Howe: Hawkeye Basketball All-Decade Team
- Thread starter RobHowe
- Start date
I want to nit pick at this but I really don't think I can. That starting 5 would be extremely formidable holy smokes. MG was pretty consistent over his career but nobody would take him over JBo. Jok had a really good senior year but Marble did way more overall and over more seasons. And Garza has turned into a monster. He's got a counter move for however he's being defended on the block. Doesn't matter if defender is bigger then him or not. He's able to not only get a shot off but a good one. Well done Rob
RobHowe
Administrator
Thanks. It's certainly subjective.
I struggled the most between Jok and JBo in the starting five. I went with the better passer.
For sure. JWs book seems to be less then half written too his future could change how he's looked at.
NikeHawk21
Well-Known Member
I like this idea a lot.
G - Marble (Best guard to date in the Fran era)
G - Jok (Best scorer)
G/F - Wieskamp (Two way player)
F - Uthoff (Best player in Fran Era)
C - Garza (might overtake Uthoff as best player)
Bench:
-White (high energy player would be great off the bench)
-JBo (gamer)
-Baer (do everything player)
-Olaseni (I like him as a backup center)
-Fredrick (sorry but I think this kid is a stud)
I went with the most talented group. Assuming Garza gets 1st Team All B1G my top 6 feature all of Fran’s 1st team All B1G guys and then Wieskamp who might get there if he stays around. My bench features two former B1G 6th men of the year and Aaron White!
My team would be absolutely dominant on offense. I’m not sure how we would spread the shots around but we could figure that out as we go. Tons of shooters surrounding Garza, and then two great garbage men (that’s not a bad thing) in White and Olaseni.
My weakness would be perimeter quickness, which isn’t surprising for the Fran era. I think we make up for that with unbelievable length with 6’6 Marble and 6’6 Jok at guards and then the great length of Wieskamp and Uthoff. Probably play a lot of zone. JU was a very good shot blocker and with Garza’s improvement on defense I think we’d be solid defensively.
G - Marble (Best guard to date in the Fran era)
G - Jok (Best scorer)
G/F - Wieskamp (Two way player)
F - Uthoff (Best player in Fran Era)
C - Garza (might overtake Uthoff as best player)
Bench:
-White (high energy player would be great off the bench)
-JBo (gamer)
-Baer (do everything player)
-Olaseni (I like him as a backup center)
-Fredrick (sorry but I think this kid is a stud)
I went with the most talented group. Assuming Garza gets 1st Team All B1G my top 6 feature all of Fran’s 1st team All B1G guys and then Wieskamp who might get there if he stays around. My bench features two former B1G 6th men of the year and Aaron White!
My team would be absolutely dominant on offense. I’m not sure how we would spread the shots around but we could figure that out as we go. Tons of shooters surrounding Garza, and then two great garbage men (that’s not a bad thing) in White and Olaseni.
My weakness would be perimeter quickness, which isn’t surprising for the Fran era. I think we make up for that with unbelievable length with 6’6 Marble and 6’6 Jok at guards and then the great length of Wieskamp and Uthoff. Probably play a lot of zone. JU was a very good shot blocker and with Garza’s improvement on defense I think we’d be solid defensively.
The only thing I'd nit pick over too much with you on is JW. I think to put his potential ahead of what White did as a body of work is tough to do. White did a whole heck of a lot during his time. He played early and often too like JW has. I think JW could end up doing more but just looking at the numbers so far they are pretty much the same scoring wise within a bucket of each other on a per game basis. Rebounding wise White got way more but he was a 6'9 PF and JW isn't asked to do that to that extent. But he does rebound well. It's a preference thing as well. And I see what you mean by him being a 2 way player I just think White was as well.
I know the teams he played on make him overlooked, but I think Gatens has to be on there. He was an absolute gamer with ice in his veins. Bohannon is probably the only comparable shooter in the last 2 minutes of a game. I'd probably start Marble, Jok, Wieskamp, Uthoff, and Garza, but I'd finish with JBo, Gatens, Wieskamp, White, and Garza.
NikeHawk21
Well-Known Member
White to me is a 4 and that’s where he excelled. Which made it for me a White Vs. Uthoff thought process. I’ll take JU’s shot blocking and 3pt shooting. If you stick White or JU at the 3 instead of Wieskamp things get a little clunky imo. Wieskamp even with the slow start this year is an incredibly efficient scorer.
NikeHawk21
Well-Known Member
There are going to be snubs and Gatens was certainly very good and had an amazing run senior year, but overall I prefer the other players. Fredrick a stretch right now for sure, I thought about Clemmons as 10th guy just for perimeter defense actually that’s one change I might make. Tyler Cook might have been a bigger snub but his main strengths I already had enough of and therefore didn’t include him.
For sure that being a lineup preference. THat's the sort of thing these kind of lists can run into as well. Uthoff to me was a long 3 and a skinny 4 was what I called him.
Cook I couldn't put above White for their bodies of work. Even though I think one on one Cook would eat his lunch inside. Or should.. If Cook would have came back this year I wonder how he'd have done. It'd have been an interesting dynamic. But I'm glad he didn't because it'd have taken touches away from Garza and that's the last thing I want to see.
