Howe: Closing Time - Final Thoughts on '18-19 Hawkeye Season
- Thread starter RobHowe
- Start date
SteveGarvey1
Well-Known Member
Good write-up.
Too many players, not enough minutes = a couple of players going bye-bye by next season. No two ways about it.
Too many players, not enough minutes = a couple of players going bye-bye by next season. No two ways about it.
RobHowe
Administrator
Thanks.
Time will tell. It's the norm in college basketball.
There were rumors and speculation about quite a few guys leaving after last season. It ended up being just Ellingson and Wagner with the latter a unique case in that he switched sports.
Dailey seems like the most likely to me in that he has to wonder how he'll get more minutes next year. We might not know about Cook until late spring if he goes through the NBA Draft process again. Same with Moss, I guess.
There are other possibilities. It's hard to know what guys are thinking. Everyone wants to play. Simple math says it's going to be hard for them all to do so here.
JG10Hawk
Well-Known Member
Rob, you mention "High expectations are justified". Considering we don't know the exact roster yet with potential transfers, etc, what would you consider "justified" expectations?
Barring any crazy roster changes to a pretty well seasoned group, I would expect similar results as this season at the minimum. At least .500 in conference play and an automatic bid in the NCAA tournament. If nobody leaves the expectations should probably be higher.
WindsorHawk
Well-Known Member
Do you know the draft evaluation rules? Can Cook do it again and return to Iowa?
JG10Hawk
Well-Known Member
Yep, as long as they don't sign with an agent. At least that's the rule until the new NBAPA agreement in 2021. Then some will be allowed to be represented by an agent. That's my understanding anyways.
It'll be interesting. Iron sharpens Iron. I hope Cook and Moss both come back. Our front court will be pretty formidable and have a ton of fouls to give if he does. I could see Moss make a big leap from now till next yr. If he can improve his handle and basketball IQ some more he can be an even better player.
homes
Well-Known Member
Fran's going to have to make some hard calls next year. Even if Cook leaves and Dailey transfers, there are still 11 guys that will be looking to play, 6 who got a lot of minutes this year, 2 more who have seen minutes the year before, and 3 more who probably think they should be playing. 11 is too many to keep in a regular rotation. If Cook decides to stay, even more issues. I'd like to see Cook come back, and I think he does if he's interested in developing more offensive skills and becoming a better rebounder. If he believes he's maxed out in those areas, then it's in his best interest to move on now and try to start earning a paycheck playing basketball now because another year at Iowa won't enhance his prospects any, he'll just be a year older.
RobHowe
Administrator
To me, expectations belong to the individual. Most of them are different to some degree. And perception can change on a dime. Think about what the overall general perception of this team would be had it not fought back and took Tennessee to overtime and instead lost by 20.
But as a result of that comeback against a top 10 team along with a nine-win improvement from last year the bar for next year is raised, particularly if Baer is the only significant subtraction. I’m speculating, and there are other variables in how perception is formed, but I would think the majority of people would expect more success than this season. And we all have different measurements for that.
Very nice write up. One bone of contention I have is I do not see any development in this program. Would suggest stagnation (along with football). I have followed Iowa sports since the late 50s and the excitement usually devolves into disappointment year after year in both sports. I pine for the days of Bump, Ralph and Hayden. At least we have women' basketball!
Northside Hawk
Well-Known Member
We will be the most experienced team next year, in terms of number of games returning players have started, that I can ever recall seeing. Maybe the Calbert Chaney/Greg Graham Indiana Hoosiers come close.
We have the most challenging non conference schedule awaiting this experienced team that I can remember since the Alford years. And our players should have defined roles. We should be able to build a strong tournament resume early in the year.
We should avoid an 0-3 conference start with what we have coming back. And perhaps have an inside track to a coveted double bye in the conference tournament. To do this, we must win more games against the two Michigan schools, Purdue, Maryland and Wisconsin.
It would be nice to get a win in Ames, which we haven't done in a while. This team is capable. We will see.
