McCabe - Unsung Play

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SpecialKHawk

Well-Known Member
McCabe's toughness and effort cannot be overlooked in this....

He was inserted into the starting lineup around the 'Campbell' debacle. One thing fans who have not been watching or attending games is McCabe immeidately brought toughness and started doing the little things for the team that were desperately needing. He started taking charges, boxing guys out on the rebound, getting garbage baskets, hitting open shots, diving for loose balls and playing good defense. All of these things seemed to slowly rub off on other teammates and collectively they started getting better and more confident.

The team then really started playing better at UNI (we got totally screwed in that game). Even though we lost some games during the stretch starting at UNI you could see McCabe's play rubbing off on others. Basabe started to wake up, etc., etc.

The little things McCabe has brought to the table have been very important. I think you probably saw the many to these hings in tonight's game against Minny.

Mr Glue Guy....
 
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Agreed on all counts. He's gotten a pretty lousy rap around here, but I've really appreciated what he brings to the table all year. Is he your typical Big Ten-quality starter? No. But people make it out like that means he's not a Big Ten-quality player. He is, and he showed it tonight.

I mentioned in the game chat that he was delivering a Chris Street-like performance. He isn't as talented as Chris, but he has the exact same mentality that made Chris so special. He does the dirty work, and he does it well. He's capable of contributing offensively, though he doesn't have Street's offensive game. But I love the hustle, and he's playing more within himself this year. Last year, he was trying too many things that worked for him in high school and struggled to adjust. He's not doing that anymore, and now he can be an effective contributor even when it doesn't show in the stat book.
 
I can't remember a guy taking more charges than McCabe since maybe Settles?? He is not afraid to stick his nose in there and take a shot for the team and seems to grow about 4 inches on the boards.
 
tm3308 said:
Agreed on all counts. He's gotten a pretty lousy rap around here, but I've really appreciated what he brings to the table all year. Is he your typical Big Ten-quality starter? No. But people make it out like that means he's not a Big Ten-quality player. He is, and he showed it tonight.

I mentioned in the game chat that he was delivering a Chris Street-like performance. He isn't as talented as Chris, but he has the exact same mentality that made Chris so special. He does the dirty work, and he does it well. He's capable of contributing offensively, though he doesn't have Street's offensive game. But I love the hustle, and he's playing more within himself this year. Last year, he was trying too many things that worked for him in high school and struggled to adjust. He's not doing that anymore, and now he can be an effective contributor even when it doesn't show in the stat book.
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Could not agree more with your post.

Great/Good teams are not made up of just great players/scorers but other guys who know how to play particular roles. McCabe's willingness to play an important role has not escaped some of our eyes.
 
tm3308 said:
Agreed on all counts. He's gotten a pretty lousy rap around here, but I've really appreciated what he brings to the table all year. Is he your typical Big Ten-quality starter? No. But people make it out like that means he's not a Big Ten-quality player. He is, and he showed it tonight.

I mentioned in the game chat that he was delivering a Chris Street-like performance. He isn't as talented as Chris, but he has the exact same mentality that made Chris so special. He does the dirty work, and he does it well. He's capable of contributing offensively, though he doesn't have Street's offensive game. But I love the hustle, and he's playing more within himself this year. Last year, he was trying too many things that worked for him in high school and struggled to adjust. He's not doing that anymore, and now he can be an effective contributor even when it doesn't show in the stat book.
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Agree 100%.....

There are times when he gets beat because he is not as athletic but boy he plays hard which at times bites him in the *** with fouls. There is one thing for sure he will compete every minute he is on the court. He just has the look of a guy who HATES to lose. He was ****** when Williams from Minnesota was hanging on the rim a bit longer than he had to. You could tell McCabe wanted to pull him down.

When McCabe plays within himself on the offensive end he does a good job. I think he gets somewhat of a bad rap and over the next couple years added talent and height will reduce his minutes some he has a KEY role to still play on the team. He is the team tough guy. He likes scraping down low.
 
The thing about McCabe is he is tough and he fights every possession to stop his man or beat him to the ball. Thats a huge thing for this young team. He brings something Iowa doesn't have elsewhere and he does a good job at it.
 
Zach always has been tough. This season he has better footwork, and is more patient with his shooting. He is becoming dependable under the basket offensively.....

I liked his composure after the Hanging Gopher kicked him in the face.....

Cool as Cucumbers and Tough as Nails.....

:)
 
jacknicholson said:
Zach always has been tough. This season he has better footwork, and is more patient with his shooting. He is becoming dependable under the basket offensively.....

I liked his composure after the Hanging Gopher kicked him in the face.....

Cool as Cucumbers and Tough as Nails.....

:)
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I wouldn't quite say cool as a cucumber lol. He did get a little shove in there on that play, and you could almost see the steam coming out of his ears and the fire in his eyes. That took quite a bit of effort on his part to not lose it, or at least it appeared that way.
 
tm3308 said:
I wouldn't quite say cool as a cucumber lol. He did get a little shove in there on that play, and you could almost see the steam coming out of his ears and the fire in his eyes. That took quite a bit of effort on his part to not lose it, or at least it appeared that way.
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He maintained despite all, Tm.....
 
Agreed. People who have been ragging on McCabe and lumping him in some of the others who have struggled are wrong.

Hes actually been playing pretty well just been getting allot of questionable foul calls going against him. I was shocked tonight when all of them seemed to go his way. I was starting to worry he was going to get the Glen Worley reputation with the reffs.

If not for Marble McCabe would be the most improved player on the team.
 
If you are looking for someone to compare McCabe to it's Brian Cardinal. He didn't have the statistical freshman season Brian did (though Brian had much better talent around him) but his game is almost identical. Makes hustle plays, gives up his body, can shoot from the perimeter, can drive and finish, good shoulders, rebounds well, wont back down and gets under other peoples skin.

It's literally a carbon copy.
 
I love his shot. He always has a bigger defender on him that doesn't want to extend and he can hit the deep shot. When it's not there he is quick enough to beat his guy to the hole, he had some good moves out there tonight. I was really impressed. He is trending toward the Brunner type of player we have been lacking for a while.
 
DuffMan said:
If you are looking for someone to compare McCabe to it's Brian Cardinal. He didn't have the statistical freshman season Brian did (though Brian had much better talent around him) but his game is almost identical. Makes hustle plays, gives up his body, can shoot from the perimeter, can drive and finish, good shoulders, rebounds well, wont back down and gets under other peoples skin.

It's literally a carbon copy.
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Brian Cardinal also has 1 more NBA title than Lebron James.
 
I think it will be great to see McCabe continue to improve for 2.5 more years as a hawkeye.

I love his competitive spirit and toughness. Iowa has needed that. He doesn't like to lose or get owned by opposing players. Love it.
 
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