Give Gesell The Keys - QCTimes.com

OatesStache said:
Saying he's not Jeff Horner doesn't mean he's not special.
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Holy ****! A triple negative. You don't see that everyday. :)

Comparing PG's from different eras is probably a waste of time.

Gesell is a different type of PG than Horner, so I don't even think it's fair to really compare their games. Horner was a controller, a game manager if you will. Gesell is more of an attacking PG in my opinion. I remember talking to Jeff when he was at an All-Star camp his senior year of high school. I recall him mentioning how he needed to become one of the smartest Hawkeye players ever if he wanted to go down as one of the best Hawkeye players ever. Looking back, boy did he seem prophetic.
When I think of Horner, I think of one of the all-time great Hawkeye basketball players. I don't necessarily relate him to one of the all- time great Hawkeye PG's though. But that's just semantics.

Woolridge was a freak. I don't know if we will ever see anyone in Carver that had his combo of strength and speed. Gesell will never be able to take over a game like Dre could. But I think Gesell will have a better perimeter game. Plus, Iowa use to isolate Woolridge constantly just to create match up problems. I doubt we will see Iowa doing that with Gesell. Again, unfair comparison.
 
burky247 said:
Holy ****! A triple negative. You don't see that everyday. :)

Comparing PG's from different eras is probably a waste of time.

Gesell is a different type of PG than Horner, so I don't even think it's fair to really compare their games. Horner was a controller, a game manager if you will. Gesell is more of an attacking PG in my opinion. I remember talking to Jeff when he was at an All-Star camp his senior year of high school. I recall him mentioning how he needed to become one of the smartest Hawkeye players ever if he wanted to go down as one of the best Hawkeye players ever. Looking back, boy did he seem prophetic.
When I think of Horner, I think of one of the all-time great Hawkeye basketball players. I don't necessarily relate him to one of the all- time great Hawkeye PG's though. But that's just semantics.

Woolridge was a freak. I don't know if we will ever see anyone in Carver that had his combo of strength and speed. Gesell will never be able to take over a game like Dre could. But I think Gesell will have a better perimeter game. Plus, Iowa use to isolate Woolridge constantly just to create match up problems. I doubt we will see Iowa doing that with Gesell. Again, unfair comparison.
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I don't really think anyone is comparing Mike to either of them. It's a positional conversation, not personnel. I think Mike will be the best Hawkeye PG since Andre. Andre, DeanO, Horner, and MG all have different games. I'm talking about the position of PG and the effectiveness as opposed to comparing individual strengths of types of games.
 
Woolridge was a freak. He was by no means a great ball handler, in fact his ball skills were adequate at best. His shooting ability was .... well see above.

He used his phenomenal strength, speed drive and vision to simply dominate. There were games, that it felt like Iowa was over matched so they just let Dre take over, and we won. He broke down his man at will and either got to the rim or deep enough into the paint to draw help and set up guys like Bowen and McCausland.

At just 6' he could explode at the rim and get his shot off clean with bigs all iver him and the ball. He was a different animal all together than anyone I have seen since.

No one at Iowa since Ronnie Lester has even come close to being able to take over a game at such a high level, except AW. He' s not Ronnie, and BJ was a better overall, well rounded pg, but in terms of just taking the team to a much higher level, Woolridge sits just below Lester on my list.

With that said, I think I'm going to love me some Mike Gessell.... a new era, a new breed of star in the making.
 
IATrainMaster101 said:
Woolridge was a freak. He was by no means a great ball handler, in fact his ball skills were adequate at best. His shooting ability was .... well see above.

He used his phenomenal strength, speed drive and vision to simply dominate. There were games, that it felt like Iowa was over matched so they just let Dre take over, and we won. He broke down his man at will and either got to the rim or deep enough into the paint to draw help and set up guys like Bowen and McCausland.

At just 6' he could explode at the rim and get his shot off clean with bigs all iver him and the ball. He was a different animal all together than anyone I have seen since.

No one at Iowa since Ronnie Lester has even come close to being able to take over a game at such a high level, except AW. He' s not Ronnie, and BJ was a better overall, well rounded pg, but in terms of just taking the team to a much higher level, Woolridge sits just below Lester on my list.

With that said, I think I'm going to love me some Mike Gessell.... a new era, a new breed of star in the making.
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Whoa. Let's not put the horse before the cart. There are a litany of guys in just the past 10 years who could take over a game better than AW has done. Luke Recker, Adam Haluska, Tyler Smith, Matt Gatens and Roy Marble have all dominated games with greater efficacy than Aaron White has so far.
 
i dont think mentioning Mike in the same category as deano and horner is too much pressure. all three were identified early as future stars and got high major offers in junior high. all three were PG's that could also score and guard. all three were multi-sport athletes and smart players. neither were so spectacular in college that its an unrealistic goal for mike. all were the type of guys we want representing the university and state.
 
wundergrape said:
Whoa. Let's not put the horse before the cart. There are a litany of guys in just the past 10 years who could take over a game better than AW has done. Luke Recker, Adam Haluska, Tyler Smith, Matt Gatens and Roy Marble have all dominated games with greater efficacy than Aaron White has so far.
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AW= Andre Woolrdige I imagine. Otherwise yeah, that wouldn't make sense.
 
