Mike Gesell is the problem

[trj]

Who would have thought Iowa would chit the bed the 2nd half of the BIG season. I think that is part of their problem. They knew they overachieved the 1st half and probably thought the 2nd half was going to be quite a bit easier. Not the case. The first half teams were probably a bit overrated and the 2nd half has teams surging (Ohio St, Wisky) and with something to fight for (tournament bids).

I think there is more parity in the league than we were led to believe when starting the season.

It is just frustrating, they are going to blow a golden opportunity to play in their backyard. a #2 seed in Des Moines, they could easily get to sweet 16. The way it looks now, you are a 4 seed in Denver or in the dreaded upset special 5/12 game.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

I know exactly what you're talking about. You just can't have a point guard pass on that shot. They play defense the same way whether it's Mike or Woody standing at the 3 pt line. It was also very noticeable the difference between how hard Mike and AC take it to the rim. I really don't think it's even close anymore who the better player between the 2 is.

Clemmons also has this added toughness to him for an edge that may be needed going down the stretch. I think of Gessell as being a bit more nifty than tough. I don't think of Clemmons as a turnover liability either.

 

[trj]

I recall when watching last night one time in particular I was surprised he didn't take the 3, he came down the court & there was literally no one within 8 feet of him & he was at the top of the arch.

Clemmons was hitting 3's earlier this year and he can also drive to the hoop when needed. Perhaps he should be starting at the point. I always thought it was a push between them, but as a fan, I find myself more content with Clemmons.

AC is your point, Jok slides to the 2-guard......then what? You are still going to have issues.

 

[PCHawk]

Clemmons also has this added toughness to him for an edge that may be needed going down the stretch. I think of Gessell as being a bit more nifty than tough. I don't think of Clemmons as a turnover liability either.

Gesell is really good at not turning the ball over when he's doing nothing productive. Since he rarely tries to do something productive, his turnover numbers are low. The rare times he tries to do something with it, he has his share of turnovers. Those are the times that matter because anyone can not turn the ball over by doing nothing with it. The good players actually do things that have risk and still minimize turnovers.

 

[PCHawk]

On Jok's 3rd 3, Gesell drove the lane and instead of a quick, in rhythm kick out, he stopped, turned around to look for someone, saw him, then passed it. Jok still buried that 3 and Gesell got the assist, but the pass wasn't on time. It didn't hurt there but that exact same play happens all the time and that hesitation is the difference between getting the shot off and not getting the shot off.

 

[djwoody98]

My biggest problem with MG last night was his lack of composure in running the team. When he goes into "OH S**T" mode, the whole team follows. For a veteran team at home you would expect them to settle down and get things under control.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Gesell is really good at not turning the ball over when he's doing nothing productive. Since he rarely tries to do something productive, his turnover numbers are low. The rare times he tries to do something with it, he has his share of turnovers. Those are the times that matter because anyone can not turn the ball over by doing nothing with it. The good players actually do things that have risk and still minimize turnovers.

You're simply amazing. You bring up points that not many think about but end up being so obvious the way you explain them, hence, why you have 3 gazillion thumbs up. Excellent point! Any college guard can manage the offense without too much trouble such as a game manager QB. Just don't make mistakes and get it to the guys who can score. Those who don't take risks should have a good %.

Then you have your Jamal Tinsley or Monte Morris types.

 

[STILLBUSTER]

My biggest problem with MG last night was his lack of composure in running the team. When he goes into "OH S**T" mode, the whole team follows. For a veteran team at home you would expect them to settle down and get things under control.

That's exactly the FranMac theory. Unfortunately, he's oblivious to that being a HUGE reason to even have a coach on the sideline at this level.

Hell, Coach 101 can draw up X's & O's. It's those "mental" situations -- game and player management, well-timed substitutions and timeouts -- are what make great coaches.

FranMac is so las-sez-faire with his upper classmen and game management that he still insists that Oglesby, being the best 3-point shooter he ever coached, was eventually gonna get it going; that allowing Gesell to stationary dribble out the waning seconds of a possession or half is a viable scoring option; that there must be some carryover rights to timeouts -- dude banks 'em like their retirement currency.

 

[Trump]

 

[HawkeyeWalker]

You're simply amazing. You bring up points that not many think about but end up being so obvious the way you explain them, hence, why you have 3 gazillion thumbs up. Excellent point! Any college guard can manage the offense without too much trouble such as a game manager QB. Just don't make mistakes and get it to the guys who can score. Those who don't take risks should have a good %.

Then you have your Jamal Tinsley or Monte Morris types.

I'd never noticed PC's thumbs up ratio until you mentioned it. Impressive.

Stay humble though PC !

 

[1977Hawkeye]

Mike Gesell may be A problem but not THE problem. Seems that Uthoff has gone stone cold and/or forcing his shot. Between Gesell, Clemmons and Woody, not a lot of offense there, either. Yes, I have to give a wink and a nod to Woody's 18 rebounds, but they need him to get the ball and look to score a little more often than he does IMO, even though I realize he'll never be a big scorer. Can't just shoot jumpers all game long. Sometimes Woody gets the ball down there and doesn't even look at the rim - just kicks it back out.

