Holy shit how wrong has this board been?

I wasn’t high on the team. I wasn’t down on the team. My position was always that no one could know how good they would be with so many new guys and Garza actually getting a chance to workout during the offseason. I’ve seen enough. I’m high on this team.

It’s always good to get a win at Syracuse IMO...even if they’re having a down year. I think very highly of the Texas Tech coach. I think his teams will consistently be good...Louisville win already. And ISU was rated comparably to us in the various metrics, etc. They were playing at home and favored by 4. I have no doubt about which was the better team.
 
WindsorHawk said:
The jury’s verdict is in IMO. This team has a very high basketball IQ. They play at a level very close to their maximum potential IMO. And they are going to be 8-3 or 9-2 playing the toughest non conference schedule I recall in...I don’t know how long.

Side Note - I believe the rumors that CJ was outplaying Moss last year in practice. I love that guy.
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20 games left to go and we've seen this script before. Get back to me in February.
 
Clearly the DePaul game was a fluke and they've been playing much better than I expected, but I still want to see this team consistently defend throughout the year.

Before this game, they were still dead last in the conference in FG% defense and in the 220's nationally in defensive efficiency. It's real hard to win consistently without solid defense and I'm not sold that this team can defend the way they need to.

That said, I'll allow myself to enjoy last night's win and see how things unfold. Been burned too many times to go all in yet.
 
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ssckelley said:
20 games left to go and we've seen this script before. Get back to me in February.
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I’m not playing that game...different team and different players. And they play smart.

I’ll get back to you now. They’re 8-3 against a legitimate schedule. Today there is no reason not to be high on this team. I’ve enjoyed the 8 wins. And I’m excited about the team. If you want to fret and worry that’s certainly your right. I won’t be with you on that journey.

And I’m not naive. There will be more DePaul games. But there will also be more Texas Tech and ISU games. And I will love JT. And then JT will be totally out of control and have to sit...and learn. Last night both happened with JT within the same game.
 
InGoodCo said:
Jury is still out!!!!

we'll just have to wait and see. lol..
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So far this team has been a "breath of fresh air" with leadership being the key: Toussaint being a tough little "water bug" out there, Garza playing his heart out, and Frederick an "in game - not justice practice shooter."

JoBo also provides guts, leadership, and experience. (gosh how long has it been for Iowa fans, when the game is close to expect free throws to be MADE, not choked off the rim?) And if JoBo sits out till next year, which makes sense, his absence will be a motivating factor for the team and he will be a supportive and tough leader who leads and inspires, even on the bench.

Fran doesn't seem to be quite as "nuts" either...in between is best for him and the team.

Long way to go, but this is a quintessential TEAM, which is what the game is.

I am not surprised by the "breath of fresh air" team performance and leadership, and happy to see it, Kudos to Fran, the staff and the players.

I wonder when the last time was...Iowa beating ISU on the road in FB and BB and beating them in wrestling?
 
InGoodCo said:
Seriously..... you guys made me turn on Fran when I’m reality he recruited really well and put together an amazing class and team. Might not be elite, but they know how to put the ball in the bucket and he can actually absorb attrition like TC and IM and still field and competent team
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i have been surprised for sure and i was not expecting much. but i would caution that we still have 22+ games left and we (likely) will now be without jbo. this team is going to have to learn to play together, again, without another piece of the puzzle. i can still see a lot of potential losses for this team going forward in-conference. i don't think garza alone will be enough to hold the paint throughout 20 B1G games. we shall see.
 
WindsorHawk said:
I’m not playing that game...different team and different players. And they play smart.

I’ll get back to you now. They’re 8-3 against a legitimate schedule. Today there is no reason not to be high on this team. I’ve enjoyed the 8 wins. And I’m excited about the team. If you want to fret and worry that’s certainly your right. I won’t be with you on that journey.

And I’m not naive. There will be more DePaul games. But there will also be more Texas Tech and ISU games. And I will love JT. And then JT will be totally out of control and have to sit...and learn. Last night both happened with JT within the same game.
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Not choking off the lead at ISU showed me something...never let them get "back in it"...The Clones sniffed a bit but never got a good scent. It could have been 40 points, actually.
 
ArvadaHawk said:
i have been surprised for sure and i was not expecting much. but i would caution that we still have 22+ games left and we (likely) will now be without jbo. this team is going to have to learn to play together, again, without another piece of the puzzle. i can still see a lot of potential losses for this team going forward in-conference. i don't think garza alone will be enough to hold the paint throughout 20 B1G games. we shall see.
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If Iowa plays the rest of the games at .500-.600 that would be a great result.
 
revkev73 said:
So far this team has been a "breath of fresh air" with leadership being the key: Toussaint being a tough little "water bug" out there, Garza playing his heart out, and Frederick an "in game - not justice practice shooter."

JoBo also provides guts, leadership, and experience. (gosh how long has it been for Iowa fans, when the game is close to expect free throws to be MADE, not choked off the rim?) And if JoBo sits out till next year, which makes sense, his absence will be a motivating factor for the team and he will be a supportive and tough leader who leads and inspires, even on the bench.

Fran doesn't seem to be quite as "nuts" either...in between is best for him and the team.

Long way to go, but this is a quintessential TEAM, which is what the game is.

I am not surprised by the "breath of fresh air" team performance and leadership, and happy to see it, Kudos to Fran, the staff and the players.

