HaydenHawk56
Well-Known Member
However, the encouraging thing is they hung in there with a pretty good Purdue team in the first game of the Big Ten Season. The bad news is it is not going to get any easier.
If Iowa could defend......
- Thread starter HaydenHawk56
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bcl20
Well-Known Member
I'm hoping with better talent comes better defense. I'm not sure if this is true at all but I feel like it's easier to find guys who have offensive strengths as compared to defensive strengths as players are more likely to work on offense as it's easier to work on and seen as more fun.
Just a theory I have though.
Just a theory I have though.
RocknRollface
Well-Known Member
Defense comes down to three things.
1 By far the most important, desire.
2 Athletic ability
3 Understanding what the offensive player is trying to do before they do it in both a one on one sense and in a team/rotation sense. Communication is a key element.
#1 seems to come and go for the hawks, #2 is ok, #3 seems to be where they really struggle.
Lots of easy layups and threes given up on miscommunication in switching and rotating.
Ive seen more athletically challenged teams play much better defense because as a whole they understood it conceptually.
GhostofBTT
Banned
People were sick of losing games 50-44. Well, welcome to the era of losing 80-74.
Isn't it exciting!
Isn't it exciting!
1hawkeye1
Well-Known Member
Well, actually.....yes. Last night's game was very enjoyable to watch.
storminspank
Justin VanLaere
Ws are most important.
That said, last night's game was mighty fun to watch from a fan standpoint.
It was more fun than watching Iowa beat a nationally ranked MSU 43-36 under Lickliter.
storminspank
Justin VanLaere
I agree.
my question then is it maybe a coaching issue that they arent being diligent enough with focusing on the defensive end and focusing too much on the offensive?
GhostofBTT
Banned
So instead of being Wes Anderson bad, we're now Michael Bay bad.
storminspank
Justin VanLaere
I want to argue this, but it's just a gorgeous analogy.
olivecourt
Well-Known Member
I think you're oversimplifying things a bit. Here's the problem-- in the first half, Iowa did a decent job trying to help, switch, rotate, etc. But it seemed like whenever they sagged in to help on a driving player, Purdue kicked it out for an easy 3 (they hit 6 in the first half, most without a defender within 3 feet).
In the second half, Iowa definitely seemed to focus on not leaving shooters no matter what, and the 3-point shot was nicely neutralized (in fact, Purdue was 0-7 from 3). But a good team is going to adjust, and Purdue realized that the tighter perimeter defense left the rim open.
I'm acutally OK with that trade-off-- I'd rather a team get 2 points at a time than 3. One thing I would have liked to see, oddly enough, is more fouling. Iowa only had 13 fouls on the game. Against a team that only shoots 62% from the line, I think you need to take some hard fouls against guys who are driving to the rim. Not dirty, just make them earn it from the line. That feels weird to say, as over the last couple of years the Hawks were incapable of playing defense without fouling. But having a big guy like Melsahn only have 1 personal foul is kind of a waste.
SirJamaLot
Well-Known Member
Excellent summation
Besides an undersized Baasbe we do not have a lot of size guarding the basket, should change with Woodbury and Olasani,
Fran made the adjustment at half and jammed their shooters and did not sag with the weakside help, Purdue is really well-coached and disciplined, instead of jacking contested 3's they put their heads down and got to the rim, they exposed our lack of close out skills and embarrassed us, we may not be the quickest team in the big ten but i'm sure Fran was frustrated with the effort on closing out the dribble, should be a fun film session today
Fran's teams are much more fun to watch than 50-44 games, you cant recruit talent playing Lick ball,and you can't win in the Big Ten without talent, patience Hawk fans right now it is easy to criticize or make fun of the Hawk BB team but for the first time in a long time the future actually looks brighter
SteveGarvey
Well-Known Member
Well, it was more fun at the end of the game watching us beat MSU 43-36 than at the end of the game last night.
winning=fun
losing=not so much fun
True but losing a game like that is ALMOST as fun as winning a game with Licks style. Winning a game like that is WAY more fun then winning a game with Lick, and losing a game like that is WAY more fun then losing a game with Lick. Lick sucked
tailgater371
Well-Known Member
I thought it was a fun game to watch, the crowd was solid. Purdue seemed to just throw up shots and have them go in all night. I am frustrated by our inability to rebound, especially offensively.
superfan12
Well-Known Member
Personally, I don't care how we win, as long as we win.
That said, I don't think Purdue is going to be all that great this year. Middle of the road B1G team.
That said, I don't think Purdue is going to be all that great this year. Middle of the road B1G team.
olivecourt
Well-Known Member
I thought this while watching the game, and then I checked the box score and rebounding was even at 32 per team. Purdue had 8 offensive boards to our 7. Basketball is weird.
sportstalent
Well-Known Member
Iowa lost not because of defense, if the defense was poor the game would have been a blowout.
The struggles in half court offense cost Iowa against Purdue, just throw the ball to Basabe. When Marble drives everyone stops and watches.
The struggles in half court offense cost Iowa against Purdue, just throw the ball to Basabe. When Marble drives everyone stops and watches.
The defense has been terrible. I think that as our recruits come in and the program gets more talent, everything will improve, including defense. But, Fran does not coach the D very well in my opinion. He isn't much of an in-game coach at all. To me, he is more of the strong recruiter, motivating type coach. (the opposite of Lickliter). Coach lickliter's teams were terrible on offense, and to watch, and had next to no talent. But man did they play tough D! And I mean that. This is in no way a Fran bashing comment, but Lick's teams had better D than we might ever see out of Iowa with Fran, or at least for a while. Fran is the better guy for the job, but I'm sad to say that Iowa has no defensive identity, it doesn't seem like a priority, and I just don't see that changing.
MeshuggahRulez
Member
People who rip on Wes Anderson usually r grabbing for the lotion right before 2 1/2 Men spoon feeds the chuckles at them.
