If you could add only one player...

MeatMan

Well-Known Member
If you could add only one player from the last 10 years of Iowa hoops to the current team, who would it be and why? I'll quick list a few options. Feel free to add more.

Gatens - defense, scoring
Haluska - transition, scoring (20ppg his senior season!)
Horner - great facilitator, shooter
Brunner - scorer, rebounds, toughness
Erek Hansen - defense (2.6 blocks per game)
 
I will rank them.

1. Haluska. He would be an absolute stud on a team like this.
2. Gatens. Defense and shooting. He wouldn't be asked to be the entire offense like he was when here.
3. Horner. Run the show, knock down shots.
4. Brunner. He would be a better version of McCabe.

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59. Erek Hansen.
 
Horner

Adding the player that is Iowa's all-time leader in 3 pointers made would be huge for this team. He also had great court vision/awareness.
 
I know, I know. I just loved Hansen for some reason. Wasn't that great of a rebounder, but dude was a presence down low.

Also, it's close for me, but my first choice also would be Haluska. He would score soooo many transition points on this team it would be insane. Also, he'd fit in great at the 3 with White at the 4.

Gatens would get a ton of open looks on this team too. It's a shame he had to play for Lick, cause on a team like this he could definitely just fill his role and be great at D and make some shots without forcing the action.
 
The sad thing about this thread is that in the last 10 years, most of the best players were all on the same team. Except Gatens. The guys Lickliter brought in you wouldn't want on this team.

Actually I loved Horner and Brunner.. but I think we have better players now. Maybe Horner could take Oglesby's role on the team. But McCabe to my surprise has kind of taken that role as the 3pt guy.
 
In this thread we have comparisons of McCabe to Brunner and Horner to Oglesby? That's just....odd.

I don't know if we need anyone else from the past but Brunner would be nice as he would give us some post offense that we don't have a lot of, Haluska would just give us another dimension on the fast break and would be fun to watch in Fran's style and Doug Thomas would also be really fun to watch, plus he was a strong post defender which would be nice to have.
 
I hope this year's team ends up being good because I want to have some 2005-06 Iowa basketball team vs 2013-14 Iowa basketball team discussions.
 
Gatens for a couple reasons:

1) Best 3 point shooter which would open up the driving lanes for Marble
2) Allows White to move to the 4.

My starting lineup:

Gesell
Gatens
Marble
White
Woody (I realize I'm turning the corner with Gabe over Woody because this was the first time I wanted to put Gabe here rather than Woody... but that's a whole different thread)
 
I'd go with Gatens. It'd give us another shooter/scorer, and he'd be that defensive stopper that the team might need in conference play. But mostly I pick him for the defense.
 
Like a few have already said, I have got to say Haluska as well. His 3 point shooting would make us such a tough out. Plus, his speed on fast breaks would be so sweet to see.

My second choice would probably be Brunner. The guy was a stud. We could use his toughness and rebounding.

Gatens would not be a bad choice at all either. We could use his defensive stopping capabilities. Something we kind of lack right now.

All 3 are really close, but Haluska's offense would be too much to turn down for me.
 
this team needs a 4 with some muscle

a millard off the bench would help

(though the obvious pick would be evans, horton, or street)

from the above group, brunner -- but he was a little small at 6'7"
 
Except for his off the court problems probably Pierre Pierce. Iowa needs someone badly who can create own shot and take the ball to the rim. If it is just basketball skills than it's a no brainier.
 
Except for his off the court problems probably Pierre Pierce. Iowa needs someone badly who can create own shot and take the ball to the rim. If it is just basketball skills than it's a no brainier.

yeah, from a skill standpoint alone, he was a really, really good player. from a human standpoint, he was bottom of the barrel.
 
My memory isn't what it used to be so I confess I had to check here to recall all of the various players available. Let me first just say how happy I am to see our current duo of Woody/Gabe after looking back at the overall lack of height. I would even include having Kyle Meyer in the wings for next season as a positive even though I don't consider him a true post.

As for 1 player this year I would say Gatens if for no other reason than I have a ton of respect for the effort (and minutes) he gave during his 4-yr career that he should have had a chance to play in NCAA post-season.
 
Cole for his toughness and leadership. Also, selfishly I would just like to see him be a part of this special team.
 
Anyone want Pierre Pierce? Pretty good number 2. I might have to take back... I don't think he fell in the 10 year window. Do know what he fell into, though....
 
Can narrow it down to Horner, Haluska, Brunner, or Gatens.

Horner - Shooting
Haluska - Scoring, especially in the higher paced Fran offense.
Brunner - While a bit short, he was strong, and could rebound really well. Plus he could provide inside and outside scoring. Basically, he's a better McCabe.
Gatens - Especially senior year Gatens. He was a big guard that could provide us the outside shooting that is missing. Plus, his senior year he was an excellent defender.

Haluska would be really really fun to watch in this offense.

Would have to flip a coin between Gatens and Brunner.
 
Haluska and Horner are the two guys that I really think would add the most to this team, especially in terms of ball handling and outside shooting.

The only other guy I would want to add would be Doug Thomas, because who wouldn't want to see more of this?

Thought about Thomas for the same reason.
 
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