Great Win Hawks! Give me your take!

T

TalkHawk

Well-Known Member
I was not able to watch the game.

Anytime you take down Sparty it's a great feeling regardless of how bad they have been dragging along the last few weeks.


What was Carver like that first half? What were the players emotions like?

How did they hold them to 33% shooting?


Any of your eval's are much appreciated!
 
For no more people than were there, it was loud and rockn! The offense flowed. Great ball movement and great defense. Iowa took sparty's game to them and beat them at it. The best part of the game was the student sections chant of "Just like Football" in the closing moments of the game.
 
I don't know if it was Fran's idea or someone else but give the SID folks some credit as they are making a noticeable effort to not only get fans to the game but tonight they even announced just prior to tip-off that fans would be allowed to moved closer to the floor not to mention free student admission (still not a great turnout but it was noticeable) along with $1 dogs and a free soft drink.

I also think the players took this week's coaching to heart as they played extremely hard on defense and very seldom did you see anyone not moving on offense. They won the battle on the boards (+1), the battle for loose balls (+3 I believe), and I'm pretty sure they also had more blocked shots while holding MSU to 33% shooting.
 
They played well on both sides of the court. Instead of putting together 20 or 30 good minutes and then falling apart, they played well for all 40.
The best thing I noticeded was when MSU cut the lead to 14 or 15 in the 2nd half, the Hawks stopped their run and bumped the lead back out to 20+. This has been a problem all year especially in the 2nd half. They played well and kept their foot on the gas until the end of the game.
McCabe's 3 at the buzzer going into half time was huge. The crowd went nuts and the players were pumped. I saw in Fran's postgame that Brommer was throwing up at half and that is why he didn't play much in the 2nd. He was solid in the 1st half. Good to see. I thought Archie played well too and was hustling.
I do wish Indiana would stop winning games because I want this team to get out of the cellar so bad. I think it will be a huge step for the program to not finish last. A good step would be a win on the road in Bloomington on Saturday.
 
The team played like it was on crack the entire game, and that's meant in a positive way. Extremely active on both ends of the floor nearly the whole 40 minutes. It's hard to ever out-run Sparty in a game, but this team did.

The guys looked like they were having fun playing basketball -- nice to see, and that was huge.

Some things that stood out to me:

- This team plays better when it is the one running, driving the lane, pressing the attack. I love Fran's style of ball.
- Cole had a monster game, fighting for position against bigger, stronger players, driving for the basket, grabbing rebounds away. Nine boards total; 6-6 from the floor.
- Archie played like he weighed 50 pounds more, which is to say he fought for rebounds, disrupted plays, didn't get bumped around underneath. Came from the weak side and really elevated to make a block after Derrick Nix made a spin move on (Cole?) and help set the tone for the evening.
- Great night for May. Ran the floor, made four of five shots. A key block on Appling stopped Sparty's run when they had cut the lead to 15 in the second half.
- Gatens started out hot, did a nice job of finding the 3. Five for five at the line. Four steals.
- Cartwright. What a pickup this was for Fran coming in to Iowa City. His best game as a Hawkeye, playing 37 minutes, dishing out 10 assists and credited with 3 rebounds.

Iowa managed to get and keep leads largely without Basabe, who had to sit due to early foul trouble. Encouraging to see this team can play well and win without having to rely on one individual.

The crowd was great. Impressive that many turned out on a cold, snowy night when the whole game was in doubt. Kudos to the marketing folks who allowed everyone to move courtside and fill in empty seats, admitted students free and gave discounted concessions. Those who attended saw a tremendous game.
 
tweeterhawk said:
The team played like it was on crack the entire game, and that's meant in a positive way. Extremely active on both ends of the floor nearly the whole 40 minutes. It's hard to ever out-run Sparty in a game, but this team did.

The guys looked like they were having fun playing basketball -- nice to see, and that was huge.

Some things that stood out to me:

- This team plays better when it is the one running, driving the lane, pressing the attack. I love Fran's style of ball.
- Cole had a monster game, fighting for position against bigger, stronger players, driving for the basket, grabbing rebounds away. Nine boards total; 6-6 from the floor.
- Archie played like he weighed 50 pounds more, which is to say he fought for rebounds, disrupted plays, didn't get bumped around underneath. Came from the weak side and really elevated to make a block after Derrick Nix made a spin move on (Cole?) and help set the tone for the evening.
- Great night for May. Ran the floor, made four of five shots. A key block on Appling stopped Sparty's run when they had cut the lead to 15 in the second half.
- Gatens started out hot, did a nice job of finding the 3. Five for five at the line. Four steals.
- Cartwright. What a pickup this was for Fran coming in to Iowa City. His best game as a Hawkeye, playing 37 minutes, dishing out 10 assists and credited with 3 rebounds.

Iowa managed to get and keep leads largely without Basabe, who had to sit due to early foul trouble. Encouraging to see this team can play well and win without having to rely on one individual.

The crowd was great. Impressive that many turned out on a cold, snowy night when the whole game was in doubt. Kudos to the marketing folks who allowed everyone to move courtside and fill in empty seats, admitted students free and gave discounted concessions. Those who attended saw a tremendous game.
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These two things stood out to me last night. I thought Archie was solid and playing very agressively and physically last night. I really enjoyed watching that.
Cartwright has been huge for this team this year. His turnover numbers are going down and he is a solid player. It would have been nice to still have Cully this year, but Cartwright has improved dramatically.
 
