Hmm. Maybe I'm Off My Rocker but.....

[MelroseHawkins]

..... I think Iowa may be a better or healthier team this year with the freshman newcomers than they were with the seniors that have left. I think overall the total quality of the players have improved.

I could see Jok being just as productive as last year once teams figure out they can't just key on him. If you have Cook, Jones, Bohannon, Baer that can sink them from behind the arc, teams will not be able to just shut down Jok like they think. I think the committee behind the arc looks really good.

 

[BryceC]

I could see it, but 3 of those guys haven't played major college basketball at all. You just don't know right now with them.

If I was an opposing coach I wouldn't pay any extra attention to Jok, I'd just put my best defender on him and have them play as tightly as possible on him, and make him drive. He'd have to prove to me he can consistently make shots after putting it on the floor before I'd make any changes there.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

I could see it, but 3 of those guys haven't played major college basketball at all. You just don't know right now with them.

If I was an opposing coach I wouldn't pay any extra attention to Jok, I'd just put my best defender on him and have them play as tightly as possible on him, and make him drive. He'd have to prove to me he can consistently make shots after putting it on the floor before I'd make any changes there.

If I remember from last year, I'm not even sure you need to utilize your best defender on him, I think anybody who keeps tight on him and not let him have space would do. What I'm saying is that it doesn't have to be the tallest and or quickest per se, just someone skilled enough to stay in front of him which makes him uncomfortable.

 

[ibahawkeye]

We're a deeper team so perhaps the overall talent is up in a sense but only 5 guys can see the court at 1 time.

 

[kicker22]

I think its safe to say that Jok is going to be heavily defended. I think most coaches are going to key on shutting him down and forcing our unknowns to beat them. The younger guys may turn out to be very good, but Jok's a proven scorer at this level who's battle tested. I'd be very surprised if other teams didn't key in on him in an attempt to take him out of the game and force the remaining 4 unproven guys to be responsible for the bulk of the scoring.

 

[NikeHawk21]

..... I think Iowa may be a better or healthier team this year with the freshman newcomers than they were with the seniors that have left. I think overall the total quality of the players have improved.

I could see Jok being just as productive as last year once teams figure out they can't just key on him. If you have Cook, Jones, Bohannon, Baer that can sink them from behind the arc, teams will not be able to just shut down Jok like they think. I think the committee behind the arc looks really good.

I don't think it's impossible to think we can be just as good this year. I wouldn't expect Cook to give us a ton in terms of 3pt shooting this year though. We do have Moss, Brady, and Uhl who can shoot it as well.

Some people do not feel that MG, Sapp, and Woody are as irreplaceable as others. Those guys won a lot of games for us, but did have limitations. My goal for this team is to make the NCAA tournament, nothing more, nothing less.

 

[ibahawkeye]

I think if Jok is hosting a lot of shots up we are in trouble. I really think he's going to be so keyed on by other teams that we are going to need other guys to step up and prove themselves as scoring threats to avoid having to rely so heavily on Jok.

Jok's game is more of a catch and shoot than a creater off the bounce. I'm sure they will use a lot of screens for Peter but I just don't want to see him forced into trying to do too much.

 

[bogeyman]

Still concerned we don't have a PG who can break down the defense consistently and kick out to those shooters though. We have to find a way to get our shooters open. One of our achilles heels, perhaps the biggest, has been the long scoring droughts we have gone on in close games on since Fran took over. Hoping we can find that guy who can at least penetrate and draw a foul or whatever it takes to stop those spurts where we just can't score. Maybe Cook can if the PG can't, but I have no idea until we see them play this year. Team is definitely intriguing, I think an NCAA berth would be a pleasant surprise and the future after that looks very bright. Whenever Fran finds that stud PG he's been longing for, look out, we'll be a top ten team for sure.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Still concerned we don't have a PG who can break down the defense consistently and kick out to those shooters though. We have to find a way to get our shooters open. One of our achilles heels, perhaps the biggest, has been the long scoring droughts we have gone on in close games on since Fran took over. Hoping we can find that guy who can at least penetrate and draw a foul or whatever it takes to stop those spurts where we just can't score. Maybe Cook can if the PG can't, but I have no idea until we see them play this year. Team is definitely intriguing, I think an NCAA berth would be a pleasant surprise and the future after that looks very bright. Whenever Fran finds that stud PG he's been longing for, look out, we'll be a top ten team for sure.

