Mel needs to ride the Pine

I'm not really sure what some of you expect at this point? We have NO CENTER. We have NO GUARDS that can dribble penetrate! Both of those concerns are being addressed next year. We thought we had them addressed for this year but the kid that was going to be the slasher left before he even really got here.

I'm not sure what anyone would expect Mel to do at this point when the opposing teams KNOWS they don't have to even guard our C. They simply focus on Mel or whomever else is playing the 4. The opposing teams guards can then put pressure on the wings because they know we can't dribble penetrate and even if they do there is nobody to dish the ball to - all they can do is shoot open shots.

Archie, Olaseni and Brommer. Pick one of those three that would start on any Big10 team let alone most mid-tier teams?

I'm not sure what some of expect at this point of Frans tenure when he was dealt a completely empty cupboard. We have signed two 4* players to next years team, another C that by all accounts is lighting it up in Florida and a slasher at the wing position. Basically, an entirely new starting 4 plus Mel / White / May / Oglesby / Marble / McCabe / Olaseni.

The talent isn't on the team to do what Fran wants at this stage but he needs to showcase what he wants in order to get the kids here.
 
Benddontbreak said:
Yes, mel showed a lack of effort and seemed to be overmatched, yadda yadda yadda. I think what needs to be addressed is the amount of minutes Mccabe is getting. If you play the 4 spot at 6'6 or 6'7 you need to be able to get off your feet (which Zach can't) or knock down shots (which he hasn't). I think he plays hard and everything, but we got outrebounded by 16 yesterday... We need some size inside. And to add to it, he didn't even score yesterday which seems impossible given the amount of post moves he made.
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Zach is shooting 46% from behind the arc and his shot looks much improved. He has knocked down shots this year. Just missed some inside putbacks.

So to say he hasn't knocked down shots isn't 100% true.
 
hawkeye12345 said:
I'm not really sure what some of you expect at this point? We have NO CENTER. We have NO GUARDS that can dribble penetrate! Both of those concerns are being addressed next year. We thought we had them addressed for this year but the kid that was going to be the slasher left before he even really got here.

I'm not sure what anyone would expect Mel to do at this point when the opposing teams KNOWS they don't have to even guard our C. They simply focus on Mel or whomever else is playing the 4. The opposing teams guards can then put pressure on the wings because they know we can't dribble penetrate and even if they do there is nobody to dish the ball to - all they can do is shoot open shots.

Archie, Olaseni and Brommer. Pick one of those three that would start on any Big10 team let alone most mid-tier teams?

I'm not sure what some of expect at this point of Frans tenure when he was dealt a completely empty cupboard. We have signed two 4* players to next years team, another C that by all accounts is lighting it up in Florida and a slasher at the wing position. Basically, an entirely new starting 4 plus Mel / White / May / Oglesby / Marble / McCabe / Olaseni.

The talent isn't on the team to do what Fran wants at this stage but he needs to showcase what he wants in order to get the kids here.
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I think both Cartwright and Marble can dribble penetrate just fine.
The issue, like you said, is the 5 spot.
 
storminspank said:
Zach is shooting 46% from behind the arc and his shot looks much improved. He has knocked down shots this year. Just missed some inside putbacks.

So to say he hasn't knocked down shots isn't 100% true.
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Storm - Im sure he did play well against the DII schools but when you record 0 pts and 1 rebound in 20 min as a big man things need to be re-evaluated. Obviously Zach wasn't the only one that struggled yesterday but even when Aaron White struggled he forced several turnovers, rebounded the ball and got to the free throw line.
 
Benddontbreak said:
Storm - Im sure he did play well against the DII schools but when you record 0 pts and 1 rebound in 20 min as a big man things need to be re-evaluated. Obviously Zach wasn't the only one that struggled yesterday but even when Aaron White struggled he forced several turnovers, rebounded the ball and got to the free throw line.
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what D-2 schools have we played?

i thought zach showed some strong post moves yesterday, along with good defense and toughness.
 
9YRPLAN said:
Benddontbreak said:
Storm - Im sure he did play well against the DII schools but when you record 0 pts and 1 rebound in 20 min as a big man things need to be re-evaluated. Obviously Zach wasn't the only one that struggled yesterday but even when Aaron White struggled he forced several turnovers, rebounded the ball and got to the free throw line.
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what D-2 schools have we played?i thought zach showed some strong post moves yesterday, along with good defense and toughness.
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Agreed, Zach was doin work inside but just couldn't get the roll.
 
herbyhawk said:
Zach is playing better than Basabe,
sorry Basabe needs a wake up call from Fran,
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Mel was a terrible post defender last year and is a terrible post denfender this year. People get fooled by the blocked shots he picks up, but he is a terrible post defender. It has to do with smarts/effort. I can't count how many times Mel just lets the post player get position. Mel needs to start meeting the post player further away from the block/paint so the post player can not sit down and get good postion. Once a post player gets good position on Mel it's pretty much going to end in a foul, score, or a blocked shot. I feel like the first two happen way more than the third thing but Mel seems to feel he can block a lot of shots.