Had a post last night but looks like it disappeared. Excellent man to man defense the entire game. This team can play it and proved they can against anyone. Now just do it every game and scrap the zone. Offense finally came alive with Gatens being the catalyst. Everyone finally played well in the same game. Great win not just that they won but how they won. It is games like this that have to drive you nuts if you are a coach because you know your kids have it in them.
 
I thought the difference in the game last night was Matt Gatens. Everyone played well, but he really stood out for me. Played a tremendous all around game. He just seemed to be everywhere. I don't think he will ever be a vocal leader, but he was definately a leader on the floor last night.
 
EddyP said:
Had a post last night but looks like it disappeared. Excellent man to man defense the entire game. This team can play it and proved they can against anyone. Now just do it every game and scrap the zone. Offense finally came alive with Gatens being the catalyst. Everyone finally played well in the same game. Great win not just that they won but how they won. It is games like this that have to drive you nuts if you are a coach because you know your kids have it in them.
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Same here (re: post last night)...I actually indicated last night that I thought it was Cartwright's best game, as he managed the flow better, was in control and got his teammates involved. Very solid performance...I also think we caught MSU not at their best. I'll take it, though.
 
kirby said:
Same here (re: post last night)...I actually indicated last night that I thought it was Cartwright's best game, as he managed the flow better, was in control and got his teammates involved. Very solid performance...I also think we caught MSU not at their best. I'll take it, though.
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Yes, I really like this kid. Wish we had him for more than just next year. I still think if Brommer and Archie can bring what they did last night all the time this team could surprise some people next year. If Marble, McCabe, and May come along it could be interesting.
 
EddyP said:
Had a post last night but looks like it disappeared. Excellent man to man defense the entire game. This team can play it and proved they can against anyone. Now just do it every game and scrap the zone. Offense finally came alive with Gatens being the catalyst. Everyone finally played well in the same game. Great win not just that they won but how they won. It is games like this that have to drive you nuts if you are a coach because you know your kids have it in them.
Click to expand...

As much as I've been saying the zone d is Fran choosing the lesser of 2 evils (thinking he realized he doesn't have the depth or athletes to play too much man), I was very surprised how good the Hawks executed man d against MSU. A couple times saw Gatens drop down side of the lane and pass his man off as he cut to other side and thought for a second they were still in zone. Reality was they were just playing sound man switch and not over committing to cutters / not over helping

The best defensive execution since conference play began. Not to mention playing with the right defensive mentality and intensity. If they can sustain this attitude and effort on defense they will be more successful regardless of playing zone or man.

Special tip of the hat to Gatens and May. For the first time in a loooong time both played like they wanted it. The finally shook off the tentativeness and assumed their roles as leaders and scorers. Kept after it rather than crumbling with self-doubt and used the opposite end of the floor to spark themselves on the other end.

Great to see JC rewarded for his efforts. Again, didn't play tentative or intimidated but like a senior who knows what it takes to compete at this level.

Great win but still 8 challenges to go. Hopefully, this isn't the "one" where they beat someone they shouldn't have, only to fall back to what we saw the 1st half of conference play.
 
STILLBUSTER said:
Great win but still 8 challenges to go. Hopefully, this isn't the "one" where they beat someone they shouldn't have, only to fall back to what we saw the 1st half of conference play.
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I feel pretty good about saying I think that "one" you speak of is going to happen next week. I would be thrilled if we can play this well the rest of the year. If we do I think get 12+.
 
The best thing about last night was the big smile on Matt Gaten's face at times. He let himself feel some joy. And for awhile, basketball was fun again. No one deserves it more.
 
Whatever happened last night needs to be bottled. All I could think about at half time was the miserable starts to second haves throughout the season and it didn't happen. MSU made a run midway through the second half, and Iowa answered right back. It was awesome.
 
They played extremely hard, with emotion, for 40 minutes. MSU had no answer for Cartwright, who seemed to key the offense. He really is a Big Ten caliber point guard, who is gaining confidence.

If May would just relax and start attacking on the offensive end, it could get scary. What an athlete.

This team is getting a little dangerous - I see some more wins this year!

I predict 2 or 3 more wins.......
 
I only got there for the last 9:45. I got stuck working at the dining hall in Burge, but when my shift was over, I drove to Kinnick, parked on the west lot, and ran all the way to Carver to see as much as I could. Definitely was worth the trouble!

I loved to see the man to man defense. That's been our strong suit all year on D. And honestly, I think it's easier for us to play man than zone. You can make do in man just on heart (which our guys have plenty of). Even if your man is more athletic than you, you can stick with him if you really dig deep. In zone, we have to identify shooters, which we struggle with, plus our rotations haven't been good. But in man, your focus in on one person, and you can make it your mission in life to not leave that guy's hip pocket.
 
Now that I've had a chance to watch the game, I was super-impressed with our defense! I loved how we were getting in everyone's face, double-teaming, trapping, scratching after every dribble.

What about Jaryd Cole? Is there a better guy you could have on your team? This young man's been through so much crap w/ all of the TL years/injuries etc. yet he comes out and fought for every freaking rebound, then the steal/jam -- how big was THAT smile?

Did anybody else notice how much that commentator said our defense was "sagging"? That was starting to get on my nerves, it was the only adjective this guy apparently had at his disposal.
 
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