Gatens

ICAlumni

ICAlumni

Well-Known Member
Don't want to rip on Matt Gatens because i think he's a good player but looking at him in his 3rd year as a player that was a 4* (iirc) i just can't help but be disappointed in many aspects of his game... the most disappointing of which is his hustle and drive.

-He NEVER follows his shot. He would rather chuck and watch.
-He can not finish at all for a man 6'5" and strong... a player of his size should be able to finish around the basket. His inside bumble/block that he already did tonight is a prime example of this.
-He does not rebound. He will get 2-3 a game that come his way but a player with his bulk and mis-match potential should be pulling down 5-7 a game with the occasional double.

-His shooting and FT execution are top notch.

Some observations.

I really hope Matt can improve and become a force in the BT late this year and next year.

I'd love to hear the thoughts from others on this issue.
 
Most perimeter shooters are responsible to get back of defense, so he probably shouldn't be following his shot.

Your other problems are boil down to the fact he has poor explosiveness for a Big 10 player. That's not going to change, nor anything that is his fault.

If he could develop a pull-up that would be good, otherwise I endorse he just recklessly throw his body into people when drives to the basket and force officials to call something.
 
Yet, you are probably excited with how Cartwright plays every game, with his great descision making ability and being so explosive to get to rim all the time.
I find it amazing how Gatens is such a flawed player, but yet he leads Iowa in scoring for not being able to do a whole lot as a player. You see the negatives in Gatens when things don't go well and what he heck did he or any other player on Iowa's roster get out of the Lickliter tenure? Players can certainly be stunted by the coaching they recieve.
Iowa has a lot of issues and Gatens is not one of them. We need a real PG and some depth, when Iowa gets that the program will advance.
 
You are entitled to your opinions as am I. I see a player who doesn't utilize his size well. Like I said, he's a fantastic player and FT shooter but he needs to be able to get to the rim and score or he's wasting 1/2 of his scoring chances. He's too easy to clamp down on and defend being that one dimensional.

Gatens leads us in scoring because he's our best shooter, upper class leader and takes the most shots. I don't think he's our best player.

You don't need to flame, I want an honest discussion about his game and development.
 
ICAlumni said:
You are entitled to your opinions as am I. I see a player who doesn't utilize his size well. Like I said, he's a fantastic player and FT shooter but he needs to be able to get to the rim and score or he's wasting 1/2 of his scoring chances. He's too easy to clamp down on and defend being that one dimensional.

Gatens leads us in scoring because he's our best shooter, upper class leader and takes the most shots. I don't think he's our best player.

You don't need to flame, I want an honest discussion about his game and development.
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He can't do those things. He simply, physically, isn't able to create shots or finish at the rim. He has very poor explosiveness. He has a slow first-step, poor elevation, poor body control in the air. He's also not that big for Big 10 wing guard.
 
It's too bad because with his FT shooting ability, he could really light people up. Wish he had May's explosive-ness.
 
ibahawkeye said:
The explosiveness that May used to have but has seemed to just disappear?
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True... there is something definitely wrong with him this year. That said, he did have Aaron Fuller pulling a lot of interior attention last year. We have very little inside threat anymore. Basabe is coming along.
 
Gatens hasn't improved since he was a junior in high school. Exact same size, exact same game. Doesn't matter who he's playing, will rarely score more than 25 in a game and will average 13-15 a game with 5 of those being free throws. Slow and high with the handle. Needed to add a fade away at some point but didn't. Will never be effective without a pass first drive and kick type PG....I could go on with the holes in Gatens game but I'll stop.
 
clicheusername3 said:
Gatens hasn't improved since he was a junior in high school. Exact same size, exact same game. Doesn't matter who he's playing, will rarely score more than 25 in a game and will average 13-15 a game with 5 of those being free throws. Slow and high with the handle. Needed to add a fade away at some point but didn't. Will never be effective without a pass first drive and kick type PG....I could go on with the holes in Gatens game but I'll stop.
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+1. At this point I'd like to see Matt moved to a reserve role and more PT given to the new players to develop them for the future.
 
