Gatens

311hawk

311hawk

Well-Known Member
Gatens does a lot of good things on the floor but being CLUTCH is not one of them. Has he ever hit a shot towards the end of game when we really need it. 3 before OT and the 3 in OT,...he has to hit one of those simple as that. The only clutch player we have is Cartwright that isnt affraid to get it done. We have a nice team that has gotten better with no will to win. SImple as that.
 
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311hawk said:
Gatens does a lot of good things on the floor but being CLUTCH is not one of them. Has he ever hit a shot towards the end of game when we really need it. 3 before OT and the 3 in OT,...he has to hit one of those simple as that. The only clutch player we have is Cartwright that isnt affraid to get it done. We have a nice team that has gotten better with no will to win. SImple as that.
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I'm going to beat this horse a little longer to see if it kicks. ;)

Matt is a one-dimensional player. He is average on defense. He doesn't block out or screen well.

He is an above average shooter -- not great -- when it comes to uncontested shots: open three-pointers, running jump shots from 10-12 feet, open layups. He's also an exceptional free throw shooter.

There is no way he should have the ball driving the lane towards the basket, unless it is to pass out to McCabe or May to attempt an open three. Even then he needs to get rid of the ball before he wanders too deep into the tall timber. Then he tends to get stripped, tied up, blocked, knocked to the ground.
 
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311hawk said:
Gatens does a lot of good things on the floor but being CLUTCH is not one of them. Has he ever hit a shot towards the end of game when we really need it. 3 before OT and the 3 in OT,...he has to hit one of those simple as that. The only clutch player we have is Cartwright that isnt affraid to get it done. We have a nice team that has gotten better with no will to win. SImple as that.
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Not really as simple as that.

Look at the teams he has played on, look at the players around him, then look at the skill set those players had or did not have.

For his three years at Iowa, he has been Iowa's best three-point shooting option. For two of those three years, there wasn't a point guard on the team that could consistently get to the rim, and draw defenders off the wing. Last year was a nightmare for that, after the Kelly and Peterson transfers.

There has been no reason to leave Gatens on the wing because the threat of getting hurt if you do just has not been there. Cartwright is changing that a bit, slowly. Next year, Gaten's senior year, he may see more open looks in one season than he had the previous three seasons combined because of Cartwright's reputation as a scorer and penetrator and Basabe's emergence as one of the best big men in the Big Ten.

Basketball is a team sport where individual talents can certainly rise to the fore. But Matt Gatens is not a slasher. He is a jump shooter that can do some things off the dribble but is better coming off picks and screens.

He is not the guy you want with the ball in his hand, top of the key, clock ticking down.

IMO, in other eras of Iowa hoops, he would have had a career similar to that of Jason Bohannon at Wisky.
 
Jon, I think the OP wasn't blaming Gatens for doing things he can't do...he is pointing something out that I have noticed as well. Down the stretch of games when it matters he will very rarely knock down the open 3 point jumper. He also has a tendancy to make costly turnovers or mistakes in that stretch. We are not talking about last year when he was forced to but rather this year when Cartwright or Basabe would probably be better options.

I look back at Indiana. Matt had a great 3 point look from the corner that would have sealed the game and he couldn't knock it down. I remember a game earlier in the year when we drew up a play for him and he couldn't get it. Several looks against Michigan. Fran's offense has gotten him a lot of open looks this year and he hasn't been able to make them when it counts.

I really hope that changes for next year because if he does I bet it would mean 4 more wins alone.
 
Not everyone is good under pressure. Actually very few are but too many sore losers always have to have someone to throw under the bus to satisfy themselves.
 
I don't know anyone who doesn't pull for Gatens night after night, but the dude's game has not evolved from his freshman year. No doubt he has suffered from having little / no talent around him, but McCaffrey set the table for him this year with lots of praise, expectations and looks in the half court. Outside of a couple games when he got to the line 8-10 times, I have been underwhelmed with his productivity, especially in the second half. He is never going to be a finisher at the rim in the big ten, but if he can pick up a half step in offseason to at least get to the lane for a pull up, that would help.

I hope the team improves enough to at least threaten for an NIT bid next year. Gatens certainly deserves a shot at playing meaningful basketball in February for once in his four year career.
 
havent read all the responses but he is being asked to play a different role than he should. he shouldnt have to be a #1 option. he should be used like Wisconsin used JBO. we just dont have that luxury
 
311hawk said:
Gatens does a lot of good things on the floor but being CLUTCH is not one of them. Has he ever hit a shot towards the end of game when we really need it. 3 before OT and the 3 in OT,...he has to hit one of those simple as that. The only clutch player we have is Cartwright that isnt affraid to get it done. We have a nice team that has gotten better with no will to win. SImple as that.
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I was with you until the very end. I do think this team has the will to win. I've seen them battle back many times this year after being down in the second half, last Saturday was no exception. They just need to learn how to win, which is different. They don't have that reliable go-to player yet. Cartwright has taken on the role, he's shown he wants the ball at the end, and he's not afraid to take the shot. Next year those shots go down. Or maybe they don't, but I don't think it's due to a lack of a will to win.
 
If Gatens played on Brunner and Horner's senior team, he would have been akin to Haluska (a less athetic version).
 
bkim24 said:
havent read all the responses but he is being asked to play a different role than he should. he shouldnt have to be a #1 option. he should be used like Wisconsin used JBO. we just dont have that luxury
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:eek::eek:

Why is it that I don't believe you?
 
storminspank said:
If Gatens played on Brunner and Horner's senior team, he would have been akin to Haluska (a less athetic version).
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Big Stretch. Matt has Adam at the line, but that is about it. Adam could make his own shot, hit threes off of motion, finish at the rim, he played much better defense. Also, Adam got drafted to play in the NBA.

Seriously, Spank next you will be telling us that Tucker is going to be all Big Ten. Oh, wait.
 
CAARHawk said:
Big Stretch. Matt has Adam at the line, but that is about it. Adam could make his own shot, hit threes off of motion, finish at the rim, he played much better defense. Also, Adam got drafted to play in the NBA.

Seriously, Spank next you will be telling us that Tucker is going to be all Big Ten. Oh, wait.
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Yeah I'm struggling understanding this comparison as well.
 
Adam was the Third Musketeer on that team. That's what Matt could be on a team with a really good point guard and post player. Hence Haluska.
 
I agree that Matt's role on the team isn't what it would be in an ideal situation. But I don't see what missing open looks in the clutch has to do with that. It's not like he's missing shots that he HAS to force. He's missing shots when he should be all but automatic (wide open).

If Gatens played for UNI last year instead of Farokhmanesh, that back-breaking three doesn't get made.

Gatens does a lot of good things for us, and by no means do I think he's some kind of awful player. But he's beginning to show that he's not the guy you want taking the last shot (I thought it was very telling that he was on the bench for the final possession).
 
CAARHawk said:
Seriously, Spank next you will be telling us that Tucker is going to be all Big Ten. Oh, wait.
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You don't think if he kept his nose clean, by the time he was a senior he wouldn't be all Big Ten? I do. I can't predict what a guy does off the court, just what I see on the court. He had the potential, didn't follow through on it. How is that my fault?
 
Gatens is more of a Diebler-type player on a good team. Haluska was a totally different player, who could do pretty much everything very well.
 
storminspank said:
Adam was the Third Musketeer on that team. That's what Matt could be on a team with a really good point guard and post player. Hence Haluska.
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Matt is the third guy on this team. The pecking order goes Cartwright, Basabe, Gatens. I guess that's still the only comparison I see.

If Matt would have been on the same team as Horner and Haluska, that team would have been MUCH, MUCH worse.
 
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