I think it's fair to say that the bench has hit the proverbial wall

[SpiderRico]

Wagner, Baer, Uhl, and even Ellingson to a degree, were all really good contributors for us from just after the ISU game (when you could tell Fran knew that to have a good season, he'd have to start trusting his bench) until about 2 weeks ago.

It now appears they've really hit the wall, which is understandable when all of the main bench contributors are all underclassmen. Wagner throws up an airball free throw, I can't tell you the last time Uhl or Baer were factors offensively (to Baer's credit, he's still doing some good stuff defensively and on the glass), and Ellingson looks completely lost out there right now.

For us to make a run at the regular season and/or BTT titles and a run in the NCAAs, we have to get some effective bench production. Hopefully this "wall" is just temporary and they can break thru it and really help propel us these last few weeks of the season and into the Big Dance.

 

[mopkins]

Ellingson barely plays any minutes anymore and it makes sense since he's been so awful. Wagner and baer still provide energy off the bench. Points from baer are just bonuses in my opinion.

The big x factor to me is uhl. I'm not sure where he went wrong but he just looks completely awful. He needs to provide some scoring when uthoff is on the bench.

 

[PCHawk]

I would say Wagner is better now than earlier in the year. Baer is the same except the 2 games early in the year where he played out of his mind. Ellingson really hasn't done anything all year so it's hard to say he hit a wall. Uhl is the only one who's really playing worse lately. It makes our bench numbers look way worse because he's the main bench contributor. He has a lot of Basabe in him where once he gets the ball he's shooting no matter what.

 

[docholihawk]

It looks to me like Uhl is forcing his offense rather than going with the flow and taking opportunities when they arise. I wouldn't mind seeing Baer take 2-3 more shots per game. I'd also like to see Gesell limit himself to 6-8 shots per game. We really need to concentrate on Uthoff and Jok 20 shots each per game. When Jok gets going he can drop 30 in a game. JU can pretty much get his shots off whenever he wants. I like Woody with the double-doubles.

 

[WindsorHawk]

February is when freshmen in particular tend to hit the wall. And by March they have their 2nd wind. No worries!

 

[hawkfan340]

Whoever Good Cop is on the staff, he needs to take Uhl out for ice cream, with sprinkles. Tell him he's a winner. Tell him to remember he's a stud. He's got this. Shots are going to start falling soon. Etc.

Basically, do whatever it takes to get that confidence back up. Imo, he looks like a player expecting things to go wrong right now. Gotta get that mojo back. We saw how great he can shoot it earlier in the year, so if we can get that back...

 

[Tierney]

Whoever Good Cop is on the staff, he needs to take Uhl out for ice cream, with sprinkles. Tell him he's a winner. Tell him to remember he's a stud. He's got this. Shots are going to start falling soon. Etc.

Basically, do whatever it takes to get that confidence back up. Imo, he looks like a player expecting things to go wrong right now. Gotta get that mojo back. We saw how great he can shoot it earlier in the year, so if we can get that back...

The team appeared to be playing under their abilities when the BTN did stories on Jok and Uthoff. Things like that are bound to get into the players minds at least a little bit. The whole team rhythm seems to have been thrown off. Anyway, the Uthoff story is over with and hopefully they will play better against Penn State. They have a week off after Wednesdays game.

 

[jjh4hawks01]

Fran to unleash the Flemming beast.

 

[atomicblue224]

 

[GVGiant44]

No matter how much - or little he plays, I cannot get Brady Ellingson.

Like most fairly new Iowa players, I confess to not knowing that much about him before he came to Iowa. But the person I see on the floor is missing shots worse than he probably ever did, even in 8th-grade.

While everyone talks about Uhl, Baer and Wagner, I think the key (if we can stand to put him on the floor anymore) is Ellingson figuring out how to shoot a basketball again. He seems to me like a player who should be deadly from '3' every time out - even if he can't do another thing while he's on the floor. Even 1 or 2 a game would give us the lift we need to resume playing at the level we once had.

And by the way, NO WAY a guy who has played this little has hit a wall.

 

[BigD]

Ellingson= Oglesby syndrome??? Brady is still young and we can hope that he comes around. What was the story on Brady when he was recruited? Was he suppose to be a pinpoint shooter with marginal quickness. I don't remember.

 

[ssckelley]

Seeing that bench performance lately has me not wanting to think about next season. I hope Fran has a good recruiting class coming in to keep Iowa competitive. They will be depending on Jok heavily.

Another reason to enjoy the ride this year.

 

[lightning1]

When the Hawks were playing their best, Uhl and Baer were getting between 15 and 20 mins per game. They have been getting less than 15 and even 10 mins per game recently. Maybe fewer minutes causes more offensive urgency. That might lead to rushing shots or pushing action. I'm not sure if that's accurate or not but it's an observation I wanted to make.

