Holy shit how wrong has this board been?

[DDThompson]

Slow the roll but I think there are a couple of difference makers this season.

Garza has taken a huge step forward.

CJ can snipe and plays defense—he is a glue guy.

The questions are how much the potential loss of the difference maker called JBo will be (of course)

And how quickly can Brooklyn and Eve fill the gap of that loss in different ways (of course) other than 3pt shooting.

 

[Northside Hawk]

I was the harshest critic on this board after DePaul, even more so than @InGoodCo. I saw a team not hustle, play mentally weak, quit on plays, and basically act like they didn't give a rats ass. I predicted a five win season if that type effort continued.

I'm converted. Im not advocating NCAA'S yet because, like several have commented, we've seen this movie before. But were not repeating 2018 either, which was my biggest fear. We've already won in two tough venues and knocked off another tough team on a neutral court, something most of Dr. Toms 1990's teams couldn't accomplish.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

It turns out Garza is just as good, if not better, at getting shots up than Cook was. But he makes them at a higher clip. That's a big difference right there. CJ is an all around better player than Moss too. There's the rest of the difference. We are a legit to 20 team with a banged up Bohannon. We're about to find out what we are without him. And people are crazy for downplaying ISU. They are projected as just outside the tournament right now. Those are the types of teams bad teams are supposed to lose to on the road. We kicked their ass. I get more than most on here that basketball has huge swings game to game, but we have looked like a good team for 9 1/2 games out of 11 so far. Very few teams this year have looked like a good team for that high of a percentage of games.

The kind of shots that Garza can take is just more vast then what Cook could. He's just got more bullets in the holster if that makes sense. Garza being able to face up at any distance pretty much and then dribble down with his back to the basket and create whatever the best shot for him is based on how the defender is playing him is what makes a great offensive post player that. Cooks moves seemed predetermined almost. Like if he caught it on the one block he was going to do that lefty hook no matter what. I don't see that sort of play with Garza. If you could put Cooks legs and explosiveness on Garza holy crap..

 

[DDThompson]

People are acting like Jordan was playing at the level we've seen him play the last 2 or 3 seasons....while I agree that taking him away from the mix does give the team a different dynamic, this stretch of games where Iowa has played well hasn't really been the result of great play by Jbo. If you take him off the team then you still have most of the ingredients still in the cake that has made this stretch as good as it has been. We'll miss his clutch shooting for sure....but you cats that are still around trying to sell impending doom, your days are numbered.

I don’t know about the last sentence because the Big10 is brutal ...

But you’re right that this stretch is what it has been with JBo not on par with his normal touch.

But lack of practice time has given him plenty-o-time to work on his Cyclone trolling — shoes on the court and the blowing of the kiss to the student section....epoch

 

[Northside Hawk]

The kind of shots that Garza can take is just more vast then what Cook could. He's just got more bullets in the holster if that makes sense. Garza being able to face up at any distance pretty much and then dribble down with his back to the basket and create whatever the best shot for him is based on how the defender is playing him is what makes a great offensive post player that. Cooks moves seemed predetermined almost. Like if he caught it on the one block he was going to do that lefty hook no matter what. I don't see that sort of play with Garza. If you could put Cooks legs and explosiveness on Garza holy crap..

You would have Kevin Durant, that's what you would have.

 

[ArvadaHawk]

If Iowa plays the rest of the games at .500-.600 that would be a great result.

i think .500 would be a hell of an achievement. wouldn't get them into ncaa, but i think we need to have realistic/relative expectations for this team. injuries have sort of derailed what their potential could have been.

 

[ArvadaHawk]

Jordan (100%) is a great player to have down the stretch because he's money at the line. However, JoeW (79%) and CM (90%) are also money down the stretch at the line this year. And not far behind them is JT (77%).

i like your point on JT at the ft line and, to me, for a pg his ability to knock down the ft shows the ice in his veins and he just needs the experience.

 

[ArvadaHawk]

Teams will likely find a way to adjust on him. That is where it is going to be so key that they keep hitting from the outside. But, once they start facing tougher and quicker back courts (as well as front courts) in conference (and on the road) I think we will see us go back to the mean. Hope I'm wrong.

yep, B1G teams are gonna be big and fast and relentless, as usual.