Mel needs to embrace the defensive end and play a whole hell of a lot smarter. Mel has soo many stupid pointless fouls it's maddening. Most of the fouls can be stopped just be being a smarter defender. I am curious how long the coaching staff is going to allow Mel to play defense this way.
 
Without a decent outside shot Basabe will struggle to score consistently. However, if he can give you solid minutes of effort and become a force on the boards, points will come on put backs.

IMO, he is not a guy you run an offense through.

I have not been able to watch many games and won't comment on his perceived lack of effort. What I saw yesterday was a guy that was tentative with the ball and out of position to get rebounds.
 
TritonHawkeye said:
Without a decent outside shot Basabe will struggle to score consistently. However, if he can give you solid minutes of effort and become a force on the boards, points will come on put backs.

IMO, he is not a guy you run an offense through.

I have not been able to watch many games and won't comment on his perceived lack of effort. What I saw yesterday was a guy that was tentative with the ball and out of position to get rebounds.
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Agree, there is now way you can run an offense through Basabe. He doesn't have a great post move, he does not pass well, and he does not dribble well. He is a guy who could be an outstanding 3rd option, too bad Iowa has way too many guys who would be great 2nd to 3rd option type guys due to deficiencies.

I don't think Mels offensive struggles are an effort issue. He just is not a very talented offensive player. I do think there are effort issues on the defensive end as he gets a lot of fouls just from not playing smart/hard. Fran needs to get this fixed as of yesterday. Iowa is not going to score 90 points a game in the Big 10 so they need to start stoping teams. Iowa's offense is still not very good once you play teams with a pulse.
 
Benddontbreak said:
Storm - Im sure he did play well against the DII schools but when you record 0 pts and 1 rebound in 20 min as a big man things need to be re-evaluated. Obviously Zach wasn't the only one that struggled yesterday but even when Aaron White struggled he forced several turnovers, rebounded the ball and got to the free throw line.
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I don't disagree. Shots just weren't falling yesterday. He played hard, though. Couldn't get the ball in, unfortunately.

I like his game this year, though. Much improved from last year.
 
CGHawk, I am curious why you referred to me as an ostrich and then you go on to support my main points? (i.e. MB's appearance of apathy could be due to something other than an actual lack of effort, we just don't know... And to give the guy another chance, a lot of games still to play...)
 
slankyJ said:
CGHawk, I am curious why you referred to me as an ostrich and then you go on to support my main points? (i.e. MB's appearance of apathy could be due to something other than an actual lack of effort, we just don't know... And to give the guy another chance, a lot of games still to play...)
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Haha, you don't come around here much do you?
 
I don't think it helps to bench Mel. Mel at his best is better than McCabe at his best. McCabe is better fundamentally, can pass out of a double team, and can shoot, but he's often overmatched and doesn't have the athleticism that Mel uses to score, when he's inspired. McCabe as a starter at best is an even trade, and more likely a step back.

Mel is a garbage player -- putbacks, and he can score 1-on-1 in the right situation. But as has been noted, he doesn't have reliable post moves, can't pass, and lacks a decent jumper. He is not a kid who can carry a good team.

He's bearing too much of the load because we don't have 2s and 3s that can penetrate, or create their own shot from 15-20. We have spot-up shooters in Gatens and May, and a slasher who can't slash in Marble. Oglesby has the most talent of the wing players, and should probably get some of May's minutes, but he's a thin freshmen. White gets out of control and is not effective defensively. We lack a 5.

With the possible exception of Oglesby, every kid on this roster has big holes in their game, and would have to make major strides in two or three areas (even Bryce -- his D and shooting are suspect) to be a high quality starter. As a result, this team is going to have struggles. Benching this kid or lighting a fire under that kid won't make a huge difference.
 
who are these Divisin II Teams Iowa has played, they may be bad Division I teams but they are Division I schools, and last checked a lot of the top flight teams play these lower level teams as well
 
I was at the game and watched him all night. He doesn't need to see the court until he is in PLAYING SHAPE. Never seen a guy at this level appear so quickly gassed. TV Timeouts he is the last player to the bench, walks about as slow as he can and when gets to the bench collapes to the chair. Staff is foolish for playing this kid right now, he doesn't deserve the court time let alone being a starter.
 
How 'bout we give the young man a break as most are completely overlooking the fact that it was the staff that asked him to bulk up. He did what the staff wanted him to do and it appears to have backfired just as it did when they told Gatens to add weight as I recall which hurt his game at the time also.
 
Fans simply want him to play hard. Nobody understands the huge drop off in intensity from last year and people have seen what he is capable of. There is some accountability when you are awarded one of 13 available scholarships for a full ride education at a B10 school. If there are personal issues, people would understand, however its not coming across that way.

Is Doug McDermott one of the most gifted players in the country? No, but he works at his game and plays hard. That's all people want to see, not excuses.
 
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