Hawk Central and Payton Sanford

[HuckFinn]

Well, there it is. I guess we should have known health issues were the reason for Payton’s regression this season. I am confident that his critics and their sometimes vicious attacks on his performance will become apologetic. Because of a weird set of circumstances I sort of knew for a fact that something was very wrong with Payton.

So. Please read the article. I think those who do so will be embarrassed if they were part of the beat up on Payton crowd. But in all fairness, we just did not know the extent of his injuries.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

Well, there it is. I guess we should have known health issues were the reason for Payton’s regression this season. I am confident that his critics and their sometimes vicious attacks on his performance will become apologetic. Because of a weird set of circumstances I sort of knew for a fact that something was very wrong with Payton.

So. Please read the article. I think those who do so will be embarrassed if they were part of the beat up on Payton crowd. But in all fairness, we just did not know the extent of his injuries.

That's just it. He knew he was toughing out serious injuries. Both shoulders and his shooting wrist... Pretty tough to be consistent shooting the ball with those all yr long pretty much. They tried to minimize the extent of how bad they were to fans and opponents. He wasn't looking for sympathy. He just wanted to play ball for his teammates and coaches. Dudes a tough SOB gotta give him that and he should certainly be remembered for it.

As far as criticizing his play that just went with the territory for when he struggled. When you play as many minutes as he did and are the main guy leaned on for scoring and have some tough games that's just par for the course. And I don't get the sense he let any of that get to him nor did he shy away from criticism. He didn't pout, quit early, look to transfer at other points in his career. Dude took it all as professionally as anyone could ever hope.

The part that was unfair to him I think might be Frans role in this. He probably put him out there too much when he probably shouldn't have been. Sometimes coaches gotta protect players from themselves too and that falls on Fran.

 

[RyDogg]

Big respect to him for toughing it out and playing. I somewhat agree that he maybe shouldn't have played so much if he was this injured. Moreso, I wish he would have adapted his game more due to the injuries. His asset to the team was more than just shooting, but was overshadowed due to his shooting struggles and volume of shots. He was a great rebounder, high effort defender and had a good mid-range and near the basket game. I just wish he would have taken less 3's unless he was hitting them and stick to the mid-range, attack the basket game.

Still, respect him a lot for his career and contributions.

 

[NorthKCHawk]

I honestly did not see a lot of regression, but I could also clearly see that he was injured. IMHO, Sanford was pretty consistent in his career at Iowa in that he was not a consistent shooter. He was streaky. Was it his sophomore year where he started out like 2 for 25 from 3? When he is on, he is deadly. But, elite shooters are not off as much as Sanford, and that will be the thing that keeps him from sticking at the next level. Kyle Korver shot 43%. You need that sort of output to make it with so many other deficiencies to your game.

But, to the point others are making, he was a great Hawkeye and a warrior for this team. Nothing but respect.

 

[thedukeofearl]

I honestly did not see a lot of regression, but I could also clearly see that he was injured. IMHO, Sanford was pretty consistent in his career at Iowa in that he was not a consistent shooter. He was streaky. Was it his sophomore year where he started out like 2 for 25 from 3? When he is on, he is deadly. But, elite shooters are not off as much as Sanford, and that will be the thing that keeps him from sticking at the next level. Kyle Korver shot 43%. You need that sort of output to make it with so many other deficiencies to your game.

But, to the point others are making, he was a great Hawkeye and a warrior for this team. Nothing but respect.

He had some Very Good games on occasion and did contribute to some of the wins we had

I do appreciate the native Iowans who are on the team

More than I do if we had the One and Done playas

 

[Grady]

Big respect to him for toughing it out and playing. I somewhat agree that he maybe shouldn't have played so much if he was this injured. Moreso, I wish he would have adapted his game more due to the injuries. His asset to the team was more than just shooting, but was overshadowed due to his shooting struggles and volume of shots. He was a great rebounder, high effort defender and had a good mid-range and near the basket game. I just wish he would have taken less 3's unless he was hitting them and stick to the mid-range, attack the basket game.

Still, respect him a lot for his career and contributions.

There may be some truth to what you're saying, but after reading the article it appears that almost any type of physical contact could lead to either shoulder going out again. My guess is he was looking to avoid as much contact as possible, and the best way to do that was to stay on the perimeter and stay out of the paint. Which was probably wise.
What a warrior. He had so much pure passion and cared so much about the Hawks, he really deserves a special spot in Hawkeye history.

 

[trj]

Thelwell, Payton and Dix all battled through injuries to be on the court, so if the rumors are true, I get why they may have been looking sideways at Freeman. I am guessing they were a little frustrated battling through injuries, and watching Freeman shut it down because of a pinky on his non shooting hand.