1977Hawkeye
Well-Known Member
Very true. It was good to see the team show a lot of fight in the 2nd half against TN, but I'm being cautious not to get TOO hung up on 20 minutes of basketball. Bigger picture, it was a good season getting back to the tournament and winning a first round game most didn't expect us to win. Iowa gave a good account of themselves in Columbus. There was also another late-year melt down.
If next year is just a repeat of this season, I feel most, myself included, would view that as somewhat of a disappointment. Fireable offense? Not necessarily. But disapppointing? Yes, absolutely. It would probably feel a lot like the 1991-92 Hawks if that happens. Entire team back, and they were Top 20 pre-season.. Expectations were high.. Ended up a 9 seed.
It's hard to know how much to expect. For me, challenge for a double bye, get a 4-6 seed in the dance.. Hopefully make the Sweet 16 or better (acknowledging that tournament results are very much a crap shoot). Anything better would obviously be welcome.
Expectations SHOULD be high for next season. If the team can't break through next year and set a new high-water mark for Fran's program.. Then when?
Just my 2 cents.
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SteveGarvey1
Well-Known Member
Seems like Moss has improved incrementally each year. He has less games where he should be on a milk carton but still has some. Would hope for more dramatic improvement next year but another incremental improvement wouldn't be the worst.
Kreiner seemed like the guy who improved the most from last year to this year. I mean, the previous season, he looked lost out there, bouncing shots off the top of the backboard and such. He's developed some nice post moves and appears to have found his niche.
J Bo and Cook I'd say were slightly improved. Garza moderate improvement.
He has gotten better I agree. Not sure many others would recognize it but he's rebounded well and hustles too. I think he takes a lot of flak for how he can disappear some but I like him. We don't have anyone else like him. I look forward to a big senior year from him.
I agree Kreiner shined at times out there. He's as much why we beat Michigan as anyone. He's pretty streaky in that you kinda know within the first few trips up and down the court if he's on his game or not. But I really love a guy that can use his body and use good old fashioned post moves to get easy shots inside.
I wish Cook would work on those more. Instead of that 8 foot left handed half hook he attempts once or twice a game. I love Garzas game. I really do I hope he can get stronger in his legs and more confident to go up stronger. At times he kinda shys away and fades back allowing his shots to get blocked with him falling down. But he's such a crafty player. I think he'll have a huge last 2 years at Iowa I just hope we play through him as much as possible.
mopkins
King Kong
If Cook returns (huge if) then Iowa returns over 90% of their minutes from last year.
Not to mention they get back Nunge who played 517 minutes his freshman year and Pemsl who averaged just under 600 minutes his first 2 seasons. Baer played 667 minutes this season, for comparison. Iowa could have a TON of minutes returning.
Not to mention they get back Nunge who played 517 minutes his freshman year and Pemsl who averaged just under 600 minutes his first 2 seasons. Baer played 667 minutes this season, for comparison. Iowa could have a TON of minutes returning.
InGoodCo
Well-Known Member
Every school has 13 scholarships - Iowa is not unique in having a bunch of guys who want to play. To say having 11 guys is too many is 2 short of what every other school has. Iowa needs 13 scholarship worthy players every season. Now, if you want to say 11 is too many for a rotation, then yeah, I agree with you, but having too many good players is not a problem for Iowa. These things tend to work themselves out and history tells us anything, guys in the program that are poised to get a lot of minutes stick around.
WindsorHawk
Well-Known Member
If I was Dailey I would RS. He gets to spend another year with his teammates...the big class that came in together. And he can see if there is a place in the rotation as a 5th year senior. If not he can get his degree from Iowa and go play a year of basketball at a mid major likely as a starter and double figure scorer. Unless he’s going to graduate this spring it makes more sense to finish his degree at Iowa IMO.
trj
Well-Known Member
That was my thought process before the 17-18 season. Then I watched Fran struggle with figuring out which rotations worked. There were many issues during that season and putting lineups out there that worked was one of them. Now I am a little skittish if Cook/Moss stay and no one leaves.....How does Fran make that work?
