MSU tonight
- Thread starter Hawkfnntn
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HuckFinn
Well-Known Member
Agreed. And so do most teams in the BT.
STILLBUSTER
Well-Known Member
Many, in general, are well on their way but agree, every team playing in Breslin this yr is gonna look like they have a ways to go.
BullHawks are gonna be just fine and there will be no Franuary. Better each week and, FINALLY, go dancing.
Hope they meet Creighton and school Dix and Freeman!
People don't think this team is like Fran's teams, but oddly enough, just like Fran's teams this team will go only as far as their 3pt shooting will take them. This team is better defensively than Fran's teams, but without a rim protector or any type of enforcer inside, they certainly are not elite. After this game the book on Iowa will be very simple: control Stirtz, clog the lane and don't allow cutters through the lane, keep everyone in front of you, and make Iowa beat you from beyond the arc. If Stirtz, Fulgouris, Koch, Howard & Combs have off-shooting nights from 3, almost any team can beat the Hawks.
Zstatman
Well-Known Member
That just might have been the perfect setting for the first B1G game of the BM era.
Road game sold out arena, boisterous crowd against a talented, athletic team that was big inside.
IMO, the Hawks seemed shellshocked by it all out of the gate. We couldn't hit the broadside of a barn for most of the first half, hen, Stirtz missed 3 straight free throws and when has that ever happened and will it ever happen again.
It's clear we've got to get bigger inside. I thought that in the off-season and it was proven last night. As hard as we work at rebounding when you are going up against multiple players 6'10" and above it's just tough. They were killing us inside on the offensive boards and put backs. Manyawu at 6'8" just isn't tall enough no matter how gritty he is. Jirak has the size but he's only getting limited minutes and it isn't even sure what his position is. Matteoni has some size but evidently isn't yet worthy of more minutes.
And, we've got to shoot better.
I don't claim to know what best for the team, I'll leave that up to the coaches and I expect we'll improve going forward this season. Just some random postgame thoughts.
Road game sold out arena, boisterous crowd against a talented, athletic team that was big inside.
IMO, the Hawks seemed shellshocked by it all out of the gate. We couldn't hit the broadside of a barn for most of the first half, hen, Stirtz missed 3 straight free throws and when has that ever happened and will it ever happen again.
It's clear we've got to get bigger inside. I thought that in the off-season and it was proven last night. As hard as we work at rebounding when you are going up against multiple players 6'10" and above it's just tough. They were killing us inside on the offensive boards and put backs. Manyawu at 6'8" just isn't tall enough no matter how gritty he is. Jirak has the size but he's only getting limited minutes and it isn't even sure what his position is. Matteoni has some size but evidently isn't yet worthy of more minutes.
And, we've got to shoot better.
I don't claim to know what best for the team, I'll leave that up to the coaches and I expect we'll improve going forward this season. Just some random postgame thoughts.
Hell I wasn't far off with that prediction. I just didn't account for Stirtz missing a bunch of FTs and playing like ass pretty much. He was a deer in the headlights out there that was a tough watch. It doesn't matter who we play against if he plays that bad we aren't going to have a chance.
This team can't dribble drive something Ben mentioned after the game. It's the reason he gave for not playing Hausen in the 2nd half. More on that later but Stirtz isn't a driver that breaks down a defense he's a pick and roll reader. And if the roll guys can't hit shots that makes that all but easy to defend. Alvaro couldn't throw it in the ocean. Koch hit a couple shots maybe but that was it. Using Manyau and Banks for that doesn't work cause they can't shoot they only dive to the hoop.
The biggest gripe I'd have with how Ben coached this game was not playing Hausen more. He put him in late in the 1st half and in what little time he played he lead us in pts at the half. So Ben didn't put him back in at all in the 2nd. I can't get down with the reason he gave because it wasn't like Combs or Howard were doing much they put up 8 pts combined and Ben had 7 in his short stint. So like what are we doing in regards to that? Hausen is the only player that spreads the floor for us besides maybe Koch and Stirtz and neither of them were on it this game.
But bottom line this team isn't big/athletic enough inside. Got destroyed on the glass predictably. In the way we couldn't dribble drive they could and we couldn't stop it without fouling. I'm sure many were pissed at the refs but man we fouled a lot we just did. That will probably be a reoccurring theme this yr against the good teams.
So now we kinda know where we stand anyway. We aren't anywhere close to a top 10 team at this point. With Stirtz playing that bad I'm surprised we kept it under a 30 pt loss. This is a one man show on O and if he's not on I don't see how we can make up for that.
HawkIowa44
Well-Known Member
No reason to overreact to an ass whooping by a top 10 team on the road. The major needs this Iowa team has is the lack of size in the paint and 3-pt shooting. Half of this team were playing for mid-major teams last season, what more did you expect. Things will get better over time.
Zstatman
Well-Known Member
I forgot how much I hate the way Izzo gets away with intimidating the refs, they way he gets right in their faces, yells at them and gets away with it. You know they know it's coming and still they allow it. He's been doing it for years.
One thing that came clear to me was that the staff is going to have to focus on recruiting B1G talent going forward. I'm guessing this will be like a 2–3-year process. MSU was more talented and athletic across the board.
Now we'll get to see how BM and staff coach. They will be doing their best to maximize their talent and get results. It will still be fun to watch, IMO.
One thing that came clear to me was that the staff is going to have to focus on recruiting B1G talent going forward. I'm guessing this will be like a 2–3-year process. MSU was more talented and athletic across the board.
Now we'll get to see how BM and staff coach. They will be doing their best to maximize their talent and get results. It will still be fun to watch, IMO.