 

[westender]

I can say with almost 100% certainty that we will run into a buzzsaw at least one more time this year and get smoked, probably closer to 5 more times. I can also say with about 100% certainty that every other team but maybe 5 will also run into buzzsaws and get smoked. When it inevitably happens again, we will once again suck and Fran will not know what he's doing. Well coached teams don't have off nights. They don't even have off stretches in a game.

A lot of great teams in the Big Ten.

 

[koralakers]

Next year should be exciting too. If JBo shuts it down, we will have 5 starters returning next year. Add in our 5 recruits next year. The Perkins kid is playing lights out to start his senior season and it was mentioned that he is going to be upgraded to a 4 star recruit. You’ve got Ahron Ulis bringing his game, twin 6’8” forwards each averaging 20 pts. a game, and big man Ogundele. We only lose Kreiner, who I’ve always liked, to graduation. If we can bring in a couple of highly rated recruits in the 2021 recruiting cycle, the future looks bright.

Man, I am actually REALLY EXCITED about the future. Anytime I’ve thought that, I usually temper my enthusiasm, or something really bad happens to Iowa basketball. Hope the second part doesn’t happen cuz I really love Fran and the kids on this team! Even starting to think the twins coming in could be huge!

 

[JPinIC]

In conference, Iowa has 9 more games against the current top 25 of Kenpom and that does not include @Indiana, Wisconsin or 2 games against a very talented Illinois team. I am impressed with Illinois they are slowly putting it all together.

 

[PCHawk]

A lot of great teams in the Big Ten.

Great? Not sure about that. The main thing is there are only 2 bad teams. Every other team is a tough out.

 

[PCHawk]

In conference, Iowa has 9 more games against the current top 25 of Kenpom and that does not include @Indiana, Wisconsin or 2 games against a very talented Illinois team. I am impressed with Illinois they are slowly putting it all together.

So we need to win 3 of the ones you mentioned and all 5 of the ones you didn't mention to get to .500.

 

[WindsorHawk]

In reference to the NCAA Tournament... Remember how long Nebraska was still looking good in the various metrics late last year when it was obvious they weren’t that good...because of their non conference. Playing this type of schedule...and winning...will carry a lot of weight for several weeks into conference play. It almost makes us an NCAA lock at 10-10 in the BT.

 

[WindsorHawk]

Looking at our conference schedule I think 11-9 is realistic based on what I’ve seen from our team and other teams. That’s with us winning what we should and pulling no major upsets IMO.

 

[uihawk82]

Next year should be exciting too. If JBo shuts it down, we will have 5 starters returning next year. Add in our 5 recruits next year. The Perkins kid is playing lights out to start his senior season and it was mentioned that he is going to be upgraded to a 4 star recruit. You’ve got Ahron Ulis bringing his game, twin 6’8” forwards each averaging 20 pts. a game, and big man Ogundele. We only lose Kreiner, who I’ve always liked, to graduation. If we can bring in a couple of highly rated recruits in the 2021 recruiting cycle, the future looks bright.

Is this Ulis kid related to Tyler Ulis IIRC who Fran tried to get before he went to kentucky

 

[PCHawk]

Is this Ulis kid related to Tyler Ulis IIRC who Fran tried to get before he went to kentucky

It's his bro.

 

[ForeverHawk]

I'd say slow your roll a bit. Let's see what happens when JBo sits out. Keep in mind, this was not much of a Clown team Iowa just demolished.

If Fran gives the majority of JBo's minutes to Joe T, that will pay dividends in the future. If he goes a different direction...

It wasn’t much of a Texas Tech team either after we beat them, then they beat #1 Louisville.

 

[hawkeyebob62]

The improvement we have seen since the DePaul game is impressive. What I especially like is the movement off the ball. A lot of that can be attributed to Weiskamp and Frederick both having excellent basketball IQs and a feel for the game.

Obviously, Garza's rise is a big component as well. The team feeds off his toughness and grit.

Keeping it real, though, ISU probably has it's worst team in years. We'll have to wait and see how things go in the meat of the conference schedule. I hope I'm wrong, but I still think we finish in the bottom half. The B1G is loaded this year.

Yeah, looking at the schedule, I really saw no "100% sure" wins on it. But I also didn't really see any "we have zero chance to win" games, either.

 

[Stanzi]

Yeah, looking at the schedule, I really saw no "100% sure" wins on it. But I also didn't really see any "we have zero chance to win" games, either.

Nebraska and Northwestern are really bad. It doesn’t mean we can’t lose to them but they’re really not good.