 

[hawk2012]

Have Fran's substitution patters changed? I feel like earlier in the season it was rare to see more than two bench players on the court at any time. He'd bring in Uhl for Woodbury and maybe Ellingson for Clemmons, but Uthoff, Gessel, and Jok would still be on the floor. In the last few games, I think I've seen Ellingson, Baer, Uhl, and Wagner all on the floor at once. And this lineup has struggled. This reminds me of the line change type substitutions that Fran has done in the past.

I'd prefer to avoid any lineups that don't have either Jok or Uthoff on the floor. As long as one of those guys is on the floor, plus either Gessel or Clemmons, I feel like our offense is good enough. But when they are both on the bench, things go south quickly.

 

[HuckFinn]

I think Fran has gone back to playing his starters more minutes and is questioning himself about what he is doing. But, when you are in close, competitive games, its understandable that the temptation is to stay with the proven starters. Fran has scolded himself with the media a couple of times lately for not playing his next 4-5 in as much as he should. I just think its a simple matter of Fran trying to figure out how to handle his rotation. Not being critical here, just discussing.

As to the guys themselves: They need to be in long enough to get into the flow. Uhl and Wagner seem to be able to contribute on offense, but are defensively still struggling. Baer contributes with hustle plays, but scoring has really dropped off. Ellingson: I think you underestimate him. His shooting is very poor right now, I would be the first to admit. The good news is that he is much more athletic than Josh; he plays solid defense, does not make mistakes, and draws a fair amount of attention with his back cuts and ability to spread the floor. But, yeah, he has to start making some shots to increase his value.

 

[tksirius]

Ellingson= Oglesby syndrome??? Brady is still young and we can hope that he comes around. What was the story on Brady when he was recruited? Was he suppose to be a pinpoint shooter with marginal quickness. I don't remember.

Oglesby 2.0 with worse defensive skills. Seems like a great kid, but I honestly hope he transfers.

 

[tksirius]

I think Fran has gone back to playing his starters more minutes and is questioning himself about what he is doing. But, when you are in close, competitive games, its understandable that the temptation is to stay with the proven starters. Fran has scolded himself with the media a couple of times lately for not playing his next 4-5 in as much as he should. I just think its a simple matter of Fran trying to figure out how to handle his rotation. Not being critical here, just discussing.

As to the guys themselves: They need to be in long enough to get into the flow. Uhl and Wagner seem to be able to contribute on offense, but are defensively still struggling. Baer contributes with hustle plays, but scoring has really dropped off. Ellingson: I think you underestimate him. His shooting is very poor right now, I would be the first to admit. The good news is that he is much more athletic than Josh; he plays solid defense, does not make mistakes, and draws a fair amount of attention with his back cuts and ability to spread the floor. But, yeah, he has to start making some shots to increase his value.

Are you high?

 

[DDThompson]

When the Hawks were playing their best, Uhl and Baer were getting between 15 and 20 mins per game. They have been getting less than 15 and even 10 mins per game recently. Maybe fewer minutes causes more offensive urgency. That might lead to rushing shots or pushing action. I'm not sure if that's accurate or not but it's an observation I wanted to make.

No, I think you're on to something here. I was wondering the same thing.

But it's something that Uhl and Baer and Wagner will need to learn because we want four of Iowa's starters getting 33 mins when bracket time comes around.

 

[Smarthawk]

Brady Ellingson was rated one of the top 10 shooters in the nation. (No link). It is a big surprise to me that he is not hitting his shots. He is playing for a reason and we need to hope his shooting comes around immediately.

 

[DDThompson]

Have Fran's substitution patters changed? I feel like earlier in the season it was rare to see more than two bench players on the court at any time. He'd bring in Uhl for Woodbury and maybe Ellingson for Clemmons, but Uthoff, Gessel, and Jok would still be on the floor. In the last few games, I think I've seen Ellingson, Baer, Uhl, and Wagner all on the floor at once. And this lineup has struggled. This reminds me of the line change type substitutions that Fran has done in the past.

I'd prefer to avoid any lineups that don't have either Jok or Uthoff on the floor. As long as one of those guys is on the floor, plus either Gessel or Clemmons, I feel like our offense is good enough. But when they are both on the bench, things go south quickly.

Yeah, I think you're right. The four subs and Clemmons the other night just didn't work. I'm guessing that was Fran's attempt to try to jump-start them all at once since they play together in practiceor at least force increased energy level . If true, the first part didn't work but the last part showed some improvement.

We'll be fine. Uthoff will make it so.