Spot on. Both points. Yes, Iowa is still waiting for that high-profile PG recruit and that is the missing or unknown piece with this team.

I also think NCAA berth would be a bonus and NIT definitely attainable. Probably close to the NCAA bubble this year with a chance.

 

[FCAS]

..... I think Iowa may be a better or healthier team this year with the freshman newcomers than they were with the seniors that have left. I think overall the total quality of the players have improved.

I could see Jok being just as productive as last year once teams figure out they can't just key on him. If you have Cook, Jones, Bohannon, Baer that can sink them from behind the arc, teams will not be able to just shut down Jok like they think. I think the committee behind the arc looks really good.

They could be better on offense, but I am concerned about a drop off on the defensive end.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

They could be better on offense, but I am concerned about a drop off on the defensive end.

Yea, good point.

 

[Tierney]

Yea, good point.

They are going to be better both offensively and defensively than last year. They are undefeated until someone beats them. On a given day they will be able to defeat anyone. All of these statements are true until they are proven to be false. If you think you have a pretty good team, that is what waiting for the seaon to start is all about. Nobody knows how the team will perform overall. I like to think they are pretty talented, especially the point guard position. What will make the team great will be the coaching.

 

[BigD]

Very good points by several of you. I know each new year brings renewed optimism and there is nothing wrong with that at all. Having followed Iowa basketball and the Big Ten for over forty years I can tell you that unless the younger guys are just outstanding players this team is going to have a lot of bumpy roads. Even with last year's experienced laden team (probably the most in the Big Ten) we struggled a lot.

There will probably a few games where we will look awesome and then play a few games where we look lost. That comes with youth. The biggest fall off will likely come on defense. That was Woodys strongest attribute. It certainly wasn't his offense. The same could be said about Sapp also. Remember these were Seniors we are talking about here and now we are going to be talking about much younger inexperienced players.

I think if fans go into the season expecting this team to be really good then they might find themselves being very disappointed. I really hope I am wrong but Iowa has never been known to bring in a bunch of young players and have them dominate on the floor.

 

[BigD]

Still concerned we don't have a PG who can break down the defense consistently and kick out to those shooters though. We have to find a way to get our shooters open. One of our achilles heels, perhaps the biggest, has been the long scoring droughts we have gone on in close games on since Fran took over. Hoping we can find that guy who can at least penetrate and draw a foul or whatever it takes to stop those spurts where we just can't score. Maybe Cook can if the PG can't, but I have no idea until we see them play this year. Team is definitely intriguing, I think an NCAA berth would be a pleasant surprise and the future after that looks very bright. Whenever Fran finds that stud PG he's been longing for, look out, we'll be a top ten team for sure.

I would agree. If There were to be a knock on Fran it would have to be his inability to land that Big Ten level of point guard who can carry a team from time to time especially in crunch time. We have never had that GO TO GUY under Fran. Marble would show flashes of this from time to time but then totally disappear at other times. Yo, is there a Ronnie Lester type guard out there somewhere? If so please apply at the front office.

Here's to hoping Moss or someone else steps up and fills that void. IF THAT CAN HAPPEN then at that point this team is at an entirely different level and my expectations will drastically change.

 

[NikeHawk21]

Very good points by several of you. I know each new year brings renewed optimism and there is nothing wrong with that at all. Having followed Iowa basketball and the Big Ten for over forty years I can tell you that unless the younger guys are just outstanding players this team is going to have a lot of bumpy roads. Even with last year's experienced laden team (probably the most in the Big Ten) we struggled a lot.

There will probably a few games where we will look awesome and then play a few games where we look lost. That comes with youth. The biggest fall off will likely come on defense. That was Woodys strongest attribute. It certainly wasn't his offense. The same could be said about Sapp also. Remember these were Seniors we are talking about here and now we are going to be talking about much younger inexperienced players.

I think if fans go into the season expecting this team to be really good then they might find themselves being very disappointed. I really hope I am wrong but Iowa has never been known to bring in a bunch of young players and have them dominate on the floor.

My only argument is we aren't as young/ inexperienced as you think. We have guys who have been around. Outside of Cook and probably Jordan to spell Williams, I don't think we are going to be relying heavily on the true freshman. Baer is in his third year here, Williams and Wagner got there feet wet last year. Uhl has played in 4 NCAA tourney games. Jok has played in 5.