I wonder when the last time was...Iowa beating ISU on the road in FB and BB and beating them in wrestling?
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I think I saw it was 1997.
 
InGoodCo said:
Seriously..... you guys made me turn on Fran when I’m reality he recruited really well and put together an amazing class and team. Might not be elite, but they know how to put the ball in the bucket and he can actually absorb attrition like TC and IM and still field and competent team
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I wasn't wrong per se, but they've done better than I thought they could be. I thought they had a chance to be good with more bball IQ and new pieces, but wasn't quite expecting this. Their chemistry is terrific and they feed off of Garza's will. They will still have bad shooting nights which will cost them games, but I feel like their defensive communication and effort is much improved without Cook and Moss.
 
If Joe T is our new starter and he plays 30 minutes per game, our defensive numbers are going to rise a bunch. I fricking hate that Bohannon has to be out, but replacing the worst defender on the team with the best one is going to help that side of the court quite a bit.

I think we have a starting lineup worthy of a top 25 ranking, but our bench might keep us out of the dance. Especially if we have one more injury. It still blows me away that people say injuries are no excuse. I get that players and coaches have to lie and say it's not, but I think it's ok for fans to acknowledge reality.
 
WindsorHawk said:
I’m not playing that game...different team and different players. And they play smart.

I’ll get back to you now. They’re 8-3 against a legitimate schedule. Today there is no reason not to be high on this team. I’ve enjoyed the 8 wins. And I’m excited about the team. If you want to fret and worry that’s certainly your right. I won’t be with you on that journey.

And I’m not naive. There will be more DePaul games. But there will also be more Texas Tech and ISU games. And I will love JT. And then JT will be totally out of control and have to sit...and learn. Last night both happened with JT within the same game.
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lol, Windsor you do this every year.

In fact you and I debated this exact same thing a year ago. I can't remember the win total you predicted the Hawks would win but when it looked like you were going to win our bet the Hawks proceeded to lose 5 of their last 6 games.
 
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Things I have been (the most) pleasantly surprised about this season:

1. Garza's transformation into an absolute beast. He has a wide array of offensive moves and can make shots from anywhere. He's also been a great rebounder and isn't a liability on the defensive end. You can tell how much work he put in during the offseason on all aspects of his game.

2. Frederick. I don't think any of us knew what to expect. I think it's fair to say expectations were pretty low. I know mine were. He's been really good. He's a good shooter and a good defender. He appears to have a high basketball IQ. He's a clear improvement over Moss in my opinion.

3. The team's mental and physical toughness. When ISU went on their run last night to cut the lead to 7 we didn't panic and quickly got the lead back up to 20. We were able to kill the crowd anytime they started to really get into the game. We saw that same toughness against Texas Tech. We were able to finish them off despite their second half run. Most of Fran's teams haven't been able to do that.
 
It was definitely very gloomy around here after Depaul. I did start thread about not panicking. I also talked about how their could be a silver lining to the Nunge injury. I feel for Nunge but the results of the small ball lineup have been outstanding.

I’ve been calling for Iowa to play smaller lineup for the better part of the last 2.5 years. Although Fran didn’t seem like he wanted to go that way the Nunge injury kind of forced his hand. In that regard I do feel like I know what I’m talking about. :)

Our depth is going to be a major concern with Jbo out. Evelyn and Pemsl have basically been non factors the entire way. Could Pat get healthy and give us a boost? I’ve mentioned on a few occasions that Till might be the better option than Pemsl at this stage. Bottom line is Fran is going to have to take the training wheels off Toussaint. He will have some ups and downs for certain, but I do think his defense will be nice to have out there for extended minutes.
 
NikeHawk21 said:
It was definitely very gloomy around here after Depaul. I did start thread about not panicking. I also talked about how their could be a silver lining to the Nunge injury. I feel for Nunge but the results of the small ball lineup have been outstanding.

I’ve been calling for Iowa to play smaller lineup for the better part of the last 2.5 years. Although Fran didn’t seem like he wanted to go that way the Nunge injury kind of forced his hand. In that regard I do feel like I know what I’m talking about.

Our depth is going to be a major concern with Jbo out. Evelyn and Pemsl have basically been non factors the entire way. Could Pat get healthy and give us a boost? I’ve mentioned on a few occasions that Till might be the better option than Pemsl at this stage. Bottom line is Fran is going to have to take the training wheels off Toussaint. He will have some ups and downs for certain, but I do think his defense will be nice to have out there for extended minutes.
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Agreed, our depth is not all that great. Pemsl looked terrible last night. Any game that Garza gets into foul trouble would be terrible for Iowa.
 
I like Fran, but I am not a fan of his temper out bursts. That one last year at OSU was over the line. He's great when he does one on one interviews. He's a very smooth and comes off as calm and collected and knows what he's talking about
 
InGoodCo said:
Seriously..... you guys made me turn on Fran when I’m reality he recruited really well and put together an amazing class and team. Might not be elite, but they know how to put the ball in the bucket and he can actually absorb attrition like TC and IM and still field and competent team
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Like I said several weeks ago, there were too many unknowns for me to count them out or count them in for that matter. I'm pleasantly surprised. CJ is a lot better than what I saw from him in high school, and Toussaint is like a Tasmanian devil out there.
 
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