McKeever settling in with Hawkeyes
- Thread starter HawkeyeHypnosis
- Start date
Gander Hawk
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They're going to be a lot of fun to watch this year.
BuiltLikeWilt
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He's not a rail, has some meat to him so shouldn't get pushed around .
BuiltLikeWilt
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Does anybody remember the kid we had that was close to McKeever's height, that looked like the human praying mantis ??
HawkeyeHypnosis
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Eric Hanson?
thedukeofearl
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Gander Hawk
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From player accounts, and appearances, it looks like McCollum's team spends a lot more time in the weight room than the last regime.
NorthKCHawk
Well-Known Member
This could should get 25 minutes a night of quality play. He has some modest skills to go along with his imposing size, and Ben and staff will be coaching this kid up a lot. He may start slow, but he will be a big part of the success of this squad. I am excited.
thedukeofearl
Well-Known Member
His value might be defense, he has the length to make it difficult to score around the basket
Add some meat to his bones and he will be more difficult to shove out of the way
If he gets the ball inside, one would think he could merely toss the ball into the basket with ease
We shall see, Ben is a master with the ability to raise one's value on the court and he Does teach
teamwork
It's All Good, Lads
BuiltLikeWilt
Well-Known Member
Watched some nice video of Jirak from practice last night ,it was edited but showed some nice touch shooting and better hands defensively, maybe better than Mckeevers. Back to the possibility of two solid Bigs (not even counting Cam ) lets hope .
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SwirlinLingerie
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I don't think you want him adding any weight. If anything, a little quicker feet would be helpful.
He isn't much of a shot blocker, but his size should be helpful in stopping penetration. And then I thought McCollum was saying he's skilled at triggering the offense. He has a huge catch radius, so it's easy to get him the ball and have him pass from there.
I thought I read something about his pick and roll ability, too?
I'm sort of guessing he comes off the bench. He adds a dimension Iowa didn't have last year - and a counter for Illinois, specifically.
He isn't much of a shot blocker, but his size should be helpful in stopping penetration. And then I thought McCollum was saying he's skilled at triggering the offense. He has a huge catch radius, so it's easy to get him the ball and have him pass from there.
I thought I read something about his pick and roll ability, too?
I'm sort of guessing he comes off the bench. He adds a dimension Iowa didn't have last year - and a counter for Illinois, specifically.
HawkeyeHypnosis
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BuiltLikeWilt
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It'd probably be waste to play them at same time, other than match ups. So good to be able to have acsess to a big when one is resting
HawkeyeHypnosis
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I don’t think they will play a ton at the same time but a waste of time? Those two down low can take up almost the entire length of the baseline on D. Can’t see a waste of time with them on the floor together.
NorthKCHawk
Well-Known Member
Don't think you pay him what Iowa reportedly paid him to bring him off the bench. I have not seen a projected starting line-up from any media person that did not start McKeever. You have to start one of the centers and McKeever seems like the more polished player at the moment. Jirak is coming on though.
NorthKCHawk
Well-Known Member
One stat that is not kept is altered shots. McKeever doesn't have a great stat line on blocked shots, but his length may just dissuade some shots from even being taken, or alter the shot. One thing we know, if he isn't playing good defense, he won't be out there. 
trj
Well-Known Member
We all know the lack of size was the team’s achilles heel. McKeever led the nation in rebounds per minutes played. Size matters again in college basketball, and if you have functional big bodies, they are going to play. I would bet McKeever plays at least 25 minutes per game.
NorthKCHawk
Well-Known Member
Agreed. Jirak is coming on as well. Would love to seem those two split the minutes at the 5, and that way you have 10 fouls between two 7 footers.
I would split the point guard minutes between Combs and Coleman and play the hot hand.
Then the three wing positions are interchangeable and split up between Koch, Sage, Harris, Thompson, Manyawa, and either Howard or Coon. That gets us to a 10-man rotation, which is about as much as Ben is likely to play. He probably prefers to go with 9.
BuiltLikeWilt
Well-Known Member
Well, I didn't mean a waste of time so much, unless there were match ups that it was favorable for. Go Big Go small kind of thing. Now Illinois big guys play more stretch, shoot threes and pull the bigs out of the lane for drivers.
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