remaining and has resulted in a lot of points and closed the deficit in a few games. Perhaps if we ran the offense for this shot earlier in the game, the deficit would not be as large and we would have a better chance of overcoming said deficit.
This is our go-to play with under 3:00 remaining and has resulted in a lot of points and closed the deficit in a few games. Perhaps if we ran the offense for this shot earlier in the game, the deficit would not be as large and we would have a better chance of overcoming said deficit.
IMO we need guys to do a better job of getting the ball into the lane and then kicking out to the shooters so they can take more uncontested shots in rythm. Both Basabe and Cartwright had opportunities to do this last night and it didn't happen.
hawkeye2188
Well-Known Member
I thought Gatens was very aggressive on that last 3 he made. Gatens confidence is rebuilding after his injury and with Fran coaching I'm sure he will become more aggressive.
tweeterhawk
Well-Known Member
I like his feistiness, too. He may get a T or two in his Iowa career but I'll take that in order to have someone on the floor with his fierceness, not backing down from any opponent.
Zach has a scorers mentality....looking to shoot every time..and I am fine with it because he has a very nice stroke.
What you are calling Gatens lack of confidence,I see as an unwillingness to take a bad shot. Zach has no such governor on his game,but he needs to show a bit more restraint,like Matt. Matt was guarded by better defenders than Zach last nite,for instance,and so Matt was unwilling to jack it up, while Zach had some good looks and took them...fine with both.
Fran did say in the postgame that we need to set better screens and more screens to free up Matt....keep re-screening til we knock his man off some.
Fran reiterated that he wants Matt to get more shots,but that they are good shots.
What you are calling Gatens lack of confidence,I see as an unwillingness to take a bad shot. Zach has no such governor on his game,but he needs to show a bit more restraint,like Matt. Matt was guarded by better defenders than Zach last nite,for instance,and so Matt was unwilling to jack it up, while Zach had some good looks and took them...fine with both.
Fran did say in the postgame that we need to set better screens and more screens to free up Matt....keep re-screening til we knock his man off some.
Fran reiterated that he wants Matt to get more shots,but that they are good shots.
I too was thinking the opposite. As a matter of fact, for someone his size, I was amazed at how many shots he gets blocked or altered. McCabe to me is one that in another year could really use the redshirt year. Has a nice stroke from outside the line, but is somewhat of a liability when it comes to his play inside the paint.
sportstalent
Well-Known Member
The difference between the two is there is no bad shot to McCabe, not all bad, but when Iowa struggled last night there was no ball movement and players like McCabe, Cole and Cartwright just chucking shots from all over the place. That is where I would like to see Gatens assert himself more. One great play Iowa ran and I don't know how much of a "play" it was, but Gatens simply went to the basket, but reversed direction and the defender was bumped, just a little bit and Gatens hit a three. Also, it would be nice during those stretches that Iowa get Gatens a 17 ft jumper, how many of those has he missed in his career? High percentage shots do more for confidence and getting on a roll than hitting two three's when that is what is being settled for. Shot selection and playing within themselves the whole game is what Gatens/McCabe both need to do and Iowa will benefit as both can be good scorers, especially Gatens as he has proven it already.
One thing I noticed about Matt is he is very confident he is wide open (I know just like most people), but when coming off screens where he feels the defender on him close he doesn't really look to shoot, with the exception being his last 3 against OSU. He doesn't get much lift on his jumper so it is easier to block so he needs have some good separation. He is also identified more than McCabe in gameplans. McCabe seems to get very good looks during the games.
