Iowa-MN Takeaways

I have always liked Patrick off the bench anyway. He seems to be the biggest headcase on the team. I don't even mean that negatively, he is just a case where the mental side of his game has always been a struggle. He has all the tools to be a big contributor and has been solid this season. He could be a great 6th man option when he gets healthy.
 
Speaking only for myself, I wrote this team off too soon. The Big10 is pretty open and just about every game is winnable. Iowa has no big wins yet, but also no bad losses. They have pretty much played to scratch. They somehow cobble together a .500 conference record and a win or two in the conference tourney and they be dancing.

They are fun to watch when shooting well.
 
I tried to make an arguement that the hardest stretch of the season is already in the rear view mirror and besides Purdue, there wasn't really a team I didn't think they could hang with. I also mentioned the stretch last season where Iowa lost to Eastern IL, Nebraska and Penn State. I was pretty certain after that happened that Iowa was not going to make the dance, and they did easily. Their are ebbs and flows to a season. This team will go on another stretch where it might not be able to win games, but let's hope that is shorter now that some of the roles on the team have been realized. Iowa has played themselves back into NCAA contention and have a HUGE opportunity in front of them on Saturday. Not saying they can beat Purdue...but Nebraska beat Purdue in Lincoln just a week ago - it's possible on a good night.
 
If Iowa is sharing the ball and hitting shots, they are a tough out for any team. This seems elemental, but it is especially true for Iowa. Iowa is god awful in transition D. So, when they miss and the team pushes up the court they have a good chance of being successful. When Iowa makes the shot and can either token press or get set on half court D, they are only slightly crappy on D.

Iowa is never going to be a good defensive team under Fran just like KF will never have a good offense. Its not in their DNA. But, when they play offense the way they did last night, they can hang with anyone in this conference.
 
Dix's rise may be the key to this whole thing. You have two good post players that can both score and both play decent D. You have two wing players that can both score in different ways. What has Iowa been missing for years now? A playmaking PG. Dix is a matchup issue at the PG given his length. If he keeps the starting job and can be a 12 point 5 assist sort of player, then you have 5 offensively capable players in the SL. That's close to a 60+ point average from your starters alone. Could be salty, but let's see if he keeps it up. The other 4 have proven it to me.
 
NorthKCHawk said:
Speaking only for myself, I wrote this team off too soon. The Big10 is pretty open and just about every game is winnable. Iowa has no big wins yet, but also no bad losses. They have pretty much played to scratch. They somehow cobble together a .500 conference record and a win or two in the conference tourney and they be dancing.

They are fun to watch when shooting well.
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I'm with you on this one, NorthKC, I had about given up on this team. I was beginning to think NIT was the best the could do and I wasn't even sure of that.

They have realy come together, they are really moving the ball. The ball movement makes me think of the early days of Fran when we were trying to figure out his style of play and we knew it was supposed to be an up temp offense but we weren't really sure how it was supposed to work. Now we are seeing it in action, put pressure on the D by mvoing the ball up the court as quickly as possible. Having the players to do it is key.
 
NorthKCHawk said:
I have always liked Patrick off the bench anyway. He seems to be the biggest headcase on the team. I don't even mean that negatively, he is just a case where the mental side of his game has always been a struggle. He has all the tools to be a big contributor and has been solid this season. He could be a great 6th man option when he gets healthy.
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Josh Dix is really coming into his own. Against Minnesota in the second half when Minnesota was playing really hard trying to get over the hump and get back into the game, Josh was hitting those jump shots and they were clutch, a thing of beauty. I wish Payton could relax like that.

My feeling right now is that Josh Dix has the size and shot making ability to have NBA potential down the road.

And, this isn't a knock against Patrick, there's a place for him on this team. But I don't see him carrying this team. He's not a consistent enough shooter. He has good energy so make that your game, hit some shots, run the floor, get some steals and rebounds and do what you can. Does the coach have it in him to take his son out of the starting lineup is the question in my mind? I'm not sure.
 
Zstatman said:
Josh Dix is really coming into his own. Against Minnesota in the second half when Minnesota was playing really hard trying to get over the hump and get back into the game, Josh was hitting those jump shots and they were clutch, a thing of beauty. I wish Payton could relax like that.

My feeling right now is that Josh Dix has the size and shot making ability to have NBA potential down the road.

And, this isn't a knock against Patrick, there's a place for him on this team. But I don't see him carrying this team. He's not a consistent enough shooter. He has good energy so make that your game, hit some shots, run the floor, get some steals and rebounds and do what you can. Does the coach have it in him to take his son out of the starting lineup is the question in my mind? I'm not sure.
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Um, he pulled Connor out of the SL his last season. He can do it. He will play Patrick where it helps the team the most. If that means 6th man, so be it.

To be clear, Patrick is playing well this year. He should be getting quality minutes and he has the ability to score 20 on any given night, but he also can score 4 points any given night. I just think he might play even better without the pressure of starting. It did wonders for Sanford coming off the bench last season.
 
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