Gatens just doesn't have the foot speed.... there's no other way to put it. He can't drive to get around any guys. If he was quicker he may be able to get to the bucket before the help gets there but because he is slow (in Big 10 terms) the help has the time to recover. The great drivers are quick enough that they can get to the rim before the help arrives.

This speed also hurts him on the defensive end. He can't recover as quick on a skip pass to the outside three point shooters. Our team speed is terrible and this is part of the reason why our perimeter defense is so bad. They can't recover quick enough from their help assignments.
 
ICAlumni said:
You are entitled to your opinions as am I. I see a player who doesn't utilize his size well. Like I said, he's a fantastic player and FT shooter but he needs to be able to get to the rim and score or he's wasting 1/2 of his scoring chances. He's too easy to clamp down on and defend being that one dimensional.

Gatens leads us in scoring because he's our best shooter, upper class leader and takes the most shots. I don't think he's our best player.

You don't need to flame, I want an honest discussion about his game and development.
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I didn't know I was flaming, btw, that is funny... Anyway, I am never amazed at how much Gatens is picked apart.
You have some valid points, but there are two players I don't worry about on Iowa's roster: Gatens and Basabe, you pretty much know what you are going to get out of them. They are the two consistent players, but when Gatens is off, he get picked apart and when Basabe is off, he is just a freshman.
Matt truly needs to force his mid-range game, it is there, but he doesn't utilize it enough. He could score so much more if he didn't try and force things low, take the opportunities that are there that are really there.
Is Gatens questioned all the time because he is Iowa's best player?
 
Matt would be a nice role player (perhaps off the bench) for a good team, but is expected to be more at Iowa (given the lack of talent in the program).

Sadly, by the end of this season, Matt Gatens will have started in more losing games than any player in Iowa basketball history, with another season to go. Has to be tough to take that much losing.
 
sportstalent said:
I didn't know I was flaming, btw, that is funny... Anyway, I am never amazed at how much Gatens is picked apart.
You have some valid points, but there are two players I don't worry about on Iowa's roster: Gatens and Basabe, you pretty much know what you are going to get out of them. They are the two consistent players, but when Gatens is off, he get picked apart and when Basabe is off, he is just a freshman.
Matt truly needs to force his mid-range game, it is there, but he doesn't utilize it enough. He could score so much more if he didn't try and force things low, take the opportunities that are there that are really there.
Is Gatens questioned all the time because he is Iowa's best player?
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Well he's not the best player imo and probably many others so I don't think that's the problem.
 
At least Gatens is still a Hawk and hasn't jumped ship. I have more respect for Gatens and Cole because they are Hawks and didn't quit like so many previous players who left.
 
clicheusername3 said:
I would say Basabe right now is the best player that we have. Will he always ahve better numbers than Gatens? Probably not but it's easy to see he is much more talented ball player than Gatens.
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Yeah, I do agree with that statement, before Gatens started shooting well, he was Iowa's best player. Basabe adds a ton of things that Iowa hasn't had for some time.

dekhawks said:
At least Gatens is still a Hawk and hasn't jumped ship. I have more respect for Gatens and Cole because they are Hawks and didn't quit like so many previous players who left.
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Couldn't say it any better, he is better than all the players that left, yet he stayed. Could it be because of family, don't care, he is still a Hawk and I have respect for that. Cole is one of my favorite players because of his effort and his willingness to stay at Iowa and want to get his degree from Iowa, that says a lot. Iowa may not be good overall, but it seems to me that the basketball program reminds me of the first year for football and I will not forget Colin Cole saying he was disappointed to leave when he said there were going to be so many good things for Iowa football in its future...Does Jarryd feel that same way, it would be interesting to hear his view.
 
tweeterhawk said:
+1. At this point I'd like to see Matt moved to a reserve role and more PT given to the new players to develop them for the future.
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Not going to happen and it was would a damn shame if it did happen. Sorry Matt you are our best player right now, but because we are not very good i am going to sit you to try to develop somebody else....seriously...dumb.
 
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