I was pretty disappointed it wasn't 8 points....
Hawks vs. The Little Lions Game Thread
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hawkeye12345
Well-Known Member
Patrick is not an asset any night.
Northside Hawk
Well-Known Member
Penn State hung around with offensive rebounding and hustle plays. But every time they got it under ten Iowa had an answer until time ran out.
I'd have lost that trivia question... Seriously first one for the mens program. Un freaking real. Had no idea.
Gander Hawk
Well-Known Member
That's harsh, he's had his moments, just maddeningly inconsistent.
trj
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I didn’t know that either. I’m not sure how I feel about it. Is it an indictment on the types of kids that typically come through the program? I don’t know.
As far as the trivia question goes I would have sworn Dean Oliver or Jeff Horner had pulled it off. Especially Horner during that 05-06 season.
No doubt. There's dozens of guys we've had over the last 30 yrs or more that I've been paying attention to Iowa hoops that I'd say were capable of it. Horner especially woulda been a good guess. Mine woulda been Andre Woolridge. I guess it just shows how dang tough they can be to get and how luck has something to do with it sometimes. Hats off to Sandfort he had the game of his life.
trj
Well-Known Member
I forgot about Andre Woolridge, he was basically a one man show in 96-97. Woolridge would have been a great guess.
InGoodCo
Well-Known Member
Even when he scored 21 against Minnesota or 14 huge buckets on the road against MSU? He's also money at the line this year and has showed up in spots when Iowa has needed him the most. I remember him being the only one who showed up in last years NCAA game. He's inconsistent but still a huge piece of this team that has embraced and taken a new role for the team. He comes off the bench and brings a whole new look and can score and drive to the hoop.
Yeah he just has had more not so good games then good ones is why folks would like to see him play less. It took him hurting his ankle to get him out of the starting lineup when even prior to that he was really sporadic and hurting the team I thought. He was a big part of the reason they dug the hole they can't get out of to get in tourny. I'd have to look back through box scores but I bet he's only had 3 to 5 games where he was on the right side of the plus minus category. He's gotta have the worst of that on the team I would think. I don't like killing the kid with everything he's overcame. It's not his fault his dad plays him so much and can't real him in with his play out there some.
InGoodCo
Well-Known Member
I wanted him benched earlier in the year, so, no argument there, but he's not seeing the minutes he saw earlier in the year now either. The notion that Dad is just playing him so much and the kids no good is laughable but yeah, he was definitely not the strongest this year. Statiscally speaking, it's his worste season as a Hawk. But your assessment is a bit unfair putting that all on him. I also don't think Dix or OF were quite there earlier in the year right? Pat was probably the better option when the year started because those guys where still developing. As the year has progressed, Dix has developed, gained confidence and learned to play a bigger role within the team. Owen Freeman, also developed as the year went. Those guys minutes were expanding way before Pat went out with the ankle injury and he's as much a reason Iowa is digging out of the hole as he was digging the hole at this point. He's nailed key free throws, made great passes, hit some big 3's when we've needed and played decent D. Overall, for a bench spark, he's played really well since going there. I get that it's hard to admit that for someone who thinks our coach has ulterior motives besides winning basketball games.
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InGoodCo
Well-Known Member
You know who didn't play well earlier in the year?
Tony Perkins - he's now a lot better
Bowen - his minutes dropped
Dix - he looked like a deer in headlights at the ISU game. He wasn't ready earlier in the year, now he is.
Dembele - Still looks lost at times, but has gotten better
Price Sandfort - not quite there physically but playing better as the year has progressed.
Things change, roles change, people step up, people step back but it's not a black and white straight line that people like to paint things. Iowa is not the same team they were in November and December and that's a good thing.
Tony Perkins - he's now a lot better
Bowen - his minutes dropped
Dix - he looked like a deer in headlights at the ISU game. He wasn't ready earlier in the year, now he is.
Dembele - Still looks lost at times, but has gotten better
Price Sandfort - not quite there physically but playing better as the year has progressed.
Things change, roles change, people step up, people step back but it's not a black and white straight line that people like to paint things. Iowa is not the same team they were in November and December and that's a good thing.
Well PMs PT isn't all on him no of course not. It's on his Dad and the roster being what it is. He's played a lot because as you eluded to they don't have a lot of better options. But to call a spade a spade that his play hasn't been all that good is what it is. He is the player he is. His shot selection has often been poor. He takes wild fadeaway shots even though they are in the penalty he leaks out instead of battling for defensive rebounds. He leaves his feat to pass without knowing what he's doing ahead of time quite a bit. Those are just innate parts of his game that as a 5th yr guy aren't really changing now. Has he had some good moments and helped win some games? Absolutely he has.
Just look at the last 5 games. He played great against MSU no doubt. They don't win that game without him. The other 4 games though.... They'd have probably been better off if the younger Sandfort had played most of his mins instead. PM is playing 20-24 mins a game pretty much. Which isn't a ton. It's just nitpicking at this point. I don't think shaving off 5 mins of PMs time for the younger Sandfort or combination of others woulda resulted in more Ws. That's tough to say.
thedukeofearl
Well-Known Member
Payton wasn't playing very good earlier in the year either. If Payton and Tony would have started the year where they left off last year and ended where they are now, we would probably be looking at a 5 seed. A lot of those losses where we had leads came with them not playing well. That said, they are our two best players and they are most of the reason the last few weeks have been so fun and we still have a shot at the tourney.
InGoodCo
Well-Known Member
His play hasn't been all that good. Easy to call a spade a spade, I think you just went a step too far really. You kind of dumped the whole early season on him in your previous post and eluded that he plays because his dad refuses to put the team in the best position to win games. Iowa has had a lot of attrition in that 3/4 spot over the last few years, Fran runs a developmental program. The fact that he's gotten this team in the position it is, to me personally, is commendable and a pretty good job of coaching. You make it sound like you think that's an indictment and that he plays his kid at the expense of the program. I feel confident no one wants to win Iowa basketball games more than Fran.
What part of what I said makes you think I think that? I honestly don't to the extent that I think you're getting at. I mean I just mentioned how he's only been playing 24 mins a game tops usually. If he was playing 30 plus then yeah that'd be a different story. But it's not like Fran has a ton of other options. Dembele and Sandfort are true freshmen they'd have to be pretty damn good to unseat him and they aren't that's fine.
Unless there was another player(s) who realistically could take those mins from PM and be better we can't really speak to how if Fran has a blind spot for his kid. But I know he doesn't. He's showed that with CM before PM too. He didn't play him too much either. Who starts and who doesn't is kind of an over rated thing anyway. It's who's playing the most mins and in crunch time situationally that matters. Rarely at the end of close games has Fran done a poor job of that he's dang good at that frankly.
eyekwah
Well-Known Member
For anyone that is interested in team and individual statistics for the current season here is a link. In the PSU game Iowa starters outscored the PSU starters significantly. PSU's bench performed almost as well as the PSU starters. Iowa's bench actually did a little better scoring than in previous games. Last night they had 16 points an usually average 11.
I didn't think Fran's substitution lineups were the best. The defense by them wasn't the best. It allowed PSU to stay in the game.
I didn't think Fran's substitution lineups were the best. The defense by them wasn't the best. It allowed PSU to stay in the game.