That's a bold move to leave White out of the starting 5. But after thinking about it more, I think it's the right one. I personally think Wieskamp is an all around better player than White, but even if it was a tie, Wieskamp is a better 3 for sure. And like you said, Uthoff is a better 4. You could go with Uthoff as a 5 and White as a 4, but leaving Garza off is the worst thing you could do probably.
NikeHawk21
Well-Known Member
White was an absolute stud but the 3pt shooting holds him back for me. He did his scoring inside (limits Garza’s space), at the free throw line which he would get to way less on my team because he wouldn’t have the ball near as much, and then on offensive boards which there would be far fewer of because my team doesn’t miss
.He’d still play big minutes off the bench.
NikeHawk21
Well-Known Member
Also a Garza/Uthoff front line would be simply unfair for the defense. You play small and Garza can step out to the perimeter and feed Uthoff on a mismatch. You play big and watch Uthoff rain set shots from 3 if you pinch Garza or watch Garza kill your big man inside if you stay out on shooters.
RobHowe
Administrator
Good discussion. Plenty of angles.
I chose my team with a heavy lean towards college achievement ahead of assembling a group that would play well together.
That’s why I had White as my player of the decade. He finished as the school’s second all-time leading scorer and ended third in rebounds.
I chose my team with a heavy lean towards college achievement ahead of assembling a group that would play well together.
That’s why I had White as my player of the decade. He finished as the school’s second all-time leading scorer and ended third in rebounds.
RobHowe
Administrator
Valid point
WindsorHawk
Well-Known Member
I agree with Nike. Fredrick is on my team. I would have to think about which guy to replace...from Rob’s team.
JG10Hawk
Well-Known Member
Based on Individual Achievements:
Based on What I See as Best Team Fit for Winning Games:
- Starters
- Marble (1st & 3rd All Big Ten Teams)
- Jok (1st & 2nd All Big Ten Teams)
- Uthoff (MVP - Consensus 2nd team All-American, 1st & 3rd All Big Ten Teams)
- White (1st & 3rd All Big Ten Teams, 2nd in PTS & REBs, 1st in FTs)
- Garza (Based on likely future accolades and shot at all time scoring and rebounding records)
- Bench
- Gatens (2nd All Big Ten Team)
- Bohannon (3rd All Big Ten Team, 3PM record, shot at AST record)
- Cook (3rd All Big Ten Team)
- Gesell (4th all time in AST, 9th all time in STL, in 1,000 point club)
- Wieskamp (posted the most efficient scoring season of anyone under Fran and has potential to achieve several accolades by the time it's all said and done)
Based on What I See as Best Team Fit for Winning Games:
- Starters
- Marble (best all around guard in the Fran era)
- Gatens (two way player)
- Wieskamp (two way player)
- Uthoff (best all around player in my opinion in the Fran era)
- Garza (best offensive big I've seen wear the Hawkeye jersey and has been solid on defense this year)
- Bench Rotation (first off the bench depends on matchups)
- White (let him play the small ball 5 as I like 4 shooters on the floor at all times)
- Jok (defense kept him out of the starting lineup for me but sub him in as a sharpshooter at the 2/3)
- Bohannon (same as Jok but sub hi in as a sharpshooter at the 1/2)
- Baer (I want a two way glue guy that can play the 3/4 like this on any team)
- Bench Depth
- Gesell (need another ball handler and in my opinion was a better on ball defender than Clemmons but it went unnoticed because of his scoring woes)
- Woodbury (best defensive center of the Fran era and would fill in nicely when Garza is in foul trouble depending on matchups)
- Cook (best athlete of the Fran era, use him over Woody depending on matchups)
- Fredrick (small sample size but the dude appears to be a pretty darn efficient two way player, could end up replacing Gatens or Wieskamp as a starter by the time it's all said and done)
oregonhawkeye
Well-Known Member
I tested myself before I read Rob's article and got the same starting five. White is without a doubt the decade MVP.
And it's the same team for the "who I'd want on the floor" debate.
I get the "You can move Marble to the point and put Peter in there" idea but why??? JBo is a better PG than both and shoots and defends about the same as Jok. The statistic for guys who truly create wins haven't caught up to Bohannon yet. I will concede that Jok was a very good rebounder and might start him ahead of Marble if I had to make a choice.
Bench- Gatens (I think we forget how good he really was- had all the skills), Baer, Cook, Jok, Woodbury (though he'd be an emergency sub on my squad).
And it's the same team for the "who I'd want on the floor" debate.
I get the "You can move Marble to the point and put Peter in there" idea but why??? JBo is a better PG than both and shoots and defends about the same as Jok. The statistic for guys who truly create wins haven't caught up to Bohannon yet. I will concede that Jok was a very good rebounder and might start him ahead of Marble if I had to make a choice.
Bench- Gatens (I think we forget how good he really was- had all the skills), Baer, Cook, Jok, Woodbury (though he'd be an emergency sub on my squad).
Pretty good group of players, but to be honest not overly impressive. Really kind of reflects the reality of Iowa basketball in the last decade. Not a ton of All Americans or NBA players.
