The Hawks are much better defensively, other than the Michigan game.
They are swarming all over the place, with constant movement it seems, and they help out when the ball goes inside, collapsing to help Garza and Kriener. They seem to really understand the concept of playing D, whereas past teams didn't seem to completely grasp the nuances of defense.
Fran is doing a nice job keeping the starters somewhat rested and fresh with his substitutions. Before the 10 minute mark in both halves, long before in most cases, he has a line shift. It seems that there is perhaps one scorer on the floor, but the Lads manage to play very well, maintaining the lead or staying even with the opponents. This is a necessary strategy because we are rather depleted with injuries and medical problems.
Cordel does his job when he is in there, He is a presence in the paint and we need him to give the starters a break. He probably shouldn't force shots, but he did have a very nice pass to Ryan under the basket for a dunk the other night.
Bakari has a nice floor game and is active, constantly moving without the ball and is there to help out when someone is trapped and having difficulty finding a teammate to pass the ball to.
JoeT is going to be huge for this team and will be a huge bonus his entire career at Iowa. He is really fun to watch playing D. He is all over the place and really disrupts the flow of the opponents' offense. He also seems to direct his teammates on D pointing where they should be. He has a natural command of the concept of playing D.