I'm cautiously optimistic for this season. As I said my goal is to make the tourney, but I certainly won't be surprised if we don't. Either way I'm excited to watch!

 

[BigD]

My only argument is we aren't as young/ inexperienced as you think. We have guys who have been around. Outside of Cook and probably Jordan to spell Williams, I don't think we are going to be relying heavily on the true freshman. Baer is in his third year here, Williams and Wagner got there feet wet last year. Uhl has played in 4 NCAA tourney games. Jok has played in 5.

I'm cautiously optimistic for this season. As I said my goal is to make the tourney, but I certainly won't be surprised if we don't. Either way I'm excited to watch!

I certainly hope you are right as it would make the winter more enjoyable having a successful basketball team to follow.

 

[dahlhawk]

Yea, good point.

Yea it's gonna be tough replacing a center who constantly gave up baseline drives who was consistantly late on closing out on shooters and played 2 feet below the rim. Even tougher will be finding a pt guard who everyone in the league drove right past and then fed on a diet of post ups and wide open passes. Even our star player last year gave up drive after drive but was sometimes athletic enough to block some shots from behind. If great defense is standing motionless in the lane hoping the other guy misses... we will miss that. This team will be able to press, block shots, close out better, and stick with players. It might take half the season to gel but when they do this will be a tough team with great upside. They hopefully won't peak their freshman year. Wood could rebound though!

 

[bogeyman]

I would agree. If There were to be a knock on Fran it would have to be his inability to land that Big Ten level of point guard who can carry a team from time to time especially in crunch time. We have never had that GO TO GUY under Fran. Marble would show flashes of this from time to time but then totally disappear at other times. Yo, is there a Ronnie Lester type guard out there somewhere? If so please apply at the front office.

Here's to hoping Moss or someone else steps up and fills that void. IF THAT CAN HAPPEN then at that point this team is at an entirely different level and my expectations will drastically change.

Got me thinking, who is the last great PG we had? Man, we have to go back a ways. Horner was pretty good, I wouldn't call him elite as a PG but solid. Boy its been awhile since we had a real difference maker in that spot when you think about it. Imagine how good Fran's transition offense would run with a guy like Ulis (I know I know we must move on ) . Just saying. Can't believe we haven't been able to find a guy.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Very good points by several of you. I know each new year brings renewed optimism and there is nothing wrong with that at all. Having followed Iowa basketball and the Big Ten for over forty years I can tell you that unless the younger guys are just outstanding players this team is going to have a lot of bumpy roads. Even with last year's experienced laden team (probably the most in the Big Ten) we struggled a lot.

There will probably a few games where we will look awesome and then play a few games where we look lost. That comes with youth. The biggest fall off will likely come on defense. That was Woodys strongest attribute. It certainly wasn't his offense. The same could be said about Sapp also. Remember these were Seniors we are talking about here and now we are going to be talking about much younger inexperienced players.

I think if fans go into the season expecting this team to be really good then they might find themselves being very disappointed. I really hope I am wrong but Iowa has never been known to bring in a bunch of young players and have them dominate on the floor.

Nice post! Yes, expect some inconsistency. Very good point. It's always a crap shoot at the beginning of the season on what to expect, even more this year with so many freshman. That's what makes it fun, though.

 

[NikeHawk21]

Yea it's gonna be tough replacing a center who constantly gave up baseline drives who was consistantly late on closing out on shooters and played 2 feet below the rim. Even tougher will be finding a pt guard who everyone in the league drove right past and then fed on a diet of post ups and wide open passes. Even our star player last year gave up drive after drive but was sometimes athletic enough to block some shots from behind. If great defense is standing motionless in the lane hoping the other guy misses... we will miss that. This team will be able to press, block shots, close out better, and stick with players. It might take half the season to gel but when they do this will be a tough team with great upside. They hopefully won't peak their freshman year. Wood could rebound though!

1. Woody was a plus defender due to positioning and hard work. You're right his lack of foot speed did cause problems at times and his short arms and limited jumping weren't ideal.

2. MG and Sapp were both pretty solid perimeter defenders. That aspect will be missed. Offensively, I think they are both replaceable.

3. About JU I very much agree. I started noticing how much he was loafing on D, just about the time we started our free fall. He thought he could make up for it with his shot blocking but that is not always the case. Maybe he was thinking more about being an AA and going to the NBA.

Side note: Jok has improved his defense every year. Let's hope that continues this year.