The bench is not helping AT ALL right now - that was the big difference in the game last night, in my eyes. Wisconsin had great bench production, and Iowa pretty much either had to ride their starters into the ground or get buried with the reserves in there. Not good.

That second paragraph is also the thought that keeps me up at night - Outside of Jok, meet your 2016-17 Hawkeyes. Hope these guys really step it up next year, including some of those we haven't seen yet (Moss, Hutton, Cook, etc.) or it's going to be a long season.

 

[PCHawk]

You're simply amazing. You bring up points that not many think about but end up being so obvious the way you explain them, hence, why you have 3 gazillion thumbs up. Excellent point! Any college guard can manage the offense without too much trouble such as a game manager QB. Just don't make mistakes and get it to the guys who can score. Those who don't take risks should have a good %.

Then you have your Jamal Tinsley or Monte Morris types.

Hey thanks man! I usually agree with everything I say.

 

[PCHawk]

I'd never noticed PC's thumbs up ratio until you mentioned it. Impressive.

Stay humble though PC !

I just don't pay attention to what people are saying about me. I don't even have internet.

 

[PCHawk]

Mike Gesell may be A problem but not THE problem. Seems that Uthoff has gone stone cold and/or forcing his shot. Between Gesell, Clemmons and Woody, not a lot of offense there, either. Yes, I have to give a wink and a nod to Woody's 18 rebounds, but they need him to get the ball and look to score a little more often than he does IMO, even though I realize he'll never be a big scorer. Can't just shoot jumpers all game long. Sometimes Woody gets the ball down there and doesn't even look at the rim - just kicks it back out.

The bench is not helping AT ALL right now - that was the big difference in the game last night, in my eyes. Wisconsin had great bench production, and Iowa pretty much either had to ride their starters into the ground or get buried with the reserves in there. Not good.

That second paragraph is also the thought that keeps me up at night - Outside of Jok, meet your 2016-17 Hawkeyes. Hope these guys really step it up next year, including some of those we haven't seen yet (Moss, Hutton, Cook, etc.) or it's going to be a long season.

If Gesell didn't go from a player who might go down as one of the best point guards ever at Iowa to a guy who looks completely lost, we would potentially be number 1 in the nation right now. So it's his fault in that aspect. But Gesell was Gesell back when we were killing it and a legit top 5 team. Uthoff's shooting percentage is the reason for the drop off.

As for next year, we have hope. We might get better offensive production out of the 5. We will almost certainly get more offensive production from the 1. Hopefully Jok will be even better. Hopefully Uhl will make a big jump. We have 7 guys next year that are unknowns counting Jones. A few of those have to be good right? That's a lot of what if's but most of them are actually pretty likely. At least Cook and Hutton should provide some wow dunks.

 

[PCHawk]

We will have 11 freshmen and sophomores next year on the team. What a crazy number. There will be 3 upperclassmen and 1 of them has almost no D1 experience.

 

[WestCoastHawk]

We just stopped moving the ball well for whatever reason. We had tons of open looks in the half-court and break offenses the first half of the season, not sure if teams have adjusted or what, but those looks have disappeared.

 

[PCHawk]

We just stopped moving the ball well for whatever reason. We had tons of open looks in the half-court and break offenses the first half of the season, not sure if teams have adjusted or what, but those looks have disappeared.

Everyone on the team was firing up shots whenever they got open with confidence and no hesitation. Now everyone passes on decent looks except 2 players.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

We just stopped moving the ball well for whatever reason. We had tons of open looks in the half-court and break offenses the first half of the season, not sure if teams have adjusted or what, but those looks have disappeared.

I noticed that as well. Aren't getting the open looks by those to the likes of Uhl, Baer, Clemmons/Gessell like we were before. They are locking down Uthoff & keeping him away from the hoop even outside of 15 ft, and sagging off Clemmons/Gessell to plug the middle.

 

[eveningnewsteam]

Everyone on the team was firing up shots whenever they got open with confidence and no hesitation. Now everyone passes on decent looks except 2 players.

Even Uthoff is passing up good looks to dribble into a tougher shot

 

[Tierney]

We will have 11 freshmen and sophomores next year on the team. What a crazy number. There will be 3 upperclassmen and 1 of them has almost no D1 experience.

Iowa will probably be raw at the start of the season next year, but by the time that the middle of February comes around they should be pretty seasoned. I don't know how well they will do, but it should be fun watching the younger guys. I think they will have the ability to become a pretty good offensive and defensive team. Fran has done pretty well with teams in the past that didn't really have great potential. I think Iowa has players in their system for next year that have greater potential than the teams Fran has had in the past. The Iowa coaching staff has improved the basketball program every year. They might lose a lot of experience, but the experience will come with time. Look how much Wisconsin lost after last year, but once the team has matured this year, they are playing pretty good.