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IATrainMaster101 said:
Woolridge was a freak. He was by no means a great ball handler, in fact his ball skills were adequate at best.
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He carried the ball more than any Iowa player in history. That's for sure. The refs usually allowed him to get away with it though for whatever reason.
 
1. None of them were pgs. I was speaking exclusively about pgs.

2. I respectfully disagree that they consistently took over like Woolridge did. They all were great, maybe even better players and NBA prospects, but look at Woolridge's team and look at how they finished the season, then look at his numbers and tell me my argument is without merit. Marble may be the exception, but he never had to.
 
Better than this ex-Hawk? (Audio NSFW)

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMUVdIIO0Yw]90s - BJ Armstrong MIX by MISIEK - YouTube[/ame]
 
RADMAN said:
Back in December I stated that he would be the point from day 1 and I got a load of sh!t. I will say again, he is the best true point I have ever seen and I have seen many. He will be the instrument that will make Frans system explode. Its going to be a fun ride!! Oh by the way, I stated that in the xmas tournament in Arizona in late December and I stand by what I said. The Arizona Republic stated that he was the best guard they had seen since Mike Bibby. Grand expectations will abound.
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Word: http://www.hawkeyenation.com/forum/basketball/39962-mike-gessel-2.html#post653792
 
burky247 said:
Holy ****! A triple negative. You don't see that everyday. :)

Comparing PG's from different eras is probably a waste of time.

Gesell is a different type of PG than Horner, so I don't even think it's fair to really compare their games. Horner was a controller, a game manager if you will. Gesell is more of an attacking PG in my opinion. I remember talking to Jeff when he was at an All-Star camp his senior year of high school. I recall him mentioning how he needed to become one of the smartest Hawkeye players ever if he wanted to go down as one of the best Hawkeye players ever. Looking back, boy did he seem prophetic.
When I think of Horner, I think of one of the all-time great Hawkeye basketball players. I don't necessarily relate him to one of the all- time great Hawkeye PG's though. But that's just semantics.

Woolridge was a freak. I don't know if we will ever see anyone in Carver that had his combo of strength and speed. Gesell will never be able to take over a game like Dre could. But I think Gesell will have a better perimeter game. Plus, Iowa use to isolate Woolridge constantly just to create match up problems. I doubt we will see Iowa doing that with Gesell. Again, unfair comparison.
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storminspank said:
Word: http://www.hawkeyenation.com/forum/basketball/39962-mike-gessel-2.html#post653792
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RADMAN, if that thread is your definition of "getting a load of sh!t" I think you may need to thicken your skin a bit. It looks to me like most people were pretty fired up, if a little cautious about enshrining someone they hadn't see play as a four-year starter.

And yes, then everything gets derailed by an argument about whether CJFed would have gotten playing time over Gabe Olaseni on the basketball court. You can't make that stuff up.
 
Andre Woolridge: A physical PG who could use his physicality to get off a good shot anytime he wanted. This made him the focal point of our offense post-Settles. Good shooter and ball-handler. NOT a speed demon. Lack of speed is why he didn't make it in the NBA.

Dean Oliver: Good quickness with an elite burst. Great handle, penetrator, and team manager. OK shooter.

Jeff Horner: Great shooter, great handle, and great team manager. Average speed.

Mike Gesell is a freshman. The above had great 3-4 year careers at Iowa. At this point one can only project what Mike will do. But I think he shows the SIGNS and POTENTIAL of being as great a shooter and team manager as Horner, the quickness and penetrating ability of Oliver, the ability to score at will like Woolridge without his physicality. He could be the best PG at Iowa since B.J. Armstrong and has the potential to be better than Armstrong. High praise? Sure. But once again this speaks to Gesell's potential ceiling and apparent attitude and drive to reach that ceiling. It could sure be a great ride.
 
ChosenChildren said:
Strap it on Iowa fans. Barring injuries, this is going to be a heck of a ride the next 4 years.

Football? Yawn
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Good grief, this is getting tiresome. You realize that we can have two good teams at once, right? Or are we really as small-time as some of the more name-brand schools think we are?
 
UncleHawk said:
Andre Woolridge: A physical PG who could use his physicality to get off a good shot anytime he wanted. This made him the focal point of our offense post-Settles. Good shooter and ball-handler. NOT a speed demon. Lack of speed is why he didn't make it in the NBA.
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He wasn't lightning quick coast to coast like a Bobby Jackson. But when he went to his right, he was as quick as anyone in a half court set. He wasn't as quick going to his left, which is why he probably didn't go that way very often. I imagine that probably hurt his NBA chances as well. That and his height.
 
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